Abstracts - VGB PowerTech Journal 4/2012

Will African electricity from renewables resources contribute to sufficient high security of supply in the European power system?

Andreas Wiese, Thomas Kraneis and Valerio Nuzzo

In the European Union, the harsh targets set for the renewable energy share in the electrical production encourage the governments to extend the research for natural resources to where they are more abundant, e.g. in Northern Africa. The purpose of this study is to present and assess technical feasible scenarios, which includes the energy production, storage and transmission to Europe. (EN)

Sustainable use of biomass in power plants in Europa

Patrick Savat, Yves Ryckmans and Chrystelle Verhoest

In the framework of CO2 reduction and the preservation of fossil fuel resources, biomass plays an important role. In many large European power plants the combustion and co-combustion of huge amounts of different biomass is already applied for many years.
However, this massive use of biomass should occur in a sustainable way. In this article, the most important sustainability criteria are given. An overview is presented on how those criteria are realised in the large European GDF SUEZ power plants. (EN)

Option in CEZ‘s FGD efficiency increasing

Milan Hulka, Zbynek Kraus and Jarosalv Stonawski

ČEZ, a s. retrofitted in the 1990s flue gas desulphurisation plants (FGD) supplied by European and Japanese suppliers at eleven of its coal-fired sites within the scope of the first stage of comprehensive modernisation measures. A lot of these installations do not meet the requirements of the EU Directive 2010/75/EU. Therefore, possibilities have to be identified to improve the efficiency of existing plants and retrofit measures have to be planned to improve FGD performance. Final recommendations for each plant are governed by the future operation strategy concept and fuel to be fired. (EN)

Entering the UK waste market from Germany - A journey full of excitement

Holger Franke

In 2011 MVV Umwelt was awarded a 25 year contract by three local authorities in the Southwest of the United Kingdom, linked together in the South West Devon Waste Partnership SWDWP, to finance, design, construct and long term operate an Energy from Waste Plant with Combined Heat and Power (CHP). The plant will supply both power and heat to the Dockyard’s facilities. The plant posses an annual incineration capacity of 245,000 tonnes providing up to 22.5 MW of electrical power and up to 23,3 MW of district heating. (EN

Implementation of long-term experiences in the design of a new 25 MWel biomass power plant

Thomas Billotet, Andreas Böffel and Alfred Hümbert

The technical concept of a 25 MW biomass-fired power plant in England was based on the operating experience STEAG had made with eight domestic waste-wood-fired power plants. This has been the first time that a power plant of this load range was designed with reheating thus enabling an economic and reliable overall concept.

Corrosion, operational experience and process engineering improvements for increasing the availability and operational time of Timelkam biomass power plant

Johann Schimpl and Gregor Winkler

Energie AG Oberösterreich Kraftwerke GmbH operates the biomass power plant in Timelkam producing electricity and heat since 2005. The high standard of fuel flexibility required for this plant represents a major challenge to the plant in the context of the operational duration and reliability of the boiler plant. The targets set for the past operational years were a continuous reduction of the corrosion at the heating surfaces and the avoidance of deposits, wear and soiling of the boiler and of the fluidised bed. The measures taken and continuous improvements significantly increased plant availability and boiler operating time. (EN)

OptiMa optimisation of efficiency at a waste to energy site of more than 45 years of age

Peter Knapp

Non-recyclable wastes are to be used optimally as energy source in waste-to-energy plants of MVV Umwelt. At the oldest site of MVV Umwelt GmbH, the HKW-Nord Mannheim (a CHP site), major investments were made in recent years in order to preserve, enhance and optimise boilers and environmental protection equipment. Under the term of OptiMa the future of the HKW-Nord is to be guaranteed, i.e. the plant is be optimised and adjusted in terms of electricity generation after having improved process engineering.

Online-CFD - a new approach for temperature-controlled SNCR in large scaled steam generators

Alexander C. Hanf, Volker Stephan and Franz Wintrich

After successful combustion optimisation at the Steag MKV Fenne, Powitec also controls the SNCR which hardware has been installed by a different company. The particularities of a non-catalytic denitrification in a power plant are discussed. The strong temperature dependency of this method requires permanent knowledge about different plant parameter. The Online-CFD employed matches the reality with its results and the Powitec combustion optimisation reduces on the primary side NOx generation by 20 mg/Nm³ and at the same time increases boiler efficiency.. (EN)

From coal to biomass combustion: How to adapt CFD simulations?

Julien Blondeau and Hérve Jeanmart

Moving from coal to biomass (co-)combustion is an effective way to reduce CO2 emissions from a power plant. However, this modification leads to well-know operational difficulties, such as, among others, slagging and fouling. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are precious indicators of the impacts of a fuel modification on the operation and the availability of a unit. The main differences between coal and biomass solid fuels are presented, as well as the main adaptations to be done in CFD codes. The approach has been tested on global CFD simulations of a biomass boiler (Les Awirs power plant, Belgium, GDF-Suez). (EN)

Expanding the range  of renewables fuels in use at the biomass-fired power plant Timelkam with the aid of chemical receiving inspection

Josef Waltl and Thomas Linsmeyer

Since 2005 Energie AG Oberösterreich Kraftwerke GmbH has been operating a biomass power plant with a thermal capacity of 49.7 MW for the production of electricity and heat in Upper Austria.  The original fuel mix had to be adjusted to market conditions. With implementation of a systematic receiving inspection for the wastes it was possible to increase the waste fuels to 50 % without a limitation on the plant operating time The increased use of waste wood and vegetable residues from the food and semi-luxury consumables production ensures long-term fuel supply and relieves the pressure on the limited natural resource wood. (EN)

Energy efficient flue gas treatment at waste to energy plants

Rudi Karpf

High energy efficiency of waste incineration plants is increasing in importance. This also applies to existing plants. Optimisation potentials are found in the furnace and boiler as well as waste gas cleaning. These potentials are described and examples are given where plant optimisation have already been realised.

Increase of the efficiency of SNCR plants

Jörg Krüger, Wolfgang Gotthardt, Konrad Rieger, Thomas Franke and Sascha Krüger

A simple und economic SNCR  technique is described which meets the future limiting values for nitrogen oxide and ammonia slip for municipal waste, biomass and RDF incineration plants. The injection of the reduction agent into the flue gas flow is the weak point in the existing systems. The suitability of the system could be tested successfully in the Schwandorf municipal waste incineration plant .

Legionella a new issue for power plant operators?

Thomas Brück

Power plants with hot water systems have been identified as possible place of colonisation for legionella. The new German Drinking Water Directive, issued in 2011, has become more stringent. Although power plants have not yet been obligated to monitor legionella in hot water systems, legionella contaminations are observed very sensitively. Power plant operators should face this challenge to be well prepared for new requirements.

(EN) Paper in the English language