Developing a conceptual model for the environmental management of power plant wastes

Abstract

ABSTRACTDespite the vital role of electricity in human life, the energy supply process produces all kinds of pollutants such as solid wastes. Unfortunately, due to the lack of specific charge of administration, lack of legal and statutory criteria for effective control, and lack of supervising organizations, in Iran the industrial wastes couldn’t be managed well. The quantity and quality of waste of power plants have been investigated, and then a questionnaire was sent to all stations. The results showed that the use of Mazut fuel and gas oil will increase the rate of wastes. In thermal-gas power plants, due to the consumption of natural gas and lack of water consumption in the production cycle, less wastes have been produced than the other thermal power plants. To determine and explain the factors affecting the production of waste in power plants, an interview was held in the presence of 40 experts in the field of power plant wastes, and after determining the factors affecting the rate of wastes in power plants, Analytical Hierarchy Processes (AHPs) were used for the weighing and prioritization of each of these factors. In the next step, according to the collected data, the conceptual model for the environmental management of power plants was provided. The most important factors in the production of wastes based on the type of fuel type are the type of power plant and the quality of water. Generally, power plant wastes are divided into three categories: ordinary, industrial, and hazardous. Ordinary wastes could be buried in the landfill of urban wastes. However, in the case of industrial and hazardous wastes, location for the landfill is necessary. Also, some wastes like clarifier sediments and combustion wastes could be reused in other industries in order to reduce the volume of these wastes and in some cases reduces the risk of as well.