Study of the adsorption mechanism on the surface of a ceramic nanomaterial for gaseous Hg(II) removal.

Stable Hg(II)-containing flue gas has been successfully simulated by the plasma oxidation of Hg(0), and an effective solution for Hg(0) mercury fumes was obtained by combining the plasma with a ceramic nanomaterial. Characterization tests showed that the ceramic nanomaterial was mainly composed of silicon dioxide (SiO2) with other minor constituents, including potassium mica (KAl3Si3O11), iron magnesium silicate (Fe0.24Mg0.76SiO3) and dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2). The nanomaterial had many tube bank structures inside with diameters of approximately 8-10 nm. The maximum sorption capacity of Hg(II) was 5156 μg/g, and the nanomaterial can be regenerated at least five times. During the adsorption, chemical adsorption first occurred between Hg(II) and sulfydryl moieties, but these were quickly exhausted, and Hg(II) was then removed by surface complexation and wrapped into Fe moieties. The pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the Langmuir equation had the best fitting results for the kinetics and isotherms of adsorption. This work suggests that the ceramic nanomaterial can be used as an effective and recyclable adsorbent in the removal of gaseous Hg(II).