Abstracts - VGB PowerTech Journal 12/2009

VGB Congress "Power Plants 2009"

The VGB Congress "Power Plants 2009" took place in Lyon/France from 23rd to 25th September 2009 and was themed "Addressing Climate Change - Winning Public Acceptance through Advanced Technologies". Nearly 1,300 participants attended the plenary and technical lectures and had the opportunity to discus the current topics of electricity and heat generation. The study carried out by VGB according to which EU-27 requires about 475.000 MW of new power plant capacity was also presented. Specific papers were addressing further topics. The Congress was rounded off by a side-programme and technical visits.

European Electricity Grid - Status and Perspectives

Dominique Maillard

The European network has to be extended and modernised notably in order to allow the massive integration of renewable, intermittent sources of generation into power systems. Corresponding projects are launched by operators that meet with lacking public acceptance. Thus, operators call for intelligent grids in order to increase such acceptance for large-scale infrastructure. Transparency and dialogue are also important aspects.

Status and Perspectives of the Electricity Generation Mix in France

Yves Giraud and Bernard Dupraz

The current French energy mix is the consequence of the oil price crisis from 1973 and 1979. Nearly 90 % of French electricity is based on nuclear energy and water, i.e. CO2-free. This makes France the country with the lowest greenhouse gas emission rates in Europe. However, France has also ambitious targets for its future energy and environmental policy concerning CO2 reduction through increased application of renewables and nuclear energy.

Worldwide Nuclear Revival and Acceptance

Luc H. Geraets and Yves A. Crommelynck

The current status and trends of the nuclear revival in Europe and abroad are outlined. The development of public opinion in the last decade is playing an important part. This has turned from clear rejection to careful acceptance. Transparency and open communication will be important aspects in the further development of nuclear acceptance.

CCS Fossil Power Generation in a Carbon Constraint World

Daniel Hofmann and Holger Zimmermann

Siemens is developing an improved CO2 capture process with minimised energy demand and optimised for integration in conventional coal-fired
power plants. The post-combustion capture process is designed for both new steam power plants and retrofit of existing power plants with a CO2 capture plant. The process is scheduled to be tested from September 2009 on with real flue gas in a pilot plant linked to an E.ON power plant in Germany which is to be part of E.ON´s innovative post-combustion policy.

Post-combustion Capture Plants - Concepts and Plant Integration

Wolfgang Schreier, Gustaaf Boon and Vanessa Kubacz

Amine-based post-combustion processes are discussed as one option for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which can reduce the specific CO2 emissions to less than 100g/kWhel. As a result, Hitachi Power Europe (HPE) has designed and constructed a mobile pilot plant to test the feasibility of this process at different sites of their co-operation partner Electrabel/GDF Suez and E.ON. HPE is using different amine-based solvents to develop strategies aiming at cost optimisation.

European Electricity: New Legislation, New Outlook to 2050

Hans ten Berge

The two sets of EU energy legislation enacted this year - the third energy market package and energy-climate package - provide advances towards creating a European internal electricity market and in setting targets and framework for deployment of climate-friendly low-carbon power technologies. However, coherent implementation of legislation by member states will be crucial. The EURELECTRIC Power Choices study has shown that it is feasible to achieve a secure, carbon-neutral power supply in Europe by 2050, at reasonable cost to economy and society.

Polands's Way into an Emissions-free Future - One Year of Experience

Christian Patterer, Harald Reissner, Antoni Korus and Janusz Mojzeszek

Polish power supply is mainly secured by conventional combustion of hard coal, simply due to the country's vast hard coal resources. Therefore, Elektronwnia Rybnik S.A., part of the internationally-active Électricité de France S.A. (EDF-Group), has decided to implement a wet flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) system for four out of their total eight installed boilers. AE&E Austria GmbH & Co KG (AE&E) has, in close collaboration with Polimex Mostostal S.A., Poland's biggest plant construction company, engineered and erected the FGD installation.

Opportunities and Barriers - Deployment of a Fossil-fired Electric Power Supply - A Global Perspective

Franz Bauer

The future development will be clearly determined by meeting the challenges of climate protection. Energy supply is the key to future prosperity and social balance. Climate protection, saving of resources and energy supply are issues of global relevance. Three topics are of particular interest concerning secure and payable electricity supply: the necessity of a balanced fuel mix comprising fossil fuels, access to necessary technologies and efficient utilisation of primary sources of energy including renewables.

Combined Cycle Power Plants for Steam Supply and District Heating: Requirements, Plant Concepts and Operational Experiences

Klaus Schippers and Thomas Gilg

Since the onset in the seventies, combined cycle power plants have gained acceptance as plant technology for industrial steam supply and district heating. Four combined cycle power plants in Ludwigs-hafen, Rüsselsheim, Dormagen and Munich are presented with their technical concepts based on their respective requirements. The operational experience shows that this power plant technology generally proved efficient for electricity and heat supply, but requires further detailed work for improvement of weak points, upgrading and optimisation as well as lifetime extension.

Filter Concepts for Gas Turbines - Overview and Field Report on Utility Value Enhancement with Three-stage Filtration

Heiko Manstein and Andreas Rothmann

Efficient air filtration and its contribution towards cost-effective operation of gas turbines offer an extensive field for continual design enhancements. The utility value of three-stage, high-efficiency filter installations for gasturbine air intake systems was in terms of its basics covered by a previous publication. Feedback from multi-stage systems installed in the field validates the applicability to statically operated filter systems currently in common use, against the background of the stipulations posed for particle arrestance, coalescence characteristics and pressure-loss behaviour.

Fire Protection in Closed Coal Storage Yard

Ulrich Fischer and Carsten Scholz

Closed coal storage yards require special fire fighting measures due to their high fire load caused by self-ignition or man-induced fires. Possible fires in the new circular coal storage yard of the Staudinger power plant are avoided by organisational, local, technical and civil engineering measures. Possible self-ignition is monitored. Suitable systems are applied to prevent critical situations.

Fire Protection in New Constructions from the Viewpoint of an Insurer

Jörg Ohlsen

In the past decades insurance companies have also developed from regionally to globally active companies. This has also led to changed demands on loss prevention by insurers. In addition to fire protection concepts and risk philosophies from the original markets nowadays all regional and historically based fire protection philosophies are to be evaluated. Within the framework of fire protection concepts for new buildings, reference is often made to the fire protection concept agreed with the responsible authorities and the need for agreement with the property insurers is doubted. However, a clear differentiation must be made here with regard to the purpose of protection. The top priority of authorities is the protection of persons. In addition the fire protection measures of the property insurers are explicitly for protecting the material value and avoiding losses as a result of business interruptions, which should also be in the interest of the facility operator.

Proper Reaction in the Case of Damage and Risk Management Loss Mitigation in Practise

Hans-Peter Wollner

Even the most excellent loss prevention measures can only minimise the probability of damage occurrence. 100 % total protection against unforeseen losses is impossible. Qualified first measures can put a hold on deterioration and will safe the option of recovery by restoration. Even complex and sensitive electronics are restorable by proven decontamination procedures. The insured parties should be ready and prepared to take quick decisions about the next steps if the unexpected happens.

Experimental Determination of Back Discharge in Electrostatic Precipitators

Muhammad Majid, Muhammad Tahir Mughal, Helmut Wiggers and Peter Walzel

Experiments have been carried out on a plate-plate dust resistivity apparatus to measure the specific resistance of dust samples. The results show that the dust resistivity is independent of surrounding conditions for high temperatures but quite remarkable differences can be seen for lower temperature ranges. By this method, back discharge can be avoided limiting the maximum current through voltage control.