Gas-phase elemental mercury removal in a simulated combustion flue gas using TiO2 with fluorescent light

Abstract

A previously proposed technology incorporating TiO2 into common household fluorescent lighting was further tested for its Hg0 removal capability in a simulated flue-gas system. The flue gas is simulated by the addition of O2, SO2, HCl, NO, H2O, and Hg0, which are frequently found in combustion facilities such as waste incinerators and coal-fired power plants. In the O2 + N2 + Hg0 environment, a Hg0 removal efficiency (ηHg) greater than 95% was achieved. Despite the tendency for ηHg to decrease with increasing SO2 and HCl, no significant drop was observed at the tested level (SO2: 5–300 ppmv, HCl: 30–120 ppmv). In terms of NO and moisture, a significant negative effect on ηHg was observed for both factors. NO eliminated the OH radical on the TiO2 surface, whereas water vapor caused either the occupation of active sites available to Hg0 or the reduction of Hg0 by free electron. However, the negative effect of NO was minimized (ηHg > 90%) by increasing the residence time in the photochemical reactor. The moisture effect can be avoided by installing a water trap before the flue gas enters the Hg0 removal system. Implications: This paper reports a novel technology for a removal of gas-phase elemental mercury (Hg0) from a simulated flue gas using TiO2-coated glass beads under a low-cost, easily maintainable household fluorescent light instead of ultraviolet (UV) light. In this study, the effects of individual chemical species (O2, SO2, HCl, NO, and water vapor) on the performance of the proposed technology for Hg0 removal are investigated. The result suggests that the proposed technology can be highly effective, even in real combustion environments such as waste incinerators and coal-fired power plants.