210Po distribution after high temperature processes in coal-fired power plants

Abstract

In this paper, the distribution of 210Po after high temperature processes in six units of coal-fired power plants (CFPs) were evaluated. The coal, bottom ashes, fly ashes from electrostatic precipitators (ESP), and flue gases from stacks were sampled from four CFPs and analyzed for 210Po contents. The results showed that 210Po was mainly captured by the ESP, with little left in the bottom ash, and a small fraction of 210Po was directly discharged into the environment through the stacks, accounting for 0.06%–0.6%, which was consistent with the reported data. It was also found that part of the 210Po could not be accounted for in the mass balance analysis for the whole combustion process in CFPs, which was also in line with the reported data. The results obtained in this study provided essential basic data for environmental radiological risk analysis for CFPs.