Enhanced capture of elemental mercury by bamboo-based sorbents

To develop cost-effective sorbent for gas-phase elemental mercury removal, the bamboo charcoal (BC) produced from renewable bamboo and KI modified BC (BC-I) were used for elemental mercury removal. The effect of NO, SO2 on gas-phase Hg-0 adsorption by KI modified BC was evaluated on a fixed bed reactor using an online mercury analyzer. BET surface area analysis, temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to determine the pore structure and surface chemistry of the sorbents. The results show that KI impregnation reduced the sorbents' BET surface area and total pore volume compared with that of the original BC. But the BC-I has excellent adsorption capacity for elemental mercury at a relatively higher temperature of 140 degrees C and 180 degrees C. The presence of NO or SO2 could inhibit Hg-0 capture, but BC-I has strong anti-poisoning ability. The specific reaction mechanism has been further analyzed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.