Gas-Phase Bromination for Cost-Effective Mercury Control
Albemarle Mercury
Control Division
451 Florida Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
Telephone: 800-535-3030
http://www.albemarle.com
Environmental Problem
Mercury becomes airborne as a pollutant when coal
and other substances containing mercury are burned.
As an air pollutant, it falls from the atmosphere into
lakes and rivers where it enters the aquatic eco-
system and is ultimately consumed by fish. Studies
have shown that brain damage can result in children
and fetuses of mothers who eat mercury-tainted fish.
In late 2000, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) officially determined that the regulation
of mercury emissions from U.S. power plants is "both
appropriate and necessary."
In March 2005, EPA directed coal-fired power plants
to cap and reduce mercury emissions. For those
plants without flue gas desulfurization—by far the
largest segment of the market—the dominant control
method is activated carbon injection. The most eco-
nomical mercury control technology to retrofit onto
these plants is the injection of brominated powdered
activated carbon.
SBIR Technology Solution
With support from EPA's Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) Program and the U.S. Department
of Energy, Albemarle Mercury Control Division
SBIR Success Stories
(formerly Sorbent Technologies Corporation, and
hereafter referred to as Albemarle) developed gas-
phase bromination, a proprietary treatment, for
powdered activated carbons that can increase cost-
effectiveness for mercury control significantly when
compared to non-brominated powdered activated
carbon. Albemarle's gas-phase brominated pow-
dered activated carbon, B-PAC™, also has demon-
strated in several independent trials that it can
reduce the cost of mercury compliance at power
plants by 25% or more compared to competitive
products. The equipment capital cost to utilize this
technology is minimal when compared to other en-
vironmental equipment (e.g., scrubber, baghouses,
and selective catalytic reduction).
Commercialization Information
B-PAC™, a brominated sorbent, has consistently
demonstrated high mercury removal rates at low in-
jection levels across a wide variety of coals and plant
configurations. Albemarle has tested the injection of
B-PAC™ into power plant flue gases for mercury
removal at several power plants. These plants have
burned bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite
coals, as well as blends. Additionally, mercury
removal has been tested with cold-side electrostatic
precipitators (ESPs), hot-side ESPs, spray dryers, and
fabric filters. Mercury removal performance at these
sites has been observed to vary between 70% and
98%, at sorbent consumption costs of approximately
$2,000 to $20,000 per pound of mercury removed,
considerably less costly than previous technologies.
B-PAC™ injection continues to be tested on an in-
creasing number of full-scale, coal-fired power plant
flue gas streams with similarly positive results.
In addition, the company has developed and com-
mercialized C-PAC™, a Concrete-Friendly™ mer-
cury sorbent for power plants that sell their fly ash
for concrete applications. The company also has devel-
oped and commercialized H-PAC™, mercury sorbent
for utility and industrial plants with high temperature
flue gas environments, such as hot-side ESPs.
The EPA SBIR award led to additional grants from
the National Science Foundation (NSF), which led
to the development of the aforementioned specialty
mercury sorbents, C-PAC™ and H-PAC™.
Albemarle has scaled up its proprietary B-PAC™
brominated powdered activated carbon technology,
demonstrating it at three coal-fired boiler sites. Data
from a number of diverse power plant trials showed
that simple B-PAC™ injection ahead of an existing
particulate collector can be a comparatively inex-
pensive, yet effective mercury emission reduction
strategy. With B-PAC™, high-performance, low-cost
power plant mercury control and capture is now

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commercially available. With minimal cost,
Albemarle can use a mobile sorbent injec-
tion trailer to perform full-scale trials for
utilities ahead of any permanent installa-
tions, allowing companies to "try before
they buy"
Company History and Awards
Albemarle is located in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, and has developed mercury
capture from flue gas streams for many years.
The company currently is one of only four
companies that have demonstrated full-scale
utility sorbent injection mercury control. The
predecessor to Albemarle, Sorbent Technolo-
gies Corporation, completed the world's first
and only dedicated utility sorbent production
plant in the summer of 2004. The achieve-
ments of Sorbent Technologies Corporation
were recognized in 2004 when the company
received a Bronze Medal Award from the
Environmental Business Journal. In June
2008, Sorbent Technologies Corporation was
awarded a 4.5-year, $40.5 million contract
from a major U.S. power generator to supply
its proprietary brominated sorbents (PAC
sorbents) to remove mercury from the flue
gases of coal-fired power plants in the
Midwest. Today, Albemarle continuously
supplies several utility boilers with its
proprietary brominated sorbents.
In July 2008, Albemarle Corporation, a spe-
cialty chemical company that provides inno-
vative development, manufacturing, and
clean energy products, acquired Sorbent
Technologies Corporation. Albemarle
Corporation has more than 3,400 customers
in 100+ countries and sells its products to consumer
electronics, petroleum refining, packaging, construc-
tion, automotive, pharmaceutical, and agrichemical
end markets. Sorbent Technologies Corporation is now
conducting business as Albemarle Mercury Control
Division to better reflect its commitment to environ-
mental concerns through providing broader and
expanded options for mercury emissions control.
SBIR Impact
EPA has directed operators of coal-fired power plants to capture
and dramatically cut mercury emissions.
I Sorbent Technologies Corporation, the predecessor of Albemarle, developed
an inexpensive, proprietary brominated powdered activated carbon sorbents
(B-PAC™, C-PAC™ and H-PAC™) for mercury removal.
B-PAC™ can reduce the cost of mercury compliance at power plants by 25%
or more of that of competitive products.
¦ In June 2008, Sorbent Technologies Corporation was awarded a $40.5
million contract from a major U.S. power generator to supply its proprietary
sorbents to remove mercury from the flue gases of coal-fired power plants
in the Midwest.
¦ In July 2008, Albemarle Corporation, a
specialty chemicals provider with $2.5 billion in
revenues that year, acquired Sorbent Technologies
Corporation. The company currently does
business as Albemarle Mercury Control
Division.
SBIR Success Stories

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