A Novel Nano-Palladium Embedded on the Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Mercury Vapor Removal From Air by the Gas Field Separation Consolidation Process Publisher



Shirkhanloo H¹ ; Golbabaei F² ; Vahid A¹ ; Faghihi Zarandi A³ Show Affiliations
Source: Applied Nanoscience (Switzerland) Published:2022

Abstract

Mercury has a toxic effect on humans and causes many diseases and dysfunction in human organs such as the central nervous system (CNS) and kidneys. So, mercury must be removed from air by different adsorbents. In this study, a novel adsorbent based on the nanoparticles of the palladium (PdNPs) embedded on the mesoporous silica nanostructure (NPd@MSN, 2 wt % Pd) was used for mercury removal (Hg0) from the air by the gas field separation consolidation process (GFSCP). Firstly, the values of mercury vapor were generated in the chamber of the hydride generation system (HGS) in pure air, restored in the special PVC bag (1–5 L) and passed through 50 mg of the NPd@MSN adsorbent. The Hg0 was separated and consolidated to the NPd@MSN adsorbent based on the amalgamation/adsorption process and then desorbed from it by the electrical heater accessory at 245 °C. Finally, the mercury concentration was online measured by a quartz closed cell of the cold vapor accessory coupled to the atomic absorption spectrometry (QC-CV-AAS). The removal efficiency of NPd@MSN adsorbent for mercury was obtained more than 95% (RSD < 5%). The experimental parameters were studied and optimized. The adsorption capacity in the dynamic system for the NPd@MSN and the MSN adsorbents was obtained 149.4 and 5.4 mg g−1, respectively, which was better than that of other adsorbents. The special characterization of NPd@MSN such as a BET equation (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller), TEM, the pore size, and XRD spectra can be considered as a favorite adsorbent. The method was validated by spiking to real samples and using the gold mercury concentrate analyzer (GMC-AAS). © 2022, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.