Mercury emissions from waste combustion in China from 2004 to 2010

Hu, Dan; Zhang, Wei; Chen, Long; Chen, Cen; Ou, Langbo; Tong, Yindong; Wang, Wen; Long, Wenjing; Wang, Xuejun

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.08.061

Cited by 37 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The amounts of metal emissions from incineration were further estimated. According to previous studies, 1%-20%, 40%-60%, <1%, 2%-40%, and 48% of Pb, Cd, Cr, As, and Hg, respectively, might be emitted into the atmosphere during the incineration process [24,33,34].…”

Section: Materials Flow Analysismentioning

confidence: 94%

Occurrence and Fate of Heavy Metals in Municipal Wastewater in Heilongjiang Province, China: A Monthly Reconnaissance from 2015 to 2017

Zhang

Ma³

et al. 2020

Water

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As one of the major sources of pollutions in the environments, effluents from municipal wastewater recently became a hot topic. This study quantified monthly county-level releases of five heavy metals, i.e., lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg), from municipal wastewater into the environment in the Heilongjiang Province of China, based on sampling, measurement, and modeling tools. Wastewater samples were collected from 27 municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs) in 15 county-level cities of Heilongjiang every month from 2015 to 2017. The concentrations of five heavy metals were analyzed in both influents (Pb: 160 ± 100 μg/L; Cd: 15 ± 9.0 μg/L; Cr: 170 ± 64 μg/L; Hg: 0.67 ± 1.5 μg/L; As: 6.2 ± 4.8 μg/L) and effluents (Pb: 45 ± 15 μg/L; Cd: 5.2 ± 5.1 μg/L; Cr: 57 ± 13 μg/L; Hg: 0.28 ± 0.12 μg/L; As: 2.6 ± 1.4 μg/L). The removal ratios of the five heavy metals ranged from 50% to 67%. Inflow fluxes of Pb, Cr, and Cd displayed increasing trends first then decreased after reaching a maximum value, whereas those of Hg and Pb remained stable. Material flow analysis reveals that constructions of MWTPs are conducive to significantly reduce the releases of heavy metals from urban areas into the aquatic environment in the study area. Additionally, municipal wastewater sludge (used as fertilizer or spread on the land) could be a significant source of heavy metals in the land.

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Section: Materials Flow Analysismentioning

confidence: 94%

Occurrence and Fate of Heavy Metals in Municipal Wastewater in Heilongjiang Province, China: A Monthly Reconnaissance from 2015 to 2017

Zhang

Ma³

et al. 2020

Water

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“…Hg p proportion differs a lot between different biomass fuel types: 12, 25 and 1 % for fuel wood, crop residues and biomass pellets, respectively. Hu et al (2012) differentiated the emission factors for biomass burning and cooking and/or space heating in rural areas to be 0.035 and 0.515 g Hg t −1 biomass burned, respectively. W. Zhang et al (2013) tested 25 types of fuel wood, 8 types of crop residues and 2 types of biomass pellets, and found that the mercury emission rate during biomass burning is 78-99 % while the remainder stays in the residue.…”

Section: Mercury Speciation and Transformation In Flue Gas From Biomamentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury transformation and speciation in flue gases from anthropogenic emission sources: a critical review

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Mercury transformation mechanisms and speciation profiles are reviewed for mercury formed in and released from flue gases of coal-fired boilers, non-ferrous metal smelters, cement plants, iron and steel plants, waste incinerators, biomass burning and so on. Mercury in coal, ores, and other raw materials is released to flue gases in the form of Hg 0 during combustion or smelting in boilers, kilns or furnaces. Decreasing temperature from over 800 • C to below 300 • C in flue gases leaving boilers, kilns or furnaces promotes homogeneous and heterogeneous oxidation of Hg 0 to gaseous divalent mercury (Hg 2+ ), with a portion of Hg 2+ adsorbed onto fly ash to form particulate-bound mercury (Hg p ). Halogen is the primary oxidizer for Hg 0 in flue gases, and active components (e.g., TiO 2 , Fe 2 O 3 , etc.) on fly ash promote heterogeneous oxidation and adsorption processes. In addition to mercury removal, mercury transformation also occurs when passing through air pollution control devices (APCDs), affecting the mercury speciation in flue gases. In coal-fired power plants, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system promotes mercury oxidation by 34-85 %, electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and fabric filter (FF) remove over 99 % of Hg p , and wet flue gas desulfurization system (WFGD) captures 60-95 % of Hg 2+ . In non-ferrous metal smelters, most Hg 0 is converted to Hg 2+ and removed in acid plants (APs). For cement clinker production, mercury cycling and operational conditions promote heterogeneous mercury oxidation and adsorption. The mercury speciation profiles in flue gases emitted to the atmosphere are determined by transformation mechanisms and mercury removal efficiencies by various APCDs. For all the sectors reviewed in this study, Hg p accounts for less than 5 % in flue gases. In China, mercury emission has a higher Hg 0 fraction (66-82 % of total mercury) in flue gases from coal combustion, in contrast to a greater Hg 2+ fraction (29-90 %) from non-ferrous metal smelting, cement and iron and/or steel production. The higher Hg 2+ fractions shown here than previous estimates may imply stronger local environmental impacts than previously thought, caused by mercury emissions in East Asia. Future research should focus on determining mercury speciation in flue gases from iron and steel plants, waste incineration and biomass burning, and on elucidating the mechanisms of mercury oxidation and adsorption in flue gases.

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“…For ISP, heterogeneous Hg oxidation can be enhanced by the high concentration of dust and existence of Fe 2 O 3 in the flue gas during sintering process, leading to large Hg 2+ fraction for the sector reaching 66 % (Wang et al, 2016). For MSWI, CPP 76 23 1 73 26 2 71 28 0 50 40 10 RCC 46 37 16 25 27 48 71 27 2 50 40 10 O&G 50 40 10 50 40 10 50 40 10 50 40 10 OIB 54 39 7 30 57 13 66 33 2 50 40 10 CEM 27 73 1 60 38 2 34 65 1 80 15 5 ISP 34 66 0 54 37 9 34 66 0 80 15 5 NMS 50 50 0 55 45 0 ---80 results of domestic measurements (L. Chen et al, 2013;Hu et al, 2012) were applied in the provincial and NJU inventories, elevating the Hg 2+ fraction compared to THU and AMAP/UNEP inventories that applied a global uniform speciation profile without consideration of regional difference. It should be noted, however, that uncertainty exists in the estimation of speciated emissions at small spatial scale, attributed mainly to the limited samples in domestic measurements on CEM and ISP.…”

Section: Hg Speciation Analysis Of Multi-scale Inventoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A high-resolution regional emission inventory of atmospheric mercury and its comparison with multi-scale inventories: a case study of Jiangsu, China

Hui¹,

Yu²,

Muntean³

et al. 2016

Preprint

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A better understanding of the discrepancies in multi-scale inventories could give an insight into their approaches and limitations as well as provide indications for further improvements; international, national, and plant-byplant data are primarily obtained to compile those inventories. In this study we develop a high-resolution inventory of Hg emissions at 0.05 • × 0.05 • for Jiangsu, China, using a bottom-up approach and then compare the results with available global/national inventories. With detailed information on individual sources and the updated emission factors from field measurements applied, the annual Hg emissions of anthropogenic origin in Jiangsu in 2010 are estimated at 39 105 kg, of which 51, 47, and 2 % were Hg 0 , Hg 2+ , and Hg p , respectively. This provincial inventory is thoroughly compared to three downscaled national inventories (NJU, THU, and BNU) and two global ones (AMAP/UNEP and EDGARv4.tox2). Attributed to varied methods and data sources, clear information gaps exist in multi-scale inventories, leading to differences in the emission levels, speciation, and spatial distributions of atmospheric Hg. The total emissions in the provincial inventory are 28, 7, 19, 22, and 70 % larger than NJU, THU, BNU, AMAP/UNEP, and EDGARv4.tox2, respectively. For major sectors, including power generation, cement, iron and steel, and other coal com-bustion, the Hg contents (HgC) in coals/raw materials, abatement rates of air pollution control devices (APCDs) and activity levels are identified as the crucial parameters responsible for the differences in estimated emissions between inventories. Regarding speciated emissions, a larger fraction of Hg 2+ is found in the provincial inventory than national and global inventories, resulting mainly from the results by the most recent domestic studies in which enhanced Hg 2+ were measured for cement and iron and steel plants. Inconsistent information on large power and industrial plants is the main source of differences in spatial distribution of emissions between the provincial and other inventories, particularly in southern and northwestern Jiangsu, where intensive coal combustion and industry are located. Quantified with Monte Carlo simulation, uncertainties in the provincial inventory are smaller than those of the NJU national inventory, resulting mainly from the more accurate activity data of individual plants and the reduced uncertainties in HgC in coals/raw materials.

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Mercury emissions from waste combustion in China from 2004 to 2010

Cited by 37 publications

References 21 publications

Occurrence and Fate of Heavy Metals in Municipal Wastewater in Heilongjiang Province, China: A Monthly Reconnaissance from 2015 to 2017

Occurrence and Fate of Heavy Metals in Municipal Wastewater in Heilongjiang Province, China: A Monthly Reconnaissance from 2015 to 2017

Mercury transformation and speciation in flue gases from anthropogenic emission sources: a critical review

A high-resolution regional emission inventory of atmospheric mercury and its comparison with multi-scale inventories: a case study of Jiangsu, China

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