Hydrogen Chloride

Time series graph

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Sources

Archived Gridded Data

Notable events

Start yearEnd yearSectorInformationImpact
19841985Public Electricity and Heat ProductionMiners strike resulting in a reduction in the consumption of coal in power stations for that year.Decrease in emissions
19902016Public Electricity and Heat ProductionDecline in the use of coal in energy production and the installation of flue gas desulphurisation at Drax and Ratcliffe power stations since 1993Decrease in emissions

Hydrogen chloride (HCl) is an acidic gas which is primarily released to air from combustion of fuels which contain trace amounts of chlorine. Solid fuels, and particularly coal, do contain chlorine and, as a result, the combustion of coal is the most significan source of UK emissions: 96% in 1990 and 43% in 2022. Emissions have fallen by 98% since 1990 as a result of the decline in coal use throughout the UK economy, and the installation of emission controls at coal-fired power stations since 1993. The decline in emissions from coal combustion has meant that other sources now contribute a higher percentage of UK emissions than was the case in 1990. Of particular note, the burning of biomass and municipal solid waste (MSW) to generate heat and power contributed 35% to UK emissions of HCl in 2022.


Published: 11 January, 2024

Last updated: 20 September, 2024