A PHOTO-FRAGMENT FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRIC METHOD FOR MEASUREMENT AND SPECIATION OF MRCURY EMISSIONS

COAL SOURCES CONTAIN SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES OF MERCURY WHICH WILL APPEAR IN THE VAPOR PHASE ADVANCED COAL UTILIZATION AND CONVERSION PROCESSES. THIS CAN LEAD TO SERIOUS DEGRADATION OR DEVALUATION OF PROCESSES AND PRODUCTS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE POISONING OF FUEL CELL ELECTRODES AND CONTAMINATION OF COAL-DERIVED PRODUCTS. NEW DIAGNOSTIC INSTRUMENTATION IS NEEDED FOR MEASUREMENT OF MERCURY AND ITS COMPOUNDS IN COAL GAS STREAMS. THIS WILL PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO CLEAN-UP TECHNOLOGIES AS WELL AS TRACKING OF ENVIRONMENTAL EMISSIONS. THIS PROJECT OFFERS A NOVEL CONCEPT FOR DETECTIN OF VAPOR PHASE MERCURY WHICH IS SUITABLE FOR HOT COAL GAS STREAMS. IT IS BASED UPON FLUORESCENCE AND PHOTOFRAGMENT FLUORESCENCE PHENOMENA WHICH ARE SPECIFIC TO MERCURY AND ITS COMPOUNDS. UNLIKE EXISTING METHODS, THIS CONCEPT OFFERS CAPABILITY OF RAPID RESPONSE AND REAL-TIME AND IN-SITU MONITORING CAPABILITY. IMPORTANTLY, IT WILL BE RESPONSIVE TO MERCURY COMPOUNDS (SUCH AS HgC12, Hg(CH3)C1, Hg(CH3)2, AND OTHERS) AS WELL AS ELEMENTAL MERCURY. BECAUSE IT IS A SPECTROSCOPIC TECHNIQUE, IT WILL BE EFFECTIVE FOR NON-INTRUSIVE MEASUREMENT IN STREAMS AT HIGH TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE. PHASE I WILL TEST THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS CONCEPT THROUGH BENCH-SCALE STUDIES ON TWO REPRESENTATIVE MERCURY SPECIS. ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED INCLUDE SPECIATION, SENSITIVITY, LINEARITY, AND INTERFRENCES.