Abstract
Mercury associated with fly ash is a significant contaminant released in flue gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. This work focuses on the association of Hg with other elements and phases as well as the molecular-level speciation of Hg in bulk and <0.1 μm sized fly ash particles reacted with a Hg-containing simulated flue gas stream. Following reaction under conditions chosen to simulate an electrostatic precipitator operating at 140 °C, fly ash (bulk and ≤0.1 μm) from a Kentucky power plant was analyzed using microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The ≤0.1 μm fraction dominates Hg uptake, with total Hg concentrations increasing from 100 ppb to 610 ppm after reaction, whereas bulk ash concentrations increase from 11 to 164 ppb. Synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence mapping of the reacted ≤0.1 μm fraction showed that Hg is present in two major regions: Fe-rich areas and Hg hot spots not associated with Fe. X-ray absorption spectroscopic analysis revealed that Hg is associated with Br and Cl...
Published Version
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