Activated Carbon for Mercury Emission Control in Flue Gas and Process Streams

Mercury is arguably the most chemically elusive pollutant in combustion and process gas. It exists as elemental vapor, oxidized species, and particulate-bound forms, with the speciation split shifting continuously based on fuel chemistry, combustion temperature, and downstream air-pollution-control configuration.

Regulations demand deep removal regardless of form, yet the economics of mercury control are unforgiving: excessive sorbent consumption drives up fly ash contamination, disposal costs, and equipment corrosion. PureStar approaches mercury emission management as speciation-responsive precision engineering.

The Core Challenge & Industry Trend

The central failure of generic mercury sorbents is form mismatch.

A plant with SCR and wet FGD sees predominantly oxidized mercury; a smaller boiler without SCR faces mostly elemental vapor. Deploying the wrong carbon type forces massive injection rates with unstable removal, while increasing particulate carbon loading that degrades ash resale value and burdens electrostatic precipitators (ESP).

The trend toward continuous emissions monitoring and stricter MATS compliance makes speciation-aware sorbent selection a financial necessity, not a technical nicety.

The PureStar Advantage

PureStar breaks the one-carbon-fits-all paradigm by offering form-matched formulations:

• For Elemental Mercury: Our sulfur-impregnated pelletized carbon provides high-affinity chemisorption at flue-gas temperatures.

• For Oxidized Mercury: Halogen-enhanced surface chemistry improves capture stability in wet scrubber environments.

• Fly Ash Quality Preservation: Our pelletized forms generate far lower particulate entrainment than traditional powder injection, reducing ESP load and preserving fly ash quality for beneficial reuse.

Application Scenarios

• 【Power & Incinerator Flue Gas】

  Targets elemental and oxidized mercury to help utilities and combustors achieve MATS compliance.

• 【LNG & Natural Gas Processing】

  Eliminates trace mercury to protect cryogenic equipment and ensure pipeline gas quality.