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CONTROLLING EMISSIONS FROM FUEL AND WASTE COMBUSTION
Citation:
Shelley, S. AND C B. Sedman*. CONTROLLING EMISSIONS FROM FUEL AND WASTE COMBUSTION. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 106(1):82-88, (1999).
Description:
Control of emissions from combustion of fuels and wastes has been a traditional focus of air pollution regulations. Significant technology developments of the '50s and '60s have been refined into reliable chemical and physical process unit operations. In the U.S., acid rain legislation and resulting regulations have used a market-based approach of emissions trading that encourages the use of less capital intensive options than the installation of new technology. Therefore, recent technology use has been limited to older, proven technologies. New regulations and concerns over fine particles, mercury, and heretofore unregulated acid gases may revise thinking that will encourage development of multiple pollutant controls, rather than the traditional serial approach of one "box" per pollutant. This article summarizes the status of current technologies, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each, and presents scenarios that may drive the development of newer concepts which are more adaptive to possible future "ratcheting down" of emissions and regulations of new pollutants.