The partitioning of As and Hg in various components of lime spray dryer (LSD) ash samples from a coalfired boiler was characterized to better understand the form and fate of these elements in flue gas desulfurization byproducts. LSD ash samples, collected from the McCracken Power Plant on the Ohio State University campus, were separated by a 140-mesh (106 µm) sieve into two fractions: a fly-ash-/unburned-carbon-enriched fraction (>106 µm) and a calcium-enriched fraction (<106 µm). Unburned carbon and fly ash in the material >106 µm were subsequently separated by density using a lithium heteropolytungstate solution. The concentrations of As and Hg were significant in all fractions. The level of As was consistently greater in the calcium-enriched fraction, while Hg was evenly distributed in all components of LSD ash. Specific surface area was an important factor controlling the distribution of Hg in the different components of LSD ash, but not for As. Comparing the LSD ash data to samples collected from the economizer suggests that As was effectively captured by fly ash at 600 °C, while Hg was not. Leaching tests demonstrated that As and Hg were more stable in the calciumenriched fraction than in the fly-ash-or carbon-enriched fractions, potentially because of the greater pH of the leachate and subsequently greater stability of small amounts of calcium solids containing trace elements in these fractions.

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Total gaseous mercury in headspace air was measured for enclosed concretes dry curing at 40 degrees C for intervals of 2, 28, and 56 days. Release of mercury was confirmed for ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPC) and three concretes in which class F fly ash substituted for a fraction of the cement: (a) 33% fly ash (FA33), (b) 55% fly ash (FA55), and (c) 33% fly ash plus 0.5% mercury-loaded powdered activated carbon (HgPAC). Mean rates of mercury release (0.10-0.43 ng/day per kg of concrete) over the standard first 28 days of curing followed the order OPC < FA33 approximately FA55 < HgPAC. The mercury flux from exposed surfaces of these concretes ranged from 1.9 +/- 0.5 to 8.1 +/-2.0 ng/m(2)/h, values similar to the average flux for multiple natural substrates in Nevada, 4.2 +/- 1.4 ng/m(2)/h, recently published by others. Air sampling extending for 28 days beyond the initial 28-day maturation for OPC, FA55, and HgPAC suggested that the average Hg release rate by OPC is constant over 56 days and that mercury release rates for FA55 and HgPAC may ultimately diminish to levels exhibited by OPC concrete. The release of mercury from all samples was less than 0.1% of total mercury content over the initial curing period, implying that nearly all of the mercury was retained in the concrete.

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