A Comparative study of Pollution Load in Cement Cluster

Abstract

Cement is an extensively used material. The demand of cement is high both in building and infrastructure development. However, the environmental impact of cement production process starting from pre production stage to end stage is significant. This study scrutinizes the environmental impact due to cement production process in four cement plants of Gujarat state, India. The plant production adopted the dry processes which include simply of raw materials, clinker burning and grinding process from which dust is emitted due to the kiln feed, crushers, grinding clinker cookers and material handling equipments. Computation of pollution load in four cement industries, focusing on various units for evaluating aspect and the significant environmental impact.

Environmental Impact Assessment’ is a systematic process to identify, evaluate and predict the potential impacts of a proposed development project. EIA is a ‘decision making’ tool for the proposed developmental activities which scales the project based on its environmental consequences. EIA provides a procedure for the full consideration of all possible adverse environmental impacts of policies, programs activities and projects before any decision is taken to proceed. This is an opportunity to present recommendations to the decision maker on the suitability of the policy, program activity or project, on environmental grounds. There is an opportunity to incorporate conditions of consent for mitigating adverse environmental effects. Conditions of approval may ensure monitoring by the proponent, post-project analysis and independent auditing. Thus, Environmental Impact Assessment helps in harmonizing the developmental activities with the environmental concerns. The tool is used before making any major decisions and commitments. The study shows that how one can generate aspects from activities and can analyze that which aspects are significant or insignificant.

The Industrial Source Complex Short-Term (ISCST-3) model provides options to model emissions from a wide range of sources that might be present at a typical industrial source complex. The basis of the model is the straight line, steady state Gaussian plume equation, which is used with some modifications, to model simple point source emissions from stacks. The ISCST-3 model accepts hourly meteorological data records to define the conditions for plume rise, transport, diffusion, and deposition. The model estimates the concentration or deposition value for each source and receptor combination for each hour of input meteorology, and calculates user selected short term averages. The present work suggests that the aspects like stack emission, fugitive dust emission and noise need to be emphasized and require more attention and to be managed.