Release and migration of Hg during desulfurization wastewater evaporation process: Whole process evaluation by experimental and theoretical study

Hot flue gas evaporation technology is an effective strategy for zero liquid discharge of desulfurization wastewater. However, there is a potential risk that heavy metals such as Hg may be released from the wastewater during evaporation, disrupting the original balance of the power plant or even exceeding the Hg emission standard. Wastewater evaporation and Hg release behavior were obtained using a single droplet drying system. At an evaporation temperature of 300 °C, approximately 18.5% of Hg was released in the constant wet-bulb temperature period, and the remaining was released in the following evaporation periods. Furthermore, a fixed-bed experiment, in combination with density functional theory calculations, was used to investigate the possible migration mechanisms of released Hg. The results revealed that high HCl concentration, introduced fly ash, and precipitated evaporation products play a crucial role in the fate of Hg, and 85.3% of Hg finally turned into less harmful particulate-bound Hg. This study provides a new and effective strategy for evaluating the migration process of pollutants in wastewater treatment. Moreover, it will serve as an essential reference for advanced wastewater treatment and heavy metals control technologies in the future. [Display omitted] •Release and migration of Hg are evaluated by experimental and theoretical study.•Single droplet drying method is used to investigate the Hg release process.•The released Hg might convert to HgCl2(g) via the fly ash/HCl-mediated oxidization.•Most of Hg would be finally present in the state of particulate-bound Hg.