April 12, 2007

Mercury CEMS Decisions Should be Made Now Say Presenters in Hot Topic Hour

Lots of very current information was provided in the Mercury CEMS Hot Topic Hour on April 12. On one hand we heard that decisions need to be made now and on the other hand that there are still loose ends. Nevertheless, the program is moving forward and CEMS are meeting RATA tests.

We are also providing direct links to the power points which were presented yesterday and to the various branches in the Decision Tree where information resides. Text in italics is our Alert Commentary. The rest is as it appears in the tree.

EPA - Reynaldo Forte

Both the instrument and sorbent trap reference methods should move through to adoption by July, 2007

Continuing Decision Process For: CEMS

Status of Mercury CEMS Rules by Reynaldo Forte for Nov. 16 Hot Topic Hour.

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Mercury_Decision_Tree/subscriber/Tree/DescriptionTextLinks/Clean Air Mercury Rule Hot Topic Hour 11-16-06.htm
 

ADA-ES – Sharon Sjostrom

ADA-ES has shown at Presque Isle that you can effectively use the mercury CEMS as a process analyzer. In fact the accuracy requirements are more precise than required by CAMR but the rewards are either lower sorbent costs or more trading allowances. Ninety percent removal is being achieved at ~0.5ug/m³.

RATA plans include testing of compliance CEM as IRM along with Ontario Hydro and the Sorbent Trap.

Continuing Decision Process For: Background

BACKGROUND INFORMATION - Various approaches are being taken to accurately and continuously measure mercury. Here is a compilation of analyses.

http://mcilvainecompany.com/Mercury_Decision_Tree/subscriber/Tree/DescriptionTextLinks/background_information.htm
 

ADA provided an update of actual CEMS experience at the April 12 Hot Topic Hour

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Mercury_Decision_Tree/subscriber/Tree/DescriptionTextLinks/Sjostrom Process CEMs.pdf
 

 Clean Air Engineering – Jim Wright

The MET-80 system fulfills Appendix K requirements and is fully integrated into the plant DAHS with remote control and fiber optic data transmission and local storage to avoid data loss. The differences between this Appendix K method and the sorbent trap reference method are as follows:

Appendix K vs. Reference Method

Continuing Decision Process For: Products

Clean Air Engineering has teamed with Consol and SKC to offer sorbent traps which can be used in lieu of mercury CEMS or in combination to provide greater accuracy.

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Mercury_Decision_Tree/subscriber/Tree/DescriptionTextLinks/MET-Team_McIlvaine.htm
 

An updated status was presented at the April 12, 2007 Hot Topic Hour

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Mercury_Decision_Tree/subscriber/Tree/DescriptionTextLinks/CleanAir_20070412.pdf
 

Sich Maihak - Dan Dietzer

More than 110 mercury CEMS are installed. Most are in Europe on a mix of waste incinerators, cement plants, and some coal-fired boilers. Experience with the CEMS for U.S. coal-fired boilers is growing.  Features of the system are as follows:

MERCEM – Mercury Measurement

MERCEM – extractive type Hg CEMS using wet conversion technology
 

§         Non-dilution
 

§         SnCl2 conversion

o       100% Conversion efficiency
 

§         Measurement via amalgamation on gold trap and CVAAS analyzer

o       No cross interference from other stack components

Continuing Decision Process For: Products

Sick Maihak now has over 100 mercury analyzers in operation. Ten are on coal-fired boilers, 20 on cement kilns, and 70 on waste-to-energy stacks. Two recent NAFTA installations include a waste-to-energy stack in Canada which has been subjected to six RATAs and one in Pennsylvania which has conducted its first RATA. This system utilizes the wet reductant method.

http://mcilvainecompany.com/Mercury_Decision_Tree/subscriber/Tree/DescriptionTextLinks/PIMERCEM_en_8009044.pdf
 

An updated status was presented at the April 12, 2007 Hot Topic Hour

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Mercury_Decision_Tree/subscriber/Tree/DescriptionTextLinks/McIlvaine_MERCEM Presentation_April 2007.htm
 

Terry Marsh – Shaw Group

It will take 12 to 13 months to purchase and install a mercury CEMS. Since it would be prudent to have six months for fine tuning before the deadline of January l , 2009, purchases need to be made now.

Terry listed important observations relative to the current status of CEMS implementation.

§         Technology is still under development

o       Automated HgCl calibrators are still not available

o       No elemental or oxidized calibrators are NIST traceable

o       If your system has not been challenged with HgCl then your systems performance cannot be validated.

§         Experience in maintenance and trouble shoot is limited, but growing. You need to get your own before 1/09.

§         Testing firms have limited experience in certifying Hg CEMS

§         Appendix K Systems are being developed for Continuous Monitoring (backup and delay).

§         Inertial probes work well in most conditions.

§         Not all installation conditions have been experienced.

§         New certification methods are pending approval.

Shaw is working on a number of CEMS systems and reports the cost per system for the utility is likely to be $400,000. The payments to the system integrator vary as per the following examples:

Ø      Utility A            50+ systems approximate average unit price $274,000 each.

Ø      Utility B            19 systems approximate average unit price $292,000 each.

Ø      Utility C            5 systems approximate average price $480,000 each.

Ø      Utility D            one system avg. price $380,000.

Ø      Utility E            25 systems avg. price $360,000 each

Ø      Utility F            22 systems avg. price $252,000 each.

Average non-shelter $265k

Average including shelter $350k

      Includes rack-mounted system with air clean up & umbilical.

Continuing Decision Process For: Products

Hg Monitoring Update - April 12, 2007

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Mercury_Decision_Tree/subscriber/Tree/DescriptionTextLinks/Hot Topic Hg Presentation April 2007.pdf