Application Study on the Activated Coke for Mercury Adsorption in the Nonferrous Smelting Industry

Yang Zheng, Guoliang Li (), Jiayan Jiang, Lin Zhang and Tao Yue ()
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Yang Zheng: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Guoliang Li: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Jiayan Jiang: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Lin Zhang: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Tao Yue: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: The massive release of mercury undermines environmental sustainability, and with the official entry into force of the Minamata Convention, it is urgent to strengthen the control of mercury pollution. The effectiveness of activated coke (AC) in removing elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) from high temperatures and sulfur nonferrous smelting flue gas before acid production was studied. Experimental results indicated that the optimal temperature for Hg 0 adsorption by AC was 150 °C. And the adsorption of Hg 0 by AC was predominantly attributed to physical adsorption. Flue gas components (SO 2 and O 2 ) impact studies indicated that O 2 did not significantly affect Hg 0 adsorption compared to pure N 2 . Conversely, SO 2 suppressed the adsorption capacity, while the simultaneous presence of SO 2 and O 2 exhibited a synergistic effect in facilitating the removal of Hg 0 . The characterization results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated that the SO 2 molecule favored to anchor at the O α site, leading to the formation of SO 3 . This subsequently oxidized the mercury to HgSO 4 instead of HgO. The study demonstrates that cheap and easily accessible AC applications in the adsorption of mercury technology may help improve the sustainability of the circular economy and positively impact various environmental aspects.

Keywords: activated coke; mercury capture; nonferrous smelting; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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