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Concentrating Solar Thermal
Concentrating Solar Thermal
Lecture 23
Concentrating Solar Thermal, Micro-Hydro, Biomass
Alejandro D. Dominguez-Garcia!
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering!
aledan@illinois.edu!
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)
Potential Energy
z
Pressure
Kinetic Energy
Theoretically Available Power
Q (gpm)
Turbine Design - 3 Approaches
1. Impulse turbines !
!- most common for micro-hydro systems!
!- capture kinetic energy of high-speed jets!
!- high head, low flow !
2. Reaction turbines !
!- pressure difference of blades creates a torque!
!- low head, high flow!
3. Waterwheel !
!- slow-moving but powerful!
!- slow rotational rates make them a poor match for
!the high speeds needed for electric power
!generation!
Impulse Turbines: Pelton Wheel
• The original impulse turbine by Lester Pelton!
• Water squirts out of nozzles onto sets of
buckets attached to the rotating wheel!
• Nozzles convert pressure head to kinetic energy!
• Efficiencies are typically in the range of 70-90%!
Biomass for Electricity
• Use energy stored in plant material!
– Plants energy comes from the sun!
– Captured and stored during photosynthesis!
• 14 GW around the world, half in US!
• 2/3 of biomass in US is cogeneration!
• Fuel is essentially waste!
– Low-cost, no-cost or even negative-cost!
• High transportation costs!
• Efficiencies are typically less than 20%!
– Leads to expensive electricity (around 9¢/kWh)!
Burn Biomass Alongside Coal (Co-firing)
• Modified conventional steam-cycle plants!
• Increases efficiency compared to a strict
biomass-burning plant!
• Economical way to utilize biomass in relatively
efficient plants!
• Reduces overall emissions!
Gas Turbines and Biomass
• Cannot run directly on biomass without causing
damage!
• Gasify the fuel first and clean the gas before
combustion!
• Work has already been done to create coal-
integrated gasifier/gas turbine (CIG/GT)
systems!
• These efforts can be adapted for biomass-
integrated gasifier/gas turbine (BIG/GT)
systems!
– In fact, biomass is easier to gasify than coal!
Biomass plant in Robbins, IL