| Abstract Title: | Long-Term Mercury Monitoring Results of a Lignite-Fired Power Plant in the U.S. |
| Presenter Name: | Mr Christoph Booke |
| Co-authors: | Dr Volker Schmid Mr Timothy Rodak |
| Company/Organisation: | AGT-PSG GmbH & Co. KG |
| Country: | Germany |
Abstract Information :
Electric utilities in the European Union (EU) face considerable challenges in the upcoming years to meet the new Best Available Techniques (BAT) Associated Emission Levels (AEL) for mercury (Hg). The implementation of these standards will result in lower Hg levels in flue gases from affected sources. Quantifying Hg emissions reliably and accurately at these low levels for compliance verification purposes poses a significant challenge. In the United States (U.S.), most coal-fired power plants have had to demonstrate ongoing compliance with national emissions limitations for Hg set forth in the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for electric utility generating units since April 2016. The challenge of reliably demonstrating ongoing compliance at the resulting low Hg levels was met by measuring total vapor-phase Hg using sorbent trap mercury monitoring systems (STMS). The operation of these systems is governed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Performance Specification 12B (Specifications and Test Procedures for Monitoring Total Vapor Phase Mercury Emissions from Stationary Sources using a Sorbent Trap Monitoring System), which formed the basis of the new EU Technical Specifications (Stationary Source Emissions - Mercury Monitoring using Sorbent Traps).
This presentation examines the compliance data generated by one lignite-fired power plant in the U.S. since the start of MATS in early 2016. Monitoring performance criteria results will be discussed and compared to the benchmarks of the new EU Technical Specifications.
