Mercury removal over Ce-doped LaCoO3 supported on CeO2 at low temperatures from coal combustion flue gas

Mercury has a significant impact on environment and is mainly derived from coal-fired power plant. Herein, we report a potential route for efficient removal of Hg 0 via oxidation reactions using Ce-doped LaCoO 3 supported on CeO 2 catalyst. Catalyst characterization results proved that Ce can successfully substitute a desired part of Co into the LaCoO 3 crystal lattice via a sol–gel method. The Hg 0 removal experiments suggest that Hg 0 removal efficiency decreased in the order of La 0.875 Ce 0.125 CoO 3 /CeO 2  > La 0.875 Ce 0.125 CoO 3  > LaCoO 3 . The presence of O 2 provided more active oxygen and resulted in approaching 100% Hg 0 removal efficiency. Introducing H 2 O and sole SO 2 would significantly reduce the Hg 0 removal efficiency as a result of competitive adsorption on the actives sites of the catalyst. On the other hand, SO 2 could reacted with Hg 0 in the presence of O 2 and thereby recover the high Hg 0 removal efficiency and the La 0.875 Ce 0.125 CoO 3 /CeO 2 catalyst presented a good performance towards sulfur resistance. Furthermore, the catalyst still exhibited a high Hg 0 removal efficiency performance after five times consecutive recycles.