Advanced Concepts in FGD Technology: The SHU Process with Cooling Tower Discharge

The growing awareness of ecological issues in Europe, reinforced by the public debate surrounding acid rain, has led to the enactment of laws and regulations in West Germany relating to emissions from large coal fired combustors.

Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) units have been compulsory for new coal fired power plants in West Germany for about 12 years. The new legislation enacted in 1983, to be met by the middle of 1988, applies not only to new plants but, unlike in the United States, also to. existing power plants (>30MW).

The law currently specifies a residual SO2 emission level of 400 mg/Nm³ (0.311b MM/BTU) for large power plants (>100 MW), but a level of 200 mg/Nm³ (0.15 lb MM/BTU) is already under discussion in some cases. The legally binding emission standards stipulate that none of the daily averages, calculated on the basis of half hour averages may exceed the concentration allowed. SO2 removal efficiencies of 90 percent to 95 percent are normally provided. Since 1983, more than 35,000 MW of retrofit FGD units have been installed in Germany to meet this SO₂ standard.

The regulations also do not allow for the ponding of calcium sulfite scrubber sludge, but stipulate the production of gypsum from limestone slurry processes. Additionally the regulations require flue gases to have a minimum temperature in the stack of 72° C (162°F) after desulfurization. Treated flue gases do not have to be reheated if discharged via a cooling tower.     

A new urban boundary layer and dispersion parameterization for an emergency response modeling system: Tests with the Joint Urban 2003 data set

A new urban parameterization for a fast-running dispersion prediction modeling system suitable for emergency response situations is introduced. The parameterization represents the urban convective boundary layer in the dispersion prediction system developed by the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The performance of the modeling system is tested with data collected during the field campaign Joint Urban 2003 (JU03), held in July 2003 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Tests were performed using data from three intense operating periods held during daytime slightly unstable to unstable conditions. The system was run in operational mode using the meteorological data that would be available operationally at NARAC to test its effectiveness in emergency response conditions. The new parameterization considerably improves the performance of the original modeling system, by producing a better degree of pattern of correspondence between predictions and observations (as measured by Taylor diagrams), considerably reducing bias, and better capturing directional effects resulting in plume predictions whose shape and size better resemble the observations (via the measure of effectiveness). Furthermore, the new parameterization shows similar skills to urban modeling systems of similar or greater complexity. The parameterization performs the best at the three JU03 sensor arcs (1, 2, and 4 km downwind the release points), with fractional bias values ranging from 0.13 to 0.4, correlation values from 0.45 to 0.71, and centered root-mean-square error being reduced more than 50% in most cases. The urban parameterization has been tested with grid increments of 125, 250, 500 and 1000 m, performing best at 250 and 500 m. Finally, it has been found that representing the point source by a Gaussian distribution with an initial spread of particles leads to a better representation of the initial spread induced by near-source buildings, resulting in lower bias and improved correlation in downtown Oklahoma City.     

The tidal hydrodynamics modeling of the Topolobampo coastal lagoon system and the implications for pollutant dispersion

The tidal hydrodynamics of the Topolobampo coastal lagoon system (Mexico) has been investigated through a modified two dimensional non-linear hydrodynamic finite difference model. The advective and diffusive process acting over a hypothetical pollutant released into the coastal lagoon have also been simulated. Maxima tidal currents (0.85 m/s) were predicted within the main channel, in agree with direct measurements. The direction of the observed fastest currents (SW), also agree quite well with the direction of the strongest tidal current predicted in this investigation, which occur during the ebb when the water of the coastal lagoon is discharged into the Gulf of California. Residual currents (0.01-0.05 m/s) were also predicted. The hypothetical pollutant released within the Topolobampo Harbor would spread to both Ohuira and Topolobampo sections, reaching the inlet after approximately 12 days.     

The dissolution kinetics of industrial brine sludge wastes from a chlor-alkali industry as a sorbent for wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD)

The disposal of industrial brine sludge waste (IBSW) in chlor-alkali plants can be avoided by utilization of IBSW as a sorbent in wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD). The shrinking core model was used to determine the dissolution kinetics of IBSW, which is a vital step in wet FGD. The effects of solid-to-liquid ratio (m/v), temperature, pH, particle size, and stirring speed on the conversion and dissolution rate constant are determined. The conversion and dissolution rate constant decreases as the pH, particle size, and solid-to-liquid ratio are increased and increases as the temperature, concentration of acid, and stirring speed are increased. The sorbents before and after dissolution were characterized using x-ray fluorescence (XRF), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An activation energy of 7.195 kJ/mol was obtained and the product layer diffusion model was found to be the rate-controlling step.

Implications: The use of industrial brine sludge waste as an alternative sorbent in wet flue gas desulfurization can reduce the amounts of industrial wastes disposed of in landfills. This study has proved that the sorbent can contain up to 91% calcium carbonate and trace amounts of sulfate, magnesium, and so on. This can be used as new sorbent to reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere and the by-product gypsum can be used in construction, as a plaster ingredient, as a fertilizer, and for soil conditioning. Therefore, the sorbent has both economic and environmental benefits.     

The basis for,and some limitations of,the Langevin equation in atmospheric relative dispersion modelling

The use of the Langevin equation to model turbulent dispersion, particularly in the atmosphere, is examined. The essential feature of the Langevin equation is that fluid particle accelerations are uncorrelated, a good approximation in high Reynolds number three-dimensional turbulence. It thus satisfies all the wellknown inertial range scaling laws. An important consequence of these laws is the equivalence of conditioned one-particle dispersion and relative dispersion.Relative dispersion on global scales is not well represented by the Langevin model, at least in part because motion on these scales is quasi-two-dimensional. On smaller scales, the well-known lack of an upper limit to the scale of turbulent kinetic energy throws doubt on the applicability of the Langevin equation in toto, although a three-dimensional inertial range stage of dispersion may be reasonably well represented.Use of the Langevin equation to directly model relative velocities results in a Gaussian probability density for particle separation. This is unrealistic and leads to an incorrect representation of concentration fluctuations. However, a relative dispersion model based on an appropriate combination of a pair of Langevin equations does realistically model concentration fluctuations.