Environmental Impact of Coal- Fired Power Stations

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Environmental Impact of Coal- Fired Power Stations

• by Rob Glaser

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Main Environmental Issues

• 1. Coal supply and storage and quality of the
  coal
• 2. Internal transport systems
• 3. Coal fired boilers
• 4. Power generation
• 5. Emissions

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1. Coal supply, storage, and quality of coal

• Issues
• Mining activity dust control
• Fires/ explosions during mining operation
• Traffic
• Rehabilitation / top soil preservation/
  quarantines
• Leaching and groundwater controls

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1. Coal supply, storage, and quality of coal
...Continuation 1

• Treatment of leachate
• Monitoring obligations during mining operations
• Quality of the coal/ analyses
• Intermediate storage on site of the mine as well
  as at the power station
• Self ignition and fires
• Heating value losses
• Transport systems

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2. Internal transport systems

• Issues
•  Day bunkers and safety
• Grinders
•  Dual burners

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3. Coal fired boilers

• Issues
• Technology
• Low NOx/SOx technology
• Pre heating of burner air
• On line operation of cleaning
• Slag reception systems
• Water treatment of slag quenching systems
• Boiler feed water preparation
• An/cat ion exchange system
• Softening system
• Hydrazine

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4. Power generation

• Issues
• Thermal efficiency
• Transformers PCBs
• Noise
• Cooling towers
• Preservation and cleaning systems
• Percentage blow-off and treatment

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5. Emissions

• Air
• storage (dust ,VOCs.)
• storage of waste from power plant
• stack emissions
• (NOx SOx dust , F , Hy metals, Cd,
• Radioactive components
• part sizedistribution/eff.)
• monitoring data emissions

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5. Emissions ... continuation 1

• Water
• slag water (Hg, Cd, pacs, CN, total Hy metals)
• sluice water
• storage leachate
• groundwater (coal/wastes)
• softening water sluice
• spraywater on storage
• rainwater
• treatment plant
• boiler feedwater treatment and sluice water

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5. Emissions ... continuation 2

• Waste
• ESP waste composition
• waste composition
• cleaner technology
• storage sites (disposal)
• dust emissions from waste disposal site
• rehabilitation of waste site
• groundwater protection and monitoring system
• maintenance waste (cleaning, workshop, boiler
  cleaning, asbestos?)
• PCBs from transformers
• waste oils
• monitoring and reporting

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5. Emissions ... continuation 3

• Noise
• powerplant
• transformer stations
• mills

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6. General environmental issues

•  Ambient quality standards
•  Monitoring obligations
•  Future developments
•  Cleaner technology
•  Alternative fuels
•  Waste utilization
•  Energy optimization
•  Low NOx and Low SOX technology