Bioregeneration of spent mercury bearing sulfur-impregnated activated carbon adsorbent

Among various adsorbents studied, sulfur-impregnated activated carbon is one of the most promising adsorbents for mercury removal from flue gas. However, a large amount of spent activated carbons containing high content of mercury are generated after adsorption. To make the adsorption a more viable...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science and pollution research international 2018-02, Vol.25 (6), p.5095-5104
Main Authors: Chen, Shen-Yi, Hsi, Hsing-Cheng, Shih, Min-Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activated carbon
Adsorbents
Adsorption
Aquatic Pollution
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Carbon
Control and Resource Recovery
Dosage
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecotoxicology
Environment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Health
Environmental science
Flue gas
Inoculum
Mercury
Mercury (metal)
Mercury surface
Oxidation
Oxidation rate
Process parameters
Regeneration
Response surface methodology
Sulfur
Sulfur oxidation
surface area
Surface chemistry
Techniques and Technologies for Pollution Prevention
Waste Water Technology
Water Management
Water Pollution Control
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Summary:Among various adsorbents studied, sulfur-impregnated activated carbon is one of the most promising adsorbents for mercury removal from flue gas. However, a large amount of spent activated carbons containing high content of mercury are generated after adsorption. To make the adsorption a more viable option, the regeneration and reuse of the spent activated carbon should be considered. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel technique for bioregeneration of sulfur-impregnated activated carbons after adsorption of mercury from flue gases by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. The optimal operating parameters for this bioregeneration process were studied using central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM). Results showed that the sulfur oxidation rate was increased with increasing activated carbon dosage. Furthermore, the increase of inoculum size only caused a slight increase of sulfur oxidation rate in the bioregeneration. The maximum mercury removal efficiency of more than 50% was obtained at 10% ( w / v ) activated carbon dosage and 20% ( v / v ) inoculum size. After the bioregeneration process, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area and micropore volume of spent activated carbon increased due to the bio-oxidation of mercury bearing sulfur on the surface of activated carbons.
ISSN:0944-1344
1614-7499
DOI:10.1007/s11356-017-9321-x