In contrast, for basic pH and in the presence of NaCl, the models suggest that there are significant competing reactions whereby some of the sorbent becomes unavailable for mercury binding. It was also discovered that sodium chloride severely inhibits mercury binding, which could limit the use of the sorbent in salt water systems. The spent sorbent was found to be stable and did not leach significant mercury from pH = 3 to pH = 9. Aqueous sodium chloride also did not lead to leaching. However, at pH = 11 the coating degraded and mercury was released into the solution, possibly bound to suspended polymer particles or other polymer degradation products. Together, these results suggest that the sorbent is most effective at low and neutral pH and that elevated pH can lead to polymer degradation. This assessment of the scope and limitations of this sorbent will help define the conditions for which it is most effective in the field. While this study focussed on inorganic mercury, future studies will be carried out that evaluate the sorbent on a broader range of mercury species and field samples.