Coal-fired Power Generation System Research Articles

Generation Expansion Planning for Solvent-Storaged Carbon Capture Power Plants Considering the Internalization of the Carbon Emission Effects

Carbon capture power plants (CCPPs) can effectively eliminate the carbon-locking effect of coal-fired power generation systems, which constitute one of the essential technical pathways to achieve low-carbon transformation of the power structure. Capable of decoupling CO2 absorption and separation in terms of time, CCPPs equipped with solvent storage have stronger operational flexibility while promoting the realization of carbon emission reduction targets. Therefore, this study focuses on the generation expansion planning of power systems containing solvent-storaged carbon capture power plants (SSCCPPs). First, a mathematical model is proposed for SSCCPPs considering new operation characteristics of power generation-carbon capture. Second, the per kilowatt-hour carbon emission coefficient (kWh-CEC) of various power plants is analyzed by life cycle assessment (LCA), and a bilateral stepped carbon trading model is established to quantify power plants' whole life cycle carbon emission effects. Third, a generation expansion planning model considering the internalization of carbon emission effects is developed to explore the benefits of planning SSCCPPs in wind-coal intensive power systems and multi-energy integrated systems. The simulation results on the modified IEEE RTS-96 system and IEEE HRP-38 system have validated the economic and low-carbon performance of planning SSCCPPs in the system.

Partial load operation characteristics of supercritical CO2 coal-fired power generation system

The steady-state model of a 300 MW supercritical CO2 coal-fired power generation system (SCPGS) is established to investigate its partial load characteristics. The SCPGS model predicts the reduction of reheat CO2 temperature in partial load operation, which is not reflected from the traditional black box model due to its simplification of heat transfer processes in the boiler. Effects of the burner angle and split ratios on regulating the reheat temperature is simulated. It is found that increasing the burner angle can effectively raise the reheat temperature and system efficiency. However, the higher furnace outlet temperature makes the heating surface easy to coke and slag. Changing the split ratios can also regulate the reheat temperature while the system efficiency is reduced. Accordingly, a comprehensive control strategy is proposed: at 100%–85 % load ratio, no regulation is applied; at 85%–45 % load ratio, the burner angle is gradually adjusted upward; at 45%–20 % load ratio, the burner angle is set to 30o and the split ratios are changed in the order of xEAP, xH4a, and xC2. This control strategy enables the SCPGS to achieve wide load regulation efficiently and safely and can provide guidance for the dynamic regulation of the SCPGS with variable load operation.

Value Distribution DDPG With Dual-Prioritized Experience Replay for Coordinated Control of Coal-Fired Power Generation Systems

Value Distribution DDPG With Dual-Prioritized Experience Replay for Coordinated Control of Coal-Fired Power Generation Systems

Design, operation, and case analyses of a novel thermodynamic system combining coal-fired cogeneration and decoupled Carnot battery using CO2 as working fluid

In the context of energy transition, coal-fired power generation systems must be more efficient and flexible. This study proposed a novel thermodynamic system that combines the coal-fired cogeneration (CG) and decoupled Carnot battery (CB) using CO2 as the working fluid. The ''design-operation-case'' model and analysis framework were constructed for this novel system. In the design stage, the optimal layout and design parameters for each subsystem were determined. In the operation stage, the operating domain of the novel system was explored. Finally, the feasibility of the novel system was evaluated through a case analysis. The findings include that the optimal arrangements with the highest exergy efficiencies for the CG, heat pump, and heat engine subsystems are the recompression, recuperative, and non-recuperative layouts, respectively. After parameter optimization, the exergy efficiencies of the three subsystems reach 46.24%, 69.23%, and 54.04%, respectively. The round-trip exergy efficiency of the CB is improved by 1.41%pt after decoupling. Moreover, the operating domain factor of the CG subsystem is 0.941, which is 43.87% higher than that of the traditional steam CG system. By incorporating the general CB into the CG subsystem, the operating domain area increases by 0.379 m2, which further increases by 1.467 m2 after decoupling the CB. The novel system is ultimately proven feasible.

Analytic hierarchy process-based life cycle assessment of the renewable energy production by orchard residual biomass-fueled direct-fired power generation system

Orchard residues (OR), primarily consists of pruned fruit tree branches (PFTB), serve as a significant biomass source in China and many other countries. In this study, we established a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) model for PFTB-based BDP (PFTB-BDP) using LCA and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The model was employed to evaluate the environmental impacts (EIs), abiotic depletion (AD), and comprehensive performance of PFTB-BDP. Our findings revealed that the comprehensive performance index (COPI) of PFTB-BDP ranged from 0.005 to 0.019 (person·year)/MWh. EIs exerted a more significant influence on comprehensive performance compared to AD, with the impact strength of EIs following the order of local > equal > regional > global. The maximum COPI value of PFTB-BDP amounted to 48.72% of the minimum COPI value of a coal-fired power generation (CP) system, demonstrating the superiority of PFTB-BDP over CP. The comprehensive performance of PFTB-BDP was most sensitive to total solid waste (SW) (−21.79%–17.89%) and the raw material consumption rate (−13.01%–11.58%). The outcomes of this study provide a crucial theoretical foundation and reference data for PFTB-BDP research.

Energy and exergy evaluations of solar-aided double reheat coal-fired power generation system

Energy and exergy evaluations of solar-aided double reheat coal-fired power generation system

Multi-operation state traction control of regional coal-fired and gas-fired combined power generation system

The traditional dispatching model and strategy of coal-fired and gas-fired power units are difficult to take into account the minimum total cost of power generation and the stable output of each unit. Therefore, this paper proposes a staged traction control model of coal-fired and gas-fired combined power generation, aiming at the minimum total power generation cost and stable output of the units. Based on the safe operation constraints of the regional coal-fired and gas-fired combined power generation system, the particle swarm optimization algorithm is adopted to solve the traction control strategy of the regional coal-fired and gas-fired combined power generation system in multiple operation states. The example simulation shows that the traction control strategy of regional coal-fired and gas-fired combined power generation systems in multiple operating states can realize flexible, coordinated control of each unit. Based on quickly responding to the change in load demand, it meets the minimum total power generation cost of regional coal-fired and gas-fired combined power generation systems. It makes the unit output stable to prolong the service life of the unit.

The techno-economic-environmental analysis of a pilot-scale positive pressure biomass gasification coupled with coal-fired power generation system

Biomass gasification coupled with coal-fired power generation (BGCPG) is of great significance for alleviating energy shortages and environmental pollution. Here we propose, analyze and validate a BGCPG system under positive pressure for cleaner applications based on a pilot-scale fluidized bed gasification plant and discussed the possibility of higher economic output and operating stability with reduced pollution emissions. Then the effects of temperature, air equivalence ratio and operating pressure were experimentally investigated for parameter optimization. The processes under positive and negative pressure were simulated and compared based on the pilot-scale experimental data, and the effects of the mixing ratio and operating pressure were investigated. Furthermore, the economic and sensitivity analyses were conducted for both a traditional coal-fired power plant and simulated BGCPG systems. The results demonstrated that the gas calorific value, gas yield, and gasification efficiency increased with the gasification temperature increasing, whereas the opposite trend was observed for the gas calorific value with the air equivalence ratio increasing. The positive pressure operation had little influence on the gasification process. The flue gas flow rate increased, and the furnace temperature decreased with an increase in the mixing ratio of biomass and coal. The reduction in fuel NOx and SOx was caused by the decreasing coal content, whereas the decrease in thermal NOx and boiler thermal efficiency was due to the increasing exhaust temperature. Compared with functioning under negative pressure, operation under positive pressure at a 20% mixing ratio could effectively reduce the pollutant emissions of SOx, NOx and dust by 5.64%, 8.8% and 20%, respectively. The generation costs of the BGCPG system under negative and positive pressure conditions were 0.05593 $/kW·h and 0.05582 $/kW·h respectively, indicating that a positive operating pressure would increase the economic benefit of a 660 MW generator by 5.808 × 105 $/year. These findings suggest the effectiveness of clean power generation with a higher economy and lower pollution emissions.

Proposal and investigation of a high-efficiency coal-fired power generation system enabled by chemical recuperative supercritical water coal gasification

Proposal and investigation of a high-efficiency coal-fired power generation system enabled by chemical recuperative supercritical water coal gasification

Performance analysis of a novel mode using solar energy to recycle and reuse water vapor from flue gas of coal-fired power station

Coal-fired power stations need to use massive quantities of coal and discharge substantial amounts of pollutants every year. Coupling solar energy with traditional coal-fired power stations can solve these problems. Most studies focus on using solar energy to heat boiler inlets, feedwater and high-temperature steam. However, areas with more solar energy are often water-deficient areas and saving water resources is particularly important. In this study, a 600 MWe coal-fired power station and solar energy are combined into a solar-aided coal-fired power generation (SACPG) system. Five SACPG systems are studied. There are parallel steam heating, reheating, double reheating, heating feedwater before pump and recycle and reuse water vapor from flue gas. For the first time propose using solar energy to recycle and reuse water vapor from the flue gas of coal-fired power stations in power-boosting (PB) and fuel-saving (FS) modes to analyze its thermal characteristics, exergy characteristics and energy savings. The research shows that feedwater recycle mode has the largest total thermal efficiency, which is 42.47 % and boiler thermal efficiency of 95.02 %. Three operation modes of saving water scheme including feedwater recovery, reheat steam recovery and FS mode are considered in this paper. Among three modes, FS has the smallest exergy loss of all parts, except fans. The FS mode coal saving rate is 10.79 g/kWh and the water saving rate is 3.87 × 105 t per year. The PB mode water saving rate is 4.04 × 105 t per year. Feedwater recycling output is larger than that of reheated steam recycling. The mode with the highest total thermal efficiency, largest solar field exergy efficiency and coal saving rate is using solar energy to heat feedwater parts and parallel steam generation employing thermal solar energy, which are 42.76 %, 27.70 % and 15.53 g/kWh, respectively. Using thermal solar energy to heat feedwater prior to the feedwater pump offers the highest boiler thermal efficiency (94.44 %) and the lowest exergy loss of all parts except fans. Using solar energy to heat high-temperature parts, the reheated steam mode has the largest boiler thermal efficiency, total thermal efficiency and solar field exergy efficiency, which are 94.16 %, 43.68 % and 33.61 % respectively and the smallest exergy loss of all parts, except fans. Meanwhile, the double reheated steam mode has the largest coal saving rate, which is 9.60 g/kWh.

A study on a novel solar contribution evaluation method for the solar-aided coal-fired power generation system

Solar-aided coal-fired power generation (SACPG) technology is an effective method of solar energy utilization. It could balance the demand of carbon dioxide emission reduction and renewable energy efficient power generation and promote carbon peaking and carbon neutralization. Accurate analysis of the share of solar energy in the unit output power could benefit the selection of the best integration scheme and exploitation of solar energy for further research. A novel solar contribution evaluation method of an SACPG system is put forward. The exergy is taken as the evaluation benchmark, and the method can be applied in an SACPG system with multiple integration positions with solar energy. The solar energy input from different positions in the system is analyzed separately. The solar energy input positions and the impact of solar exergy destruction on the solar energy contribution are considered. The proposed method also analyzes the flow direction and destruction of each solar exergy in different parts of the SACPG system and expresses the solar contribution in the electricity generated by each stage steam turbine in the form of a theoretical formula. Ultimately, the solar exergy contribution in the whole SACPG system is calculated by accumulating each result. Furthermore, the new method is applied to a tower solar-aided coal-fired power generation (TSACPG) system with thermal energy storage (TES) for comparative analysis. Compared with other solar contribution evaluation methods, the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the novel method are analyzed. Meanwhile, the exergy destruction distributions of the TSACPG system are revealed. The method can also be further used to excavate the application potential of solar energy in coal-fired units and provide theoretical support for highly efficient utilization of solar energy.

Thermodynamic performance analysis of an improved coal-fired power generation system coupled with geothermal energy based on organic Rankine cycle

A new improved coal-fired power generation system coupled with geothermal energy (GEACPG) based on organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is put forward to enhance power generation capacity of medium-low temperature steam of steam turbine (ST) and medium-low temperature geothermal energy. Besides, with ORC as the bottom cycle, the new integrated method can also prevent air-cooled condenser from freezing in winter. The medium-low temperature geothermal energy and exhaust steam of ST are employed to preheat ORC, and some medium-temperature steam that has expanded to a certain extent in the ST is extracted to drive ORC in the GEACPG. The thermodynamic performances of the following three systems, namely original coal-fired power generation system (CPG), coal-fired power generation system with exhausted steam and extraction steam as heat sources of ORC (CPGEE) and GEACPG, taking a 600 MW direct air-cooled unit as a case study, are analyzed and compared according to the first and second laws of thermodynamics. It is found that the thermodynamic performance of the whole system can be improved by using some medium-temperature steam from ST to drive ORC with the exhausted steam as preheating heat source. The thermodynamic performance can be further improved by introducing geothermal energy. Compared with CPG, the overall generated power is increased by 22.61 MW, the overall exergy and thermal efficiencies are enhanced by 1.07% and 1.55% as the extracted steam flow rate is 150 kg/s at 100%THA in the GEACPG. In addition, the generated power of geothermal energy is increased by 1,272 kW, the power generation exergy and thermal efficiencies of geothermal energy are enhanced by 29.1% and 6.0% at 70 °C geothermal temperature. The new solution can not only enhance the whole system thermodynamic property but also significantly enhance generation power capacity of the medium-low temperature geothermal energy.

Coupling of the S-CO<sub>2</sub> cycle and ORC to realize an efficient utilization scheme of flue gas waste heat for the coal-fired power generation system

<p indent="0mm">The multistage compression regeneration process can significantly improve the thermal efficiency of the supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO₂) cycle. Because of the improvement of regeneration, when the multistage compression cycle is used for coal-fired power generation systems, the residual heat in the tail flue cannot be fully absorbed. To solve this problem, a combination of the tri-compression cycle with reheating and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is constructed. By optimizing the energy flow process between the system and the environment, the system performance is gradually improved. First, the heat in the cooler of the S-CO₂ cycle and tail flue is partially absorbed by ORC (R123). Then, the outlet flue gas temperature (<italic>T</italic>_fg,ex) decreases, and the boiler efficiency increases. When the main vapor parameters of the S-CO₂ cycle are 620°C/<sc>30 MPa,</sc> <italic>T</italic>_fg,ex decreases from 132°C to 123°C, and the net power efficiency (<italic>η</italic>_e) increases from 47.13% to 47.24%. This combined cycle can effectively absorb the heat of flue gas at the tail flue; therefore, high boiler efficiency and net power efficiency can be obtained. Second, based on the coupling of the S-CO₂ cycle and ORC, the characteristics of the heat release process in the cooler of the S-CO₂ cycle under different temperature conditions are further analyzed. The air and ORC jointly absorb the heat in the high-temperature range of the cooler, and the net power efficiency is further improved from 47.24% to 48.90%. This study provides an effective method for residual heat absorption in the tail flue and cooler.

Solution of issues in emergy theory caused by pathway tracking: Taking China's power generation system as an example

Emergy theory is effective to evaluate sustainabilities by tracking all the resources of a product formation process and converting them to solar emergy baseline. Emergy transformity (Tr) is essential to obtain the emergy value of a product. However, a secondary product coming from different production pathways will have various Trs, making it difficult to select a representative Tr when it is used as an input of other systems. Different methods for representative Tr are used in previous studies without considering the characters of different pathways. A method to obtain representative Tr is proposed in this study by classifying the pathways for a secondary product into the technological-impacted-systems and environmental-impacted-systems with the advanced and average values adopted as the representative Trs, respectively. Based on the market share and representative Tr of each pathway, the weighted average value could be obtained as the representative Tr of the product. The on-grid power generation system of China is taken as a case study. The nuclear and coal-fired power generation systems belong to technological-impacted-systems, while the renewable power generation systems belong to environmental-impacted-systems. According to the proposed method, the representative Tr of electricity generated in China is 1.13 × 105 sej/J.

Collaborative optimization of thermal and economic performances of a tower solar aided coal-fired power generation system

• New operation strategy of solar aided coal-fired power generation unit is proposed. • The system annual performances in different solar irradiation levels are studied. • Collaborative optimization of the proposed system configurations is carried out. • Multi-time scale thermal performance analyses of the proposed system are conducted. • The sensitivity analyses of the economic parameters of solar field are explored. This paper studies a novel tower solar aided coal-fired power generation (TSACPG) system with thermal energy storage (TES) system to realize the high-grade solar energy cascade utilization and puts forward an improved annual operation strategy of the system. The variations of annual electricity output from solar, annual solar to electricity efficiency and solar field levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of the proposed TSACPG system under different solar multiples and thermal energy storage hours are explored in different level direct normal irradiation (DNI) sites. Collaborative optimizations of the TSACPG system configurations are performed by the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II. The results demonstrate that the annual electricity output from solar is positively correlated with yearly DNI level and ascends with the increases of both TES hour and solar multiple. The annual solar to electricity efficiency descends with an increasing solar multiple and ascends with an increasing TES hour. The solar field LCOE will initially descend with the increase of solar multiple to the minimum and then ascend, and it will also ascend with an increasing TES hour. The improved operation strategy proposed is superior to the simple operation strategy in terms of both thermodynamic and economic performances. The pareto fronts in different level DNI sites are obtained with the simultaneous optimization of the annual electricity output from solar and the solar field LCOE. The best compromise solutions are obtained. The optimal TES hours and solar multiple values in high, medium and low level DNI sites are 14.14 h/2.64, 14.22 h/2.61 and 12.15 h/2.52, respectively. The multi-time scale analyses of the TSACPG system in different level DNI sites are conducted. The results suggest that the electricity output from solar is relatively high and the solar to electricity efficiency is comparatively low in high level DNI sites. The daily performance result implies that the system has a better performance in high level DNI site, which provides an important reference for the actual design of the system. Economic analysis reveals that the tower solar system investment payback time shows the superiority in high level DNI site and the investment payback time exhibits a trend towards shortening with an increasing coal price. Meanwhile, the sensitivity results of economic performance indexes show that the TSACPG system economic performance is closely related to the price of system components, which exhibits the impact of market changes on economic benefits for decision makers.

Layout Comparison and Parameter Optimization of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Coal-Fired Power Generation Systems under Environmental and Economic Objectives.

In the current studies, the supercritical carbon dioxide coal-fired power generation systems show efficiency and cost advantages over the traditional steam-based power systems. However, few studies have considered simultaneously environmental and economic objectives in the multi-objective analysis process. This study conducts a layout comparison and parameter optimization of the systems under the above two objectives. Initially, the thermodynamic, environmental, and economic models of the systems are established. Subsequently, the optimal layout is determined by the two-stage layout comparison. Further, multi-objective optimization is performed for the selected layout, and the optimal design parameters are determined by the decision process. Finally, the sensitivities of three selected parameters to the optimization results are analyzed. The results show that the basic layout coupled with overlap and intercooling schemes is optimal. Its ultimate environmental impact (UEI) and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) are 219.8 kp-eq and 56.9 USD/MWh, respectively. The two objectives UEI and LCOE are conflicting. Based on a trade-off between them, the maximum temperature/pressure of the system is determined to be 635.3 °C/30.1 MPa. The coal price per unit of heat shows the highest sensitivity, and the pinch temperature difference of the recuperator shows opposite sensitivities at the UEI below 218 kp-eq and above 223 kp-eq.

Life cycle assessment of coal-fired solar-assisted carbon capture power generation system integrated with organic Rankine cycle

Pollutant emissions from coal-fired power plants are an important cause of increasingly severe environmental issues, hence realizing clean utilization of energy in such power plants is the key to address environmental problems. Considering a coal-fired power plant (CPGS) as a benchmark, two technical scenarios are proposed: (1) a coal-fired CCS power generation system (CPGS-CCS); and (2) a solar-aided coal-fired power generation system integrating organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and CCS (SCPGS-ORC-CCS). The energy balance and overall performance of three scenarios are investigated with EBSILON, and based on SimaPro 9.0.0.48 software, the life cycle assessment (LCA) of three scenarios is conducted by the ReCiPe Midpoint (H) V1.13 method. The impact of the integrated auxiliary equipment on the environmental categories in the life cycle is examined, and that of key factors on the performance and environment is explored by a sensitivity analysis. The results show that the climate change potential (CCP) is the highest share, and the ozone depletion potential (ODP) is the smallest share among the impact scores of all selected categories of functional units. The integration of CCS, ORC and solar systems results in the following scores of impact categories except for CCP: SCPGS-ORS-CCS > CPGS-CCS > CPGS. Among the three scenarios, CPGS presents the highest CCP score. The coal mining-transportation stage presents the largest contribution to the human toxicity potential (HTP) score, while the operation stage contributes the most to the scores of other impact categories. Sensitivity analysis shows that for SCPGS-ORC-CCS, increasing the service life of equipment, solar radiation intensity and heat ratio can reduce the environmental impact scores. The LCA indicates that CPGS-CCS is a preferred strategy to realize clean energy production. However, comprehensively considering the thermo-economic performance and environmental impact, by selecting appropriate raw materials for auxiliary equipment and sites with sufficient solar radiation intensity, and increasing the life cycle of systems, SCPGS-ORS-CCS is likely to be a more promising strategy in the energy conservation, emission reduction and clean production.

Performance analysis of tower solar aided coal-fired power plant with thermal energy storage

• An innovative TSACPG system with thermal energy storage is proposed. • Solar energy is used to heat reheat steam and boiler feed water simultaneously. • Thermal performances of the system under different loads are explored. • Solar contribution and CO 2 reduction in the system are discussed. • Economic evaluation of the system with different configurations are studied. A novel tower solar aided coal-fired power generation (TSACPG) system with thermal energy storage is proposed in this paper. Based on the principle of energy grade matching and cascade utilization, the high-temperature solar energy is used to heat the first and second reheat steam extracted from the boiler and the low-temperature solar energy is used to heat the boiler feed water. The maximum steam extraction mass flow rates of the boiler under different load rates are obtained and the thermal performances are also analyzed. The results show that the maximum steam extraction mass flow rates from the first and second reheat part of boiler are 69.7 kg/s and 37 kg/s in 100 %THA (Turbine Heat Acceptance), 78.7 kg/s and 37 kg/s in 90 %THA, 81 kg/s and 31.4 kg/s in 75 %THA, 76.3 kg/s and 31 kg/s in 60 %THA, 68.2 kg/s and 31.2 kg/s in 50 %THA load, respectively. And the standard coal consumption rates can be reduced by 39.85 g/kWh, 39.47 g/kWh, 38.08 g/kWh, 35.50 g/kWh and 35.25 g/kWh, respectively. Both the boiler thermal efficiency and overall thermal efficiency of the TSACPG system descend sightly and the boiler exergy efficiency ascends. With the decline of the load, the solar-to-electricity efficiency, the power output and the proportion of solar power generation descend gradually. And they can reach up to 28.62%, 120.90 MW and 18.32% in 100 %THA load, respectively. The economic performance analysis of the TSACPG system is carried out. The system configuration and investment corresponding to different typical days, different thermal energy storage hours and capacities are considered. The payback times and the levelized costs of electricity of the solar field in different DNI level regions are analyzed. The results show that these two evaluation indices are the lowest in high level DNI region and they are on the contrary in low level DNI region. As for the environmental protection, the CO 2 emission rates are reduced by 69.26 g/kWh in 100 %THA, 68.61 g/kWh in 90 %THA, 66.19 g/kWh in 75 %THA, 61.69 g/kWh in 60 %THA and 61.26 g/kWh in 50 %THA load, respectively. The maximum annual CO 2 emission can be reduced about 526739.55 tons. The renewable energy and traditional fossil energy are integrated organically in this study and the low-carbon transformation of coal-fired power generation system is further promoted. The study also contributes to the realization of both the carbon peak and the carbon neutralization.

Suggestion on further strengthening ultra-low emission standards for PM emission from coal-fired power plants in China

China has established the largest clean coal-fired power generation system in the world by accomplishing the technological transformation of coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) to achieve ultra-low emission. The potential for further particulate matter (PM) emission reduction to achieve near-zero emission for CFPPs has become a hotspot issue. In this study, PM emission from some ultra-low emission CFPPs adopting advanced air pollutant control technologies in China was reviewed. The results revealed that the average filterable particulate matter (FPM) concentration, measured as the total particulate matter (TPM) according to the current national monitoring standard, was (1.67±0.86) mg/m3, which could fully achieve the ultra-low emission standard for key regions (5 mg/m3), but that achieving the near-zero emission standard was difficult (1 mg/m3). However, the condensable particulate matter (CPM), with an average concentration of (1.06±1.28) mg/m3, was generally ignored during monitoring, which led to about 38.7% underestimation of the TPM. Even considering both FPM and CPM, the TPM emission from current CFPPs would contribute to less than 5% of atmospheric PM2.5 concentrations in the key cities and regions in China. Therefore, further reduction in FPM emission proposed by the near-zero emission plan of CFPPs may have less environmental benefit than emission control of other anthropogenic sources. However, it is suggested that the management of CPM emission should be strengthened, and a national standard for CPM emission monitoring based on the indirect dilution method should be established for CFPPs. Those measurements are helpful for optimal operation of air pollutant control devices and continuously promoting further emission reduction.

Modeling health impacts of air pollutant emissions from the coal-fired power industry based on LCA and oriented by WTP: a case study.

Coal-fired power plants are one of the major sources of coal consumption in China; they discharge various air pollutants and cause serious human health damage. There is an urgent need to focus on the associated health effects. Thus, this study aims to advance an integrated life cycle assessment (LCA)-based health damage model to quantify the health burden of air pollutant emissions from coal-fired power generation (CFPG) and to achieve an economic interpretation of health damage. A case study of the Zaozhuang coal-fired power project was conducted to better visualize and mitigate the impacts. The results reveal that willingness to pay (WTP) for health damage caused by the CFPG project in 1year amounted to USD 15.71 million, and the total amount of life lost was 155.81years. During the CFPG process, coal combustion caused the most health damage, respiratory disease was the type of damage with the greatest influence on health, and SO2 was the air pollutant that causes the most serious health damage. The model developed in this study can be broadly applied to assess the potential life loss due to air pollutant emissions from CFPG systems. The identified key points for health damage prevention can also be used as practical solutions for decision-making regarding the prioritization of control sources for environmental management.