The effect of air pollution control devices in coal-fired power plants on the removal of condensable and filterable particulate matter

Total particulate matter (TPM), including condensable and filterable particulate matter (CPM and FPM), is one of the pollutants that need to be controlled in the coal combustion process. In this study, CPM and FPM were sampled from sixteen coal-fired power units and two coal-fired industrial units. The removal effects of air pollution control devices equipped in the units on the migration and emission of particles were investigated by analyzing samples from inlets and outlets of apparatus. The average removal efficiency of TPM by dry-type dust removal equipment, wet flue gas desulfurization devices, and wet-type precipitators reached 98.57 +/- 0.90%, 44.89 +/- 15.01%, and 28.45 +/- 7.78%, respectively. The removal efficiency of dry-type dust removal equipment and wet-type precipitators to TPM is mainly determined by the purification effect of FPM and CPM, respectively, and both types of particles contribute to the removal efficiency of desulfurization systems to total TPM. The concentrations of CPM (12.01 +/- 5.64 mg/Nm(3)) and FPM (1.95 +/- 0.86 mg/Nm(3)) emitted from ultra-low emission units were the lowest, and CPM is the dominant particle, especially the higher proportion of organic components in CPM.