Which device is NOT listed as a coal-burning power plant pollutant control method?

Which device is NOT listed as a coal-burning power plant pollutant control method?

• A. Scrubbers
• B. Electrostatic precipitators
• C. Catalytic converters
• D. Baghouse filters

Answer: (C)

The main idea is about which technologies are actually used to clean up flue gas from coal-fired power plants. Scrubbers remove sulfur dioxide from the smokestack emissions, electrostatic precipitators use electric charges to pull fine ash out of the gas, and baghouse filters physically trap particulates in fabric bags. All of these are standard, plant-scale methods for controlling pollutants produced by burning coal. Catalytic converters, by contrast, are designed for vehicle exhaust. They catalytically convert CO, hydrocarbons, and NOx in cars into less harmful gases as the exhaust passes through the device. That automotive application isn’t how coal plant emissions are typically treated, so catalytic converters aren’t listed among coal-burning power plant pollutant control methods.

The main idea is about which technologies are actually used to clean up flue gas from coal-fired power plants. Scrubbers remove sulfur dioxide from the smokestack emissions, electrostatic precipitators use electric charges to pull fine ash out of the gas, and baghouse filters physically trap particulates in fabric bags. All of these are standard, plant-scale methods for controlling pollutants produced by burning coal.

Catalytic converters, by contrast, are designed for vehicle exhaust. They catalytically convert CO, hydrocarbons, and NOx in cars into less harmful gases as the exhaust passes through the device. That automotive application isn’t how coal plant emissions are typically treated, so catalytic converters aren’t listed among coal-burning power plant pollutant control methods.