Biphasic Hydroformylation of Higher Olefins

65657 Coal-fired power plants represent the single largest source of mercury emissions to the atmosphere, and the EPA has announced its intent to regulate the emission of mercury from these plants in 2007. Estimates by EPA and others predict that the annual cost of controlling 90% of current mercury emissions will be $2-5 billion. This estimate is based on the injection of activated carbon, which acts as a sorbent to the collect the gas-phase mercury. This project will develop a new family of sorbents consisting of chemically amended silicates, materials that have shown a remarkable capacity for mercury, leading to a 35% cost reduction over the use of activated carbon in the removal of mercury from coal-fired flue gas. In particular, the mercury capacity of the new sorbent will be maximized, and the cost per pound of mercury removed from the flue gas will be minimized. In Phase I, ten different sorbent formulations were prepared and tested in a simulated flue gas stream. Two amendment chemistries and one silicate substrate showed significant capacity advantages over the others. The new sorbent was also mixed with fly ash and tested as a concrete additive. In contrast to activated carbon, which requires fly ash to be landfilled rather than sold as a byproduct, the fly ash/sorbent blend was shown to have a beneficial effect when added to concrete. In Phase II, the process to prepare sorbent in uniform batches will be improved, so that performance can be predicted by process parameters. The new sorbent will be tested in flue gas from a laboratory coal combustor and in a slipstream from an operating power plant, over a range of gas compositions and temperatures. Lastly, cost models will be prepared for the full-scale use of the sorbent in a power plant. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: In addition to the anticipated market of $2-5 billion for power plant mercury control, the sorbent should find use as a ¿drop-in¿ replacement for activated carbon wherever it is used as a mercury sorbent. Its use would allow utilities to continue to sell fly ash for use as a pozzolan, saving billions of dollars.