Continuous measurement of PM10 and PM2.5 concentration in coal-fired power plant stacks using a newly developed diluter and optical particle counter

Abstract In this study, concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 were continuously measured using a newly developed ejector/porous tube diluter with optical particle counter in the stack exhaust of two coal-fired power plants in Chungnam and Gangwon, South Korea. The results were compared with those of EPA Method 201A and the ISO 23,210 gravimetric method, which are standard protocols for fine particle measurement, and relative accuracies of 19.0% and 11.9% were obtained from the two plants, respectively. In addition, the size distribution of fine particles in the stack exhaust could be obtained simultaneously using the diluter. Particle concentrations at both plants exhibited bi-modal distributions with mode diameters of approximately 0.6 and 2.25 μm, but differences in the size distributions of small and large particles due to differences in exhaust gas treatment facilities were evident. In addition, PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were compared with power generation amounts over more than 30 and 170 h using the diluter and continuous changes in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were observed in accordance with increases and decreases in power generation. Finally, we analyzed the composition of fine particles using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy and found that the power plant in Chungnam, which has wet desulfurization facilities, released 16.7% more fluorine than the power plant in Gangwon. Application of the system developed in this study may be useful for optimizing the operating conditions of plant treatment facilities in real time to directly control the emissions of PM10 and PM2.5.