Any activity of people is associated with the consumption of electrical energy. Therefore, the construction of large power plants (often thermal), starting from the twentieth century, has solved and is addressing the global issues of the lack of this very energy, without which progress is impossible. The disappearance of fertile soils, shallow rivers and lakes without fish, ruined forests, thermal pollution created by thermal power plants, an increase in the number of serious diseases. These are all the results of the development of energy, the most polluting industry. The future of mankind depends on the solution of two related problems, such as: the need to develop energy and environmental pollution of thermal power plants. Air, soil, water, plants and animals suffer from a consumer attitude towards themselves. Thermal power station pollution disrupts the natural functioning of all components of the biosphere.
And such disasters as Chernobyl and Fukushima are a warning, but rather, even a cry for help. Failing to comply with the environmental requirements for the CHPP at all stages of construction and operation, people endanger their lives and the lives of future generations in general.
Energy sources
Almost three quarters of the energy necessary for life is provided by the power system. And today it is considered by ecologists to be the most polluting industry. The industry is based on generating energy by burning combustible raw materials.
Fuel can be coal, peat, shale, oil or gas. They also use the energy of rivers. This requires the construction of reservoirs and thermal power plants.
Problems of lack of clean water
The negative point from the activities of CHP enterprises is air and water pollution in the first place. Every year, enterprises of the energy sector use over thirty billion cubic meters of clean water. During the construction of reservoirs on the rivers, flooding of adjacent fertile lands, and sometimes human habitation, takes place. Dams and other hydraulic structures disrupt the natural river current, which leads to shallowing of rivers and a change in the level of groundwater. The consequences of these changes are waterlogging and salinization of soils, which become unsuitable for agricultural work. The decomposition of vegetation flooded during the construction of reservoirs leads to negative changes in the aquatic fauna and flora. Energy at thermal power plants is obtained from powerful turbines driven by steam from clean heated water. The spent steam is cooled and continuously discharged into water bodies. Streams of warm water form sources of thermal pollution at the CHP.
The scale of the heating zone in rivers is measured by several tens of kilometers of the river “scorched” in the literal and figurative meanings of the river. A change in the physical properties of water in rivers and ponds entails a change in chemical constituents, and then biological processes. Ecology suffers. CHP is the reason.
Air pollution problems
CHP air pollution is an even bigger problem. In terms of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere, heat power enterprises occupy a leading place. This is almost thirty percent of the total emissions of all enterprises in various industries. And this is more than six million tons of dust, harmful compounds of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, vanadium, and almost all the elements of the periodic table.
Soil acidification by acid rain is a consequence of such a process as air pollution of thermal power plants with sulfur dioxide. The accumulation of a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to an increase in air temperature on the planet, its average annual indicators, which is called the greenhouse effect. Poor ecology of thermal power plants is the reason for the accumulation of chemically harmful aerosol particles and organic dust in the lower atmosphere. This phenomenon is called “photochemical fog”, when smog hangs over the cities in conditions of weak winds, strong radiation of the sun and an increased concentration of photo-oxidants in the air.
If no action is taken, this leads to the destruction of the ozone layer of the Earth. Every year, the percentage of allergy sufferers of varying severity is growing. CHP air pollution is extremely dangerous for the health and life of urban residents. This is especially fatal for the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of the body.
Ash and slag waste
In the near future, to increase the productivity of energy industries, an increase in the amount of solid fuel burned is projected. Therefore, the problems of the utilization of carcinogenic waste from its combustion and the storage of slag are becoming increasingly relevant. Now only eight percent of all ash and slag waste is recycled. The deficit of free land forces to allocate territories adjacent to residential buildings of cities for technical zones of energy enterprises and increase the height of ash dumps. Air pollution of thermal power plants in this situation is felt especially sharply, because wind erosion of ash waste leads to pollution of large areas. Enterprises and agriculture are not ready for slag processing. We need scientific and design developments on these issues. Solving these problems is urgent.
Sewage problems
In large cities, there are sharp and interconnected moments in the operation of combined heat and power plants: pipelines of thermal power plants and sewage treatment of thermal power plants. The piping system is worn out and requires major repairs. The emergency pipeline threatens pollution and oxidation of the soil, rising groundwater levels, water pollution in nearby bodies of water. All this entails a deterioration in the quality of drinking water every year.
Wastewater treatment is carried out by different methods and in several stages, this, in turn, requires energy and leads to the formation of secondary waste that needs to be disposed of. Wastewater treatment is an even more time-consuming and energy-intensive process. Industrial wastewater, which cannot be treated at all, is burned or pumped into deep wells. And this attracts a lot of environmental problems.
State issue
Ecological safety, state and public organizations deal with issues of preservation of a livable environment. An important aspect of their activities is the regulation of quality indicators, as well as the monitoring of their implementation. Regulatory documents establish acceptable standards for environmental impact. Physical, chemical, biological and other quality indicators are evaluated. For users of nature, the permissible norms for the extraction of natural resources, the norms of physical (noise, vibration, ionization, etc.) impacts on the environment, the norms of wastewater discharges, the norms of harmful emissions into the atmosphere, and other actions, taking into account the characteristics of each specific territory, are limited.
Precautionary principle
In order to minimize the adverse impact from the activities of the CHPP, the development of environmental protection measures should be carried out together with the planning, development and implementation of new projects of enterprises. This is especially true for areas adjacent to protected conservation areas, which are subject to special regulatory documents. Violation of them leads to criminal liability. Enterprises must necessarily be separated from residential buildings by sanitary protection zones. Such zones serve as a barrier and reduce negative factors from industrial facilities. The sizes of such zones are established by state norms and rules, taking into account the expected negative actions after an environmental review of the relevant natural sites.
Possible solutions to energy problems
The need to reduce the negative impact on the environment of energy more than ever raises the issue of energy saving. First of all, by reducing the energy intensity of all production processes. For this we need modern developments that will take into account the following points:
- saving energy in the home;
- the proximity of energy generation facilities to the consumer, which reduces costs by increasing the efficiency of the fuel used, while reducing the risk of thermal pollution;
- improvement of physical and chemical methods of fuel preparation to bring it to safe and energy-efficient fuel;
- modernization of combustion modes;
- improvement and development of highly effective treatment facilities.
