Abstracts - VGB PowerTech Journal 12/2008

VGB Congress “Power Plants 2008”

This year´s VGB Congress “Power Plants 2008” took place in Stuttgart/Germany from 17th to 19th September 2008. The motto was “We are Building the Future: Electricity for Europe”. Nearly 1,400 participants attended the plenary and technical papers dealing with topics from “Market and Competition” and “Technology, Operation and Environment”. Special papers were dealing with additional topics like e.g. “The Role of Electricity – Technologies for a Secure and Competitive Energy in a Carbon-constrained World” or “CO2 Avoidance through Increasing Efficiency”, “Technologies for CCS” as well as “Nuclear Energy and Renewable Energies – Two Technologies for CO2-free Electricity Generation”. The Congress was rounded off by a comprehensive side-programme and technical visits.

The Role of Electricity – Technologies for a Secure & Competitive Energy in a Carbon-constrained World

Hans ten Berge

By the end of 2005 EURELECTRIC initiated the project “The Role of Electricity” in order to investigate the future role of electricity with reference to the three challenges climate change, secure power supply and competitiveness. The results revealed that the “Baseline Scenario” is not sustainable. However, the “Role-of-electricity Scenario” shows a way that is build on sustainability, takes into account import dependency and economic development with simultaneous reduction of CO2 emissions.

Carbon Capture & Storage – A Technology for the Coal-fired Power Plant of the Future

Reinhardt Hassa

The energy industry is intensively dealing with CCS (Carbon Capture & Storage) and is planning, erecting and operating different pilot and demonstration plants. Important questions in connection with CCS are related to the efficiency of the techniques considered, the acceptance by public and the necessary political conditions for a CCS infrastructure.

Nuclear Energy and Renewable Energies – Two Technologies for a CO2-free Electricity Generation

Hans-Josef  Zimmer

The worldwide energy demand will increase over the coming years. This is also causing a rise in demand for new fossil power plant capacities and at the same time we also need to achieve reductions in CO2 emissions in order to protect the climate. Ultimately, the only CO2-free energy conversion methods that are open to us are renewables and nuclear energy. We need an open dialogue about our future energy mix.

Water Chemistry Guidelines and Practices in Siemens Designed PWRs – A Comparison with Other PWRs

Harry Neder, Michael Bolz, Heinz-Rudolf Sauer, Günter Holz, Ulrich Staudt, Suat Odar and Volker Schneider

The primary and secondary side water chemistry control programme in Siemens designed PWRs has been applied since the beginning of the seventies according to the VGB Water Chemistry Guidelines. These guidelines differ in several areas significantly from the other water chemistry guidelines used worldwide like EPRI or EdF Guidelines. The paper will highlight the main differences in primary and secondary side water chemistry control programmes applied. The differences will be discussed and reasons for their selection will be given.

Development of Corrosion Product Behaviour and Radiation Fields at the Sizewell B PWR from 1995 to 2008

Chris Bates, Keith Garbett, Kelvin Hinds, Gavin Lancaster, Mark Mantell and Guy Renn

Since 1995 the standard 4-loop 3411 MWth Westinghouse PWR Sizewell B has completed nine fuel cycles. It has alloy 690 steam generator tubing, some stellite hard facing alloys eliminated, commissioned using a modified hot functional test passivation procedure and has operated either a modified or elevated chemistry with the pH (300 °C) co-ordinated at 7.4 or 7.2. The paper reviews corrosion product behaviour, shutdown releases and radiation fields over the nine fuel cycles and discusses why the shutdown releases and radiation fields are low. It also discusses how the lower corrosion product releases have reduced occupational radiation exposure.

Understanding the Zinc Behaviour in PWR Primary Coolant: A Comparison between French and German Experience

Arancha Tigeras, Bernhard Stellwag, N. Engler, J.L. Bretelle and A. Rocher

Laboratory testing and international feedback show that zinc injection must be considered an effective way of reducing dose rates. The paper provides an overview about zinc behaviour in PWR and summarizes the major results of French and German feedback on different fields: primary coolant activity, dose rates, fuel, wastes.

Experiences with Elevated pH and Lithium in Ringhals PWR's

Bernt Bengtsson, Per-Olof Aronsson, Stefan Larsson and Per-Olof Andersson

This paper presents an update and comparison of the experiences from Ringhals units 2, 3 and 4 for the last 20 years with different primary water chemistries. Inventory and release of corrosion products during plant operation and shutdown are presented together with plant dose rates, surface activity, fuel crud deposits and radioactive liquid discharges. The focus is on Ringhals 4, the steam generator of which is to be replaced and which cannot be operated with a ph/lithium programme because of the materials applied.

Development of WWER Primary Water Chemistry Guidelines

Victor A. Yurmanov, N.B. Povalishin, Alexandr V. Arkhypenco

Fundamental principles of WWER primary water chemistry were developed in 1960s by the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. Different strategies of the primary chemistry were developed and applied. A new standard for the primary chemistry has been set up in the year 2001 for Russian WWER reactors that is being applied gradually for the individual types.

Development of Methanol Water Chemistry for BWR Plants

Bernhard Stellwag, Nagao Suzuki, Akira Suzuki, Akira Miyazawa, Andreas Speck, Wilfried Rühle, Larry Lamanna and Mike Pop

Approximately 60 % of boiling water reactors (BWRs) are operated with the so-called hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) with or without Noble Metal Chemistry Additions (NMCA) for mitigation of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in stainless steel components of the reactor system.

Improvement of Efficiency of Hard Coal-fired Steam Generators with the Aid of Self-organising Video-supported Optimised Air Distribution

Claus Rosner, Hauke Röpell, Franz Wintrich, Volker Stephan and Erik Schaffernicht

The research project SOFCOM and first results will be presented. The project is aiming at optimised combustion process in hard coal-fired power plants. This is to be achieved through the application of new, visual sensors in combination with new techniques for automatic feature extraction and self-organising architectures for advanced control of complex industrial processes.

Accuracy Improvement Analysis of the Standard Indirect Method for Determining a Steam Boilers's Efficiency

Andrej Senegacnik, Igor Kustrin and Mihael Sekavcnik

Boiler efficiency of coal-fired power plant is determined according to standardised procedures. Modifications to DIN 12952-15 are suggested, presented and evaluated. The main calculation method according to DIN 12952-15 remains identical and modifications are taken into account. The influence of the suggestions made on boiler efficiency was evaluated with the aid of two real data sets for hard coal and lignite.

Integration of a POWERISE Flue Gas Heat Recovery System in the Worldwide Largest Fluidised Bed Boiler Lagisza 460 MW for Efficiency Increase and CO2 Reduction

Frank Adamczyk

At the location of Lagisza in Poland, Foster Wheeler presently is finalising the realisation of the worldwide largest power plant based on fluidised bed technology. Commissioning has being started. In order to maximise power plant efficiency and to limit CO2 emissions the plant is equipped with the extended best available techniques (BAT) flue gas heat recovery technology. This will increase the plant's entire efficiency by 1 %.

What is the Proper Flue Gas Cleaning System? Answers to Changing Pollutants Concentrations in Waste-to-energy Plants

Rudi Karpf

Waste as fuel is becoming more and more important in connection with environmentally-compatible energy conversion. The effective scrubbing of pollutants off the waste gas flow has to be ensured. The paper discusses the selection of processes and optimisation possibilities for existing plants. It has to be noted that there does not exist a standard flue gas cleaning process for all plants.

Corrosion Protection in Flue Gas Desulphurisation Plants State of the Art

Jürgen Fenner

In Europe power plants have been equipped since the end of the 70ies with flue gas desulphurisation plants (FGD). Today's FGD plants have to meet stringent demands in terms of efficiency and availability. The corrosion protection systems applied have to have a long life-time and favourable price-performance ratio. The state of the art is explained by market requirements, new European rules and current examples from practice.

Experiences with BREF Document "Waste Incineration" under Consideration of Possibilities for NOx Reduction

Markus Gleis

The BAT Reference Document is an important step towards achieving the integrated avoidance and reduction of environmental impacts caused by waste incineration. This means for the measures in connection with NOx reduction that information on alternative flue gas treatment are also to be recorded in future and have to be put in relation to the efficiency of NOx reduction apart from the required energy the process consumes.

(No) Security in Automation Systems!?

Stefan Lüders

Despite the benefits coming with this (r)evolution, new vulnerabilities are inherited, too: worms and viruses spread within seconds via Ethernet and attackers are becoming interested in control systems. Unfortunately, control systems lack the standard security features that usual office PCs have. This contribution will elaborate on these problems; discuss the vulnerabilities of modern control systems and present international initiatives for mitigation.