Water Applications

APPLICATION: MERCURY REMOVAL FROM WATER
MERSORB® LW mercury removal adsorbent has been used to achieve low mercury concentrations in wastewater from a variety of industrial processes and from ground water. This mercury removal adsorbent is a high surface area (1,000 m2/g) activated carbon pellet (extrudate) that is impregnated with elemental sulfur by a proprietary method. Our impregnation method creates a high level of dispersion of the sulfur atoms inside the micropores of the activated carbon substrate. High dispersion means that the impregnant is more available to remove mercury.

MERSORB® LW mercury removal adsorbent is quality control tested to 200 °C (392 °F) in air. It has been tested and performs very well in water as hot as 50 °C (122 °F). When water temperature increases, its viscosity decreases, so mercury diffuses more rapidly. As the temperature is increased, a further benefit is a faster reaction rate of mercury with the sulfur impregnant in the mercury adsorbent. Both of these effects of higher water temperature increase the mercury removal efficiency.

MERSORB® LW mercury adsorbent pellets of 1.5mm & 1.0mm diameter are used in water treatment. These small pellets provide up to 99+% Hg removal efficiencies at a low pressure drop. The pellets have high crush resistance, wet & dry, and are low in dust.

Because MERSORB® LW mercury adsorbent pellets are uniform in size and very low in dust, they do not require backwashing. Pressure drop typically remains low during the service life of the adsorbent. Granular carbons, however, require frequent backwashing and are often replaced before their contaminant capacity is used up, due to high pressure-drop. Thus, MERSORB® LW mercury adsorbent pellets are a low-maintenance product.


Providing Solutions to remove mercury for emission control, corrosion prevention and catalyst protection.



Selective Adsorption Associates, Inc. (SAA) offers over 40 years of experience in Process Engineering of Adsorption Systems for Gas and Liquid Drying, Sulfur Compound Removal, Emission Control, and over 20 years of Process Design experience in Mercury Removal Systems.

CAUTION: Wet activated carbon removes oxygen from air. Thus, an asphyxiation hazard exists inside enclosed spaces containing activated carbon. Use appropriate safety precautions when entering vessels or other enclosed spaces containing activated carbon. Exposure to strong acids and oxidizers can cause formation of toxic H2S gas.

MERSORB® is a trademark of Nucon International, Inc. (NUCON®) for impregnated activated carbons used to remove mercury from gases and liquids. NUSORB® is a trademark of NUCON for its activated carbons. Information presented herein is believed to be accurate and reliable but does not provide any guarantee or warrantee by NUCON® or by Selective Adsorption Associates, Inc. Nothing herein shall be construed as an invitation to use processes covered by patents without proper arrangements with individuals or companies owning those patents.

AntiMercure® is a Registered Trademark of Selective Adsorption Associates, Inc. (SAA) for its Process for removing mercury from water; AntiMercure™ is a trademark of SAA for its pre-Engineered Systems for removing mercury from water. All Rights Reserved.