Mercury Removal in a Coal-Fired Power Plant Using SO3-Tolerant Sorbents

Recent EPA regulations limit mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, leading to the widespread use of activated carbon sorbents to remove mercury emissions.  However, the selectivity of these sorbents for mercury in the presence of acid gas/mist is poor, which limits their effectiveness in flue gas generated from combustion of medium- to high-sulfur coals, which have more acid gas/mist.  This critical issue has led to proposal of several SO3-tolerant strategies for mercury sorbents.  This talk will look at the proposed mechanisms for SO3 tolerant sorbents using recent* pilot scale (20,000 ft3/min) tests of multiple technologies, followed by full-scale power plant testing of the most promising approaches. 

*Pilot-scale testing is completed.  Full-scale testing is planned for Summer 2015 and therefore analysis will be available by Fall Meeting.