NOx, mercury (Hgo/Hg2+), and dioxins/furans (PCDD/F) are emitted from a wide range of sources, but emissions from coal-fired power plants are especially significant. NOx contributes to acidification of precipitation and secondary aerosol formation resulting in ozone, which causes health effects, and visibility degradation. Mercury is a bioaccumulating pollutant that leads to enriched concentrations and heightened toxicity in lake sediments, animals, and humans, while PCDD/Fs are known to be excessively toxic and carcinogenic. Air quality regulations are becoming stricter for these pollutants to protect human health and welfare. Technologies need to be developed to enhance our ability to consume less toxic materials, prevent the emission of these pollutants to the environment, and provide for a more sustainable existence. This research will develop new, low-cost carbon-based materials to oxidize NO and Hgo so they can be more readily captured from post-combustion flue gas streams with existing flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems. Tailoring of the physical and chemical properties of these novel carbon-based materials will be used to increase the localized concentrations of NO and Hgo in the carbon?s microporous structure by adsorption, expose the contaminants to select reactants (i.e., surface functional groups and/or catalysts) to induce oxidation, and then release the products for capture with existing technologies that are not effective without such prior processing. These carbon-based materials will also be evaluated to decompose PCDD/F in simulated flue gas streams. Such approach allows for careful development and evaluation of porous carbon-based materials that can selectively contain or act as catalysts to provide multipollutant control of NOx, mercury, and PCDD/F.
The intellectual merit of achieving multi-pollutant control is carefully planned in this proposal. The international research team at University of Illinois, URS, Inc., and National Central University, Taiwan are uniquely qualified to study the ability of custom and commercially available carbons to achieve multi-pollutant transformations and removal of toxic air pollutants from flue gas streams. These results will be interpreted and disseminated through national/international collaborations and conferences, educational programs at University of Illinois, peer-reviewed literature, and educational programs at the K-12 level.
The broader impacts of this research have been carefully developed to effectively integrate the results from this research with education at K-12 schools and the undergraduate/graduate levels of college education. The key component for K-12 activity is to make young students aware and more interested in engineering solutions to solve environmental issues. The results from all components of this project will be disseminated not only through conventional research conferences and manuscripts, but also through exciting classroom demonstration modules, web-based modules, and in collaboration with The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition, supported by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Underrepresented research assistants at the undergraduate level will be recruited to participate with this project through NSF?s supplemental REU Program, and collaboration is planned with college students abroad. Overall, the research, educational, and outreach components of this project will allow for the development, based on fundamental physical and chemical principles, of unique carbon materials that allow for concomitant reduction in emissions of several high and low concentration gas phase pollutants with continuous dissemination of results to all levels of education.
