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Trends of Mercury Flow over the US with Emphasis on Florida

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Develop a trend database for mercury flow over the US. Special emphasis on mercury flow through fuels, time epoch 1980-2000 and the ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Trends of Mercury Flow over the US with Emphasis on Florida


1
Trends of Mercury Flow over the USwith Emphasis
on Florida
  • Progress Report by
  • Janja Husar and Rudolf Husar
  • Submitted to
  • Thomas Atkeson, Florida DEP
  • May 2001

2
Background
  • Goal
  • Develop a trend database for mercury flow over
    the US. Special emphasis on mercury flow through
    fuels, time epoch 1980-2000 and the geographic
    region of Florida.
  • Approach
  • Materials flow methodology. Mercury budgeting
    from the production (mining) through processing,
    consumption to the disposal in air, land and
    water.

3
Review, Summary and Evaluation of Recent
Literature
4
Trend of the US Apparent Mercury Supply,
1970-1998
  • Apparent supply is primary and secondary
    production net imports gov. stockpile
    releases
  • From 1970 to 1986, the main contributors were
    primary mine production and imports
  • During 1986-92, there was a rapid decrease of
    apparent Hg supply caused by reductions in
    batteries, paint and fungicide
  • From 1993 on, there was no primary mine
    production, expanded secondary production
    (recycling) and stock changes
  • Given the 1998, consumption of 417 Mg/yr, the US
    has a 27 year stockpile of mercury.

Sznopek and Goonan, 2000
5
Domestic Flow of Mercury, 1996
Sznopek and Goonan, 2000
6
Mercury in consumer goods and mined coal
  • 1940-1970 mercury in industrial goods was not
    well categorized (lumped into other category).
  • 1970-1990 electrical and electronic instruments
    category (including batteries) was the dominant
    Hg industrial consumer.
  • Hg consumption for industrial goods was reduced
    from around 2000 Mg/yr in 1990 to about 500 Mg/yr
    in 1995.

7
Mercury in US consumer goods and coal in 1990s
  • Chlor-alkali and electrical and electronic
    instruments are still dominant users of mercury.
  • Coal mined and consumed in US contributes about
    140 Mg/yr

8
Atmospheric Emissions of Mercury
EPA Mercury Study Report to Congress, 1997
  • According to the EPA Report to Congress,
    atmospheric emissions of mercury are dominated by
    coal and oil combustion (53)

9
Mercury Flow through Coal over the US
  • Introduction
  • Approach

10
US Coal Production by Region
  • Coal production in the US occurred over five
    major producing regions.
  • The coal production over the eastern US has
    remained roughly constant throughout the century.
  • The sharp increase since the 1980s is due to the
    addition of western coal.

11
Mercury Content of US Coals
Regional Hg content Appalachian 0.20
ppm Eastern Interior 0.09 ppm Gulf Coast
0.24 ppm Rocky Mountains 0.11 ppm Great
Plains 0.12 ppm
  • Each coal producing region has a well defined
    range of coal mercury content.
  • Evidently the pattern of coal mercury content is
    highly variable.
  • USGS has an extensive database of coal mercury
    content covering most of the regions.

12
Mercury Mobilization by Coal Producing Region
Average Hg in US Coal, ppm
  • The mercury mobilization follows the pattern of
    national coal production.
  • Since the beginning of the century there was a
    slight decline (from 0.18 to 0.14 ppm) of average
    coal mercury concentration due to shifts in
    regional production.
  • There was a sharp rise since the 1980s. In 1995
    the mercury mobilization by coal was 144 Mg/yr.
  • This constitutes an upper bound on coal mercury
    emissions to the atmosphere.

13
Scrapbook Ideasunfinished pieces
14

Explaining Environmental Change
The basic elements of life including carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium are in constant
circulation between the earths major
environmental compartments atmosphere,
hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. These
earths compartments remain in balance as long as
the rate of flow of matter and energy in and out
of the compartments is unchanged. Changes in the
environmental compartments will occur if the
circulation (in and out flow) of the substances
is perturbed. For example, the concentration of
CO2 in the atmosphere has been increasing because
the rate of input into the atmosphere is larger
than the rate of output.
Trace metals, unlike C, N, P and Ca, have a slow
and sluggish cycle through the four environmental
compartments. Lead, mercury and other metals
tend to accumulate in the lithosphere or parts
parts of the biosphere. For example, it is said
that once deposited, lead stays in the soil for
400 years.
15
Sulfur Flow Diagram (Tentative)
Minerals Flow for Goods Metals, Frasch, Pyrites
Exp/Imp Raw
Exp/Imp Proc
Mineral Mining
Production
Consumption
S as Pollution
S as Goods
Exp/Imp Air
Ex/Im Water
Air
Land
Water
Fuel Mining
Refining
Combustion
Fuels Flow for Energy Coal, Oil, Gas
Ex/Im Raw
Ex/Im Processed
16
US Industrial Sulfur Supply and Demand Trend
US S Supply
US S Budget
US S Demand
Exp/Imp
S Stocks
Source http//minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/of01
-006/sulfur.xls
17
Total S Mobilized and Recovered
Mobilized in Minerals
Mobilized in Fuels
Recovered from Fuels Min.
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