Characteristics and distributions of atmospheric mercury emitted from anthropogenic sources in Guiyang, southwestern Chin

Continuous measurements of speciated atmo- spheric mercury （Hg）, including gaseous elemental mer- cury （GEM）, particulate mercury （PHg）, and reactive gaseous mercury （RGM） were conducted in Guizhou Pro- vince, southwestern China. Guiyang Power Plant （GPP）, Guiyang Wujiang Cement Plant, Guizhou Aluminum Plant （GAP）, and Guiyang Forest Park （GFP） in Guiyang were selected as study sites. Automatic Atmospheric Mercury Speciation Analyzers （Tekran 2537A） were used for GEM analysis. PHg and RGM were simultaneously collected by a manual sampling system, including elutriator, coupler/ impactor, KCl-coated annular denuder, and a filter holder. Results show that different emission sources dominate different species of Hg. The highest average GEM value was 22.2 ±28.3 ng·m-3 and the lowest 6.1 ± 3.9 ng·m-3, from samples collected at GPP and GAP, respectively. The maximum average PHg was 1984.9 pg·m-3 and the mini- mum average 55.9 pg·m-3, also from GPP and GAP, respectively. Similarly, the highest average RGM of 68.8 pg·m-3 was measured at GPP, and the lowest level of 20.5 pg·m-3 was found at GAP. We conclude that coal combustion sources are still playing a key role in GEM; traffic contributes significantly to PHg; and domestic pol- lution dominates RGM.

Perspectives on atmospheric mercury and its fate in aquatic ecosystems

Mercury (Hg) is a neurotoxin to humans and wildlife that has a quantitatively important gas phase that makes its atmospheric cycle an important part of exposure pathways to these organisms. The important atmospheric forms are elemental Hg (Hg(0)), inorganic gas phase Hg (HgH gs ), and inorganic particulate Hg(HgIIp). Each form has different behavior depending on its chemical and physical properties. Generally, scientists have found with trace metal clean sampling and analytical techniques, that background Hg levels are 1—2 ng/m\+3 in air, 0.1—2 ng/L in surface waters, 5—25 ng/L in rainwater, and less than 0.1 μg/g in sediments remote from natural Hg minerals and wastewater sources. Values in excess of these concentrations generally indicate local anthropogenic influences or contaminated samples. Broad scale estimates of Hg inputs to the atmosphere suggest that annual anthropogenic fluxes to the atmosphere as Hg(0) are about 40 percent of the total global cycle, oceanic evasion is about 40 percent, and (by difference) the remaining input to the global cycle (20 percent) is evasion from terrestrial sources, largely via soils and vegetation. This paper summarizes recent data that will constrain estimates from these sources. For example, terrestrial sources could approach 40 percent and annual anthropogenic inputs be correspondingly less. Furthermore, a historic perspective is needed because Hg has cycled atmospherically over geologic time. In addition to the uncertainty in source quantification, methylation must be a focus of risk analysis, because this process is responsible for risks to human and ecosystem health for almost all modern day Hg exposures.

Economic analysis of atmospheric mercury emission control for coal-fired power plants in China

Coal combustion and mercury pollution are closely linked, and this relationship is particularly relevant in China, the world＇s largest coal consumer. This paper begins with a summary of recent China-specific studies on mercury removal by air pollution control technologies and then provides an economic analysis of mercury abatement from these emission control technologies at coal-fired power plants in China. This includes a cost-effectiveness analysis at the enterprise and sector level in China using 2010 as a baseline and projecting out to 2020 and2030. Of the control technologies evaluated, the most cost-effective is a fabric filter installed upstream of the wet flue gas desulfurization system（FF ＋ WFGD）. Halogen injection（HI） is also a cost-effective mercury-specific control strategy, although it has not yet reached commercial maturity. The sector-level analysis shows that 193 tons of mercury was removed in 2010 in China＇s coal-fired power sector, with annualized mercury emission control costs of 2.7 billion Chinese Yuan. Under a projected 2030 Emission Control（EC） scenario with stringent mercury limits compared to Business As Usual（BAU） scenario, the increase of selective catalytic reduction systems（SCR） and the use of HI could contribute to 39 tons of mercury removal at a cost of 3.8 billion CNY. The economic analysis presented in this paper offers insights on air pollution control technologies and practices for enhancing atmospheric mercury control that can aid decision-making in policy design and private-sector investments.

A review of atmospheric mercury emissions, pollution and control in China

Mercury, as a global pollutant, has significant impacts on the environment and human health. The current state of atmospheric mercury emissions, pollution and control in China is comprehensively reviewed in this paper. With about 500-800 t of anthropogenic mercury emissions, China contributes 25%-40% to the global mercury emissions. The dominant mercury emission sources in China are coal combustion, non-ferrous metal smelting, cement production and iron and steel production. The mercury emissions from natural sources in China are equivalent to the anthropogenic mercury emissions. The atmospheric mercury concentration in China is about 2-10 times the background level of North Hemisphere. The mercury deposition fluxes in remote areas in China are usually in the range of 10-50μg·m^-2·yr^-1. To reduce mercury emissions, legislations have been enacted for power plants, non-ferrous metal smelters and waste incinerators. Currently mercury contented in the flue gas is mainly removed through existing air pollution control devices for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particles. Dedicated mercury control technologies are required in the future to further mitigate the mercury emissions in China.

ESTIMATION OF ATMOSPHERIC INPUT OF MERCURY TO SOUTH LAKE AND JINGYUE POOL

Taking South Lake and Jingyue Pool in Changchun as examples, we determined particulate Hg in ambient air and Hg concentration in precipitation. Results indicated that particulate Hg in air and Hg concentration in precipitation in both sites in nonheating period were lower than that in heating period, which is influenced by coal combustion. The annual particulate Hg concentrations of South Lake and Jingyue Pool were 0.254ng/m3 and 0.109ng/m3. The yearly average Hg concentrations in precipitation were 0.268μg/L(South Lake) and 0.108μg/L(Jingyue Pool). The higher particulate Hg concentration in air and Hg concentration in precipitation in South Lake than that of Jingyue Pool indicated that mercury deposition was influenced by anthropogenic sources(especially from coas combustion). Hg concentration in precipitation is related with particulate Hg in the atmosphere. Dry deposition fluxes were estimated by using dry deposition model on the base of particulate Hg concentrations in the atmosphere, they were 35.5μg/(m2.a) for South lake and 15.3μg/(m2.a) for Jingyue Pool. Combined with precipitation amount, wet deposition fluxes were estimated in these two sites, 152.2μg/(m2.a) for South Lake and 61.2μg/(m2.a) for Jingyue Pool. Atmospheric Hg deposition fluxes were 160.2g/a for South Lake and 328.62g/a for Jingyue Pool.

Improved atmospheric mercury simulation using updated gas-particle partition and organic aerosol concentrations

The gaseous or particulate forms of divalent mercury(HgⅡ) significantly impact the spatial distribution of atmospheric mercury concentration and deposition flux(FLX). In the new nested-grid GEOS-Chem model, we try to modify the HgⅡ gas-particle partitioning relationship with synchronous and hourly observations at four sites in China. Observations of gaseous oxidized Hg(GOM), particulate-bound Hg(PBM), and PM 2.5 were used to derive an empirical gas-particle partitioning coefficient as a function of temperature( T) and organic aerosol(OA) concentrations under different relative humidity(RH). Results showed that with increasing RH, the dominant process of HgⅡ gas-particle partitioning changed from physical adsorption to chemical desorption. And the dominant factor of HgⅡ gas-particle partitioning changed from T to OA concentrations. We thus improved the simulated OA concentration field by introducing intermediate-volatility and semi-volatile organic compounds(I/SVOCs) emission inventory into the model framework and refining the volatile distributions of I/SVOCs according to new filed tests in the recent literatures. Finally, normalized mean biases(NMBs) of monthly gaseous element mercury(GEM), GOM, PBM, WFLX were reduced from-33%–29%, 95%–300%, 64%–261%, 117%–122% to-13%–0%,-20%–80%,-31%–50%,-17%–23%. The improved model explains 69%–98% of the observed atmospheric Hg decrease during 2013–2020 and can serve as a useful tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.