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Optimal Use of Smokestack Scrubber By-Product

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Diane Hite
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University
D. Lynn Forster
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University
Jon Rausch
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, The Ohio State University

Abstract

Federal legislation mandates substantial reduction of air pollution emissions from electric utilities. Utilities in Appalachia that use locally mined high-sulfur coal must choose among abatement options such as fuel mixing and smokestack scrubbing technologies. Wet scrubbers are the most frequently adopted abatement technology in Ohio. This paper investigates beneficial reuses of by-product from wet scrubbers. By-product is most often disposed of in landfills, resulting in large external costs. We combine social cost and benefit transfers with a linear optimization model to investigate potential benefits of by-product recycling. Results suggest that significant incentives exist to find beneficial uses for by-product.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1999

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