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Evaluating the fate of mercury and other metals across the life-cycle stages from the use of FGD gypsum for wallboard production
Citation:
KHAN, BERNIE AND S. THORNELOE. Evaluating the fate of mercury and other metals across the life-cycle stages from the use of FGD gypsum for wallboard production. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, (July 2009):15-20, (2009).
Impact/Purpose:
journal article
Description:
In 2007, 12.3 million tons of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum was produced due to air emission controls at coal-fired power plants. With increasing use of wet scrubbers in response to more stringent air pollution control requirements, FGD gypsum production is expected to increase. Approximately 67% (8.2 million tons) of the FGD gypsum produced in 2007 was used for wallboard production. Mercury in FGD gypsum used for wallboard manufacture range between 100 and 500 Ilg/kg. The fate of this mercury from use of wet scrubbers at coal-fired power plants is of environmental interest. This paper presents results on the analysis of the fate of mercury through the life cycle stages of FGD gypsum used for wallboard production. Raw FGD gypsum is a wet material such that environmental release of mercury is expected to be minimal during handling, transportation, and storage prior to wallboard manufacture. Mercury emissions across all U.S. wallboard processing plants can range from 16 to over 6000 kg/yr due to variability in FGD gypsum composition. Finished wallboard can therefore contain 360 to over 9,500 kg/yr mercury that can potentially be released during construction and demolition activities, to indoor air, when buildings burn, and as FGD-wallboard waste decays under anaerobic conditions within landfills, soils, and FGD-waste piles. Further characterization and evaluation testing is required to ascertain potential environmental impacts.