Sulfur Impregnation on Activated Carbon Fibers through Oxidation for Vapor Phase Mercury Removal
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 3
Abstract
Sulfur was impregnated onto activated carbon fibers (ACFs) through oxidation catalyzed by the sorbent surface in a fixed-bed reactor. By changing the temperature and duration of the sulfur impregnation process, ACFs with different sulfur contents were developed. Characterization of ACFs before and after sulfur impregnation was conducted by surface area analysis, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature programmed desorption. Vapor phase mercury adsorption experiments were carried out in a fixed-bed reactor. Sulfur was impregnated mainly as elemental sulfur and the amount of sulfur deposited on the ACF increased with an increase in impregnation temperature. Higher temperature leads to more uniform sulfur distribution inside the sorbent pores. The impregnation process can be explained by a combination of pore filling and monolayer adsorption, with the former mechanism predominating at low temperatures. In the absence of sulfur, the mercury adsorption capacity can be correlated with surface area and pore volume.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSFBES-0202015). The writers would like to thank Dr. Waldeck’s group at the Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh for providing assistance with XPS analysis. The writers are also grateful to Dr. Joseph Hayes at American Kynol, Inc. for providing ACF samples and for useful discussions.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 3 • March 2006
Pages: 292 - 300
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Jun 17, 2004
Accepted: Jul 19, 2005
Published online: Mar 1, 2006
Published in print: Mar 2006
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