A Study on the Development of the Mercury Emission Factor from Coal-fired Power Plant

Mercury is one of the most hazardous air pollutants. Recently, mercury has been a concern in domestic and overseas because it has lethal toxicity, long distance transport, persistence and bioaccumulation in the environment. Stationary combustion sources such as coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, and cement kilns are the major sources of mercury emissions. The objectives of this study were to measure the concentration for mercury from coal-fired power plants and to calculate emission factor to estimate its emission. The results showed that the mercury concentrations in the flue gas were 1.63 similar to 3.03 mg/Sm-3 in anthracite-fired power plants (average 2.32 mg/Sm3) and 1.95 similar to 3.33 mg/Sm3 in bituminous-fired power plants (average 2.6 mg/Sm3). Mercury emission factor was estimated as 25.74 mg/ton for anthracite-fired power plants and 12.48 mg/ton for bituminous-fired power plants. Because actual measurements are limited in quantity, it is desirable to refine our estimates by extending the actual measurements.