Environmental Characterization of Products and Effluents from Coal Conversion Processes

Publisher Summary Utilization of coal for power production is currently undergoing a rapid expansion. In addition, the potential for coal to be converted into synthetic liquid and gaseous fuels creates another usage for coal in the future. Both conventional coal technology and the newer coal-conversion processes have a considerable potential for environmental and health-related impacts. This chapter discusses a number of precise and sensitive techniques for both sampling and analysis of coal-conversion plant feedstocks, effluents, products, and by-products for these elements, heavy metal species, gases, and organic constituents. The methods are described because of their sensitivity and relative freedom from matrix effects in these complex samples.