Methods for the manufacture of a sorbent composition having a catalyst component
View Patent ↗A sorbent composition that is useful for injection into a flue gas stream of a coal burning furnace to efficiently remove mercury from the flue gas stream. The sorbent composition may include a sorbent with an associated ancillary catalyst component that is a catalytic metal, a precursor to a catalytic metal, a catalytic metal compound or a precursor to a catalytic metal compound. Alternatively, a catalytic metal or metal compound, or their precursors, may be admixed with the coal feedstock prior to or during combustion in the furnace, or may be independently injected into a flue gas stream. A catalytic promoter may also be used to enhance the performance of the catalytic metal or metal compound.
1. A method for the manufacture of a sorbent composition comprising the step of:
dispersing an ancillary catalyst component with a powdered activated carbon sorbent, the powered activated carbon sorbent having a surface area of at least about 350 m 2 /g, a pore volume of at least about 0.20 cc/g, and a median particle size of not greater than about 30 μm,
wherein the ancillary catalyst component comprises a metal salt having a metal and an anion, where the metal is selected from the group consisting of Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, and the anion is selected from the group of a chloride, a sulfate, a carbonate, and a nitrate.
2. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the ancillary catalyst component and the powered activated carbon sorbent form an admixture.
3. The method recited in claim 2 , wherein the dispersing step comprises dry admixing the powered activated carbon sorbent and the ancillary catalyst component.
4. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the ancillary catalyst component is deposited upon the powered activated carbon sorbent.
5. The method recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
combining, before the dispersing step, a halogen with the ancillary catalyst component.
6. The method recited in claim 5 , wherein the dispersing step comprises contacting the powered activated carbon sorbent with a metal or metal-containing compound in a gas phase to deposit the ancillary catalyst component onto the solid sorbent.
7. The method recited in claim 5 , wherein the dispersing step comprises contacting the powered activated carbon sorbent with a metal-containing compound in a liquid phase to deposit the ancillary catalyst component onto the solid sorbent.
8. The method recited in claim 7 , wherein the ancillary catalyst component is at least partially solubilized in the liquid phase.
9. The method recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of dispersing a catalytic promoter with the powered activated carbon sorbent and the ancillary catalyst component.
10. The method recited in claim 9 , wherein the catalytic promoter comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of metals from Group I, Group II, and Group III elements.
11. The method recited in claim 10 , wherein the catalytic promoter comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of metals from Group I and Group II elements.
12. The method recited in claim 11 , wherein the catalytic promoter comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Ba and Al.
13. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the anion is selected from the group consisting of a chloride, a sulfate and a nitrate.
14. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the powered activated carbon sorbent comprises activated carbon derived from coal.
15. The method recited in claim 1 , comprising the step of:
activating, before the dispersing step, a carbonaceous feedstock to form the activated carbon sorbent.
16. A method for the manufacture of a sorbent composition comprising the step of:
dry admixing an ancillary catalyst component with a solid sorbent, the solid sorbent having a surface area of at least about 350 m 2 /g, a pore volume of at least about 0.20 cc/g, and a median particle size of not greater than about 30 μm,
wherein the ancillary catalyst component comprises a metal salt having a metal and an anion, where the metal is selected from the group consisting of Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, and the anion is selected from the group of a chloride, a sulfate, a carbonate, and a nitrate.
17. A method for the manufacture of a sorbent composition comprising the step of:
contacting a solid sorbent with a metal or metal-containing compound in a gas phase to deposit an ancillary catalyst component on the solid sorbent, the solid sorbent having a surface area of at least about 350 m 2 /g, a pore volume of at least about 0.20 cc/g, and a median particle size of not greater than about 30 μm,
wherein the ancillary catalyst component comprises a metal salt having a metal and an anion, where the metal is selected from the group consisting of Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, and the anion is selected from the group of a chloride, a sulfate, a carbonate, and a nitrate.