Synthesis and evaluation of activated carbon spheres with copper modification for gaseous elemental mercury removal

Millimeter resin-based activated carbon spheres were introduced for the removal of elemental mercury, and some metallic oxides were doped to activated carbon spheres to enhance the Hg0 removal ability. The experimental results indicated that prepared activated carbon spheres (PAC) and PAC-Cu presented almost identical with a smooth surface without cracks and show well-developed pore structure with high surface area. The Hg0 removal performance of PAC was higher than that of commercial activated carbon spheres (SAC) due to the more active groups, and PAC-Cu showed the highest Hg0 removal ability among doped metallic oxides. Besides, the doped Cu can enhance the redox ability of PAC and be beneficial to activate the active component of PAC, which can promote observably the Hg0 removal performance. Meanwhile, PAC-Cu has an ability of sulfur resistance. Furthermore, the mercury combination property and XPS analysis results of the fresh and used PAC-Cu indicates that the possible removal mechanism of PAC-Cu is the synergism of Hg0 oxidation by active species of C=O or C–O and the doped Cu catalysis activation.