Estimates and Spatial Distribution of Emissions from Sugar Cane Bagasse Fired Thermal Power Plants in Brazil

Sugar cane bagasse is one of the largest fuels used for electricity generation in Brazil and its usage has continuously increased to supply the energy demand. This paper presents emission inventory based on power plants burning sugar cane bagasse. The inventory involves the spatial distribution and the estimated flows for the following major pollutants: nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate material (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2) and total organic carbon (TOC). A total of 384 power plants were inventoried, representing a generated power of 9.9 GW, about 26% of the energy produced by thermal power plants sector. The plants are concentrated in two main poles: one of them in S?o Paulo State and nearby areas and the other one in coast of Brazilian Northeast. The limits proposed by the AP-42 Regulations of the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for the emission factors were applied. Additional emission factors identified in the scientific literature were also included in the analysis in order to assess the uncertainties associated to the estimative. The estimated emissions showed values in the range 16.0 - 20.5 Gg?year?1 for NOx, 18.0 - 267.0 Gg?year?1 for MP and 20.5 - 26.7 Tg?year?1 for CO2. The contribution of TOC showed a minor contribution around 10 - 20 Mg?year?1. PM showed to be the most representative pollutant emitted by the thermal plants burning sugar cane bagasse, but with a large range of uncertainty. There is a high level of uncertainty associated to the preparation of cane as well as the use of collectors to control particulate emissions. The adequate control over all stages could reduce the bagasse ash content in 90% or more.

Review on recent progress in on-line monitoring technology for atmospheric pollution source emissions in China

Emissions from mobile sources and stationary sources contribute to atmospheric pollution in China,and its components,which include ultrafine particles(UFPs),volatile organic compounds(VOCs),and other reactive gases,such as NH3and NOx,are the most harmful to human health.China has released various regulations and standards to address pollution from mobile and stationary sources.Thus,it is urgent to develop online monitoring technology for atmospheric pollution source emissions.This study provides an overview of the main progress in mobile and stationary source monitoring technology in China and describes the comprehensive application of some typical instruments in vital areas in recent years.These instruments have been applied to monitor emissions from motor vehicles,ships,airports,the chemical industry,and electric power generation.Not only has the level of atmospheric environment monitoring technology and equipment been improving,but relevant regulations and standards have also been constantly updated.Meanwhile,the developed instruments can provide scientific assistance for the successful implementation of regulations.According to the potential problem areas in atmospheric pollution in China,some research hotspots and future trends of atmospheric online monitoring technology are summarized.Furthermore,more advanced atmospheric online monitoring technology will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of atmospheric pollution and improve environmental monitoring capacity.

Real-world and bottom-up methodology for emission inventory development and scenario design in medium-sized cities

Efficient management of air quality requires a comprehensive emission inventory to support decision-making on air quality improvement.This article presents a comprehensive framework for detailed emission inventory development in cities with low-quality basic data,which examines the emission of primary criteria pollutants(CO,NO_(x),SO_(2),PM_(2.5),PM_(10),and VOC)from mobile sources,residential,commercial,and public services,fuel stations,transport terminals,energy conversion sections,and industries.This research was applied to Tabriz in Northwest Iran,one of the polluted medium-sized cities with a population of 1.77 million.Results show the city daily emission per capita is 569.8 g of CO,68.6 g of NO_(x),38.6 g of VOC,17.6 g of SO_(x),and 3.7 g of PM.Vehicular emissions accounted for 98%of CO,91%of VOCs,61%of NO_(x),and 56%of PM;meaning alternative policy strategies in vehicles would reduce emissions rapidly.Fifteen applicable and effective scenarios in transport and one concerning stationary sourceswere proposed and reduction potential of themwas evaluated.Effectiveness of the public transport improvement and replacement of old passenger cars were founded the key scenarios.These two alternatives decrease 14 and 2 tons of SO_(2) and 6797 and 2394 tons of NO_(x) annually with the cost of$99.5 MM and$366.5 MM,respectively.The findings of this study provides the choice of travel method by each citizen is a function of cost,speed,comfort and safety of travel;therefore,all the requirements of any scenarios must be fully considered in the implementation step.