Abstracts - VGB PowerTech Journal 4/2016
Editorial: With digitalisation power plant operators will see ‘service’ in a new light
Aymeric Sarrazin
Digitalisation has transformed our lives. At our fingertips, we now have access to previously unimaginable quantities of information – from vast libraries of books, music, films, and news from across the globe, to the precise location of our child’s school bus or our home’s electricity consumption. Certainly, digitalisation is impacting our industry too. Today’s power plants generate volumes of data that we are using in remote diagnostic and monitoring services. But bigger, more dramatic changes are coming to market, particularly in the service and operation of these plants.[more...]
Increasing flexibility of assets – Transition to flexible assets
Adolf Aumüller, Albert Moik and Hüseyin Rall
For the Energiewende flexibility is the key for the security of supply during the transition to an energy system based on renewables as well as for balancing the volatile generation in a renewable energy system. Storage is an integral module for delivering the flexibility needed by the future power system. Remaining R&D for storages and significant concession and building time for pump storage power plants lead to a time gap until storage is able to bear the brunt of delivering flexibility. The efficient and effective during the transition phase is the use of existing flexible power plants.
TIWAG-Tiroler Wasserkraft AG reconstruction and new construction projects for the energy turnaround
Wolfgang Stroppa
The whole of Europe is facing the challenge of transforming its energy management system into a more sustainable, more economical and decentralised system with a lower CO2 footprint. The Province of the Tyrol must contribute to the energy turnaround at a regional level. Hydropower’s energy efficiency ratio is more than 90 % so it is the most important renewable energy in terms of volume and cost efficiency. It is for this reason that the use and expansion of hydropower facilities are key components of a sustainable energy and climate policy in the Alpine region.
Complex new build project in Turkey
Mikko Matilainen, Matti Maskuniitty, Timo Jäntti, Jaakko Martikainen and Kalle Nuortimo
Turkey is one of the world’s fastest growing economies with energy demand expected to double over next ten years. This means also increasing investment need in the energy sector. Turkey is targeting to use its domestic coal and lignite reserves with coal strategy. Power generators and investors prefer to use CFB (circulating fluidised bed) technology. Due to the CFB’s fuel flexibility and simple emission control, plant owners can utilise low quality lignite for efficient power production. Benefits of state of the art CFB-technology are described and the use of domestic lignite in the 2 x 255 MWe Soma plant.
Energy storage and grid for electricity, gas, fuel and heat – A system wide-approach
Wolfgang Benesch and Emmanouil Kakaras
Renewable energies are asked for more and more worldwide. Even though they cannot generate electricity 8760 h/a year. This can be accomplished by flexible conventional power stations as well as storage systems. Especially the storage systems have to be developed technical wise and especially economic wise. An example of an integrated approach is the methanol production with a coal fired power plant. An overview showing the technical features as well as the strategic opportunities of such kind of approach is given.
Vilvoorde – Fast track conversion to open cycle GT – A strategic move
Ödön Majoros and Jürgen Neumann
The Belgian electricity market is currently facing significant structural shortfalls on the security of supply due to the increasing share of intermittent power supply and the decreasing wholesale prices, which forced several conventional power plants to shut-down or be mothballed. In order to improve the situation, the Belgium government’s so-called “Energieplan Wathelet” was put into force beginning of 2014. Amongst others, it obliged existing but mothballed gas fired power plants to participate in an auction for reserve capacity, starting with the winter 2014/2015. E.ON Benelux decided to provide its mothballed CCGT (V94.3A) in Vilvoorde for strategic reserve. Due to the requirements the plant needed to be converted from combined-cycle into open-cycle mode.
Recent damages in boiler water circulation pumps within EnBW’s power plant fleet
Mathias Bauer and Ralf Nothdurft
In May 2014 the pressurized wall of a boiler water circulation pump housing failed at a coal fired power plant. As a result, numerous actions were taken at both the technical association and utility levels. After the initial incident, further testing was promptly conducted resulting in the findings of other discrepancies on several other pump housings; yet varying in severity. Consequently, important and valuable knowledge could be derived from the result of these investigations, enhancing the development of future design, manufacturing, inspection and component evaluation immensely.
Steam exploded pellets for heat and power generation
Peter Björklund, Tero Joronen and Markus Bolhar-Nordenkampf
High quality pellets produced with the steam explosion method from various types of ligno-cellulosic biomasses is a promising option to substitute fossil fuel at heat and power generation. Very high wet durability and high energy density of steam exploded “black” pellets offer cost savings in the logistics chain in comparison to other types of biomass pellets. Steam exploded pellets can be ground to a reactive powder at lower energy demand than standard industrial wood pellets. The steam explosion method has been known for many years in the pulp and paper industry. The production of densified biomass fuels is rather new. Machinery and processes can be adapted for the optimised production of steam exploded pellets.
Investigation of ammonium sulphate injection for a corrosion reduction in a biomass fired boiler – Influence of the addition of additives on the gas composition and aerosol and particle formation
Andreas Stephan, Frederic Schuler, Christian Wolf and Hartmut Spliethoff
The efficiency of ammonium sulphate addition to the reduction of high temperature, chlorine corrosion as also the influence of the particle formation and flue gas emission were investigated for a wood fired boiler. The reduction of ammonium sulphate injection showed significant influence on the flue gas composition: The hydrogen chloride content in the flue gas dropped as well as the SO2 concentration. In addition, the particle size distribution and the particle composition were significantly influenced by the reduction of ammonium sulphate.
Biomass ash fertilisation sustains the bio energy cycle
Jarno Romppanen
Biomass is marketed as renewable energy source. Biomass production areas may be harvested year after year. When biomass is harvested from the production area continuously, the soil of that area degrades slowly. Degradation of soil slows down the growth of biomass. Clean biomass fuels are full of useful natural nutrients. Combustion process doesn’t remove these nutrients and these valuable nutrients remain in biomass ash. Biomass ashes also contain high content of calcium, which may neutralize adverse symptoms of acid rain. There is a huge potential in valuable biomass ashes.
Quality control in a wood ash re-cycling concept for forests
Klaus von Wilpert, Peter Hartmann and Jürgen Schäffer
Nutrient sustainability of forestry is endangered by deposition-driven soil acidification and subsequent depletion of essential nutrients. This boundary condition causes problems also for timber harvest. Timber is on the one hand a renewable, CO2-neutral raw material or fuel and thus a contribution to alleviate climate change issues – on the other hand it’s harvest contributes to nutrient depletion of forest soils under the given environmental conditions. A stringent quality control is the crucial precondition if wood ash re-cycling should be implemented as an effective counter-measure against nutrient depletion. The results of both quality control (QC) systems demonstrate that wood ash is a well-defined product which can safely be re-cycled to forests or in agriculture.
Biomass ash from waste wood- problems and options – Hydrothermal carbonation and metal recovery by mechanical processing
Oliver Schiffmann and Boris Breitenstein
Due to the German Renewable Energy Act and the ban of landfilling biodegradable wastes, power plants for thermal use of waste wood were built. Today approx. 7 % of the energy produced in Germany is generated from biomass. Today, the combustion residues from waste wood are normally to be disposed by backfilling. The decrease of solubility of heavy metals by ageing of combustion residues is sufficiently tested and a well-known process. The supply of carbon dioxide rich gas may accelerate the ageing. Disposal or a further treatment of the ashes in order to recover metals is possible.
Meeting the challenges of on-line analytical instrumentation in cycling power plants
Kirk Buecher and David Gray
In most parts of the world, the fossil power generation industry is experiencing major changes due to several factors. The resulting increase in fossil plant cycling takes a toll due to stresses, expansion and contraction of components and piping. These loosen and release protective layers of corrosion products. On-line analytical instrumentation is forced to go off-line periodically with a variety of consequences. At the same time, analytical measurements become more important as cycle chemistry changes are occurring more frequently and more rapidly. Design, operating and maintenance practices are discussed to optimise and maintain reliable analytical measurements despite cycling operation of the plant.
Management of materials – Storage of hazardous substances
Herbert Lindner
The storage of hazardous substances can be a challenge, if not the safety of the employees and belongings are placed in the foreground, but the convenience. The proper storing corresponds in some minds not the logic of a planned operating flow in which the use of hazardous substances is only a minor matter. But you should refrain from setting a too late stage rules if you no longer able. Therefore, it is better to bring the planning of work and proper storage in advance in accordance. The technical rules of Hazardous Substances Ordinance provide a good guideline. Storage requirements are discussed in the order of the rules and regulations. The description follows here about the structure of the German rule TRGS 510.