Novel In-Situ Monitoring System for Groundwaters

65657 In December 2000, the EPA announced that mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants posed a significant health hazard and should be reduced. Proposed regulations will be issued in 2003. Based on currently used activated-carbon-injection technology, the annual cost to reduce mercury emissions by 70% from coal-fired power plants will be from $2 to $5 billion per year. This project will develop a new class of disposable mercury sorbents, consisting of chemically-treated fine-particulate minerals, that are optimized to maximize mercury capacity and minimize fabrication cost. The sorbent technology is projected to cost less than half of the activated carbon technology and provide advantages in disposal. In Phase I, a series of candidate sorbent materials will be generated and tested in a feed gas stream that simulates a coal-fired flue gas. The best-performing candidate sorbents will be selected for additional testing to characterize the effects of changes in feed gas properties on their ability to remove oxidized mercury from the feed stream. A process for large scale preparation will be designed, and an economic analysis will be developed. Commercial Applications And Other Benefits as described by the awardee : Reductions in mercury emissions have immediate health benefits, most directly on young children and pregnant women, as mercury compounds have been shown to impair brain development. As utilities respond to the EPA rules for the reduction of mercury emissions, a market for the sorbent control technologies should develop rapidly. Other sources of mercury emissions to which this technology could be applied include medical, municipal, hazardous waste incinerators, and emissions from metals smelting and refining operations.