Thermal Power Station

Athermalpowerstationisapowerplant
inwhichtheprimemoverissteam
driven.Waterisheated,turnsintosteam
andspinssteamturbinewhichdrivesan
electricalgenerator.Afteritpasses
throughtheturbine,thesteamis
condensedinacondenserandrecycledto
whereitwasheated;thisisknownasa
Rankinecycle.

Types of thermal power station

The greatest variation in the design
of thermal power stations is due to
the different fossil fuel resources
generally used to heat the water.
Three types of thermal power
plants:
fossil-fuel power plants: Power
plants burning coal, fuel oil, or
natural gas
Biomass-fueled thermal power
plants
Conventional power plants:
Non-nuclear thermal power
plants, particularly fossil-fueled
plants, which do not use cogeneration.

Advantages of Coal as Power Plant Fuel

Reliability: Coals ability to
supply power during peak
power demand either as base
power or as off-peak power
Affordability: Energy produced
from coal fired plants is
cheaper and more affordable
than other energy sources
Abundance: There are
approximately over 300 years
of economic coal deposits still
accessible.
Known technologies: The
technology required in
producing it is constantly
advancing
Safety: Generally, coal fired
plants are considered safer
than nuclear power plants.

Disadvantages of Coal as Power Plant Fuel

Greenhousegasemissions:itcannotbe
deniedthatcoalleavesbehindharmful
byproductsuponcombustion.
Miningdestruction:Miningofcoalnot
onlyresultsinthedestructionof
habitatandscenery.
Generationofmillionsoftonsofwaste:
Millionsoftonsofwasteproducts
whichcannolongerbereusedare
generatedfromcoalfiredplants.
Emissionofharmfulsubstances:
Thermalplantslikecoalfiredplants
emitharmfulsubstancestothe
environment.

The biggest problem of thermal power stations

Globally,fossilfueledthermalpower

plantsproducealargepartofman
madeCO2emissionstothe
atmosphere.

Aboosthermalpowerstation(Aboo,
Asturias)7.602.693tonsofCO2
annualy(thesameas2,5millionsof
carsannually).

The biggest problem of thermal power stations

As Pontes thermal power

station(As Pontes de Garca

Rodriguez, A Corua)
-9.121.027 tons of CO2
annualy (the same as 3
millions of cars annually).

Almeras (Carboneras,

Almera) -6.998.752 tons of

CO2 annualy (the same as
2,3 millions of cars annually).

RankineCycle:Description.
-Idealized Thermodynamics cycle: HEAT MECHANICAL
WORKELECTRICAL ENERGY
-Heat sources: - Nuclear fission
- Combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, oil)
-Efficency of the cycle: depend on the heat of vaporization of the
working fluid.
- Carnot efficency .

RankineCycle:Process.
1-2 isentropic pump
addition
3-4 isentropic turbine
heat rejection

2-3 constant pressure heat

4-1 constant pressure

RankineCycle:Efficency.

Efficiency:

Equations:

Carnot cycle
efficency:

RealThermalpowerstation.

Nuclear thermal power

station in Bavaria,
Germany.

Geothermal power
station in Iceland.

Taichung Thermal Power

station, the worlds
largest coal-fired power
station, in Taiwan.

RealThermalpowerstation.

Elementalpartsofapowerplant
Boiler
Boiler
Economizer
Air pre-heater

Steam turbines
High Pressure
Medium Pressure
Low Pressure

Cooling system
River
Cooling tower

Boiler
Coal combustion
Water Steam
High pressure and temperature

Hot exhaust gases circuit:

Boiler
Economizer
Air pre-heater

Small industrial boiler

Power plant boiler

Real boiler in Dakota Power Plant

Economizer
Cold Feed Water Hot Feed Water

Less coal in the furnace

Higher efficiency
(Less heat to the environment)

Air preheater
Increases the temperature of the air supplied for coal burning
Air circuit:
Atmosphere
Huge fan
Air preheater
Boiler

Advantages:
Higher Thermal efficiency

Steam turbine
Steam heat energy Mechanic rotation energy
Three types of turbines:
High pressure
Medium pressure
Low pressure

Real steam turbine

Different power steam turbines

Cooling system
Low-energy steam needs to be condensed
Water taken from a river takes up the heat of the exhausted

steam and becomes hot.

Cooling towers
Cooling towers take liquid water and it falls over the hot

steam circuit like a shower, and becomes steam.

The huge cloud around a thermal power plant is only steam,
not contamination.

Cooling towers vs chimneys

The really painful chimney is narrower than the cooling

towers
The smoke is darker and less striking than the white steam
cloud

Cogeneration
Definition:
- Is a thermodynamically efficient use
of fuel that generate electricity and
useful heat at the same time.
- A single machine produces
simultaneously two types of energy.

Evolution of thermal power station

- In traditional system the electric power was used
but some energy must be discarded as waste heat,
- In cogeneration, this thermal energy is put to
use.

Advantages of cogeneration

Efficiency decreases because electric

power and heat are nearly
simultaneously by cogeneration.

Usable energy is 70 percent of primary

energy.

Cogeneration is excellent in
economical efficiency compared with
the conventional method. Energy cost
can be reduced.

Discharge of CO2 can be suppressed.

Disadvantages of cogeneration
While working, a mechanical sound is
noisy.

Efficiency cogeneration worse in

summer, at the time the heat is not
necessary.
Equipment is having complicated
structure. It raises the probability of
breaking down and the costs of
maintenance are increased.

Renewable alternatives

biomassplant
- Is an alternative energy to thermal
power stations which generates electrical
energy through the combustion of natural
product, meaning that comes from nature
without human intervention.

Fuels used in thermal power plants

1) petroleum :

- Are primarily fuel

obtained in the refining
process crude.
- Its characteristics are
adapted to the
requirements of thermal
power plants.
- It is highly polluting.

2) Natural gas:
- It is essentially a clean fuel
whose use generates very
little waste products.
- This consisting of a 97
percent methane (CH4)

3) Coal:
-Heterogeneous sedimentary rocks
originated from:
differents plants
under high pressure
elevated
temperature
crustal movements