PROJECT TITLE

The impact of Power plant on the Quality of soil for construction

Introduction:-

A power plant can affect the environment by its construction and its operation. These

effects, or impacts, can be either temporary or permanent. A power plant and its
auxiliary components (e.g. natural gas pipelines, water intakes and discharge, coal
delivery and storage systems, new transmission lines and waste disposal sites) take up
space on the ground and in the air, use of water resources and in most cases, emit
pollutants into the air. The plants footprint on the ground eliminates opportunities for
others to purchase or use the land. It can also affect the existing or future uses of
adjoining and nearby land parcels. A coal-fired plant includes some relatively tall
buildings and high exhaust stacks. The plants height may result in safety concerns for
aircraft or visual impacts for local landowners. If the land to be used for the power
plant is a Greenfield, an undeveloped parcel with mostly vegetation (crops, pasture,
or old-field vegetation), there would be impacts on land use, soils, and wildlife
present on the site. A variety of solid wastes can be produced, and these must be
handled. The combustion of coal creates ash as a solid waste.

 Coal-fired power plants require an efficient, reliable and long term means of coal

delivery, usually by rail or barage nearby road or rail traffic might be complicated or
burdened by construction traffic and the delivery of materials, particularly large items.
Noise levels in neighborhoods might increase during construction, and power plant
operation also creates noise and vibration. The cooling towers of an operating power
plant can also create fog and rime ice. Air space issues and compatibility with local
land use must be considered in light of the space the power plant occupies and the
way it operates. All of the electricity-generating plants considered here work by
turning turbines in a magnetic field to generate electricity. Power plants are
categorized according to the power source that turns their turbines. It is these sources
that create the power plant emissions that affect our water. Coal-fired power plant
emissions are scrubbed from chimneys and dumped into nearby rivers.

 These facilities burn coal to create the steam that drives turbines. Currently coal-fired

plants are controlling their air emissions well, but doing so at the expense of our
waterways. Most of the countrys coal-fired plants have installed scrubbers in their
chimneys that spray the power plant emissions with jets of water and chemicals,
trapping and washing down particulates before they can escape into the air. This dirty
water is then dumped into the nearest river or nearby area.
The production of energy from a fuel source can be direct, such as the burning of

coal in a fireplace to create heat, or by the conversion of heat energy into mechanical
energy by the use of a heat engine. Examples of heat engines include steam engines,
turbines, and internal combustion engines. Heat engines work on the principal of
heating and pressuring a fluid, the performance of mechanical work, and the
rejection of unused or waste heat to a sink.

 Heat engines can only convert 30 to 40 percent of the available input energy in the

fuel source into mechanical energy, and the highest efficiencies are obtained when the
input temperature is as high as possible and the sink temperature is as low as possible.
Water is a very efficient and economical sink for heat engines and it is commonly
used in electrical generating stations.
The waste heat from electrical generating stations is transferred to cooling water

obtained from local water bodies. Large amounts of water are used to keep the sink
temperature as low as possible to maintain a high thermal efficiency. Indrajit power
private limited,( Inzapur), Wardha that have a total operating capacity of 80
megawatts (MW). These reactors circulate a total of 90 million gallons per day
(MGD) of water.
The emission of gases from Thermal Power Plant is Sox, Ox, Hydrocarbons, Coal

Dust and Particulate Matter having PM10 & PM2.5. These are some air polluting
chemical compounds which is also affecting the soil properties for construction.

 In wardha district the soil is black cotton soil & red soil .
black cotton soil & red soil is one such group which suffers most due to degradation

problems cause by natural process & human activity. These soils are widely
distributed in the semi-arid to humid tropical regions & are potentially arable lands
they are prone to severe water erosion & nutrient losses due to excessive rainfall &
leaching.
SOIL is essentially a non-renewable resource and not only a part of ecosystems, but

also occupies a basic role for humans, because the survival of man is tied to the
maintenance of its productivity. Soil has very important and complex functions as
filter, buffer, storage and transformation system, protecting the global eco-system
against the effects of pollution. These functions of soil are not unlimited, but are
effective as long as soil properties and natural balance are preserved. Information
available suggest that, over recent decades, there has been a significant increase of
soil degradation processes, and there is evidence that they will further increase if no
action is taken.

Soil should be used in a sustainable manner which preserves its capacity to deliver
ecological, economic and social services, while maintaining its functions so that future
generations can meet their needs. Soils normally contain low background levels of heavy
metals (heavy metals is an inexact term used to describe more than a dozen elements
that are metals or metalloids elements that have both metal and nonmetal
characteristics).

Climate Conditions.

The black cotton soil & red soil Occur in the tropical & sub tropical conditions were
rainfall varies from 600 to 4000 mm & mean annual temp. Varies between 22 to 30 0C
with narrow differences between mean summer & winter soil temp.

Monitoring.

The soils are highly variable in nature; they behave differently & are subjected to

erosion, droughtiness, crusting, etc. due to environmental effect, especially rainfall. It

is therefore , desirable to monitor soil health periodically (say after 10 years) which
requires information on climatic & soil related database now the conditions are
changed due to industrialization i.e. construction of large number of power plants in
vidarbha region it gives the bad effect on water, soil & air therefore monitoring should
be reduced on yearly basis

The monitoring need to be carried out in respect of

the following soil properties & qualities.

Water holding capacity: - A soil quality based on soil texture, depth & mineralogy.
Soil erosion
Surface crusting
Plasticity
Ion-exchange capacity
Permeability

Objectives

To carry out the physico-chemical characterization of soil samples collected from

areas of Sewagram and Wardha City.

Study of soil quality of analyzed soil samples.
All analysis will be carried out for two seasons for year.
To study the chemical behavior of Soil
To study future strategies for the development towards construction industries

Methodology to be adopted

Laboratory inside the Civil engg. Department is identified for this work.
Analysis of various parameters will be carried out in the laboratory as per referred

literature.
Soil quality parameters of collected samples will be compared with the standard

values of soil parameter.

Analysis of soil samples will be done to investigate its utility for construction

purpose.

Soil Sample Analysis

Approximately 0.5 km Behind the PLANT Towards North

Sample Approximately 1 km away from PLANT Towards South

Sample Approximately 5 km away from PLANT Towards N-E (Sewagram)

Approximately 6 km away from PLANT Towards N-W WARDHA City.

Approximately 0.5 km Behind the PLANT Towards

North
Sr.N
o

Parameter

Unit

Result

1)

pH

2)

Electrical conductivity

uS/cm

298

3)

Water Holding Capacity

% by Weight of soil

81.32

4)

Copper

Mg/kg

98.0

5)

Iron

Mg/kg

6461

6)

Manganese

Mg/kg

2135

7)

Chloride

Mg/kg

1998

8)

Sodium Absorption Ratio

0.26

8.9

Sample 1 km away from PLANT Towards South

Sr.N
o

Parameter

Unit

Result

1)

pH

2)

Electrical conductivity

uS/cm

229

3)

Water Holding Capacity

% by Weight of soil

70.21

4)

Copper

Mg/kg

94.0

5)

Iron

Mg/kg

6223

6)

Manganese

Mg/kg

1922

7)

Chloride

Mg/kg

1544

8)

Sodium Absorption Ratio

0.18

7.6

Sample around 5 km away from PLANT Towards N-E

(Sewagram)
Sr.N
o

Parameter

Unit

Result

1)

pH

2)

Electrical conductivity

uS/cm

220

3)

Water Holding Capacity

% by Weight of soil

74.35

4)

Copper

Mg/kg

89.4

5)

Iron

Mg/kg

6142

6)

Manganese

Mg/kg

1884

7)

Chloride

Mg/kg

1513

8)

Sodium Absorption Ratio

0.15

7.3

Sample 6 km away from PLANT Towards N-W

WARDHA City.
Sr.N
o

Parameter

Unit

Result

1)

pH

2)

Electrical conductivity

uS/cm

225

3)

Water Holding Capacity

% by Weight of soil

73.93

4)

Copper

Mg/kg

92.5

5)

Iron

Mg/kg

6189

6)

Manganese

Mg/kg

1890

7)

Chloride

Mg/kg

1531

8)

Sodium Absorption Ratio

0.17

7.2

References
1) Impact of Coal Based Thermal Power Plant on Environment and its Mitigation
Measure
Ahmad Shamshad, Fulekar M.H., and Pathak Bhawana
School of Environment and Sustainable Development, Central University of
Gujarat sector-30 Gandhinagar, Gujrat, INDIA
Abstract
In the present research paper as a research article the problem associated fly ash
has been highlighted mitigated measure
for fly ash has also been emphasize viz development of bricks, use of fly ash for
manufacturing of cement, development of
ceramics, fertilizer, development of distemper and use of fly ash in road construction
and road embankment. This article gives
the direction for the beneficial use of fly ash generated coal combustion power
plants.

2) Leaching Behavior and Mechanisms Controlling the Release of Elements

from Soil Stabilized with Fly Ash

Komonweeraket, K., Benson, C., Edil, T., and Bleam, W. (2011) Leaching Behavior and
Mechanisms Controlling the Release of Elements from Soil Stabilized with Fly Ash.
Abstract
In situ soil stabilized with fly ash has become a practical and economical solution
forsoil stabilization. Understanding the pH-dependent leaching behavior and mechanisms
controlling release of major and trace elements from soil-fly ash mixture is important for
assessing the environmental impacts associated with using fly ash in soil stabilization. A pHdependent leaching test was used to investigate the leaching behavior of soil-fly ash mixtures
used in roadway construction. Three broad leaching behaviors as a function of pH were
observed from the soils, the fly ashes and the soil-fly ash mixtures: (i) leaching of Ca, Cd, Mg,
and Sr follows a cationic pattern where the concentration decreases monotonically as pH
increases; (ii) leaching of Al, Fe, Cr, Cu, and Zn follow an amphoteric pattern where the
concentration increases at acidic and alkaline pH; and (iii) leaching of As and Se shows both
the behaviors following oxyanionic pattern where concentration increases at acidic and alkaline
pH and those show anomalous leaching behavior. Consistency in leaching behavior for many
elements was observed, which is believed to be due to solubility-controlled. The difference and
inconsistency for As and Se are likely due to different controlling mechanism, such as sorption,
or solid-solution formation.

3) Pollution Intrusion on Soil-Pavement System

Hsai-Yang Fang1; 1Distinguished Fellow, Global Institute for Energy and Environmental Systems,
Univ. of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC 28223.
John L. Daniels2,2Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of North Carolina,
Charlotte, NC 28223. ; and
Tae-Hyung Kim3 3Full Time Instructor, Division of Civil and Environmental System
Engineering, Korea Maritime Univ., #1, Dongsam-Dong, Yeongdo-Gu, Busan 606-791, Korea.
Abstract
The performance of both flexible and rigid pavement is a function of the constituent materials
and their susceptibility to physical and chemical stress and degradation. To that end, specific
phenomena that accompany and characterize the interaction of the soil-pavement system with
the environment are discussed. Mechanisms of pollution intrusion through the pavement
wearing surface, base, sub base, and sub grade soil layer are evaluated. Liquid movement
phenomena and processes in the soil mass such as infiltration, percolation, and hydraulic
conduction related to the soil-pavement system are examined. Laboratory data that reflect the
effects of pollution intrusion on the behavior, stability, and performance of soil-pavement
systems are presented and remedial actions on these effects are discussed. Pollution intrusion is
manifested by changes in system variables, including solution pH, dielectric constant, ionic
composition, temperature, and moisture content. These changes are shown to influence
pavement design parameters, such assoil physical properties, compressibility, and stress.

4) Review of Stabilization of Clays and Expansive Soils in Pavements and Lightly

Loaded StructuresHistory, Practice, and Future.
Thomas M. Petry, P.E., F.ASCE1; Professor of Civil Engineering, Univ. of MissouriRolla, 1870 Miner Circle, Rolla, MO 65409-0030. and Dallas N. Little, P.E.,
F.ASCE2 E.B. Snead Chair Professor of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M Univ., Suit
603 CE/TTI Building, College Station, TX 77843-3135.
Abstract
Expansive clay soils are those that change significantly in volume with
changes in water content are the cause of distortions to structures that cost taxpayers
several billion dollars annually in the United States. Much has been learned about
their behavior over the past 60 years, and relatively successful methods have been
developed to modify and stabilize them. This paper reviews some of the key
advances developed over the past 60 years in improving our understanding of the
nature and methods of modifying and stabilizing expansive clay soils. The state of
the practice in stabilization is presented, and practical and research needs to help
improve the state of the practice are discussed.

5) Quality Assurance of Structural Engineering Design

Ying X. Cai, Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE

ASCE Subject Headings: Quality control, Structural design, Structural engineering

2006 American Society of Civil Engineers

Facing the escalating demands in both technical competence and
financial accountability, practicing structural engineers are being forced into an
ever-intensified fast-pace working environment. With more and more structural
design codes becoming lengthy and cumbersome and, meanwhile, the time allocated
for structural engineering design being drastically reduced, the quality assurance of
the structural engineering design has been becoming more critical than ever for
practicing structural engineers to succeed. Structural engineering design errors and
failures have been observed in a variety of design phases and categories. Among
them, there are several typical problems needed to be discussed and a systematical
procedure of quality assurance of the structural engineering design shall be studied
and developed. As a part of our collective professional effort to assure the quality of
the structural engineering design, this paper will discuss following eight typical
aspects related to quality control and assurance of structural engineering design and
a number of real world practical examples will be presented to assist in illustrating
the importance of the quality control and assurance for real world structural
engineering design projects.

6) Win HSPF Model Simulations of Nitrogen and pH for a Low-Alkalinity Stream

Impacted from Atmospheric Acid Deposition.
M. Cai; and J. S. Schwartz
ASCE Subject Headings: Arid lands, Nitrogen, North Carolina, pH, Rivers and
streams,Simulation.
The Hydrologic Simulation Program-Fortran (WinHSPF) was used to simulate the stream
flow, ammonium, nitrate and pH for the No land Divide watershed from 1999 to mid-2006, to
evaluate the model applicability to watersheds impacted by acidic deposition. Noland Divide
watershed is located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. Model
calibration for hydrology was satisfactory showing total error of 2.1% for stream discharge
during simulation period. The model simulated low ammonium concentration (0.04 mgN L1)
in the stream, which is likely due to the high nitrification rate on the land converting most
deposited ammonium to nitrate. The deviation between the simulated and measured nitrate
concentration was 0.03 mgN L1 while the mean observed nitrate concentration was 0.57 mgN
L1. Although the model output for pH (from 5.7 to 6.0) were similar to observed stream pH
measurements (from 5.5 to 6.5), model calculations of pH did not consider stream acidification
due to mineral anion acids. The WinHSPF model computes pH simply based on carbonate
system and alkalinity equilibrium, and therefore is only applicable to water bodies governed by
the carbonate-dominated chemistry. In low alkalinity waters like those found in the Noland
Divide watershed, WinHSPF can not predict stream chemistry response from impacts of acidic
deposition.

7) Lifecycle Impacts of Using Coal for Electricity on Water Resources.

E. Grubert
ASCE Subject Headings: Life cycles, Coal, Water resources, Electric power,

Sustainable development 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers

Abstract
As energy's relationship with climate change receives more attention, it is
becoming increasingly relevant to compare the effects of different energy choices on
land and water resources. The diversity of potential environmental impacts makes
direct comparison difficult. This paper focuses on the impact of using coal for
electricity, with and without carbon capture, on water resources in the United States.
Current technology to reduce greenhouse and other atmospheric impacts from
burning coal exists but is often energy intensive. This energy intensity means that
more coal must be mined, transported, and burned. Coal use impacts water at many
points in its lifecycle, including direct and indirect water use and pollution at the
mine site and at the power plant. In the United States, data on coal power plants'
water use are well established, while water impacts from upstream activities like
mining and improper mine closure are more challenging to predict.

8)

IMPACTS OF JAMSHORO THERMAL POWER STATION ON SOIL

OF THE SURROUNDING AREA.

A. M. Rind1, G. M. Mastoi1 Center for Environmental Sciences, University of

Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistanand * A. A. Hullio2 ,Dr. M.A Kazi Institute of
Chemistry, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan *Author for
Correspondence .
ABSTRACT
Thermal power stations apart being source of energy supply are causing soil
pollution leading to its defertilization and contamination. The environmental
evaluation of surrounding soil of thermal power station Jamshoro in Pakistan will
serve as a model study to get the insight into hazards it is causing. The metal
composition of soil was studied with focus on Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cr and Fe in soil
samples were collected around the power station at the depth of 9 and 18 inches
respectively. Perkin Elmer 800 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer was used for
the determination of metals. Key Words: Soil Pollution, Thermal Power Plant and
Trace Toxic Elements

Annual Wind Data for Vidharbha

Gauss Plume Calculations

Gauss Plume Model for Ground Level Concentration (MAX)
Sr. No.

Description

Symbol

Unit

Value

Down wind distance

17725

Cross wind distance

1000

Effective Stake Height

100

Discharge

g/sec

685.95

54.1

455.9

Avg. Wind Speed

m/sec

Concentration

Microgram/
m3

207.2

Standard Deviation

pH

Reason for decreasing pH is acid rain, oxidation of

sulfur.
Consequences
1. Availability of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, calcium,
magnesium, sodium, and molybdenum is limited
under acidic conditions.
2. Passive protection of reinforcement is affection leads
to corrosion.
3. Affects soil structure, increases formation of disperse
structure.

Permeability
500 m

1000 m

2000 m

3000 m

4000 m

3.221E-07

8.294E-08

5.720E-08

8.600E-08

3.600E-08

NE

8.227E-06

5.378E-08

7.720E-08

6.600E-08

6.300E-08

8.084E-06

2.130E-08

3.719E-08

8.600E-08

2.900E-08

SE

8.254E-06

7.214E-08

9.716E-08

2.598E-08

8.430E-08

8.333E-06

4.435E-08

5.716E-08

9.600E-08

9.870E-08

SW

8.299E-06

8.249E-08

8.712E-08

3.598E-08

9.450E-08

7.973E-06

5.735E-08

4.593E-08

7.439E-08

5.587E-08

NW

7.896E-06

3.075E-08

9.715E-08

4.599E-08

7.460E-08

Less permeability of soil affects ground water level

and thus may cause excessive settlement or

subsidence.
Runoff will increase.
Increases soil crusting during summer.

Further Work
Calculation of amount of soil erosion due to water
Effect of soil pollution on the construction activity

and its remedial measures.

Thank you