Coal-fired power plant

Brief overview on some of its major

environmental impacts
Coal-fired power plant

requires three primary raw materials:

• Coal
• Water (for steam, cooling, and probably
emissions control)
• Limestone (for emissions control of SO2).

• Air pollution caused by SO2, NOx,

particulate matter, and CO2 (global
wanning)
• Water pollution from boiler operations
(thermal pollution), surface or
groundwater contamination from mining
of coal and limestone
• Land pollution from mining wastes and
disposal of scrubber sludge
 Combustion residuals from coal combustion
Coal ash
coal combustion residuals
from the burning of coal in
coal-fired power plants.
byproducts includes:
Fly Ash: A fine, powdery silica
material created when
pulverized coal is burned.

Bottom Ash: A more course ash particle that forms

at the bottom of a coal furnace
Boiler Slag: Molten bottom ash. Turns into pellets
when cooled with water
Flue Gas Material: leftover when SO2 is removed.
Coal ash (cont’d)

• Is one of the largest forms of waste genrated in SA. It is

estimated at several hundreds of thousands of tonnes produced
annually
• Coal ash contains lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and
uranium.
Hence very harmful to be released into environment.
can pollute waterways, ground water, drinking water, and the air.
Terminology
Calorific Value
Calorific value is basically a measurement of energy or heat released (kJ or
kcal) when 1kg of coal is completely combusted in the presence of air

Load on a power station

=Amount of power pulled from the unit. The load must be balanced so that
supply continuously meets demand levels

Plant thermal efficiency

electrical output/thermal energy input
Mass flowrate of coal= thermal energy input /calorific value
Ex.1

A small town runs its own coal-fired power plant burning a bituminous coal with an energy
content of 25,000 kJ/kg.
The coal contains, on average (in weight): 1% sulfur and 1.2% ash
The power plant is 35% efficient and is operated at a 2MW average daily electrical load (ADL).
Assume that the coal is completely burned during combustion, and also that the power plant
captures 99% of the ash and 70% of the sulfur dioxide produced during combustion.
You are planning to install energy-efficient lighting and reduce the plant’s average daily
electrical generating needs by 25%.
Calculate:
1) the average reduction in electrical
2) the new average daily load for the power plant.
3) calculate the daily reduction in the quantity of :
3.1. coal (kg/day) consumed by the town's power plant
3.2. ash (kg/day) produced when the town implements this energy-saving lighting program.
 Ex. 3
Karabo’s family illuminates each of the six rooms in their apartment with one
100watts incandescent light per room.
Each light is used for 5 hour each day.
Refer to previous problem (Ex.2) to determine the reduction in the amount of
each pollutant (particulates, Nox and SO2) achieved each year by using 34 watts
fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs.
Ex. 4

A lake is located at the top of a mountain. A power plant has been

constructed at the bottom of the mountain. The potential energy of the
water traveling downhill can be used to spin turbines and generate
electricity. This is the operating mode in the daytime during peak electrical
demand. At night, when demand is reduced, the water is pumped back up
the mountain.
Determine how much power (watts) is generated by the lake located at an
elevation of 914.40metres above the power plant. The flowrate of water is
31.5m3/s. The turbine efficiency is 30%. Neglect friction effects.
Ex. 5
A power plant processes 255 tons of coal per our
to produce 760 megawatts of electricity. The calorific value of coal being used is
30703kJ/kg
6.1. Calculate the plant’s efficiency
6.2. Suppose the efficiency (calculated in 6.1) is improved by 10%
Determine
6.2.1. Current tons of coal needed
6.2.2. Cost savings involved if coal market price (in SA) amount to R850/ton
6.2.3. Avoided tons of Emitted carbon dioxide. assume that one ton of this
coal produces about 3 tons of carbon dioxide