Removal of Elemental Mercury by Activated Carbon Saturated with KI

The purpose of this study is to develop high effective sorbent for capturing gaseous Hg⁰. TKI-modified activated carbon (KI-AC) was prepared to determine its ability to remove elemental mercury on a fixed-bed reactor. The activated carbon with the highest activity for Hg⁰ removal was screened. It was then impregnated by KI and showed high activity for mercury removal in simulated flue gas at 120 °C. The 1% KI-AC was the optimal adsorbent during Hg⁰ removal. In addition, the effects of KI loading value on Hg⁰ removal were evaluated. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method was employed to characterize the samples. As the results of the BET indicated, chemical characteristics of activated carbon were the main reasons responsible for the Hg⁰ removal.