Clean Air: International Journal on Energy for a Clean Environment

ISSN for PRINT: 1561-4417

For Online Access

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2006, Volume7

Issue 2

99 pages

DOI: 10.1615/InterJEnerCleanEnv.v7.i2

Issue price - $128.00

A. Changsuphan
The Joint Graduated School of Energy and Environment, Bangkok, Thailand

S. Kerdsuwan
The Waste Incineration Research Center (WIRC), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand

V. N. Bashkin
The Joint Graduated School of Energy and Environment, Bangkok, Thailand

One of the most importance problems of infectious waste incinerators is the control of heavy metals, especially mercury. The packed-bed wet scrubber is recommended for improving removal efficiency. A quantity of 5 kg of simulated waste including plastics, cottons, rubber gloves, and 1000 ppb pure mercury was used for feed waste per batch. Mercury was fed to the incinerator every 6−10 min at optimum operating temperature and combustion air during the incineration. Mass balance, mercury feed rate, and mercury concentration from the emission stack were used to determine the mercury removal efficiency. Three oxidizing agents, potassium permanganate, hydrochloric acid, and chlorine solution, were selected as a mercury capture substance. As results, by adding 15, 50, and 75 ppm of potassium permanganate, the mercury removal efficiencies were 79, 90, and 99%, respectively. For hydrochloric acid, at pH 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0, the results showed that the removal efficiency was the same rate, at approximately 70%. Another oxidizing agent, chlorine, was added to the recirculation tank by various concentrations, 50, 75, and 100 ppm. The mercury removal efficiencies by the chlorine solution for those three concentrations were 75, 80, and 87%, respectively. By comparison, the plausible agent for mercury removal in a packed-bed wet scrubber is a potassium permanganate at concentration of 75 ppm. However, this agent is not significant for other air pollutants (CO, NO_x, and SO₂) in terms of removal efficiency or capability, as well as those of hydrochloric acid and chlorine solution.

DOI: 10.1615/InterJEnerCleanEnv.v7.i2.60 Download article, 175-186 pages

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