A new method for oxidation of gaseous, elemental mercury.

Conference · Mon Aug 23 04:00:00 EDT 1999

OSTI ID:12435

Livengood, C D; Mendelsohn, M H

Elemental mercury (Hg) is difficult to remove from flue-gas streams using existing wet-scrubber technology, primarily because of its limited volubility in water. We have proposed and tested a concept for enhancing gaseous Hg{sup 0}removal in wet scrubber systems by altering the chemical form of the Hg{sup 0} to a water-soluble oxidized species. Recently, we have discovered a new method for injection of the oxidizing species that dramatically improves reactant utilization and at the same time gives significant nitric oxide (NO) oxidation as well. Our method uses a diluted oxidizing solution containing chloric acid and sodium chlorate (sold commercially as NOXSORB{trademark}). When this solution is injected into a gas stream containing Hg{sup 0} at about 300 F, we found that nearly 100% of the Hg{sup 0} was removed from the gas phase and was recovered in liquid samples from the test system. At the same time, approximately 80% of the added NO was also removed (oxidized). The effect of sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) on this method was also investigated, and it appears to decrease slightly the amount of Hg oxidized. We are currently testing the effect of variations in oxidizing solution concentration, SO{sub 2} concentration, NO concentration, and reaction time (residence time).

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 12435
• Report Number(s): ANL/ES/CP-98436
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
DEMETALLIZATION
FLUE GAS
MERCURY
MERCURY OXIDES
NITRIC OXIDE
OXIDATION
OXIDIZERS
REMOVAL
SCRUBBERS
SORBENT INJECTION PROCESSES