Assessing the Impact of Combined Heat and Power Plants (CHPPs) in Central Asia: A Case Study in Almaty for PM_2.5 Simulations Using WRF-AERMOD and Ground Level Verification

According to the World Health Organization, Kazakhstan is one of the most polluted countries in the world. PM_2.5, a major air pollutant, is six times higher than the recommended value of 5 mg/m³. The government has implemented measures to reduce air pollution, such as introducing green energy-powered buses for public transportation, but the results have not been sufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the sources of PM_2.5. This study involved simulating the Combined Heat and Power Plants (CHPPs) emissions in Almaty using AERMOD and WRF for two weeks in January 2021. Two scenarios were performed: controlled and uncontrolled. The results showed that if the control mechanism of the CHPP functions at maximum efficiency, the impact of the CHPP emissions on the total emission concentration will be negligible, which is about 6% on average. However, for uncontrolled CHPPs, the emissions will contribute from 30% to 39% on average to the total PM_2.5 concentration when compared with data from US Embassy monitoring stations and public air quality monitoring network, which use Pms5003 PM2.5 sensors.