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Behavior of Mercury Emissions from a Commercial Coal-Fired Utility Boiler: TheRelationship Between Stack Speciation and Near-Field Plume Measurements
Citation:
Landis, M., J. Ryan, A. ter Schure, AND D. Laudal. Behavior of Mercury Emissions from a Commercial Coal-Fired Utility Boiler: TheRelationship Between Stack Speciation and Near-Field Plume Measurements. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Indianapolis, IN, 48(22):13540-13548, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory’s (NERL’s) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD’s research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA’s strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools is improved regulatory programs and policies for EPA.
Description:
The reduction of divalent gaseous mercury (HgII) to elemental gaseous mercury (Hg0) in a commercial coal-fired power plant (CFPP)exhaust plume was investigated by simultaneous measurement in-stack and in-plume as part of a collaborative study among the U.S. EPA, EPRI, EERC, and Southern Company. In-stack continuous emission monitoring data were used to establish the CFPP’s real-time mercury speciation and plume dilution tracer species (SO2, NOX) emission rates, and an airship was utilized as an airborne sampling platform to maintain static position with respect to the exhaust plume centerline for semi-continuous measurement of target species. Varying levels of HgII concentration (2.39-3.90 ug m-3) and percent abundance ( ~87-99%) in flue gas and in-plume reduction were observed. The existence and magnitude of HgII reduction to Hg0 (0-55%) observed varied with respect to the types and relative amounts of coals combusted, suggesting that exhaust plume reduction occuring downwind of the CFPP is influenced by coal chemical composition and characteristics.
URLs/Downloads:
BLIMP_STUDY_PAPER_COMPLETE_RESUBMISSION_2_V1.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 501.325 KB, about PDF)Environmental Science & Technology
