Abstracts - VGB PowerTech Journal 4/2018
Electricity Sector leaders commit to accelerating the clean energy transition
Kristian Ruby
How should industry respond to the increasing urgency of climate change, air pollution and depletion of natural resources? In December 2017, the European electricity sector announced a new long-term vision for the electricity industry in Europe.[more...]
Scenarios and forecasts on the development of world energy supply
Hans-Wilhelm Schiffer
A number of institutions regularly submit analyses on the future global development of supply and demand in the energy sector. The results of currently published studies are outlined. The International Energy Outlook 2017 of the EIA, the World Energy Outlook 2017 of the IEA, the 2018 Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040 of ExxonMobil and the BP Energy Outlook − 2018 Edition are taken into account. Shell‘s latest global scenario study was published in 2013 and had previously only been supplemented by the New Lenses Städte der Zukunft in 2014. The WEC will present a new edition of the World Energy Scenarios last published in October 2016 at the World Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi in September 2019.
New hydroelectric facility in Romanche-Gavet, France Energy dissipators: innovative technology
Philippe Llusia
A new facility at Romanche Gavet, currently under construction on the Romanche river, replaces six old power plants. The specific feature of this run-of-river facility is to have a very limited impoundment and very long short-circuited stretch. To secure access to the river, EDF has opted for unprec-edented technology in France: energy dissipators. After studies conducted by the Hydroelectric Engineering Centre (CIH) of EDF, it was decided to replace them by one single, more efficient facility to optimise the head flow. More efficient, it is used to produce 35% more energy with the same head flow. This production gain corresponds to the average consumption of a town with a population of 60,000. More environmentally-friendly, it clears the landscape of old equipment (plants, dams, penstocks, inlets, channels, etc.), it restores ecological continuity by removing river obstacles such as dams and uses plant engineering techniques to ensure the stability of the banks.
Modern information management as the basis for Industry 4.0
Hans-Karl Preuß
There are many interpretation on Industry 4.0. Sometimes tackled right, sometimes misinterpreted, with this issue practice is not always that close. From the Internet of Thing (IoT) or even from Artificial Intelligence (AI), self-learning systems are reported in manufacturing and distribution area. However, there are little mentions of comprehensive applications. The Digital Twins: virtual depictions were about physical objects, but pose challenges for the large power plants. The systems are provided with data in a far too complex manner. There are no uniform transfer standards. Additionally, we are dealing with interface and stock integration problems in integration of new plants into already existing ones. This article is dealing with pragmatic and feasible application in order to generate a digital relative in in which rudimentary characteristics required in power plant operation would be recorded and validated. In connection with this a bridge may be construed to a far more precise digital representation for a new plant or the existing ones may enjoy up-to-day, efficient and scalable management.
State Space Controller – sometimes it just has to be
Kai Michels, Julian Niedermeier and Jan Siebenmarck
After state space control has been developed in the sixties, they started their triumphal procession through the world of control engineering. But even today they can hardly be found in industrial processes and power plants. This paper shall explain what idea is behind state space controllers, how they work, why they are practically never used in process plants, and why it can sometimes be useful to apply them. At the end, two examples will be shown. A digital solu-tion for condition monitoring of boiler, burner, mill and Co.
A digital solution for condition monitoring of boiler, burner, mill and Co.
Fabian Fonseca and Liisa Clemens
As a consequence of the changed conditions of the electricity generation market digital technologies for power plant maintenance, like the continuous and automated condition monitoring, gain more and more in importance. Digital solutions in general hold tremendous possibilities for power generators looking to improve plant performance and reduce operational and maintenance costs. As basis for an intelligent maintenance strategy Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe GmbH has developed as a first of its kind the software application CCMT® (Component Condition Monitoring Tool) – the software application for monitoring and forecasting of the condition of power plant components like boiler, burners and mills.
Real-time fuel characterization, plant monitoring and quality assurance through online determination of not directly measurable key indicators
Stefan Zeltner
Methods of balancing processes in power plants online offer extensive tools for the successful operation of combustion plants. The program mentioned below is able to determine quantities that are not directly measurable and to assist the operating personnel by providing additional parameters. Besides the elemental composition of fuels there are further fuel-specific parameters like lower heating value, ash and water content and the mass flow of fuel that can be estimated. In addition, the rated thermal input can be calculated for the normal operating state as well as for the operation of ignition boilers. Based on this parameter the current net thermal output can be determined. With the estimation of the excess air there is another non-measurable value available for monitoring combustion plants online. In contrast to other attempts to balance processes in power plants the method on hand is based on fewer assumptions (like no fixed ash content). By using blower and flue gas values there are only fast re-sponding measurements implemented, which react quickly during fluctuations of fuel parameters and are not subjected to attenuation. This method provides a process control system-integrated estimation of values which can contribute to a safe and reliable system operation which enables a re-al-time-analysis of the combustion process.
Multifuel CFB solutions – Producing power in a flexible environment
Markus Bolhar-Nordenkampf, Ari Kokko and Jouni Kinni
European Union is leading energy sector towards renewable energy production and circular economy. Today the drivers to invest in renewable energy are missing since most of the national incentive systems have been cancelled or minimized. Now without any incentives the firing of biomass is not feasible before a new mechanism to encourage the use of renewable fuels is in place. At the same time record low oil price is confusing the situation more. Power plants in Europe are ageing and quite many of those are firing coal only. In this uncertain situation CFB boiler is the right solution in repowering projects – almost all the projects are replacement investments because new capacity is not needed in Europe. CFB’s biggest benefit is the capability to burn many kind of solid fuels - a CFB boiler can be designed to fire 100 % coal and 100 % biomass including lower cost biomass and waste based fuel. This kind of approach provides flexibility for fuel portfolio in the future until investment drivers are clear. This paper introduces several projects under construction or commis-sioning highlighting CFB’s superiority in repowering projects – meaning replacement investment. The paper gives also same evidence that multifuel ap-proach is not decreasing the reliability of the plant by showing actual operating data from existing CFBs firing several fuels.
Risk assessment, risk identification and required qualification for cooling tower operators (... and all other employers)
Herbert Lindner
In various seminars, technical discussions and publications it can be stated that all talk about risk assessments and risk as well as the further terminology in this context, however nobody can explain so correctly, what is meant and wanted. This is an attempt to explain to all of us. In order not to make the topic arbitrarily complicated despite various linguistic hurdles, the main focus is on risk assessment in context with the 42nd BImSchV and VDI 2047 Part 2 and Part 3. In this context, we must also look at what is meant by technical qualification. Of course, the topic is to be applied to all areas in which a risk assess-ment according to BetrSichV is required − and there are many.
Innovative water wheel developed: Energy converter StECon: Researchers tap new potential in hydropower
Hydropower is an indispensable part of the “energy turnaround” – but its potential in Germany is almost exhausted. As the Federal Environment Agency states, only a few large plants – mostly pumped storage or run-of-river power plants – already generate over 80 percent of the electricity from hydropower in Germany. The construction or expansion of such power plants may impact the ecosystem and thus may affect the principles of the European Water Framework Directive. However, river systems in particular offer a high potential for regenerative energy from hydropower, which has not yet been used efficiently. The StECon energy converter is intended to drive the expansion of renewable energies and could optimise generation of energy from hydropower.