Ultra-supercritical (USC) Coal-fired Boilers will be the Subject of the Hot Topic Hour
on August 13, 2009
There are many people that believe that ultra-supercritical (USC) coal-fired power plants offer the best immediate solution to our energy security and global warming concerns. USC’s offer significantly greater efficiency compared to conventional coal-fired power plants which will reduce fuel consumption for a given output, thus proportionally reduce all emissions including CO2. They also offer operating advantages such as the ability to operate efficiently under low load and to quickly adapt to continuous variable loads. However, there are also those persons that are very concerned with the long-term reliability and maintenance issues as well as capital cost. Since USC’s operate at high pressure and temperature, selection of materials to minimize corrosion yet withstand the operating pressure is a large issue.
The following speakers will discuss the operating results at current USG plants and design criteria for new plants as well as new materials and technology being developed or tested to improve the long-term performance of USC’s.
Bin Xu, Ph.D, CEng, MIMechE, Sr. Engineer at Doosan Babcock Energy America LLC will present some of the design advancements Doosan Babcock has made to address the challenges of designing USC PC boilers employing ultra-supercritical steam cycles with steam temperatures exceeding 1110ºF (600ºC) and pressures greater than 4,000 psi (275 bar) for high safety, reliability and low cost.
Brian Vitalis, Manager of Project Engineering at Riley Power Inc. will discuss design considerations for Ultra-supercritical Boilers. Advanced Ultra-supercritical (A-USC) steam cycle conditions are arguably the environmentally-best choice to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, resource consumption, and direct heating of our surroundings – at a meaningful scale. The pressure operating mode should be selected according to the particular market environment, which means that the appropriate choice in many regions of the USA may not be the same as that for Europe or Japan. While sliding pressure design and operation permits fast turbine load ramping, it offers negligible heat rate advantage across the load range and requires a larger and hotter furnace section compared to boilers designed for constant pressure operation. Especially as conditions approach A-USC, constant pressure design offers significant cost savings since the furnace may be made of low-chrome ferritic alloy material, rather than expensive nickel-based alloys likely required for sliding pressure design.
Calvin Hartman of WorleyParsons Group, Inc. will describe their work with Ultra Super-critical Boilers.
To register for the “Hot Topic Hour” on Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. CDT, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/FGDnetoppbroch/Default1.htm .
Bob McIlvaine
847 784-0012 ext. 112