COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANT:

HOW IT WORKS
INNER WORKINGS OF A COMBINED-
CYCLE POWER PLANT
A combined-cycle power plant uses both a gas and a steam turbine
together to produce up to 50 percent more electricity from the same
fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas
turbine is routed to the nearby steam turbine, which generates extra
power. 

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 HOW A COMBINED-CYCLE POWER PLANT
PRODUCES ELECTRICITY
This is how a combined-cycle plant works to produce electricity and
captures waste heat from the gas turbine to increase efficiency and
electrical output.

1. Gas turbine burns fuel.

 The gas turbine compresses air and mixes it with fuel that
is heated to a very high temperature. The hot air-fuel mixture moves
through the gas turbine blades, making them spin.
 The fast-spinning turbine drives a generator that converts a
portion of the spinning energy into electricity.

2. Heat recovery system captures exhaust.

 A Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) captures

exhaust heat from the gas turbine that would otherwise escape through
the exhaust stack.
 The HRSG creates steam from the gas turbine exhaust
heat and delivers it to the steam turbine.

3. Steam turbine delivers additional electricity.

 The steam turbine sends its energy to the generator drive

shaft, where it is converted into additional electricity.

Advantages of Combine Cycle Power Plant

The economics of power generation by gas turbines is proving to be more attractive,
due to low capital cost, and high reliability and flexibility in operation. Quick starting and
capability of using wide variety of fuels from natural gas to residual oil or powdered coal
are other outstanding features of gas turbine power plants. Major progress has been
made in three directions namely increase in unit capacities of gas turbine units (50—
100 MW), increase in their efficiency and drop in capital cost, (about Rs. 700 per kW
installed). Primary application of gas turbine plant is to supply peak load. However gas
turbine plants now-a-days is universally used as peak load, base lead as well as
standby plants.

1. It is smaller in size and weight as compared to an equivalent steam power plant.

For smaller capacities the size of the gas turbine power plant is appreciably
greater than a high speed diesel engine plant but for larger capacities it is smaller
in size than a comparable diesel engine plant. If size and weight are the main
consideration such as in ships, aircraft engines and locomotives, gas turbines are
more suitable.

2. The initial cost and operating cost of the plant is lower than an equivalent steam
power plant. A thermal plant of 250 MW capacity cost about Rs. 250 crores.
Presently whereas gas turbines plant of that same-size cost nearly 70 crores.

3. The plant requires less water as compared to a condensing steam power plant.

4. The plant can be started quickly, and can be put on load in a very short time.

5. There are no standby losses in the gas turbine power plant whereas in steam
power plant these losses occur because boiler is kept in operation even when the
turbine is not supplying any load.

6. The maintenance of the plant is easier and maintenance cost is low.

7. The lubrication of the plant is easy. In this plant lubrication is needed mainly in
compressor, turbine main bearing and bearings of auxiliary equipment.

8. The plant does not require heavy foundations and building.

9. There is great simplification of the plant over a steam plant due to the absence of
boilers with their feed water evaporator and condensing system.

Advantages of combined cycle power generation The worldwide demand for combined
cycle power plant is growing dramatically, with some experts forecasting explosive
growth over the next decade. In its basic form, a gas turbine exhausting into a heat
recovery steam generator (HRSG) that supplies steam to a steam turbine cycle is the
most efficient system of generating electricity today. Thanks to defence and aircraft
research and development programs, the gas turbine technology has forged ahead
considerably during the last two decades with unit plant efficiencies of 30 to 35%,
comparable to the state-of-the-art fossil-fired power stations.

The advantages of combined gas-steam cycles may be summarized as follows:

1. High overall plant efficiency: Efficiencies exceesing 50% can be attained.

2. Low investment costs:

Because 2/3 of the output is produced in a GT and only 1/3 in the simple ST, the
investment costs required are approximately 30% less than those for a conventional
steam power plant.

3. Small amount of water required:

The amount of cooling water required is only about 40 to 50% as much as for a steam
plant.

4. Great operating flexibility:

The simple steam cycle makes it possible to start-up and shut-down the plants quickly,
which also affects efficiency in a positive direction (reducing start-up losses).

5. Phased installation:

Because the gas turbines can go into operation much sooner than the steam plant,
installation in stages is possible. The gas turbine plant can keep on generating power as
the steam plant is under construction. This makes it possible to adjust the growth in
demand for energy in a grid. Later, a coal gasification unit can be installed if there is too
sharp an increase in the price of oil or gas.

6. Simplicity of operation:

It is similar to run than a conventional steam power plant. Moreover, because combined
cycle plants are generally operated fully automatically, they are especially suitable for
use where operating staff is less experienced.

7. Low environmental impact:

Gas burning combined cycle (CC) plants in particular are ideally suitable for use in
heavily populated regions because of their high efficiency and low emission levels of
pollutants. In particular, very low NOx levels of clean CC plants are one of their most
attractive features. Furthermore, gas-fired CC plants produce per kWh only 40% of the
CO2 produced by a coal-fired plant.
8. Advantages for cogenerations of heat and electricity

The good thermodynamic properties of CC plants are highly suitable for cogenerations
of heat electricity. Electrical yields of more than 40% are quite common in heating or
industrial power plants with a back pressure turbine. Large output combined with high
cycle efficiency, low emission level and low investment cost are the main attractive
features of the CC power generation. By dividing the expansion process into two
temperature ranges, 1100-550 0C in the gas turbine and 550 0C to ambient
temperature in the steam turbine, high overall efficiencies exceeding 50% are achieved.

Combined Cycle Power Plant

July 11, 2020
H OME  » E LE CT RI CIT Y GE NE RA TI ON  » PO WE R PL AN TS  » COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANT

The coal-fired power plant has an efficiency of under 30%. In other words, there is a

high waist in the latent energy of the fuel. Combined cycle power plant or Combined

cycle gas turbine is a combination of both gas and steam power production

technologies able to achieve efficiency by up to 60%.

It is a natural gas power plant consisting of a simple cycle gas plant combined with a

second steam engine to generate electricity.

As the hot gases exhaust from the initial gas turbine sent to the steam engine to

produces steam. This steam expands through a turbine to generate additional electricity

through a Rankine cycle.

And this process increases the plant’s overall efficiency, which can be as great as 55%.

We should know that this combination doesn’t apply to gas turbines as we could

use steam turbines.

Combined Heat And Power Plant

Combined heat and power plant or Cogeneration plant integrates the production of

both usable heat (thermal energy) and electricity in one single.

It is a highly efficient process because nearly two-thirds of the energy produced by

conventional plants wasted in heat discharged to the atmosphere and energy waster

during electricity distribution to customers.

And the CHP technology is typically located where there is a need for both thermal

energy and electricity, where it can be used for space heating, cooling, domestic hot

water, and industrial processes.

In this plant, we can use a variety of fuels, both fossil and renewable-based.

And we can deploy combined heat and power plant technology quickly, with few

geographic limitations, and cost-effectively.

There are some benefits to this technology as:

  The costs of energy are small.

 It reduces emissions.

 The efficiency is higher than in a traditional thermal power generation or

in an open-cycle gas turbine generation.

How Does A Combined Cycle Power Plant Work?

The working principle of a combined power plant doesn’t have a great difference from

the coal-fired plant.

As in the first stage, we burn gas to rotate a gas turbine, coupled to an electrical

generator that rotates to produce the electric power.

Hence in the second stage, the hot gasses leaving the gas turbine passes into a heat

recovery steam generator to produce steam, which is used to rotate a steam turbine in

addition to a generator that also rotates to produce the electricity.

Then the steam condenses, and we recycle the system as in the steam power plant.

This means that we have two generators, one driven by the gas turbine to produce

two-thirds of the plant output electricity. The steam turbine drives the other one to

produce one-third of the plant output electricity.

The gas turbine and the steam turbine are also joined to a single generator that we use

for the gas turbine’s startup operation alone.

And we can disconnect the steam turbine by a hydraulic clutch.

Combined Cycle Power Plant Construction:
There are two most common systems of the combined power plant, which are:

Combustion Turbine (Reciprocating

Engine) With A Heat Recovery Unit
In this system, we burn fuels like natural gas, oil, or biogas to turn the generators to

produce electricity.

And we use the heat recovery device to capture the heat from the turbine that converts

into useful thermal energy (steam or hot water).

Steam Boiler with A Steam Turbine

In this system, we begin by producing the steam in the boiler then use it to turn a

turbine connected to a generator, which then turns to produce electricity. We can also

use the steam leaving the turbine to produce useful thermal energy.

We can use various fuels like oil, natural gas, biomass, or coal in this system.

Also, the combined cycle plant may include:

Single shaft configuration consists of one gas turbine, one steam turbine, one

generator, and one heat recovery steam generator.

And the gas turbine and the steam turbine are fused to the single generator.

Multi-shaft configuration consists of one or more gas turbine generators and a heat

recovery steam generator that supplies steam through a common header to a separate
single steam turbine generator. But the overall investment is about 5% higher in costs in

this configuration.

Combined Cycle Power Plant Efficiency

It’s sometimes difficult to calculate or predict the overall performance of the combined

cycle plant. So, we only should know that the combined heat power plants can reach

efficiency ratings over 60%.

And there are types of combined plants capable of reaching the full power in less

than 30 minutes and offers flexibility for companies integrating renewable generation

into systems.

Also, the combined cycle units reduce the amount of fuel needed to do the same

amount of work, reduce site CO2 emission by 65 %, reduce SOx emission by 95%,

remove up 90% of the nitrous oxide, and cut particulate emissions to zero.

Advantages Of Combined Cycle Power Plant:

Combined cycle plant has great advantages as:

 It’s highly reliable, flexible, and available.

 The size and weight are small enough to be suitable for ships, aircraft

engines, and locomotives gas turbines.

 We can use natural gas, which is a very suitable fuel.

 A lower initial cost compared to an equivalent steam plant.

  The cooling water required is less than for the steam plant of the same

capacity output.

 It can start-up and shut-down quickly with fewer start-up losses.

 Maintenance and installation time is less compared to a thermal power

plant.

 There are near to load centers, so transmission costs and losses are

smaller.

 This plant can run off any fuel like oil, gas, biogas, or methane gas.

 The high overall efficiency exceeding 50% and low emission levels of

pollutants make it suitable for heavily populated regions.

 It generally operates fully automatically, so it’s suitable for use where

operating staff is less experienced.

 It’s easy to convert simple gas turbine units to combined cycle

operational power plants using gasified coal and replacing the turbine

burners to fuel conversion.

Disadvantages Of A Combined Cycle Power Plant:

There are some disadvantages of the combined power plant as:

 The technologies needed are more expensive and complex, so initial

investments for building a plant is high.

 The Maintenance cost is high.

  It isn’t suitable as a peak load plant.

 The natural gas used is a non-renewable and highly flammable source.

 The efficiency of part-load demand is poor.

 It requires special metals to maintain the units operated at high

temperature and pressure.

Applications Of Combined Heat Power Plant:

It is used in over 4400 facilities, including:

Industry: chemical plants, sawmills, refineries, laundries, food industry, plastic molding

industry, farming, and greenhouses because combined plants provide a stable electrical

power supply. We can isolate them from the local electricity grid in need.

Hospitals: We all know that hospitals need high electrical and thermal energy for critical

reliability. Hence, they use a 2 MW combined plant to enhance power quality by

assuring the clinical devices’ smooth operation.

Commercial: As office buildings, airports, shopping malls, hotels, health clubs,

universities, and so on, where they need to reduce the size and capital investment in

production equipment.

Institutions: Like prisons, military bases, schools.

Manufacturers: Chemical, refining, ethanol, pulp and paper, and glass manufacturing.
WHAT IS COGENERATION?
Cogeneration, also known as combined heat and power (CHP), is a
highly efficient process that generates electricity and heat
simultaneously. By utilizing the exhaust energy from gas turbines,
useful steam can be generated in a heat exchanger which can then be
used in any number of applications, all with no additional fuel
consumption. As a result, the overall efficiency of CHP systems can
exceed 80%, making CHP one of the most energy-efficient methods of
power generation. With the broadest gas turbine product portfolio in
the industry,  GE is uniquely positioned to provide its customers with
the right products to provide the required ratio of power to heat for
their CHP systems.  For more information on combined heat and
power applications, view our webinar here. 

THE BENEFITS OF COGENERATION

By using one fuel source to produce both heat and electricity
simultaneously, cogeneration – or combined heat and power - is
significantly more efficient and cost effective than traditional power
generation. Why? With traditional power generation, electricity and
thermal energy are produced separately using two different processes
and fuel sources—conventional fossil fuels are used to generate the
electricity and, in most cases, the heat produced as a byproduct to this
process is lost to the atmosphere.  Then an on-site boiler or furnace is
used to generate heat. 

Cogeneration solutions use a single fuel in a combustion engine, like a

gas turbine, to generate electricity.  The heat that is created as a
result of the process is captured and recycled to provide hot water or
steam for other uses—like heating or cooling for the facility. In addition
to eliminating waste and increasing energy production efficiency,
cogeneration solutions have many advantages.

ADVANTAGES OF COGENERATION:
 Save money - Achieve up to 95% percent total efficiency, burn
less fuel for the energy you need, and reduce thermal and electrical
costs creating a payback in as little as 2 years.
 Save energy - Realize energy savings of up to 40% using the
energy from your turbine’s waste heat.
 Increase predictability – Predict against grid power price volatility
and supply uncertainty for more accurate financial planning.
 Increase reliability - Achieve 98% reliability or more with the
proven technology of GE’s aeroderivative gas turbines.
 Energy reform benefits - Benefit from government energy
reforms and associated incentives (green certificates and “efficient
cogeneration“) promoting self power generation.
 Reduce emissions - With combined heat and power, you can
make sure you’re meeting government regulations by reducing your
greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30%.

WHAT'S THE PROCESS BEHIND

COGENERATION POWER SOLUTIONS?
GE has the experience and expertise to help you build an integrated
power generation package.  Our process can include:
FEASIBILITY STUDY
Analysis to identify the onsite power generation strategy that deliver
enhanced efficiency and cost savings.

DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT

Detailed cogeneration engineering and equipment, as well as CHP
equipment sourcing and cost-benefits analysis.

DELIVERY & INSTALLATION

Complete project management including delivery and installation of
equipment and coordination with local utilities.

MAINTENANCE
Design maintenance schedule to protect and secure onsite energy
system.

COGENERATION FINANCING
A variety of financing solutions for the cost of CHP, that don’t require
upfront investment for onsite equipment.

Articles
Advantages of Combined Heat and Power – CHP –
Cogeneration
Advantages of CHP
Heat is generally a by-product of generating electricity: this is always true if
generation is based on combustion of carbon fuels (like coal, oil, gas or biomass).
The principal advantage of locating electric generation close to buildings is that the
heat from generation can be used to heat local buildings.
Although all combustion of carbon compounds releases CO , a larger proportion of
2

the inherent energy in the fuel is converted into electricity or useful heat in a
"Combined Heat and Power" plant ("CHP").
However, CHP only saves carbon emissions for heating when there is
a simultaneous need for electricity and heating. This may be true in winter, but is
unlikely to be the case in summer.
With the rapid decarbonisation of the Grid, electric heating using heat transfer is now
a more secure route to the decarbonisation of heating – and cooling.

Disadvantages of CHP
There are strong reasons why district energy schemes based on CHP have not taken
off in the UK and there will continue to be substantial barriers:
 installation of a CHP requires large up front capital investment
 it requires space for the CHP "energy centre"
 it requires large diameter heavily insulated metal piping for the
hot water network
 it suffers heat losses to the ground
 set up costs to administer and run the central "energy centre"
over the whole life of the system
 set up costs to run an accounting system to charge tenants
and collect substantial fees each quarter
 risk that clients may not want to sign long term heat contracts
 risk that if some clients fail to meet their obligations, others may need to
contribute more
 many modern buildings need cooling as well as heating
 the heat generated in summer may go to waste
 it is not practical to flex the scale of CHP to meet changes in demand, or
expansion of the network
 most organisations want to be in control of their own costs
  combustion within cities is a major cause of air pollution and premature
deaths.
Luckily there is an alternative form of heating which neatly resolves all the limitations
of CHP based district heat networks.

Heat Sharing – Community Heating – Heat Networks

There is an alternative means of sharing heat using a lower temperature distribution
circuit. This heat sharing network, which is linked to a communal ground array can be
accessed by each building on the network: each building uses its own heat pump to
raise the temperature to the temperature it requires for its own heating and hot water
requirements (or rejects heat to the network if it needs cooling).
A heat sharing circuit is much cheaper to install than a high temperature circuit
because it does not require insulation to prevent heat losses to the ground. In fact,
heat exchange with the ground that the pipes pass through can be beneficial: the
ground adjacent to the pipes extends the contact with the ground and the pipes can
draw heat from the ground.
Buildings with excess heat can reject heat to the Heat Sharing Network. This heat
exchange with cold water is much more efficient than rejecting heat to hot air. It also
raises the temperature of the Heat Sharing Network for the benefit of those buildings
which need to extract heat.

Heat Sharing based on a Heat Sharing Network can ...

 provide a reliable and low-cost green energy source for space heating
and cooling
 save over 70% on carbon emissions on heating compared to emissions
from gas boilers
 save over 80% on carbon emissions on cooling buildings compared to
emissions (from the power stations) that power electric air conditioning
and electric chillers
 provide a low-cost heat energy (or cooling) source for industrial
processes
 recover low grade heat from any local source to increase the efficiency of
heat pumps on the network
 provide opportunities for reducing carbon emissions by re-cycling solar
energy instead of burning fossil fuels
 provide the opportunity to recover heat from buildings with high
occupancy and high passive heat gains and transfer it to buildings
needing heat
 attract Renewable Heat Incentive for use of ground source heat pumps
 attract Renewable Heat Incentive for use of solar thermal collectors
 improve urban air quality by avoiding combustion of fossil fuels or
biomass in densely populated areas.

Groups of Buildings – District Heating

A Heat Sharing Network is very well suited to providing heating and cooling to groups
of buildings, particularly buildings under common ownership, including on hospital or
university campuses. The cost of providing an efficient installation can be shared
across a number of buildings, and the benefits increase if the district heating system
includes other buildings such as schools or offices whose heating and cooling
requirements may follow a different daily pattern (and different weekly pattern) from
the heating demand for other buildings on the network. Where the district covers
offices, or data centres, the heat recovered from cooling these buildings can be
transferred to homes requiring heating (or other buildings with a heating need such as
a community swimming pool).
Where the cooling demand is separated in time from the heating demand, surplus
heat can be stored in ThermalBanks from the time it is available to the time it is
needed. This efficient use of heat is at the heart of Interseasonal Heat Transfer and
enables ICAX to provide cheaper heating and cheaper cooling than conventional
methods, as well as proving heating and cooling with a very low carbon footprint.

Sharing heat between buildings

Many buildings have an overall cooling load over the year: they have a requirement to
reject heat. This often applies to modern office buildings in south east England with
extensive glazing and high solar gains. These buildings may be adjacent to older
buildings with an overall annual heating load. ICAX has developed systems to allow
for the transfer of heat between buildings: this form of heat transfer can save fuel and
carbon emissions for both buildings.
Both buildings can benefit from a "heat sharing dividend" when they enjoy "joined-up
heating and cooling".
Other buildings with a need to lose excess heat include underground train tunnels,
data centres and supermarkets.
A comparison of the advantages of Heat Sharing Networks over traditional gas
powered District Heating is shown in the Heat Sharing Table.

Combined Cycle Plant for Power Generation:

Introduction
The process for converting the energy in a fuel into electric power involves the creation of
mechanical work, which is then transformed into electric power by a generator. Depending on the
fuel type and thermodynamic process, the overall efficiency of this conversion can be as low as 30
percent. This means that two-thirds of the latent energy of the fuel ends up wasted. For example,
steam electric power plants which utilize boilers to combust a fossil fuel average 33 percent
efficiency. Simple cycle gas turbine (GTs) plants average just under 30 percent efficiency on natural
gas, and around 25 percent on fuel oil. Much of this wasted energy ends up as thermal energy in the
hot exhaust gases from the combustion process.

To increase the overall efficiency of electric power plants, multiple processes can be combined to
recover and utilize the residual heat energy in hot exhaust gases. In combined cycle mode, power
plants can achieve electrical efficiencies up to 60 percent. The term “combined cycle” refers to the
combining of multiple thermodynamic cycles to generate power. Combined cycle operation employs
a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) that captures heat from high temperature exhaust gases to
produce steam, which is then supplied to a steam turbine to generate additional electric power. The
process for creating steam to produce work using a steam turbine is based on the Rankine cycle.

The most common type of combined cycle power plant utilizes gas turbines and is called a combined
cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant. Because gas turbines have low efficiency in simple cycle operation,
the output produced by the steam turbine accounts for about half of the CCGT plant output. There
are many different configurations for CCGT power plants, but typically each GT has its own
associated HRSG, and multiple HRSGs supply steam to one or more steam turbines. For example,
at a plant in a 2x1 configuration, two GT/HRSG trains supply to one steam turbine; likewise there
can be 1x1, 3x1 or 4x1 arrangements. The steam turbine is sized to the number and capacity of
supplying GTs/HRSGs.

Combined Cycle Principles of Operation

The HRSG is basically a heat exchanger, or rather a series of heat exchangers. It is also called a
boiler, as it creates steam for the steam turbine by passing the hot exhaust gas flow from a gas
turbine or combustion engine through banks of heat exchanger tubes. The HRSG can rely on natural
circulation or utilize forced circulation using pumps. As the hot exhaust gases flow past the heat
exchanger tubes in which hot water circulates, heat is absorbed causing the creation of steam in the
tubes. The tubes are arranged in sections, or modules, each serving a different function in the
production of dry superheated steam. These modules are referred to as economizers, evaporators,
superheaters/reheaters and preheaters.

The economizer is a heat exchanger that preheats the water to approach the saturation temperature
(boiling point), which is supplied to a thick-walled steam drum. The drum is located adjacent to
finned evaporator tubes that circulate heated water. As the hot exhaust gases flow past the
evaporator tubes, heat is absorbed causing the creation of steam in the tubes. The steam-water
mixture in the tubes enters the steam drum where steam is separated from the hot water using
moisture separators and cyclones. The separated water is recirculated to the evaporator tubes.
Steam drums also serve storage and water treatment functions. An alternative design to steam
drums is a once-through HRSG, which replaces the steam drum with thin-walled components that
are better suited to handle changes in exhaust gas temperatures and steam pressures during
frequent starts and stops. In some designs, duct burners are used to add heat to the exhaust gas
stream and boost steam production; they can be used to produce steam even if there is insufficient
exhaust gas flow.

Saturated steam from the steam drums or once-through system is sent to the superheater to
produce dry steam which is required for the steam turbine. Preheaters are located at the coolest end
of the HRSG gas path and absorb energy to preheat heat exchanger liquids, such as water/glycol
mixtures, thus extracting the most economically viable amount of heat from exhaust gases.
The superheated steam produced by the HRSG is supply to the steam turbine where it expands
through the turbine blades, imparting rotation to the turbine shaft. The energy delivered to the
generator drive shaft is converted into electricity. After exiting the steam turbine, the steam is sent to
a condenser which routes the condensed water back to the HRSG.

CCGT Design Considerations

Designs and configurations for HRSGs and steam turbines depend on the exhaust gas
characteristics, steam requirements, and expected power plant operations. Because the exhaust
gases from a gas turbine can reach 600ºC, HRSGs for GTs may produce steam at multiple pressure
levels to optimize energy recovery; thus they often have three sets of heat exchanger modules – one
for high pressure (HP) steam, one for intermediate pressure (IP) steam, and one for low pressure
(LP) steam. The high pressure steam in a large CCGT plant can reach 40 – 110 bar. With a multiple-
pressure HRSG, the steam turbine will typically have multiple steam admission points. In a three-
stage steam turbine, HP, IP and LP steam produced by the HRSG is fed into the turbine at different
points.

The HRSGs present operational constraints on the CCGT power plant. As the HRSGs are located
directly downstream of the gas turbines, changes in temperature and pressure of the exhaust gases
cause thermal and mechanical stress. When CCGT power plants are used for load-following
operation, characterized by frequent starts and stops or operating at part-load to meet fluctuating
electric demand, this cycling can cause thermal stress and eventual damage in some components of
the HRSG. The HP steam drum and superheater headers are more prone to reduced mechanical life
because they are subjected to the highest exhaust gas temperatures. Important design and
operating considerations are the gas and steam temperatures that the module materials can
withstand; mechanical stability for turbulent exhaust flow; corrosion of HRSG tubes; and steam
pressures that may necessitate thicker-walled drums. To control the rate of pressure and
temperature increase in HRSG components, bypass systems can be used to divert some of the GT
exhaust gases from entering the HRSG during startup.

The HRSG takes longer to warm up from cold conditions than from hot conditions. As a result, the
amount of time elapsed since last shutdown influences startup time. When gas turbines are ramped
to load quickly, the temperature and flow in the HRSG may not yet have achieved conditions to
produce steam, which causes metal overheating since there is no cooling steam flow. In 1x1
configurations, the operation of the steam turbine is directly coupled to the GT/HRSG operation,
limiting the rate at which the power plant can be ramped to load. Steam conditions acceptable for the
steam turbine are dictated by thermal limits of the rotor, blade, and casing design.

Control equipment for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions are integrated
into the HRSG. As these systems operate efficiently over a narrow range of gas temperatures, they
are often installed between evaporator modules.

Flexible Combined Cycle: The Flexicycle Power Plant

The Flexicycle power plant is a combined cycle power plant with unique characteristics based on
Wärtsilä gas or dual-fuel combustion engines. Because combustion engines convert more of the fuel
energy into mechanical work, they have higher simple cycle efficiencies, averaging near 50 percent.
The exhaust gases from reciprocating internal combustion engines are around 360ºC, much lower
temperature than GT exhaust. Due to the lower exhaust gas temperatures, HRSGs designed for
combustion engine power plants are much simpler in design, creating steam at one pressure level –
approximately 15 bar. The steam turbine process adds approximately 20% to the efficiency of the
Flexicycle power plant.
Flexicycle Power Plant based on combustion engines

In a Flexicycle power plant, each combustion engine generator set has an associated HRSG.
Bypass valves are used to control the admission of steam to the steam turbine when an engine set
is not operating. One engine can be used to preheat all the HRSG exhaust gas boilers with steam to
keep the HRSGs hot and enable fast starting. Flexicycle power plants combine the advantages of
high efficiency in simple cycle and the modularity of multiple engines supplying the steam turbine.
The steam turbine can be run with only 25 percent of the engines at full load, or 50 percent of the
engines at half load. For a 12-engine power plant of around 200 megawatts (MW), this means only
three of the engines need to be operating to produce enough steam to run the steam turbine. The
result is a very efficient power plant that retains the operational agility of a power plant based on
simple-cycle engines. 

Meghnaghat Combined Cycle Gas-Fired

Power Plant, Meghnaghat
The Meghnaghat 450MW combined-cycle gas-fired power plant is located on a 25.09ha
site 22km south of Dhaka on the northern bank of the Meghna River.

Output

450MW

Plant type

Combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT)

Location

Meghnaghat, Bangladesh

Investment

$289.6m

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Bangladesh Power Development Board takes electricity from power plants such as the
Chorashal 210MW thermal power station.
 Hyundai Engineering and Construction has constructed a number of power plants
worldwide.

Combined cycle power plant, constructed by Hyundai Engineering and Construction

at Poryong, Korea.

A 450MW combined cycle gas-fired power station is now operating in Meghnaghat,

Bangladesh.

Construction during Phase I of Meghnaghat. BPDB is currently constructing

Meghnaghat Phase II.

The Meghnaghat plant was built by AES Corp.

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The Meghnaghat 450MW combined-cycle gas-fired power plant is located on a
25.09ha site 22km south of Dhaka on the northern bank of the Meghna River.

The $289.6m plant was built by US-based AES (Allied Energy Systems) over a 22-
year power purchase agreement with Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).

The engineering, procurement and construction contract for the facility was awarded
to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).
Operations at the plant began in November 2002. In 2003, AES sold the plant to the
UK company CDC Globeleq, which sold the plant to Malaysia-based Pendekar Group
in 2007.

The plant is 76% held by Pendekar Energy and 24% by Pendekar Energy Ventures
(PEVL).

The Bangladeshi Government had been purchasing electricity from the Meghnaghat
power plant at a price below two cents per unit, which is considered to be the lowest
ever electricity price in the world.

Pendekar Energy Group sought approval from the Power Ministry for enhancing the
capacity of the Meghnaghat power plant by 170MW.

Named Meghnaghat I, the second phase, 335MW dual-fuel combined cycle unit
became operational in 2014.

Additional base-load capacity of Meghnaghat power

facility
Meghnaghat supplies domestic, agricultural and industrial users. The project offers
extra base-load capacity to help solve Bangladesh’s present and forecasted power
shortages. As of mid-2009, the generating capacity of the 450MW plant accounted for
9% of the total power generated in the country.

The plant load factor was 88.21% in 2007. By the end of that year, the Meghnaghat
power plant supplied around 14,875GWh of electricity to BPDB.

Hydraulic model study for the Meghnaghat power plant

The project lies downstream of the Meghna Bridge at Meghna Ferryghat, an area that
is influenced by significant tidal action during the dry season. The plant draws cool
water from the river and discharges the hot water back into the freshwater source.

“The project lies in an area that is influenced by significant tidal action during the dry
season.”
A hydraulic model study for the plant by DHI (Danish Hydraulic Institute)/ SWMC
(Surface Water Modelling Centre) included thermal plume and morphological
modelling.

The hydraulic model study avoided the inappropriate location of intake and outlet of
water, which would endanger aquatic life while causing a tremendous loss of
efficiency. It examined river hydraulics, advection-dispersion of heated water and
sediment transport and scouring along the proposed location of the plant using
advanced mathematical tools.

Construction of the Meghnaghat CCGT plant

Meghnaghat was constructed by Hyundai Engineering and Construction using
combined-cycle gas turbines fed by natural gas.

The plant uses two V94.2 gas turbines with air-cooled generators from Ansaldo
Energia. The V94.2 is a single shaft, cold-end drive dual combustor with 16 burners
and a heavy-duty gas turbine. It includes a 16-stage axial compressor and a four-stage
axial turbine with a common rotor.

The generator has a conventional design for use with gas turbines. The air-cooled,
two-pole machine has a cylindrical rotor and is ventilated in closed circuit
configuration using air-to-water heat exchangers located in the lower part of the stator
frame. Dry low-NOx combustors achieve the guaranteed NOx emission level. Steam
or water injection is not required.

Heat recovery steam generators at the power plant in

Meghnaghat
The Hyundai Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs) produce superheated HP
steam, superheated reheat steam and superheated LP steam. They are designed for
100% full-load continuous operating conditions. The HRSGs use supplementary firing
to achieve the required 450MW net output at the high voltage side of the outgoing
terminals of the 230kV transformer. The HRSGs, pumps and auxiliaries are designed
for outdoor installation.

The plant uses a FUJI triple-pressure (HP, IP and LP), reheat, condensing, down
exhaust type steam turbine with an air-cooled generator. The steam turbine has no
steam extraction. The two-pole generator is totally enclosed and water-to-air-cooled.

The steam turbine is installed indoors for environmental protection and acoustic
attenuation. The steam turbine building has an overhead travelling crane for heavy-
load maintenance lifting. The building has suitable indoor laydown areas for plant
maintenance.

The gas turbine maintenance contract was awarded to Ansaldo, an Italian company. A
long-term parts management contract was awarded to Siemens Germany in 2006.
Financing of Meghnaghat CCGT
450MW Meghnaghat power plant was financed through $220m of debt and $75m of
equity.

The debt facilities were provided by the Asian Development Bank and other lenders.
An $80m loan, the largest from any Bangladeshi financial institution, was extended by
Infrastructure Development Company.

Meghnaghat phase II
A new CCGT power plant known as Meghnaghat plant phase II or Summit
Meghnaghat Power Plant is under construction at Meghnaghat. It will be a 583MW
power project installed with GE’s high efficiency and an air-cooled gas turbine
9HA.02 capable of producing 590MW using gas/regasified LNG fuel or 541MW
using high-speed diesel.

The project is being built by Summit Meghnaghat II Power Company, a subsidiary of

Summit Group and BPDB.

SMPCL signed agreements to develop the Meghnaghat II project for an investment of

approximately $390m in March 2019. The project is expected to be operational by
March 2022.
ONCE-THROUGH BOILERS
Ruffell, A.E.
DOI: 10.1615/AtoZ.o.once-through_boilers
These boilers, in contrast to recirculation or natural circulation units, are characterized by
continuous flow paths from the evaporator inlet to the superheater outlet without a
separation drum in the circuit. They are almost exclusively used for steam production in
connection with utility electricity generation, and have been the most popular design in
Europe and Scandinavia for many years.
A number of different detailed designs are offered by Siemens KWU (owners of the Benson
Boiler patent), Sulzer and, in recent years, Japanese and American companies. All once-
through boilers incorporate relatively small bore evaporator tubes (usually about 25 mm
bore) which are generally arranged in a spiral fashion to form the furnace envelope. Two
principal options are adopted for the section of the boiler after the furnace. Either a two-
pass arrangement with a vestibule cage and downpass may be used (as shown in Figure 1)
or a tower concept with the superheat, reheat and economizer sections above the furnace
(as shown in Figure 2). The walls and roof of the boiler may consist of tubes forming part of
the evaporator or superheater circuits and inside these are mounted banks of tubes acting
as the principal superheat, reheater and economizer circuits.
Once-through boilers are generally associated with high pressure operation and the feed
water enters at high sub-critical (>180 bar) or supercritical pressure whilst superheated
steam leaves at a pressure some 20–30 bar lower. Sliding pressure operation is adopted to
accommodate requirements of part-load running.
Figure 1. A typical Babcock two-pass once-through utility boiler. (Courtesy of Mitsui
Babcock Energy Ltd.)
Figure 2. A typical Babcock once-through tower boiler. (Courtesy of Babcock Energy Ltd.)
Furnaces may be fired by burners mounted in the front wall or by opposed firing with
burners, normally, in the front and rear walls or by tangential firing achieved by slot-
burners mounted in the corners to create a circulating flow which is claimed to have
advantages for suppressing pollutant formation.
Because the water is evaporated to high quality in a once-through boiler, it is particularly
important to guard against dryout occurring in high heat flux zones or to take other
precautions against the phenomenon being associated with burnout. In spiral furnace
boilers operating at sub-critical pressures, where dryout would take place at about 40%
quality, it is possible to arrange for this position to coincide with an area of reduced heat
flux above the primary combustion zone, such that the temperature rise in the tubing at
dryout is limited. An alternative solution is to use rifled-bore tubing which, by creating
centrifugal forces, causes more of the liquid phase to remain in contact with the tube wall,
thus delaying dryout to higher qualities and/or enabling lower water velocities to be
adopted.