Novel regenerable sorbent for mercury capture from flue gases of coal-fired power plant

A natural chabazite-based silver nanocomposite (AgMC) was synthesized to capture mercury from flue gases of coal-fired power plants. Silver nanoparticles were engineered on zeolite through ion-exchange of sodium ions with silver ions, followed by thermal annealing. Mercury sorption test using AgMC was performed at various temperatures by exposing it to either pulse injection of mercury or continuous mercury flow. A complete capture of mercury by AgMC was achieved up to a capture temperature of 250 degrees C. Nano silver particles were shown to be the main active component for mercury capture by amalgamation mechanism. Compared with activated carbon-based sorbents, the sorbent prepared in this study showed a much higher mercury capture capacity and upper temperature limit for mercury capture. More importantly, the mercury captured by the spent AgMC could be easily released for safe disposal and the sorbent regenerated by simple heating at 400 degrees C. Mercury capture tests performed in real flue gas environment showed a much higher level of mercury capture by AgMC than by other potential mercury sorbents tested. In our mercury capture tests, the AgMC exposed to real flue gases showed an increased mercury capture efficiency than the fresh AgMC.