The presence of mercury in the environment is a growing global concern. Electricity generation facilities around the world continue to rely on coal as an abundant and cost-effective energy source. As a result, mercury is released into the atmosphere.
Mercury is a serious toxin linked to developmental problems in children along with increased health risks to people of all ages and global regulations continue to tighten as a result. One of the key challenges is that, when burned, coal produces two forms of mercury emissions which can typically not be captured by the same control technology.
To solve this difficult problem, Corning is currently in the very early stage of evaluating an innovative carbon activated/impregnated honeycomb technology that can absorb both forms of hazardous mercury from the flue gases of coal-fired power plants before it is dispersed into the atmosphere. This carbon activated honeycomb will be a solution that will enable a safer and cleaner method for disposing of the mercury. We believe that the mercury abatement technology we are working on has the potential to capture/decrease about 90 percent of the mercury emissions from all coal types.
View a Flash tutorial on Corning's mercury abatement technology.