Paper: GS – III, Subject: Environment and Ecology, Topic: Pollution, Issue: Flu Gas Desulphurisation (FGD).
Context:
The recent recommendations made by a high-powered committee of experts in India regarding the installation of Flu Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) units in coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs).
- The committee, led by Principal Scientific Adviser Ajay Sood, has suggested that a significant number of TPPs be exempted from the mandatory installation of FGDs, citing various factors including air quality standards, the nature of Indian coal, and public health considerations.
Key Takeaways:
Background:
- In India, 92% of the 600 coal-fired thermal power plants have yet to install FGDs, which are designed to reduce harmful sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions.
- The committee’s recommendation would exempt approximately 80% of these plants from the requirement to install FGDs, a move that has sparked considerable debate.
About Flue Gas Desulphurisation
- In an FGD system, sulphur compounds, particularly sulfur dioxide (SO2), are removed from the exhaust emissions of fossil-fuelled power stations.
- This is done by means of an industrial process through the addition of absorbents.
- This can remove up to 95 % of the sulphur dioxide from the flue gas (exhaust gas).
- The wet process has become the main method of FGD in large, fossil-fuelled power plants.
Focus on Major Population Hubs:
- The committee has proposed that only power plants located within a 10-kilometer radius of major population centers, specifically the National Capital Region and cities with populations exceeding one million, be required to install FGDs.
- This category, referred to as Category A plants, includes 66 plants, of which only 14 have installed FGDs to date.
- Currently, all TPPs are expected to comply with FGD installation by 2027.
Conclusion:
- The committee’s findings suggest that the mandatory installation of FGDs in all TPPs may not be necessary to meet National Ambient Air Quality (NAAQ) standards, which are crucial for safeguarding public health.
- While the committee acknowledges the importance of compliance with December 2015 stack emission standards for particulate matter and freshwater consumption, it argues that the SO2 stack emission standards can be relaxed without compromising public health.
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