Promotion of conversion activity of flue gas desulfurization gypsum into α-hemihydrate gypsum by calcination-hydration treatment

The massive accumulation of flue gas desulfurization(FGD)gypsum produced in the wet limestone-gypsum flue gas desulfurization process not only encroaches on lands but also causes serious environmental pollution.The preparation ofα-hemihydrate gypsum(α-HH)is an important way to achieve high-value utilization of FGD gypsum.Although the glycerol-water solution approach can be used to produceα-HH from FGD gypsum under mild conditions,the transition is kinetically unfavorable in the mixed solution.Here,an easy pretreatment was used to activate FGD gypsum by calcination and hydration to readily complete the transition.The pretreatment deteriorated the crystallinity of FGD gypsum and caused it to form small irregular flaky crystals,which dramatically increased the specific surface area.Additionally,most of the organics adsorbed onto FGD gypsum surfaces were removed after pretreatment.The poor crystallinity,increased specific surface area,and elimination of organics adsorbed onto crystal surfaces effectively improved the conversion activity of FGD gypsum,thereby promoting dihydrate gypsum(DH)dissolution andα-HH nucleation.Overall,the phase transition of FGD gypsum toα-HH is facilitated.

Utilization of Thermally Treated Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) Gypsum and Class-C Fly Ash (CFA) to Prepare CFA-Based Geopolymer

The feasibility of utilization of flue gas desulfurization （FGD） gypsum and Class-C fly ash （CFA） to prepare CFA-based geopolymer were studied. The results showed that geopolymer made from 90% CFA and 10% FGD gypsum （FGDG） which was thermally treated at 800 ℃ for 1 h obtained the better compressive strength of 37.0 MPa. The micro characteristics and structures of the geopolymer samples of CFA and CFA-FGDG were tested by XRD, FT-IR, and SEM-EDXA after these samples cured at 75 ℃ for 8 h followed by 23 ℃ for 28 d. Both the geopolymer samples of CFA and CFA-FGDG have significant asymmetric stretching of A1-O/Si-O bonds and Si-O-Si / Si-O-A1 bending band. In geopolymer sample of CFA-FGDG, a small quantity of lathy products probably being the ettringite wrapped over the spherical fly ash particle, and the concentration of sulfur is much more than that in geopolymer sample of CFA. It is indicated that FGD gypsum may react during alkali-activated and geopolymeric process.

Experimental study on SO_2 recovery using a sodium-zinc sorbent based flue gas desulfurization technology

A sodium–zinc sorbent based flue gas desulfurization technology(Na–Zn-FGD) was proposed based on the experiments and analyses of the thermal decomposition characteristics of Ca SO3 and Zn SO3·2.5H2 O, the waste products of calcium-based semi-dry and zinc-based flue gas desulfurization(Ca–SD-FGD and Zn–SD-FGD) technologies, respectively. It was found that Zn SO3·2.5H2 O first lost crystal H2 O at 100 °C and then decomposed into SO2 and solid Zn O at 260 °C in the air, while Ca SO3 is oxidized at 450 °C before it decomposed in the air. The experimental results confirm that Zn–SD-FGD technology is good for SO2 removal and recycling, but with problem in clogging and high operational cost. The proposed Na–Zn-FGD is clogging proof, and more cost-effective. In the new process, Na2CO3 is used to generate Na2SO3 for SO2absorption, and the intermediate product Na HSO3 reacts with Zn O powders, producing Zn SO3·2.5H2 O precipitate and Na2SO3 solution. The Na2SO3 solution is clogging proof, which is re-used for SO2 absorption. By thermal decomposition of Zn SO3·2.5H2 O, Zn O is re-generated and SO2 with high purity is co-produced as well. The cycle consumes some amount of raw material Na2CO3 and a small amount of Zn O only. The newly proposed FGD technology could be a substitute of the traditional semi-dry FGD technologies.

Electrochemical CO_(2) mineralization for red mud treatment driven by hydrogen-cycled membrane electrolysis

CO_(2)mineralization as a promising CO_(2)mitigation strategy can employ industrial alkaline solid wastes to achieve net emission reduction of atmospheric CO_(2).The red mud is a strong alkalinity waste residue produced from the aluminum industry by the Bayer process which has the potential for the industrial CO_(2)large scale treatment.However,limited by complex components of red mud and harsh operating conditions,it is challenging to directly mineralize CO_(2)using red mud to recover carbon and sodium resources and to produce mineralized products simultaneously with high economic value efficiently.Herein,we propose a novel electrochemical CO_(2)mineralization strategy for red mud treatment driven by hydrogen-cycled membrane electrolysis,realizing mineralization of CO_(2)efficiently and recovery of carbon and sodium resources with economic value.The system utilizes H_(2)as the redox-active proton carrier to drive the cathode and anode to generate OH^(-) and H^(+) at low voltage,respectively.The H^(+) plays as a neutralizer for the alkalinity of red mud and the OH^(-) is used to mineralize CO_(2)into generate highpurity NaHCO_(3)product.We verify that the system can effectively recover carbon and sodium resources in red mud treatment process,which shows that the average electrolysis efficiency is 95.3%with highpurity(99.4%)NaHCO_(3)product obtained.The low electrolysis voltage of 0.453 V is achieved at10 mA·cm^(-2) in this system indicates a potential low energy consumption industrial process.Further,we successfully demonstrate that this process has the ability of direct efficient mineralization of flue gas CO_(2)(15%volume)without extra capturing,being a novel potential strategy for carbon neutralization.

Review on the NO removal from flue gas by oxidation methods

Due to the increasingly strict emission standards of NOx on various industries,many traditional flue gas treatment methods have been gradually improved.Except for selective catalytic reduction(SCR)and selective non-catalytic reduction(SNCR)methods to remove NOx from flue gas,theoxidation method is paying more attention to NOx removal now because of the potential to simultaneously remove multiple pollutants from flue gas.This paper summarizes the efficiency,reaction conditions,effect factors,and reaction mechanism of NO oxidation from the aspects of liquid-phase oxidation,gas-phase oxidation,plasma technology,and catalytic oxidation.The effects of free radicals and active components of catalysts on NO oxidation and the combination of various oxidation methods are discussed in detail.The advantages and disadvantages of different oxidation methods are summarized,and the suggestions for future research on NO oxidation are put forward at the end.The review on the NO removal by oxidation methods can provide new ideas for future studies on the NO removal from flue gas.

Phytotoxicity and groundwater impacts of leaching from thermal treatment residues in roadways

The use of coal fly ash（CFA）, municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash（MSWIBA） and flue gas desulfurization residue（FGDR） in road construction has become very common owing to its economical advantages. However, these residues may contain toxic constituents that pose an environmental risk if they leach out and flow through the soil, surface water and groundwater.Therefore, it is necessary to assess the ecotoxicity and groundwater impact of these residues before decisions can be made regarding their utilization for road construction. In this study,the physico-chemical characteristics, leaching and phytotoxicity of these residues were investigated. Specifically, multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the contributions of the leaching constituents of the CFA, MSWIBA and FGDR leachates to the germination index of wheat seeds. B, Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe and Pb were found to be more toxic to the wheat seeds than the other heavy metals. Furthermore, the leached concentrations of the constituents from the CFA, MSWIBA and FGDR were below the regulatory threshold limits of the Chinese identification standard for hazardous wastes. Analyses conducted using a numerical groundwater model（Wisc LEACH） indicated that the predicted field concentrations of metals from the CFA, MSWIBA and FGDR increased with time up to about 30 years at the point of compliance, then decreased with time and distance. Overall, this study demonstrated that the risks resulting from MSWIBA, CFA and FGDR leaching could be assessed before its utilization for road construction, providing crucial information for the adoption of these alternative materials.