An
arsenic emission study was performed at nine coal-fired power plants
in China and the U.S. that are equipped with various air pollution
control devices (APCDs). On average, over 90% of arsenic in the flue
gas is captured by the dry particulate matter collection system. Less
than 3% of arsenic remains in the boiler slag, and 3% is captured
by the desulfurization system. Another 1% is captured by wet precipitators.
The remaining arsenic is emitted from the stack. Ultralow-emission
technology with a low-temperature economizer before the electrostatic
precipitator (ESP) promotes the capture of more arsenic compounds.
It was found that reactions between arsenic and the denitrification
catalyst make it difficult to reach a perfect arsenic mass balance
in a power plant, excluding plants that are equipped with a hot ESP
installed before the selective catalytic reduction system. Arsenic
speciation greatly depends upon the temperature of the flue gas and
the location of the measurement. There are no significant differences
between U.S. and Chinese coals with regard to the behavior of arsenic
during combustion and its interaction with power plant APCD systems.
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