NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                                AUGUST 2013

China Can Remove Mercury at Low Cost Thanks to U.S. Developments

In order to meet tough regulations in the U.S. technology developers have made great strides in creating low cost routes to achieve mercury removal from power plant exhausts. The cost is especially low if the plant already has a scrubber. China is installing scrubbers on nearly all its plants. As a result China can remove mercury with just a tiny percent increase in its air pollution control investment and operating cost.

There have been some very significant recent breakthroughs which need to be communicated to the Chinese policy makers. To this end, McIlvaine conducted a webinar last week in Mandarin Chinese with two FGD experts. A presentation on removal technology was made by Bobby Chen of CBI Shaw. Questions and discussion were provided by Shiaw Tseng of Graymont. This presentation in Mandarin is available as a recording in the McIlvaine Global Decisions Orchard and on YouTube.

McIlvaine Global Decisions Orchard: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/component/content/article?id=573

YouTube: http://youtu.be/ldq33k5UWTs

U.S. power plants emitted 100,000 lbs of mercury per year prior to the regulations. By 2016 emissions will have been reduced by more than 80,000 lbs per year. China operates four times as many coal-fired boilers as the U.S., and five times as many cement plants. The potential Chinese reductions are much more significant than those in the U.S. Mercury is a world traveler. Gold mines in Brazil are emitting mercury which has been tracked to the arctic, so this is a global problem and needs a global solution. China has demonstrated a willingness to spend a great deal to improve the environment, so it is likely that they will take advantage of this opportunity when the low cost and ease of achieving the reduction are made clear.

For more information on other breakthroughs in power plant air quality improvement, click on: Power Plant Air Quality Decisions

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