Air quality modeling studies for thermal power plants in and around Delhi

The increasing demand of energy leads to setting up of many power plants and the expansion of existing ones. Coal based thermal power plants have been the major source of power generation in India in the past and will continue for decades to come. The Indian coal available for power generation has high ash content up to 55 %. This results in the high emission of particulate matter into environment along with SO2, NOx, CO etc. It is mandatory to conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study before the construction of a new power plant or expansion of the existing one as per requirement of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. EIA studies are made with the help of Air Quality modeling. The present study provides an air quality point source model named IIT Point Source (IITPS) model, which is capable of treating moderate and low / calm wind conditions by using a combination of plume and puff models. This model has also modified for dispersion parameters, appropriate for Indian meteorological conditions. The model has been validated by using the observed data of two power plants namely Badarpur Thermal Power Station (BTPS) and Dadri Power Plant (DPP). First one is situated in the central part of Delhi but second one is situated on the outskirts of Delhi. Both the power plants have a capacity of more than 1000 MW. The model performance has also been tested with UKADMS model. The comparative study of IITPS and UKADMS models with observed data at both the power plants reveals that both the models are comparable but IITPS model results are closer to observed values compared to UKADMS results. The reason may be the inclusion of low wind conditions in IITPS model. Finally one can say that IITPS model is more capable for EIA studies of coal-based power plants in urban cities of India.