Insight of particulate arsenic removal from coal-fired power plants

•As content was similar in fly ashes collected from front two ESP fields.•As content in ash from ESP3 was 1.5 times of that from ESP1/ESP2.•The size and resistivity of particulate As were determined by its host minerals.•Ca-bound As tended to enrich in coarse particles while Fe/Al-As was in fine ones.•Fe-bound arsenic was easier to be captured by ESP compared to Ca/Al-bound arsenic.