“Energetika, okoliš i održivi razvoj“
Energy, Environment and
Sustainable Development
EOOR
Prof.dr.sc. Željko Tomšić
dr.sc. Ivan Rajšl
Matea Filipović
Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development - 2016-2017. - ŽT
“Energy, Environment and Sustainable
Development“
EOOR
Air Emissions From Fossil-fuel Power Stations
Environmental Impact of Electricity
Generation – Air Pollution from Fuel
Combustion
dr.sc. Ivan Rajšl
Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development - 2016-2017. - ŽT
AIR POLLUTION
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Air Pollution
• Air pollution is a huge problem—and not just
LOCAL for people living in smog-choked
cities
• Through such things as global warming and
damage to the ozone layer, it has the potential
to affect us all
• Air pollution is obvious when it pours from a
smokestack (chimney), but it's not always so
easy to spot
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What effect can have air pollution?
• Air pollution can
―harm the health of people and animals,
―damage crops or cause termination of proper growth,
and
―make our world uncomfortable and unattractive in
various other ways.
• Air pollution can occur at every level, from local to
global.
• Sometimes effects are direct and very close to the
place that caused them, but they can also occur days,
months or even years later, and in other cities,
countries or continents.
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Photo: Air freshener - or air polluter?
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What is Air Pollution?
• Air lets our living planet breathe
• Air pollution is a gas (or a liquid or solid dispersed through
ordinary air) released in a big enough quantity to harm the
health of people or other animals, kill plants or stop them
growing properly, damage or disrupt some other aspect of the
environment (such as making buildings crumble), or cause some
other kind of disturbance (reduced visibility, perhaps, or an
unpleasant odor)
• It's the quantity (or concentration) of a chemical in the air that
makes the difference between "harmless" and "pollution"
• Carbon dioxide (CO2), for example, is present in the air at a
typical concentration of less than 0.05 percent and breathing it
in usually does no harm (you breathe it out all day long); but air
with an extremely high concentration of carbon dioxide (say, 5–
10 percent) is toxic and could kill you in a matter of minutes
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Natural air pollution
• When we think of pollution, we tend to think it's a problem that
humans cause through ignorance or stupidity—and that's
certainly true, some of the time
• However, it's important to remember that some kinds of air
pollution are produced naturally
• Forest fires, erupting volcanoes, and gases released from
radioactive decay of rocks inside Earth are just three
examples of natural air pollution that can have hugely disruptive
effects on people and the planet
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Natural air pollution
• Forest fires (which often start naturally) can produce huge
clouds of smoke that flows for miles
• Giant volcanic eruptions can throw out so much dust into the
atmosphere that they block out significant amounts of sunlight
and cause the entire planet to cool down for a year or more
• All these things are examples of serious air pollution that
happen without any help from humans; although we can adapt
to natural air pollution, and try to reduce the disruption it causes,
we can never stop it happening completely
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Outdoor Air Pollution
•
Primary Pollutants - is an air pollutant emitted directly from a source
– Dust, smoke particles, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur etc.
•
Secondary Pollutants - is not directly emitted as such, but forms when
other pollutants (primary pollutants) react chemically in the atmosphere.
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Primary Pollutants
• Carbon monoxide (CO) - formed by incomplete combustion
of carbon in fuel
– the main source is motor vehicle exhaust
– the durable polluter
– binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, reducing their ability to
transport and release oxygen throughout the body
– very dangerous in closed space
– cigarette smoking is an large source of this pollutant
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Primary Pollutants
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
– Hydrocarbons - are organic compounds containing carbon
and hydrogen only
– Incomplete combustion of gasoline fuelled vehicles and
other emissions during incomplete fuel combustion
– The use of catalytic converters leads to a dramatic reduction
in the emissions
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Primary Pollutants
• Particles - tiny pieces of solid material
dispersed in the atmosphere (less than 10
microns )
• The smoke, asbestos, dust, ash
• These particles can become embedded in the
deepest parts of the lung, and also can disrupt
cellular processes
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Primary Pollutants
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2) - sulfur dioxide is produced
when sulfur burns with oxygen from the air, when
fossil fuels contain sulfur impurities
– Burning of coal is an artificial source
– Natural sources: volcanoes and hot water sources
• Mt St Helens emits 50-250 t/day when is active
– Steam power plant recently 200 t/day
– After desulfurization was installed (significant cost): 27
tons/day
– SO2 is source of acid rain (secondary pollutants)
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Primary Pollutants
• Nitrogen oxides - Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and
nitrogen oxide (NO) are pollutants produced as an
indirect result of combustion, when nitrogen and
oxygen from the air react together
• Primary pollution comes from vehicle engines
• Source of acid rain and photochemical smog
(secundary pollutants), and it’s also greenhouse gas
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Secondary Pollutants
• Ozone O3
• PAN (PeroxyAcetyl Nitrate)
– present in photochemical smog
• Aldehydes
• All three are formed by the interaction of NOx and
VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
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Top-ten gases in air pollution
• Any gas could qualify as pollution if it reached
a high enough concentration to do harm
• Theoretically, that means there are dozens of
different pollution gases
• In practice, about ten different substances
cause most concern
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Top-ten gases in air pollution
• Sulfur dioxide:
– Coal, petroleum, and other fuels are often impure and contain sulfur
– When sulfur burns with oxygen from the air, sulfur dioxide (SO2) is
produced
– Coal-fired power plants are the world's biggest source of sulfur-dioxide
air pollution, which contributes to smog, acid rain, and health
problems that include lung disease.
• Carbon monoxide (CO):
– This highly dangerous gas forms when fuels have too little oxygen to
burn completely
– It spews out in car exhausts and it can also build up to dangerous levels
inside your home if you have a poorly maintained gas boiler, stove, or
fuel-burning appliance
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Top-ten gases in air pollution
• Carbon dioxide (CO2):
– This gas is central to everyday life and isn't normally considered a
pollutant
– However, carbon dioxide is also a greenhouse gas released by engines
and power plants
– Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, it's been building up in
Earth's atmosphere and contributing to the problem of global warming
and climate change.
• Nitrogen oxides:
– Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrogen oxide (NO) are pollutants produced
as an indirect result of combustion, when nitrogen and oxygen from the
air react together
– Nitrogen oxide pollution comes from vehicle engines and power plants,
and plays an important role in the formation of acid rain, ozone and smog
– Nitrogen oxides are also "indirect greenhouse gases" (they contribute to
global warming by producing ozone, which is a greenhouse gas).
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Top-ten gases in air pollution
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs):
– These carbon-based (organic) chemicals evaporate easily at
ordinary temperatures and pressures, so they readily become gases
– That's precisely why they're used as solvents in many different
household chemicals such as paints, waxes, and varnishes
– Unfortunately, they're also a form of air pollution: they're believed
to have long-term (chronic) effects on people's health and they
also play a role in the formation of ozone and smog.
• Particles:
– These are the sooty deposits in air pollution that blacken buildings
and cause breathing difficulties.
– Particles of different sizes are often referred to by the letters PM
followed by a number, so PM 10 means soot particles of less than
10 microns (10 millionths of a meter or 10 µm in diameter)
– In cities, most particulates come from traffic fumes and heat
production
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Top-ten gases in air pollution
• Ozone:
– this is a type of oxygen gas whose molecules are made from
three oxygen atoms joined together (so it has the chemical
formula O3)
– In the stratosphere, „the ozone layer„ protects us by
screening out harmful ultraviolet radiation beaming down
from the Sun
– At ground level, it's a toxic pollutant that can damage health
– It is a key ingredient of smog
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs):
– Once thought to be harmless, these gases were widely used
in refrigerators and aerosol cans until it was discovered that
they damaged Earth's ozone layer
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Top-ten gases in air pollution
• Unburned hydrocarbons:
– Petroleum and other fuels are made of organic compounds based
on chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms
– When they burn properly, they're completely converted into
harmless carbon dioxide and water
– When they burn incompletely, they can release carbon monoxide
or float into the air in their unburned form, contributing to smog
• Lead and heavy metals:
– Lead and other toxic "heavy metals" can be spread into the air
either as toxic compounds or as aerosols (when solids or liquids
are dispersed through gases and carried through the air by them) in
such things as exhaust fumes and the fly ash from thermal
boilers
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Photo: Flying molecules - if you could see air
pollution close up, this is what it would look like
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What causes Air Pollution?
• Where, then, does modern air pollution come
from?
• By far the biggest source today is traffic,
though power plants and factories continue to
make an important contribution.
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Traffic
• Cars - virtually all of them are powered by
gasoline and diesel engines that burn petroleum
to release energy
• Petroleum is made up of hydrocarbons (large
molecules built from hydrogen and carbon) and,
in theory, burning them fully with enough
oxygen should produce nothing worse than
carbon dioxide and water
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So, what is in the exhaust gas of your
car?
•
•
•
•
•
CO
CO2
NOx
HOS (VOCs)
PM (particles)
• And can lead to formation of secondary pollutants
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Traffic
• In practice, fuels aren't pure hydrocarbons and engines don't
burn them totally
• As a result, exhausts from engines contain all kinds of pollution,
notably particles (soot of various sizes), carbon monoxide
(CO, a poisonous gas), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), and lead - and indirectly produce
ozone
• Mix this noxious cocktail together and energize it with
sunlight and you get the sometimes brownish, sometimes
blueish fog of pollution we call smog, which can hang over
cities for days on end.
• Sometimes called photochemical smog - the energy in light
causes the chemical reaction that makes smog
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Photochemical Smog
• Brown-air smog
• Photochemical smog is
produced when primary
pollutants from the
combustion of fossil fuels
react with sunlight
(photochemical
reactions), including
NOX, O3, PAN
• Corrosive, irritating
• Common in urban areas:
cars + sun + mountains
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Industrial Smog
• Grey-air smog
• From the combustion of coal
and oil (particles, sulfur dioxide,
sulfuric acid)
• London was the capital of smog.
– The Great Smog of 1952 – the
smog was developed for the day
when there was no mixing of the
atmosphere - 4,000 people died.
• Now it is mainly a problem in
developing countries with the
development of industry and
without pollution control laws
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Smog
• Mainly due to their high level of traffic, smog affects many of
the world's traffic busiest cities, including Athens, Beijing,
Mexico City, Milan, Tokyo and others.
• Smog is a combination of the words „Smoke" and „Fog"
Photo: Brown smog over Denver, Colorado.
•
•
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One of the most harmful constituents
of smog is a toxic form of oxygen
called ozone, which can cause serious
breathing difficulties and even,
sometimes, death.
When smog is rich in ozone, it tends
to be a blueish color, otherwise it's
more likely to be brown.
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Record Levels of Air Pollution
• Air quality in Beijing is very bad, especially in winter months
because they use coal for heating
• Big polluters are cars (emit gases douring cold winter days
without wind) and industial facilities (don’t meet the
environmental standards)
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Record Levels of Air Pollution
• You can't see anything
because of smog
• On the street only with a mask
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Beijing: Schools keep children
indoors
• Beijing, 6.12.2016.
• ‘Education authorities in Beijing ordered all primary and secondary
schools to keep students in the classroom and to give up of outreach
activities due to the high air pollution occurs on Sunday, adding that
the northern areas of the country wrapped in thick smog.
• Schools in Beijing suspended all activities there from Monday to
Wednesday because of poor air quality.
• Beijing came to world headlines because of hazardous air pollution
from 678 micrograms of harmful particulate matter (PM 2.5) per
cubic meter of air.’
• The WHO recommends a maximum limit of 25 micrograms per cubic
meter.
• PM 2.5 penetrates into the lungs and can cause heart attack, stroke,
lung cancer and asthma.
• Polluted air is the cause of death of 1.6 million people in China on an
annual basis.
• The main cause of air pollution in China is coal.
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Sarajevo is choking on smog and dust, declared
alert
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sarajevo, 18th of December 2015 - Air pollution in Sarajevo reached critical proportions so that on
Thursday the competent authorities declared a state of alert, advising residents of the capital of Bosnia and
Herzegovina to minimize staying outdoors and that they use protective masks.
It was noted a dangerous increase in the concentration of dust particles in the air which poses a risk to human
health. Automatic station for air quality monitoring on Wednesday registered a dust concentration greater
than 300 micrograms per cubic meter.
According to the standards of the European Union harmful to health is any dust concentrations greater
than 25 micrograms.
Therefore, the second level of intervention measures or cautionary measure entered into force. Ordered that
all plants using solid fuels and heavy oils for heating reduce the capacity of labor and space heating for
three stages and the police have been asked to reinforce traffic control and begin to exclude all vehicles with
engines below Euro III level.
It is also ordered to take measures to speed the flow of vehicles through the city.
Sarajevo Basin is already was covered for more than two weeks in fog which due to day-night temperature
inversion becomes thicker because there is no air circulation
In addition to Sarajevo air pollution is high in Zenica and Tuzla but pollution is there caused by industrial
production, steel mills and power plants.
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Power Plants
• Large majority of electricity is still produced by burning fossil
fuels such as coal, gas and oil, principally in conventional power
plants.
• Just like a car engine, power plant should theoretically
produce nothing worse than carbon dioxide and water, in
practice the fuels are "dirty" and do not burn purely, so the
plant can produce a variety of pollutants, particularly sulfur
dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particles.
• They also release large amounts of carbon dioxide, which is a
key cause of global warming and climate change
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Industrial facilities and factories
• Industrial facilities that produce metals such as aluminum and
steel, refineries, cement production, the production of
plastics, and other chemicals are among those that can produce
harmful air pollution.
• Sometimes, industrial facilities are releasing huge amounts of
air pollution accidentally in a very short time
― One notable case occurred in Bhopal in India in December 1984,
when a large chemical company Union Carbide plant announced
that toxic gas (methyl isocyanate) leaked from a pesticide plant,
killed about 3,000 people and injured thousands more
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Other causes of air pollution
• Although traffic, power plants, and industrial and chemical
plants produce most of the Earth's anthropogenic air pollution,
many other factors also contribute to the problem
• In some parts of the world, people still rely mostly on biomass
for cooking and heating
• In some areas, garbage is uncontrolled burned, and it can also
produce significant air pollution, except for incinerators that are
properly designed to operate at a sufficiently high temperature
and have all the necessary flue gas filters
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WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION?
• The environment is the sum total of all surroundings of a living
organism and their communities, including man, which allows
them to exist and develope
• Includes air, water, soil, earth crust, energy and material
resources and cultural heritage as part of the environment that
is created by man.
• It covers everything in its diversity and totality of interaction.
• Environmental protection is a set of activities and measures to
prevent environmental hazards, the formation of damage and/or
environmental pollution, reduction and/or elimination of
damages to the environment and the reestablishment of the
status prior to the damage.
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Air Pollution Control
• Industrial equipment
– Wet Scrubbers
– Electrostatic Precipitators
– Fabric Filters
• Removal of Sulphur
– The transition to low-sulfur fuel
– Removing sulfur from the fuel prior to use
– Purification of gases exiting the chimney
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Reducing emissions
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Reducing the emissions of motor vehicles
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Reducing
Indoor Air
Pollution
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Air quality in Europe - 2013
report
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Why should we care about air
pollution?
•
•
Air pollution impacts human health, contributes to climate change and
damages ecosystems.
Here are some of the pollutants the ‘Air quality in Europe – 2013 report’
investigates and their potential impacts.
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What are the main problems of air to
the EU in 2013?
• Particles (PM) and the risks to human health.
• Ozone (O3), due to effects on health and damage to
vegetation.
• Eutrophication from high emissions of nitrogen
oxides (NOx) and the ammonia (NH3).
―These pollutants can cause harmful atmospheric deposition
of nutrient nitrogen to sensitive ecosystems, such as
grasslands and nutrient-poor lakes.
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Health impacts of air pollution
•
•
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New research shows that
health effects can occur at
very low levels, if the citizens
are constantly exposed to
these low concentrations.
A recent review of evidence
on the health aspects of air
pollution confirmed that the
effect on human health from
air pollution can occur when
the level of concentration is
below the thresholds
established by the WHO
(WHO) guidelines for air
quality.
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Exposure to harmful levels of air pollution
EU urban population exposed to harmful levels of air pollution,
according to:
EU limit values
•
•
WHO guidelines
Up to a third of Europeans living in cities are exposed to air pollutant levels exceeding
EU air quality standards
And around 90 % of Europeans living in cities are exposed to levels of air pollutants
deemed damaging to health by the World Health Organization’s more stringent
guidelines.
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Harmful levels of PM concentrations
Share of urban population exposed to dangerous levels of particulate matter (PM10) in Europe:
3 out of 10
exposed to exceedances of the
EU daily limit value
9 out of 10
exposed to exceedances of
the WHO guideline value
Despite the reductions in particulate matter emissions in the period
2002 to 2011, the percentage of Europeans exposed to PM levels
above EU limit values remained stable over the past ten years.
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What are the policy as a European
response?
EU legislation limits the emissions of pollutants and sets maximum
levels for concentrations of these pollutants in the air.
For pollutant emissions, the
2001 National Emissions
Ceiling (NEC) Directive sets
ceiling limits for emissions of
SO2, NOX, NMVOC and
NH3. These ceilings should
have been met by all EU
Member States by 2010.
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For pollutant concentrations,
two Air Quality Directives
(2008/50/EC and 2004/107/EC)
set legally binding limits and
target values for ground-level
concentrations of outdoor air
pollutants.
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Emissions are reduced
EU emissions of primary particulate matter (PM) and PM precursor gases:
EU Member States have made progress in cutting emissions of
several air pollutants.
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Member States have exceeded emission
targets
•
•
In 2011, seven EU Member States exceeded their National Emissions Ceilings (NEC)
Directive emissions ceiling limit for NOx.
In total, eight EU Member States were not in compliance with one or more NEC emission
ceilings in 2011. These ceilings should have been reached in all Member States by 2010.
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Countries that have exceeded the
maximum concentration
• In 2011, 18 EU Member
States exceeded the target
value threshold for ozone
(O3) concentrations on
more than 25 days.
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Countries are exceeding concentration
targets
• In 2011, 23 EU member
states also exceeded the
daily limit values of the
EU for the
concentration of
particulate matter
(PM10).
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Ozone concentrations that endanger the
health and crops
Exposure levels of European agricultural areas to ozone (O3) in 2010:
•
•
•
High levels of O3 concentrations harm human health and agricultural output.
Losses of crop yields also have consequences for the European economy
EU emissions of the precursor gases that form O3 have fallen by up to 32 % since
2002, but there has been no significant reduction in O3 concentrations
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The concentrations of nitrogen oxides,
which are harmful to the ecosystem
The average annual concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 2011:
•
•
•
NO2 can threaten ecosystem through eutrophication.
In 2002-2011., NO2 concentrations do not fall as fast as the total emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx).
It is also attributed to the increase in the share of diesel vehicles in the European vehicle fleet, the proportion
of NO2 in NOx emissions from diesel engines is far greater than the proportion of NO2 in NOx emissions
compared to standard-gasoline vehicles.
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Factors that contribute to the level of
concentration
• The emission levels are not the
only factor that determines the
concentration of pollutants in the
air.
• Factors such as weather, chemical
changes in the air, and
transportation of hazardous
substances outside and inside
Europe also have an impact.
• That means reducing emissions of
pollutants do not necessary result
in an equivalent reduction in the
concentration of the pollutant.
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Lower emissions do not always lead to
lower concentrations
Percentage decline in EU carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM10)
emissions and concentrations between 2002-2011:
Carbon Monoxide
0
-5
-10
-15
Decrease
Percentage
-20
-25
-30
-35
PM 10
Emissions
Concentrations
PM10 emissions are emissions
of primary PM10.
PM10 concentrations are
primary and secondary PM10
measured at urban background
locations.
CO concentrations are daily 8hour maxima concentrations.
-40
•
•
Between 2002 and 2011, there was a significant decline in both the emission levels and the
concentration levels for some pollutants (e.g. CO)
For some others, there was a noticeable decline in emissions, but not in atmospheric
concentrations (e.g. PM10)
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How can Europe tackle these
challenges?
•
•
•
•
Continued investment in the knowledge base
– Together with other techniques, air monitoring stations across Europe feed the knowledge
base on air
– While some of the monitoring stations may have been substituted by other techniques, it is
important to maintain, and in certain cases improve the monitoring infrastructure.
Further emission reductions
– Emissions of some pollutants from certain sectors have increased over the last decade
– For example, emissions of PM have increased from homes and commercial facilities
– Air pollutant emissions from farming have also changed little in the same period.
Strenghtening capacity for implementation
– The gap between EU air quality targets and the reality of European air quality points to
the need for better implementation of air quality legislation
– Implementation can be improved by building capacity over time and by better
understanding the specific problems when implementing environmental legislation.
Encourage EU members to meet existing emission targets
– Too many countries are still not in compliance with EU emissions ceilings
– These countries must make a renewed effort to reduce their emissions.
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Environmental impact of different
technologies for electricity generation
ELECTRICITY GENERATION:
– Unavoidably causes emissions to air, waste
products in water and soil
– Increases short-term or long-term effects:
• either immediately after the release of
pollutants or much later after the impact has
been made
– The reduction and limitation of emissions
and production of waste and their impact
limited by economic and technical factors
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Environmental impact of different
technologies for electricity generation
ELECTRICITY GENERATION:
– And with all the measures there will always be
some risk to the environment in the production of
electricity
– The nature and size of the risk depends on
• the nature and quantity of fuel used,
• technology of transformation,
• level of emissions control technologies and
conversion efficiency
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AIR EMISSIONS
• Air pollution problems are related to effects which are
evident at:
– global,
– regional and
– local level.
• Global pollution is territorially related to the Earth
• Regional pollution - a few hundred kilometers to the
entire continent,
• Local pollution - cities and industrial regions.
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AIR EMISSIONS
• What happens to the pollutants in the
atmosphere?
– Emission effects on the environment are dependent
also on:
• the retention, a "life cycle" of emitted pollutants in the
atmosphere,
• its transformation and
• transport of any transformers (secondary pollutants)
either alone primary pollutants.
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AIR EMISSIONS: Relation between certain
pollutants and the most significant impacts
Effect
Utjecaj
Onečišćujuće tvari
POLLUTANTS
PM
HM
TM
POP
POO
SO2
NH3
NOx
NMVOC CO
CO2
CH4
N 2O
LOKALNI
(zdravlje)
LOCAL
REGIONALNI
REGIONAL
- zakiseljavanje
Acidification
E t hi ti
Eutrophication
- eutrofikacija
Ground-level
- prizemni
ozon Ozone
GLOBALNI
GLOBAL
Greenhouse Effect
- staklenički
efekt(indirect)
(indirektni)
Greenhouse efekt
Effect (direktni)
(direct)
- staklenički
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC)
Heavy metals (HM)
Particles (PM)
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Environmental impact of different
technologies for electricity generation
Emissions:
• related to the fuel (eg. as CO2 - fossil fuels or
radioactivity - nuclear processes
• gases as primary pollutants (SO2, NOx, etc.).
• secondary pollutants: after reaction in the atmosphere
it can result in secondary pollutants (eg. nitrogen
aerosols), it is difficult to accurately quantify due the
complexity of the formation mechanism.
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The environmental impact of thermal
power plants
• The burning of fossil fuels affects the environment
mainly through emissions into the atmosphere:
–
–
–
–
–
Carbon dioxide (CO2),
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
Nitrogen oxides (NOx), and
Particulate matter (dust)
Other pollutants (heavy metals, etc.)
• Lead (Pb)
• Mercury (Hg)
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The environmental impact of thermal
power plants
Also, evident impact on the environment is:
• emissions of waste heat through cooling towers or
directly into rivers, lakes or the sea.
• emissions of pollutants into the water (groundwater
and surface water)
– due to continuous leaks,
– due to accidental discharges of liquid fuels, and
– due to infiltration of rainwater through the storage of coal at
the power plant site.
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The environmental impact of thermal
power plants
• The impact of the physical location - the existence of
thermal power plants in the area disfigures the
landscape values in which it is located.
• Cooling towers, pillars of wind, chimneys, and other
buildings which constituting the thermal power plant
visually disfigure both, urban and rural areas,
especially the valuable parts of the territory, such as
coastal areas and/or other natural beauty.
– architectural concepts of "friendly" and "soft"
incorporation to the environment.
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Emissions from thermal power plants
• The products of combustion of fossil fuels
– Fossil fuels, whose main components are carbon and
hydrogen, release heat by combustion or oxidation.
– In addition to the basic ingredients of fossil fuels they also
contain a range of combustible impurities, the most
significant being sulfur, moisture and noncombustible
impurities (ash).
– In terms of the impact of combustion gases on the
environment important are heavy metals (trace elements),
especially radioactive isotopes of Uranium chain.
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Emissions from thermal power plants
• The products of combustion of fossil fuels
– In the process of burning fossil fuels, which takes place in
steam boilers or furnaces of gas power plants, are being
developed combustion gases, among which is the dominant
content of CO2 and H2O, and then depending on the sulfur
content in the fuel and the temperature of combustion,
sulfur dioxide SO2 and nitrogen oxides NO and NO2
(usually denoted as NOx)
– Solid fossil fuels contain mostly carbon with an admixture
of sulfur, moisture and mineral ingredients,
– Liquid and gaseous fuels are mixtures of hydrocarbons.
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SULPHUR DIOXIDE
• SO2 is mostly the result of the combustion of fuel oil and coal that, as
well as all organic matter, contain sulfur
• Natural sources include volcanic eruptions, seas and oceans, and
some processes in the soil
• The largest increase in emissions of sulfur was recorded after
World War II, when the consumption of fossil fuels grew 10% per
year
• In Europe, annually is emitted about 20 million tons of sulfur, of
which 80% from the combustion of fossil fuels
• > 90% S in the fuel is emitted in the form of SO2
• <10% S in the fuel is emitted as SO3, which in contact with H2O
create sulphates (SO4)
• More than two thirds of the total acidification results from the
presence of sulfur compounds in the atmosphere
• relatively short time is retained in the atmosphere (a few days).
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SULPHUR DIOXIDE
• Depending on the type of fuel, combustion mode and capacity
of the furnace, allowed emissions of SO2 (mg/m3) from the flue
gas output is limited to legislation.
• Effects on Humans
–
–
–
–
–
–
irritative gas
concentration of 0.3 to 1 cm3/m3 indentified by taste
concentration of about 3 cm3/m3 indentified by smell
concentration of 6-12 cm3/m3 irritates nose and throat
concentration of 20 cm3/m3 irritates eyes
Absorbed by breathing and attacks the respiratory organs paralyzes the respiratory system
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SULPHUR DIOXIDE
• The effect depend on the concentration of SO2 in the
atmosphere:
The base concentration in the
0,0002 - 0,0004 ppm
atmosphere
The concentration in the air above
0,01 ppm
the non-industrial city
Asthmatics are beginning to feel
0,5 ppm
respiratory problems
You can feel the smell
0,5-1,0 ppm
Bronchial spasms (Uneven
1,0 ppm ( in 1 hour)
breathing)
Disorder of lung function
5,0 ppm (8 hours a day)
Permanent lung damage
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20,0 ppm
73
Balance of emission and deposition of
SO2 in Croatia
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Nitrogen oxides
• consist mainly of nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen
dioxide (NO2)
• are an inevitable consequence of any combustion
• most of nitrogen oxides are formed in the reaction of
nitrogen from the combustion air with oxygen, and
the amount of combustion increases with
temperature (exponentially)
• nitrogen in the fuel also contributes to the emission of
nitrogen oxides
• the largest source of emissions of nitrogen oxides is
traffic
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Nitrogen oxides
• NO is produced by burning of all types of
fossil fuels, and its amount depends on:
– Air surplus for combustion,
– N content in the fuel,
– Flame temperature during combustion.
• NO in the atmosphere rapidly oxidized into
NO2 under the photochemical effects of the
sun's rays in the presence of various organic
compounds in the air.
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Nitrogen oxides
• Harmful effects of NO2:
― human health (effects on the respiratory system)
― formation of acid rain,
― impact on the amount of ozone in the stratosphere,
― formation of the ozone in the lower part of the
atmosphere (the troposphere).
•
Under UV sunlight, nitrogen oxides, in combination with another molecule (such as
chlorofluorocarbon), catalyze ozone depletion in the stratosphere. (Ozone in the
stratosphere protects the earth from excessive ultraviolet radiation from the sun).
•
Ozone in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) is formed by connecting the molecules
and atoms of oxygen. Oxygen atom is not caused by dissociation of O2 under the
action of ultraviolet rays of the sun, than by the disintegration of NO2 molecules
under the influence of the sun's rays longer wave lengths.
•
Ozone in the troposphere (ground level ozone) is harmful because it causes smog,
respiratory dysfunction and an adverse effect on the flora
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Nitrogen oxides
• NO2 limits in the air:
– Tolerable Upper value - long-term - 80μg/m3
– Tolerable Upper value - short-term - 300μg/m3
•
The permitted emissions of NOx from power plants (furnaces) depends on
the type of fuel and furnace capacity, and is regulated by the laws and
regulations on permissible emissions into the environment.
The impacts of human activities in the total emission of NOX:
Combustion of fossil fuels
50 - 55 %
Degassing of arable (cultivable) land
25 - 30 %
The combustion of biomass
15 - 20 %
Air transport
1 - 1,5 %
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Nitrogen oxides
• It is considered that the nitrogen oxide emissions have
doubled since 1960 and they are still rising
• Pollution has caused by some fertilizers
• High nitrogen levels have a negative impact on plants,
nitrogen runs off from the forests and fields and it can
cause problems with drinking water and
eutrophication
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Nitrogen oxides
• Eutrophication is the enrichment of an ecosystem
with chemical nutrients and it leads to increased plant
growth in the water (algae)
• When these plants die, because to their decomposition,
an increased amount of oxygen is consumed, and a
result is an insufficient amount of oxygen causing
negative consequences for the wildlife in the water
• The causes of eutrophication are nitrogen and
phosphorus
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ACIDIFICATION
• Result of the nitrogen and sulfur oxides presence in
the air
• Nitrogen and sulfur oxides form acid in the contact
with water
• We distinguish between dry and wet deposition
– dry deposition occurs close to the emission source
– dry residue forms acid in contact with water
– sulfuric and nitric acid in the atmosphere can travel long
distances before finally fall as acid precipitation, so there is
acidification of water and soil
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ACIDIFICATION
• In the soil, limestone has a major role in the
maintaining of the natural pH level
• If pH level of soil falls, primarily aluminum and
smaller quantities of cadmium, zinc and lead are
released and they destroy the roots of the
trees, and may reach into the ground or surface
water, where, by acidification, cause the
disappearance of fish
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pH Scale
•
•
•
•
•
•
The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is.
The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14
A pH of 7 is neutral.
A pH less than 7 is acidic.
A pH greater than 7 is basic (alkaline).
The pH scale is logarithmic and as a result, each whole pH
value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher
value. For example, pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5 and
100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than pH 6.
• Pure water is neutral.
• Normal rain has a pH of 5.6 - slightly acidic because of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere uncollected with rain
• The greatest value of the acidity in Los Angeles is 1.5
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pH Scale
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Acid rain
• When rain falls through polluted air, it can pick up some of
the pollution and turn more acidic - producing what's known as
acid rain.
• Simply speaking, the air pollution converts the rain into a
weak acid
• Pure water is neither acidic nor alkaline but completely
neutral (we say it has an acidity level or pH of 7.0)
• Ordinary rainwater is a little bit more acidic than this with
about the same acidity as bananas (roughly pH 5.5), but if rain
falls through sulfur dioxide pollution it can turn much more
acidic (with a pH of 4.5 or lower, which is the same acidity as
orange or lemon juice).
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Acid rain
• What are the consequences of "acid rain"?
– Hazardous impact on the forest (vegetation)
– Hazardous effect on the fish world (in lakes and
rivers)
– Harmful effects on human health,
– The corrosion / erosion effects on the ground.
• Normal "pure" rain has a pH of 5.5 to 6
• "Acid" rain has a pH of 4 (3) to 5.
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Acid rain
• When acid rain accumulates in lakes or rivers,
it gradually turns the entire water more acidic.
• That's a real problem because fish thrive only in water that is
neutral or slightly acidic (typically with a pH of 6.5–7.0).
• Once the acidity drops below about pH 6.0, fish soon start to
die - and if the pH drops to about 4.0 or less, all the fish will
be killed.
• Acid rain has caused major problems in lakes throughout North
America and Europe.
• It also causes the death of forests, reduces the fertility of soil,
and damages buildings by eating away stonework (the marble
on the US Capitol in Washington, DC has been eroded by acidrain, for example).
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Regional outdoor pollution from acid
deposition
• wet deposition
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• dry deposition
88
Acid Deposition and Effects on
Humans
• Respiratory Conditions
• Flushing toxic metals
• Damage to the structure, especially when it contain
calcium carbonate
• Reduced visibility
• Reduced productivity and profitability in fisheries,
forestry and farms
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Acid Deposition and Water System
• Reducing the numbers of fish
• Aluminum toxicity
• Acid shock
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Deposition of Pollutants on Plants and
Soils
• Leaching of nutrients
• Discharge of heavy metals
• Weakening of trees
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Solutions for Acid Deposition
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CARBON OXIDES
Carbon Monoxide (CO):
• Result of the incomplete combustion.
• Depends on :
–
–
–
–
fuel type
preparation of fuel combustion,
mode of combustion (type of furnaces)
adjustment of combustion installations
• Depending on the type of fuel, combustion mode and capacity
of the furnace, allowed emission of CO (mg/m3) in the exhaust
flue gases is limited by legislation
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CARBON OXIDES
Carbon dioxide (CO2):
• The inevitable product of burning fossil fuels.
• Not the classic cause of environmental pollution.
• The cause of the greenhouse effect (global warming).
• Kyoto Protocol limited CO2 emissions from manmade sources at the national level
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Particles
• The form of air pollution, which is classified under the common
name of "particles", makes about 5% of mass of total pollution
• Quantity, size and composition of the emitted particles is affectted by:
–
–
–
–
type of fuel,
construction of furnaces,
operating conditions,
the effectiveness of the device for removing particles (filter)
• Ingredients of unburned coal particles:
– carbon,
– compounds of silicon, aluminum, iron,
– possible traces of chlorine and mercury.
• Ingredients of unburned particles of fuel oils:
– carbon,
– compounds of silicon, aluminum, sodium, metals (vanadium, iron,
copper, nickel)
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Particles
• Particle size may be from about 0.005 to about
100 microns (microns).
• Larger particles have a smaller impact on
human health because they are relatively
quickly deposited.
• Particles with a diameter smaller than 2.5
microns are dangerous to human health
because they remain much longer in the
atmosphere.
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INFLUENCE OF THERMAL POWER
PLANTS ON WATER AND SEA
• The impact of energy facilities on the water and
sea:
– Thermal impact as a result of waste heat from
power plants
– Discharge of waste water into water and sea
– Water and sea pollution as a result of an accidents
during transport of fuels or other accidents (the most
dangerous accidents are with liquid fuel)
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Water in power plants
is necessary for cooling
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IMPACT ON WATER AND SEA
• Thermal pollution from energy is the most
significant impact
– during conversion of energy of the fuel into electricity large
part of energy is discharged in the environment using
cooling water
– total energy input fuel is divided into 3 parts:
• One part is produced electricity,
• Second part goes into the atmosphere through the flue gas
and direct radiation of facility, and
• Last part goes to the cooling water in the river or sea
– If efficiency is higher, the amount of waste heat is lower
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IMPACT ON WATER AND SEA
Power Plant
Nuclear
Classical
Thermal
Gas
CCGT
Energy in fuel
Produced electricity %
Energy lost in atmosphere%
Energy lost in cooling water
100
100
33
40
2
10
65
50
100
100
30
50‐60
70
10‐15
30‐35
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IMPACT ON WATER AND SEA
• The cooling water has no harmful substances besides being
heated however it can cause harm to some living communities in
water - amount of discharged cooling water should be limited
• Closed and Open (flow) system
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Cooling Systems
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Steam Cloud
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Typical cooling tower with natural draft
• the air is
circulated
inside the
cooling
tower by
natural
convection
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Typical cooling tower with natural draft
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Chinon B, France, cooling tower with
mechanical draft, low profile
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Cooling tower with mechanical draft
• air is circulated
inside the tower
mechanically
instead of
natural
circulation
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IMPACT OF THE ENERGY SECTOR
ON THE SOIL
• Impact related to the land area occupation by facilities and
infrastructure
• Direct impact of dry and wet deposition from the air
• Indirect impact of hazardous waste generated in power plants
• Land Area Occupied by energy facilities and infrastructure can
be significant issuing:
– conflict with the local community,
– hydropower plants occupy large areas of predominantly arable
land (a few hectares for 1 MW, thermal power plants about 0.01
ha/MW),
– infrastructure: lines, oil pipelines, steam lines.
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Land Area Requirements per 1 MW
m
300
Wind -onshore
Wind- offshore
250
Photovoltaic
200
Solar Towers
Solar-parabolic
150
Big HPP
Small HPP
100
IGCC, NE
50
Gas
Geothermal technology
0
0
50
100
TPP – fossil fuels
PFBC, AFBC
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150
200
250
300
m
110
Land Area Requirements per 1 MW
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IMPACT OF THE ENERGY SECTOR
ON THE SOIL
• The direct impact of energy facilities on the soil:
– effects of hydrological changes of watercourses near HPPs
(regime change of the ground water and local microclimate
changes)
• Hazardous waste generated in the energy system is
significant:
– the largest contribution from petroleum refinery and fuel
production
– traffic and transport with all service
– and power system facilities (waste oil, waste fuels)
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OTHER POSSIBLE IMPACTS OF ENERGY
SYSTEM ON THE ENVIRONMENT
• In addition to the classic impact on air, water
and soil, there are other effects:
– noise sources, such as gas turbines and diesel
engines,
• noise in power plants usually can be adequately reduced
(the largest sources of noise is usually indoors)
– unpleasant odour is not a big problem in the
energy sector in comparison with other industrial
sectors
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Areas of the energy sector
environmental impact analysis
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Air quality
Quality of surface and groundwater
Sea qality
Soil quality
Emissions estimates - air, water (sea) and ground
Noise and vibration
Unpleasant odor
Visual and aesthetic aspects
Accident with a variety of causes and risk assessment for the
human health, life and environment
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