Distribution and Fate of Mercury in Pulverized Bituminous Coal-Fired Power Plants in Coal Energy-Dominant Huainan City, China

A better understanding on the partitioning behavior of mercury (Hg) during coal combustion in large-scale coal-fired power plants is fundamental for drafting Hg-emission control regulations. Two large coal-fired utility boilers, equipped with electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) and a wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) system, respectively, in coal energy-dominant Huainan City, China, were selected to investigate the distribution and fate of Hg during coal combustion. In three sampling campaigns, we found that Hg in bottom ash was severely depleted with a relative enrichment (RE) index < 7 %, whereas the RE index for fly ash (9-54 %) was comparatively higher and variable. Extremely high Hg was concentrated in gypsum (a parts per thousand currency sign4500 ng/g), which is produced in the WFGD system. Mass balance calculation shows that the shares of Hg in bottom ash, fly ash, WFGD products (gypsum, effluents, sludge), and stack emissions were < 2, 17-32, 7-22, and 54-82 %, respectively. The Hg-removal efficiencies of ESPs, WFGD, and ESPs + WFGD were 17-32, 10-29, and 36-46 %, respectively. The Hg-emission factor of studied boilers was in a high range of 0.24-0.29 g Hg/t coal. We estimated that Hg emissions in all Huainan coal-fired power plants varied from 1.8 Mg in 2003 to 7.3 Mg in 2010.