A Molten-Salt Pyrolysis Synthesis Strategy toward Sulfur-Functionalized Carbon for Elemental Mercury Removal from Coal-Combustion Flue Gas

Jianping Yang, Hong Xu, Fanyue Meng, Qingjie Guo, Tao He, Zequn Yang, Wenqi Qu and Hailong Li
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Jianping Yang: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Hong Xu: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Fanyue Meng: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Qingjie Guo: State Key Laboratory of High-Efficiency Utilization of Coal and Green Chemical Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Tao He: Shandong Shiheng Thermal Power Co., Ltd., Taian 271600, China
Zequn Yang: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Wenqi Qu: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Hailong Li: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: The emission of mercury from coal combustion has caused consequential hazards to the ecosystem. The key challenge to abating the mercury emission is to explore highly efficient adsorbents. Herein, sulfur-functionalized carbon (S-C) was synthesized by using a molten-salt pyrolysis strategy and employed for the removal of elemental mercury from coal-combustion flue gas. An ideal pore structure, which was favorable for the internal diffusion of the Hg 0 molecule in carbon, was obtained by using a SiO 2 hard template and adjusting the HF etching time. The as-prepared S-C with an HF etching time of 10 h possessed a saturation Hg 0 adsorption capacity of 89.90 mg·g −1 , far exceeding that of the commercial sulfur-loaded activated carbons (S/C). The S-C can be applied at a wide temperature range of 25–125 °C, far exceeding that of commercial S/C. The influence of flue gas components, such as SO 2 , NO, and H 2 O, on the Hg 0 adsorption performance of S-C was insignificant, indicating a good applicability in real-world applications. The mechanism of the Hg 0 removal by S-C was proposed, i.e., the reduced components, including sulfur thiophene, sulfoxide, and C-S, displayed a high affinity toward Hg 0 , which could guarantee the stable immobilization of Hg 0 as HgS in the adsorbent. Thus, the molten-salt pyrolysis strategy has a broad prospect in the application of one-pot carbonization and functionalization sulfur-containing organic precursors as efficient adsorbents for Hg 0 .

Keywords: mercury; adsorption; carbon; molten salt; coal combustion (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: 2022
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