Capturing dangerous power plant emissions is a huge topic in the industry these days. That is why Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is continuing its research to eliminate or reduce metals from power plant emissions, after it licensed out its technology to cut out mercury and other toxic substances from industrial waste streams.
Self-Assembled Monolayers on Mesoporous Supports (SAMMS) is a technology that can selectively remove metal contaminants without creating hazardous waste or by-products. Steward Environmental Solutions of Chattanooga, Tenn., will market SAMMS to treat stack emissions from coal fired power plants, process industry, and municipal facilities.
In tests conducted at PNNL, researchers removed 99.9% of mercury in simulated waste water. That reduction places the mercury levels well below the Environmental Protection Agency’s discharge limits. This could equate to significant savings in disposal charges for users with mercury or other toxic metals in their facility waste streams, said Rick Skaggs, PNNL commercialization lead.
Skaggs said SAMMS can also recover toxic substances such as lead, chromium, arsenic, and radionuclides. “PNNL is ready to expand upon the SAMMS platform to continue to develop new application technologies,” Skaggs said. PNNL and Steward are investigating the capture of other metals from power plant emissions.
The economic and effective capture of mercury in aqueous and organic solutions also holds great promise for treating mercury-laden effluents, said Steward’s Robert E. Jones. The company also expects to work with PNNL on other applications. “We intend to develop alternatives to traditional technologies that result in mercury going into fly ash by-products such as concrete or gypsum.” SAMMS could work in pulp and paper, the chemical industry, mining, and municipal waste operations, Jones said.
EPA estimates that coal-fired power plants contribute about 48 tons of mercury to the U.S. environment each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate one in eight women have mercury concentrations in their bodies that exceed safety limits. In March 2005, EPA issued the first federal rule to permanently cap and reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. This rule makes the U.S. the first country to regulate mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.
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