Environmental Protection Measures
04/17/24
Waste Water Recycling and Reuse
Taipower adheres to the concept of water conservation, strives to achieve the goal of "zero discharge of waste water", promotes rainwater harvesting and waste water recycling and reuse projects, and reduces the use of water resources in power generation with overall programming.
Under the implementation of various water conservation measures, the amount of wastewater recovered from the business has increased significantly compared with the past. In addition to saving considerable water fee, it also contributes to water conservation in Taiwan.
Coal Ash Reuse
The annual business waste generated by thermal power generation is huge, including coal ash and putty. Therefore, reducing the production of waste, or properly utilizing and treating it, making it harmless, and maintaining the entire ecological balance, has always been what Taipower has aimed at.
The coal ash produced by coal-fired power plants is divided into fly ash and bottom ash, and most of them can be reused to effectively reduce the environmental burden. At present, fly ash in coal ash has been widely used in construction projects. In practice, Taipower has also used fly ash for the construction of power generation facilities and has also promoted the use of bottom ash in trench backfilling projects executed by construction departments to significantly increase the recycling amount and ratio of coal ash.
Desulfurization Gypsum Application
The sulfur contained in the coal is burned into sulfur oxides in the flue gas of a coal-fired power plant. To improve the air quality, flue gas desulfurization equipment is installed in every coal-fired power plant such as Linkou, Taichung and Hsingta. A desulfurization device removes sulfur oxides from the flue gas and converts the sulfur oxides into gypsum by using limestone slurry. The desulfurized product, gypsum, can be reused in the cement industry and fireproof sheet industry.
Air Pollution Improvement Projects
The pollution prevention facilities accounts for about 25% to 30% of the investment in a coal-fired power plant. At present, Hsingta Power Plant has completed the construction of four indoor coal yards. In the future, the coal-fired power plants built by Taipower will also set up indoor coal yards and closed coal conveyor belts to reduce coal dust pollution.
Hsingta Power Plant has been awarded the "Corporate Environmental Award" for three consecutive years since 2005. In that period, it also won the “Excellent Award for the Elimination of Waste and Recycling Resources and Recycling of Recycling Resources” in 2006 and the Gold Medal for the "Asian Electric Power Award for Best Environmental Protection Power Plant" in 2008. From 2007 to 2012, Taipower had invested in the air pollution improvement project of two units of Hsingta Power Plant, which had indeed improved its environmental protection facilities to maintain the air quality.
Taichung Power Plant (Units #1~4) have improved the boiler and air pollution prevention equipment to meet the stricter standards of central and local environmental protection laws and regulations.
Unit1: The installation is completed.
Unit2: The installation is completed.
Unit3: The installation is completed.
Unit4: The installation is completed.
Maintain the Air Quality
To control the emission of air pollutants generated by the fossil power plants and to maintain the air quality, Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems are installed in every stack of the thermal power plants to monitor the concentration of pollutants in the flue gas. The equipment is always maintained at an optimal performance to minimize the pollution in the flue gas. Relevant air pollutants and prevention are as follows:
| Air Pollutants |
Prevention |
| |
Fuel selection (control the source)：
- Use low ash, low sulfur, low nitrogen fuel
- Adopt clean energy source (natural gas)
|
Particulate Matter
(PM) |
- Install high-efficiency electrostatic precipitator with dust removal efficiency of 90-99.8%.
- Construct dust-proof fences around the coal yard and configure regular watering systems.
- Use closed facilities for transportation and coal unloading, often compacting coal piles and clearing road surfaces.
- For long-term storage of coal piles, use chemical agents to stabilize the surface, and plant windbreaks to avoid coal dust pollution.
|
Nitrogen Oxides
(NOx) |
Install low NOx burner and Selective Catalytic Reduction equipment. |
Sulfur Oxides
(SOx) |
Install flue gas desulfurization equipment to remove more than 90% of sulfur oxide emissions. |
The Concentration of the Air Pollutant Emission from Thermal Power Plants
The concentration of the air pollutants emission from all TPC thermal power plants are measured up the government and local environmental criteria.