Removal of elemental mercury by Ce-Mn co-modified activated carbon catalyst

A series of CeO2 modified and Ce-Mn co-modified activated carbons (AC) were prepared for the gas-phase elemental mercury (Hg0) removal experiment under N2 atmosphere. The loading of CeO2 ranged from1 wt.% to 7 wt.%, and the mass ratio of manganese to cerium was 0.7. The BET results indicated that the big surface area and pore volume benefited the physical adsorption of Hg0. The XPS results indicated the existence of the Ce3 +/Ce4 + redox couple and multiple valence state Mn ions, and Ce4 + and Mn4 + species released lattice oxygen to promote the Hg0 oxidation. The experimental results showed the 3 wt.% CeO2-Mn(0.7)/AC was the optimal sample at 120 °C.