Characteristics of Feed Coal and Particulate Matter in the Vicinity of Coal-fired Power Plant in Cilacap, Central Java, Indonesia

The Indonesian government has launched the development of electrical power plant 10,000 MW program to supply the electricity in Indonesia which is focused on coal power plant. Minor and trace element characterization of coal is extremely important to assess their potential for pollution, as well as characterization of the fine particulates matter (PM2.5) emitted from a coal-fired power plant which could be harmful to human health and environmental. In this study, characterization of feed coal and fine particulate matter in the vicinity of a coal-fired plant as an assessment of environmental impact on coal combustion was carried out. The particulate matters PM2.5 were collected in two sites in the vicinity of 2 x 300 MW coal-fired power plant in Cilacap, Central Java. The feed coal was characterized using instrumental neutron activation analysis-INAA. Method validation was done by analysis of standard reference material NIST SRM 1633b coal fly ash. The chemical composition of PM2.5 have been measured using energy dispersive X-ray Fluorescence-EDXRF. The validation of XRF measurement was applied using standard reference material NIST SRM 2783 Air Particulate on Filter Media. The results showed that several minor and trace elements in coal were still in the range of other world coals. The elemental concentration of PM2.5 especially for the toxic elements as well as the mass and black carbon in the vicinity of the coal fired power plant was low or within the range of published data for air ambient in urban and rural areas.