Destroying Thyself

০৯ ই ডিসেম্বর, ২০১৭ রাত ১:৩৬

Rampal power plant will be a coal fired plant; FOSIL FUEL. While modern countries are avoiding these types of projects & concentrating on renewable energy sources, it is implementing a plan which may lead to the dumbest project of its national history

Bangladesh is a developing country. It has little opportunity to follow developed countries for power. May be it has no other way but to go for a coal fired plant but it should also be concerned about its nature. The project is set up just 14 kilometers away from the forest of Sundarbans. It is the largest mangrove forest in the world which is also been listed into the world heritage site by UNESCO in 1992. Environmentalists have warned that starting of Rampal will mark the end of this unique forest. And it is not just mare consumption; the warning is based on solid facts.

Government has said that pollution will be minimized using high grade coal which has low ash content & higher burning rate. But in the sub-continent, only low grade coals (Peat & Bituminous) are available. So government has stated that they will import coals which will make the people paying double for electricity.
This mega project needs huge quantities of coal for running and this coal will be transported by ‘Poshur’ river which is the soul of this forest. People of Bangladesh are already suffering for the condition of the river ‘Buriganga’. The capital Dhaka is in the banks of this river which makes it the center of water traffic. The pollution of water in this river has crossed the limit in the last decade and experts have stated that it is now beyond any refining process. ‘Poshur’ is going to be the next victim but this time the river will die ‘slowly’ along with the forest.

But it seems clearly not so ‘slowly’ after all. There are tons of other factors which marks rather a quick destruction of this one of a kind forest. The major factor among them is the emission of Carbon-Di-Oxide & Sulphur-Di-Oxide from the power plant. A minimal educated person is aware of the effects of these two gases on the environment. In one word, it will bring a total destruction; for every living being around.
Hang on a minute. There are solutions also. But first one needs to understand the basics of a coal based power plant to have a minimal understanding on solutions. A power plant is a unit of numerous engineering projects which work as one and it’s an irony of fate that each sector of power plant is responsible for pollution. But there are ways to ‘prevent’ it or should I write to ‘minimize’ it. A little example will help the readers to understand the concept clearly.

Emission of poisonous gasses can be minimized by using pulverized coal. ‘Pulverization’ means rock type coals are crushed into powder before combustion. This increases the efficiency, minimizes ash content & but with an increase in cost. Likewise, there are different methods & different systems to set up each unit. The higher the money you invest the better the plant you get. But you can’t outrun the pollution; you are just minimizing it, giving the nature a few years more to survive.
These methods would have worked fine for a power plant of limited capacity, say 200MW. In engineering science, if a steam power plant has a capacity over 800MW then it’s called advanced steam power plant & researching on that I found the most interesting thing.

An advanced steam power plant emits hundred times higher carbon based oxides & so it does not matter how many methods you are going to apply in different units, it will be far more difficult to control the emission level. So it is advised to set up an extra unit called Gas Absorption Unit which is both costly and troublesome. It refines the exhaust gasses recovering carbon from it. Thus it is mandatory to prevent the massive outbreak of carbons but government remains silent while environmentalists keep asking if this unit is in the plans.

So it is inevitable that both air and water of this forest will be affected once this project is started. The pollution of water and air will directly affect every living thing around it. The trees in mangrove forest needs to be drown in water for certain period of time. They will die slowly for contaminated water. Wild life will be affected for both air and water. It will create a negative impact on people living there both in their health and employability.

India, neighbor of Bangladesh, also suffered the severe consequence of Sulphur emission. Their supreme court shut down factories near ‘Taz Mahal’ as Sulphur was directly dimming its white marble luster. If people of India could take such a step to save a man-made infrastructure, people of Bangladesh should have shown a little responsibility to take care of a wonder which is a gift from nature itself.

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