Environmental Protection Agency recently signed a Clean Air Act rule that will reduce the allowable mercury emissions for electric power plants.  Here, we present results obtained from laboratory studies of mercury uptake from a simulated flue gas using (unactivated) biochars made from agriculture and biorefinery residues. The residues were pyrolyzed at four different temperatures (350, 500, 650, and 800�C). The results show that biochars made from almond shells and cotton seed hulls had very little affinity for mercury. The performance of lignin-based biochar showed clear dependence on pyrolysis temperature, with the biochars made at either 500 or 650�C performing the best. The same was true for biochars created from chicken manure (containing lignocellulosics), and biochars created at higher temperatures out-performed those made at lower temperatures. Overall, the best performance was seen with chicken-manure-based biochar created at 800�C. This material removed 80-98% of the mercury from the simulated flue gas.

Lignocellulosics and animal waste as a unique biochar product for mercury adsorption from flue gases

245th National Meeting (2013)

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