Fuel and its
delivery cost comprise the biggest expense in coal power plant operations.
Delivery of electricity from generation to consumers requires investment in
power lines and transmission grids. Placing a coal
power plant or multiple power plants near dense population centers can lower
transmission costs. If a coalmine is nearby, transportation costs can also be
reduced. However, emissions from coal plants play a key role in worsening
health crises in many countries. And coal upon combustion produces CO2,
SO2, NOx, CO, Metallic and Particle Matter (PM10 &
PM2.5). The presence of these chemical compounds in the atmosphere in close
vicinity to humans, livestock, and agriculture carries detrimental health
consequences.
The goal of the
research was to develop a methodology to minimize the public’s exposure to
harmful emissions from coal power plants while maintaining minimal operational
costs related to electric distribution losses and coal logistics. The objective
was achieved by combining EPA Screen3, ISC3 and Japanese METI-LIS model
equations with minimum spanning tree (MST) algorithm.
In this study, the
authors have successfully built a dynamic program, which simulated: 1) Coal
power plant emission’s dispersion, using a Gaussian Dispersion Model; 2) A minimum spanning tree for electric transmission from a coal
power plant to a given set of customers using Prim’s algorithm; 3) A minimum
spanning tree for coal deliveries between a given set of coalmines and a power
plant. At each point on a 2D grid, the program checked for emission interaction
with another coal power plant and any respective customer. The Prim’s algorithm
network with application of backtracking load transfer strategy provided less
cost on both networks compared to other traditional location analysis strategies
like center of gravity and load distance technique, etc.
In short, the
simulation provides a tool to industrial zone planners, environmental
engineers, and stakeholders in coal-based power generation. Using operational
and emissions perspectives, the tool helps ascertain a list of compromise
locations for a new coal power plant facility.
Article by Najam
Khan and Ekaterina Koromyslova, from USA.
Full access: http://t.cn/EtnAoKO
Image by GeorgeOfTheGorge, from
Flickr-cc.
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