Modified Fly Ash-Based Adsorbents (MFA) for Mercury and Carbon Dioxide Removal from Coal-Fired Flue Gases

Marta Marczak-Grzesik, Piotr Piersa, Mateusz Karczewski, Szymon Szufa, Hilal Ünyay, Aleksandra Kędzierska-Sar and Piotr Bochenek
Additional contact information
Marta Marczak-Grzesik: Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicz Avenue 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Piotr Piersa: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 213, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Mateusz Karczewski: Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicz Avenue 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Szymon Szufa: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 213, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Hilal Ünyay: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 213, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Aleksandra Kędzierska-Sar: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 213, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Piotr Bochenek: Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicz Avenue 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: One of the solid waste produced during the combustion of coal are fly ashes. Disposal challenges and environmental consequences are the results of significant process yield and atmospheric emission of fly ashes. The exact chemical composition of FA depends mainly on the type of utilised fuel and combustion conditions. It consists mainly of chemically stable metal oxides, such as Al 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , CaO, MgO, K 2 O, Na 2 O and TiO 2 , but its toxicity is related to the possible presence of some trace elements, such as As, Hg, Cd, Se and Cr. The chemical and physical properties of fly ash (e.g., particle size distribution, porosity, and surface area) make it suitable as an adsorbent to remove various impurities from process flows such as flue gas stream. Its suitability for capturing mercury from flue gas was experimentally confirmed due to its abundant supply, particle size, bulk density, porosity, chemical composition and low cost. Hence, the use of fly ash as adsorbents and precursors for the production of heavy metal adsorbents is of great practical importance, as it reduces the cost of mercury capture and alleviates the problems associated with the disposal of solid waste. Studies showed that the chemical components present in fly ash additives could stimulate catalytic oxidative capacity, which increases the adsorption of Hg 0 oxidation and adsorption of both Hg and CO 2 . The presented study analysed fly ashes from different zones of the electrostatic precipitator and verified their suitability for removing impurities from flue gases, i.e., mercury and carbon dioxide. The results outlined modified fly ash as having good Hg and CO 2 removal capabilities. The adsorption efficiency of Hg reached 92% for Hg and 66% for CO 2 , while untreated fly ash reached 67% for Hg and 59% for CO 2 .

Keywords: fly ash; coal combustion; mercury removal; carbon dioxide removal; flue gases purification; low-cost adsorbents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/21/7101/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/21/7101/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:21:p:7101-:d:669507

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().