Source assessment: dry bottom utility boilers firing pulverized bituminous coal. Final report May 1974-August 1980

Technical Report · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

OSTI ID:6356928

DeAngelis, D G; Reznik, R B; Ruffin, D S; Rigano, J N; McCurley, W R

The report describes and assesses the potential impact of air emissions, wastewater effluents, and solid wastes from dry-bottom utility boilers firing pulverized bituminous coal. Consuming about 320 million metric tons of the coal per year, this is the primary method of firing coal in utility boilers. Air emissions were characterized from literature data, supplemented by field sampling. Significant emissions from coal combustion were particulate matter, SOx, NOx, hydrocarbons, polycyclic organic materials, and a number of elements emitted as particles and vapors. The potential environmental impact of each emission species (after passing through state-of-the-art controls) was individually assessed using a calculated quantity known as ambient source severity (the ratio of the maximum ground level concentration--determined through dispersion equations--to an ambient environmental goal). No species were found to have an ambient source severity greater than 1.0; NOx (0.97) and SOx (0.93) had the highest severities. It was estimated that the human population around an average source in this category exposed to an ambient severity greater than 0.05 was about 300,000 persons for NOx and SOx. Pollutant concentrations were also determined in wastewater and solid waste streams. Effluent source severities and solid waste discharges were both found to be minor, with controls.

• Research Organization: Monsanto Research Corp., Dayton, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6356928
• Report Number(s): PB-81-108078
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200202 -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Waste Management-- Noxious Gas & Particulate Emissions
AIR POLLUTION
AROMATICS
BITUMINOUS COAL
BLACK COAL
BOILERS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHALCOGENIDES
COAL
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
MATERIALS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLES
POLLUTION
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
POWER PLANTS
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
WASTES
WATER POLLUTION