E-Paper
Coal-based power plants main source of pollution: Study
DATA SUPPLIED by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellite has indicated that coal-based thermal power plants are the main cause for air pollution.
DATA SUPPLIED by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellite has indicated that coal-based thermal power plants are the main cause for air pollution.
The fact came to the fore during a study conducted jointly by a senior professor in the department of civil engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K), Dr RP Singh and the director of Center for Space and Earth Observatory Research, George Mason University, Virginia, USA.
The two analysed the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), Polarisation and Directionality of the Earth’ Reflecta-nces (POLDER), Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) satellite data which showed very high Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) over the Indo-Gangetic basin representing the intense air pollution that persists throughout the year and showed strong variability with season.
The study report observed, “Coal is considered a heavily polluting fuel in terms of black carbon, sulfates, and other gaseous pollutants primarily due to incomplete and inefficient combustion. Based on the analysis we show that coal fired TPPS are one of the biggest sources of anthropogenic air pollution.”
Dr Singh in his studies conducted in the major cities of India where number of vehicles was very high found AOD against the permissible limits. The comparison of AOD over the thermal power plants have shown higher rate during winters when boundary layer height was very small.
In addition to it, about a year ago, American scientists during their studies on air pollution have found ‘thick pall of pollutants’ caused by the emission of bio-fuel used for cooking in the areas of Bihar, Dr Singh said.
Talking to the HT, Dr Singh who had also been at Center for Earth Observing and Space Research at Virginia, said that there were about 91 coal-based thermal power plants in India in the Ganga Basin and also close to major cities in Hyderabad. But some of the power plants porches electricity – MW. Besides, the coal-based power plants used very low-grade coal, which has been the major source of the carbon emission from the power plants in the atmosphere.
Emission levels in these coal-based power plants are high mainly from old units, he added.
In his satellite based studies, Dr Singh found the density of power plants was very high in the Indo-Gangetic basin and this largest basin in the world suffered from dense laze, fog, and smog which has continuously been affecting the Indian population in general and millions of people living in the region.
Dr Singh said that study results have revealed that the ever increasing aerosol in this part of the Ganga basin was no only affecting the health of the people, but was also affecting the natural sources and the agricultural productivity in the region.
Considering the pollution scenario alarming, Dr Singh said that the IIT-K would take up the matter with the authorities of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), and would discuss the study results in order to find out any solution for containing the carbon emission from coal-based power plants.
He said that if the power plants were set up far from the cities, the threat to air pollution could be minimised.
