US coal plant chooses ADA technology for mercury control

A large US utility has chosen Advanced Emissions Solutions Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary ADA-ES Inc.’s patented M-Prove™ Technology for use at its coal-fired plant to meet mercury emissions compliance standards.

In addition to mercury control, the M-Prove Technology addresses balance-of-plant concerns for coal-fired power plants by reducing the corrosion risk associated with other commonly used chemicals, enhancing overall system reliability, and reducing environmental impact. The M-Prove Technology allows coal plant operators to use an environmentally benign chemical additive at very low levels to ensure cost effective mercury control compliance.

Coal-fired power plants are under pressure to comply not only with the Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS), but also state-specific rules around mercury emissions that are often more stringent than MATS. These power plants must also tackle the long-term operating and maintenance costs associated with complying with these regulations. The M-Prove Technology includes a patented halogen-based, coal additive that is applied to coal before the combustion process to enable improved and more efficient capture of mercury through air pollution control systems.

"Now that most coal plants are required to be in compliance with MATS, plant managers are moving beyond implementation to optimisation and cost reduction. Plants want to be as efficient and reliable as possible, and that's where the M-Prove Technology comes in," said Sharon Sjostrom, Chief Product Officer of ADES, "We developed and patented the M-Prove Technology to provide the benefits of halogen addition for mercury control, without the potential negative impacts that have been observed with bromine. Our approach is to use a form of halogen that can be applied at very low levels. This essentially eliminates the risk associated with bromine injection at higher levels while achieving similar mercury control benefits."

Coal-fired power plants typically only need 1/10 the amount of the M-Prove Technology chemical compared to other halogen-based coal treatments, such as bromine. Although it is possible to reduce the amount of bromine needed by applying transition metals, such as iron, to the coal, the company has also patented the combined use of transition metals with a halogen for the purpose of reducing mercury emissions. By using the M-Prove Technology, bromine related issues, such as corrosion in the flue gas path, issues associated with water treatment, leaching, or unintended environmental emissions, are effectively mitigated. The M-Prove Technology also allows the reduction of sorbent consumption for ACI systems. Coal-fired plants can easily modify their existing systems to use the M-Prove Technology with minimal investment and installation costs.

Sjostrom concluded, "Coal remains a robust part of the energy infrastructure. While its usage is declining, we can't simply 'turn it off'. Our mission at ADA is to provide coal-fired plants with solutions that help them comply more easily and cost-effectively with federal and state emissions regulations and become a more environmentally-responsible energy source. Using less chemical additive, we can give customers the emissions solutions they need, while at the same time, help them to improve their operational efficiency and minimise maintenance and repair costs. To date, our refined coal affiliate, Clean Coal Solutions, which uses the M-Prove Technology, has treated over 100 million tons of coal without any reported issues. This recent contract is further validation that our M-Prove Technology holds substantial value in today's environment."

Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/power/11052016/us-coal-plant-chooses-ada-technology-for-mercury-control-750/