Detailed analysis of power generation and water desalination sector emissions-part 1: criteria pollutants and BTEX

Abstract

Based on 2016 fuel consumption and utilizing US-EPA AP-42 emission factors, emissions from the burning fuel facilities for energy production in Kuwait were calculated. The total emissions for criteria pollutants were 1.89E+01, 6.97E+02, 1.05E+02, 8.05E+00, 8.54E+00, and 1.60E−03 Gg of CO, SO2, NOx, PM10, PM2.5, and Pb, respectively. For benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylenes, and BTEX, they were 2.27E−03, 3.11E−03, 1.91E−02, 6.21E−03, and 3.07E−02 Gg, respectively. In addition to ranking the power plants based on emission quantities, the ratio of the mass emitted from each compound to the released thermal energy (R) was calculated. The significance of R is that a power plant with a higher R value is considered to have more polluting effect if it was to have the same amount of thermal released energy. This concept was further extended to calculate the fuel-specific R using a system of 4 simultaneous equations. Zour South Power Station (PS) contributed most toward CO, SO2, and Pb emissions, while Sabiya PS had contributed most to NOx, PM10, and PM2.5 emissions. Boilers had the highest contribution to CO, SO2, NOx and Pb emissions, while gas turbines’ emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 exceeded those from boilers. Burning heavy fuel oil resulted in 89%, 90%, and 43% of the SO2, Pb, and NOx emissions. Gas oil contributed to 72% of CO emissions, while natural gas contributed to over 90% of PM10 and PM2.5 emissions. Shuwaikh Desalination Plant, which is about 1 km from urban areas, had the lowest contribution to BTEX and criteria pollutant emissions.