The co-benefits of clean air and low-carbon policies on heavy metal emission reductions from coal-fired power plants in china

Yaqin Guo, Bin Chen, Yanxian Li, Sili Zhou, Xiaowei Zou, Ning Zhang, Yuran Zhou, Huanxin Chen, Jun Zou, Xianhai Zeng, Yuli Shan*, Jiashuo Li

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

China has implemented a series of measures to address air pollutants and carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, which can mitigate toxic heavy metal emissions simultaneously. By integrating plant-level information and energy activity data, we investigated the co-benefits of clean air and low-carbon policies by compiling a detailed inventory of historical heavy mental emissions (i.e., Hg, Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sb, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, As, and Se) for China's coal-fired power plants during 2005–2020. Several scenarios were then designed to assess the evolution of heavy metal emissions for each coal-fired power plant with consideration given to the coal washing rate, air pollution control devices, operational hours and lifetime. The total emissions decreased from 12.9 thousand tons in 2005 to 8.8 thousand tons in 2020, which was mainly due to the widely installation of upgraded end-of-pipe devices and the decommissioning of small and emission-intensive plants, especially in Sichuan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Scenario analysis shows that reducing the operational lifetime to 20 years is the most effective measure to reduce national HM emissions, but the effects differ widely between regions. This study provides insights for the precise co-control of both heavy metals and carbon emissions, which is highly important for meeting the requirements of the Minamata Convention and carbon neutrality.

Original languageEnglish
Article number106258
Number of pages10
JournalResources, Conservation and Recycling
Volume181
Early online date26-Feb-2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun-2022

Keywords

  • China
  • Clean air and carbon mitigation policies, Co-benefits
  • Coal-fired power plants
  • Heavy metal emissions

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