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K-Fuel® Test Burn Lowers Mercury Emissions by Almost 82 Percent at Western Pennsylvania Power Plant
DENVER - February 7, 2008 - A recently completed month-long test burn of K-Fuel® refined coal blended with Ohio coal produced an almost 82 percent drop in mercury emissions at the stack of a western Pennsylvania power plant when compared to the mercury content of the raw coal normally burned at the plant - opening new lower-cost options for coal-fueled boilers to comply with strict new mercury emissions standards across the country.
The blend of 75 percent Ohio bituminous coal and 25 percent K-Fuel® refined coal from Wyoming was supplied by Buckeye Industrial Mining of Lisbon, Ohio, a subsidiary of Evergreen Energy Inc. (NYSE Arca: EEE). The test was conducted under third-party supervision.
"Simply by switching to K-Fuel® blended with local coal at the 25:75 ratio, this plant took a big bite out of its mercury emissions, which suggests that plants of its type could see sizable cost savings through added fuel flexibility and reduced or eliminated need for expensive post-combustion cleanup technologies," said Kevin Collins, president and CEO of Evergreen. "These findings show that blends of local coals with K-Fuel® refined coal offer utility and industrial coal consumers a near-term, effective and cost-saving strategy to meet new mercury emissions standards taking effect around the country."
Collins added that by varying the percentage of K-Fuel® in the blend, coal consumers could source a variety of local coals for their needs. This added fuel flexibility would not only likely result in cost savings, but also bode well for the preservation of coal mining jobs in the eastern U.S. or wherever local coals are in need of improved performance to meet new emissions standards.
Pennsylvania and 25 other states have implemented, or are implementing, various mercury emissions rules that are stricter than the federal Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR). The federal mercury rule requires compliance with a nationwide 38 ton per year first phase cap effective 2010 and a second phase cap, effective 2018, of 15 tons per year.
The test results suggested that the 81.7 percent mercury reduction achieved with the K-Fuel® blend could reduce by two-thirds the amount of costly activated carbon the plant would need to inject in order to comply with the strictest interpretation of Pennsylvania’s mercury standard.
A lower need for activated carbon would generate sizable cost savings. Activated carbon injection is an accepted method for removing mercury from the flue gases of coal-fueled power plants, but the process is expensive and it reduces the value of the plant’s fly ash, which is sold for use in the construction materials industry.
The fuel and stack-based test results were encouraging, as well, for industrial boiler operators who must comply with new federal emissions regulations known as MACT (maximum available control technology) that were slated to take effect last fall but have been delayed by court appeals.
In previously announced results from tests at the University of Notre Dame and the City of Painesville, Ohio, a blend of K-Fuel® and local coals allowed both plants to achieve compliance with the federal MACT rules for industrial boilers. Achieving compliance with the MACT industrial boiler standards is an important finding because many of those industrial boilers are too small to install scrubbers or injection on a cost-effective basis.
Quinapoxet Solutions of Windham, NH provided technical support and third party verification for the test burn. A summary of the report findings is available on the Evergreen Energy web site at Evergreen Articles and Reports.
https://www.evgenergy.com/documents/Release-Evergreen-PA-Test-Burn-FINAL.shtml