Thermo Power Plant “ Kosovo B ” – A Pollution Source for Sitnica River

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24018/ejers.2021.6.3.2379 Vol 6 | Issue 3 | March 2021 63 Abstract — Kosovo’s waters are unevenly distributed in time and space. Kosovo is water scarce, and it also has the low level of water resources development and storage. In particular Iber basin is water stressed, but in the next 20 years it is expected that all Kosovo’s basins will be water stressed [1]. This is due to population and general economic growth, and resource variability. The anticipated revitalization of the irrigation and mining sector and additional demands from the energy sector will increase pressure on new water demands [5]. For these reasons, the water quality of existing resources will become an ever-growing problem if not addressed now. The lignite-fired power plant “Kosovo B” is main the energy source in the country. The wastewater produced from its operation is discharged into Sitnica river with minimum treatment. With study of pollution level of wastewater discharges, this article sets several recommendations for treatment of wastewater in order that power plant meets national and EU operation requirements.


I. INTRODUCTION
Sitnica is the main river stretching in Kosovo valley that confluence with Ibar, one of main river basins in Kosovo which further flows towards north of country joining Danub later. The watershed covers a total area of 2,873 km², or about 25% of the total area of Kosovo. Sitnica is lowland river with very variable flow, being very low during summer 0,5 m 3 /s while during winter reaches up to 328 m 3 /s [2]. It originates in the northeast foothills of the Sharr mountains in the municipality of Ferizaj, where it is called Sazlija. It then heads to the north and the plains of Kosovo where it is joined, by several tributaries. In the suburbs of the capital Pristina, it enters the mining basin of Kosovo and is joined by two much polluted tributaries: Graçanka and Prishtevka. It is in this section that the quality of its water deteriorates sharply with wastewater discharges from Pristina, wastewater from industries located along its course (coal mines and thermoelectric power stations), and landfills and storage of solid wastes along the river banks etc.
Kosovo is at very early stages of building the facilities for treatment of wastewater. Only 0.7% of produced wastewater is treated before its return to the nature [3]. All other wastewater is discharged without any prior treatment to nearby streams and rivers.
The main energy production industry (thermopower plant "Kosovo B") is located nearby Sitnica and their operation is The wastewater generated from the operation of lignitefired power plant with minimal treatment such as sedimentation, is discharged into Sitnica river.
The wastewaters discharged from power plant are as follows [4]: -Bottom ash removal water; -Heavy Fuel Oil polluted water; -Run-off water, potentially polluted by oils and hydrocarbons (including coal yard); -Water Chemical Treatment plant effluents, including: -Sludge produced by softening (decarbonization -DECA) treatment; -Water from regeneration of ion-exchange resins; -Overflow of decarbonization (DECA) and demineralization (DEMI) water basins; -Sanitary wastewater.

II. METHODS AND MATERIALS
Through wastewater sampling in six discharging points from operations of thermal power plant "Kosovo B" and their laboratory analyses, we have analyzed the pollution that this industry being the main source of energy production for the country, is causing to another important natural resource Sitnica river. In Fig. 1 we have presented the layout of the thermopower plant "Kosovo B" and the locations of the six points where the wastewater samples have been taken for analyses as follows: 1. Sludge from the Decarbonization process. This wastewater is the sludge that is produced from raw water treatment plant that treats water for the energy production. 2. Slag from boiler bottom ash cooling and removal. It is the water that is used to cool the ash created from coal burning before it undergoes sedimentation. 3. Sewer is the sanitary wastewater collected from administrative buildings and kitchen. 4. Slag from boiler bottom ash cooling and removal. The water that is used to cool the ash created from coal burning after sedimentation and before discharge into river. 5. Rainwater, sink pumps, cooling tower overspill. This is mainly drainage water, and spill from cooling tower. 6. Counter-wash from the Decarbonization process.
Water that is used to wash the filters in the decarbonization process. The testing methods and standards applied for analyses are mainly ISO, DIN and EPA standards based on parameters each specifically and they are shown below in Table 1.
In one of the columns of Figure 1, we have presented the Industrial emission limits according to national Administrative Instruction nr. 30/2014 [7] that are applicable for discharges from industry into the river.

III. RESULTS
The results from analyses of the six samples of wastewater generated by energy production can be summarized as follows:

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The temperature of these wastewater discharges is between 14-29 o C, that can be considered high for some aquatic life species. -Electrical conductivity varies between 120-620 µS/cm. -pH value is going from 7.81 up to 10.5 which makes these wastewaters basic. the possibility of re-use of the treated wastewater in the plant (i.e., for ash transport) with purpose to reduce the water consumption.

V. CONCLUSIONS
Sitnica river is important water resource for central part of Kosovo and it must be protected. The achieve this goal there are a series of actions and investments to be undertaken.
On regards to the pollution from thermopower plant we recommend the: -Construction wastewater treatment plant for industrial wastewater discharges; -Construction and development of monitoring stations of water discharges from thermo power plant in Sitnica river and regular reporting to the competent authorities. Kosovo as the rest of the Western Balkan region, enjoys an enlargement perspective. The policy development should be aligned with EU "acquis", and infrastructure should be implemented according to European codes and standards.
Country is struggling with the compliance with EU directives, especially with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) and Industrial Emissions Directive (IED). The lack of appropriate facilities for wastewater treatment before their discharge into recipient represents an important gap in water sector that need to be addressed in order to comply with EU standards and regulation.
While water is a central issue in water security, it is increasingly clear that this goes beyond single sector issue topics and it percolates into all parts of society and economy.