Algorithm for Selecting Best Available Techniques in Polish Coking Plants Supporting Multi-Criteria Investment Decisions in European Environmental Conditions

Abstract

The tightened approach of the European Commission to the issue of meeting the levels of pollutant emissions to the environment, inextricably connected with the level of technology used, is a serious financial challenge for many European coke producers, therefore the main aim of the article is to develop an algorithm of conduct that allows a selection of the best available emission abatement techniques from the coking plant in conditions with multiple emission sources, taking into account technological, environmental, and economic criteria. This algorithm can be used as a universal tool supporting production managers in planning investments limiting the environmental impact of the coking plant in the most economically advantageous way, while using BAT techniques. In the development of the algorithm, a multi-criteria analysis and a scenario method were used, as well as a number of typical methods for measuring and reducing the level of emissions in the coke production process. Its demonstration and verification were carried out within ten investment scenarios prepared for a selected coking plant. The presented method of selecting the optimal scenario is universal and allows for a flexible selection of weights for the criteria depending on the needs and limits of the investor at a given time or to long term plans to adapt to the increasingly tightening environmental requirements. This method can also be used in discussions with the authorities issuing integrated permits as regards the deadlines for adapting to legal requirements.