TOXIC SUBSTANCES FROM COAL COMBUSTION: A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 identify a number of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) as candidates for regulation. Should regulations be imposed on HAP emissions from coal-fired power plants, a sound understanding of the fundamental principles controlling the formation and partitioning of toxic species during coal combustion will be needed. With support from the Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC), the Electric Power Research Institute, and VTT (Finland), Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has teamed with researchers from USGS, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Arizona (UA), the University of Kentucky (UK), the University of Connecticut (UC), the University of Utah (W) and the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) to develop a broadly applicable emissions model useful to regulators and utility planners. The new Toxics Partitioning Engineering Model (ToPEM) will be applicable to all combustion conditions including new fuels and coal blends, low-NO{sub x} combustion systems, and new power generation plants. Development of ToPEM will be based on PSI's existing Engineering Model for Ash Formation (EMAF). This report covers the reporting period from the submission of the draft Phase 1 Final Report through the end of June, 1998. During this period two of the three Phase 2 coals were procured and pulverized samples were distributed to team members. Analysis of Phase 1 X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) data, particularly of mercury in sorbent samples, continued. An improved method for identifying mercury compounds on sorbents was developed, leading to a clearer understanding of forms of mercury in char and sorbents exposed to flue gas. Additional analysis of Phase 1 large scale combustion data was performed to investigate mechanistic information related to the fate of the radionuclides Cs, Th, and Co. Modeling work for this period was focused on building and testing a sub-model for vaporization of major elements during combustion