New mercury control technology for the Ft. Dix waste-to-energy plant

Conference · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:548954

Nelson, S Jr; Miller, J ^[1]

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1. Sorbent Technologies Corp., Twinsburg, OH (United States)

Mercury emissions from waste-to-energy plants, municipal solid waste incinerators, and other industrial processes have come under increased regulatory scrutiny. National Emission Guidelines were recently promulgated for municipal incinerators eventually requiring either 85% mercury removal or compliance with an 80 {mu}g/Nm{sup 3} emission standard. The ability of air pollution control equipment to remove mercury from a gas stream has been found to be largely a function of the particular mercury species present, their concentrations, and the gas temperature. Mercury chloride (HgCl{sub 2}) tends to be found in incinerator flue gases and this species may be well-removed by activated carbon injection, wet scrubbing, or even hydrated-lime injection at low temperatures. When the gas streams are relatively small, as with incinerators, fixed beds of mercury sorbents are also feasible. Beds of granular activated carbon have long been used to remove mercury vapors from small gas volumes in chloro-alkali plants and from other industrial processes. The co-absorption of water and SO{sub 2}, leading to bed-soaking and corrosive sulfuric acid production, however, can limit this method of control. And activated carbon beds can spontaneously combust. However, very thick carbon beds have been applied in Europe in recent years on incinerator streams for the adsorption of mercury and other toxic species. Sorbent Technologies has received contracts to develop and demonstrate granular elemental mercury sorbents for incinerator use. The target was a recoverable-mercury sorbent that would last for from six-months to two years on a concentrated incinerator stream in a thin, simple, panel-bed arrangement. Two sorbent materials have been developed in this effort: a low-temperature version from which the mercury can be recovered, and a high-temperature version for upstream applications. This paper describes some of the work that has been done on these 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., 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: 548954
• Report Number(s): CONF-970440--; ON: DE97007054
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
COMBUSTION
MERCURY
MUNICIPAL WASTES
SORBENT RECOVERY SYSTEMS