In December 2000, EPA announced their intent to regulate mercury emissions from the nation's coal-fired power plants. Draft legislation indicates that new regulations may require removal efficiencies as high as 90 percent from existing sources. In anticipation of these regulations, a great deal of research has been conducted during the past decade to characterize the emission and control of mercury compounds from the combustion of coal. The Department of Energy, EPA, and EPRI funded much of this research. A key finding from this research is that because of the large volumes of gas to be treated, low concentrations of mercury, and I presence of difficult-to-capture species such as elemental mercury, 90 percent mercury reduction for utilities could cost the industry as much as USD5 billion per year. Most of these costs will be borne by power plants that burn low-sulfur coal and do not have wet scrubbers as part of the air pollution equipment.
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