Panel Calls Beneficiation-FGD Combination “Most Economical, Best Ail-Around Choice”

Abstract

The Commerce Technical Advisory Board (CTAB) Panel on Sulfur Oxide mission Control Technology was established in the spring of_1975 by the Secretary of Commerce in response to the urgent need for the use of coal to meet the Nation’s energy requirements, while maintaining the SO₂ emission standards resulting from the Clean Air Act of 1970.

The Panel’s 20 members and 11 consultants, drawn broadly from industry, government, and academia are highly qualified in the diverse fields pertinent to SO_x control technologies. They committed themselves to make an objective analysis of how soon, at what cost, and with what trade-offs commercially available SO₂ continuous emissions controls can be installed, with arrangements for waste disposal, in all coal-fifed electricity generating plants in the populous Northeastern quadrant of the United States.

In its final report, submitted on September 10, 1975 to Dr. Betsy Ancker-Johnson, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology, U. S.Department of Commerce, and Chairman of the Commerce Technical Advisory Board, the Panel concludes that installation and operation of continuous SO_x emission controls on all Northeastern coal-fired electricity generating plants cannot be met until the early 1980’s, and then only with a maximum effort beginning immediately. Specific site and market constraints will determine the most economical and practical control technology for any given plant. The Panel believes that coal beneficiation, alone where it meets standards, or combined with lime/limestone flue gas desulfurization, often represents the lowest cost control technique.