Energy-efficient air pollution controls for fossil-fueled plants: Technology assessment

Abstract

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments require most fossil-fuel fired power plants to reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate emissions. While emission-control equipment is available to help most of New York State`s 91 utility units in 31 power plants comply with the new regulations, technologies currently available consume energy, increase carbon dioxide emissions, reduce operating efficiency, and may produce large amounts of solid and/or semisolid byproducts that use additional energy for processing and disposal. This report discribes several pollution-control technologies that are more energy efficient compared to traditional technologies for controlling sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulates, that may have application in New York State. These technologies are either in commercial use, under development, or in the demonstration phase; This report also presents operating characteristics for these technologies and discusses solutions to dispose of pollution-control system byproducts. Estimated energy consumption for emission-control systems relative to a plant`s gross generating capacity is 3 to 5 for reducing up to 90% sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants. 0.5 to 2.5% for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80% from all fossil-fuel fired plants; and 0.5 to 1.5 % for controlling particulate emissions from oil- and coal-fired plants. While fuel switching and/or cofiring with natural gas are options to reduce emissions, these techniques are not considered in this report; the discussion is limited to fossil-fueled steam-generating plants.