New Models for FGD Performance, Cost and Hazardous Air Pollutant Removal

The capability to estimate the performance and cost of modern FGD systems is critical to a variety of planning and analysis requirements faced by utilities, regulators, researchers and analysts in the public and private sectors. As a result of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, the ability of FGD systems to control emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) also is of interest. The computer models described in this paper have been developed for DOE and EPRI to provide an up-to-date capability for analyzing emission control options for power plant systems. A variety of pre-combustion, combustion, and post-combustion options, utilizing several common FGD processes, are included in an integrated framework which allows the performance and cost of alternative emission control systems to be evaluated and compared systematically. A unique capability allows performance and costs to be modeled probabilistically, which allows explicit characterization of uncertainties and risks. Illustrative results showing typical performance, cost, and HAPs emissions characteristics for modem FGD systems are presented, along with examples of the use of probabilistic analysis for quantifying various types of risks.