Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat

ultra-supercritical power plants q
Gang Xu, Luyao Zhou, Shifei Zhao, Feifei Liang, Cheng Xu, Yongping Yang ⇑
National Thermal Power Engineering and Technology Research Center, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China

h i g h l i g h t s

 Two superheat utilization schemes of extraction steam are proposed.

 A comparative study of thermodynamic and techno-economic analyses is conducted.
 Two proposed schemes can both effectively utilize the superheat of extraction steam.
 More obvious energy saving effect is obtained at low load conditions.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants have been receiving an increasing amount of attention
Received 31 October 2014 because of their high thermal efficiency. However, the superheat degree of extraction steam in double
Received in revised form 6 January 2015 reheat power plants is relatively high and results in a large temperature difference in the heat transfer
Accepted 7 January 2015
process of the regenerative system. As a result, this impedes further improvement of the thermal effi-
Available online xxxx
ciency of double reheat power plants. This paper presents two superheat utilization schemes of extrac-
tion steam in a double reheat ultra-supercritical power plant, where one scheme adopts outer steam
Keywords:
coolers and the other employs a regenerative turbine. A comparative study of the two proposed schemes
Double reheat
Superheat utilization
is conducted. Thermodynamic and techno-economic analyses are performed to reveal the energy saving
Thermodynamic analyses effects of the proposed schemes. Thermodynamic analyses under partial load operation conditions are
Techno-economic analyses also presented. The results reveal the following. The power generation efficiency of the outer steam
Partial load conditions cooler scheme and the regenerative turbine scheme increases by 0.16 percentage points and 0.67 per-
centage points compared with a reference double reheat power plant, respectively. When the load is
reduced, the energy saving effects of the proposed schemes become more obvious. The power generation
efficiency increments of the outer steam cooler and the regenerative turbine schemes can reach 0.19 and
0.79 percentage points, respectively, at a 50% turbine heat acceptance load. The net annual revenues of
the two schemes are 0.29 and 1.59 million USD, respectively. The results indicate that the two proposed
schemes can both effectively utilize the superheat of extraction steam for double reheat ultra-supercrit-
ical power plants. In comparison, the regenerative turbine scheme is superior to the outer steam cooler
scheme in terms of thermodynamic and techno-economic performance.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Coal plays the dominant role in power generation in China.
According to statistics, pulverized coal-fired power plants provide
nearly 80% of the country’s total electricity requirements [1]. These
q
This article is based on a four-page proceedings paper in Energy Procedia
Volume 61 (2015). It has been substantially modified and extended, and has been
subject to the normal peer review and revision process of the journal, Applied
Energy.
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +86 10 61772011.
E-mail address: yypncepu@163.com (Y. Yang).
power plants account for more than half of the total national coal
consumption and subsequently contribute nearly 50%, 37%, 33%
and 50% to the total SOx, NOx, dust and CO2 emission volumes,
respectively, for the entire country [2,3]. Moreover, China has been
the world’s largest producer and consumer of energy since 2013
[4]. As a result, energy conservation is extremely significant to
energy security, environment protection and emission reduction
in China. Power plants should operate at a high parameter condi-
tion in supercritical (SC) and ultra-supercritical (USC) domains to
accomplish this goal. Power plant parameters have been enhanced
extremely over the past few decades. Live steam pressure can
reach 30 MPa and live steam temperature has increased to 600 °C

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
0306-2619/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
2 G. Xu et al. / Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
Nomenclature
Abbreviation
SC supercritical
USC ultra-supercritical
HP high-pressure
IP intermediate-pressure
LP low-pressure
LHV low heat value
DEA deaerator
CON condenser
RH regenerative heater
GEN generator
[5]. Current boiler thermal efficiency ranges from 93% to 95% and
the isotropic efficiency of steam turbines has reached an average
of above 90% in USC power plants [6]. A recent study has reported
that the highest thermal efficiency of 46.5% has been achieved by
the Shanghai Waigaoqiao power plant [7]. Currently, the parame-
ters of power plants under construction are all in the USC domains.
Many technologies are utilized to further increase the efficiency of
the steam/water cycle. Reheat technology is one of the most out-
standing examples, which improves efficiency by increasing the
mean temperature of the endothermic process [8]. Double reheat
technology has been employed in several power plants and has
gained preferable thermal performances. Typical double reheat
power plants include the Manham power plant in Germany and
the Nordjylland power plant in Denmark, both with a thermal effi-
ciency over 45% [9,10]. Double reheat technology has attracted
considerable attention over the past few decades. Rashidi et al.
[11] studied on the thermodynamic analysis of a steam power
plant using double reheat technology, and evaluated the main
parameters for the steam cycle. Li et al. [12] proposed a heat circu-
lation calculation model for the thermal system of double reheat
power plants. Yan et al. [13] presented a detailed mathematical
model and conducted a thermodynamic analysis of double reheat
systems. Reddy et al. [14] investigated the selection of appropriate
reheat parameters for double reheat power plants. Double reheat
USC power plants have been identified as the key research and
development project of the National ‘‘Twelfth Five-Year Plan’’ of
the Chinese government [15].
Given that the live steam parameters of USC power plants have
advanced rapidly in recent years, the parameters of the extraction
steam have also correspondingly increase, resulting in a highly
superheated extraction steam. Berg [16] investigated the theoreti-
cal and practical advantages obtained by the adoption of high
steam parameters and reheat technology. The superheat degree
of the extraction steam in double reheat power plants is even
higher because of the two-stage reheat process. Moreover, the
increased superheat degree creates a large temperature difference
and enhanced exergy destruction in the heat transfer process of the
regenerative system, and the further improvement of thermal effi-
ciency is thus impeded [17,18]. The efficiency could be improved in
the steam cycle by utilizing the superheat of extraction steam for
heating the feed water from several stages in the turbine. Appro-
priate superheat utilization of extraction steam by reducing the
super degree is an effective approach to further improve the ther-
mal efficiency of double reheat USC power plants. Two measures
have been applied to effective utilize the superheat of extraction
steam. One adopts an outer steam cooler, which involves setting
a surface-type heat exchanger before the regenerative heater
(RH) [17]. The superheated extraction steam enters the outer
steam cooler, and some of its superheat is used to heat the feed
water, which reduces the superheat degree and improves the feed
Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
THA turbine heat acceptance
TIC total investment capital (million USD)
O&M operation and maintenance
EAI extra annual income (million USD)
NAR net annual revenue (million USD)
Symbols
g power generation efficiency (%)
q heat consumption rate (kJ/kW h)
k discounted rate (%)
n service life of equipment (years)
water temperature. Liu et al. [19] investigated the thermal perfor-
mance of a steam cycle with single reheat after employing an outer
steam cooler. Li et al. [20] established a heat circulation calculation
model for a thermal system employing an outer steam cooler.
These studies have demonstrated that the effectiveness of an outer
steam cooler as superheat utilization measure. Using this type of
cooler can reduce the superheat degree of extraction steam by
more than 100 °C. The other effective means for superheat utiliza-
tion of extraction steam is to employ a regenerative steam turbine,
which was proposed by Kjaer [21,37]. In this scheme, part of the
exhaust steam from the high-pressure (HP) turbine flows directly
into an extra regenerative steam turbine without entering the
reheaters. Several regenerative extraction steam points are set in
the regenerative steam turbine to replace those in the intermedi-
ate-pressure (IP) turbine. The extraction steam from the regenera-
tive steam turbine is not reheated. Thus, the superheat degree of
the extraction steam is significantly reduced by this scheme. This
leads to a reduced exergy destruction of the RHs and improves
the thermal efficiency of the power plant. Ploumen et al. [23] com-
pared the thermal performance of a common steam/water cycle
with the regenerative turbine scheme. The results of the study
indicated that the thermal efficiency of the new scheme repre-
sented an increase of approximately 0.4 percentage points in a sin-
gle reheat power plant.
The superheat degree of extraction steam is extremely high
because of the two-stage reheat process. Therefore, the reduction
in the superheat degree of the extraction steam in double reheat
USC power plants is extremely urgent. Moreover, large USC power
plants may operate under partial load for peak regulation. Han
et al. [24] conducted a simulation study of a lignite-fired power
system integrated with flue gas drying and waste heat recovery
to present performances under variable power loads. Peng et al.
[25] studied the thermodynamic features of a solar aided coal-fired
power plant under different load conditions by analysing several
operational parameters. The superheat degree of extraction steam
increases when the load reduces under the sliding pressure opera-
tion mode. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the superheat utili-
zation under partial load operation conditions. Superheat
utilization schemes need new equipment and facilities, resulting
in an increased power plant investment. Espatolero [26] studied
strategies for the efficiency improvement of the feed water heater
network designs and provided a techno-economic analysis in SC
coal-fired power plants. Rovira et al. [27] investigated thermody-
namic optimizations and techno-economic analyses of combined
cycle gas turbine power plants, taking into account the frequent
off-design operation of the plant. However, few studies have
focused on comprehensive thermodynamic and techno-economic
comparative analyses of the optimum superheat use of the extrac-
tion steam in double reheat USC power plants, especially under
low load operation conditions. For this reason, the thermodynamic
 G. Xu et al. / Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 3

and techno-economic comparative analyses of the two commonly Table 1

applied superheat utilization schemes in double reheat USC power Extraction steam parameters of the reference system.

plants (i.e., adopting an outer steam cooler, and employing a regen- Items Steam Steam Saturated Steam Feed water
erative steam turbine) were compared in this study. A comparative pressure temperature temperature superheat enthalpy
analysis of these two superheat utilization measures under various (bar) (°C) (°C) (°C) rise (kJ/kg)

operation conditions was also presented. This paper provided a RH1 99.0 415.9 310.3 105.6 130
theoretical basis of optimum superheat utilization of extraction RH2 71.2 562.6 285.9 276.7 110
RH3 49.7 496.2 263.5 232.7 130
steam for double reheat power plants. RH4 29.7 417.4 233.3 184.1 135
RH5 17.5 521.7 205.8 315.9 100
RH6 11.5 456.5 186.1 270.4 125
2. Two superheat utilization schemes of extraction steam in RH7 5.8 362.7 157.6 205.1 125
RH8 2.5 261.4 127.5 133.9 125
double reheat power plants
RH9 1.0 163.7 98.5 65.2 125
RH10 0.3 68.9 68.3 0.6 125
2.1. A typical double reheat USC power plant (reference system)

A typical state-of-the-art double reheat power generation sys-

tem, which is on the basis of the double reheat power plants
worldwide, is selected as the reference system in this study
[9,10]. The power output of the double reheat system under the
turbine heat acceptance (THA) load condition is 1000 MW. The live
steam parameters are set at 300 bar and 600 °C, and the reheat
steam is reheated to 610 °C. Fig. 1 presents a simplified process
flow diagram of the steam/water cycle in the reference system.
The reference system is composed of main components such as
high, intermediate and low-pressure turbine groups (i.e. HP, IP1,
IP2 and LP turbines), a boiler with two reheaters, a deaerator
(DEA), a generator (GEN), a condenser (CON), and low and high-
pressure regenerative heaters (RHs). Live steam from the boiler
flows into the HP turbine. The exhaust steam of the HP turbine
enters the first reheater and then the first IP turbine (IP1). After-
wards, the exhaust steam of theIP1 turbine flows into the second
reheater and then into the second IP turbine (IP2). The arrange-
ment of the regenerative system includes six LP RHs and three
HP RHs with one DEA. The first and the second-stage reheat pres-
sure are 90 and 27 bar, respectively. Both reheat pressures are
based on the ratio of the pressure of the first reheat steam to the
pressure of the live steam and the ratio of the pressure of the sec-
ond reheat steam to the pressure of the first reheat steam, which
are both chosen as 0.3 [13].
Table 1 lists the major steam parameters of the regenerative
system. The extraction points and feed water enthalpy rise are dis-
tributed in accordance with the following rules: (1) the extraction
point of RH1 is located at the HP turbine outlet and that of RH2 is
located just after the first stage reheat; (2) the extraction point of
the DEA is located at the outlet of IP1 turbine, and the extraction
point of RH3 is located between that of RH2 and the DEA, within
IP1 turbine; (3) the extraction points of RH5 to RH7 are arranged
within IP2 turbine, and the extraction points of RH8 to RH10 are
located within the LP turbine.
The enthalpy rises of feed water in each RH are nearly equiva-
lent [15]. The extraction points of RH2 and RH5 are located just
after the first-stage and second-stage reheat. The superheat degree
of the two extraction steam is very high and results in large tem-
perature difference and increased exergy destruction of the heat
transfer process in RHs [17,22]. To reduce exergy destruction, the
feed water enthalpy rises of RH2 and RH5 are relatively small
(110 and 100 kJ/kg, respectively). Consequently, the feed water
enthalpy rises of the RHs preceding the two-stage reheat (RH1
and RH4) are somewhat larger (130 kJ/kg and 135 kJ/kg,
respectively).
Table 1 also shows that the superheat degrees of almost all the
extraction steams in the double reheat system are high. In RH2 to
RH7, the superheat degrees of extraction steam all nearly exceed
200 °C. The superheat degree of extraction steam in RH5 is even
higher than 300 °C. The high superheat degree of the extraction
steam creates a large temperature difference in the heat transfer
process, which in turn affects the thermal performance of the
entire steam cycle. Better superheat utilization of the high

Boiler

HP IP1 IP2 LP LP

CON

DEA

RH1 RH2 RH3 RH5 RH6 RH7 RH8 RH9 RH10

Fig. 1. Steam/water cycle of the reference double reheat power plant.

Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
4 G. Xu et al. / Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
Extraction
steam
Feed water
Outer steam cooler RH Drain
Fig. 2. Process flow diagram of an outer steam cooler.
temperature extraction steam is necessary to further improve the
thermal performance of a double reheat USC power plant.
2.2. A double reheat power plant with outer steam coolers
An outer steam cooler is a simple but effective apparatus for the
superheat utilization of the high-temperature extraction steam. A
flow diagram of a regenerative heater with an outer steam cooler
is shown in Fig. 2. The red line denotes extraction steam. Extraction
steam enters the outer steam cooler, where the superheat degree is
effectively reduced by heating the high-temperature feed water.
Afterwards, the extraction steam with a reduced superheat degree
flows into the regenerative heater. This process allows the super-
heat of the extraction steam to be utilized effectively and the exer-
gy destruction caused by the large heat transfer difference to be
reduced.
In the reference system mentioned above, the superheat
degrees of the extraction steam in RH2 and RH5 (276.7 and
315.9 °C, respectively) are especially high (Table 1). The tempera-
tures of the two extraction steam in RH2 and RH5 can reach
562.6 °C and 521.7 °C respectively, and are obviously higher than
those of all other RHs, including the feed water temperature. RH2
and RH5 should thus be equipped with outer steam coolers,
located at the outlet of RH1, to improve thermal performance by
reducing the super degree of extraction steam and increase the
feed water temperature. As shown in Fig. 3, in the proposed
Boiler
HP IP1
E2
H2 E2
E5 DEA
H2
H5
RH1 RH2 RH3
Fig. 3. Steam/water cycle of a double reheat power plant with outer steam coolers.
Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
system, the extraction steam in RH2 and RH5 is firstly used to heat
the final feed water (over 310 °C) in the corresponding outer steam
coolers, where the superheat of the extraction steam is partly uti-
lized to further increase the feed water temperature, thus improv-
ing the thermal efficiency of the steam/water cycle. The extraction
steam from the outer steam coolers then enters the corresponding
RHs with a reduced temperature difference, resulting in lower
exergy destruction of the heat transfer process.
2.3. A double reheat system with a regenerative steam turbine
The above analysis reveals that, the superheat degree of the
extraction steam in RH2 and RH5 can be effectively reduced using
the outer steam cooler scheme. However, the superheat degree of
other extraction steam from IP turbine remains extremely high. If
the superheat degree of extraction steam in RH2 to RH7 can be
simultaneously reduced, the thermal performance of the double
reheat power plant will be further improved. To achieve this target,
the use of a regenerative steam turbine may be appropriate.
Fig. 4 depicts a simplified process flow diagram of the regener-
ative turbine scheme. The regenerative turbine scheme is an effec-
tive means to reduce the superheat degree of multi-stage
extraction steam. As shown in Fig. 4, a portion of the exhaust steam
of the HP turbine is sent to a regenerative steam turbine instead of
the reheater, and, as a result, the extraction steam in RH2 to RH7
originates from the extraction steam and exhaust steam of the
regenerative steam turbine instead of being extracted from the
IP1 and IP2 turbines.
In this configuration, the superheat degree of the extraction
steam in RH2 to RH7 is significantly reduced because this portion
of extraction steam is not reheated. Consequently, the temperature
difference of the heat transfer process is also dramatically reduced.
Likewise, the steam entering the first and second reheaters of the
boiler is obviously reduced, and, as a result, the heat absorption
of the boiler decreases with the reduction in the heat duty of the
two reheaters.
3. Thermodynamic analyses and performance evaluation
3.1. Model descriptions and main assumptions
The selection of an accurate method is essential to ensure the
precision and reliability of simulation results. The thermodynamic
IP2 LP LP
CON
E5
H5
RH5 RH6 RH7 RH8 RH9 RH10
 G. Xu et al. / Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
Boiler
HP IP1
DEA
RH1 RH2 RH3
Fig. 4. Steam/water cycle of a double reheat power plant with a regenerative steam turbine.
cycles of the power plant are simulated using EBSILON Professional
in the present study [28]. EBSILON Professional is a widely used
power plant simulation tool whose main purpose is to calculate
thermodynamic quantities including enthalpies, pressures and
mass flows in the steam/water cycle. This tool is restricted to ther-
modynamic equilibrium states to describe plant components [29–
31]. Thermodynamic models of power plants, which can create a
set of heat balance data that complies with mass and energy bal-
ances, are utilized in the simulation process.
In the present study, the model descriptions of the main compo-
nents are as follows. The boiler with double reheat is modelled as a
black box. The inlet pressure and the isentropic efficiencies are
defined in the steam turbine. In most cases, the outlet pressure is
defined by the inlet pressure of the following turbine stage. In
the last turbine stage, the outlet pressure is defined by the inlet
pressure of the condenser. For the RHs, the terminal temperature
difference of the primary heater (i.e., the temperature difference
between the saturated steam and the heated primary water) and
the terminal temperature difference of the after-cooler (i.e., the
temperature difference between the drain and the heated primary
water) are to be specified. The inlet temperature and pressure of
the cooling medium for the condenser are also specified.
The following assumptions are established to implement the
simulation and performance assessment of the thermal systems.
(1) The operation of the power plant is considered to be in a
steady state.
(2) For the different stages of the HP, IP, and LP turbines, the
mean isentropic efficiencies are equal to 0.90, 0.93, and
0.89, respectively.
(3) The terminal temperature difference of the outer steam
cooler is 10 °C.
(4) The isentropic efficiency of the regenerative steam turbine is
0.83.
3.2. Simulation results of superheat utilization schemes
A constant power output is selected for the outer steam cooler
scheme, the regenerative turbine scheme and the reference sys-
tem. Table 2 shows the major parameters of the steam/water cycle
of the reference system, the outer steam cooler scheme and the
regenerative turbine scheme. The parameters of the extraction
Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
5
IP2 LP LP
CON
RH5 RH6 RH7 RH8 RH9 RH10
steam of the three systems, including the pressure, temperature,
and mass flow, are presented in Table 3. The extraction steam pres-
sure of the outer steam cooler and regenerative turbine schemes is
equivalent to that of the reference system.
Table 2 shows that the mass flow rates of the live steam both
increase in the outer steam cooler and regenerative turbine
schemes. This is because that the mass flow of the extraction
steam increases as the superheat degree decreases, as shown in
Table 3.
The temperature of the related extraction steam is reduced after
employing the outer steam coolers or regenerative steam turbine.
Consequently, the superheat degree of the related extraction steam
is also reduced. Fig. 5 provides a comparison of the superheat
degree of extraction steam in these three systems. The figure indi-
cates that the superheat degree of the related extraction steam in
RH2 to RH7 extracted from the IP turbine is rather high in the ref-
erence system. On the other hand, the superheat degree of extrac-
tion steam in RH2 and RH5 is significantly reduced in the outer
steam cooler scheme compared with that in the reference system.
However, the superheat degree of other extraction steam from the
IP turbine remains extremely high. In the regenerative turbine
scheme, the superheat degrees of multi-stage extraction steam in
RH2 to RH7 are all significantly reduced because the related extrac-
tion steam are obtained from the regenerative steam turbine with-
out reheating.
3.3. Thermal performance evaluation
The power generation efficiency and heat consumption rate are
commonly considered to evaluate the thermal performance of dou-
ble reheat power plants [13]. The power generation efficiency is
the ratio of the power output to the total energy input and it can
be defined as:
Pgen
g¼ ð1Þ
Etotal
where Pgen refers to the total power generated by the steam turbine
and Etotal refers to the total energy input per unit time, and its quan-
titative value is approximately equivalent to the total heat input
value of fossil fuel per unit time. The power generation efficiency
directly and effectively reflects the thermal performance of a power
plant. The calculation for the heat consumption rate is:
6 G. Xu et al. / Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Table 2
Major parameters of each steam/water cycle.

Items Reference system Outer steam cooler scheme Regenerative turbine scheme
Live steam flow rate (kg/s) 689.4 700.5 742.3
Live steam pressure (bar) 30 30 30
Live steam temperature (°C) 600 600 600
First reheat steam pressure (bar) 90 90 90
First reheat steam temperature (°C) 610 610 610
Second reheat steam pressure (bar) 27 27 27
Second reheat steam temperature (°C) 610 610 610
Power generation output (MW) 1000 1000 1000

Table 3
Comparative results of extraction steam parameters.

Items Reference system Outer steam cooler scheme Regenerative turbine scheme
M (kg/s) P (bar) T (°C) M (kg/s) P (bar) T (°C) M (kg/s) P (bar) T (°C)
RH1 46.6 99.0 415.9 47.3 99.0 415.9 50.2 99.0 415.9
RH2 29.8 71.2 562.6 41.1 71.2 324.9 40.4 71.2 368.4
RH3 24.9 49.7 496.2 24.8 49.7 496.2 32.8 49.7 320.3
RH4 28.0 29.7 417.4 27.6 29.7 417.4 34.9 29.7 258.2
RH5 20.6 17.5 521.7 24.6 17.5 321.9 29.6 17.5 205.8
RH6 24.7 11.5 456.5 24.5 11.5 456.5 33.9 11.5 186.1
RH7 25.0 5.8 362.7 24.8 5.8 362.7 32.6 5.8 157.6
RH8 23.2 2.5 261.4 23.1 2.5 261.4 23.3 2.5 261.4
RH9 23.0 1.0 163.7 22.8 1.0 163.7 23.0 1.0 163.7
RH10 21.6 0.3 68.9 21.4 0.3 68.9 21.3 0.3 68.9

rate of the regenerative turbine scheme dramatically

Superheat degree of extraction steam ( C)

Reference system
o

decreases by 108.5 kJ/kW h compared with that of the refer-

300 Outer Steam Cooler Scheme
ence system, and the power generation efficiency increases
Regnerative turbine Scheme
by 0.67 percentage points (from 46.83% to 47.5%).

200
Therefore, the two proposed schemes can both reasonably opti-
mize superheat utilization of the extraction steam. The thermal
performance of the regenerative turbine scheme is better than that
100
of the outer steam cooler scheme.

0 4. Thermodynamic analyses under partial load conditions

RH1 RH2 RH3 RH4 RH5 RH6 RH7 RH8 RH9 RH10 Considering that large USC power plants always operate under
partial load conditions for peak regulation, it is necessary to study
Fig. 5. Variation in the superheat degree of extraction steam in each RH.
the thermal performance of double reheat USC power plants under
these conditions.

Etotal  3600
q¼ ¼ 3600=g
Pgen
Table 4 shows a comparison of the thermal performances of the
outer steam cooler scheme, the regenerative turbine scheme and
the reference system. The following observations are derived from
Table 4.
(1) After adopting the outer steam cooler, the ratio of the steam
flowing through the reheater decreases slightly compared
with that in the reference system. The heat consumption
rate of the outer steam cooler scheme decreases by 26.2 kJ/
kW h compared with that of the reference system, and the
power generation efficiency increases by 0.16 percentage
points (from 46.83% to 46.99%).
(2) After employing a regenerative turbine, 27% of the exhaust
steam of the HP turbine enters the regenerative turbine
rather than flowing into the reheater. As a result, the ratio
of the steam flowing through the reheater is significantly
reduced from 0.993 in the reference system to 0.658 in the
regenerative turbine scheme. Thus, the heat consumption
ð2Þ 4.1. Thermodynamic analysis of the reference system under partial
load conditions
Four typical operation conditions, namely, THA load, 75% THA
load, 50% THA load, and 40% THA load conditions, were selected
for thermodynamic analyses in the present study. Table 5 presents
the major parameters of the reference system under the selected
various operation conditions. The pressure, temperature and
superheat degree of extraction steam in the reference system
under the various load conditions are listed in Tables 6 and 7.
The pressure of the extraction steam decreases gradually as the
load decreases. However, the temperature remains unchanged.
Obviously, the superheat degree increases under low load condi-
tions because the large power generation units always apply the
sliding pressure operation mode [15]. Under this operation mode,
live steam pressure and live steam mass flow correspondingly
decrease as the power output decreases. However, the live steam
temperature remains constant when the load decreases. This indi-
cates that the superheat utilization of extraction steam is more
important under low load conditions.

Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
 G. Xu et al. / Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 7

Table 4
Thermal performance results of superheat utilization measures.

Performance index Reference system Outer steam cooler scheme Regenerative turbine scheme
Live steam flow rate (kg/s) 689.4 700.5 742.3
First reheat steam flow rate (kg/s) 642.9 653.2 488.1
Second reheat steam flow rate (kg/s) 525.1 522.6 488.1
Ratio of first reheat steam to live steam 0.933 0.932 0.658
Ratio of second reheat steam to live steam 0.817 0.800 0.658
Total energy input (MW) 2135.4 2128.1 2105.3
Power generation output (MW) 1000 1000 1000
Power generation efficiency (%) 46.83 46.99 47.5
Increment (%-points) – 0.16 0.67
Heat consumption rate (kJ/kW h) 7687.4 7661.2 7578.9
Decrement (kJ/kW h) – 26.2 108.5

Table 5
Major parameters of the reference system under various conditions.

Items THA 75% THA 50% THA 40% THA

Live steam flow rate (kg/s) 689.4 507.5 331.9 265.2
Live steam pressure (bar) 300 225 150 121
Live steam temperature (°C) 600 600.0 600 600
First reheat steam pressure (bar) 94.0 70.8 47.4 38.2
First reheat steam temperature (°C) 610 610 610 610
Second reheat steam pressure (bar) 29.7 22.7 15.2 12.3
Second reheat steam temperature (°C) 610 610 610 610
Power generation output (MW) 1000 750 500 400

4.2. Thermodynamic analyses of superheat utilization schemes under implies that the superheat degree of extraction steam can be
partial load conditions reduced more effectively by adopting outer steam coolers under
low load conditions than in the case of the reference system.
As mentioned above, the superheat degree of the extraction As depicted in Fig. 7, the decrements in the superheat degree of
steam must be reduced to improve thermal efficiency under low multi-stage extraction steam in RH2 to RH7 all increase in the
load conditions. regenerative turbine scheme, unlike in the case of steam cooler
Figs. 6(a) and 6(b) illustrate the variation in the superheat scheme, where a decrement in superheat degree of extraction
degree of extraction steam in RH2 and RH5, respectively, in the steam is observed only in RH2 and RH5.
outer steam cooler scheme and the reference system under partial
load operation conditions. The horizontal line filled data represent
4.3. Thermodynamic performance evaluation under partial load
the superheat degree of the reference system, and the vertical line
conditions
filled data represent the superheat degree of the outer steam cooler
scheme.
Both the outer steam cooler scheme and the regenerative tur-
Given the provided fixed terminal temperature difference of the
bine scheme more effectively utilize the superheat of extraction
outer steam cooler and the feed water temperature decreases
steam under partial load conditions than in the case of the refer-
under low load conditions, the superheat degree of extraction
ence system. Fig. 8 shows that the power generation efficiencies
steam in RH2 and RH5 in the outer steam cooler scheme decreases
of all the three systems decrease under low load conditions.
as shown in Figs. 6(a) and 6(b). Hence, as the load decreases, the
Regardless of the load conditions, the power generation efficiency
decrement in the superheat degree of the extraction steam
of the regenerative turbine scheme is the highest, followed by the
increases owing to the dual effects of an increasing superheat
outer steam cooler scheme, and both schemes exhibit higher gen-
degree in the reference system and a corresponding decreasing
eration efficiencies than that of the reference system. As the load
superheat degree in the outer steam cooler scheme. This result

Table 7
Table 6 Steam parameters of the reference system under 50% THA and 40% THA load
Steam parameters of the reference system under THA and 75% THA load conditions. conditions.

Items THA 75% THA Items 50% THA 40% THA

P T (°C) Superheat P T (°C) Superheat P T (°C) Superheat P T (°C) Superheat
(bar) degree (°C) (bar) degree (°C) (bar) degree (°C) (bar) degree (°C)
RH1 99.0 415.9 105.6 74.6 419.6 129.5 RH1 49.9 424.4 160.6 40.3 426.6 175.8
RH2 71.2 562.6 276.7 53.8 563.7 295.1 RH2 36.1 564.7 320.4 29.2 565.2 332.9
RH3 49.7 496.2 232.7 37.6 506.3 259.5 RH3 25.2 507.7 283.3 20.4 508.5 295.1
RH4 29.7 417.4 184.1 22.7 431.1 212.2 RH4 15.2 432.9 233.9 12.3 434.0 244.9
RH5 17.5 521.7 315.9 13.5 525.6 332.4 RH5 9.1 526.7 351.1 7.4 527.3 360.3
RH6 11.5 456.5 270.4 8.9 462.9 288.1 RH6 6.0 464.7 305.9 4.9 465.5 314.6
RH7 5.8 362.7 205.1 4.5 369.1 221.2 RH7 3.0 371.4 237.3 2.5 372.5 245.3
RH8 2.5 261.4 133.9 1.9 267.5 148.2 RH8 1.3 270.0 162.4 1.1 271.2 169.5
RH9 1.0 163.7 65.2 0.7 169.0 77.3 RH9 0.5 171.6 89.7 0.4 172.9 96.0
RH10 0.3 68.9 0.6 0.2 71.3 11.2 RH10 0.2 74.0 13.9 0.1 76.0 30.2

Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
8 G. Xu et al. / Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

400
Reference Syetem Reference system
Outer Steam Cooler Scheme 0.15 Outer steam cooler scheme
0.67

Power generation efficiency (%)

Decrement 47 Regenerative turbine scheme
Superheat degree ( oC)

300

46
200
0.16 0.72

45
100
0.19 0.79
44
0 0.21 0.83
THA 75%THA 50%THA 40%THA

Fig. 6a. Variation in the superheat degree of extraction steam in RH2. THA 75%THA 50%THA 40%THA

Fig. 8. Variation in the power generation efficiency of various systems.

Reference System
400 5. Techno-economic analyses of superheat utilization measures
Outer Steam Cooler Scheme
Decrement
As discussed above, both the outer steam cooler and regenera-
Superheat degree ( oC)

300 tive turbine schemes utilize the superheat of extraction steam

200
100
0 USD/GJ LHV, is the average cost of Chinese electric generators in
THA 75%THA 50%THA
Fig. 6b. Variation in the superheat degree of extraction steam in RH5.
decreases, the power generation efficiency increments of the two
proposed schemes over that of the reference system increase.
Numerically, the power generation efficiency of the three sys-
tems is 46.83%, 46.99% and 47.5% under THA load condition, with
the corresponding efficiency increment of 0.15 percentage points
and 0.67 percentage points in the outer steam cooler and regener-
ative turbine schemes, respectively. Under 40% THA load condition,
the efficiency increment of the outer steam cooler and regenerative
turbine schemes can reach 0.21 percentage points and 0.83 per-
centage points, respectively. This reflects that both the two super-
heat utilization schemes exhibit better thermal performance than
the reference system for a double reheat power plant at low load
conditions.
effectively. As such, it is expected that new equipment and facili-
ties, such as outer steam coolers, regenerative turbine, and pipes,
will be added to power plants. This will lead to the increasing
the power plant investment with rising equipment cost and the
operation and maintenance cost.
Specific techno-economic analyses for the two proposed
schemes were conducted. The basic economic assumptions
employed here are as follows. (1) The assumed coal price, 4.09
40%THA
2013. China’s coal price is distinctly higher than that of many other
countries because of the high energy requirement of the country
[32,33]. (2) Annual operation time is assumed to be 5500 h. (3)
The discounted rate (k) and the service life of equipment (n) are
8% and 20 years, respectively [34,35].
Table 8 shows the investment cost associated with added
equipment and the construction of the two superheat utilization
schemes. The total investment capital (TIC) is presented in Table 8
to examine the two schemes comprehensively [17,30]. TIC includes
the investment cost of the added equipment and related auxiliary
fees (e.g. construction and installation cost) in the project. As
shown in Table 8, the TIC of the outer steam cooler scheme is
2.10 million USD. The TIC of the regenerative turbine scheme is
6.00 million USD and is nearly three times as of the outer steam
cooler scheme because the regenerative turbine scheme is more
complicated.
Table 9 presents the results of techno-economic analysis for the
two superheat utilization schemes. The net annual revenue (NAR)
is defined as:

RH2 NAR ¼ EAI  C TIC  C O&M ð3Þ

Superheat degree decrement ( C)

RH3
o

300 where EAI is the extra annual income for a superheat utilization
RH4
RH5 scheme. The EAI is calculated as:
RH6
RH7 EAI ¼ DqP F heq Pgen ð4Þ
250
where Dq refers to the reduction in the heat consumption (kJ/
kW h), PF refers to the price of fuel (USD/J LHV), heq denotes the
equivalent operation hours per year (h), and Pgen is the power out-
200
put (MW).
The annualized investment capital cost (CTIC) can be calculated
as:
150
THA 75%THA 50%THA 40%THA C TIC ¼ TIC  CRF ð5Þ

Fig. 7. Superheat degree decrement of extraction steam in the regenerative turbine where TIC is the total investment capital and CRF refers to the cap-
scheme. ital recovery factor, which is related to the discounted rate (k) and

Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
 G. Xu et al. / Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 9

Table 8 reduction in the superheat degree in the outer steam cooler

Investment analyses of two superheat utilization schemes (million USD). scheme. By contrast, the superheat degrees of multi-stage
Investment index Outer steam Regenerative extraction steam from the regenerative turbine all decrease
cooler scheme turbine scheme in the regenerative turbine scheme, which reveals the excel-
Outer steam coolers/regenerative turbine 1.60 4.32 lent energy saving effects of this scheme.
Pipes 0.41 1.39 (2) The two proposed schemes effectively utilize the superheat
Construction and installation cost 0.09 0.29 of extraction steam in various load conditions (i.e., THA load
Total investment capital 2.10 6.00
and partial loads). The reduction in the heat consumption in
the regenerative turbine scheme is 106.80 kJ/kW h under
Table 9 full load condition, which is higher than that in the outer
Annual techno-economic performances of two superheat utilization schemes. steam cooler scheme (26.2 kJ/kW h). A more obvious energy
Performance index Outer steam Regenerative saving effect can be expected under partial load conditions.
cooler scheme turbine scheme (3) Techno-economic analysis results show that the total invest-
Reduction of heat consumption 26.20 108.50
ment capital of the two superheat utilization schemes
(Dq, kJ/kW h) slightly increases. However, owing to the remarkable energy
Extra annual income (EAI, million USD) 0.59 2.44 saving effects, the net annual revenue of the regenerative
Annualized investment capital cost 0.21 0.61 turbine scheme can reach 1.59 million USD, which is more
(CTIC, million USD)
than five times as that of the outer steam cooler scheme
Operation and maintenance cost 0.08 0.24
(CO&M, million USD) (0.29 million USD). The regenerative steam turbine scheme
Net Annual revenues (NAR, million USD) 0.29 1.59 is recommended for double reheat USC power plants
because it exhibits a more preferable performance.

the equipment life span (n). Because k refers to the fraction interest
rate per year, and n refers to the number of years that the capital
has been borrowed over a fixed rate of interest [36], CRF can be cal-
culated with the following as follows:
 China (Grant No. 2015CB251504), the National Nature Science
n  n 
CRF ¼ k  ð1 þ kÞ = ð1 þ kÞ  1
To simplify the operation and maintenance cost (CO&M) calcula-
tion in Eq. (3), we assumed that CO&M is fixed at 4% of TIC per year.
As shown in Table 9, the annual investment capital cost and the
operation and maintenance cost of the regenerative turbine
scheme are relatively high and nearly three times over those of
the outer steam cooler scheme. Nevertheless, the reduction in heat
consumption in the regenerative turbine scheme is significant and
more than offsets the relative costs. The reduction of heat con-
sumption can reach 108.50 kJ/kW h and is four times as that of
the outer steam cooler scheme. The EAI of the regenerative turbine
scheme reaches 2.44 million USD, which is much higher than that
of the outer steam cooler scheme. Eventually, the values of NAR of
the regenerative turbine scheme and the outer steam cooler
scheme are 1.59 and 0.29 million USD, respectively.
In summation, the two superheat utilization schemes can bring
considerable economic benefits. The regenerative steam turbine
scheme is superior to the outer steam cooler scheme with regard
to net annual revenue, which reflects the substantial benefits
brought by this superheat utilization measure.
6. Conclusions
Two effective superheat utilization schemes for double reheat
power plants are developed in this paper. One scheme involves
adopting outer steam coolers and the other involves the use of a
regenerative steam turbine. Comparative thermodynamic analyses
and techno-economic analyses of the two schemes under full and
partial load operation conditions were conducted with a typical
double reheat system. The two superheat utilization schemes exhi-
bit greater thermodynamic performance than the reference system
for a double reheat power plant under low load conditions. The
results reveal the followings.
(1) Adopting outer steam coolers or a regenerative steam tur-
bine are two effective measures to utilize the superheat of
extraction steam. Only extraction steam of the two regener-
ative heaters downstream of the two-stage reheat exhibits a
Acknowledgments
This study is supported by National Basic Research Program of
ð6Þ Fund of China (No. 51476053), and the Fundamental Research
Funds for the Central Universities (2014ZD04 and 2014XS30). Par-
tial financial support has also been received from the China Schol-
arship Council (No. 201306735018 and No. 201406730012).
References
[1] Li Y. Dynamics of clean coal-fired power generation development in China.
Energy Policy 2012;15:138–42.
[2] Department of Energy Statistics, National Bureau of Statistics, People’s
Republic of China. China energy statistical yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics
Press; 2011.
[3] China Electricity Council. The current status of air pollution control for coal-
fired power plants in China 2009. Beijing: China Electric Power Press; 2009.
[4] Statistical Review of World Energy. The British Petroleum Company 2014.
[5] Zhu BT, Zhou RC. Some problems when further improve the USC units steam
parameter. Chin Soc Electr Eng 2009;4:95–100.
[6] Long H, Yan S, Wang D. Integrated design technology development of ultra
supercritical unit. Electric Power Constr 2011;32:71–5 [in Chinese].
[7] Feng WZ. The exploration of the development of the green low-carbon coal
technology. Global market information guide, 2014 [in Chinese].
[8] Erdem HH, Akkaya AV, Cetin B, et al. Comparative energetic and exergetic
performance analyses for coal-fired thermal power plants in Turkey. Int J
Therm Sci 2009;48:2179–86.
[9] Wittchow E, Qian ZP. Fossil-fired steam power plant. Beijing: China Water
Power Press; 1992. p. 450–5.
[10] Yu Y, Liu XL, Fan SW. Analysis and discussion for key technologies of USC
double reheat turbines. Therm Turbine 2013 [in Chinese].
[11] Rashidi MM, Aghagoli A, Ali M. Thermodynamic analysis of a steam power
plant with double reheat and feed water heaters. Adv Mech Eng 2014;10.
[12] Li JG, Li LP, Ruan T, Shi XM. Study of circulation heat calculating model for
thermal system in supercritical pressure power unit with second reheat cycles.
Eng J Wuhan Univ 2006;2:80–4 [in Chinese].
[13] Yan JJ, Shao SF, Li Y. A method for analysis the economics of a thermal system
in a supercritical pressure power unit with double reheat cycles. Proc CSEE
2004;24:186–90 [in Chinese].
[14] Suresh MVJJ, Reddy KS. Thermodynamic optimization of advanced steam
power plants retrofitted for oxy-coal combustion. J Eng Gas Turbines Power
2011;6.
[15] The Development Way and the Strategic Key Energy of Energy during 12th
Five Years Period. Energy Observation Nets, 2010 [in Chinese].
[16] Eskil Berg EE, M.E. Pressure, superheat, steam extraction and reheating as
affecting power plant economy. Power Plant Econ 1924; 197:727-39.
[17] Zheng TK. Thermal power plants. Beijing: China Water Power Press; 1995.
[18] Song ZP, Wang JX. Energy-saving theory. Beijing: China Water Power Press;
1985.
[19] Liu ZZ, Li Y, Cheng XH. Analysis of thermal economic benefits of first stage
extraction location after reheat of reheat steam turbine set with outside steam
cooler. Turbine Technol 2004;05:382–4 [in Chinese].

Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
10 G. Xu et al. / Applied Energy xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
[20] Li JG, Yang XK, Li LP, et al. A study of circulation heat calculating model for
thermal system with outer steam cooler. Turbine Technol 2004;46:344–6 [in
Chinese].
[21] Kjaer S, Drinhaus F. A modified double reheat cycle. In: Proceeding of the ASME
2010 power conference, 2010. p. 45–7.
[22] Moran MJ, Shapiro HN. Fundamentals of engineering thermodynamics. 5th ed.
New York, NY, USA: John Wiley & Sons; 2006. STEAG Energy Services GmbH,
EBSILON Professional, 2010.
[23] Ploumen P, Stienstra G, Kamphuis H. Reduction of CO2 emissions of coal fired
power plants by optimizing steam water cycle. Energy Procedia
2011;4:2074–81.
[24] Han XQ, Liu M, Wang JS, et al. Simulation study on lignite-fired power system
integrated with flue gas drying and waste heat recovery-performances under
variable power loads coupled with off-design parameters. Energy
2014;76:406–18.
[25] Peng S, Hong H, Wang YJ, et al. Off-design thermodynamic performances on
typical days of a 330 MW solar aided coal-fired power plant in China. Appl
Energy 2014;130:500–9.
[26] Espatolero Sergio, Romeo LuisM, Cortes Cristobal. Efficiency improvement
strategies for the feedwater heaters network designing in supercritical coal-
fired power plants. Appl Therm Eng 2014;73:447–58.
[27] Rovira A, Sánchez C, Muñoz M, Valdés M, Durán MD. Thermoeconomic
optimisation of heat recovery steam generators of combined cycle gas turbine
power plants considering off-design operation. Energy Convers Manage
2011;52:1840–9.
Please cite this article in press as: Xu G et al. Optimum superheat utilization of extraction steam in double reheat ultra-supercritical power plants. Appl
Energy (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.027
[28] STEAG Energy Services GmbH. EBSILON professional, 2010.
[29] Cifre PG, Brechtel K, Hoch S, Garcia H, Asprion N, Hasse H, et al. Integration of a
chemical process model in a power plant modelling tool for the simulation of
an amine based CO2 scrubber. Fuel 2009;88:2481–8.
[30] Bruhn M. Hybrid geothermal–fossil electricity generation from low enthalpy
geothermal resources: geothermal feed-water preheating in conventional
power plants. Energy 2002;27:329–46.
[31] Erlach B, Harder B, Tsatsaronis G. Combined hydrothermal carbonization and
gasification of biomass with carbon capture. Energy 2012;45:329–38.
[32] Huang B, Xu SS, Gao SW, Liu LB, Tao JY, Niu HW, et al. Industrial test and
techno-economic analysis of CO2 capture in Huaneng Beijing coal-fired power
station. Appl Energy 2010;87:3347–54.
[33] Zhao M, Minett AI, Harris AT. A review of techno-economic models for the
retrofitting of conventional pulverized-coal power plants for post-combustion
capture (PCC) of CO2. Energy Environ Sci 2013;6:25–40.
[34] Xu G, Jin HG, Yang YP, Xu YJ, Lin H, Duan LQ. A comprehensive economic
analysis method for power generation system with CO2 capture. Int J Energy
Res 2010;34:321–32.
[35] Thomas B, Robert W, Stefano C, Paolo C. Co-production of hydrogen, electricity
and CO2 from coal with commercially ready technology. Part B: economic
analysis. Int J Hydrogen Energy 2005;30:769–84.
[36] Electric Power Planning and Design Institute. Limitation design reference cost
index of thermal power engineering. China Electric Power Press; 2009.
[37] Blum R, Kjaer S, Bugge J. Development of a PF fired high efficiency power plant
(AD700). Energy Solutions Sustain Dev Proc 2007.