Air Dispersion Modeling for the Assessment of ULCOSTechnologies

Abstract

Among the local impacts which are considered within the SubProgram 9.3 of the ULCOS project for the assessment of technologiessustainability, air quality is a key issue for the evaluation ofthe environmental impact of a steel plant in its surrounding area. Inthis paper a method based on the use of air dispersion modellingis proposed for the assessment of the ULCOS technologies on thebasis of the concentration in the atmosphere of the main pollutants(NOx, SO2, TSP, PM10, PM25, CO, Pb, PCDD) produced by theplant. For performing this task the AERMOD model, a widely usedmodel belonging to class of Gaussian models, was used. For exploitingAERMOD it was necessary to characterize the case base plantspecifying the positions and dimensions of its main parts and itsstacks as well as the characteristics of their emissions. Furthermoreit was necessary to collect information on the meteorological conditionsand the terrain of the considered zone. The results, measuredin terms of average concentration of the pollutants at ground level,show that such concentrations are below the limits established bycurrent legislation. In the future these results will be used for comparisonsof the case base with new technologies.