Nov 01, 2005

Most of the coal burned in the United States contains only trace amounts of chloride and fluoride. However, due to the increasing regulation of these compounds for clean air initiatives, being able to measure even small amounts of chloride and fluoride in coal has taken on a greater importance than ever. Recognizing this, ASTM International Committee D05 on Coal and Coke has begun to develop a proposed new standard, WK9269, Determination of Anions in Coal and Combustion Residue by Oxidative Hydrolysis and Chemically Suppressed Ion Chromatography. The proposed standard is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee D05.29 on Major Elements in Ash and Trace Elements in Coal.

"Methods with appropriate quantification limits must be available to the coal and utility industries in order to comply with regulatory pressure," says Jeffrey Gittleman, president, HawkMtn Labs. Gittleman says the proposed standard will be useful to any professional services and industries that need to comply with air permitting, strategies for release abatement or toxic release inventories reporting. By using WK9269, Gittleman says regulating agencies will acquire better data for modeling air emission from coal-fired power plants. He also notes that use of the proposed standard will lead to better regulatory approaches.

While WK9629 will determine multiple elements that may include anions, such as fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide and sulfur, the main thrust of the proposed method right now is to validate and develop the fluoride and chloride determinations.

For further technical information, contact Jeff Gittleman, HawkMtn Labs, West Hazelton, Pa. (phone: 570/455-6011; jgittleman@hawkmtnlabs.com). Committee D05 will meet May 14-17, 2006, at the May Committee Week in Toronto, Canada. For membership or meeting details, contact Scott Orthey, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9730; sorthey@astm.org).

Release #7250