LNG & Natural Gas Processing
Activated Carbon for Mercury Emission Control in Power and Incinerator Flue Gas
Coal-fired power plants and waste incinerators face the most stringent mercury emission regulations in the combustion sector. Mercury in flue gas 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.
The Challenge & PureStar Approach
The central failure of generic mercury sorbents is speciation 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 PureStar Solution
PureStar breaks the one-size-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.
