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Comparative Study On Sub Critical and Super Critical Power Cycles
Comparative Study On Sub Critical and Super Critical Power Cycles
General
This appendix addresses the comparative issues of sub-critical and super
critical power cycles.
The critical pressure point of water and steam is 22.1 MPa abs, below
this pressure it is called sub-critical pressure and above this pressure it
is called as supercritical pressure. In the supercritical region, coexistence of water and steam is not present, therefore in the absence of
steam/water mixture, the recirculating boiler technology adopted for
subcritical pressure could not be used. This was the key to the
advancement of cycle efficiency through the adoption of economic and
reliable once-through supercritical boilers.
Historical Perspective of Supercritical Pressure Plants
The drive for enhancing the efficiency of generating plants in an
environmentally friendly manner has been realized mainly through
advancing the steam conditions, i.e. increasing pressure and
temperature.
This was realized due to dramatic improvements in materials technology
for boilers and steam turbines since the early 1980s for higher steam
temperature, and a better understanding of power plant water chemistry,
have led to an increased use of supercritical steam cycles in international
markets.
Development of Supercritical Boilers
In the 1950s when the USA showed interest in using advanced steam
conditions, the two major holders of the supercritical boiler technology
were Sulzer of Switzerland and Siemens in Germany. Sulzer boilers were
known as monotube boilers whereas Siemens the licensor of the Benson
once-through boiler technology. The USA boiler manufacturers therefore
turned to Europe and signed technology licenses with the Europeans. It
was this USA push that spawned the majority of the supercritical boilers
that operate in the world today. By comparison the number of
supercritical plants of direct European origin is modest, although the
numbers have grown in recent years. Combustion Engineering signed
with Sulzer and Babcock and Wilcox and Foster Wheeler had an
agreement with Siemens. Riley Stoker also built supercritical pressure
units.
The number of supercritical plants sold in the USA in the decade starting
1965 amounted to 125 units. In total there are now some 150 units in service in the USA,
the reduction in the rate of their installation being in part a result slowdown in the growth
of demand and the trend towards gas fired combined cycle plants.
In the 1960s a number of the US type of supercritical boilers were
installed in Japan with the Japanese licensees of the US boiler makers
being involved. B&W were associated with Babcock/Hitachi, Combustion
Engineering with Mitsubishi (MHI), and Foster Wheeler with lHI. Because
of their high fuel costs the Japanese had a greater incentive than the US
to adopt the advanced cycle conditions. Consequently a very high
proportion of units installed in Japan have been supercritical units and
within the following two decades the Japanese had advanced the design
of
supercritical
pressure
boilers
further
than
their
US
licensees/associates.
The former USSR also embarked on a major installation program of
supercritical units commencing around 1960.
Around the mid to late 1980s when the pressure from the greenhouse
gas issue began to be felt, Germany and Denmark embarked on a major
program of advancing the efficiency of the conventional steam cycle for
coal firing. This impetus may have been spurred on by the threat of
competition from the new power generation technologies which were
being developed at that time, integrated gasification combined cycle
(IGCC) and pressurized fluidized bed boilers (PFB).
As can be seen from the above the countries which have the most
experience with supercritical pressure cycles are USA, (although most of the units
installed are of an out-dated technology) Japan, Germany and Denmark. There are
also a number of units in Korea, China and a lesser number elsewhere.
Thus Germany, Japan and Denmark have a number of modern plants
which could be described as worlds best practice in terms of efficiency
and operational flexibility. It is natural that the major advancement in
the technology has occurred in those countries where the high cost of
fossil fuels is a major driver. In the case of Germany and Japan they also
have the necessary industrial base and the major boiler and turbine
designers who have the resources to develop advanced designs. In the
European scene the major players are Alstom and Siemens on both
boilers and turbines, and Deutsche Babcock on boiler design. In the case
of Japan all the usual heavy industry manufacturers are involved, MHI
and Hitachi with both boiler and turbines, and Toshiba on turbines, IHI
on boilers. The major USA manufacturers also offer supercritical boilers
of a similar design to those offered by the German and Japanese
manufactures.
Korean and Chinese manufacturers also offer supercritical boilers under
the licensees from European and Japanese manufacturers.
In India, very recently BHEL made technology collaborations with Alstom
for Supercritical Boiler and with Siemens for Steam Turbine Generator.
NTPC started to construct first supercritical plant (3 x 660MW) in India
near Sipat village in the state of Chhattisgarh.
Supercritical Boilers
With supercritical pressure boiler there is not only a need to increase the
wall thickness of the pressure components and also use advanced
materials but there is also a need to adopt a type of boiler which is
different to the type normally used for sub-critical pressures. This need
is related to the type of technology that can be used in the evaporation
circuit of the boiler. It is this need for a different boiler technology which
is the critical requirement in the adoption of supercritical pressure.
the HP turbine, pressure drop through the reheater, etc. Therefore the
figures shown in the above graph must be regarded as typical only.
When the supercritical plant having steam conditions of about 25 MPa
and 566/566C is compared with modern sub-critical plants which
operate at around 16 MPa 538/538C, an efficiency improvement of
about 3.5% is expected accordingly to the above graph.
Environmental Benefits
Gains in efficiency are reflected directly in the environmental benefits,
i.e. savings in coal consumption that means lower amount of CO2, NOx
and SO2 emission per kWh of power generated using efficient
supercritical plants.
Comparative Costs
(i) Capital Costs
The key issues arising from a comparison of a supercritical pressure
plant compared to a sub-critical plant of the same MW rating are:
However the total heating surface area in the boiler may not change
significantly as the heat is transferred at a higher average fluid
temperature, thereby reducing the temperature differences between flue
gas and the working fluid.
Overall the cost of the boiler plant is higher mainly as a result of the
thicker walls for pressure containment and the more complicated
furnace wall system required for the once-through design. The cost of the
turbine is expected to be marginally higher due to the thicker walled
components or the higher grade material required because of the higher
emperatures. There is no significant extra equipment required to meet
the requirements of the supercritical plant, for e.g. supercritical pressure
plants would require 100% condensate polishing where as recirculation
sub-critical plants does not require this. But of late, condensing
polishing plants are widely used in recirculation sub-critical plants also.
Because of the reduction in size of much of the ancillary plant, coal and
ash handling plant, CW system, etc, which will partly off-set the
increased cost of the boiler and turbine, the overall cost of a supercritical
plant compared with a recirculation sub-critical plant should not be
more than 5% above a sub-critical pressure plant. This assumes that
moderate temperatures for steam conditions are used such as 570C for
main steam and 580-600C of hot reheat.
Higher temperatures and any higher pressure more than 25MPa may
push the price increase above the 5% increase.
(ii) Operational and Maintenance Costs
The dumping of water and heat on start-up can be avoided by the installation of a start-up boiler recirculation pump. Without a boiler circulating
pump it would not be economic to operate for any period of time below
the minimum once-though load.
(ii) Water Chemistry
With the recirculation boiler most of the impurities in the feed water are
retained within the recirculation system as only pure steam passes onto
the superheater. Periodically the boiler water is blown down to limit the
concentration of impurities in the boiler water. With a once- through
boiler there is no means of removing impurities from the system, any
impurities therefore will either deposit on the furnace walls or be carried
forward, either in particulate matter or in the vapour phase, to the
superheater and turbine. During the late 1950s and early 1960s with the
growth in the number of once-through boilers advances were made in the
cycle chemistry and water treatment technology to match the demand.
These days the feed water quality standards used for recirculation boilers
and once-through boilers are very similar. There is virtually no
distinction in the standard as to whether the boiler operates at sub or
supercritical pressure. Because of late 100% condensate polishing plant
are provided for sub-critical plants also.
In addition, once-through boilers do not have a boiler blowdown. This
has a positive effect on the water balance of the plant with less
condensate needing to be fed into the water-steam cycle and less waste
water to be disposed of.
For the earlier supercritical boilers, the use of deoxygenated all-volatile
treatment (AVT) resulted in increased pressure drop through the furnace
walls due to scaling, and hence the necessity for frequent acid cleaning
or metal temperature rise. The oxygenated water treatment (OWT) or
combined water treatment (CWT) developed in Germany has been applied
in supercritical boilers for more than 20 years operation. The use of OWT
after initial start-up ensures the control of inner scaling of furnace wall
tubes. Due to application of OWT in supercritical boilers, it is not
necessary to perform periodic cleaning because tube inner scaling is
controlled to a minimum rate. However, for sub-critical boilers periodic
acid cleaning is required at an interval of 4 years.
(iii) Load Change Rates
The maximum achievable load change rate on a boiler is controlled by
two main factors: