Remediation of brownfields contaminated by organic compounds and heavy metals: a bench-scale test of a sulfur/vermiculite sorbent for mercury vapor removal.

In this study, we report for the first time a novel type of sorbent that can be used for mercury adsorption from the air-based off-gasses-vermiculite impregnated with alkali polysulfides and thiosulfates. In contrast to other sorbents, vermiculite exhibits superior thermal stability in air and low adsorption capacity for organic vapors. This allows for a more favorable design of the soil remediation unit-direct coupling of thermal desorber with catalytic oxidizer using air as a carrier gas.