Can control technologies capture mercury emissions?
Pollution controls already installed to reduce ozone, acid rain, and particulates already remove, on average, about 40 percent of the mercury present in coal. Depending on the type of coal used and what pollution controls are installed at a power plant, reductions in mercury emissions can vary from less than 10 percent to more than 90 percent. Along with the federal government, the electric utility industry is involved in several areas of mercury research, particularly mercury control technologies. The research is primarily focused on augmenting existing pre- and post-combustion technologies, with various combustion conditions being studied for possible mercury removal or mercury speciation modifications. In addition, mercury-specific control technologies are in various stages of development, testing, and demonstration. EPA notes “[c]urrently none of these technologies are in commercial operation on power plants in the U.S. but EPA expects these technologies to play a role as EPA and s
