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The steam cycle power plants are equiped with cooled condensers where exhaust steam is condensed under vacuum. The operating condenser pressure is 0.03 to 0.4 bar and depends on the cooling system and medium temperature. Three different steam condensers are used in two fundamentally different cooling systems: 1. Direct Cooling Systems: a) One through cooling in surface condenser b) Dry cooling air condenser 2. Indirect Cooling Systems: a) Wet cooling tower and surface condenser b) Dry cooling tower and direct contact condenser
Advantages of dry cooling Disadvantages of dry cooling No water required No impact on environment Less permitting required Duct pressure losses, less efficient Generated more noise Can be located at fuel source Large plot area required
The condensation temperature in the condenser section is by 2-4 K lower than the exhaust steam temperature, due to the steam pressure drop through the distributing duct and the heat exchanger tubes.
Surface Condenser:
Water cooled condenser used in once through cooling system and in wet cooling system. The steam condenser is a major component of the steam cycle in steam power and combined cycle power plants. It is a necessary component of the steam cycle for two reasons: - It converts the used steam back into feedwater for return to the boiler. - It increases the cycles efficiency by allowing the cycle to operate with the largest possible Temperature and pressure difference between the boiler and the condenser. Design principle: There are different condenser designs which are defined by suppliers. Condenser tubes are arranged as tube bundles in condenser shell with a single-pass or two-pass. The bundle shape and air cooler location are optimized by the supplier. The design of single-pass condenser provides cooling water flow through straight tubes from the inlet waterbox on one end, to outlet waterbox on the other end. The design of two-pass condenser provides cooling water flow through straight tubes from the inlet waterbox, reversed in the return waterbox to the outlet watebox on the same end of Inlet waterbox. In the condenser several thousand tubes are placed at low tube pitch in order to get acceptable dimensions. It is not favourable to increase friction losses in the steam flow, therefore the number of tube rows along the steam flow is limited. The separation between the water box areas and the steam condensing area is accomplished by two tubesheet to which the coolingwater tubes are attached. The cooling water tubes are supported within the condenser by the tube support plates. The condenser tubes are made of brass or stainless steel to resist corrosion from either side. Nevertheless they may become internally fouled during operation by bacteria or algae in the cooling water or by mineral scaling, all of which inhibit heat transfer and reduce thermodynamic efficiency. Many plants include an automatic cleaning system that circulates sponge rubber balls through the tubes to scrub them clean without the need to take the system off-line.
The exhaust steam condensates on the outside of condenser tubes. The saturated liquid can continues to transfer heat to the cooling water. A few degrees subcooling prevents the condensate pump cavitation. The condensate subcooling or depression decreases the operation efficiency of plant because the subcooled condensate must be reheated. The condensat subcooling can be avoided by using a suitable bundle design. The condensate is collected in the hotwell which is arranged in the bottom area of the condenser where the condensate pump takes its suction. Condensation heat Load: Q = Mcw x (hwout -hwin) = Mexh x (hsteam -hcond) [kW] Condensing area: A = Q/(k x dTlog) [m2] Log. temperature difference: dTlog = (dTin -TTD)/(dTin/TTD) dTin=(Tsteam-Twin) Overall heat transfer coeffitient k-value: the value of "k" depends on the heat transfer rate inside the tubes and condensation heat transfer rate outside, which is known worldwide in several norms. The condenser is maintained at a vacuum using either vacuum pumps or air ejectors. Cooling of the steam is provided by Condenser Cooling Water pumped through the condenser by Circulating Water Pumps, which take a suction from water supplied from the ocean, sea, lake, river, or Cooling Tower (shown in cooling systems). The temperature and flow rate of the cooling water through the condenser controls the saturation pressure (vakuum) and the temperature of the condensate. To prevent the condensate level from rising to the lower tubes of the condenser, a hotwell level control system is employed. The performance of the condenser is dependent on the efficiency of its air cooler section. The condenser should be equipped with a highly effective air cooler section. The non-condensable gases should be collected and removed by venting system. For combination of Surface Condenser with water cooler see: Patent: Condenser with integral water cooler EP 1590603: Condenser with integral water cooler
b) Indirect Dry Cooling System (Heller System) Direct contact condenser and dry cooling tower The turbine exhaust steam is air-cooled by means of intermediate heat transfer circuit with condensate quality water. The circuit water is circulated by pumps. Water films formed by the fill of this circuit condenses the exhaust steam in the direct contact condenser (spray condenser). A fraction of the warm circuit water, equal to the condensate stream, is pumped forward to the water-steam cycle by means of condensat pump or by using the circuit pump. The most of the warm circuit water is pumped via pipeline to a natural draft cooling tower where it cools down in water-to-air heat exchangers arranged vertically around the towers circumference. The dry cooling system keeps approximately a constant temperature difference between exhaust steam and ambient air. This inlet temperature difference (ITD~30K) is in reverse proportion to the dimension and price of
the cooling system. The Heller system offers a number of advantages: Efficient condenser (TTD~0.3 K), Condenser low-cost (four time less expensive than the surface condenser), Simple and maintenance free Lower condenser pressure in winter No make-up is required, the system saves cooling water The system is available with natural or mechanical draft tower No fog is caused by the dry-cooling tower Recovery water turbines are recommended, thus saving on pumping power
Due to reduction of the terminal temperature difference TTD and condenser pressure, the power of the turbine is increased compered with a surface condenser with a dry cooling tower. But the comparison is complete if the consequences on the overall economy of the cooling systems are investigated: DC condenser with dry cooling tower and surface condenser with wet cooling tower.
Hybrid Condenser with hybrid cooling tower: Combination of Direct contact condenser and Surface Condenser (hybrid condenser) connected with dry and wet cooling tower (hybrid cooling tower). US Patent (US2006080964): Hybrid Condenser EP 1590603: Hybrid Condenser