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Environmentally significant shifts in trace element emissions from coal plants complying with the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments

Journal Article · · Energy Policy
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); Carnegie Mellon University
  2. Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
  3. Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAAs) reduced criteria air pollution from coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) in the United States, but compliance strategies additionally altered the magnitude and phase of environmentally significant trace element emissions. This report quantitatively assesses changes in trace element emissions stemming from CAAAs compliance, attributes these changes to specific CAAAs compliance strategies, and discusses implications for future environmental regulatory design. We combine plant-level coal purchase and installed air pollution control device data with a trace element partitioning model to approximate changes in trace element mass entering and exiting CFPPs in the solid, liquid, and gas phase between 1993 and 2017. Though US coal combustion decreased by 2% during this period, the vast majority of trace element emissions reductions stem from the 18-64% reductions in the fleet-wide average concentrations of arsenic, bromine, chloride, lead, mercury, and selenium in the combusted coal. Combined with the installation of air pollution control technologies, these shifts concluded in nationwide reductions of gas phase trace element emissions by between 49 and 68% for the elements included in this study. In contrast, installation of flue gas desulfurization devices increased the mass of trace elements discharged in wastewater. This work reinforces the value of multi-phase emissions regulations in ensuring that contaminants are not shunted from regulated to unregulated phases.
Research Organization:
Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
Grant/Contract Number:
FE0031646
OSTI ID:
1545308
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1542472
Journal Information:
Energy Policy, Journal Name: Energy Policy Journal Issue: C Vol. 132; ISSN 0301-4215
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Figures / Tables (6)

Figure 1(p. 6)figure Figure 1
Table 1(p. 14)table Table 1
Figure 2(p. 16)figure Figure 2
Figure 3(p. 18)figure Figure 3
Figure 4(p. 20)figure Figure 4
Figure 5(p. 21)figure Figure 5

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Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
Clean air act amendments
Coal-fired power plants
Effluent limitation guidelines and standards
Environmental regulations
Trace elements