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DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEM TO STUDY MERCURY UPTAKE BY ACTIVATED CARBONS UNDER SIMULATED FLUE GAS CONDITIONS

Stuart, John (2002) DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEM TO STUDY MERCURY UPTAKE BY ACTIVATED CARBONS UNDER SIMULATED FLUE GAS CONDITIONS. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Mercury is an increasing environmental concern because of its high volatility in the vapor phase in flue gas streams and the ineffectiveness of existing control technologies to remove the vapor phase mercury. Previous research has documented that activated carbon can be an effective adsorbent for vapor phase mercury in a variety of conditions. Mercury speciation has a large impact on the adsorption by activated carbon because oxidized forms of mercury (Hg2+) can be removed much more easily than elemental mercury (Hg0). An experimental system was developed in this study to test the impact of a simulated flue gas on the adsorption of mercury under more realistic process conditions. Mass flow controllers (to control gas flow rates), a water bath (to add moisture), an oil bath (to keep a steady mercury concentration), two gas washing bottles (to remove acid gases and oxidized mercury), and a Nafion dryer (to remove moisture) were utilized in the experimental system. All the components of the experimental system were verified to produce stable flue gas composition and flow rate. Analytical procedures for mercury measurement were developed and tested. It was discovered that approximately 15% of the total mercury in flue gas consists of oxidized mercury and 85% of elemental mercury.Systematic calibration and tests of analytical equipment and all components of the experimental system are critical to the proper functioning of this experiment.Two commercial adsorbents were tested for mercury uptake in a simulated flue gas. Elemental mercury capacity of both BPL and FGD carbon increased dramatically as compared to tests with the same adsorbent under nitrogen conditions. The increased capacity is likely caused by the oxidation and acidification of the carbon surface along with the oxidizing conditions within the flue gas. The exact mechanism of the reaction between the flue gas components and the carbon surface are very complex and poorly understood and were not the subject of this study. The main conclusion of this study is that the adsorbent performance in a nitrogen atmosphere is not relevant for full-scale applications where flue gas components produce numerous reactions on the carbon surface and yield drastically different mercury uptake capacity.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Stuart, Johnjstu9@yahoo.com
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairVidic, Radisav Dvidic@engrng.pitt.edu
Committee MemberCasson, Leonard Wcasson@engrng.pitt.edu
Committee MemberNeufeld, Ronald Dneufeld@engrng.pitt.edu
Date: 20 December 2002
Date Type: Completion
Defense Date: 23 October 2002
Approval Date: 20 December 2002
Submission Date: 4 November 2002
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Swanson School of Engineering > Civil and Environmental Engineering
Degree: MS - Master of Science
Thesis Type: Master's Thesis
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Activated carbon; Adsorption; Coal-Fired Power Plants; Flue Gas; Mercury; Mercury Measurement; Mercury Speciation
Other ID: http://etd.library.pitt.edu:80/ETD/available/etd-11042002-163226/, etd-11042002-163226
Date Deposited: 10 Nov 2011 20:04
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2016 13:51
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9568

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