Abstract:

This paper is presenting an on-line didactic method based on an existing web platform (a complex measurement system and specific measurement procedures) used for air pollution assessment and emergency warning. This existing network is based on 1 mobile and 24 fixed sensor stations, located in the proximity of 2 thermal coal based power plants, in the western Romania Region. This system is completed with a Human Machine Interface software used for data acquisition, visualization, interpretation and statistics. The on-site measurements were performed by our university (using a mobile station mounted on a vehicle) and completed by the network of the Romanian Agency for Environmental Protection (24 fixed platforms, located at a certain distance from these two plants). The dedicated background acquisition/transmission devices and the dedicated, user friendly, Human Machine Interface software, were developed by our team. Main air polluting agents taken into account on this paper are SO2, NO2, O3, CO and PM10, as well as some other polluting agents, on custom request, monitored on the site of the Romanian Environmental Agency. Data is used for environmental studies, alarms or, in our case, for didactic purpose, as well as for specific reports. Students from Electrical and Power Engineering can use data for generating all type of reports or studies, especially for their discipline called “Environmental Impact of Electrical and Power Installations. This paper also provides some examples of real measurements performed on site and the interpretation of these results, as well some simple solutions and recommendations for air quality increase, customized for these power plants, available for our students. The teaching tool is also well described.

Keywords:

Didactic tool, on-line assessment, polluting agents, power plant.