The Distribution of Trace Elements During the Combustion of Coal

In the Netherlands about 40% of the electricity is generated by coal nowadays. Only imported bituminous coal is fired. Typical values for this coal are a calorific value of 27 MJ/kg, an ash content of about 11% and a sulfur content of 0.7%. Pulverised coal-fired dry bottom boilers are installed exclusively in the Netherlands. The flue gases are cleaned by high-efficiency cold-side electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) and nowadays they are also cleaned by flue-gas desulfurisation (FGD) installations of the lime(stone)/gypsum process in all large coal-fired power plants.