Modeling and optimal control applied to reduce the effects of greenhouse gases emitted from the coal-based power plant in Bangladesh

Abstract

The coal-fired power station is believed to be one of the major emitters of air pollutants, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the main sensitive driver of climate change due to global warming, consequently causing significant intimidation for the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest and nearby due to high emissions of air pollutants such as Carbon-Di-Oxide (CO2). Here, we used a compartmental mathematical model with 3 compartments to study the dynamics of greenhouse gas emissions, concentration, and uptake, which we can control by installing a chemical reactor system near the power plant and naturally afforesting the regions. The model was built from scratch to study these types of problems. First, we formulated the optimal control problem by connecting two control measurement systems: a chemical reactor system and natural afforestation. For this purpose, Pontryagin's maximum principle is used. The novelty of this work is the investigation of optimal strategies to minimize the impact of gases emitted by Coal based power plants on neighboring regions. More realistic facts such as system damage from excess emissions, most absorbers, and other facts are covered here. The numerical solution obtained illustrates the outcome of the system with initial values and theoretical parameters that best represent reality. By evaluating the performance index scores, and objective function values, we found that both controls (the chemical reactor system and natural afforestation) help minimize air pollution. We then simulated our model with 5 different control strategies to observe its performance in reducing pollutants. Once we determine that two control strategies are equally effective in reducing pollution, let's compare them by looking at the costs associated with each strategy. Therefore, using both control systems (chemical reactor and natural afforestation) with a higher reaction rate, we suggested chemical reactor system control as the best strategy.