Sostanj Thermal Power Plant Research Articles

Air pollution dispersion models validation dataset from complex terrain in Šoštanj

In 1991, three institutions from Slovenia and Italy performed a measuring campaign to collect data for the validation of air pollution dispersion models. The target was a local area around the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant in north-east Slovenia. As one of the co-authors of the work we decided to renew the database and to produce the necessary up-to-date information that would allow other researchers to use this experimental database for modern models testing. The measurements data set describes in detail the following situation: Sostanj Thermal Power Plant at that time did not have any desulphurisation plants, therefore the sulphur dioxide (SO2) continuously emitted from its blocks was acting like a tracer in the environment. The area is characterised by very complex meteorological situations. In the paper we will present a description of the experiment (area description, site, terrain, measurement stations location, database) and two most interesting cases suitable for a model validation (emission, ambient concentrations, meteorology).

Effects of Hot-Water-Pipeline Renovation in a District Heating System

In this paper the attention is on the heat losses of a main, aboveground supply, hot-water pipeline, whose length is 5430 m. It is situated between the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant (TES) and the Central Energy Station (CES) Velenje as part of the district heating system in the Saleska Valley. It was renovated because major heat losses were identified. A numerical analysis and a comparison between the temperature fields of the pipe’s insulation before and after the renovation was performed to discover the main causes for the high heat losses before renovation. An integral measuring method for determining the heat losses was adapted and used to determine the pipeline’s heat losses after the renovation. Taking into consideration the real operating parameters, the annual energy savings and the consequent operational cost reduction, due to the lower heat losses, resulting from the pipeline renovations, are presented. The calculation is made with measured heat-loss coefficients and is therefore based on the real state of the pipeline. The aim is to show the necessity to investigate the heat losses of a hot-water pipeline whose design or state of insulation is questionable.

Ecological remediation of the Sostanj thermal power plant with respect to sustainable development of the Salek valley, Slovenia

The Salek valley used to be exposed to huge amounts of pollutants due to its close vicinity to the largest Slovene thermal power plant of Sostanj (STPP). Due to large emissions of SO2 and heavy metals as well as dumping of fly ash negative effects on the environment appeared (e.g. forest decline in area exposed to deposition of emission by the STPP, pollution of lake Velenje and the river Paka). Therefore, several ecological remediation measures on the STPP were implemented in the 1990s, and several research projects on reasons and effects of forest decline and degradation of environment began as well. A continuous and marked improving of the condition of both forest and freshwater ecosystems (of lake Velenje and the river Paka) after the installation of desulphurization devices on Units 4 and 5 of the STPP and construction of a closed loop system for the ash transportation is emphasized in the present paper.

Arsenic Enrichment in the Soil of the Salek Valley, Slovenia

Arsenic is distributed rather uniformly in major types of rocks and its common contents in most rocks range from 0.5 to 2.5 p.g/g. Although arsenic minerals and compounds are readily soluble, arsenic migration is greatly limited due to the strong sorption by clays, hydroxides, and organic matter. Strongly adsorbed arsenic in soil is hardly to be desorbed again and generally the retention of arsenic by soil progressed with the years. Arsenic enrichment in agrillaceous sediments as well as in surface soils, as compared to contents in igneous rocks, apparently reflect also some external arsenic sources, such as pollution (Kabata&Pendias and Pendias, 1986). Significant anthropogenic sources of arsenic are related to industrial activities (coal combustion, pyrometallurgical non-ferrous metal production, steel and iron manufacturing, cement production, etc.) (Dobson et al., 1992), in agriculture the use of arsenical pesticides and arsenical sprays. Numerous studies have demonstrated significant arsenic contamination in soil, plants, and animals in the vicinity of combustion sources (Adriano, 1986). In the Salek valley, which is one of the most polluted areas in Slovenia, the coal-fired Sostanj Thermal Power Plant (TPP) is a large regional emission source of SO2, NOx, dust and trace elements. In the Salek valley several environmental pollution studies have been made in which the general effects of industrial activities were investigated. Estimation of soil contamination related to air pollution began recently in the Salek valley. In this work a study of arsenic enrichment in the soil of the Salek valley is presented with the aim of estimating the arsenic contents in three different types of soil in comparison to the background content.

Trace elements in the water cycle of the Šalek valley, Slovenia, using INAA

Three watersheds were studied by sampling bulk precipitation deposition, seepage water at 50 cm soil depth and spring water. As the main analytical method for determination of trace elements and heavy metals in water samples, thek0-based method of INAA was used. The results showed an increased content and concentration range of trace elements in precipitation, soil water and spring water in the vicinity of the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant. We demonstrated that thek0-based method of INAA as a multielement nondestructive technique is a highly suitable approach to determining some toxic trace elements in environmental studies of the water cycle.