Worldwide, coal is the leading fuel used for generating electricity, accounting for over 40% of the world’s electricity generation. While coal is the most abundant fuel source for power generation, the formation of NOx, SO₂, particulate matter (PM), and Hg as combustion by-products is of concern for public health and the environment. Today’s social and economic pressures require users of fossil fuels to achieve better energy efficiency (thereby, reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and to reduce emissions of air pollutants, such as SOx, NOx, mercury, and particulates. New standards will require comprehensive approaches for reducing SOx and NOx emissions. There is also a need to control other toxic emissions, such as mercury and possibly nickel, arsenic, and hexavalent chromium and cadmium compounds, as well as certain fluorides and trace elements. Stringent requirements for higher levels of solids removal, especially of ultra-fine particles (2.5 microns and less, or PM2.5) are also an important issue.

CanmetENERGY helps Canadian industry respond to current and future environmental challenges. The program encourages participation by industry either singly or in a consortium structure. The program examines new processes and systems to meet increasingly stringent requirements for higher levels of emissions control. These processes either focus on controlling a single pollutant or several pollutants in an integrated fashion. The latter approach represents a multi-pollutant control approach that can be a cost-effective alternative to deploying separate pollutant control devices. Mercury and multi-pollutant control technologies that can be adapted to various units and coal types are particularly attractive to coal-fired generating fleets. These multi-pollutant processes can be based on oxidation technologies, the use of high-energy electrons, the application of non-thermal plasma, in-situ injection of sorbents, advanced sieving electrostatic precipitator and dry scrubbing technology, among other innovative solutions.

Our scientists, engineers and technicians are involved in collaborative research and development with industry partners in order to help industry meet current regulations for SOx, NOx, mercury, and particulate control, while selecting technologies compatible with the new regulatory framework for industrial emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants.

Managed by CanmetENERGY at the Ottawa (Ontario) Research Centre.