EPA has used incentive funding available from the EPS Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program to develop several new sorbent materials that offer more effective and less expensive options for the removal of mercury from electric utility flue gas emissions. Of particular interest to coal-fired power plants is a new sorbent developed by Sorbent Technologies Corporation and other sorbent materials being developed by ADA Technologies and Advanced Fuel Research. Frontier Geosciences has developed a thiol-organic chelation and coprecipitation technology for mercury removal form utility wet scrubbers.

EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) has an on-going mercury control research program. The program is comprehensive with projects covering mercury control as a co-benefit of other air pollution controls (e.g., NOx, Sox, and PM controls), advanced sorbent development, flue gas chemistry, mercury stability in coal combustion residues, mercury continuous emission monitors, etc. Additional testing in the new pilot-scale Multipollutant Controls Research Facility is scheduled to begin soon. The research program will be summarized.