Elemental mercury capture by graphene-analogous carbon nitride anchored with copper sulfide

The mercury emission pollution of coal-fired power plants has posed big threatens to the human heath and the environment. Here, a graphene-analogous carbon nitride (GCN) is used to capture Hg-0 from simulated flue gas in a fixed-bed reactor at low temperatures. The GCN displays good Hg-0 adsorption capability with Hg-0 removal efficiency of 32.4-69.4% within 25-200 degrees C. CuS incorporation can greatly reinforce the Hg-0 capture ability of the GCN. The optimal loading value of CuS is 10 wt%. Complete mercury capture is reached over 10CuS/GCN in the temperature range of 25-100 degrees C. Existence of NO marginally suppresses the Hg0 removal process, while presence of SO2 has hardly influence on Hg-0 capture. The copper and polysulfide active sites as well as the graphene-analogous nanosheet structure of the GCN contribute to the prominent Hg-0 capture performance of CuS-anchored GCN.