Modeling air concentration of fly ash in Belgrade, emitted from thermal power plants TNTA and TNTB

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the study was to estimate if dust/fly ash emitted into the atmosphere from chimneys and the ash disposal sites of the thermal power plants Nikola Tesla A and B in Obrenovac could increase the concentration of PM 10 in New Belgrade. TNTA and TNTB are close to Belgrade (population of 2.5 million) and it is important to estimate the amount of the pollution emitted into the atmosphere from these sources. The pollution from chimneys is estimated from yearly amounts of discharge, while the lifting of ash/coal dust was parameterized by the model. The used model is the straight-line Gaussian plume model written in the Fortran programming language. The first estimation was done using mathematical modeling for the idealized situation with prescribed winds and stability. The second estimation was done using the observed meteorological data for the whole year of 2009. With strong winds (over 40 km/h), dust will reach Belgrade in dozens of minutes, while during moderate winds (∼10–30 km/h), it would take about one hour to reach it. In these cases atmosphere is close to the neutral stability class. In case of weaker winds and stable atmosphere, the increase of air dust concentration in Belgrade would start after a few hours (6–10). Regarding the other two sources of pollution, coal handling piles and ash deposit sites, during strong winds (>40 km/h) and neutral stability, fly ash would reach Belgrade in several dozen of minutes.