SBIR-STTR Award

This Phase I SBIR project focuses on a technology that potentially reduces volatile metal mercury (Hg) emissions by approximately 95 percent from coal-fired utilities. Frontier GeoSciences, Inc., has discovered a method of removing Hg by chemically modifying scrubber water with a proprietary polymer (Frontier GeoSciences’ toxic metal chelating agent; FGS-MCX). Scrubber water naturally removes Hg species that are water soluble (e.g., MMHg and HgCl2), but this project focuses on Hg0. The complexed Hg easily separates from the scrubber water allowing the recycling of the scrubber water without additional treatment for toxic metals. The use of FGS-MCX as a wet scrubber amendment requires no additional equipment, thereby reducing capital and implementation costs. The resulting solid passes all required Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) requirements. Hg is recognized as a hazardous air pollutant and persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemical, and its pollution through air emissions is regulated by the 2005 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Mercury Rule. The Clean Air Mercury Rule regulates Hg emissions from new and existing coal-fired power plants by establishing a maximum national emissions level and imposing a cap-and-trade system. In an ideal situation, Hg would not be used in raw materials; unfortunately, this is not feasible currently, and the easiest locations for Hg capture are flue gas dischargers. Previous research on FGS-MCX has shown that it successfully removes approximately 95 percent Hg0 from a contaminated N2 gas stream and greater than 86 percent removal of Hg from a simulated flue gas stream when tested in an impinger/bubbler system. The optimal dosing amount of FGS-MCX, the effects of scrubber water volume and pH, and the ability to recycle materials already have been studied. This technology will be a real-scale working Venturi wet scrubber system in the presence of common matrix components of typical scrubber water, such as is found in a flue gas desulfurization unit. Other goals include establishing the length of time the scrubber water and FGS-MCX can be recycled before exhaustion, and maximizing the separation efficiency of the FGS-MCX floc from scrubber water. Finally, Hg0 removal from natural gas, by the FGS-MCX amendment, will be demonstrated as a potential application for the petroleum industry. As there is no capital equipment expenditure required, it is envisioned that the technology will, at a minimum, pay for itself through the production of salable mercury credits. Supplemental

Keywords:
small business, SBIR, mercury, Hg, scrubber water, flue gas, Clean Air Mercury Rule, CAMR, environmental hazards, clean water, clean air, pollution, air pollution, mercury emissions, health, mercury removal, EPA, , Air, Scientific Discipline, Air Quality, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, HAPS, air pollution, air pollution control, emission control technologies, emissions, emissions contol engineering, flue gas monitor, hazardous air pollutants, mercury abatement technology, mercury emissions

Coal-fired utilities emit 48 tons of elemental mercury into the atmosphere each year. Rising costs and escalating energy demands are expected to increase our reliance on energy produced by these facilities. However, with the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR), mercury emissions from these utilities must ultimately be decreased to 15 tons for Phase II by 2018. To meet this mission cap, new technologies must be realized that reduce the output mercury with minimal implementation and operational costs. The first phase of CAMR, required in 2010, encourages mercury control technologies based on "co-benefit" reductions. Frontier’s SBIR technology is intended as a "co-benefit" technology and involves a method and product for reducing persistent elemental mercury present in the flue-gas at coal-fired utilities. The technology prescribes a water-soluble organic compound as a simple amendment, which is added as a liquid to the utility’s existing wet flue-gas desulphurization (FGD) unit. The amendment forms an insoluble precipitate, sequestering the elemental mercury, which is readily separated from the produced gypsum with little or no additional capital investment. Phase I results demonstrated that the proposed organic compounds are capable of removing elemental mercury from a synthetic flue-gas using a pilot-scale, Venturi scrubber. Under optimized conditions, 95 percent of elemental mercury present in the gas phase can be removed and greater than 99 percent of this mercury can be simultaneously complexed in the scrubber water. The product also will remove greater than 99 percent of dissolved or inorganic mercury. The technology has been shown to work effectively over the pH range of a typical wet FGD scrubber (pH 5-8). The primary goal of Phase II research is to translate the technology from the Phase I pilot system to a beta-scale test at a working coal-fired utility. To accomplish this, investigations into the mechanism of operation, fate of mercury in the by-product, and compatibility of the proposed technology within installation requirements will be made. The Southern Company has offered its Mercury Research Center at Plant Crist in Pensacola as a beta site, and Black and Veatch are interested in sponsoring the Commercialization Option of the proposal should the initial Phase II results show promise. CCI, a domestic chemical manufacturer, has prepared to produce the organic compound on a commercial scale at a market competitive price. Supplemental

Keywords:
small business, SBIR, EPA, industrial flue gas, mercury emissions, mercury removal, air pollution control