pH Effect on the Arsenic Separation in Waste Water of Coal Based Power Plant

Author

Ye Hao, University of Tennessee - KnoxvilleFollow

Date of Award

5-2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Chemical Engineering

Major Professor

Robert M. Counce

Committee Members

Paul R. Bienkowski, Jack S. Watson

Abstract

Arsenic (As) poses a significant water quality problem and it is a big challenge for all coal-based power plant industries worldwide. Currently most of the researches on the leaching behavior of arsenic from fly ash are based on the titration experiments. In this study a simulation method is used to study on the pH effect on the arsenic separation of coal-based power plants. Both single point and composition survey simulation of the OLI stream analyzer are used in the study. The simulation results of single point calculation indicates that for the fly ash which has high lime weight percent and equilibrium fly ash solution pH is over 11 and between 7 and 9, that is, Type C fly ash, the simulation results for equilibrium pH in fly ash solutions have great accuracy compared to actual experiment results. Based on the results obtained from single point simulation, both acid and base titrations of composition survey are simulated and the output results suggest that for the same type of fly ash, the simulation results proves the general trend of arsenic solubility in fly ash solutions. The solubility of arsenic decreases with the increase of pH value. It is also noted that at the equilibrium pH fly ash solutions, the maximum solid/liquid ratio of arsenic concentration is observed for type C fly ash. For other fly ashes which have low lime weight percent, the simulation results have discrepancy compared to actual experiment results. This work is important in offering an alternative way of analyze the reasonable output species and relative concentrations for type C fly ash in the waste water storage pond under specific pH conditions, which can be of great importance for the power plants to monitor and minimize the environment pollution in order to meet the future federal regulations.

Recommended Citation

Hao, Ye, "pH Effect on the Arsenic Separation in Waste Water of Coal Based Power Plant. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2010.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/626