Developments in flue gas cleanup research at the Federal Energy Technology Center

A major research effort in the cleanup of flue gas, which is produced by the combustion of fossil fuels, is being conducted by the in-house research program at the Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC) of the US Department of Energy (DOE). Novel technologies being developed can abate sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}), nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}), hazardous air pollutants (also referred to as air toxics), and carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) from flue gas. Laws within the US mandate the control of some of these pollutants and the initial characterization of others, while potential new regulations impact the status of others. Techniques that can control one or more of the targeted pollutants in an environmentally and economically acceptable manner are of prime interest. Past efforts have included low-temperature dry scrubbing SO{sub 2} removal techniques that typically use a calcium or sodium-based disposable sorbent either in a spray drying mode or in a duct injection mode of operation; novel techniques for enhancing sorbent utilization in conventional wet or dry scrubbing processes; and control of emissions produced from small-scale combustors (residential or commercial-size) that burn coal or coal/sorbent briquettes. Recent research at FETC has focused on investigations of air toxics produced by burning variousmore » coals, with a particular emphasis on the speciation of mercury and the control of the various mercury species; dry, regenerable sorbent processes that use a metal oxide sorbent to simultaneously remove SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x}; catalysts for selective catalytic reduction (SCR)-type NO{sub x} control; and the utilization and sequestering of CO{sub 2} removed from flue gas produced by fossil fuel combustion. The research projects range from laboratory-scale work to testing with the combustion products of coal at a scale equivalent to about 0.75 megawatt of electric power generation. An overview and status of the in-house flue gas cleanup projects at FETC are reported.« less