Nanoporous Sorbents for Mercury Removal from Flue Gases

描述(申请人提供)：汞是一个重要的环境问题，因为它的毒性，在环境中的持久性，以及在食物链中的生物积累。美国约80%的汞排放来自燃煤发电厂和垃圾焚烧炉。烟气中的汞很难控制，因为它以蒸汽的形式存在，很容易通过传统的颗粒控制装置。活性碳喷射已被证明是垃圾焚烧炉在颗粒控制设备中捕获汞和飞灰的一种控制技术。然而，为了有效地去除汞，需要大量的活性碳吸附剂，这就产生了飞灰的利用和处置问题。为了克服这些限制，Lynntech正在开发一种新的纳米孔吸附剂，用于高效、经济地去除烟道气中的汞。这项拟议研究的目标是开发并商业化一种含有新的纳米孔吸着剂的弹筒系统，该系统可以很容易地改装到现有的垃圾焚烧炉和发电厂中。使用汞蒸气对该吸附剂进行的初步研究表明&gt；99.9%的汞去除。第一阶段的总体目标是优化成分，以最大限度地提高汞容量并最大限度地降低制造成本。将产生一系列候选吸附材料，并在模拟垃圾焚烧炉烟气中进行测试。表现最好的候选者将被选中进行额外的测试，以表征原料气变化和组成的影响。将开发吸附剂回收的方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mercury is a significant environmental concern because of its toxicity, persistence in the environment, and bioaccumulation in the food chain. Approximately 80% of all U.S. mercury emissions come from coal-fired power plants and waste incinerators. Mercury is difficult to control in flue gas because it exists as a vapor, which easily passes through conventional particulate control devices. Activated carbon injection has been demonstrated as a control technology for waste incinerators to capture mercury along with fly ash in particulate control devices. However, for efficient removal of mercury a large quantity of activated carbon sorbent is needed, which creates fly ash utilization and disposal problems. To overcome these limitations, Lynntech is developing a new nanoporous sorbent for efficient and cost-effective removal of mercury from flue gas. The goal of this proposed research is to develop and commercialize a cartridge system containing the new nanoporous sorbent that can be easily retrofitted into the existing waste incinerators and power plants. Preliminary studies performed with this sorbent using mercury vapor demonstrated >99.9% mercury removal. The overall aim of Phase I is to optimize compositions to maximize mercury capacity and minimize manufacturing cost. A series of candidate sorbent materials will be generated and tested in simulated waste incinerator flue gas. The best-performing candidates will be selected for additional testing to characterize the effects of feed gas variation and composition. Methods for sorbent recycling will be developed.