Erőművek életciklus-elemzése a fajlagos anyagfelhasználás tükrében
Authors: Korényi Zoltán 
Published: October 2021

Összefoglaló. A dolgozat témája a különböző erőműfajták életciklusra
vonatkozó fajlagos anyagigényének a vizsgálata. Az elemzések a nemzetközi
szakirodalmi források felhasználásával történtek. Módszere, a bázisadatok
elemzése, majd az anyagigényeknek az erőmű beépített teljesítményére és az
életciklus alatt megtermelt villamosenergiára vonatkoztatott fajlagos értékek
meghatározása. Az eredmények azt mutatják, hogy a nap- és szélerőművek
elterjedésével a hagyományos erőművek által felhasznált fosszilis
energiaforrások (pl. a szén) bent maradnak ugyan a földben, de cserébe az új
technológia legyártásához a hagyományos anyagokból (beton, acél, alumínium, réz
stb.) fajlagosan jóval nagyobb mennyiségekre lesz szükség. Emellett megnő a
ritkán előforduló fémek (gallium, indium stb.) felhasználása, ami Európában, a
lelőhelyek hiányában, új kockázatokkal jár.

Summary. The topic of the study is to determine the material use of
different power plant types. This is a part of the known life cycle analysis
(LCA). The aim of LCA is to determine the impact of human activity on nature.
The procedure is described in the standards (ISO 14040/41/42/42). Under
environmental impact we mean changes in our natural environment, air, water,
soil pollution, noise and impacts on human health. In the LCA, the environmental
impact begins with the opening of the mine, continues with the extraction and
processing of raw materials, and then with the production of equipment,
construction and installation of the power plant. This is followed by the
commissioning and then operation of the power plants for 20-60 years, including
maintenance. The cycle ends with demolition, which is followed by recycling of
materials. The remaining waste is disposed of. This is the complex content of
life cycle analysis. Its purpose is to determine the ecological footprint of
man.

The method of the present study is to isolate a limited area from the complex LCA
process. This means determining the amount of material needed to build different
power plants, excluding mining and processing of raw materials. Commercially
available basic materials are built into the power plant’s components.

The research is based on the literature available in the international area. The
author studied these sources, analysed the data, and checked the authenticity.
It was not easy because the sources from different times, for different power
plants showed a lot of uncertainty. In overcoming the uncertainties, it was a
help that the author has decades of experience in the realisation of power
plants. It was considered the material consumption related to the installed
electricity capacity of the power plant (tons/MW) as basic data.

The author then determined the specific material consumptions, allocated to the
electric energy generated during the lifetime, in different power plants.

The calculation is carried out with the help of the usual annual peak load
duration hours and the usual lifetime of the power plants.

The results show that with the spread of solar and wind energy, the fossil energy
sources previously needed for conventional power plants will remain inside the
Earth, but in exchange for the production of new technological equipment from
traditional structural materials (concrete, steel, aluminium, copper and
plastic), the special need multiplies. If we compare the power plants using
renewable energy with the electric energy produced during the life cycle of a
nuclear power plant, the specific installed material requirement of a river
hydropower plant is 37 times, that of an onshore wind farm it is 9.6 times, and
that of an outdoor solar power park is 6.6 times higher.

Another important difference is that wind turbines, solar panels and batteries
also require rare materials that do not occur in Europe (e.g. gallium, indium,
yttrium, neodymium, cobalt, etc.). This can lead to security risks in Europe in
the long run.