Process for regenerating a spent sorbent
AssigneeEnergy & Environmental Research Center Foundation
InventorEDWIN OLSON
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus is provided for regenerating a sorbent that has been poisoned by components derived from flue gas. The sorbent is treated with an agent to remove the poisoning components and introduce a promoting agent into the sorbent. The method and apparatus can also be used to enhance the effectiveness of a new sorbent.
Claims69
A method of regenerating a used sorbent comprising:
- creating a sorbent mixture containing used sorbent and unused sorbent;
- exposing the sorbent mixture to a solution to remove contaminants collected on the used sorbent to restore mercury sorption effectiveness to the sorbent;
- dewatering the sorbent mixture to remove sorbent particles from the solution;
- and
- drying the dewatered sorbent mixture.
A method of regenerating a used sorbent comprising:
- exposing the used sorbent to a solution to remove contaminants collected on the used sorbent to restore mercury sorption effectiveness to the sorbent;
- dewatering the sorbent to remove sorbent particles from the solution;
- and
- drying the dewatered sorbent mixture.
A method of regenerating a used sorbent comprising:
- creating a sorbent mixture containing used sorbent and unused sorbent;
- regenerating the used sorbent by exposing the sorbent mixture to a solution to remove contaminants collected on the used sorbent to restore mercury sorption effectiveness to the sorbent;
- and
- exposing the regenerated sorbent to a flue gas stream.
A method of enhancing the effectiveness of a sorbent comprising:
- exposing the sorbent to a solution that increases sorbent effectiveness;
- dewatering the sorbent to remove sorbent particles from the solution;
- and
- drying the dewatered sorbent.
A method of enhancing the effectiveness of a sorbent comprising:
- enhancing the sorbent by exposing the sorbent to a solution that increases sorbent effectiveness;
- and
- exposing the enhanced sorbent to a flue gas stream.
A method of removing mercury or other pollutants in a flue gas stream during the burning of fossil fuels, comprising:
- exposing the sorbent to the flue gas stream to remove contaminants from the flue gas stream;
- mixing the used sorbent with fresh sorbent and exposing the mixture to a solution to remove contaminants collected on the used sorbent to restore mercury sorption effectiveness to the sorbent;
- dewatering the mixture to remove sorbent particles from the solution;
- drying the sorbent particles;
- and
- exposing the dried sorbent particles to the flue gas stream to remove additional contaminants from the flue gas stream.
An apparatus for regenerating a sorbent comprising:
- a contact reactor for receiving and containing a mixture of used sorbent and unused sorbent, wherein the mixture in the contact reactor is exposed to an aqueous acidic solution to restore mercury sorption effectiveness to the sorbent;
- a dewatering device for removing sorbent particles from the aqueous acidic solution;
- and
- a dryer for drying the sorbent particles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.