Cu-BTC as a novel material for elemental mercury removal from sintering gas

Cu-BTC, as one of the metal organic frameworks (MOFs), was prepared and employed for the capture of elemental mercury (Hg-0) in sintering gas. The material was characterized using TGA, XPS, XRD, BET surface measurement and TEM. Results showed that Cu-BTC had good microscopic morphologies, large BET surface area and high thermal stability, which make it suitable for sintering gas. The Hg-0 removal performance was investigated under different conditions. Cu-BTC had limited Hg-0 removal ability without HCl, but exhibited an excellent Hg-0 removal efficiency when 15 ppm HCl was added. HCl and O-2 played an important role for the Hg-0 removal efficiency when they were at low concentration. According to the results of Hg-0 removal performance and physiochemical characterization, the mechanism of Hg-0 capture was speculated with and without HCl. Furthermore, the influence of SO2, NO and H2O were studied. SO2 has inhibition effect on the removal of Hg-0, while NO can promote the Hg-0 removal. As for H2O, it has nearly no effect on mercury removal. When HCl and O-2 were at high concentration, the influence of SO2, NO and H2O are not significant.