Mercury capture from coal combustion flue gas by fly ash: Impact of coal and boiler type

FUEL 15

Massoud Rostam-Abadi1, Yongqi Lu1, Ramsay Chang, rchang@epri.com2, Carl Richardson, Carl_Richardson@URSCorp.com3, and Jennifer Paradis, Jenny_Paradis@URSCorp.com3. (1) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL 61820, (2) EPRI, 3412 Hillview Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, (3) URS Corporation, 9400 Amberglen Blvd, Austin, TX 78729
Forty fly ash samples were collected from thirteen full-scale coal-fired power plants equipped with cool-side ESPs. Five size fractions of the fly ashes were characterized to correlate mercury content in unburned carbon (UBC) with surface area and particle size of the UBC. The surface area of the UBC (SA/UBC) in the ashes varied from 20-150 m2/g. UBCs in ashes generated from burning PRB and PRB blend coals had higher surface areas and reactivities for adsorption of Hg in flue gas than the UBCs of the EB ashes. The Hg content and UBC particle size could be correlated for the PRB or PRB blend ashes, but not for EB ashes. The coal type had more impact on the Hg adsorption reactivity of the UBC than the boiler type.
 

Mercury and Other Trace Elements in Fuel: Emissions and Control
8:25 AM-11:35 AM, Sunday, April 6, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Rm. 240/241, Oral

Division of Fuel Chemistry

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008