Editorial - VGB PowerTech Journal 3/2017

The sun rises in the East for power plant chemistry

In the past decade, fossil fuelled electricity production has been under pressure from highly subsidised renewable energy sources. Moreover, in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, there has been continuous (r)evolution in the electric power sector. First there was the “Energiewende” which initiated energy policy changes not only in Germany but also in the rest of the western world. Then came the Paris Agreement, which is an agreement dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance, starting in the year 2020. And finally in November 2016 the twelfth session of the Kyoto Protocol conference (CMP 12) and the first session of the Paris Agreement conference took place in Marrakesh, Morocco. These milestones have had an adverse effect on the power plants and on power plant chemistry.

The highly competitive market conditions have forced utilities to adapt. Due to the nature of power plant chemistry, the deficiencies can only be noticed after many years, but they can still be very costly for the utilities. Therefore, the utility company managements have considered whether a chemistry department is necessary at all, and some of them have already decided to close the laboratories of the power plants. However, chemistry is the backbone of the power plant. Nobody can conceive of a power plant without proper chemical conditioning of the water-steam cycle. Moreover, in order to reduce the operating costs, chemistry know-how is necessary in selecting low quality fuels and looking for co-combustion opportunities. The flue gas cleaning facilities, mainly DeNOx and FGD, and waste water treatment plants fall inside the compass of the chemistry department. Additionally, power plant chemists generally also control the quality of by-products, which not only helps to reduce the costs but also contributes positively to the revenues of the utilities. Effective by-product management is absolutely crucial for sustainable power production.

On the other hand there are some challenges ahead which power plant chemistry should be involved in. These are mainly CO₂ capture, storage and utilization, and preparing conventional power plants to cope with rapid load changes and frequent start-ups/shut-downs. Additionally, power plants have to be ready for unplanned and longer standstills, and, as a result of increasing sensitivity of the public and authorities to environmental issues, utilities have to take full responsibility for their emissions, including heavy metals and trace elements. Lastly, it can never be predicted when power plant chemistry know-how will be necessary. After many years of smooth operation, a chemistry-related problem can pop up suddenly, and only a power plant chemist who has sufficient experience with and records of the power plant can find the root cause of the incident and develop remedial actions. If even he or she is unable to interpret the incident properly, then the good network of power plant chemists like that in VGB committees can be consulted and the power plant can return to normal operating conditions.

In spite of these needs, the utilities are losing their power plant chemistry know-how very rapidly. The laboratories are either being closed or the retired chemists are not being replaced by any successors. Unfortunately, there is not a systematic approach to keeping the know-how in the company either. The management of utilities may think that the know-how can be provided by third party laboratories or service providers. However, the same economic concerns are valid for them, and because of the highly competitive market conditions they cannot keep the experienced staff in their companies either. It is also naïve to think online measuring devices and/or other disciplines in the power plants can replace power plant chemistry. This is because the chemistry-related issues have to be evaluated by experienced chemists or chemical engineers in order to identify the root cause of the incident and to determine the consequences and thus prevent damage.

“It‘s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

Epictetus (AD 50 – 135. He was a Greek-speaking philosopher, who was born in Pamukkale, Turkey, and lived in Rome.)

However, we should not be pessimistic about the future of power plant chemistry. According to the latest estimate from the World Bank, the number of people without access to commercial energy has reduced slightly, to 1.2 billion people. Even in Turkey, the annual electricity consumption per capita is approx. 3.2 MWh while in EU the average is 6.4 MWh. Consequently, fossil fuels will continue to be the major primary energy resource, because renewables will not be enough to supply the increasing demand on their own.

According to International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts, coal will remain the largest single source of electricity generation through to 2040, with most of the new demand for coal driven by China, India and Southeast Asia. Additionally, there is great interest in building and operating coal-fired power plants in Turkey and in the MENA region as well. Coal still makes up 41?% of global electricity generation and 29?% of primary energy demand. It will continue to be the major accessible and secure resource in the energy portfolio in future.

Energy access and climate goals are not competing priorities. Cleaner coal technology demonstrates that countries can integrate environmental imperatives with the goals of universal energy access, energy security and socio-economic development. The improvement of energy efficiency is an important trend and illustrates that the transition to modern coal technologies including high efficiency low emissions (HELE) technologies has played an important role in slowing emissions around the world.

In that respect, collaboration between western countries and developing ones will be crucial for sustainable development and preservation of the environment. The developing countries not only lack power, but also lack expertise to overcome their daily problems with operation and maintenance of power plants, including chemistry-related issues. The publications and organizations of VGB are excellent opportunities to familiarise oneself with the technologies and the suppliers. However, most of the subjects which are discussed in these publications and conferences could be too specific for newcomers. Therefore, tailor-made organizations could be arranged for the developing countries to discuss their daily problems and find solutions to them.

To sum up, power production from coal is fading out in Europe and consequently power plant chemistry may become obsolete. However, in the developing countries there is still an appetite for coal-fired power plants, while most of the new owners do not come from the power generation sector and lack expertise and know how in the area of power plant technology, including PP chemistry. This could be a great opportunity for VGB with its organization and network of experts with precious and extensive know-how accumulated over years. There are also many opportunities waiting for the technology providers in the developing markets.

Finally, there is still a lot to do in the area of power plant chemistry. However, it is time to look beyond the horizon and enlarge the hinterland in order to identify the needs of the developing world and cooperate with the nations there in the process of satisfying those needs.