Japanese technology developer Toshiba has announced new research that promises the potential to use Carbon Dioxide gas as a fuel in future power generation processes. 4th QUARTER 2015 “I n the capital Beijing, almost all coal-fired power plants have been shut down and now there is only one left in operation which is likely to be idled by 2017,” said Zhao Jianbo, gen- eral manager at Jingxi gas power plant. Construction of the Jingxi CCGT started in 2012 and after just two years of construction, it was put into operation in Q4-2014. It is one of key large scale gas-fired plants that supply heat and power to China’s ex- panding capital city, replacing coal-fired units. With 1,264 MW of electricity output at an efficiency level of 58.14%, the plant’s additional district heating capacity of up to 883 MW in- creases the overall efficiency to more than 80%. “We can heat 18 million square metres of floor area, so Jingxi is vital to supply heat to Beijing residents during winter time,” explained Zhang Chaoyang, the plant’s general engineer. “The Beijing city government is very keen on reducing emissions and we were not given much time to realise the project, so at the end of last year we were already producing electricity and heat for the capital,” he said, explaining the new CCGT reduces the need for burning coal. Oper- ation of the gas-fired Jingxi plant replaces a 600 MW coal-fired power plant and another 800 MW coal plant near Beijing, so it saves 5,500 tons of coal or around 19% of the capital’s total coal consumption. Cleaner air for Beijing: Switch to 4 gas power plants The government’s drive to replace coal with gas power capacity has seen four major thermal gas power centers being built in just a few years’ time. Jingxi Power Plant is part of the Beijing Northwest Thermal Power Center with a capacity of 2,680 MW plus one in the southeast with 840 MW, one in the northeast with 1,800 MW and one in the south-west 1,500 MW – “all of them are already in place,” Zhang said. continued on page 5 Molecular catalyst could permit CO2 to be used as fuel for power “T oshiba's new molecular catalyst converts carbon dioxide into ethylene glycol via multi-electron reduction. The conversion is highly efficient, with a Faraday efficiency of 80%,” Jun Tamura, lead researcher explained. The team of researchers at Toshiba’s laboratories has focused on means to recreate the natural process of photosynthesis that combines Carbon Dioxide gas, water and sunlight and converts the mixture into energy. The latest break- through builds on the successful two- electron reduction conversion process which is behind many attempts at artificial photosyn- thesis. This approach typically also produces carbon monoxide and formic acid as well as numerous unwanted by-products, which can be problematic to separate. In nature, photosynthesis converts energy from light via proteins called reaction centres that contain green chlorophyll pigments. These proteins create reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) providing energy for cells however attempts to recreate this process in the laboratory have so far proved unsuccessful. Imidazolium SAM reaction breaks new ground The new molecular catalyst developed by Toshiba consists of an imida- zolium salt derivative applied to a metal surface in a high-density coat- ing. Carbon dioxide dissolved in an aqueous solution is then put through a reduction reaction, creating Ethylene glycol, a versatile industrial raw material. Speedy transformation of the Chinese economy from the word’s manufacturing house to a global innovator is one of the aims of the ‘One Belt, One Road Initiative’, launched by China’s leadership to help EPC companies like Power China and turbine manufacturers like SITH to ‘go global’. At home, the need to clean up air pollution has prompted cities like Beijing to set stringent emission standards and push for a quick replacement of coal with gas power generation. China: Aspiring to export innovation Gas Power Technology QUARTERLY The prototype molecular catalyst continued on page 2 Imidazolium salt derivative
Transcript
Japanese technology developer Toshiba has announced new research that promises the potential to use Carbon Dioxide gas as a fuel in future power generation processes.
4th QUARTER 2015
“In the capital Beijing, almost all coal-fired power plants have
been shut down and now there is only one left in operation
which is likely to be idled by 2017,” said Zhao Jianbo, gen-
eral manager at Jingxi gas power plant.
Construction of the Jingxi CCGT started in 2012 and after just two
years of construction, it was put into operation in Q4-2014. It is one of
key large scale gas-fired plants that supply heat and power to China’s ex-
panding capital city, replacing coal-fired units.
With 1,264 MW of electricity output at an efficiency level of 58.14%,
the plant’s additional district heating capacity of up to 883 MW in-
creases the overall efficiency to more than 80%. “We can heat 18 million
square metres of floor area, so Jingxi is vital to supply heat to Beijing
residents during winter time,” explained Zhang Chaoyang, the plant’s
general engineer.
“The Beijing city government is very keen on reducing emissions and
we were not given much time to realise the project, so at the end of last
year we were already producing electricity and heat for the capital,” he
said, explaining the new CCGT reduces the need for burning coal. Oper-
ation of the gas-fired Jingxi plant replaces a 600 MW coal-fired power
plant and another 800 MW coal plant near Beijing, so it saves 5,500 tons
of coal or around 19% of the capital’s total coal consumption.
Cleaner air for Beijing: Switch to 4 gas power plantsThe government’s drive to replace coal with gas power capacity has seen
four major thermal gas power centers being built in just a few years’
time. Jingxi Power Plant is part of the Beijing Northwest Thermal Power
Center with a capacity of 2,680 MW plus one in the southeast with 840
MW, one in the northeast with 1,800 MW and one in the south-west
1,500 MW – “all of them are already in place,” Zhang said.
continued on page 5
Molecular catalyst could permit CO2 to be used as fuel for power
“Toshiba's new molecular catalyst converts carbon dioxide
into ethylene glycol via multi-electron reduction. The
conversion is highly efficient, with a Faraday efficiency
of 80%,” Jun Tamura, lead researcher explained.
The team of researchers at Toshiba’s laboratories has focused on
means to recreate the natural process of photosynthesis that combines
Carbon Dioxide gas, water and sunlight and converts the mixture into
energy.
The latest break-
through builds on
the successful two-
electron reduction
conversion process
which is behind
many attempts at
artificial photosyn-
thesis. This approach typically also produces carbon monoxide and
formic acid as well as numerous unwanted by-products, which can be
problematic to separate.
In nature, photosynthesis converts energy from light via proteins
called reaction centres that contain green chlorophyll pigments. These
(NADPH) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) providing energy for cells
however attempts to recreate this process in the laboratory have so far
proved unsuccessful.
Imidazolium SAM reaction breaks new groundThe new molecular catalyst developed by Toshiba consists of an imida-
zolium salt derivative applied to a metal surface in a high-density coat-
ing. Carbon dioxide dissolved in an aqueous solution is then put through
a reduction reaction, creating Ethylene glycol, a versatile industrial raw
material.
Speedy transformation of the Chinese economy from the word’s manufacturing house to a global innovator isone of the aims of the ‘One Belt, One Road Initiative’, launched by China’s leadership to help EPC companieslike Power China and turbine manufacturers like SITH to ‘go global’. At home, the need to clean up air pollutionhas prompted cities like Beijing to set stringent emission standards and push for a quick replacementof coal with gas power generation.
China: Aspiring to export innovation
Gas Power TechnologyQ U A R T E R L Y
The prototype molecular catalyst
continued on page 2
Imidazolium salt derivative
Supplying heat allows the Jingxi plant to
run baseload during the winter period, when
operating hours amount to 2,800 hours of
heat & power production. In the first year of
operation, the plant accumulated a total of
4,500 hours.
Asked about the plant design – one unit in
a 1x1 and another in a 2x1 configuration, engi-
neer Zhang pointed out that “a 2 on 1 unit has
a much better heat supply capability than a
1 on 1 unit, which is why we decided for this
constellation.
“We selected the Siemens F-class units be-
cause they are more mature and we have more
experience with operating these types of units;”
Zhang said. However, Dr Wang Baoli, VP at
Siemens China’s Power & Gas Division was
quick to add that the German OEM is keen to
also sell its latest H-class turbines. “We have
supplied 63 units to the Chinese market, mostly
F-class turbines. Technically, we’re fully pre-
pared to supply H-class to China and this is our
next goal”
The SGT5-4000 feature a “very good avail-
ability and efficiency,” engineers at the Jingxi
plant stressed and together with Siemens, they
have developed the APS automation technol-
ogy and have taken the plant automation to a
very high level.
“We’ve made some changes to the structure
of the condenser and have installed noise re-
duction equipment as well as advanced water
treatment technologies,” Zhang said. Noise
control reduces the operational noise of the
plant to 48 decibel (db).
Emission standards enforce coal power retirementsAs for generation costs, Mr Zhao pointed out
that “fuel costs are over half of the production,
so overall cost depend very much on the gas
price. But we have reached a break-even point
in terms of costs thanks to the cogeneration of
heat and power.”
Coal is still way cheaper than gas in China,
but stringent emissions standards in Beijing are
turning the tide towards cleaner-burning fuels.
“The substantially higher NOx standards for
Beijing – 30 mg/m3 compared to 50 mg/m3 in
the rest of China – are likely to prevent the use
of coal for power generation going forward,”
Zhao forecast.
Shanghai has followed suit, so now emis-
sions standards in the two mega cities allow
only about half of the CO2, NOx and SOx
emissions that would be permissible in the rest
of China.
Walking together on the same road Collective effort is a key cultural value in
China and senior management in state-owned
companies are eager to present their business
as being in harmony with the public’s aspira-
tions of rising prosperity and a cleaner environ-
ment. “When many people walk in the same
direction, there will be a
road,” said Ding Zheng-
guo, Assistant Group
President of POW-
ERCHINA and President
of Overseas Business
Unit of POWERCHINA
with reference to an an-
cient saying.
Heading one of
China’s largest inte-
grated power construc-
tion groups that has
installed 320,000 MW of
capacity in the domestic
market, Mr. Ding’s focus
is now more on interna-
tional business, building
� GPT Journal 4th Quarter 20152
DIGITALISATIONOptimising CHT at turbine vanes reduces operating costs 4
TURBINE TECHNOLOGY Powering the Libyan recovery 5Using inlet fogging to restore deteriorating output 7
COMBINED HEAT & POWERHeat pump “expensive but vital” for Stapelfeld CHP 8
COOLING SYSTEMSTurbine cooling research helps boost lifetime up to 10% 9Energy edges closer to commercialising SOFC for power gen 11
PLANT OPTIMIZATIONTightening up boiler control in combined-cycle plants 13
ALTERNATIVE FUELSITM predicts ‘significant’ role for hydrogen gas technology 14
Looking back at 150 years of business in ChinaSiemens has been active in China since 1872,
when it first exported pointer telegraphs to
China. Back in 1899, Siemens & Halske con-
structed the first electric tram line in Beijing.
Since 1903, Siemens has been building a multi-
tude of fossil power plants, a steelwork, a hy-
droelectric plant and China’s first high voltage
power transmission line.
Local content is a major
factor when doing business in
China. In Huludao, at the coast
of the Bohai Sea and some 450
kilometres northeast of Beijing
by high-speed rail, Siemens In-
dustrial Turbomachinery
(SITH) has been established as
a joint venture by Siemens
and Huludao State Assets
Management.
“Prior to the Dresser-Rand
acquisition, we were ranked
number two within the
Siemens group in terms of out-
put and product line manufac-
turing for the Chinese but also for the
international market,” said Guo Chang Lin,
General Manager of SITH.
After the acquisitions of Rolls-Royce En-
ergy and Dresser-Rand, Siemens is now the
largest supplier of compressors in the world
“We are still in the integration phase with
Dresser-Rand, but as for compressors there will
be more EPC work in the future and there’s
more need for knowledge about solutions,”
Guo forecast.
The LNG sector is the key driver for new
business at the SITH compressor manufactur-
ing plant. “As for air refrigeration compressors,
used for LNG, we’re one of the best of the
world and have more than 60% of the Chinese
market and our other main sectors are com-
pressors for air separation, for pipeline and for
petrochemicals and refining as well as indus-
trial turbines for the biogas market,” he said.
Compressor manufacturing has been under-
way at SITH since 2005 and Mr Guo was
proud to point out that “We have established a
full value chain here in Huludao, from engi-
neering, design, manufacturing and service.”
Localisation has been a strategic move to
further drive Siemens’ growth in China. ”We
had realized a more than 85% localization rate
for compressors and around 60% localization
rate for industrial steam turbines. To further ex-
pand the localization of production capacity,
recently SITH built a new rotor workshop and
imported the world's most advanced single
shaft compressor rotor production equipment
from Germany.
“All production equipment in this workshop
are designed and placed according to the value
stream measurement which can optimize turn-
around period between production processes.
Moreover, the rotor workshop also adopted the
same manufacture technology, quality inspec-
tion and testing are as that in Germany. All of
that ensure SITH deliver the world class prod-
ucts. The newly built rotor workshop will be
put into production soon,” Guo outlined.
“In the past, we used to grow with the Chi-
nese market but now we’re also producing for
the global market. Our ‘star product’ is the cus-
tomised geared compressor – a tailored solu-
tion with high efficiency and applications in air
separation and plant air applications in steam
turbines and motors. We’re now extending the
application to the process industries, petro-
chemicals and carbon-capture storage,” he
said, explaining that all gas turbines need com-
pressors as an interface for the adjacent steam
turbines. Standardised gear-type compressors
can be applied as a key component in an indus-
trial steam turbine, e.g. the SST-150 used for
mechanical drive with SST-400 used for power
generation.
In China, Siemens has installed over 1,800
compressors since 1974. SITH will have a 10
year anniversary in October this year. �
SST-400 The environmental-friendly single-casting steam turbine
SST-600 used for tailor-made applications for most complexprocesses in industry and power generation
� DIGITALISATION GTP Journal 4th Quarter 20154
“Increasing firing temperatures in
new gas turbines and upgrades of o
existing machine concepts, while
simultaneously considering cooling
efficiencies, requires highly complex simula-
tion models and accurate solutions. Thus, the
quality of numerical results becomes an impor-
tant issue,” he told Gas Power Tech Quarterly.
The conjugate calculation approach, as estab-
lished in STAR-CCM+, is deemed vital for the
design and development processes of extensively
cooled turbine components as it allows to ana-
lyze complex three-dimensional components.
NASA Mark II test caseThe accuracy of a conjugate heat transfer cal-
culation is dictated by the choice of physics
models. Based on the experimental data from a
NASA test case of a convection-cooled vane,
B&B-AGEMA analysed the influence of the
turbulence model and adapted the calibration
of its Gamma-ReTheta transition model
STAR-CCM+’s – a software tool for investi-
gating complex turbine vanes and blades.
“Due to the prism layers around the airfoil,
the dimensionless wall distance y+ is always
below 1,” he explained.
In order to evaluate the influence of the tur-
bulence models on the CHT solutions, four tur-
bulence models were analysed in four CHT
calculations, considering equal mesh and
boundary conditions, namely Spalart Almaras,
SST-GammaReTheta, realizable k-ε and V2F.
Though static pressure distribution was calcu-
lated accurately, the surface temperatures showed
large deviations between the distributions pre-
dicted by the calculations and the experimental
data. The largest deviation, located at the suction
side, was reached with the realizable k-ε model,
followed by the Spalart Almaras and V2F models.
The best agreement with the experimental
data was achieved with the SST-GammaRe-
Theta model, which allows the control of the lo-
cation of the transition onset at the suction side.
“A higher Reθt, min value represents a
more downstream location of the transition
onset. The default value of Reθt, min is 20. The
best agreement with the experimental data is
achieved with a Reθt, min value of 130. The
default value of 20 leads to the highest devia-
tion. Thus, the quality of a CHT calculation is
highly dictated by the correct handling of the
physical models,” Braun explained.
Calculations for impingement-cooled turbine vaneB&B-AGEMA continuously validates new or
updated implemented methods within STAR-
CCM+ to ensure simulations of the best qual-
ity. All the experiences are implemented in the
simulation of realistic gas turbine components.
CHT calculations were applied to the first
stage impingement-cooled turbine vane of a
160 MW gas turbine.
The vane has an internal metal sheet with
several bore holes which enable the impinge-
ment-cooling of the internal walls of the vane.
The metal sheet insert is fixed within the vane
using a mounting piston.
The cooling air enters the vane through the
upper shroud and leaves the vane at the trailing
edge. The temperature distribution and flow
conditions of the vane are analysed in the CHT
simulation. Therefore the complete detailed
model of the vane assembly is taken into ac-
count without any simplification of the inner
cooling configuration.
Two zones of high temperature are located
at the suction side. Based on these results, vari-
ous combinations of the impingement-cooling
arrangement were analysed in STAR-CCM+.
“Simulation results showed how changing
the impingement configuration would improve
the design of the next generation of these tur-
bine vanes. Thus, based on CHT calculations,
an existing turbine component was optimised
very quickly,” Braun concluded. �
Coupled simulations of aerodynamic and heat transfer can minimize efforts for developing both stationarygas turbines and aero engines. Conjugate heat transfer (CHT) calculations can significantly reduce costs,e.g. by decreasing the quantity of experimental tests, says Rene Braun, Technical Manager at B&B-AGEMA.
Optimising CHT at turbine vanes reduces operating costs
New computational modelling techniques are set to increase the fuel efficiency and reliability of the nextgeneration of gas turbines, Gas Power Tech Quarterly heard from Sunil Patil, researcher at the engineeringsimulation developer Ansys.
Computational modelling boosts turbine efficiency
“An increase in overall effi-
ciency of up to 2% for gas
turbines is achievable in
practice,” Patil said, adding
that new techniques that include comprehen-
sive flow, temperature, and emissions measure-
ments, promise to help reduce emission levels
in future.
Experimental data includes OH chemi-lumi-
nescence images alongside PIV velocity field
measurements and Dynamic pressure trans-
ducer measurements. These readings are com-
plimented with spectroscopy measurements
incorporating both 1D laser Raman species
spectroscopy and CARS temperature spec-
troscopy. Finally exhaust gas analysis is used
to investigate the emission output.
This data is then combined within computer
models to run a diverse range of simulations
and provide valuable projections for gas tur-
bine designers. Examples of recent research
have included large-eddy simulations (LES)
and Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes
(RANS) analysios giving insight into complex
regimes such as turbulent mixing in the inner
recirculation zone.
Efficiency boost translates to multi-billion dollar savings“The real measure relevant to this
research/technology is the increase in Gas Tur-
bine Efficiency and this can be as much as 2-
3% increase in overall theoretical efficiency of
gas turbines,” Patil explained.“It’s important to
note that 1% increase in efficiency of Gas Tur-
bines results in several billion dollars of cost
savings annually for energy productions in
United States alone.”
As computing costs have dropped, the po-
tential for comprehensive simulations has in-
creased rapidly. Major costs are now mainly
related to engineer/analyst time with computer
cluster/node cost very low.
“Further improvements are being carried
out to increase the HPC (High Performance
Computing) scalability of computationally ex-
pensive simulations such as Large Eddy Simu-
lations,” Patil said. “Enhancements in [the]
platform technology are being made to perform
the multi-physics system level simulation of
whole gas turbine providing more insights into
how the product will perform in real world dur-
ing the design phase itself.” �
The new modelling techniques promise to improve turbine operation
4th Quarter 2015 GPT Journal TURBINE TECHNOLOGY � 5Powering the Libyan recoveryBuilding a free and prosperous country out of the ruins is another is not an overnight affair. For Libya, infra-structure suffered from decades of neglect and mismanagement, in addition to recent wartime damage.“There had been a lack of investment in capital equipment during Gaddafi’s 40 year rule,” explains TomMichaud, Project Manager for APR Energy.
With a population of six million,
Libya sits on 48 billion barrels
of oil and 55 trillion cubic feet
of natural gas reserves. Though
80% of the country's GDP and 99% of its gov-
ernment income derive from the energy sector,
little of this money found its way into setting
up a reliable domestic power grid.
When rolling blackouts became common-
place, General Electric Company of Libya
(GECOL) started rebuilding the electrical in-
frastructure to not only meet current demands
but provide a stronger foundation for future
economic growth. Rather than waiting for
years to plan, build and commission new
power plants, GECOL contracted with APR
Energy to bring in temporary generators to pro-
vide a rapid 450 MW boost. Some of these
units were equipped with inlet fogging sys-
tems, attaining a 15% increase in output in the
hot Sahara operating conditions.
APR provides large-scale, fast-track solutions
to provide seasonal peak capacity or for bridging
power during new plant construction. Its ship-
ping container-based fleet amounts to 1.2 GW,
and includes dual-fuel gas turbines, diesel recip-
rocating generators and natural gas reciprocating
generators. APR provided mobile gas turbines at
four key sites in Libya (250 MW) as well as 200
MW of diesel generators at two sites.
Challenges during installation included hav-
ing to deal with attacks from armed groups,
kidnapping of engineers, remote locations, ex-
tremely high temperatures, sand storms and
lack of water. Despite all the challenges, APR
managed to survey twelve sites, select the six
that were used, ship or fly in the containers,
truck them to their destinations, build crew
quarters, install and commission all the equip-
ment, and train more than 80 GECOL staff on
maintenance and operations of
the turbines and diesel units.
The final units came on line
within five months of signing
the initial contract.
Desert foggingOne of the desert locations cho-
sen was Samnu, where it rains
less than 1/2" per year. After-
noon temperatures in Samnu av-
erage over 90°F for more than
half the year, and over 100°F
from June through September.
APR selected Pratt and Whitney FT8 Mo-
bilePac gas turbine packages for the site. While
the gas fueled, water injected FT8s can gener-
ate more than 24 MW at 40°F, the output drops
below 20 MW at 113 °F, a typical summer tem-
perature. 0ver that same temperature range, the
heat rate rises from 10,000 kJ/kWh to nearly
11,000 kJ/kWh.
Given the output and efficiency losses with
high ambient temperatures, it was essential to
add inlet cooling to those turbines. The prob-
lem was the lack of water. While the FT8s do
come with water injection, due to the lack of
water in the area APR decided to use inlet fog-
ging systems from Mee Industries.
"APR Operations observed that MeeFog
could provide the equivalent amount of power
boost as the water injection system while con-
suming almost half the amount of make-up
water," says Michaud. "The quantity of water
saved by not running the water injection sys-
tem while maintaining the required power
boost will significantly increase the overall
life-cycle of the demineralized water system."
For the Samnu power station, there was a
dedicated fog pump skid for each turbine.
Each skid has three pumps and two motorized
ball valves. These pumps are operated in a
sequence that provides fourteen stages of
fog output each with 24 operating nozzles.
A weather station monitors the temperature
and relative humidity and sends this data to a
programmable logic controller (PLC). The
PLC also connects to the turbines distributed
control system (DCS) to receive data on the
inlet air volume. The PLC computes, based on
ambient conditions and air volume, how many
of the 14 fogging stages can be turned on
without exceeding the set points.
At Samnu, the fogging system was designed
for an ambient dry bulb temperature of 113° F
and a wet bulb temperature of 68°F, a differ-
ence of 45 °F. The 14 stages could each pro-
vide 3.5 °F of cooling, so the entire system can
provide the desired 45 °F of cooling, plus one
stage of overspray.
"Depending on ambient conditions, the
fogging systems can run 100% of the time to
maintain the desired increase in output," says
Michaud. "By using the MeeFog system, APR
experienced a power boost of approximately
3 to 4 MW per turbine." �
MeeFog cooling technology installed at APR plant
continued from page 1
This entirely new reaction is made possi-
ble due to the molecular interactions between
the catalyst coated on the metal surface and
carbon dioxide molecules in the gas. The
scientists conducting the research report
that faradaic efficiency reached a maximum
of 87%.
“Imidazolium ion-terminated self-assem-
bled monolayer (SAM)-modified electrodes
achieve CO2 conversion while suppressing
hydrogen evolution,” Tamura explained.
“Although the product of CO2 reduction at
the bare Au electrode is CO, SAM-modified
electrodes produce ethylene glycol in aqueous
electrolyte solution without CO evolution.”
Complex multi-electron reductionprocesses the next stepThe researchers believe that the molecular cat-
alyst may also serve as a reaction field for a
complex ten-electron reduction, rather than a
simple two-electron reduction hence opening
the way for future research projects.
The research team notes that immobile imi-
dazolium ion at the gold (Au) electrodes re-
duces CO2 at a “low overpotential” and that
CO2 reduction activity is chiefly affected by
the “distance between electrode and imida-
zolium ion separated by alkane thiol”.
While the production of ethylene glycol is
useful for a wide variety of manufacturing
use cases from plastics and PET bottles to
polyester fibres, Toshiba’s main goal is
achieving commercial photosynthesis sys-
tems by the 2020s.
The next step in this research will be to con-
tinue development of the molecular catalyst
with a view to perfecting more complex elec-
tron reduction processes. �
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AERO-DERIVATIVE DESIGN, PROVEN WITH OVER
34 MILLION HOURS IN THE AIR, LESS THAN
10 MINUTES TO FULL POWER, OPERATIONAL
FLEXIBILITY WITH LOW LIFE CYCLE COST AND
THE ROBUSTNESS OF A HEAVY- DUTY ENGINE,
THAT ONLY LEAVES ROOM FOR
THE FT4000® GAS TURBINEpowered by Pratt & Whitney® PW4000™ aero engine technology
We’ve really just about said it all, except, go to pwps.com to find the power system in a class by itself.
Pratt & Whitney® and PW4000™ are trademarks of
United Technologies Corporation, used with permission.
Compact designCortes was part of an ABB team that commis-
sioned the world's first Combined Cycle GT24
plant in Massachusetts. After commissioning
the four units at La Paloma, he stayed for the
warranty period and then accepted an offer to
be the plant engineer.
La Paloma has four 250 MW ABB GT24-B
combustion turbines coupled with the KA24-1
ICS combined cycle equipment. Unlike most
U.S. plants, all the major equipment came from
Europe: the GT from Switzerland, the steam
turbines from Sweden, the generators from
Germany, the steam train gearbox from France
and the SSS Clutches between the generator
and steam turbine from England.
"The footprint is small considering we
produce 1000 MW," says Cortes. "The
single shaft design makes the power blocks
compact."
Another advantage of the GT24 is the dual-
combustor, sequential combustion design
which produces a heat rate in the high 6000s or
low 7000s, depending on operating conditions.
In addition, this results in very low emissions.
The NOx is controlled for 1.5 PPM, following
California regulations. The CO is required to
remain below 10 PPM throughout the operat-
ing range of 150 to 250MW, but the GT24s
produce a minute fraction of that amount,
about 0.1 PPM. The units also inject some of
the HP steam into the GT combustor. This is
not to control NOx, as is done with GE units,
but to increase output by about 15-19 MW net
per unit, after taking into consideration the
steam turbine losses.
Restoring lost outputWhen La Paloma came under new ownership,
it looked at how to bring the plant back to its
originally permitted output. One option was to
upgrade the GT internals with new components
from Alstom Power. A less-expensive approach
was to improve inlet conditions. Existing evap-
orative media-type inlet coolers already pro-
vided about 10 MW of recovery, it decided to
augment this with inlet fogging.
"Usually fog is used in lieu evaporative
coolers," says Cortes. "This is one of the first
studies to see what the fogging system can do
on top of the evaps."
He selected a MeeFog system from Mee In-
dustries. It uses variable speed pumps to pres-
surize demineralized water to 2000 psi and
pipe the water to an array of impaction pin
nozzles in the inlet housing. There the water
passes through a .006" orifice and strikes a pin
which atomizes the water into billions of
minute droplets (8.5 micron Sauter Mean Di-
ameter – SMD32) which quickly evaporate in
the airstream, lowering the temperature and
adding mass.
La Paloma provided the manufacturer with
the technical information on how the plant runs
and how efficient the turbines were in the sum-
mer with the evap coolers in use. Mee did
some calculations and determined how much
power a fog system could recover.
"I can do physical modifications to the ma-
chine which will give us more power, but they
will pay millions of dollars for that," says
Cortes. "Or we can skip doing do major
changes on the GT internals, just improve
the intake conditions and recover an extra 5 to
6 MW."
Each of the fogging systems includes a
pump skid with six positive displacement, vari-
able pumps, along with a weather station and
programmable logic controller. A fogging array
with 700 nozzles was installed just upstream
from the inlet flange. The systems have eleven
cooling stages, each providing close to 2° F
of cooling.
The original plans called for the fog sys-
tems to supplement the evaps when the temper-
atures exceeded 90° F. Once they were in use,
however, this changed. Cortes realized that
fogging uses considerably less water than the
evaps, which is important given California's
drought conditions. But the main difference is
that the level of control.
When there is enough demand, or high
enough temperature to use the evap's full ca-
pacity, the fog system is offline. If dispatch
calls for additional generation, or ambient tem-
perature rises, the appropriate number of fog-
ging stages comes online, adding power in
small increments
"With the evap, I should gain an extra 10
to 12 MW, but if turn it off I lose it all," says
Cortes. "If more power is needed I can turn
on the Mee system and it will give me up to
5 MW more per turbine." �
Using inlet fogging to restore deteriorating outputMany people wish they still had the strength and stamina they had in their twenties. With plant equipmentthe decline sets in much sooner. To recapture the lost MW, La Paloma Generating Company (LPGC) looked atupgrading turbine components, but decided it could achieve the same result for far less money by installinga MeeFog inlet cooling system to augment the existing evaporative coolers.
La Paloma Generating Station in California
Usually fog is used in lieu evaporative coolers...this is one of the first studies to see what the fogging system can do on top of the evaps
“”Pablo Cortes Oseguera, Engineering and Maintenance Manager, LPGC
� COMBINED HEAT & POWER GTP Journal 4th Quarter 20158
“Even though we don’t get paid to
provide flexibility, we benefit
indirectly by scaling the plant’s
heat and power output to
changing market requirements. This improves
our position in the merit order,” he told Gas toPower Journal during the inauguration of the
CHP in Stapelfeld, just north of Hamburg.
Following its start-up on November 11, the
plant reached an overall efficiency of 95% and
is now capable of generating over 76 million
kilowatt-hours of electricity as well 80 million
kilowatt-hours of heat per year. EPC went
smoothly, not least due to HanseWerks long-
standing cooperation with GE Jenbacher, so
the actual construction was done in just under
seven months. Fine-tuning of the plant during
operation will further improve its efficiency to
reach about 98% – scope for fuel savings and
generate more heat for feeding into the heat
network.
Harnessing every bit of ‘waste heat’from the J920 FleXtras HanseWerk Natur invested 6.8 million Euro to
build the group’s latest CHP in Stapelfeld but
Mr Baade was quick to point out that special
features for a CHP, like the installation of a
heat pump only make sense if the plant gets
reflux of cold water from the local district heat-
ing network.
At Stapelfeld, the heat pump driven by 2x80
kW electrical compressors helps to transform
low grade heat to useful heat of around 840
kW ; with a coefficient of performance (CoP)
of 5.25, according to GE product manager
Klaus Payrhuber.
Intricate systems, like the ammonia-based
heat pump, seek to capture every bit of the heat
produced by the 2-stage turbocharging Jen-
bacher gas engine. Heat is a by-product of any
power generation process, and there is still
some left from the high efficient J920 FleXtra
which reaches an electrical efficiency of
around 48% for the Stapelfeld application.
Natural gas is injected into the cylinder at
around 8 bar where the air and natural gas
get mixed, then compressed and ignited.
By combining the Stapelfeld CHP with an
NH3 heat pump, almost all of the waste heat
produced by the J920 FleXtra can be fed into
the heating circuit, Payrhuber said. This special
plant design called “High
Efficiency Power Genera-
tion (HEPG)“helps to in-
crease the annual heat
output of the power plant
by up to 6.7 million kWh,
he explained.
But HanseWerk, the
operator of the J920 FleX-
tra, is optimising the use
of all systems at the site
which is combined with
gas fired boilers and a
waste incineration plant.
“We seek to have the boil-
ers running as little as pos-
sible because we prioritise
thermal heat from the adjacent waste incinera-
tion plant,” Baade said, stressing “we managed
to strike a pretty good deal on this.”
Grid stabilisation is another key task of the
flexible gas engine in Stapelfeld, which can be
ramped up to full load in just 5 minutes and
feed electricity into the grid (positive power re-
serve). Ideal capabilities for balancing the fluc-
tuating wind power supply in Northern
Germany. HanseWerk Natur said it will inte-
grate its latest CHP into its virtual power plant,
which already consists of 65 units. Intercon-
nected CHPs can also respond at scale to a sur-
plus of electricity in the network (negative
power reserve).
Kiel opts for configuration of 20 Jenbacher enginesInspired by HanseWerk’s latest CHP addition,
the municipal utility in Kiel is in the process of
building a new cogeneration plant.
In contrast to the single 9.5 MW J920
FleXtra gas engine, employed at Stapelfeld,
Stadtwerke Kiel has asked its general contrac-
tor Kraftanlagen München (KAM) to have
20 units J920 FleXtra engines form the heart
of the plant.
Start-up of the nealy 200 MW Kiel plant
is scheduled for beginning of 2018. At full
operation, the power plant based on 20 GE
Jenbacher engines will supply 190 MW of
electrical and 192 MW of thermal energy.
Total efficiency of the plant is meant to be
greater than 90%, based on an electrical
efficiency of 45%.
Selling heat is attractive in Germany, not
last thanks to improved incentives under the
country’s new CHP law. Under a revised law,
operators of all CHP categories obtain 0.3
cent/kWh more in compensation regardless of
the size of the installation. Parts of the CHP in-
dustry, however, consider this bonus as "insuf-
ficient for achieving the targeted 25% CHP
share by 2020" and have postulated a 0.7 cent
bonus, instead.
Much ado over Germany’samended CHP law Policy makers in Berlin have allocated a €750
million budget to underpin the objective of
raising the market share of CHP installations to
25% by 2020. To obtain a tax relief, operators
need to prove that the efficiency level of the
CHP plant exceeds 70%. The amended law
also introduces a new class of small-scale of
CHP plants between 50‐250 kW, and targets
support for heat storage
Yet part of the industry is not content. Some
KWK lobbyists suggested that the share of
CHP in Germany's energy mix could rise to
34% in 2030, if measures of a KWK roadmap
are implemented.
Current rules, valid up to 2020, entitle oper-
ators of bigger plants for proportional compen-
sation, whereby they get 5.41 cent for the first
50 kW; 4 cent for the next 200 kW, 2.41 cent
for the next 1750 kW; and for the exceeding
power capacity 1.8 cent. If the plant is subject
to the EU emission trading rules, operators can
claim for 2.1 cent/kWh. �
One J920 FleXtra gas engine (9.5 MW) drives HanseWerk’s newest cogeneration plant, while a NH3 heatpump allows the operator to feed even minute portions of the engine’s waste heat back into the system. “Installing the heat pump was expensive, but vital,” Thomas Baade, the technical head of HanseWerk Natursaid and adding with a twinkle “we are looking forward to optimize the plant and see a total efficiency ofover 97%.”
Heat pump “expensive but vital” for StapelfeldCHP to hit over 97% efficiency
4th Quarter 2015 GPT Journal COOLING SYSTEMS � 9
“The numbers show that depending
on the design of each particular
machine and its thermodynamic
conditions, the lifespan is 8% up
to 10% longer (or around). But here a very im-
portant aspect must be noted: the usual lifespan
of our machines ranges from 25 to 30 years or
more. That means only the next generation of
people who enter the life now, will draw benefit
from this improvement,” Marinescu explained.
The research by Marinescu’s team studied
thermal regimes and means to reduce engine
stress, associated with turbine cool-down and
low initial metal temperature, as well as devel-
oping more detailed models of natural cooling
in the turbine.
The research is partially in response to the
increased use of renewable energy on the grid
which has meant that gas turbines are more fre-
quently forced to ramp up and down to compen-
sate for varying baseload and as a result suffer
greater wear and tear from cooling effects.
“[Our] new calculation procedure is reliable
and keeps a good accuracy on the whole load-de-
load cycle. Since March 2014 the procedure has
been applied on a current basis for all our produc-
tion projects, both for the new machines and in
the life reassessment of the machines that pass the
first or second outage,” Marinescu commented.
These detailed calculations have since been
examined on a variety of real world plants and
machinery and both the 1000MW 50Hz class ma-
chines with IP double flow steam turbine or the
460MW 50Hz Combined Cycle class machines
with IP single flow steam turbine, both were
among the new machines to directly benefit.
“Regarding the lifetime increase after out-
age, a very good example is the 60MW unit
class machines in Asia. For this class of ma-
chines at the end of 2014 the whole thermal,
stress and life analysis was re-run with our
teams in Baden and Mannheim. The results
confirmed the expected life reserve, which is
now taken into account,” Marinescu said.
Research analyses temperaturegradient at rotor critical locationsWhile the new research offers tremendous ben-
efits for future operations for gas power opera-
tors and improved lifetime of turbines it has
also thrown up some new challenges for the re-
search team as further data has been gathered.
“One of the challenges we faced was in un-
derstanding the close link between the quality
of the thermal insulation and the transient ther-
mal behaviour of the whole machine. The Fi-
nite Element (FE) models calibrated vs. the
measurement conducted in 2010 and 2011
showed a close link between the temperature
gradient at the rotor critical locations and the
properties of the thermal insulation.
“This preliminary conclusion was verified
in a second session of measurements conducted
in 2014 on a 460MW class machine. They con-
firmed our initial prediction and gave valuable
indications on the impact on maximum number
of start-stop cycles,” Marinescu explained.
Following from the success of Alstom’s re-
search in this area the research team has started
a research collaboration with Oxford Univer-
sity - Osney Thermofluids Laboratory. This
new venture will study steam turbine heat
transfer with emphasis on natural cooling
phenomenon and aims to to verify whether the
calculation method can be improved. �
Turbine cooling research helps boost lifetime up to 10%Research into natural cooling profiles for turbines have helped technology developer Alstom increase machinerylifespan by between 8% and 10%, lead researcher Gabriel Marinescu told Gas Power Tech Quarterly.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE)
gave the grant to a total of nine projects
in the context of sCO2 compression. Re-
searchers in Florida reckon that with
CO2 it would only take four stages to compress
versus 55 it takes to compress steam.
Shock waves are used to compress chemi-
cals, which are starting to break down in a high
temperature, high fuel environment. By the end
of the project, researchers aim to have a vali-
dated chemical kinetic mechanism that can be
implemented in an open source CFD code.
The mechanism will then be added to a
computer code to simulate the sCO2 combus-
tor. Possible preliminary designs of combustors
are meant to be created.
Bringing sCO2 research togetherThe use of sCO2 in power turbines has been an
active area of research for a number of years,
and now multiple companies are bringing early
stage commercial products to the market.
Power plants that currently use steam cycles,
could in theory, be upgraded to sCO2 that
would enable much greater efficiencies and
power outputs.
Supercritical CO2 is basically a fluid state
of carbon dioxide where it is held above its
critical pressure and critical temperature which
causes the gas to go beyond liquid or gas into a
phase where it acts as both simultaneously.
Using CO2 as a working fluid to steam
helps reduce the use of water which is scarce in
many regions. Lower op-
eration and maintenance
costs for sCO2 are possi-
ble because plant person-
nel are not needed for
water quality and treat-
ment functions typically
found in steam-based
plants.
In indirect heating sce-
narios, the sCO2 would
be used in a closed-loop
recuperated recompres-
sion Brayton or Rankine
cycle. Indirect heating
could replace steam boilers in coal plants, nu-
clear power, solar thermal, or heat recovery
steam generators used in combined cycles. In-
direct heating cycles offer thermal efficiencies
greater than 50% and are non-condensing.
The main challenge in using sCO2 is identi-
fying the materials that can handle the elevated
temperatures and pressures, manufacturing
turbo machinery, valves and seals. �
UCF professor gets $1.1m for research in supercritical CO2Supercritical CO2 is gaining attention as an ideal working fluid for use in power turbines as it can be efficiently matched to different heat sources, replacing steam cycles. Prof Subith Vasu at UCF’s Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research in Orlando has now received a $1.1 million grant to investigate the use of sCO2 instead of conventional steam.
P O W E R - G E N . C O M
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D E C . 8 — 1 0 , 2 0 1 5
THE WORLD’S LARGEST POWER GENERATION EVENT
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USE THIS PROMO CODE WHEN REGISTERING: GTP
4th Quarter 2015 GPT Journal COOLING SYSTEMS � 11Energy edges closer to commercialising SOFC for power genTogether with ITP, Rolls-Royce will work on a €43 million research programme to test Intermediate Pressure(IP) turbine technologies that will go into its future engine design, UltraFan. Available for service from 2025,UltraFan is meant to offer 25% improvement in fuel burn and emissions compared with first generation Rolls-Royce Trent engines.
The research will see ITP will develop and
validate intermediate pressure turbine and
rear structure capabilities for the UltraFan
engine demonstrator including design,
development, testing and manufacture.
The IP turbine programme, which is receiv-
ing €23.5 million of its total funding from the
EU, is part of the wider EU Clean Sky 2 initia-
tive. The remainder of the funding will come
from ITP, a joint venture between Rolls-Royce
(46.9%) and a subsidiary of Sener (53.1%).
Clean Sky 2 runs until end 2023. It is a pub-
lic/private Joint Technology Initiative that
brings together Europe's industrial aeronautics
leaders, public research organisations and
SMEs to develop and demonstrate break-
through technologies for the civil aerospace
market, reducing emissions and noise and se-
curing the continued competitiveness of the
European aviation industry.
Mike Whitehead, Rolls-Royce, Chief Engi-
neer and Head of Programme – UltraFan Tech-
nologies welcomed the selection of ITP as a
core partner in the technology demonstrator pro-
gramme for UltraFan. "We are committed to de-
veloping engines that meet future customer
requirements of even better fuel efficiency, envi-
ronmental performance and reliability," he said,
suggesting "This is another key milestone on
that journey." In 2014, Rolls-Royce invested
£1.2 billion on research and development.
Alfredo López, ITP Advanced Engineering
Director, commented "The participation in this
programme represents the single largest invest-
ment in technology ever committed by ITP.
This agreement continues to place our com-
pany at the forefront of technology research
and we look forward to working with Rolls-
Royce to make UltraFan the engine choice of
the future."
Apart from its long-established Trent en-
gines, Rolls-Royce mainly focusses on produc-
ing equipment for the aerospace and marine
industries. Annual underlying revenue was
£14.6 billion in 2014, around half of which
came from the provision of aftermarket serv-
ices. The firm and announced order book stood
at £73.7 billion at the end of last year. �
The new YCP-2020 is the first pre-pack-
aged, containerized mechanical-based
GTIAC solution in the market, accord-
ing to the manufacturer who singled out
the equipment as a “cost-effective, flexible,
compact self-contained system.”
It comprises YORK chillers, chilled and
condenser water pumps, electrical starters and
a proprietary Metasys control system. The de-
sign is optimized to reduce parasitic power
consumption; and its 20-foot standard shipping
container sized modules minimize site space
requirements, allowing flexibility in configura-
tion and reducing project logistics costs.
Johnson Controls said “the YCP-2020 is the
result of extensive mar-
ket research with gener-
ating companies, utilities
and gas turbine manu-
facturers on challenges
power plants face.”
The YCP-2020 is
manufactured, assem-
bled and tested at one of
Johnson Controls’
largest factories located
at Wuxi, China, with a manufacturing capacity
of 6,000 chillers per year.
The company claims it is now the only
chiller manufacturer offering GTIAC expertise
and packaging its own equipment into com-
plete solutions, supported by an extensive local
OEM service network of over one hundred
branches across Asia. �
Johnson Controls’ inlet air cooling optimises plantperformanceAt PowerGen Asia, Johnson Controls has unveiled its range of Gas Turbine Inlet Air Cooling (GTIAC) solutions, designed to increase output of gas powerplants and ensure peak performance in environmentswith high ambient temperature.
YCP-2020
Steam turbines typically operate best
when fed a steady supply of steam, but
getting that constant pressure requires
continuous and rapid adjustment of
boiler input parameters. Gas flow changes de-
pend on the turbine's demand for steam flow
from the boiler and every time the gas flow
changes, oxygen flow must also change to en-
sure complete combustion, he explained,
adding that the main feed-water pump, recircu-
lation valves and numerous other components
must also be kept in continuous balance.
Overshots, pressure fluctuationscaused by unstable gas flowsHowever, on one of the steam units, he man-
ages, poor response and control by an old
pneumatic actuator was causing unstable gas
flow, leading to overshoot and pressure fluctu-
ations.
By replacing the Bailey pneumatic actuator
on the main gas valve with a Rexa R5000 elec-
traulic (electro-hydraulic) actuator, he was able
to bring the balky boiler back under control.
While the old actuator had sloppy control of
the gas valve, leading them to overfire and un-
derfire the boiler, with the new actuators, the
boiler is much more controllable, he said.
Replacing pneumatic actuatorThe plant manager's experience with the new
actuators started when he was
looking for a linear drive that
would operate a main feed
pump hydraulic coupling
scoop tube. The hydraulic
coupling uses the tube to
scoop oil out of the coupling
or allow oil to remain, and
turn the coupling at full
speed. With the scoop tube,
there were three or four pivot
points going to the Bailey
pneumatic drive units and
each one of them allowed a
small amount of slop.
"Add together those multi-
ple small points of slop, and
you end up with a major con-
trol problem," he said. There
were points in the travel of the scoop where the
actuator tried to force its way out, and in other
positions would try to pull the scoop in.
By eliminating all those points of slop he
was able to tighten up the controllability of the
boiler feed pump speed. �
At two US-based gas-fired combined cycle plants, controllability at the plants was a major issue, the respon-sible plant manager told Gas Power Tech Quarterly. Large natural gas swings caused large boiler pressureswings, which “created a situation where the load was swinging around a lot more than it needed to be.”
Inside the boiler of a power plant
Tightening up boiler control in combined-cycle plants
At full operation, the plant produces
approximately 600 tons of steam
for electricity and heat for a nearby
chemical complex, explained Ing.
Joao André Coelho, Power Plant & Utilities
Plant Manager at Repsol, Sines Portugal and
Ing. Pascal Stijns, Power & Energy consultant,
at Honeywell Europe, Brussels.
The boilers can simultaneously combust six
fuels of varying quality, availability and cost.
Steam is reduced and distributed via five steam
headers within the site via a 35MW back pres-
sure turbine or pressure reducing stations. A
24MW condensing turbine is available to pro-
duce extra electricity, when needed.
To minimize variable operational cost, the
model draws on Mixed Integer
Non Linear Programming
(MINLP) techniques. Optimal
production settings are signed
out and provided online to
Repsol Sines.
Throughout the optimisa-
tion, plant operation data is fed
into an Excel workbook via
Honeywell's Medex OPC-
based add-in. Online values,
pricing information, physical
properties, etc. are linked to
the model. The Solver add-in
executes and writes the results
into the model tab. From there the values are
written to defined SCADA points in the DCS
for further display, historization, reporting and
alarming via OPC.
Switching to feed-water pumpsaves costsThe modeling found that running the station
with a 1MW electrical feed-water pump in-
stead of a turbo pump has delivered cost sav-
ings of more than 9%. Savings of up to 13%
can be achieved by running the station with
two feed-water streets and the turbo pump,
compared to running with one feed-water street
and one electrical pump.
"Without on- and off-line optimisation ap-
plications, based on open systems, fundamental
engineering knowledge and experience, these
critical savings would have been disguised and
remained unnoticed.
"Especially in today's harsh economic envi-
ronments, it translates to either profits or
losses," Coelh and Stijns concluded. �
Repsol discloses ways to optimize CHP operationsFlexible operation of Repsol’s combined head and power (CHP) stations makes it difficult to optimize produc-tion costs. To alleviate uncertainties the operator developed and installed a real-time thermodynamic model,made up of 70 independent variables and over 900 functions or dependent variables, that controls operationsof the CHP’s three high-pressure boilers and one auxiliary boiler.
The Repsol Sines site in Portugal
� ALTERNATIVE FUELS GTP Journal 4th Quarter 201512
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“Our technology has im-
proved at a rapid rate
and we are now able to
achieve 50% more hydro-
gen from the same stack using half the amount
of catalyst compared with systems just 12
months ago,” he said.
The ITM technology relies on an electrolyser
system which converts electrical energy into
chemical energy using Polymer Electrolyte
Membrane (PEM) stacks operating under differ-
ential pressure. Surplus electricity from renew-
ables is fed into a stack where it is converted
into Hydrogen, Oxygen and heat. Hydrogen is
then injected into a gas mixing process to ensure
the natural gas stream does not exceed 2% by
volume, the technically permissible maximum
value when a natural gas filling station is situ-
ated in the local distribution network.
ITM Power announced the launch of its lat-
est electrolyser system at RWE’s power-to-gas
plant in Ibbenbüren North Rhine Westphalia in
August this year. Operating at 86% efficiency
the plant is amongst the highest effi-
ciency of any commercial hydrogen gas
storage facility.
The option of storing excess eco-
power locally and later using it later
helps to realise Germany’s shift to re-
newable energy under the Energywende
policy. “Power-to-gas technology will
be an exemplary solution, as it makes it
possible for us to respond immediately to fluc-
tuating volumes of incoming power” Dr Arndt
Neuhaus, CEO of RWE Deutschland said.
“Our current systems are comfortably within
the cost range predicted by the EU for energy
storage in 2015 which suggests a cost of 1,200
€/kW -1,940 €/kW and we envisage we will
stay well ahead of the curve going forward.
Improving the operating regimeThere are a variety of approaches we are taking
to improve efficiency and increase output of
hydrogen for a given input power. The vast
majority of power used in the system is con-
sumed by the stack. According to Bource, typi-
cally this might account for around 95% and as
such the easiest way to improve efficiency is to
reduce the voltage required at this level.
“There are three main methods we use to do
this, creating thinner membranes which allow
protons to travel easier, improving the catalysis
process and operating at higher temperature as
well as more efficient pumps, power electronic
tuning and improved AC to DC conversion.
“We are talking to a number of operators at
present and it looks likely that the first MW
scale system will be commissioned within the
next 18 months,” Bourne disclosed. �
ITM predicts ‘significant’ role for hydrogen gas technologyPower to gas storage technology is set to play a ‘significant’ role in balancing renewable energy on the gridin future and can deliver efficiencies of 86% and higher, Dr Simon Bourne, chief technology officer at ITMPower, a UK hydrogen developer told Gas Power Tech Quarterly.
The InteliSysNT and InteliGenNT ranges are high quality, reliable generating-set controllers with ideal features for CHP.
www.comap.cz
� ALTERNATIVE FUELS GTP Journal 4th Quarter 201514
Four major coal-fired plants have been used for decades to provide
much of Beijing's electricity needs. Now, under China's Clean Air
Initiative, the first coal plant was closed already last July, two further
ones were now shut down within ten days and the last is scheduled
for closure next year, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.
The 400 MW Guohua Thermal Power Plant, idled on March 20, had
been supplying heat and power to a key business district in east-central
Beijing. The closure was part of the capital's 5-year campaign which
aims to curb coal consumption by 13 million tons from the 23 million
tons used in 2012.
Beijing plans to build four gas-fired thermal power plants to replace
its four coal-fired ones, in a bid to cut the capital's dependency on coal.
Neighbouring provinces have also idled several coal power plants.
Tianjin converts coal plant to run on gasThe coastal municipality of Tianjin, for example, shut down its biggest
coal power plant on Wednesday last week – foregoing an average output
of 1.5 billion kWh of electricity.
Instead, the government has opened a new plant, considered to be
China's largest gas generation that is capable to provide 8.3 billion kWh
of electricity as well as heating for more than 240,000 households.
The Municipal Development and Reform Commission confirmed to
Xinhua that the Chentangzhuang Thermal Power Plant has ceased the
operation of its three coal-fired power generation units.
"The shutdown of Chentang plant is one of our most important proj-
ects in 2015 to clean the air in Tianjin. This plant consumes 2.33 million
tons of raw coal every year. The coal-consumption reduction task of
Tianjin from 2012 to 2017 is 10 million tons, so it accounts for a quarter
of the whole coal reduction task," said Yang Yong, director of air man-
agement department in Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau. �
Weekly News 27 March 2015
COMPANIESSouth Africa: ABB wins $160m automation order after Alstom exit 2
POLICYSouth Africa: ‘Don’t blameEskom for lack of generation capacity’ 3
REGULATION Nigeria: NERC issues licence for1,080 MW gas power plant 3
PLANT CLOSURESE.ON withdraws 900 MW plant from UK power marketMighty River Power to closeSouthdown station at end of 2015 4
MARKETSMoody’s has faith that U.S. utilities can comply with EPA rules 5
PROJECTS UPDATE 6 – 7
TECHNOLOGY 11
AGENDA
continued on page 2
MTU Aero Engines develops newturbine blade material
The job was done in record time, MTU chief op-
erating officer Dr. Rainer Martens commented:
""While previously, the introduction of a new
material used to take 20 years or so, we've suc-
ceeded in coming up with an entirely new material
class and maturing it for production within a mere
seven years."
Turbine blades in TiAl are only about half the
weight of comparable nickel-alloy components but
boast the same reliability and durability. On top of
that, the high aluminum content makes the material re-
sistant to oxidation and corrosion.
Beijing shuts down 1,280 MW coal capacityto curb air pollutionChina's efforts to move towards cleaner air are tak-ing shape: the government has shut down a large 20-year old coal power plant (400MW) in downtownBeijing, operated by state-owned Guohua ElectricPower Company, just days after the shutdown of the93-year old Shijingshan coal plant (4x220MW) inwestern part of the capital. New gas-fired capacitywill replace the aging coal units.
ncludes News
on Technology
& Innovation
Material experts at MTU Aero Engines and their partners have jointly developedan intermetallic high-temperature materials for highly stressed engine compo-nents. Titanium aluminide (TiAl) – a new lightweight material for turbine blades –combines the advantages of metallic and ceramic materials.
Inspection of MTU tubine equipment
Staff of Guohua’s control room shut down the 400 MW coal power plant on March 20
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