Effect of selective catalytic reactor on oxidation and enhanced removal of mercury in coal-fired power plants

The present study investigated the variation of mercury (Hg) speciation within the air pollution control devices (APCDs) in bituminous coal-fired power plants. The effect of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system, which is mainly installed for NOx removal, on elemental Hg (Hg0) oxidation and enhancement of Hg removal within APCDs, was studied. Hg speciations in flue gas at the inlet and outlet of each APCDs, such as SCR, cold-side electrostatic precipitator (CS-ESP) and flue gas desulphurization (FGD), were analyzed. Sampling and analysis were carried out according to Ontario Hydro Method (OHM). Overall Hg removal efficiency of APCDs, on average, was about 61% and 47% with and without SCR system, respectively. In the flue gas, Hg was mainly distributed in gaseous (elemental and oxidized) form. The oxidized to elemental Hg partitioning coefficient increased due to oxidation of Hg0 across the SCR system and decreased due to the removal of oxidized Hg (Hg2+) across a wet FGD system. Hg0 oxidation across the SCR system varied from 74% to 7% in tested coal-fired power plants. The comparative study shows that the installation of an SCR system increased Hg removal efficiency and suppressed the reemission of captured Hg0 within a wet FGD system.