The emissions and environmental impact of power plants operating on fossil fuel at distt. Kasur, Pakistan

Abstract

A comprehensive assessment of four power plants operating on fossil fuel (Diesel Power Plant) was conducted near the industrial area of Raiwind, Distt. Kasur, Pakistan. The installed capacity of these power plants is 1171 MW, 112 MW, 90 MW; and 60MW respectively. The emissions of all the engines of the individual plants were monitored for six months at an interval of fifteen days. The emissions of priority pollutants Carbon Monoxide (CO), Oxides of Nitrogen $(NO_x)$, Sulfur Dioxide $(SO_2)$, Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Lead (Pb) and Mercury (Hg) were monitored. The emission results of the four plants were compared and some of the pollutant parameters were found higher when compared with local National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) as well as the World Bank guidelines for Power Plants. The ground level ambient air quality at 1 km downwind was also monitored for 24 hours at each individual plant site to evaluate the impact of these pollutants on ambient air quality.