Flue gas desulphurisation in Serbia: Technologies, legal and economic aspects

Abstract

Combustion of coal results in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions which cause detrimental impacts on the environment and human health. Electric power generating units account for the majority of SO2 emissions in Serbia. Environmental regulations in Serbia require gradual implementation of flue gas treatment technologies for control the emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere. As far as Serbian thermal power plants are concerned, the basic design of systems for flue gas desulphurisation has been developed for two thermal power plants. As wet limestone-based FGD technologies dominate in the world because of high SO2 removal efficiency, cost effectiveness, and gypsum as the by-product, it is expected that Serbian thermal power plants will use this technology. This paper presents a review of commercially available FGD technologies, as well as legal and economic perspective of the process. U.S. EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory has published the Coal Utility Environmental Cost Workbook which provides the rough-order-of-magnitude budgetary cost estimates as the starting point for the limestone forced oxidation cost model that might be a good starting point for cost estimates for Serbian electric utilities.