South Korea’s state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) will install from next year its self-developed pollution control devices on diesel-powered grids as part of government efforts to combat fine dust pollution.

According to sources in the energy industry on Monday, KEPCO plans to complete testing its air pollution control devices by July and begin installing them next year. An official from KEPCO said the company will deploy the devices in diesel power generators on 56 islands throughout the country starting with one in Baengnyeongdo Island, off the northwestern coast of Korea, next year.

KEPCO’s air pollution control device is expected to reduce pollutants by up to 90 percent by converting hydrocarbon and organic particles emitted from diesel fuel to carbon dioxide and water and filtering out fine dust particles.

There are emissions control systems out in the market designed to cut fine dust released from diesel cars and coal-fired power plants, but there has not been any pollutant control device for a diesel grid, claimed the KEPCO official.

Diesel grids are commonly used to supply electricity in remote places such islands and highlands. Currently, there are a total of 202 power grids at 56 islands in Korea.

The pollutant control device is expected to help not only secure stable power supply for islands but also protect the environment, said the KEPCO official.

The company also plans to apply its newly developed air pollution control device to other areas including large-sized diesel-fueled vessels and marketing the technology to foreign power plants.

By Kim Jung-hwan

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Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (May. 30, 2017)