On the real-time emission control – case study application

The paper addresses the problem of real-time emission control in a given set of air pollution sources. A set of pointwise emission sources with a predefined location and emission characteristics is considered as the controlled object. The problem is formulated as on-line minimization of an environmental cost function, by the respective modification of emission level in the controlled sources, according to the changing meteorological conditions (e.g. wind direction and velocity). Dispersion of atmospheric pollution is governed by a multi-layer, dynamic model of SOx transport, which is the main forecasting tool used in the optimization algorithm. The objective function includes the environmental damage related to air quality as well as the cost of the controlling action. The environmental cost index depends on the current level of SOx concentration and on the sensitivity of the area to this type of air pollution.