1) Joint Research Project KOMET 650: Complete Documentation of Results
2) Aligned Maintenance Strategies for Pumped Storage Plants
3) Decisions of the EU Environment Council
4) Revision of the IPPC Directive
5) Conference on Clean Coal Technologies
6) International Conference EuroCoalAsh 2008 in Warsaw
7) NPC-08 - International Conference on Water Chemistry of Nuclear Reactor Systems
8) Furnaces, Steam Generators, Industrial and Co-generation Plants - VGB PowerTech Journal 11/2008
In the KOMET 650 testing facility, materials for coal-fired power plants have been tested at temperatures up to 650 Degree Celsius for 10 years. The findings and data obtained from the joint research project can be used both in the construction of the new generation of power plants with temperatures above 600 Degree Celsius and for the 600 Degree Celsius plants already in operation. Even in power plants with the highest process parameters (700 Degree Celsius/350 bar), a number of components work in the temperature range investigated.
The complete documentation of results is available now.
http://www.vgb.org/en/komet650_download.html
The modified respective increased demand for control energy to stabilize the European transmission grid has led to strongly modified operational modes of pumped storage plants. VGB task force "Pumped Storage Plants" has developed a procedure to estimate an according life time reducing attrition behaviour of particular plant components and thus to develop adequate maintenance strategies, which in addition to previous experiences offers other possibilities for orientation.
For further information:
mailto:juergen.lenz@vgb.org
Following the adoption by the Parliament, the Environment Council (October 20, 2008)adopted the Directive on Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for surface water. The EQS Directive is a daughter Directive of the Water Framework Directive from December 2000. The text now has to be published as soon as possible in the Official Journal. Member States will have 18 months to transpose the directive into national law.
During the same meeting, the Environment Council also adopted the Waste Framework Directive. The text will be published shortly in the Official Journal, too. In this case Member States will have 24 months to transpose the directive into national law.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=PRES/08/282&format=HTML&aged=0&lg=de&guiLanguage=en
The "green corner" of the Environmental Committee of the European Parliament proposed extremely stringent limit values for large combustion plants in the framework of the revision of the IPPC Directive - e.g. 20 milligram per cubic meter SO2 for coal-fired plants > 300 MW (th) or 20 milligram per cubic meter NOx for gas turbine plants. European and national associations of the energy branch are intensely concerned with lobbying. In December the whole Parliament will decide on its proposal.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+COMPARL+PE-412.329+01+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN
The fourth in this series of topical conferences on clean coal technologies will be held in Dresden/Germany, from May 18-21, 2009, in conjunction with the Third International Freiberg Conference on IGCC and XtL Technologies. Further details will be announced shortly but the call for papers is already open. The conference will be held with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology; the International Energy Agency (IEA);IEA Clean Coal Centre, Dresden University of Technology; and TU Bergakademie Freiberg. VGB cooperates with IEA Clean Coal Centre since 2004 and supports the activities of clean coal technologies.
In case of questions please contact: hans-joachim.meier@vgb.org
http://cct2009.org
From October 6-8, 2008 the first EUROCOALASH conference was held in Warsaw, Poland. About 300 producers and users of coal combustion products and construction companies from more than 20 countries discussed about the production and the use of coal combustion products as construction materials, about quality issues, regulations and about the future of coal in a changing energy market.
http://www.eurocoalash.org
The International Conference on Water Chemistry of Nuclear Reactor Systems was held in Berlin from September 15 – 18, 2008. It was organized by VGB in cooperation with IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). This Conference offered an interesting programme with 59 lectures and 95 posters. Participants from 21 countries attended the conference. The main issues were the material integrity, fuel performance, radiation field build up and corrosion products on the PWR primary side as well as the addition of zinc, NMCA (Noble Metal Chemical Addition), OLNC (On-Line NobleChem), the addition of hydrogen in the BWR reactor water and furthermore the material integrity, the high AVT (All Volatile Treatment) operation mode and the oxygen injection on the PWR Secondary Side.
The next international conference will take place in Quebec, Canada, from October 3 – 7, 2010.
Main topics of the November issue are: Analysis and Optimisation of Operation of Modern Hard Coal-fired Power Plants Through Simulation, Experience with Modern Hard Coal Firing Systems, New Experience Gained from Operating DS (Swirl Stage) Burners, Future Fly Ash Marketing.
Abstracts of all articles are available here:
http://www.vgb.org/en/current_issue.html