Recovery of Elemental Mercury from Coal-derived Flue Gas using a MoS₂-based Material

Coal-derived flue gas is one of the main anthropogenic sources of mercury emission. It is always desirable to remove mercury from flue gas to eliminate associated environmental problems, which would become more beneficial if mercury is removed and recovered as a useful material. In this research, the capture and recovery of Hg⁰ over the TMDC MoS₂-based material were carried out to study the possibility of recovery of Hg⁰ as a resource. The capture of Hg⁰ achieved above 90% in the 180 min test at 50°C at a GHSV of 4.5×10⁴ ml/(h·g). The recovery of Hg⁰ was conducted during the regeneration of the adsorbent. Three regeneration temperatures, i.e., 200, 250 to 300°C, were investigated. It was found that 200°C was the most appropriate operating temperature for the regeneration of the adsorbent, at which the maximum efficiency for the recovery of Hg⁰ was achieved. It can therefore be concluded that the TMDC MoS₂-based material could be applied for the capture of Hg⁰ from flue gas as well as the recovery of Hg⁰ as a saleable product.