In this article environmental and economic impact of firing oil shale of higher quality is analyzed. Fuel consumption, emission indicators (CO 2 , SO 2 , CO, NO x , N 2 O, particulates) and ash mass flow of a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler firing oil shale of lower heating value (LHV) of 8.2-11.5 MJ/kg are presented. The investigation is based on full-scale firing tests. Based on test results the impact of transportation and operational costs of oil shale and ash handling on electricity price is analyzed. The pollution charges and CO 2 emission allowances are considered when analyzing the environmental impact on costs. Firing upgraded oil shale (10.5 MJ/kg) leads to substantial reduction of environmental impact and enables to save costs of electricity production. Reduction of CO 2 emission by 7%, ash mass flow by 25% and fuel consumption by 22% when firing upgraded oil shale instead of conventional one (8.4 MJ/kg) enables to save up to 3 EUR/MWh e , achieving the major savings from environmental costs, especially from reduced need for purchasing CO 2 emission allowances.
Oil shale has a major role in Estonia's energy supply. This paper gives a brief analysis of indicators on efficiency and on environmental impact of the energy sector in Estonia. A more detailed overview is given on emission of greenhouse gases and on relevant possibilities of their reduction. Increase in energy efficiency is an important factor for the energy usage but also for the economic development of society. Therefore an overall assessment of trends on the national level is given, and a brief comparison with relevant indicators in other EU member states is presented.
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