Assessment of air emission from Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) pulp and paper mill using gaussian plume model

• Main Author: Sza Sza Melissa Ahmad Shahrum
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: QH540-549.5 Ecology; TD878-894 Special types of environment Including soil pollution, air pollution, noise pollution
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42324/1/ABSTRACT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42324/2/FULLTEXT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42324/

Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) Sdn. Bhd. is situated on the south western tip of the coast of the state of Sabah, East Malaysia, approximately 150km from the state capital, Kota Kinabalu. SFI pulp and papermill is located within a 66 hectare complex; wood is supplied from a 289000 hectare forest, with water for consumption, power for operation and support facilities, which is processed and generate internally. The objective of this study is to investigate the emission of Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Sulphur dioxide (SO2) from boilers (Lime kiln, power boiler and recovery boiler) to nearby surrounding within 5 km coverage area and to determine which boiler contribute the most to the pollutant. Gaussian model was employed for predicting the ground level concentration of NO2 dan SO2 at various distances and wind velocities. Based on the pollutant dispersion model, it can be observed that the highest concentration of NO2 dan SO2 were at 5 km area ranging from 0.003 μg/m3 – 0.008 μg/m3 for NO2 and 0.004 μg/m3 – 0.011 μg/m3 for SO2. Comparison in terms of NO2 and SO2 emission of each stack; lime kiln, recovery boiler and power boiler, it shows that lime kiln is the main contributor to the emission of NO2 and SO2. This can be seen at the concentration of NO2 and SO2 at lime kiln, i.e. 0.010 μg/m3 and 0.012 μg/m3 respectively. Referring to Malaysia and WHO 2005 Ambient Air Quality Guidelines, the concentration for each emission is still significantly low compared to the Malaysian Air Quality Guidelines. Thus, within 5 km coverage area from point source, the pollutant concentration is still acceptable and below limit which had no significant effect on air quality of the surrounding.