Fabrication of VOx/AFCC-PG Catalyst from Waste Support for Hg0 Removal in Flue Gas

The efficient removal of elemental mercury (Hg0) from coal-fired flue gas is a critical challenge in environmental governance. This study proposes utilizing waste fluid catalytic cracking catalyst (WFCC) as the potential support for Hg0 catalytic oxidation. After activation (AFCC) via calcination decarbonization, a composite support (AFCC-PG) was fabricated using palygorskite (PG) as a binder. Subsequently, VOx was loaded onto the support to form the VOx/AFCC-PG catalyst for Hg0 removal. Experimental results demonstrate that the VOx/AFCC-PG catalyst achieves >95% Hg0 removal efficiency under simulated flue gas conditions (150 °C, GHSV = 6000 h−1) while maintaining excellent stability over 60 h. Furthermore, Hg-TPD and XPS analyses indicate that the synergistic lattice oxygen oxidation–adsorption established between VOx and the AFCC-PG plays a key role in efficient Hg0 removal. This study proposes a cost-effective strategy for both the resource utilization of waste catalysts and the control of mercury pollution in coal-fired flue gas.