Considerations on FGD in Coal-Fired Power Plants

Aiming at issues on flue gas des-ulfurization facing coal-fired power plants inChina, such as process selection, whetheradopting flue gas desulfurization (FGD) or not,qualification of flue gas desulfurization en-gineering company, the localization of technicalequipment, charge for SO2 emission andnormalized management, this article makes acomprehensive analysis and puts forwardconstructive suggestions. These will providesome references for those being engaged in fluegas desulfurization in coal-fired power plants.[

Environmental life cycle assessment of Indian coal-fired power plants

Coal is the backbone of the Indian power sector. The coal-fired power plants remain the largest emitters of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and substantial amounts of nitrogen oxides, which are associated with climate and health impacts. Various CO2 mitigation technologies （carbon capture and storage--CCS） and SO2/NOx mitigation technologies （flue gas desulfurization and selective catalytic reduction） have been employed to reduce the environmental impacts of the coal-fired power plants. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the feasibility of various mitigation technologies employed. This paper attempts to perform environmental life cycle assessment （LCA） of Indian coal-fired power plant with and without CO2, SO2 and NOx mitigation controls. The study develops new normalization factors for India in various damage categories, using the Indian emissions and energy consumption data, coupled with the emissions and particulate emission to come up with a final environmental impact of coal-fired electricity. The results show a large degree of dependence on the perspective of assessment used. The impact of sensitivities of individual substances and the effect of plant efficiency on the final LCA results is also studied.

Formation and emission characteristics of VOCs from a coal-fired power plant

On-site measurements of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)in different streams of flue gas were carried out on a real coal-fired power plant using sampling bags and SUMMA canisters to collect gas samples,filters to collect particle samples.Gas chromatography-flame ionization detector/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was the offline analysis method.We found that the total mass concentration of the tested 102 VOC species at the outlet of wet flue gas desulfuration device was(13456±47)μg·m^(-3),which contained aliphatic hydrocarbons(57.9%),aromatic hydrocarbons(26.8%),halogen-containing species(14.5%),and a small amount of oxygen-containing and nitrogencontaining species.The most abundant species were 1-hexene,n-hexane and 2-methylpentane.The top ten species in terms of mass fraction(with a total mass fraction of 75.3%)were mainly hydrocarbons with a carbon number of 6 or higher and halogenated hydrocarbons with a lower carbon number.The mass concentration of VOC species in the particle phase was significantly lower than that in the gas phase.The change of VOC mass concentrations along the air pollution control devices indicates that conventional pollutant control equipment had a limited effect on VOC reduction.Ozone formation potential calculations showed that aromatic hydrocarbons contributed the highest ozone formation(46.4%)due to their relatively high mass concentrations and MIR(maximum increment reactivity)values.

Progress and prospects of innovative coal-fired power plants within the energy internet

The development of electrical engineering and electronic, communications, smart power grid, and ultra-high voltage transmission technologies have driven the energy system revolution to the next generation: the energy internet. Progressive penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources into the energy system has led to unprecedented challenges to the currently wide use of coal-fired power generation technologies. Here, the applications and prospects of advanced coal-fired power generation technologies are analyzed. These technologies can be summarized into three categories:(1) large-scale and higher parameters coal-fired power generation technologies, including 620/650/700 oC ultra-supercritical thermal power and double reheat ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technologies;(2) system innovation and specific, highefficiency thermal cycles, which consist of renewable energy-aided coal-fired power generation technologies, a supercritical CO_2 Brayton cycle for coal-fired power plants, large-scale air-cooling coal-fired power plant technologies, and innovative layouts for waste heat utilization and enhanced energy cascade utilization;(3) coal-fired power generation combined with poly-generation technologies, which are represented by integrated gasification combined cycle(IGCC) and integrated gasification fuel cell(IGFC) technologies. Concerning the existing coal-fired power units, which are responsible for peak shaving, possible strategies for enhancing flexibility and operational stability are discussed. Furthermore, future trends for coal-fired power plants coupled with cyber-physical system(CPS) technologies are introduced. The development of advanced, coal-fired power generation technologies demonstrates the progress of science and is suitable for the sustainable development of human society.

Influence of flue gas cleaning system on characteristics of PM_(2.5)emission from coal-fired power plants

This study investigated the influence of precipitators and wet flue gas desulfurization equipment on characteristics of PM_(2.5)emission from coal-fired power stations.We measured size distribution and removal efficiencies,including hybrid electrostatic precipitator/bag filters(ESP/BAGs)which have rarely been studied.A bimodal distribution of particle concentrations was observed at the inlet of each precipitator.After the precipitators,particle concentrations were significantly reduced.Although a bimodal distribution was still observed,all peak positions shifted to the smaller end.The removal efficiencies of hybrid ESP/BAGs reached 99%for PM_(2.5),which is considerably higher than those for other types of precipitators.In particular,the influence of hybrid ESP/BAG operating conditions on the performance of dust removal was explored.The efficiency of hybrid ESP/BAGs decreased by 1.9%when the first electrostatic field was shut down.The concentrations and distributions of particulate matter were also measured in three coal-fired power plants before and after desulfurization devices.The results showed diverse removal efficiencies for different desulfurization towers.The reason for the difference requires further research.We estimated the influence of removal technology for particulate matter on total emissions in China.Substituting ESPs with hybrid ESP/BAGs could reduce the total emissions to 104.3 thousand tons,with 47.48 thousand tons of PM_(2.5).

Cause Analysis and Countermeasure of Gypsum Rain in Coal-fired Power Plants

Focusing on the phenomenon of gypsum rain while wet desulphurization(WFGD) were adopted in coal fired power plant without GGH, the paper studied and put forward the solutions : (1) desulfurization facilities related equipment modification;(2) optimal operation of existing desulfurization facilities.

Optimization of an Existing Coal-fired Power Plant with CO²Capture

Nowadays, the worsening environmental issue caused by CO2 emission is greatly aggravated by human activity. Many CO2 reduction technologies are under fast development. Among these, monoethanolamine (MEA) based CO2 capture technology has been paid great attention. However, when connecting the CO2 capture process with a coal-fired power plant, the huge energy and efficiency penalty caused by CO2 capture has become a serious problem for its application. Thus, it is of great significance to reduce the related energy consumption. Based on an existing coal-fired power plant, this paper proposes a new way for the decarburized retrofitting of the coal-fired power plant, which helps to improve the overall efficiency of the power plant with less energy and efficiency penalty. The decarburized retrofitting scheme proposed will provide a new route for the CO2 capture process in China.

A Special Issue:“Key Technologies of Virtual Power Plant and Distributed Energy Resources”for Global Energy Interconnection

The increasing penetration of renewable and distributed energy resources(DERs)is transforming the power grid into a new type of clean and low-carbon power system.However,the uncertainty and volatility of DERs have also brought severe challenges to the secure and reliable operation of the power systems.In order to successfully integrate renewable DERs,virtual power plant(VPP)has emerged as a new technique for coordinating demand-side DERs,which has drawn significant attention from industry and academia.

Research on Verification Method of Motor Startups in Nuclear Power Plants Based on Topology Recognition

There are many motors in operation or on standby in nuclear power plants,and the startup of group motors will have a great impact on the voltage of the emergency bus.At present,there is no special or inexpensive software to solve this problem,and the experience of engineers is not accurate enough.Therefore,this paper developed a method and system for the startup calculation of group motors in nuclear power plants and proposed an automatic generation method of circuit topology in nuclear power plants.Each component in the topology was given its unique number,and the component class could be constructed according to its type and upper and lower connections.The subordination and topology relationship of switches,buses,and motors could be quickly generated by the program according to the component class,and the simplified direct power flow algorithm was used to calculate the power flow for the startup of group motors according to the above relationship.Then,whether the bus voltage is in the safe range and whether the voltage exceeds the limit during the startup of the group motor could be judged.The practical example was used to verify the effectiveness of the method.Compared with other professional software,the method has high efficiency and low cost.

Sliding Mode Predictive Control of Main Steam Pressure in Coal-fired Power Plant Boiler

Since the combustion system of coal-fired boiler in thermal power plant is characterized as time varying, strongly coupled, and nonlinear, it is hard to achieve a satisfactory performance by the conventional proportional integral derivative (PID) control scheme. For the characteristics of the main steam pressure in coal-fired power plant boiler, the sliding mode control system with Smith predictive structure is proposed to look for performance and robustness improvement. First, internal model control (IMC) and Smith predictor (SP) is used to deal with the time delay, and sliding mode controller (SMCr) is designed to overcome the model mismatch. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed controller compared with conventional ones.

IoT-Enabled Plant Monitoring System with Power Optimization and Secure Authentication

Global food security is a pressing issue that affects the stability and well-being of communities worldwide.While existing Internet of Things(IoT)enabled plant monitoring systems have made significant strides in agricultural monitoring,they often face limitations such as high power consumption,restricted mobility,complex deployment requirements,and inadequate security measures for data access.This paper introduces an enhanced IoT application for agricultural monitoring systems that address these critical shortcomings.Our system strategically combines power efficiency,portability,and secure access capabilities,assisting farmers in monitoring and tracking crop environmental conditions.The proposed system includes a remote camera that captures images of surrounding plants and a sensor module that regularly monitors various environmental factors,including temperature,humidity,and soil moisture.We implement power management strategies to minimize energy consumption compared to existing solutions.Unlike conventional systems,our implementation utilizes the Amazon Web Services(AWS)cloud platform for reliable data storage and processing while incorporating comprehensive security measures,including Two-Factor Authentication(2FA)and JSON Web Tokens(JWT),features often overlooked in current agricultural IoT solutions.Users can access this secure monitoring system via a developed Android application,providing convenient mobile access to the gathered plant data.We validate our system’s advantages by implementing it with two potted garlic plants on Okayama University’s rooftop.Our evaluation demonstrates high sensor reliabil-ity,with strong correlations between sensor readings and reference data,achieving determination coefficients(R2)of 0.979 for temperature and 0.750 for humidity measurements.The implemented power management strategies extend battery life to 10 days on a single charge,significantly outperforming existing systems that typically require daily recharging.Furthermore,our dual-layer security implementation utilizing 2FA and JWT successfully protects sensitive agricultural data from unauthorized access.

Quantification of CO_(2) Emissions from Three Power Plants in China Using OCO-3 Satellite Measurements

Coal-fired power plants are a major carbon source in China. In order to assess the evaluation of China's carbon reduction progress with the promise made on the Paris Agreement, it is crucial to monitor the carbon flux intensity from coal-fired power plants. Previous studies have calculated CO_(2) emissions from point sources based on Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 and-3(OCO-2 and OCO-3) satellite measurements, but the factors affecting CO_(2) flux estimations are uncertain. In this study, we employ a Gaussian Plume Model to estimate CO_(2) emissions from three power plants in China based on OCO-3 XCO_(2) measurements. Moreover, flux uncertainties resulting from wind information, background values,satellite CO_(2) measurements, and atmospheric stability are discussed. This study highlights the CO_(2) flux uncertainty derived from the satellite measurements. Finally, satellite-based CO_(2) emission estimates are compared to bottom-up inventories.The satellite-based CO_(2) emission estimates at the Tuoketuo and Nongliushi power plants are ~30 and ~10 kt d^(-1) smaller than the Open-Data Inventory for Anthropogenic Carbon dioxide(ODIAC) respectively, but ~10 kt d^(-1) larger than the ODIAC at Baotou.

Virtual Power Plants for Grid Resilience: A Concise Overview of Research and Applications

The power grid is undergoing a transformation from synchronous generators(SGs) toward inverter-based resources(IBRs). The stochasticity, asynchronicity, and limited-inertia characteristics of IBRs bring about challenges to grid resilience. Virtual power plants(VPPs) are emerging technologies to improve the grid resilience and advance the transformation. By judiciously aggregating geographically distributed energy resources(DERs) as individual electrical entities, VPPs can provide capacity and ancillary services to grid operations and participate in electricity wholesale markets. This paper aims to provide a concise overview of the concept and development of VPPs and the latest progresses in VPP operation, with the focus on VPP scheduling and control. Based on this overview, we identify a few potential challenges in VPP operation and discuss the opportunities of integrating the multi-agent system(MAS)-based strategy into the VPP operation to enhance its scalability, performance and resilience.

GRU-integrated constrained soft actor-critic learning enabled fully distributed scheduling strategy for residential virtual power plant

In this study,a novel residential virtual power plant(RVPP)scheduling method that leverages a gate recurrent unit(GRU)-integrated deep reinforcement learning(DRL)algorithm is proposed.In the proposed scheme,the GRU-integrated DRL algorithm guides the RVPP to participate effectively in both the day-ahead and real-time markets,lowering the electricity purchase costs and consumption risks for end-users.The Lagrangian relaxation technique is introduced to transform the constrained Markov decision process(CMDP)into an unconstrained optimization problem,which guarantees that the constraints are strictly satisfied without determining the penalty coefficients.Furthermore,to enhance the scalability of the constrained soft actor-critic(CSAC)-based RVPP scheduling approach,a fully distributed scheduling architecture was designed to enable plug-and-play in the residential distributed energy resources(RDER).Case studies performed on the constructed RVPP scenario validated the performance of the proposed methodology in enhancing the responsiveness of the RDER to power tariffs,balancing the supply and demand of the power grid,and ensuring customer comfort.

Determination of the Performance Scores of a Photovoltaic Power Plant Connected to the Grid: The Zagtouli Photovoltaic Power Plant in Burkina-Faso

Photovoltaic solar energy is still in its infancy in Burkina Faso, despite the country’s high solar potential. The electricity grid is experiencing an increase in demand for energy, creating a shortfall in supply. The Zagtouli photovoltaic solar power plant in Burkina Faso is the first milestone in the development of renewable photovoltaic energy, with a rated output of 33.6 Megawatts peak, to strengthen the electricity grid by reducing hydrocarbon consumption. The aim of this work is to evaluate the performance of the plant by proposing a performance score for the Zagtouli plant, which should provide a basis for assessing the performance of a power plant. To meet the objectives, we collected data for three consecutive years of production, from 2019 to 2021. From this data, we used the method based on the calculation of the performance indicators specified by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and described in the standardised norms IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) CEI61724, and we also carried out a performance classification using the K-Means method. It is clear that with the results obtained for the PR performance index (over 70%), the installation can be classified as one of the best-performing systems. It also emerges that various losses (temperatures on the panels, cabling, partial shading, spectral losses, dirt, and unexpected inverter failures) have a negative impact on the installation’s energy production.

Parametric Energy and Economic Analysis ofModified Combined Cycle Power Plant with Vapor Absorption and Organic Rankine Cycle

To meet the escalating electricity demand and rising fuel costs,along with notable losses in power transmission,exploring alternative solutions is imperative.Gas turbines demonstrate high efficiency under ideal International Organization for Standardization(ISO)conditions but face challenges during summer when ambient temperatures reach 40℃.To enhance performance,the proposal suggests cooling inlet air by 15℃using a vapor absorption chiller(VAC),utilizing residual exhaust gases from a combined cycle power plant(CCPP)to maximize power output.Additionally,diverting a portion of exhaust gases to drive an organic Rankine cycle(ORC)for supplementary power generation offers added efficiency.This integrated approach not only boosts power output but alsominimizes environmental impact by repurposing exhaust gases for additional operations.This study presents a detailed energy and economic analysis of a modified combine cycle power plant,in Kotri,Pakistan.R600A is used as organic fuel for the ORC while LiBr-H2O solution is used for the VAC.Two performance parameters,efficiency and energy utilization factor,Four energetic parameters,Work output of ORC,modified CCPP,original CCPP and cooling rate,and one economics parameter,payback period were examined under varying ambient conditions and mass fraction of exhaust gases from outlet of a gas turbine(ψ).A parametric investigation was conducted within the temperature range of 18℃to 50℃,relative humidity between 70%and 90%,and theψranging from 0 to 0.3.The findings reveal that under elevated ambient conditions(40℃,90%humidity)withψat 0,the Energy Utilization Factor(EUF)exceeds 60%.However,the ORC exhibits a low work output of 100KWalongside a high cooling load of 29,000 kW.Conversely,the modified system demonstrates an augmented work output of approximately 81,850 KWcompared to the original system’s 78,500KW.Furthermore,the integration of this systemproves advantageous across all metrics.Additionally,the payback period of the system is contingent on ambient conditions,with lower conditions correlating to shorter payback periods and vice versa.

Proposal of a Deuterium-Deuterium Fusion Reactor Intended for a Large Power Plant

This article looks for the necessary conditions to use Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) fusion for a large power plant. At the moment, for nearly all the projects (JET, ITER…) only the Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) fuel is considered for a power plant. However, as shown in this article, even if a D-D reactor would be necessarily much bigger than a D-T reactor due to the much weaker fusion reactivity of the D-D fusion compared to the D-T fusion, a D-D reactor size would remain under an acceptable size. Indeed, a D-D power plant would be necessarily large and powerful, i.e. the net electric power would be equal to a minimum of 1.2 GWe and preferably above 10 GWe. A D-D reactor would be less complex than a D-T reactor as it is not necessary to obtain Tritium from the reactor itself. It is proposed the same type of reactor yet proposed by the author in a previous article, i.e. a Stellarator “racetrack” magnetic loop. The working of this reactor is continuous. It is reminded that the Deuterium is relatively abundant on the sea water, and so it constitutes an almost inexhaustible source of energy. Thanks to secondary fusions (D-T and D-He3) which both occur at an appreciable level above 100 keV, plasma can stabilize around such high equilibrium energy (i.e. between 100 and 150 keV). The mechanical gain (Q) of such reactor increases with the internal pipe radius, up to 4.5 m. A radius of 4.5 m permits a mechanical gain (Q) of about 17 which thanks to a modern thermo-dynamical conversion would lead to convert about 21% of the thermal power issued from the D-D reactor in a net electric power of 20 GWe. The goal of the article is to create a physical model of the D-D reactor so as to estimate this one without the need of a simulator and finally to estimate the dimensions, power and yield of such D-D reactor for different net electrical powers. The difficulties of the modeling of such reactor are listed in this article and would certainly be applicable to a future D-He3 reactor, if any.

Increasing the Efficiency and Level of Environmental Safety of Pro-Environmental City Heat Supply Technologies by Low Power Nuclear Plants

In connection with the current prospect of decarbonization of coal energy through the use of small nuclear power plants (SNPPs) at existing TPPs as heat sources for heat supply to municipal heating networks, there is a technological need to improve heat supply schemes to increase their environmental friendliness and efficiency. The paper proves the feasibility of using the heat-feeding mode of ASHPs for urban heat supply by heating the network water with steam taken from the turbine. The ratio of electric and thermal power of a “nuclear” combined heat and power plant is given. The advantage of using a heat pump, which provides twice as much electrical power with the same heat output, is established. Taking into account that heat in these modes is supplied with different potential, the energy efficiency was used to compare these options. To increase the heat supply capacity, a scheme with the use of a high-pressure heater in the backpressure mode and with the heating of network water with hot steam was proposed. Heat supply from ASHPs is efficient and environmentally friendly even in the case of significant remoteness of heat consumers.

Conceptual Strategy for Mitigating the Risk of Hydrogen as an Internal Hazard in Case of Severe Accidents at Nuclear Power Plant Considering Existing Risks and Uncertainties Associated with the Use of Traditional Strategies

Hydrogen challenge mitigation stands as one of the main objectives in the management of severe accidents at Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Key strategies for hydrogen control include atmospheric inertization and hydrogen removal with Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners (PARs) being a commonly accepted approach. However, an examination of PAR operation specificity reveals potential inefficiencies and reliability issues in certain severe accident scenarios. Moreover, during the in-vessel stage of severe accident development, in some severe accident scenarios PARs can unexpectedly become a source of hydrogen detonation. The effectiveness of hydrogen removal systems depends on various factors, including the chosen strategies, severe accident scenarios, reactor building design, and other influencing factors. Consequently, a comprehensive hydrogen mitigation strategy must effectively incorporate a combination of strategies rather than be based on one strategy, taking into consideration the probabilistic risks and uncertainties associated with the implementation of PARs or other traditional methods. In response to these considerations, within the framework of this research it has been suggested a conceptual strategy to mitigate the hydrogen challenge during the in-vessel stage of severe accident development.