Three hydration agents namely calcium acetate, ammonium acetate and citric acid were used to augment lime's reactivity through hydration. The performance of these agents was compared with pure distilled water. The produced sorbents were tested in a pH-stat facility and a fixed bed apparatus which simulate wet and dry flue gas desulfurization respectively. It was observed that all agents improved lime's reactivity by a higher percentage than water and that calcium acetate was the best agent,

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... owed by ammonium acetate. Dissolution and hydrolysis of the calcium and acetate ions were thought to be the cause of these results while for acidic agents, high concentration of the hydrogen ion was the cause of the improved performance. BET surface area analysis, XRD and SEM imaging were used to explain the results.