Modelling of combined cycle power plants using biomass

The olive tree in Spain can generate large quantities of by-product biomass suitable for gasification. Gasification technologies under development would enable these fuels to be used in gas turbines. Biomass conversion to a clean essentially ash-free form, usually by gasification and purification, is necessary to obtain high efficiency. This paper reports results of detailed full-load performance modelling of cogeneration systems based on gasifier/gas turbine technologies.     

联合循环参数和系统结构优化研究

研究了如何提高余热锅炉型三压再热联合循环系统的效率,应用分析的方法建立了系统效率数学模型,以联合循环系统效率最高作为系统性能的评判标准。在亚临界范围内,对余热锅炉的蒸汽参数进行了优化;针对余热锅炉进气温度对余热锅炉性能的影响进行分析,在此基础上提出燃气轮机排气部分回热利用,并研究了回热利用对联合循环效率的影响。计算结果表明:经余热锅炉优化和排气部分回热利用,在基本负荷下,PG9351FA机组的联合循环热效率可提高1.33%;在75%和50%的负荷下,效率分别提高2.11%和4.17%;而具有再热的GT26机组热效率高达60.73%。     

Comparative studies of augmentation in combined cycle power plants

The attractive features of a combined cycle (CC) power plant are fuel flexibility, operational flexibility, higher efficiency and low emissions. The performance of five gas turbine‐steam turbine (GT‐ST) combined cycle power plants (four natural gas based plants and one biomass based plant) have been studied and the degree of augmentation has been compared. They are (i) combined cycle with natural gas (CC‐NG), (ii) combined cycle with water injection (CC‐WI), (iii) combined cycle with steam injection (CC‐SI), (iv) combined cycle with supplementary firing (CC‐SF) and (v) combined cycle with biomass gasification (CC‐BM). The plant performance and CO₂ emissions are compared with a change in compressor pressure ratio and gas turbine inlet temperature (GTIT). The optimum pressure ratio for compressor is selected from maximum efficiency condition. The specific power, thermal efficiency and CO₂ emissions of augmented power plants are compared with the CC‐NG power plant at the individual optimized pressure ratios in place of a common pressure ratio. The results show that the optimum pressure ratio is increased with water injection, steam injection, supplementary firing and biomass gasification. The specific power is increased in all the plants with a loss in thermal efficiency and rise in CO₂ emissions compared to CC‐NG plant. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perspectives for the use of biomass as fuel in combined cycle power plants

The paper analyzes the perspectives of biomass and biomass derived fuels utilization for energetic use. After a brief review about the current technologies for biomass conversion to energy and biomass based power plants, an exergy loss based economic analysis of biomass utilization is proposed. This analysis shows the opportunity of using biomass in plants with a thermodynamic efficiency higher than a minimum value. Thus the attention is focused on the use of thermal energy from biomass as integrative source together with natural gas in combined cycle power plants, considering methods for upgrading biomass energy conversion to power. The paper provides a thermodynamic analysis of combined plants using biomass to obtain exhaust gas aftertreatment with atmospheric postcombustion (reheat). Two different technical solutions are proposed. A general optimization of the two solutions shows the possibility of obtaining plant efficiency up to 60% in perspective and of 57% by using currently available gas turbine models.     

Alternative ORC bottoming cycles FOR combined cycle power plants

In this work, low temperature Organic Rankine Cycles are studied as bottoming cycle in medium and large scale combined cycle power plants. The analysis aims to show the interest of using these alternative cycles with high efficiency heavy duty gas turbines, for example recuperative gas turbines with lower gas turbine exhaust temperatures than in conventional combined cycle gas turbines. The following organic fluids have been considered: R113, R245, isobutene, toluene, cyclohexane and isopentane. Competitive results have been obtained for toluene and cyclohexane ORC combined cycles, with reasonably high global efficiencies.     

Thermoeconomic evaluation of the feasibility of highly efficient combined cycle power plants

The paper proposes an analysis of the feasibility of highly efficient combined plants. The aim of the paper is to discuss and analyze different strategies for the increase of the efficiency of the combined cycle power plants with respect to those usually proposed in the literature. Resorting to the optimization of the components, joined with the use of regeneration and postcombustion (reheat) in the topping cycle it is shown how the combined plant efficiency can rise well over the actually well known limit of 60%. The possibility of obtaining such a high efficiency value is confirmed also by the proposed thermoeconomic optimization, based on the minimization of the total cost of the plant per unit power, obtained referring to a common economic basis the cost of the exergy losses and the costs of the components. The feasibility of obtaining combined plant with efficiency higher than 62%, simply by best fitting the available technology and without waiting for meaningful technological improvement of the gas turbines, is demonstrated.     

浙江省联合循环发电厂中余热锅炉应用的进展

针对浙江省燃气-蒸汽联合循环发电厂燃机的余热锅炉经历了如下的进展：第一代为配36MW燃机的国产余热锅炉，第二代是配9E型燃机的进口余热锅炉，第三代是配9F型燃机的引进技术国产余热锅炉.文章对比了三代余热锅炉的性能参数，指出总的发展趋势是应用更大容量及更高效率的余热锅炉.     

Optimization of heat recovery steam generators for combined cycle gas turbine power plants

The heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is one of the few components of combined cycle gas turbine power plants tailored for each specific application. Any change in its design would directly affect all the variables of the cycle and therefore the availability of tools for its optimization is of the greatest relevance. This paper presents a method for the optimization of the HRSG based on the application of influence coefficients. The influence coefficients are a useful mathematical tool in design optimization problems. They are obtained after solving the equations of the system through the Newton–Raphson method. The main advantage of the proposed method is that it permits a better understanding of the influence of the design parameters on the cycle performance. The study of the optimization of the distribution of the boiler area between its different components is presented as an example of the proposed technique.     

Perspectives for the direct firing of biomass as a supplementary fuel in combined cycle power plants

An analysis of the performance of a gas turbine–steam turbine combined cycle with supplementary firing has been carried out. Natural gas is fired in the main combustor of the cycle, whereas biomass fuel is considered as the supplementary fuel. Although, supplementary firing is found to reduce the overall cycle efficiency, the low cost of biomass and the CO₂‐neutral attribute of its combustion reduce the specific fuel cost and specific CO₂ emission. The effects of pressure and temperature ratios of the topping cycle and main steam conditions of the bottoming cycle on the performance parameters of the combined cycle have been studied at different degrees of supplementary firing. The topping cycle temperature ratio is found to be the most critical parameter and its low value gives substantial advantages in lowering the fuel cost and CO₂ emission. Marginal advantages are also achieved at higher pressure ratio and better bottoming cycle main steam conditions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermoeconomic optimization of combined cycle gas turbine power plants using genetic algorithms

This paper shows a possible way to achieve a thermoeconomic optimization of combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants. The optimization has been done using a genetic algorithm, which has been tuned applying it to a single pressure CCGT power plant. Once tuned, the optimization algorithm has been used to evaluate more complex plants, with two and three pressure levels in the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG).The variables considered for the optimization were the thermodynamic parameters that establish the configuration of the HRSG.Two different objective functions are proposed: one minimizes the cost of production per unit of output and the other maximizes the annual cash flow. The results obtained with both functions are compared in order to find the better optimization strategy.The results show that it is possible to find an optimum for every design parameter. This optimum depends on the selected optimization strategy.     

Technical and economic assessment of the integrated solar combined cycle power plants in Iran

Thermal efficiency, capacity factor, environmental considerations, investment, fuel and O&M² costs are the main parameters for technical and economic assessment of solar power plants. This analysis has shown that the Integrated Solar Combined Cycle System with 67 MW e solar field (ISCCS-67) is the most suitable plan for the first solar power plant in Iran. The Levelized Energy Costs (LEC) of combined cycle and ISCCS-67 power plants would be equal if 49 million $ of ISCCS-67 capital cost supplied by the international environmental organizations such as Global Environmental Facilities (GEF) and World Bank. This study shows that an ISCCS-67 saves 59 million $ in fuel consumption and reduces about 2.4 million ton in CO₂ emission during 30 years operating period. Increasing of steam turbine capacity by 50%, and 4% improvement in overall efficiency are other advantages of ISCCS-67 power plant. The LEC of ISCCS-67 is 10 and 33% lower than the combined cycle and gas turbine, respectively, at the same capacity factor with consideration of environmental costs.     

Families of optimal thermodynamic solutions for combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants

Optimal designs of a CCGT power plant characterized by maximum second law efficiency values are determined for a wide range of power demands and different values of the available heat transfer area. These thermodynamic optimal solutions are found within a feasible operation region by means of a non-linear mathematical programming (NLP) model, where decision variables (i.e. transfer areas, power production, mass flow rates, temperatures and pressures) can vary freely. Technical relationships among them are used to systematize optimal values of design and operative variables of a CCGT power plant into optimal solution sets, named here as optimal solution families. From an operative and design point of view, the families of optimal solutions let knowing in advance optimal values of the CCGT variables when facing changes of power demand or adjusting the design to an available heat transfer area.     

Technical efficiency of thermoelectric power plants

This paper analyses the technical efficiency of Portuguese thermoelectric power generating plants with a two-stage procedure. In the first stage, the plants' relative technical efficiency is estimated with DEA (data envelopment analysis) to establish which plants perform most efficiently. These plants could serve as peers to help improve performance of the least efficient plants. The paper ranks these plants according to their relative efficiency for the period 1996–2004. In a second stage, the Simar and Wilson [Simar, L., Wilson, P.W., 2007. Estimation and inference in two-stage, semi-parametric models of production processes. Journal of Econometrics 136, 1–34] bootstrapped procedure is adopted to estimate the efficiency drivers. Economic implications arising from the study are considered.     

Transient thermal modelling of heat recovery steam generators in combined cycle power plants

Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is a major component of a combined cycle power plant (CCPP). This equipment is particularly subject to severe thermal stress especially during cold start‐up period. Hence, it is important to predict the operational parameters of HRSGs such as temperature of steam, water, hot gas and tube metal of heating elements as well as pressure change in drums during transient and steady‐state operation. These parameters may be used for estimating thermal and mechanical stresses which are important in HRSG design and operation. In this paper, the results of a developed thermal model for predicting the working conditions of HRSG elements during transient and steady‐state operations are reported. The model is capable of analysing arbitrary number of pressure levels and any number of elements such as superheater, evaporator, economizer, deaerator, desuperheater, reheater, as well as duct burners. To assess the correct performance of the developed model two kinds of data verification were performed. In the first kind of data verification, the program output was compared with the measured data collected from a cold start‐up of an HRSG at Tehran CCPP. The variations of gas, water/steam and metal temperatures at various sections of HRSG, and pressure in drums were among the studied parameters. Mean differences of about 3.8% for temperature and about 9.2% for pressure were observed in this data comparison. In the second kind of data verification, the steady‐state numerical output of the model was checked with the output of the well‐known commercial software. An average difference of about 1.5% was found between the two latter groups of data. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimization of heat recovery steam generator through exergy analysis for combined cycle gas turbine power plants

This paper proposes a new approach to finding the optimum design parameters of the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) system to maximize the efficiency of the steam turbine (bottom) cycle of the combined cycle power plant (CCPP), but without performing the bottom cycle analysis. This could be achieved by minimizing the unavailable exergy (the sum of the destroyed and the lost exergies) resulted from the heat transfer process of the HRSG system. The present approach is relatively simple and straightforward because the process of the trial-and-error method, typical in performing the bottom cycle analysis for the system optimization, could be avoided. To demonstrate the usefulness of the present method, a single-stage HRSG system was chosen, and the optimum evaporation temperature was obtained corresponding to maximum useful work for given conditions of water and gas temperatures at the inlets of the HRSG system. Results show that the optimum evaporation temperature obtained based on the present exergy analysis appears similar to that based on the bottom cycle analysis. Also shown is the dependency of number of transfer unit (NTU) on the evaporation temperature, which is another important factor in determining the optimum condition when the construction cost is taken into account in addition to the operating cost. The present approach turned out to be a powerful tool for optimization of the single-stage HRSG systems and can easily be extended to multi-stage systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecological efficiency in thermoelectric power plants

This work evaluates the environmental impact resulting from the natural gas and diesel combustion in thermoelectric power plants that utilize the combined cycle technology (CC), as regarding to Brazilian conditions according to Thermopower Priority Plan (TPP). In the regions where there are not natural gas the option has been the utilization of diesel and consequentily there are more emission of pollutants. The ecological efficiency concept, which evaluates by and large the environmental impact, caused by CO₂, SO₂, NO_x and particulate matter (PM) emissions. The combustion gases of the thermoelectric power plants working with natural gas (less pollutant) and diesel (more pollutant) cause problems to the environment, for their components harm the human being life, animals and directly the plants. The resulting pollution from natural gas and diesel combustion is analyzed, considering separately the CO₂, SO₂, NO_x and particulate matter gas emission and comparing them with the in use international standards regarding the air quality. It can be concluded that it is possible to calculate thermoelectric power plant quantitative and qualitative environment factor, and on the ecological standpoint, for plant with total power of 41 441 kW, being 27 170 kW for the gas turbine and 14271 kW for the steam turbine. The natural gas used as fuel is better than the diesel, presenting ecological efficiency of 0.944 versus 0.914 for the latter, considering a thermal efficiency of 54% for the combined cycle.     

Rough sets-based prediction model for increasing safety of thermal power plants

This paper presents a model based on the rough sets theory for the prediction of a feed pump failure on a steam block of thermal power plant. There are many parameters that can cause pump failure, and this model enables extraction of the most significant ones. Model creation is based on the empirical data collected during the operation of thermal power plant, which is a part of the largest system for electricity production in Serbia. The model provided an insight into the parameters that have the greatest influence on the operation of the feed pump, and can be applied to other elements of the thermal power plant and affect the overall increase in the safety of thermal power plant operation. The goal of implementation of a new model is to increase system reliability by reducing the number of failures, thus increasing operational safety of thermal power plants. This is in accordance with the provision of energy security by applying measures of Directive 2005/89/EU. According to the directive, it is necessary to ensure: a reliable, safe, efficient and quality power supply.     

地方热电企业提高综合效益的分析

以江苏梅兰电厂(集团)热电公司的发展为例，该厂实施了依靠技术进步和强化内部管理等具体措施，近年来经济效益显著上升，同时分析了该厂的技术经济指标水平，探讨了进一步提高地方热电企业综合效益的途径和技术。     

Improvement of part load efficiency of a combined cycle power plant provisioning ancillary services

According to the type of ancillary service provisioned, operation mode of a power plant may change to part load operation. In this contribution, part load operation is understood as delivering a lower power output than possible at given ambient temperature because of gas turbine power output control. If it is economically justified, a power plant may operate in the part load mode for longer time. Part load performance of a newly built 80 MW combined cycle in Slovakia was studied in order to assess the possibilities for fuel savings. Based on online monitoring data three possibilities were identified: condensate preheating by activation of the currently idle hot water section; change in steam condensing pressure regulation strategy; and the most important gas turbine inlet air preheating. It may seem to be in contradiction with the well proven concept of gas turbine inlet air cooling, which has however been developed for boosting the gas turbine cycles in full load operation. On the contrary, in a combined cycle in the part load operation mode, elevated inlet air temperature does not affect the part load operation of gas turbines but it causes more high pressure steam to be raised in HRSG, which leads to higher steam turbine power output. As a result, less fuel needs to be combusted in gas turbines in order to achieve the requested combined cycle’s power output. By simultaneous application of all three proposals, more than a 2% decrease in the power plant’s natural gas consumption can be achieved with only minor capital expenses needed.