The reduction of atmospheric emissions after the implementation of first Polish nuclear power plant

Abstract

Abstract. In this work the environmental benefits in the atmospheric emissions after the implementation of 3,000 MW nuclear power plants were assessed and presented. To determine the quantity of avoided emissions of CO 2 , NO x , SO 2 and Hg compounds, harmonised stoichiometric combustion model dedicated to solid fuel fired power plant was created. To increase the credibility of the studies, future strict emission standards (Directive 2010/75/EU, BAT documents for LCP) were included as well. In conducted studies, representative samples of 3 different Polish solid fuels were examined (by comprehensive proximate and ultimate analysis) and used in assessment. It was proven that by the replacement of thermal solid fuel power plant by nuclear unit (with annual production rate of 22.4 TWh net) up to 16.4 million tonnes of lignite, 8.9 million tonnes of hard coal or 13.1 million tonnes of solid biomass can be saved. Further, for the case of lignite, the emission, at least, of 21.29 million tonnes of CO 2 (6.9% of all Polish emission in 2015), 1,610 tonnes of dust (0.4%), 16,102 tonnes of NO x (2.2%), 16,102 tonnes of SO 2 (2.0%) and 564 kg of mercury (5.9%) can be avoided. For selected hard coal, calculated emission savings were equal to 17.60 million tonnes of CO 2 (5.7%), 1,357 tonnes of dust (0.4%), 13,566 tonnes of NO x (1.9%), 13,566 tonnes of SO 2 (1.7%), 271 kg of mercury (2.9%), and for biomass -equal to 20.04 million tonnes of CO 2 (6.5%), 1,471 tonnes of dust (0.4%), 14,712 tonnes of NO x (2.0%), 14,712 tonnes of SO 2 (1.8%) and 294 kg of mercury (3.1%).

Lab-scale evaluation of possible mercury speciation in flue gas and mercury emission from combustion of pulverised solid fuels

“…When fuel is characterised and evaluated under the terms of possible mercury oxidation in flue gases, it is suggested to apply one of the reliable, verified mathematical models of combustion chamber to evaluate the expected Hg 2+ concentration in flue gases. In case of pulverised coal-fired power plant, method presented in [1,4] can be employed. In short, it was based on the stoichiometric calculations including mass balance between substrates (C, H, N, S, O, W t , Cl, Hg contents) and products (CO 2 , H 2 O, O 2 , N 2 , SO 2 , HCl, Hg, A), combined with fixed values of: excess air (λ), NO x concentration and carbon presence in both slag and fly ash.…”

“…As a result, it is possible to calculate the composition of flue gases at a temperature above 700°C. A detailed description of the model (including utilised equations) can be found in author's publication [1], which was published in previous volume of EPJ. To highlight the impact of the type of solid fuel on the efficiency of mercury capture system, 4 different solid fuels (hard coal, lignite and 2 types of biomass) were investigated.…”

“…This fact has been reflected in the technical guidelines dedicated to large combustion plants (both new and existing), which are obligated to meet the future mercury emission levels of 1-10 µg/m 3 ref starting from the 18th August 2021 (the range of total mercury concentration in flue gases released from combustion chamber varies between 1-100 µg/m 3 ref ) [4][5]. As highlighted in the literature [1][2][3][4][6][7][8], mercury removal within different flue gas treatment technologies depends on mercury speciation, defined as a coexistence of 3 different forms: elemental Hg 0 (water-insoluble, poorly reactive), oxidised Hg 2+ (watersoluble, reactive) and particle-bounded Hg p . Understandably, the more gaseous mercury occurs in oxidised forms or is adsorbed on fly ash or slag, the more quantity of mercury can be captured in currently widely used: wet scrubbers (i.a.…”

“…Understandably, the more gaseous mercury occurs in oxidised forms or is adsorbed on fly ash or slag, the more quantity of mercury can be captured in currently widely used: wet scrubbers (i.a. wet flue gas desulphurisation units -WFGD) and dust collectors (electrostatic precipitators -ESP -or bag filters -FF) [1][2][3]. While mercury speciation is affected by the composition of solid fuel, combustion working parameters of combustion chamber and pollutant control devices, the economy of mercury capture depends significantly on the type of fuel used in power plant [6][7].…”

Research on Carbon Emissions of Electric Vehicles throughout the Life Cycle Assessment Taking into Vehicle Weight and Grid Mix Composition

“…With the development of clean energy, more and more coal power will be replaced by clean energy in the future. With the reduction of the proportion of coal power in the grid mix composition and the increase of the proportion of clean energy, the carbon emission intensity generated by electricity generation will be reduced, and the carbon emission caused by electricity generation will be reduced in the electric energy consumed by electric vehicles in the use stage [44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. Carbon emissions of electric vehicles and gasoline vehicles in the full life cycle under the predicted grid mix composition in 2020, 2030 and 2050.…”