(45d) Slipstream Testing of Novel Mercury Adsorbents for Direct Warm-Gas Capture of Mercury From Coal Combustion Flue Gas

The Adsorption and Ion Exchange Laboratory at the University of Cincinnati has developed several novel adsorbents for the direct warm-gas (~160°C) capture of vapor-phase mercury. These porous adsorbents have surface-grafted chelating ligands immersed in a layer of ionic liquid; vapor-phase mercury dissolves in the ionic liquid and is subsequently immobilized through chelation by the surface ligands. Laboratory-scale testing using simulated flue gas has shown encouraging results for these adsorbents, including high-capacity combined capture of elemental and oxidized mercury. A slipstream pilot trial is in progress at a commercial power plant in southwest Ohio to test these novel mercury adsorbents using coal combustion flue gas. The test unit includes three fixed-bed and three swirling fluidized-bed adsorbers. Mercury results from this pilot trial will advance commercialization of these adsorbents.