Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

The fate of mercury in the ducts and plume of a coal fired power plant

Conference ·
OSTI ID:214869
 [1];  [2]
  1. Brooks Rand, Seattle, WA (United States)
  2. Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, AL (United States)
The mercury mass balance for a coal fired power plant was prepared from measurements at all inputs and outputs. The fate of mercury was determined from samples taken simultaneously in the ducts, stack, and plume. Scrubber solution analysis, and samples taken across the scrubber, show that oxidized mercury is scrubbed almost completely, with less than 0.1% of the total as methyl mercury. Detecting the plume with a rapid NO{sub x} detector, helicopter-mounted samplers collected separate samples of gaseous and particulate mercury. Analysis showed that elemental mercury continues to oxidize following the scrubber, at temperatures below 60{degrees}C, and oxidized mercury attaches to plume particulates.
OSTI ID:
214869
Report Number(s):
CONF-950801--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English