Natural ferruginous manganese ore for efficient immobilization of elemental mercury from coal combustion flue gas

Mercury emission from industrial activities poses a serious threat to the ecosystem. The development of cost-effective sorbents for mercury removal is a feasible method to alleviate this problem. In this study, natural ferruginous manganese ore (NFM) was adopted as a cost-effective sorbent for elemental mercury (Hg-0) removal from flue gas. Samples characterization indicated that the pore stricture of NFM was deteriorated after calcination procedure. The secondary recrystallization of manganese oxides and decomposition of MnO2 into Mn2O3 also happened during calcination process. Raw NFM exhibited high Hg-0 removal efficiency (E-T > 80%) over a broad temperature range (100 degrees C-200 degrees C), whereas calcination procedure had negative effects on Hg-0 removal performance. The effects of calcination temperature (450 degrees C-650 degrees C) and reaction temperature (100 degrees C-400 degrees C) on Hg-0 removal performance were also explored. Under the simulated flue gas condition, both equilibrium mercury adsorption capacity and adsorption rate were superior to those of a commercial activated carbon specifically used for mercury emission reduction. The Hg-0 removal mechanism was revealed by combining with Hg-0 adsorption/oxidization behavior and XPS analysis. It was demonstrated that chemisorption dominated Hg-0 removal process, where MnO2 could serve as active components for Hg-0 capture. The results were affirmed by the mercury temperature programmed desorption experiments.

Automated summary

This study investigated the use of NFM as a cost-effective sorbent for Hg-0 removal from flue gas, showing that untreated NFM had high efficiency over a broad temperature range, while calcination process might have negative effects on its performance. The research also revealed the Hg-0 removal mechanism and demonstrated the dominance of chemisorption in the process.