TITLE:
Acidulation and Regeneration of Bamboo Derived Sorbents for Gas Phase Adsorption of Elemental Mercury
AUTHORS:
Naved Siddiqui, Jarlen Don
KEYWORDS:
Bamboo, Activated Carbon, Mercury, Hydrochloric Acid, Acidulation, Regeneration
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.10 No.2,
February
20,
2011
ABSTRACT: This paper presents results that illustrate the recycling of a bamboo derived sorbent used for the
capture of elemental mercury (Hg0). The bamboo derived sorbent used is essentially a HCl functionalized activated carbon prepared from carbonization and CO2 activation of raw bamboo, that could potentially provide an alternative way to existing methods in removing
mercury from flue gases from coal-fired plants. In this study, the bamboo derived sorbents were
tested in a batch test using a mercury permeation tube as the source and nitrogen as a carrier
gas. The recycling or regeneration of an activated carbon is an important issue to address from
a coal-fired power plant point of view, and an attempt has been made to test the behavior of
bamboo derived sorbents with various treatments including carbonized, carbonized-activated,
carbonized-activated-acidulated, and then a follow-up recycled run after sample treatments in
gas phase. From the study, it was found that bamboo derived activated carbon can be
successfully acidulated using various normalities of HCl where weak solutions can be very
effective in functionalizing the surface of the sorbent and capturing mercury. In order to recycle
and reuse bamboo derived sorbents, stronger normalities of HCl would be desired.