Migration And Emission Behavior Of Arsenic And Selenium In A Circulating Fluidized Bed Power Plant Burning Arsenic/Selenium-Enriched Coal

Arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) pollution caused by coal combustion is receiving increasing concerns. The environmental impacts of As/Se are determined not only by stack emission but also by leaching process from combustion byproducts. For a better control of As/Se emission from As/Se-enriched coal combustion, this study investigated the migration and emission behavior of As/Se in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) power plant equipped with fabric filter (FF) and wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) system. The results demonstrated that arsenic was both enriched in bottom ash (41.4-47.6%) and fly ash (52.4-58.6%), while selenium was mainly captured by fly ash (73.9-83.4%). Limestone injection into furnace promoted As/Se retention in ash residues. Arsenic was mainly converted into arsenate in high-temperature regions and partly trapped in bottom ash as arsenite. In contrast, selenium capture mainly occurred in low-temperature flue gas by the formation of selenite, because of the poor thermal stability of most selenite. Triplet-tank method can totally remove arsenic in WFGD wastewater. And 18.4 -58.7% of selenium was removed, resulting from the precipitation of Se4+ anions with highly soluble Se6+ anions remaining in wastewater. The concentrations of As and Se in the stack emission were 0.25-1.02 and 0.96-2.24 mg/m(3), receptively. The CFB boiler equipped with FF thorn WFGD was shown to provide good control of the As/Se emission into the atmosphere. Leaching tests suggested that more attention should be paid to As leachability from fly ash/gypsum, and Se leachability from gypsum/sludge. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.