UTILITY MATS COMPLIANCE FOR UTILITIES BURNING BITUMINOUS AND SUBBITUMINOUS COALS - CASE STUDIES

摘要

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been actively developing environmental regulations that will impact coal-fired power plant operations. On February 16, 2012, EPA published the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) into the Federal Register, and the rule was effective on April 16, 2012. The MATS Rule for existing coal-fired Electric Generating Units (EGUs) include emission limits for the following pollutants: mercury (Hg), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and filterable particulate matter (PM). EPA’s final rule also establishes an alternative standard for sulfur dioxide (SO2) as a surrogate for HCl. This paper will evaluate the potential strategies that utilities can choose to comply with the MATS Rule. Compliance will likely require different strategies for units that burn bituminous coal as opposed to western sub-bituminous. This paper will present several case studies that evaluate the existing air quality control systems (AQCS) and any additional unit operations that may be required to meet the MATS emission levels for Hg, HCl, and filterable PM.