Analysis of particulate dispersion in Suralaya coal-fired power plant

Abstract

Suralaya Coal-fired Power Plant (CPP) not only produces electricity but also exhaust emissions, consisting of particulates. This study investigated the dilution system and dispersion pattern of particulates, focusing on TSP and PM10 from seven stacks of Suralaya CPP by using AERMOD. Emission inventory data of 2016 were used in simulations within 15 km × 15 km, domains over annual, daily and one-hour averaging periods. The research method was carried out using secondary data collection related to study area maps and meteorological data from year 2016, whereas the emission data is based on direct measurements at the monitoring point manually at the power plant. Annual, daily and hourly averaged surface concentration maps were reported. The particulates from Suralaya CPP, both TSP and PM10 still meet the Indonesian Regulation and affected the same area. For hilly topographic locations, the distribution of emissions tends to be close to the generating unit around 1-6 km depending on wind direction, wind speed and the topography of the site. The AERMOD model showed different patterns of impacts regarding the dispersion profiles, affected areas, and concentrations depending on meteorological conditions.