Migration and Control of Mercury in Hazardous Chemical Waste Incineration

Abstract

This study evaluated the emission and control characteristics of mercury during hazardous chemical waste incineration. Meanwhile, for the complex flue gas conditions generated by hazardous chemical waste incineration, the commercial activated carbon used in the incineration system was modified with CuBr2, and its Hg0 removal performance was tested. The results showed that the major proportion of Hg was in the fly ash, and the content accounted for 74.53% of the total Hg. The Hg content in the fly ash increased with decreasing fly ash particle size. In the exhaust flue gas, the Hg content was 11.05% of the total Hg, in which the mass percentages of Hg2+ and Hg0 were 59.08% and 40.92%, respectively. The flue gas purification equipment of the incineration system had a removal efficiency of 92.40% for HgT. The saturated Hg0 removal capacity of the modified activated carbon was improved by 33.51 times. Under simulated incineration flue gas conditions, the modified activated carbon was able to achieve an Hg0 removal efficiency of 92.85%. The results can contribute to the understanding of Hg emissions from hazardous chemical incineration systems and provide guidance for efficient Hg removal from activated carbon.

Keywords: mercury, migration transformation, modified activated carbon, CuBr2, flue gas, hazardous chemical waste incineration