To further understand the speciation and partitioning of mercury species in
combustion systems, it is necessary to be able to identify and quantitate
the various forms of oxidized mercury. Currently accepted methods for speci
ating mercury (Ontario Hydro Method, EPA Method 29, MESA Method) only separ
ate elemental and oxidized forms of mercury at best, and they are expensive
. This paper describes research on the application of cryogenics to the sam
pling and separation of oxidized forms of mercury from combustion flue gas.
This research has resulted in the development and demonstration of a proto
type cryogenic sampling device for the determination of oxidized mercury in
flue gas. Preliminary results are encouraging, as they show that mercuric
chloride and mercuric oxide can be effectively separated through the protot
ype device. Further development, refinement, and application of this device
are expected to generate data that are critically needed to develop effect
ive control technologies for mercury. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Scienc
e B.V. All rights reserved.