Abstract
Seawater flue gas desulfurization (SFGD) has shown great effectiveness in the controlling of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission and the removing of mercury (Hg) from flue gases of coal-fired power plants. Some problems pertaining to SFGD for Hg control, however, remain to be solved: (1) environmental impact from the discharge of Hg-containing seawater to the ocean, and (2) re-emission of gaseous Hg from the aeration tank to the atmosphere. This study synthesizes the copper/sulfur co-impregnated activated carbon (Cu–S-AC) to simultaneously capture aqueous Hg(II) and inhibit gaseous Hg0 re-emission from actual SFGD wastewater. Cu–S-AC exhibited greater Hg(II) adsorption than both raw activated carbon (AC) and sulfur-impregnated activated carbon (S-AC) at an initial Hg(II) concentration of higher than 8000 ng/L. The Hg(II) adsorption of Cu–S-AC was slightly greater at pH 7 and 8 than that under acidic conditions. The Hg(II) adsorption was well-fitted with both linear and Freundlich isotherms. The results of thermodynamic analyses veiled the endothermic and spontaneous adsorption of Hg(II) on Cu–S-AC. In addition, the pseudo-second-order equation provided the best correlation coefficient for the Hg(II) adsorption on Cu–S-AC. Notably, the increases of pH and temperature increased the Hg0 re-emission. Nevertheless, Cu–S-AC addition significantly inhibited the Hg0 re-emission (92%) from SFGD wastewater.
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