Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume 40, Issue 15, Pages 4563-4570Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/es0515607
Keywords
-
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Elemental Hg (Hg-0), reactive gaseous Hg (RGM) and fine particulate Hg (Hg-P) were measured intermittently at three sites in the southeastern U. S. from June 2001 through November 2004. Simultaneous measurements of SO2 and NOy were used to identify plumes from coal fired power plants (CFPPs). Emission signatures and back trajectories were used to identity specific CFPPs, and to compare observed (i.e., at the site) versus expected (i.e., at the stack) Hg speciation. Results for 41 precipitation-free plume events show that observed RGM: SO2 is substantially lower (by a factor of 2-4) than expected RGM: SO2. HgP represented 2%, or less, of total-Hg in CFPP plumes, in general agreement with emission estimates. Results for 21 events, where both RGM and Hg-0 could be estimated, show that total-Hg (i.e., RGM + Hg-0) was essentially conserved from the point of emission to the site, and that Hg-0 was the dominant form ( average 84%). Emission estimates, based on coal analyses and the EPRI-ICR Hg speciation model, indicate that Hg-0 should represent about 42% of Hg in the observed plumes. Possible explanations for these differences include, but are not limited to, in-plume reduction of RGM to Hg-0, measurement error, errors in emission estimates, and depositional losses. Further work is needed to confirm these results and to determine if they apply to CFPPs in general, or the limited set of observed CFPPs.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available