A power plant with an efficiency of 65% combusts 500,000 metric tons (MT) of ant
ID: 1457771 • Letter: A
Question
A power plant with an efficiency of 65% combusts 500,000 metric tons (MT) of anthracite coal per year to generate electricity. It has been established that this type of coal has the capacity to generate electrical energy at 19 GJ/MT.
a) How much energy in GJ (giga joules) does this plant generate in one year?
b) Estimate the annual emissions of criteria pollutants including SO2, NOx, PM and greenhouse gases including CO2 and CO using the appropriate emission factors given in the below table.
Pollutant
Anthracite coal
Bituminous coal
Fuel oil
Natural Gas
CO2 (g/GJ)
94,600
101,000
77,400
56,100
SO2 (g/GJ)
765
1361
1350
0.68
NOx (g/GJ)
292
183
195
93.3
CO (g/GJ)
89.1
89.1
15.7
14.5
Particulate matter (g/GJ)
1,203
3254
16
0.1
Pollutant
Anthracite coal
Bituminous coal
Fuel oil
Natural Gas
CO2 (g/GJ)
94,600
101,000
77,400
56,100
SO2 (g/GJ)
765
1361
1350
0.68
NOx (g/GJ)
292
183
195
93.3
CO (g/GJ)
89.1
89.1
15.7
14.5
Particulate matter (g/GJ)
1,203
3254
16
0.1
Explanation / Answer
Total amount of anthracite coal = 500,000 MT = 5 x 105 MT
1 MT generates 19 GJ.
5 x 105 MT generates 5 x 105 x 19 GJ = 95 x 105 GJ
Total energy generated after including efficiency = 95 x 105 GJ x 65% = 61.75 x 105 GJ.
CO2
From 1 GJ, 94,600 g is emitted
From 61.75 x 105 GJ, 61.75 x 105 x 94,600 = 5.84 x 108 kg is emitted.
SO2
From 1 GJ, 765 g is emitted
From 61.75 x 105 GJ, 61.75 x 105 x 765 = 4.72 x 106 kg is emitted.
NOx
From 1 GJ, 292 g is emitted
From 61.75 x 105 GJ, 61.75 x 105 x 292 = 1.8 x 106 kg is emitted.
CO
From 1 GJ, 89.1 g is emitted
From 61.75 x 105 GJ, 61.75 x 105 x 89.1 = 5.5 x 105 kg is emitted.
PM
From 1 GJ, 1,203 g is emitted
From 61.75 x 105 GJ, 61.75 x 105 x 1,203 = 7.43 x 106 kg is emitted.
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