SMC unit passes emission standard

SMC Global Power, the power generation unit of conglomer­ate San Miguel Corporation, reported that continuous test­ing since January of its new clean coal technology power plant in Limay, Bataan, yield­ed emission results that were “way, way below” government and World Bank standard lim­its.

According to the most recent results of govern­ment-mandated daily testing, Unit-1 of the Limay Plant con­sistently produced low levels of sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and particu­late matter.

Sulphur Oxide was only at 41 parts per million, compared to the 245 ppm limit set by the Department of Environ­ment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the 700 ppm limit set by the World Bank.

Nitrogen Oxide was at only 92 ppm, against the DENR’s 365 ppm limit and the WB’s 487 ppm threshold.

Carbon Monoxide was at a mere 4 ppm during the latest testing. The DENR limit is 400 ppm, while the WB does not set any.

Lastly, in terms of Opacity or clearness of the air, which is also used to indicate partic­ulate matters, the Limay plant registered just 0.8%, with dust at only 2.4 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/Nm3). The World Bank standard for particulate matters that is 50 mg/Nm3 and the DENR’s is150 mg/Nm3.

“These results are way, way below our government standards and even World Bank standards,” said SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang.

“When people say coal power plant, they immediately associate it with high levels of pollution. But coal remains the most affordable and accessible fuel source today. As such, us­ing it is key to sustaining our country’s power security and keeping the price of electricity down, for the present. What these new and modern facili­ties we’ve built do, is to give us the benefits of using coal, while dramatically cutting pollution levels,” he added.

The company explained that the technology it was us­ing to produce energy from coal–dubbed “circulated flu­idized bed” or CFB—is differ­ent, far cleaner, and more ef­ficient than the old system of burning coal, which resulted to high pollution levels.

Unlike the old, conven­tional system where coal was burned in high temperatures to produce steam to generate power, CFB technology utiliz­es a process of “fluidization”, where fuel—coal or other biomass fuels—is mixed with limestone.