Experimental study on mercury sorption by activated carbons and calcium hydroxide
- Acurex Environmental Corp., Durham, NC (United States)
- Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangel Park, NC (United States)
Title III of the 1990 Air Act Amendments (CAAA) requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to submit a study on 189 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from industrial sources. This study will include an emission and risk (to public health) assessment of the HAPs. Among the 189 HAPs, mercury has drawn special attention due to its increased levels in the environment and well-documented food chain transport and bioaccumulation. Mercury, present in hazardous/municipal wastes and in coal, is readily volatilized during combustion and incineration processes. Mercury is the most volatile among various trace metals, and major portions of it can pass through existing particulate control devices. A sorbent that can react with mercury can effectively shift this metal from the vapor phase to the particulate (sorbent) phase, facilitating its removal. Mercury control processes which use adsorption on dry sorbents do not pose the problem of treatment and stabilization of the waste liquid stream and, therefore, seem very attractive for coal combustors and hazardous/municipal waste incinerators. The need to develop mercury control technologies and the attractive features of adsorption processes on dry sorbents led researchers to focus their efforts on the evaluation of the adsorption kinetics and sorbent capacity of many different solid sorbents. Past research has identified two different classes of sorbents to be effective in mercury removal: activated carbons and calcium-based sorbents.
- Research Organization:
- Solid Waste Association of North America, Silver Spring, MD (United States); Air and Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Integrated Waste Services Association, Washington, DC (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Yonkers, NY (United States). Solid Waste Processing Div.; Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States). Air Pollution Technology Branch
- OSTI ID:
- 548966
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970440-; ON: DE97007054; TRN: 97:005590-0054
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 5. annual North American waste-to-energy conference and exhibition, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States), 22-25 Apr 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of fifth annual North American waste-to-energy conference; PB: 1102 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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