Flue gas desulfurization at high temperatures: A review

The energy demand of the world, which increases in accordance with the rise in economic development, will have to be met by the prevalent energy sources, such as coal, new sources, as well as improvement of the efficiency of energy production technologies. However, the growth in energy production need not take place to the detriment of the environment, so that strict regulations on pollutant emissions have been imposed around the world. Combined cycle power generation systems are being advanced today, due to their higher thermal efficiency and superior environmental performance and economics, compared to conventional plants. Hot gas cleaning techniques to remove sulfur and other impurities in the flue gas streams offer the key advantages to such systems. This paper reviews briefly the Hot Gas Desulfurization (HGD) techniques and the processes' development and performance estimates, some test programs using HGD, and market potential and economic issues.