Spouted Bed Reactor Designs for Thermal Desorption of Mercury Compounds

Thermal desorption using spouted bed reactor has demonstrated a reduction of 65% of Mercury and 28% of Sulfur content in bituminous coal in laboratory scale setting. Further development is needed to: (1) demonstrate efficient contaminant removal from coal in scaled up system, (2) address relevant needs from industrial partners, and (3) mature the developed coal cleaning technology to commercialization.Statement of how this problem is being addressed: Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) unique spouted bed reactor is the key innovation that increased performance of thermal desorption of mercury and other contaminants from coal. ACT have reached out to several coal producers and coal-fired power plants and attracted their interests in the developed coal cleaning technology. They will support ACT in the development of plant scale system and implementation to coal-fire energy generating units.What was done in Phase I? In Phase I, ACT designed and fabricated a unique spouted bed reactor to improve particle mixing and heat transfer within the coal bed. The thermal desorption process using ACT’s spouted bed design demonstrated a reduction of 65% of Mercury and 28% of Sulfur content in bituminous coal, which doubled the removal efficiency compared to standard conical spouted bed.What is planned for the Phase II project? ACT, in collaboration with Lehigh University and industrial partners, will improve its spouted bed reactor design to achieve more than 90% reduction in Mercury content from different types of coal (sub-bituminous, anthracite, lignite, etc.). Subsequently, ACT will fabricate a pilot scale reactor designed to remove contaminant from coal via automated/continuous process. In addition, ACT will also investigate the recovery of Rare Earth Elements and high value metals from coal using our spouted bed reactor. Lastly, ACT will design a plant scale system and perform detailed techno- economic analysis to demonstrate cost and profitability of the developed coal cleaning technology for coal producers and coal-fired power plants.Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: This pre-combustion coal cleaning method provides opportunities for coal-fired power plants to utilize higher Mercury content coal and reduce the cost of current post-combustion Mercury capture systems. ACT’s unique reactor design also improves performance of other applications that utilize spouted bed, including: pharmaceutical, food processing, material drying, particle coating, etc.