Process Optimization Guidance (POG)

Process Optimization Guidance (POG) for Reducing Mercury Emissions from Coal Combustion in Power Plants (report and software)

The POG is a tool that has been developed to help determine appropriate approaches to control mercury emissions in individual coal fired power plants. Though the POG has been developed for coal fired power plants, it is generally also applicable to large industrial coal-fired boilers.

The POG is available in   English   Chinese  Russian

The POG summarizes mercury emission reduction practices and technologies including:

The POG has been reviewed by experts in the network of the UNEP Coal Combustion Partnership area, including national experts in Russia, China and South Africa, and others through an open review process. 

The POG has been further developed into user-friendly freeware, the Interactive Process Optimization Guidance (iPOG™), that calculates Hg emission rates from coal-fired utility plants burning any single coal or coal blend. The software requires the entry of data on coal properties, burning conditions and flue-gas cleaning configuration and conditions. With this information, the iPOG™ calculates Hg emission reductions that can be achieved with different coal pretreatments (washing and blending); with the most common pollution controls, including systems with only particle collection devices and with various combinations of pollution controls (ESP/FGD and SCR/ESP/FGD); and with Hg specific controls such as injection of conventional carbon sorbents, brominated carbon sorbents, and oxidising agents. The iPOG™ also calculates the Hg captured in the bottom and fly ashes, depending on the coal characteristics and combustion conditions (no plant emits 100% of the mercury in coal).

iPOG™    This link opens a .zip file containing an .exe file that allows you to install the iPOG on your computer

A paper published in ‘Energy & Fuels’ describes more in detail the possibilities offered by POG and iPOG™