Progress Report
Florida DEP PO # S3700 303975
Trends of Mercury Flow over the US with Emphasis on
Florida
Submitted by:
Janja D. Husar and Rudolf B. Husar
Lantern Corporation
63 Ridgemoor Dr.
Clayton, MO 63105
Project Officer
Thomas Atkeson, PhD
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Mercury Program
2600 Blair Stone Rd, MS 6540
Tallahassee, FL32399
June 30, 2001
Table of Contents
BACKGROUND ..........................................................................................................................................................3
MERCURY BUDGETS AND FLOWS: RECENT LITERATURE .......................................................................4
MATERIALS FLOW APPROACH USED IN THIS PROJECT ...........................................................................7
MERCURY IN GOODS AND FUELS ......................................................................................................................8
MERCURY FLOW THROUGH COAL IN US .......................................................................................................9
COAL PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION TREND........................................................................................................9
REGIONAL HG CONTENT IN COALS .......................................................................................................................... 10
MERCURY FLOW THROUGH COAL IN FLORIDA ........................................................................................ 13
COAL ORIGIN........................................................................................................................................................... 14
TREND OF MERCURY IN COAL CONSUMED IN FLORIDA ........................................................................................... 15
MERCURY FLOW THROUGH PETROLEUM IN US ....................................................................................... 16
PETROLEUM CONSUMPTION TREND......................................................................................................................... 16
MERCURY IN PETROLEUM ....................................................................................................................................... 17
MASS BALANCE OF PETROLEUM MERCURY ............................................................................................... 19
US TRENDS OF MERCURY MOBILIZED IN PETROLEUM ............................................................................................ 20
TRENDS OF FLORIDA MERCURY FLOW IN PETROLEUM ............................................................................................ 23
DISCUSSION .............................................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................................... 25
2
Background
Elevated mercury levels were found in the upper levels of the food chain in southern Florida.
Recently, a significant decline of mercury in birds was observed. The cause of the sharp decline
is not well understood.
This project was initiated to elucidate the recent mercury emission trends for Florida. In the first
phase of this work, conducted during March-May, 2001, the mercury emissions drivers for
Florida were estimated based on the existing records for municipal waste combustion, medical
waste combustion and fossil fuel burning. The report of this phase is contained in PowerPoint
presentation: Trends of Mercury Emission Drivers for Southern Florida 1980-2000
(http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/capitareports/Mercury/FlHgEmissDrivers.ppt ).At the meeting in
West Palm Beach, May 10-11, 2001 it was decided to expand the scope and focus of this
mercury trend study from the focus on emission drivers in southern Florida to a broader scale
mercury budgeting study that starts with a national mercury budget a subsequently focuses on
Florida and southern Florida, respectively. The goal of the broader approach, is to explore a more
complete assessment of mercury sources of air emissions and land disposal. The added values of
the broader budgeting approach include:
 Independent estimate of atmospheric Hg emissions in S. Florida.
 Accounting for the total mercury flow in Florida (air, land and water).
 Re-examining, expanding and updating the national Hg budget with new data.
This report contains the results of the national mercury budgeting and trend study with special
emphasis on Florida. Inherently, this report has a limited scope and results. It does not contain a
full account of mercury trends and flows in Florida. Rather, it is considered to be a first phase
report of an extended mercury emission trend study which is being conducted jointly by FCG
and the Florida DEP. The second phase of this project, which focuses on the Florida emission
trends, is being considered for funding by FCG and Florida DEP.
3
Mercury Budgets and Flows: Recent Literature
The basic elements of life including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium are in constant
circulation between the earth’s major environmental compartments: atmosphere, hydrosphere,
lithosphere, and biosphere, Figure 1 (Husar and Husar, 1991).
These earth’s 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 of the biosphere. For example, it is said that once deposited, lead stays in the
soil for 400 years.
Figure 1. The four environmental spheres (Husar and Husar, 1991).
Over the past ten years there were several attempts for construction of a mercury budget for the
U.S. Recent work by Sznopek and Goonan, 2000 contains an updated trend of the national
mercury flow that includes the primary production, consumption, recycling as well as mercury
flow from stocks. The apparent mercury supply (Figure 2) includes primary and secondary
production, net imports, and government stockpile releases. From 1970 to 1986, the main
contributors to mercury flow were primary mine production and imports. During 1986-92, there
was a rapid decrease of apparent Hg demand caused by reductions in mercury demand for
4
batteries, paint and fungicide industries. From 1993 on, the primary mine production was
negligible, the secondary production (recycling) increased and stock releases were terminated.
Net Import
Stock
Stock Release
Mining
Mine Production
Production
Consumption
Secondary
Production
Recycling
Figure 2. Trend of the US ‘apparent’ mercury supply, 1970-1998. (Sznopek and Goonan, 2000).
The EPA Mercury Report to Congress, 1997, addressed the atmospheric emissions of mercury.
The report concluded that the mercury releases to the atmosphere are dominated by coal and oil
combustion (53%). (Figure 3)
5
Figure 3. Mercury atmospheric emission inventory (EPA, 1997).
A different approach to assess the flow of mercury was reported by Sznopek and Goonan, 2000.
For 1996, they report that estimated 144 Mg of mercury was emitted to the atmosphere (Figure 3
and 4) based on combustion of fuels and goods incineration. They also reported that in 1996, 295
Mg mercury in industrial goods were disposed into landfills (Figure 5).
Sznopek and Goonan, 2000 reported that in 1996 stocks of mercury totaled 6,800 Mg (private),
and 4,600 Mg (U.S. government), totaling 11,400 Mg of mercury (Figure 5). They also point out
that given the 1996 mercury industrial demand of 372 Mg/yr (U.S Bureau of Mines, 1996) for
creating goods, the US has a 27 year stockpile of mercury.
Figure 4. Materials flow schematics for 1996. The blue lines are atmospheric emissions from the EPA
(1997) report, adding to 144 Mg/yr atmospheric emissions. The right hand portion of the
schematics depicts mercury flow in goods (Sznopek and Goonan, 2000).
6
Figure 5. 1996 mercury flow and disposition (Mg/yr), in goods (Sznopek and Goonan, 2000).
Materials Flow Approach Used in this Project
The objective of this study was to apply materials flow methodology for mercury over the US
and subsequently to Florida. The mercury budget and trend will be assessed starting from the
mercury production (mining) through processing, consumption to the disposition to air, land and
water, as well as mobilization of mercury in fuels. The goal of this project is to begin assessing
mercury flow, including the uncertainties in our present understanding in the mercury budget.
Figure 6 depicts our current understanding of mercury budget components. It shows a schematic
diagram of mercury flow from the "production", i.e. mining to the disposal to air, land, and
water. The two main pathways are: mercury flow through the goods and the flow through the
fuels. Mercury mobilization trough coal and petroleum over the US was developed as part of this
project. The details are given in following sections.
7
Figure 6. Mercury flow trough consumer goods and fuels.
Mercury in Goods and Fuels
Figure 7 shows the overall mercury flow in the US during the 1940-1995 period. It includes the
flow through goods as well as fuels. In 1940-1970 the demand for mercury for industrial goods
was high during the WWII, slightly decreased in 1945 and then reached maximum in the late
1960s (Figure 7). The consumption of mercury in consumer goods was not well documented in
1940-1970 period. In 1940 74% of mercury consumption was categorized as "Other".
Essentially, the use of mercury was not disclosed. Since 1970, the use of mercury in consumer
goods was disclosed more precisely, and the "Other category represented <10%. 1970-1990
electrical and electronic instruments category (including batteries) was the dominant Hg
industrial consumer. The drastic reduction in mercury demand for consumer goods occurred
since 1989. Hg consumption in consumer/industrial goods was reduced from around 1500 Mg/yr
in 1989 to about 500 Mg/yr in 1995 (U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1940-1995).
Mercury mobilization in coal has increased since 1940. However, the coal contribution in 1940
to the overall mercury input into the system was <6% (Figure 7). In 1995, mercury mobilization
by coal contributed about 20% (Figure 8).
Mercury mobilization by petroleum products (using 50 ppb Hg concentration for crude oil)
increased since 1940. Petroleum contribution is still unresolved, lacking information on more
reliable Hg content in crude oil, and information on fate of mercury in extraction process,
shipping, refining, and ultimately concentration of Hg in petroleum products consumed.
Figure 7. Trend of mercury in industrial/consumer goods and fuels.
8
Figure 8. Trends of mercury in industrial/consumer goods and mercury mobilized in fuels in 1990s.
Mercury Flow through Coal in US
Coal Production and Consumption Trend
Coal consumption in USA reached 500 million Mg/yr in the early part of 1900s. The slowing of
demand for coal was evident during WWII and in early 1950's. However, since 1950s the
consumption of coal has doubled. The 1999 coal consumption reached 948 million Mg/yr, Figure
9. Until 1950s the Appalachian Basin was the principal coal producing region. Since 1970s the
increased coal demand was met by the western coal (Milici, 1997).
9
Figure 9. US coal production trend and production distribution by coal producing regions.
Figure 10. US coal consumption by activity sectors.
Regional Hg content in Coals
For the past twenty years the USGS has compiled an extensive mercury content in US coals
database (COALQUAL). The mean values for mercury in coal are given in Figure 11
(Finkelman and Tewalt, 1998) and Table 1 (U.S. EPA, 1997.
10
Figure 11. Mercury content in coal by coal producing region (Finkelman and Tewalt, 1998).
Table 1: Mercury concentration (US EPA, 1997)
Region
No. of samples
Range, ppmwt
Arithmetic mean
Standard deviation
Appalachian
2749
331
592
155
--82
---38
34
371
490
184
124
---107
18
---<0.01-3.3
---0.01-0.83
0.01-1.15
0.03-1.6
0.16-1.91
----0.01-3.8
---0.01-3.8
---0.01-1.48
0.01-8.0
0.24
0.24
0.14
0.14
0.15
0.21
----0.11
0.11
0.11
0.11
0.09
0.06
0.11
0.08
4.4
0.47
---0.14
-------0.22
---0.10
----0.10
----0.12
-----
Interior
Illinois Basin
Gulf Province
Northern Plains
Rocky Mountains
Alaska
0.02-63
0.07
----
Table 2. Mercury content used in mercury mobilization estimates.
Appalachian
Eastern Interior
Gulf Coast
Rocky Mountains
Great Plains
0.20 ppm
0.09 ppm
0.24 ppm
0.11 ppm
0.12 ppm
Mercury mobilization in coal follows the pattern of national coal production (Figure 12). 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 in mercury
mobilization in coal since the 1980s. In 1995 the mercury mobilization by coal was estimated as
144 Mg/yr.
11
Figure 13 depicts the amount of mercury mobilized in coal. If we assume that 25% of mercury is
retained in coal ash or removed by washing, then the higher estimate of mercury emitted in
combustion processes is depicted in Figure 13. If we assume that 50% of mercury is retained by
washing and controls, then the lower emission estimate in combustion processes is shown in
Figure 8. The range of mercury retentions was reported as 0.5-0.75 by (Chu and Porcella, 1995;
Jasinski, 1994)
Figure 12. Mercury mobilized in coal.
Figure 13. Trend of mercury mobilized in coal. High and low estimate of mercury emitted by coal
combustion in USA.
12
Mercury Flow through Coal in Florida
Coal consumption in Florida increased steadily since 1960s. The consumption doubled in 1980s,
and leveled off in the 1990s. Coal was mostly used by electric utilities (>90%).
Figure 14. In Florida, coal is mostly consumed by electric utilities (>90%).
The approach used in estimating Florida mercury emission trend consisted of:
1. Determining the origin of the coal used in Florida.
2. Applying mercury concentration to each coal source.
3. Estimating the fraction of Hg retained at the mines and fly ash (25-50%)
4. Calculating the coal mercury emission rate for 1985 and 1998.
13
Coal Origin
In 1985, the coal consumed in Florida was mainly from Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky
and Illinois. In 1998, the coal consumed in Florida was more diverse. About 20% originated
from Wyoming, West Virginia and Virginia.
Figure 15. Florida distribution by origin of 1985 coal consumption (17million Mg/yr) and mercury
mobilization (2.3 Hg Mg/yr.
Figure 16. Florida distribution by origin of 1998 coal consumption (27million Mg/yr) and mercury
mobilization (4 Hg Mg/yr).
14
Trend of Mercury in Coal Consumed in Florida
The estimate of Florida trends for mercury emissions from coal is depicted in Figure 17.
Mercury emission exhibit a slow increase between 1960 and 1980, followed by a sharp increase
between 1980 and 1990, and leveling off in the early 1990s. The 1998 estimated mercury
mobilized in coal consumed in Florida was about 4 Mg/yr. Only a fraction (0.5-0.75) of the
mobilized coal mercury is emitted to the atmosphere. The estimated coal mercury emission to the
atmosphere in the 1990s was in the range of 2-3 Mg/yr (Figure 17).
Figure 17. Trend of coal mercury emissions in Florida.
15
Mercury Flow through Petroleum in US
Petroleum Consumption Trend
Petroleum products carry mercury from a geological reservoir and distribute mercury to the
environment along their passage. This section describes the flow and trend of mercury as carried
by petroleum products.
To construct the mass balance of mercury flow, we begin by examining the origin of petroleum
consumed in the USA as depicted in Figure 18.
The consumption of petroleum (sum of its products asphalt and road oil, aviation gasoline,
distillate fuel, jet fuel, kerosene, LPG, lubricants, motor gasoline, residual fuel, and other) has
tripled from 1950 to 1999 (322 million Mg/yr to 965 million Mg/yr) (DOE EIA, 1999).
The domestic oil production has not changed over the past 50 years, However, the petroleum
imports increased as the consumption of petroleum products increased. In 1950 only 12% of
petroleum was imported compared to 54% in 1999 (Figure 18).
Figure 18. Trend of petroleum domestic production and imports.
The petroleum products consumed in USA were imported mainly as crude oil. As the
consumption increased so did the crude oil processing in US refineries (Figure 19). On the other
hand, imports of refined products remained relatively constant since 1980s, 80-110 million
Mg/yr, representing only about 10% of total consumption. It is worth noting that there is
inherent processing gain reported in EIA database between refinery input (crude oil) and output
(petroleum products). (Table 59, Annual Energy Review, EIA, DOE).
16
Figure 19. Crude oil input into refineries, Annual Energy Review, Table 59. Note processing gains are
inherent in EIA/Doe data.
Mercury in Petroleum
Crude oil in its natural geological form contains mercury. The crude oil Hg concentration data
reported in the EPA Mercury Report to Congress (EPA, 1997) show a wide range between
0.007-30 ppmwt. Using the above concentrations the petroleum input of Hg in the USA
environment in 1999 would range roughly between 7-30,000 Mg Hg/yr.
Table 3. Mercury Concentrations In Crude and Fuel Oil Used in U.S. EPA Mercury Report to Congress (Wilhelm,
2001)
No. of samples
Mercury concentration
Range (ppb)
Mean (ppb)
Residual No. 6
6
2-6
4 (a)
Distillate No. 2
3
<120 (b)
Crude
46
7 – 30,000
3,500 (c)
(a) Midpoint of the range of values. (b) Average of data from three sites.
(c) Average of 46 data points was 6,860; if the single point value of 23,100 is eliminated, average based on 45
remaining data points is 1,750. However, the largest study with 43 data points had an average of 3,200 ppmwt. A
compromise value of 3,500 ppmwt was selected as the best typical value.
Liang et al., 1999 reported recently, that the total Hg (THg) in crude oils ranges between 1.613.3 ppb, for crude oil processed in Minnesota. They also report that Persian Gulf crude oil
contains rather high THg 14-63 ppb. Kelly and Long, 2001, suggest that crude oil mercury
concentration might be be in the range of 10-100 ppb.
A recent comprehensive publication by Wilhelm, 2001, addresses the estimate of petroleum
mercury content and subsequent amount of mercury in US processed petroleum products. He
17
reports that estimated mean Hg concentration of crude oil processed in the US is in the range of
5-50 ppb (Wilhelm, 2001). He also provides an extensive review and analysis of Hg content in
petroleum products.
Table 4 - Summary of Reported Total Hg Concentration in Refined Products (Wilhelm, 2001)
Reference
Type
Number
Samples
Liang (21)
Liang (21)
Liang (21)
Liang (21)
Liang (21)
Liang (21)
Bloom (12)
Bloom (12)
Bloom (12)
Olsen (16)
Tao (17)
Miller (22)
U.S. EPA (9)
Gasoline
Gasoline
Diesel
Diesel
Kerosene
Heating Oil
Light distillates
Utility fuel oil
Asphalt
Naphtha
Naphtha
#6 RFO
Petroleum Coke
5
4
1
1
1
1
14
32
10
4
3
3
1000
of
Range
(ppb)
THg (ppb)
mean
0.22 – 1.43
0.72 – 3.2
0.4
2.97
0.04
0.59
NR
NR
NR
3 - 40
8 - 60
60-120
0 - 250
0.7
1.5
0.4
2.97
0.04
0.59
1.32
0.67
0.27
15
40
90
50
SD
Notes
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
2.81
0.96
0.32
NR
NR
U.S.
Foreign
U.S.
Foreign
U.S.
U.S.
U.S.
U.S.
U.S.
0.05
U.S.
Asian
Wilhelm 2001, also presents in Table 5 of probable concentration of Hg in crude oils and
petroleum products, to use for calculating emission estimates for 1999.
Table 5. - Mercury Estimates in Crude Oil and Refined Products (year 1999) (Wilhelm, 2001)
Crude Oil
Domestic (40%)
Imported (60%)
Type (22)
Barrel/y (22)
(109)
kg/y
(1011)
THg (18-20)
ppb
Estimated Total
kg/y
Alaska (18%)
GOM (20%)
Other (62%)
Canada (15%)
Mexico (15%)
Middle East (20%)
Other (50%)
0.4
0.5
1.5
0.5
0.5
0.8
1.8
6.0
0.5
0.7
2.0
0.7
0.7
1.1
2.4
8.1
<10
<10
<10?
<10?
<10
<10
<10?
500
700
2,000?
700?
700
1,100
2,400?
8,100
Total (IN)
Refined Products
d = 0.75
d = 0.80
d = 0.85
d = 0.85
d = 1.10
d = 0.90
d = 0.55
Wastewater (23)
Solid waste (24)
Air
Total (OUT)
(12, 21)
Motor fuels (60%)
Naphthas (5%)
Residual fuel oil (5%)
Distilled fuel oil (21%)
Petroleum coke (3%)
Heavy oils (3%)
Still Gas (3%)
Fugitive
3.7
0.3
0.3
1.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
6.2
1.5
4.4
0.4
0.4
1.8
0.3
0.3
0.3
7.9
2.5
0.3
<2?
<5
<10?
<5
50
50
<30?
1
40?
900?
200
400
900
1,500
1,500
900?
6,300
250
1,200?
250?
8,000
18
Mass Balance of Petroleum Mercury
The mercury brought into US environment by crude oil to refineries and imported refined
petroleum was calculated using the following equation.
Hg (petroleum)= (CO input in refineries)*(CO Hg conc.)+RPI*(RPI Hg conc).
Where CO is crude oil input into US refineries and RPI is import of refined petroleum products.
The lower range of mercury was calculated using the estimate of 5 ppb Hg (Wilhelm, 2001) in
crude oil, and 2 ppb estimate for refined products (Liang, 1996). The upper range was calculated
with 50 and 2 ppb, respectively.
The next question is what is the fate of mercury in the refining process: how much mercury is
released to the environment (land, air, and water) at the refineries and how much mercury is
distributed in the refined products. Most of the refined petroleum products are later combusted
and only a small fraction (<5%) of the refined products (asphalt and road oil, lubricants) is not
burned.
Wilhelm, 2001 proposed a mass balance calculation for the fate of mercury at refineries:
Hg (CO)= Hg (air)+Hg (wastewater)+Hg (solid waste)+Hg (products)
In his estimates for 1999, at the refineries about 20% of mercury is emitted to the atmosphere,
<25% of Hg is discharged to land and water and 55% of Hg is carried away in refined products
and distributed.
Hg (CO)= 0.2 Hg CO (air)+0.25HgCO (wastewater and solid waste)+0.55Hg CO (products)
Thus if we take the 1999 input of crude oil into US refineries at 0.9 billion Mg/yr, and the low
estimate of Hg concentration of 5 ppb, and high estimate of 50 ppb, then lower estimate of 4.5
Hg and higher estimate of 45 Hg Mg/yr mercury mobilized with crude oil.
Figure 20. Mass balance of mercury flow at refineries (Wilhelm, 2001).
In 1997 the EPA Mercury Report to Congress reported estimated US combustion releases to the
atmosphere (around 10 Mg/yr for 1994/1995) for point sources, based on the measured emission
19
factors at the boilers. The EPA report did not address the emissions from transportation sector.
The EPA report did not address the mercury inputs to the environment in the refining process.
US Trends of Mercury Mobilized in Petroleum
Using recent information of mercury content in petroleum products the amount of petroleum
mercury passing through the environment can be estimated using both crude oil input at the
refineries and also as refined product consumption as drivers. For crude oil, Wilhelm, 2001
estimate of 5-50 ppb was used for crude oil input into refineries (Figure 21).
The mercury flow of products (sum of its products asphalt and road oil, aviation gasoline,
distillate fuel, jet fuel, kerosene, LPG, lubricants, motor gasoline, residual fuel, and other) was
also calculated using EIA DOE State Energy Data Reports for product categories and the best
available Hg concentration (ppb) values were assigned to each category (Figure 22).
Table 6. Hg concentrations used in this report to calculate mercury flow, based on Wilhelm, 2001.
Refined Petroleum Products
Asphalt and road oil
Aviation gasoline
Distillate fuel
Jet fuel
Kerosene
Lubricants
Motor gasoline
Residual fuel
Other
ppb
0.27
2.
5
2
0.04
NA
2
10
50
"Other"
Aviation blending comp
Crude oil
Naphta
Petroleum feedstock other
Petroleum feedstock
Motor gasoline blending component
Miscelleneous
Natural gas IC
Petroleum coke EU
Petroleum coke IC
Plant condensate
Pentanes plus
Still gas
Special naphtas
Unfinished oils
Unfractionated
Wax
ppb
10*
10*
5
10*
10*
10*
10*
NA
50
50
50**
10*
30
5
10*
50**
50**
*Hg concentrations assigned, based on assumed crude oil concentration of 10 ppb. Need additional information.
**Assigned based on assumed that products are similar to petroleum coke. Need additional information
20
Figure 21. Range of estimate for petroleum mercury flux, based on Wilhelm, 2001 crude oil content of 550 ppb. For mercury estimates using petroleum products as drivers, the range was not given,
due to lack of mercury concentration ranges for all the fractions.
Clearly, the range of uncertainty in the petroleum induced Hg flow is rather large, about an order
of magnitude. The independent estimate of Hg flow in refined products (Figure 21) falls near the
lower range of the crude estimates.
The contribution of each petroleum product category was also analyzed. The consumption trend
is given in Figure 22. In 1999, 60 % of petroleum consumed was consumed as motor gasoline,
followed by distilled fuels (21%) and a category listed as "Other" (10%). The "Other" category
contains products (17 fuel and non-fuel products, including petroleum feedstocks and
petrochemical feedstocks, waxes, refinery fuels, and petroleum coke) with high Hg
concentrations reaching 50 ppb. Figure 23 shows the US distribution of "Other" products. More
than 50% of "Other" products carry high mercury concentration.
21
Figure 22. Consumption distribution of petroleum products.
Figure 23. Trend of "Other" petroleum products consumption.
Using the "Other" petroleum products data and applying the appropriate Hg concentration from
Table 6 "Other" mercury trend was obtained and incorporated in Figure 22. The contribution of
"Other" fuels to mercury flow is the highest (Figure 23). The distillate oil and motor gasoline Hg
contributions have been increasing. The residual fuel contribution has been declining.
22
Figure 24. US Mercury flow trend in petroleum products.
In January 2001 there were 155 operational US refineries, with Texas (26), California (23), and
Louisiana (17) refining more than half of US crude oil. There were no refineries in Florida (DOE
EIA, 2000).
Trends of Florida Mercury Flow in Petroleum
The petroleum consumption data were extracted for Florida from the EIA DOE State Energy
Data Report Figure 25 and 26. Motor gasoline and distillate fuel consumption increased since
1960. Residual fuel consumption peaked in 1980, followed by a decline in 1985, and subsequent
slow increase. It is worth noting that the "Other" category suddenly increased 3fold since 1990.
This is significant since the "Other" category is rich in mercury.
Figure 25. Consumption of petroleum products in Florida.
23
Figure 26. Trend of "Other petroleum products consumption.
Using the mercury concentration data in Table 6. mercury in petroleum products consumed in
Florida was estimated (Figure 27).
Figure 27. Florida mercury trend in petroleum products.
24
Summary
Ithe U.S. industrial and consumer goods industry demands for mercury increased over the last
century to the peak demand of 2,800 Mg/yr in 1964. The industrial use of mercury was
drastically curtailed by environmental regulations at the production end since 1989. It is
however, evident that from 1940-1989, over 1,500 Mg/yr mercury was distributed all over the
USA, and is entering into land, water and air through non-point sources.
Coal mercury mobilization in 1940 was small, <40 Mg/yr compared to 1,500 Mg/yr mobilized in
industrial goods. However, in the 1990s, mercury mobilized in coal is of the same order of
magnitude to mercury used in the production of industrial goods.
Presently available data on Hg concentration in crude oil are still uncertain. Therefore, at this
time it is prudent to estimate crude oil mercury input into environment (1999) as a range, 4.545.0 Mg/yr (Wilhelm, 2001), or may be even 9-90 Mg/yr (Kelly and Long, 2001). Mercury
concentration in petroleum products is even more uncertain. Mercury analysis were done on
very few petroleum products and limited number (1-5) of samples. At this time it is not possible
to assign a range for mercury concentration in products.
References
Chu P. and Porcella D.B. (1995) Mercury stack emissions from US electric power plants, in
Porcell, D.B. Huckabee J.W. and Wheatley B, eds., Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Water, Air
and Soil Pollution, 80, 134-144.
Finkelman R.B. And Tewalt S.J. (1998) Mercury in U.S. coal, U.S.G.S. Open-File Report 980772 (http://energy.er.usgs.gov/products/openfile/OFR98-0772/index.htm).
Husar R.B. and Husar J.D. (1990) Sulfur. In The Earth as Transformed by Human Action
(edited by Turner B.L., et al.). Cambridge University Press with Clark University, Cambridge.
Jasinski S. M. (1994) The materials flow of mercury in the United States, Bureau of Mines
Information Circular 9412, http://geology.cr.usgs.gov/pub/circulars/c9412/index.html.
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