Activated Carbon Injection for Mercury Control at Coal Plants

Implications:     The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on February 8, 2009 in favor of the plaintiffs that coal plants could not be removed from the list of mercury sources subject to a Maximum Available Control Technology (MACT) standard and the subsequent movements to require EPA to set a mercury MACT standard for coal-fired power plants provides an opportunity in the mercury control space, including activated carbon.

Analysis:     Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced on February 14, 2008 S. 2643, “Mercury Emissions Control Act” (MECA).  MECA requires the EPA to set a MACT standard for coal-fired power plants.  The bill calls for MACT to remove at least 90% of mercury that would otherwise be emitted.
 
     Activated carbon injection is one of the leading and proven means to remove mercury from a coal plant’s emissions.  One of the companies in the activated carbon space and planning expansion is Calgon Carbon Corporation.

    As the article stated, a coal plant’s configuration and the type of coal it burns influence the control system’s efficiency.  Likewise, it also affects the amount of activated carbon required to achieve the proposed 90% removal rate.  For planning purpose, new plants with 90% mercury removal require approximately 13 lbs per each 100 MWhr.