Simulation of the Emission and Dispersion of Gaseous Pollutants Emitted from Power Plant and the Potential Environmental Impacts: A Case Study

Abstract

The polluting gas flow and emission levels emitted from the Zawia combined Power Plant (ZCPP) in-northwestern Libya were estimated using an Aspen-Hysys v.8.0 simulator which was performed for the plant based on the actual operating conditions of the power plant in steady state operation. Then, the air dispersion modeling tool (Disper V4.0 software) was used to estimate the concentration of these pollutants emitted throughout the surrounding areas, and the WAR algorithm v.1.0.17 was used to check the potential environmental impacts of the gas emissions from ZCPP. Simulation results for the studied power unit showed that the thermal efficiency and net energy output are equivalent to the realistic values of the unit, which indicates that the estimated emission concentration is identical to the real emissions from this unit and that the primary emitted pollutant is nitrogen oxides, whose values exceeded the selected international standard limits. Based on the seasonal climatic conditions of the region, the results of simulating the dispersion of nitrogen oxides showed that the emissions reach areas far from the emission source with high-level concentrations, which may have negative effects on the environment and public health according to WHO standards and previous studies related to air quality. According to the current scientific literature, the results of the eight indicator values derived from the WAR algorithm of the total production rate confirm the potential environmental impacts of the power plant per hour as environmentally harmful. Moreover, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from the combustion process increases the greenhouse effect. The main conclusion reveals that the atmospheric air of the surrounding regions of Zawia city is polluted with nitrogen oxides resulting from the studied power plant as one of the primary sources of nitrogen oxides in the study area, which may have a negative impact on the environment and the health of the inhabitants.