Simulation of PM10 and NOx Pollutants at a Coal-Fıred Thermal Power Plant Site Using The Gaussıan Plume Model in Freemat

Air quality is important to both human health and the environment. But as modernization is progressing further, the problem of air quality has become more alarming. Using machines in factories, motor vehicles in transportation, and power plants in energy generation are major contributors to air pollution. Most power plants, including thermal power plants that burn coal to produce electricity, emit harmful pollutants into the atmosphere during energy generation. Turkish government encourages the exploitation of coal reserves for electricity generation to lessen the importation of energy sources. Hence, Türkiye relies mainly on coal in its energy production. As of this writing, there are 55 thermal power plants operating in Türkiye. These power plants had an installed capacity of 21 GW at the end of 2019. Among these are the Afşin-Elbistan Thermal Power Plants (AETPPs) located in Kahramanmaraş province. In this study, PM10 and NOx pollutants at Afşin-Elbistan A Power Plant site located in Kahramanmaraş province of Türkiye were simulated using the Gaussian Plume Model in FreeMat software based on real data. The model input data included stack height, mass rate of emission of the pollutant, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric stability class. Dispersion profiles of PM10 and NOx pollutants were generated and the locations of maximum values of concentrations were identified. Results show that during winter, the highest maximum concentration of PM10 and NOx is 4865.79 µg/m3 and 699.7 µg/m3, respectively, with both located at x = 0.60 km in the scenario where 1.3-m/s wind is blowing from East. During summer, the highest maximum concentration of PM10 and NOx is 5380.77 µg/m3 and 767.87 µg/m3, respectively, with both located at x = 0.60 km in the scenario where 1.5-m/s wind is blowing from East-South-East. Furthermore, regions where PM10 and NOx concentrations exceed the national standard limit of 150 µg/m3 and 100 µg/m3, respectively, are always present and have been located in all the scenarios considered.