A Prototype Reactor Promoting the Hg(0) Capture in the Simulated Flue Gas from Small-Scale Boilers by Using Copper Oxide- and Copper Sulfide-Coated Teflon Pipes

In this study, we designed a prototype reactor, the multiple pipes reactor (MPR), for Hg(0) capture, which can be applied in small-scale boilers. It was tested on a laboratory scale by comparing it with a fixed-bed type, the vertical glass reactor (VGR). In total, 200 mg of CuO and CuS was applied as sorbent materials to reduce the concentration of Hg(0) from the simulated flue gas, in both VGR and MPR reactors. The mercury capture measurements were performed in the same laboratory system at 125 °C and a flow rate of 54 L/h. The contact time between the sorbents and simulated flue gas in the VGR was 0.035 s for both materials. In the case of the MPR, it was 0.44 s (CuO coating) and 0.63 s (CuS coating), depending on the coating area. The contact area inside the VGR was 5.31 cm2, contrasting with the values of 13.19 cm2 (CuO coating) and 18.84 cm2 (CuS coating) in the MPRs. The average Hg(0) capture effectiveness of CuO (granulate) and CuS (granulate) was 51% and 67% in VGR, respectively. The MPR with CuO- and CuS-coating Teflon (PTFE) pipes promoted an average Hg(0) capture effectiveness reaching 65 (by 268%) and 94% (by 158%), respectively

The Methods and Stands for Testing Fixed Sorbent and Sorbent Polymer Composite Materials for the Removal of Mercury from Flue Gases

The most common methods of reducing mercury emissions are the use of fixed bed granular sorbents and sorbent injection. However, both of these methods have disadvantages, such as increasing the flow resistance or the need to remove the sorbent from flue gas, respectively. These disadvantages can be eliminated by using sorbents permanently bound to construction materials (fixed sorbent materials—FSMs) or mixed with construction materials (sorbent polymer composites—SPCs). The approach is unique in the world literature as well as the development of three stands and procedures enabling the testing of FSMs or SPC materials based on Tarflen as a construction material. In order to further tests of FSMs and SPCs, the system for laboratory tests and two systems for industrial tests are developed. These stands and procedures enable determination of the influence of: FSM or SPC module shapes, flue gas properties (e.g., composition, temperature, flow rate), and mercury concentration on the effectiveness of mercury removal by SPCs and FSMs. In this paper, the influence of module shapes, gas velocity, and temperature is particularly considered. In the final industrial tests, the FSM removes 99.5% Hg after 42 days and the SPC removes from 99.5% to 82.3% after 34 days