Development of Flue Gas Desulfurization Technology in Taiwan

Application of Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) to prevent high SO2 emissions has been widely used in the US, Japan & Europe for decades. The study on this field is gaining attention in Taiwan because the new strict environmental regulation has to be fulfilled by 1993. In response to this, the Energy Committee of ROC is funding Energy & Resources Laboratories (ERI/ITRI) to develop domestic technologies on various FGD processes including Spray & Sieve tray systems from 1989. The first 0.1 MWe Wet FGD test facility in Taiwan has been setup at ERL/ITRI in the first fiscal year. In the second year a series of tests were per formed using limestone and magnesium hydroxide as the absorbents in order to identify the key parameters to scale up the pilot plant to the demonstration plant. The additives and inhibitors tests will be studied in the next stage. The FGD systems in operation, construction and planning in Taiwan, the FGD market of Taiwan and direction of R&D on FGD program in ERL/ITRI are discussed in this paper.