Corrosion causes a degradation of the structural integrity of petrochemical plants, nuclear power plants, ships, bridges and other constructions containing steel with the 29 consequence that people and the environment may be exposed to dangerous situations. The detection of corrosion and the prediction of the type of corrosion are studied in this 31 article by means of the acoustic emission tec...

China has deployed the world's largest fleet of sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) scrubbers (flue gas desulfurization systems), and most of them now appear to be operating properly. Although many plant managers avoided using their SO(2) scrubbers in the past, recent evidence, based on a series of field interviews conducted by the author, suggests that managers of coal power plants now have incentives to o...

We investigate the impacts of electricity market restructuring on fuel effciency, utilization and, new to this area, cost of coal purchases among coal-fired power plants using a panel data set from 1991 to 2005. Our study focuses exclusively on coal-fired power plants and uses panel data covering several years after implementation of restructuring. The estimation compares how investor-owned (IO...

In the ongoing global efforts to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, a strong emphasis is placed on improving power plant efficiency. Fossil fuel-fired power plants today supply over 65% of electricity in the world, with coal-fired power plants accounting for about 40% of the total. The efficiency of power generation (amount of fuel to deliver a unit of electricity) varies significantly acr...

This paper discusses the environmental effects of incorporating wind energy into the electric power system. We present a detailed emissions analysis based on comprehensive modeling of power system operations with unit commitment and economic dispatch for different wind penetration levels. First, by minimizing cost, the unit commitment model decides which thermal power plants will be utilized ba...

Climate change as the greatest environmental challenge facing the world today. Power stations play a major role in greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly 21.3% of green house gases are emitted by power plants alone. The main sources of greenhouse gases are due to burning of fossil fuels and deforestation leading to higher carbon dioxide concentrations. Normally CO2 in the atmosphere is removed by mix...

This paper studies and compares the welfare effects of emission taxes and emission standards in a general equilibrium model with two sectors in which plants can freely enter and exit. In one of the sectors plants differ in their productivity, produce differentiated goods, and generate emissions that can be reduced using an abatement technology. An emission reduction policy causes resource reall...

Optimal system operation, in general, involves the consideration of economy of operation, system security, emissions at fossil-fuel plants, optimal release of water at hydro power plants etc. and aim at improving the efficiency of the power system. In this research work, consideration will be given to two aspects of the optimal system operation, emissions and economy of operation, also known as...

The aims of this study are to enhance the performance of a solar chimney power plant (SCPP), investigate utilization of thermal energy storage (TES) and analyze the environmental impact of the SCPP in providence of Isfahan, Iran. To achieve these goals, multi-stage numerical simulations during twenty-four hours of a day are performed in climate condition of Isfahan province (central region of I...