Comprehensive Effect of Oxidant Addition in an FGD Slurry on the Removal and Distribution of Selenium: A Field Study.

Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubbers capture selenium in coal-fired power plants, leading to a high concentration of selenium in the slurry. This research proves that SO32- is preferentially oxidized compared to SeO32- by S2O82-. With the increase in the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) caused by S2O82- addition, the conversion rate of SO32- increased and the size of gypsum grains grew from 31.2 to 34.6 µm. SeO32- migrates into gypsum grains during the growth of CaSO4·2H2O, leading to selenium fixation in gypsum. In a field study of a 350 MW unit, the ORP increased from 142 to 450 mV when Na2S2O8 was fed into the FGD slurry. With the addition of the oxidant, 65.1% of selenium in the liquid phase migrated into gypsum. The concentration of selenium in the leachate of gypsum after oxidant addition decreased by 68.0%. A 2.34% increase in the selenium removal rate was observed in the scrubber. This study focuses on the migration and conversion of selenium in an actual FGD slurry via a field test. The results found in the 350 MW unit are consistent with laboratory results. The change in ORP has been proven to be effective in adjusting the selenium distribution in the FGD slurry.

Selenium migration mechanism in wet FGD slurry: Experimental and DFT analysis.

Selenium (Se) is one of the hazardous trace elements emitted from coal-fired power plants. The Se migration behavior in wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) slurry is still unclear, and the species of Se in FGD gypsum remains controversial. In this research, the bubbling experiments using simulated slurry with/without gypsum crystallization process were conducted. The experimental results indicated that pure gypsum has poor capability to capture Se components, and only selenite could be trapped in gypsum during its crystal growth stage. Furthermore, the DFT calculation was conducted to provide the microscopic information of Se adsorption and substitution characteristics during gypsum crystallization process. The research findings of this study could help understand the mechanism of Se migration process in FGD slurry, and facilitate the development of effective Se emission control technologies in the future.