Environmental Pollution and Health Hazards

Mercury is regarded as the hazardous air pollutant and it exists in coal combustion fl ue gas in diff erent forms, such

as particle-bound mercury, oxidized mercury and elemental mercury (Hg0) that is diffi cult to collect by existing air

pollution control devices due to its highly volatile and nearly insoluble in water. Adsorption has excellent potential for Hg0

removal from fl ue gases. Th is study aims to evaluate Hg0 removal by two types of adsorbents in a lab-scale reactor. At infl uent

Hg0 concentration of 0.89~0.91 μg/m3, the Hg0 removal was 28.4% by molecular sieve at a Space Velocity (SV) of 12,000

hr-1, while 45.3% Hg0 removal under the condition of 9,000 hr-1. On the other hand, the Hg0 removal by activated carbon

increased from 97.9% to 99.3% as SV decreased from 12,000 to 9,000 hr-1. Th erefore, the SV played an important role on the

Hg0 adsorption. In summary, the Hg0 removal by activated carbon at a low SV can achieve over 99%.