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Prof. Zheko Ganev from Stara Zagora revealed to journalists TODAY his ideas on how the life of the coal-fired power plants in the Maritza Iztok complex can be extended ecologically, without changing their current way of working. Photo: Vanyo Stoilov
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Instead of being stored in the ground, carbon dioxide will be captured and processed into useful substances.
Instead of being captured and stored somewhere deep in the earth’s interior for a period of 100 years, the harmful carbon dioxide emitted by the thermal power plants in the Maritza East complex during their work with coal can be captured and converted into useful substances. Such technology is offered by the professor from Stara Zagora Zheko Ganev. According to him, it can be applied without changing any of the current way of working of the runs and without reducing the staff in them.
“According to my technology, the carbon dioxide emitted will be converted into carbon oxides, which will be converted to methane with the help of hydrogen. It will drive new, gas turbines to produce electricity, which will work together with existing steam turbines on coal. In this situation, the current desulphurization becomes unnecessary, “the scientist explained at a press conference today. It was attended by the Mayor of Stara Zagora Zhivko Todorov and the CITUB leader Plamen Dimitrov, who support the project.
Prof. Ganev’s calculations show that the price of electricity from the new methane gas turbans will be 12 stotinki per kilowatt-hour, and the current price of 8.5-9 stotinki from the steam turbines will remain, as they will continue to rotate from energy extracted from coal.
According to Prof. Ganev, a pilot installation of his project can be built in the state TPP “Maritsa East 2” for 15 months on a scale of 1:20 and will cost 10 million levs. It will be located immediately after the coal kilns and will capture the harmful gases from them.
“The aim is to convince the government, whatever it is, of the effectiveness of this project, so that it can be included for funding in the Bulgarian preparations for the Recovery and Sustainability Plan. And as a start, to provide through BEH these BGN 10 million in order to the pilot installation will be built “, said the mayor Zhivko Todorov.
According to CITUB leader Plamen Dimitrov, Bulgaria is already late to submit its proposals to Brussels and it will not be fatal if time is taken to study this idea as well. Even so, the union insists on finalizing the current proposals for the plan. The unions from TPP “Maritsa East 2” are also firmly behind the idea, because during its implementation, unlike the passage of the plant from gas to gas, staff and jobs will be kept without layoffs.
Dimitrov reminded that so far among the Bulgarian proposals to the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, which relate to the Maritza East complex, are the connection of heating plants with the country’s gas transmission network and the construction of a new steam and gas power plant – two power units with a total capacity of 1,000 megawatts. for which it is not specified. However, the proposal for the capture and storage of carbon dioxide in the bowels of the earth has been dropped, for which about 230 million levs have been provided. According to Prof. Ganev, if its technology is adopted, its construction for each unit will cost between 95 and 105 million levs and this will extend the life of TPP “Maritsa East 2”, observing all econorms without changing the way, according to which now operates the plant. Jobs will also be preserved in the Maritza East mines.
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