Patent ID: 7294322

Claim:
A method of removing sulfur oxides from flue gas, comprising: providing a wet flue gas desulfurization scrubber having a scrubbing zone located above an internal reaction tank; contacting the flue gas in the scrubbing zone with a liquid reagent to convert the sulfur oxides into a scrubbing byproduct and produce an effluent slurry of liquid and solids containing partially reacted liquid reagent and scrubbing byproducts; collecting a first portion of the effluent slurry in the internal reaction tank, adding fresh liquid reagent to the effluent in the tank, and recirculating the first portion of the effluent slurry and fresh liquid reagent from the tank back to the scrubbing zone; and collecting a second portion of the effluent slurry between the tank and the scrubbing zone, discharging a first part of the second portion of the effluent slurry for treatment in an external forced oxidation tank, and discharging a second part of the second portion of the effluent slurry directly into the internal reaction tank.