Effect of wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) on fine particle (PM2.5) emission from coal-fired boilers

In this study, the characteristics of fine particles before and after wet flue gas desulfurization(WFGD) in three coal-fired heating boilers in northern China were investigated by using a dilution-based emission sampling experimental system. The influences of the WFGD process on the mass and number concentrations as well as the chemical composition of fine particles were analyzed. The removal efficiency of desulfurization processes on particulate matter mass was 30.06%–56.25% for the three study units. The WFGD had a great influence on the size distributions of particle mass concentration and number concentration. A significant increase in the number and mass concentration of particles in the size range of 0.094–0.946 μm was observed. The watersoluble ion content accounted for a very large proportion of PM_(2.5) mass, and its proportion in PM_(2.5) increased from 28.39%–41.08% to 48.96%–61.21% after the WFGD process for the three units. The desulfurizing process also drastically increased the proportion of cation component(Ca~(2+) for unit A, Mg~(2+) for unit B, and Na+for unit C) and the proportion of SO_4~(2-) in PM_(2.5), and it increased the CE/AE values of PM_(2.5) from 0.82–0.98 to 0.93–1.27 for the three study units.     

Investigation on the relationship between the fine particle emission and crystallization characteristics of gypsum during wet flue gas desulfurization process

The relationship between the fine particles emitted after desulfurization and gypsum crystals in the desulfurization slurry was investigated, and the crystallization characteristics varying with the operation parameters and compositions of the desulfurization slurry were discussed. The results showed that the fine particles generated during the desulfurization process were closely related to the crystal characteristics in the desulfurization slurry by comparison of their morphology and elements. With the higher proportion of fine crystals in the desulfurization slurry, the number concentration of fine particles after desulfurization was increased and their particle sizes were smaller, indicating that the optimization of gypsum crystallization was beneficial for the reduction of the fine particle emission. The lower pH value and an optimal temperature of the desulfurization slurry were beneficial to restrain the generation of fine crystals in the desulfurization slurry. In addition, the higher concentrations of the Fe^3 + ions and the F⁻ ions in the desulfurization slurry both promoted the generation of fine crystals with corresponding change of the morphology and the effect of the Fe^3 + ions was more obvious. With the application of the desulfurization synergist additive, it was beneficial for the inhibition of fine crystals while the thinner crystals were generated.     

北京大气颗粒物数浓度粒径分布特征及与气象条件的相关性

2011年11月~2012年8月,采用WPS宽范围粒径谱仪在北京地区连续监测10nm~10μm间不同粒径大气颗粒物数浓度,并同步记录气象参数.结果表明,颗粒物数浓度均值为25014个/cm3,多呈单峰或双峰模式分布,其中冬季均值为31007个/cm3,春季23152个/cm3,夏季20882个/cm3,冬季明显高于其他季节.爱根核模态及积聚模态均呈现冬季高、春夏低的态势;核模态春季显著高于其他季节.各气象因素中,风速影响最为显著,粒径大于20nm颗粒物数浓度与风速呈反比.核模态与爱根核模态粒子数浓度在交通早高峰、正午与晚间高于其他时段,积聚模态粒子数浓度变化则相对平缓,夜间显著升高.     

Effect of traffic restriction on atmospheric particle concentrations and their size distributions in urban Lanzhou, Northwestern China

During the 2012 Lanzhou International Marathon, the local government made a significant effort to improve traffic conditions and air quality by implementing traffic restriction measures. To evaluate the direct effect of these measures on urban air quality, especially particle concentrations and their size distributions, atmospheric particle size distributions(0.5–20 μm) obtained using an aerodynamic particle sizer(model 3321, TSI, USA) in June 2012 were analyzed. It was found that the particle number, surface area and volume concentrations for size range 0.5–10 μm were(15.0±2.1) cm-3,(11.8±2.6) μm2/cm3and(1.9±0.6) μm2/cm3, respectively, on the traffic-restricted day(Sunday), which is 63.2%, 53.0% and 47.2% lower than those on a normal Sunday. For number and surface area concentrations, the most affected size range was 0.5–0.7 and 0.5–0.8 μm, respectively, while for volume concentration, the most affected size ranges were 0.5–0.8, 1.7–2.0 and 5.0–5.4 μm. Number and volume concentrations of particles in size range 0.5–1.0 μm correlated well with the number of non-CNG(Compressed Natural Gas) powered vehicles, while their correlation with the number of CNG-powered vehicles was very low, suggesting that reasonable urban traffic controls along with vehicle technology improvements could play an important role in improving urban air quality.     

Number concentration and size distributions of submicron particles in Jinan urban area： Characteristics in summer and winter

The aerosol number concentration and size distribution were measured with the newly developed Wide-range Particle Spectrometer in summer and winter of 2006 at the urban site of Jinan City.Here reported the characteristics of fine particles of the different observation seasons.Relative high number concentrations for the particles in the diameter range of 10-500 nm were observed in both seasons.It was found that the dominant number distributed in particle diameter smaller than 100 nm and the percentage over the number concentration of all air particles is much higher than what has been measured in other urban sites over the world.The number mean diameter in summer was much smaller than in winter,strongly suggesting the different origin of ultrafine particles in different seasons.That is, particles in ultrafine mode mainly came from nucleation and new particle formation in summer while from traffic emission in winter. The diurnal variation also supported this point.Number concentration in the diameter range of 10-200 nm got their peak values at noontime,well correlated with the mixing ratio of SO_2 and the intensity of solar radiation in summer.While in winter,those in the same diameter range showed the main peaks during the traffic hours happened in the morning and evening.