ارزیابی چرخه حیات و حسابداری هزینه های محیطی سوخت زغال سنگ Life cycle assessment and environmental cost accounting of coal-fired power generation in China

1. Introduction China is one of the few countries in the world using coal as the primary source of energy, with 30% of coal production being used to generate power for domestic use. Moreover, the amount of coal-fired power generated in 2014 reached 5 trillion kWh in China, accounting for about 75% of the total power generated, which was higher than the international average of 28% (Dai, 2014). In recent years, China has committed to reducing the proportion of coal-fired power generation, but it continues to the main source of power generation due to the difficulty in developing nuclear power, hydropower, wind power, and solar power (Hou, 2015). Coal-fired power generation leads to serious environmental pollution, such as air pollution, water pollution, and noise pollution (Andrae and Edler, 2015; Cristobal et al., 2012; Rigotto, 2009; Song and Li, 2015; Zhou et al., 2013). Conducting environmental remediation to mitigate pollution requires huge costs. In addition, these environmental problems are associated with the entire process of coalfired power generation. Therefore, the environmental impact over the entire life cycle should be synthetically and scientifically analyzed to take specific measures for optimizing resources, controlling energy consumption, and reducing pollutant discharge, and eventually improving the economic, social, and environmental benefits derived from the coal-fired power generation industries (Buke and Kone, 2011; Li and Gibson, 2014; Marshall, 2005). As LCA is the most effective tool in environmental management, it can be used to comprehensively and scientifically analyze environmental impact from cradle to grave to determine the opportunities for mitigating environmental impact (Finkbeiner et al., 2006; Itsubo and Inaba, 2010; Itsubo et al., 2015). The purpose of an LCA of the coalfired power generation is to analyze the environmental impacts and advance relevant strategies to promote the sustainable development of coal-fired power generation (Lelek et al., 2016; Spath et al., 1999).