Enhancement of Mercury Removal by Utilizing Catalytic Chelation Technique

Abstract

Discharge of heavy metals released from industries has adverse effects on the environment. The development of a method that can safely remove heavy metals is still challenging. Therefore, the aim of this study is to propose catalytic chelation technique for the removal of mercury (Hg). Removal of Hg was carried out using the sodium acetate (CH3COONa) as the chelating agent and catalyzed by the heterogeneous alumina supported calcium oxide (CaO/Al2O3). The optimization was performed by applying the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with the pH ranging from 7 to 10, a dosage of chelating agent from 400 ppm to 600 ppm, temperature from 33.5 to 37.5 oC, and time of reaction from 1 to 5 h. Hg content analysis was carried out using Flow Injection Mercury System based on cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the presence of active sites on the catalyst. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis represented the formation of homogeneous particles on the catalyst surface. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX), and Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the surface area, the elemental composition, and functional groups of the catalyst, respectively. Moreover, the proposed method successfully achieved ±99 % of Hg removal.