Gaseous and Particulate Chlorine Emissions From Typical Iron and Steel Industry in China

Abstract

The accurate estimation of chlorine emissions is urgently needed to evaluate regional and global atmospheric chlorination. This study first reports on the gaseous/particulate phases of chlorine emissions from typical integrated steel industries, including the major manufacturing processes (i.e., sintering, ironmaking, and steelmaking) and self‐owned coal‐fired power plant (CFPP). The concentration of chlorine species emitted from the ironmaking/steelmaking processes and the self‐owned CFPP is very low (<1 mg/Nm3). Owing to the combustion of chlorine‐rich sinter raw materials, the sintering processes emitted unexpectedly high concentrations of chlorinated substances, including chlorinated very short‐lived CH3Cl, CH2Cl2, C2H5Cl, and C2H4Cl2. Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems equipped on the sintering processes can slightly reduce chlorinated hydrocarbons emissions (ClVOCs). However, the chlorine species bonded in filterable/condensable particulate states (ClFPM/ClCPM) can be removed by high efficient systems (with efficiencies of 64.8–94.1% for ClFPM and 97.3–98.5% for ClCPM), relying on employed FGD technology. Owing to rapid rate at which FGD systems have been installed in China, ClInorganic gases, ClCPM, and ClFPM emissions from the sintering and iron industry in 2016 were reduced by 75.3%, 82.7%, and 45.6%, respectively. Our results indicate that the current ultralow‐emission equipment facilitates the reduction in chlorine emissions from iron and steel industry, but subsequent retrofits should give greater consideration to the simultaneous removal of ClVOCs.

Direct Observation of Sulfate Explosive Growth in Wet Plumes Emitted From Typical Coal‐Fired Stationary Sources

“…There are uncertainties on estimating anthropogenic sulfate emissions mainly due to the difference of temporal and spatial distribution coefficients, and the difference in mass fraction values of each sectors in different regions (Chen et al., 2021; Reff et al., 2009). The emissions from CFPP, industrial boiler and iron & steel in the MEIC were respectively divided into with‐WFGD and without‐WFGD systems, while their apportion coefficients of PM 2.5 to their corresponding categories were adopted from our previous study (Ding et al., 2020).…”

“…The two tested sintering machines, iron ore smelting processes of with coal as fuel typical in the steel industry, exhibit an area of 360 m 2 with installed ESP, limestone (sinter #1)/ammonia-based WFGD (sinter #2), and WESP units. The tested utility/industrial boilers, sintering areas, installed APCDs and fuel properties are detailed in Table S1 and our previous studies (Ding et al, 2019(Ding et al, , 2020Liang et al, 2020).…”

Rapid increase in dichloromethane emissions from China inferred through atmospheric observations

“…In this study, byproduct emission, sector (e), includes the emissions from coal production and combustion, and from iron and steel production. The byproduct emission sector makes only a minor contribution to the overall emissions 17 , 62 . Byproduct emissions were calculated by multiplying the activities in each process by the corresponding emission factors.…”

Global Emissions of Hydrogen Chloride and Particulate Chloride from Continental Sources

“…Tropospheric halogen chemistry has been a priority for several chemical transport models right through their various developmental stages. ,, The primary anthropogenic emissions of chlorine species, however, are not conventionally included in emission inventories, which hinders our understanding about the role of chlorine in the atmosphere. A few studies have developed regional chlorine emission inventories from anthropogenic sources − based on emission factor measurements − and estimates of industrial and waste burning activities. The only available global chlorine emission inventory is the Reactive Chlorine Emission Inventory (RCEI) from 1990. − The coarse resolution (1° × 1°) of this global inventory makes it challenging to study chlorine chemistry on finer scales, where it is most important and exerting impacts on regional to local scales.…”