AlES JSC: environmental control in online mode

In 2024, AlES JSC installed automated systems for monitoring and control of emissions into the atmospheric air at stationary emission sources of CHPP-1 n.a. B.Orazbayev and the Western Heat Complex. Implementation of these projects is the next and necessary stage of the environmental safety improvement program, which allows the company to meet the requirements of the environmental legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

“Environmental safety issues have become one of the key priorities of the country’s development, which are declared at the highest level. The Head of State makes detailed accents on the problem of environmental safety in his speeches,’ says Zoya Arzyukova, Head of the Environmental Protection Department. – Important statements were made last year at the May meeting of the Security Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, when Kasym-Jomart Tokayev paid special attention to the energy sector, noting that “many industrial enterprises, old coal-fired power plants and boiler houses, which are the legacy of the Soviet period, have led to the deterioration of the environmental situation”.

Following the discussion of this issue, the President instructed the government to work on harmonizing national environmental standards with global standards, reducing emissions from industrial enterprises, recycling solid domestic waste, eliminating unauthorized landfills and reclaiming eroded land. And in his recent annual address, he emphasised that the government and industry should concentrate their efforts on introducing energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies. These instructions to a certain extent concern AlES JSC.

Our company over the last years has been carrying out systematic work to improve the efficiency of environmental protection measures and has achieved significant results. One of the important steps in this direction was the installation of an automated system for monitoring emissions into the environment, which allows to monitor, control and reduce the negative impact of its enterprises on the urban and natural environment.

The system is designed to track in gas (flue) emissions of the main stationary sources of emission concentrations, and also allows calculation of gross emissions of such substances as nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2, NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide and dioxide (CO, CO2), oxygen (O2). ASM provides data transfer to the information system of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan in real-time mode during industrial environmental control.

At present, the ASM systems of CHPP-1 and WHC are in test mode. The data transmission channel is being set up and integration with the Ministry’s database is underway. After the start of the heating season and commissioning of boiler units, the system will start data transmission.

“In January 2022, work on the design of this system began, and in November of the same year, the installation of ASM began on pipes No.5-8 of CHPP-1 n.a. B.Orazbayev,” says Alexander Kuptsov, Deputy Head of the Plant’s Adjustment and Environmental Protection Shop. – The work was completed at the beginning of 2024. As a result, gas analyzing equipment was installed on four chimneys”.

Aibek Shayakhmetov, Head of Production and Technical Department of CHPP-1 named after B.Orazbayev, reveals the details of the project and the operation of the new system: “The measuring section is located at +42.5 metres, and the height of chimneys is 80 metres. To date, the ACM is working in test mode, data from CHPP-1 are transmitted to the head office of AlES JSC”.

The main equipment of the emission system is manufactured by German company SICK. The AEM includes the following measurement systems: qualitative indicators of gases; velocity and flow rate of gases; qualitative indicators of dust; pressure and temperature of flue gases and environment. The system is also equipped with a block container and automated workstations. This sophisticated and precise equipment ensures continuous monitoring. In particular, a stationary gas analyser measures the concentration of CO, NO2, NO, SO2 and O2 gases in the flue gases.

We also obtain precise information on the concentration of suspended particles in the flue gases, the flow rate and volume flow rate of the flue gases, the absolute pressure, temperature and humidity of the flue gases. The measured and calculated data are displayed on the monitor of the Automated Workstation in tabular and graphical form. The system allows to calculate gross emissions of flue gases, collect and archive measured data, generate reports on gross emissions for a certain period”.

At the Western Thermal Complex the automatic monitoring system is installed on three chimneys. After studying the composition and characteristics of flue gases of the WHC sources, the project organisation proposed to use equipment manufactured by German company SICK AG based on ultrasonic flow meters FLOWSIC100, dust measurement system DUSTHUNTER and gas analysis system MCS.

During 2023-2024, the equipment was installed, and at the end of the heating season this year the system was test done, says Vladimir Sosnitsky, head of the Production and Technical Department of WHC. – The information from the sensors started to flow to the automatic workplaces organized at WHC. At the beginning of the coming heating season, after the commissioning of the heat-generating equipment, it is planned to carry out commissioning tests of the system and finally put it into operation. It is also planned to train the WHC personnel for maintenance and accident-free operation of the ASM”.

In general, the company expects the launch of the monitoring system to further develop a systematic integrated approach to the implementation of environmental efficiency improvement tasks.

“The care of an industrial enterprise about the environment relieves social tension, improves its image, makes it more attractive for employees,” concludes Zoya Arzyukova, Head of the Environmental Protection Department. – For the city this system has become a confirmation that AlES JSC is striving for a clean and safe future. We not only keep heat in the homes of Almaty citizens and give them light, but also ensure clean skies above the city, reminding that care about ecology is the responsibility of everyone: the individual, the enterprise and the whole society”.