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United StatesCleaner Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants
Particulate matter, also known as fine particles or particle pollution, emitted by coal-fired power stations are deemed a serious air pollution problem in Russia. Studies have shown that exposure to high levels of particulate matter is related to an increase of respiratory and cardiac mortality.Particulate matter can irritate small airways in the lungs, which can lead to increased problems with asthma, chronic bronchitis, and airway obstruction (1).The issue has become a global concern, and measures to reduce the amount of these particles are currently under development.
In order to address this environmental problem and it’s impact on human health, a team of scientists from the institute of Organic Chemistry in Moscow, supported by the All-Russia Thermal Engineering Institute Moscow designed and built a more efficient “wet scrubber” to absorb the particles coming out of coal power plants. The ISTC project # 3407 was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Wet scrubbers are designed to collect particulate matter and/or gaseous pollutants. They remove dust particles by capturing them in liquid droplets. But the scrubbers used in Russia are in many cases below optimal operational levels, and often do not meet international standards regarding harmful emissions.
The project has now been successfully completed with research showing that adding chemical oxidants sharply increased the efficiency of fine particlecapture from flue gases. Moreover, if water spray flow is raised threefold in comparison with conventional mode, particle emissions are reduced more than ten times.
Particulate matter can travel a great distance in the atmosphere, therefore the problem is trans boundary and global. The new improved wet scrubber offers a practical solution to this type of air pollution in Russia and many other countries using coal fired power stations.
The institute is currently looking for partners in commercializing the technology.
Click here to access technical description of the wet scrubber.
For more information about the project:
Eun Joo Yi
Partner Project Manager US EPA
Eunjooyi@istc.ru