Coal combustion aerosol, problems

We have used both the horizontally and vertically configured impactors to sample coal-combustion aerosols in elevated plumes and in plumes at ground level near Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland. Few problems were encountered in this study however, particle bounce could not be evaluated for ambient samples because the individual submicrometer particles could not be discerned. Marple and Rubow (8) have performed extensive calibrations with monodisperse aerosols these show that impaction plates covered with aluminium foil have slightly larger D50S than plates covered with Teflon-fiber filters. 

Combustion of coal produces ash that can be transported through the air. Slagging and fouling problems can also be predicted from elemental analysis. Therefore, elemental analysis of both the coal as well as the ash are important. Procedures for dissolution and analysis of coal and combustion products of coal have been reported [334-336]. Laser ablation sampling has been successfully used for coal and combusted materials [337,338]. The direct introduction of slurries has also been used [339]. Comparison of ICP-MS and PIXE analysis of coal combustion aerosols showed that analysis errors can occur in ICP-MS if particle vaporization is incomplete in the ICP [340]. 

In this section we focus on four specific environmental problems coal combustion aerosol formation, dynamics of atmospheric aerosols, the chemical characterization of particles, and the role of aerosols in clean room technology or so-called microcontamination control. For the reader interested in an introduction to aerosol science, we recommend three texts [6-8]. 

Adsorbents, extraction procedures, organic pollutants, 113 Aerosol, problems in measuring, coal combustion, 312-317 Aerosol carbon data, results and discussion, carbon isotope tracers, 270-275... 

Air pollution due to particulate matter and SO from coal combustion, has been a serious problem for many years. The word smog was originally coined in 1905 (see Wayne (2000)) to describe the combination of aerosol particulates and fog. These conditions were present in many industrial cities, and especially in London in the 1940s-50s more than 4000 people died in the 1952 London pollution episode. However, new regulations were introduced (smokeless fuel) and this problem was soon eliminated. 

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