Creek Coal
Ameren Cilco and Duck Creek Power Plant are a problem in our area?
Rumors are out there that state that Ameren Cilco may be releasing a toxic gas. Organic Mercury? One of the rumors I have heard is that they are having problems with a coal granulator and since they can not produce power without coal they are releasing organic mercury into our air and water. The reason is of coarse economic, and that is the reason for the rate hike and the scandal. Have you heard anything like this?
After doing simple Google searches and reading several press releases, here’s my analysis:
Background: Coal combustion is the major input of mercury (Hg) into the environment. The Hg is inorganic and in the coal as part of its mineral content. After burning, the Hg mostly is converted to gaseous form, and Hg then condenses on the very small particles of fly ash.
Ameren issued a press release (Ref 1) saying it would be controlling Hg emissions from Duck Creek. Most notable about this press release is how *little* it says about Hg control.
The State of Illinois issued a press release (Ref 2) indicating that additional scrubbers would be installed, achieving greater control of Hg, SO2, and NOx.
Prior to *any* of these press release, Riley Power issued a press release (Ref 3) indicating that they are under contract to upgrade the steam generator:
“The project is valued in excess of $40,000,000 and consists of redesigning and replacing the superheater, reheater and economizer sections, combined with pulverizer modifications, to accommodate reliable PRB operation. The equipment is planned to be operational in the second half of 2007.”
OK, so *how* do you control Hg emissions from a power plant? Easiest is to switch to coal supply with less Hg content, like western coal. Naturally, Illinois didn’t want Ameren to do this, because it would hurt the Illinois coal producers and the state economy. Another way is to remove mineral matter from coal before combustion, by washing, sorting, and “ugrading” the feed coal. Finally, you can control what goes out the stack with scrubbers – more efficient capture of fly ash reduces air emissions of Hg (and puts that Hg into fly ash that has to be disposed of safely). That appears to be the solution that Ameren and Illinois are crowing about.
To summarize, the Hg problem is with releases of inorganic, not organic mercury to the environment. Once Hg is released and enters ecosystems, it can get converted to organic mercury by bacteria that methylate the Hg, but that happens later. And yes, Ameren probably was having trouble with their pulverizing equipment at this 30-yr-old power plant, so they needed to upgrade. When the scrubbers come on line, they should do a lot to reduce Hg emissions. Finally, *every* coal burning power plant in the US (and there are *lots*) emits tons of mercury per year into our environment. It’s a major national problem, likely to get worse as natural gas prices increase and more and more utilities turn to coal.
Windrock ATV / Coal Creek OHV – 4 Wheelin – April 15, 2009
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