Particle formation and growth in power-plant plumes. Volume 1. Field observations and theoretical studies of the evolution of particles in the plumes from coal-fired electric-power plants. Final report

Technical Report · Sun May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983

OSTI ID:6045589

Hobbs, P V; Eltgroth, M W; Hegg, D A; Radke, L F

A parallel field study and theoretical investigation of particle-size distributions in the plumes of coal-fired power plants are described. The field studies, which were carried out on a plant in Washington State and one in New Mexico, show that the particles in the plumes fell into three distinct size modes characterized by geometric-mean-volume diameters between 0.001 to 0.2 ..mu..m, 0.11 to 0.55 ..mu..m and 0.55 to 4.4 ..mu..m. All three modes played important roles in the coagulation of particles in the plumes. The concentrations of particles sometimes decreased with travel time in the center of a plume while increasing at the edges of the plume. The concentrations of particles of a certain size were often less in certain regions of a plume than in the ambient air. Measured gas-to-particle (g-to-p) conversion rates were on the order of 0.1% of SO/sub 2//hr for the Washington plant and 1% of SO/sub 2//hr for the New Mexico plant. A 3-D numerical model, which allows for the effects on the particle spectra of advection, diffusion, coagulation, gravitational settling, g-to-p conversion and interactions with the ambient air, is shown to be capable of reproducing many of the principal features of the observed particle spectra in the plumes. The model predicts maximum g-to-p conversion rates at the edges of the plumes where the predicted rates are comparable to the field measurements. Elsewhere in the plume the predicted g-to-p conversion rates are about a factor of ten below the field measurements.

• Research Organization: Washington Univ., Seattle (USA). Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences
• OSTI ID: 6045589
• Report Number(s): EPRI-EA-3105; ON: DE83902590
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL EFFLUENTS
CHEMISTRY
COAL
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FOSSIL FUELS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
FUELS
GASEOUS WASTES
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUMERICAL DATA
PARTICLE SIZE
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
PLUMES
POLLUTION
POWER PLANTS
SIZE
STACK DISPOSAL
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES