Advances in Supercritical & USC Steam Technology: Why, How & What
(Room Nile 2)
20 Sep 17
2:00 PM
-
3:30 PM
Tracks:
Track D - Power Technologies
OEMs the world over are no longer satisfied with sub 50% overall plant efficiency for large steam power plants. Continued R&D efforts foretell that breaching 50% plant efficiency is not a distant dream but a near future reality. This feat can only be achieved by Supercritical & USC steam technology using advanced super-alloys & double reheat cycle. Not only environmental concerns like Sox, NOx and CO2 emission but also pure economics in terms of reduced operational costs during plant’s design lifetime strongly demands adoption of Supercritical & USC technology as the preferred way forward for coal –fired power plants. Regulatory framework advisories and tougher norms prescribed by various environmental protection bodies & government authorities in several countries also demand reduction in consumption of water, particulate matter, SOx, NOx and mercury. The answer to all these challenge to coal fired power plants lies in large scale usage of supercritical & USC technology. Nickel based high performance super alloys and surface coatings for components of steam generator, turbines & piping have demonstrated that these materials can sustain up to 700°C temperatures. Currently, Siemens offers full speed tandem compound turbo sets for steam power plants with ultra-supercritical parameters in power output range of 600 MW to 1200MW per unit. Siemens high efficiency Steam power plant at Luenen, Germany has already demonstrated overall efficiency of ~45.6% with steam parameters of 280 bar/ 600°C/ 610°C (@ Boiler outlet). Further developments in materials, technology & cycle configuration is poised to take the performance number even higher, with a view to address environmental challenges being faced by coal fired power plants, and to reduce operating costs.