Abstract
ABSTRACTTo investigate PM2.5 reduction by technical improvement in typical Chinese coal-fired power plants, two units built in different time with different particulate matter (PM) control technologies but with the same coal-fired boiler type were selected to characterize the concentrations of PM2.5 generated and emitted from coal-fired power plants. We found that significant benefit of PM2.5 emission reduction was achieved by technological improvement. Due to the increase in the installed capacity and the application of low NOx burner alone, PM2.5 emission factor without adopting other air pollution control devices decreased from 0.153 kg t–1 (the 100 MW unit) to 0.123 kg t–1 (the 300 MW unit). With the help of an improved electrostatic precipitator (ESP) of which removal efficiency increased from 76.4% to 97.5%, PM2.5 emission factor further decreased from 0.014 kg t–1 (the unit with a normal ESP) to 0.003 kg t–1 (the unit with a cold-side ESP and a wet flue gas desulphurization (WFGD)). However, the application of flue gas denitrification and desulfurization devices may alter PM2.5 compositions and their emissions. For instance, the installation of a WFGD was found to largely increase the emissions of water-soluble ions in PM2.5 (e.g., SO42–, Ca2+, and NH4+).
Highlights
Many cities in the world, especially in developing countries such as China and India, have confronted with sever fine particulate matter (PM2.5) problems that attracts worldwide public attention (Krzyzanowsk and Schwela, 1999; Zhang and Day, 2015)
To investigate PM2.5 reduction by technical improvement in typical Chinese coal-fired power plants, two units built in different time with different particulate matter (PM) control technologies but with the same coal-fired boiler type were selected to characterize the concentrations of PM2.5 generated and emitted from coal-fired power plants
We found that significant benefit of PM2.5 emission reduction was achieved by technological improvement
Summary
Many cities in the world, especially in developing countries such as China and India, have confronted with sever fine particulate matter (PM2.5) problems that attracts worldwide public attention (Krzyzanowsk and Schwela, 1999; Zhang and Day, 2015). China has the strictest standard for pollutant emission from coal-fired power plants in the world because of the largest amount of coal consumption and very severe air pollution. Many environmental regulations have been enacted to reduce pollutant emission per electricity generated since the early 1990s in China. Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 17: 636–643, 2017 motion and improved collection efficiency. This technology has been applied in many coal-fired power plants successfully (Kulmala et al, 2013; Wang et al, 2015; Xiong et al, 2015; Hu et al, 2016). PM emission characteristics, such as mass concentration and size distribution, might alter as these technical improvements for conserving energy and reducing emission were carried out
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