Plenary Lecture
Mathematical Models to Analyse the Environmental Xenobiotics from Coal-Fired Power Plants
Professor Cornelia Aida Bulucea
Faculty of Electrical Engineering
University of Craiova
Romania
Email: abulucea@em.ucv.ro
Abstract: Sustainable development is a key concept that entails two complementary aspects that refer to the energy savings and to the environmental impact of anthropogenic activities, and redefining the processes of human activities within the framework of industrial ecology addresses a commitment towards a sustainable industrial metabolism. It is widely accepted all across the world that, within the present industrial metabolism, electric and thermal energy generation, as one of the main consumers of fossil fuels, and coal in particular, is causing problems related to the environmental releases in operation of the power plants. Operation of coal-fired power plants determines a big amount of slag and ash, and also releases harmful flue gases. Consequently, a serious concern is related to the health of humans and other life forms that is impacted by xenobiotics caused by burning coal in electrical generating stations. Taking a holistic view, this lecture focuses on highlighting that over the last decades the concept of xenobiotics has been related to environmental impact, emphasizing environmental xenobiotics in the context of pollutants, as substances foreign to an entire biological system, which did not exist in nature before their synthesis by humans. Environmental xenobiotics are becoming increasingly problematic in medicine and environmental systems since they are relatively new substances and difficult to categorize. It is challenging to assess their effects on human health and the environment. During electrical energy generation, coal-fired power plants emit flue gases that encompass reactive chemicals representing environmental xenobiotics, which spread over hundreds to thousands of kilometers downwind of power plants. Aside from flue gases the operation of a coal-based power plant impacts the environment through the xenobiotics from slag and bottom ash sludge. The toxics specific to flue gas, as well as to slag and ash sludge represent environmental xenobiotics that induce malignant tumors of high incidence rate. This lecture proposes an approach for the analysis of environmental xenobiotics from coal-fired power stations using mathematical models and corresponding methods. In line with this idea it is important to build mathematical models that reflect how the transfer of a toxic dose from a flue gas or from a slag and ash deposit is realized. Identification of such mathematical models to process the data of flue gas and sludge components transfer could allow relevant conclusions on the impact of pollutants on the life forms in a certain geographic area.
Brief Biography of the Speaker: Cornelia Aida Bulucea is currently an Associate Professor in Electrotechnics, Electrical Machines and Environmental Electric Equipment in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Craiova, Romania. She is graduate from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering Craiova and she received the Ph.D degree from Bucharest Polytechnic Institute. In Publishing House she is author of five books in electrical engineering area. Research work is focused on improved solutions for electrical networks on basis of new electric equipment, and environmental impact assessment of electric power systems. She has extensive experience in both experimental and theoretical research work, certified by over 70 articles in International indexed journals and papers in International conferences Proceedings, and 15 research projects from industry. She participated in over twenty WSEAS International Conferences and ten INASE International Conferences, presenting papers and chairing sessions. She was a Plenary Speaker in The 2015 International Conference on Applied Mathematics, Computational Science and Engineering (AMCSE 2015), Agios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece, October 17-19, 2015, in The 2014 International Conference on Mathematical Methods and Computational Techniques in Science and Engineering (MMCTSE’14), Athens, Greece, November 28-30, 2014., in The 13th International Conference on Electric Power Systems, High Voltages, Electric Machines (POWER’13), Chania, Crete Island, Greece, August 27-29, 2013, in The 5th IASME/WSEAS International Conference on Energy and Environment (EE’10), held by the University of Cambridge, UK, February 23-25, 2010, in The 4th IASME/WSEAS International Conference on Energy and Environment (EE’09), held by the University of Cambridge, Cambridge UK, February 24-26, 2009, in The 8th WSEAS International Conference on Power Systems (PS’08), held by the University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain, September 23-25, 2008.