Career Opportunities in Power Generation

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott T. Cloyd
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Career Opportunities ◽  
Job Opportunities

The Power Generation Industry has a wide variety of challenging career opportunities for engineers. This paper provides an overview of the types of job opportunities that are currently available within the fossil fuel segment of the industry with a focus on gas and steam turbine based power plants. The challenges within these jobs and ability to alter career paths as individual interests’ change are also described.

scholarly journals Modeling of advanced fossil fuel power plants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farshid Zabihian
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Specific Power ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Utilization Factor ◽  
Fuel Switching ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cycle Efficiency

The first part of this thesis deals with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-fired power stations. The GHG emission estimation from fossil fuel power generation industry signifies that emissions from this industry can be significantly reduced by fuel switching and adaption of advanced power generation technologies. In the second part of the thesis, steady-state models of some of the advanced fossil fuel power generation technologies are presented. The impacts of various parameters on the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) overpotentials and outputs are investigated. The detail analyses of operation of the hybrid SOFC-gas turbine (GT) cycle when fuelled with methane and syngas demonstrate that the efficiencies of the cycles with and without anode exhaust recirculation are close, but the specific power of the former is much higher. The parametric analysis of the performance of the hybrid SOFC-GT cycle indicates that increasing the system operating pressure and SOFC operating temperature and fuel utilization factor improves cycle efficiency, but the effects of the increasing SOFC current density and turbine inlet temperature are not favourable. The analysis of the operation of the system when fuelled with a wide range of fuel types demonstrates that the hybrid SOFC-GT cycle efficiency can be between 59% and 75%, depending on the inlet fuel type. Then, the system performance is investigated when methane as a reference fuel is replaced with various species that can be found in the fuel, i.e., H₂, CO₂, CO, and N₂. The results point out that influence of various species can be significant and different for each case. The experimental and numerical analyses of a biodiesel fuelled micro gas turbine indicate that fuel switching from petrodiesel to biodiesel can influence operational parameters of the system. The modeling results of gas turbine-based power plants signify that relatively simple models can predict plant performance with acceptable accuracy. The unique feature of these models is that they are developed based on similar assumptions and run at similar conditions; therefore, their results can be compared. This work demonstrates that, although utilization of fossil fuels for power generation is inevitable, at least in the short- and mid-term future, it is possible and practical to carry out such utilization more efficiently and in an environmentally friendlier manner.

CO2 Capture for Power Plants: An Analysis of the Energetic Requirements by Chemical Absorption

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana R. Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Co2 Capture ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Energy Requirements ◽  
Co2 Absorption ◽  
Chemical Absorption ◽  
Technical Effort

The tendency in the world energy demand seems clear: it can only grow. The energetic industry will satisfy this demand-despite all its dialectic about new technologies-at least medium term mostly with current fossil fuel technologies. In this picture from an engineer’s point of view, one of the primary criterions for mitigating the effects of increasing atmospheric concentration of CO2 is to restrict the CO2 fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere. This paper is focused on the analysis of different CO2 capture technologies for power plants. Indeed, one of the most important goal to concentrate on is the CO2 capture energy requirements, as it dictates the net size of the power plant and, hence, the net cost of power generation with CO2 avoidance technologies. Here, the Author presents a critical review of different CO2 absorption capture technologies. These technologies have been widely analyzed in the literature under chemical and economic points of view, leaving their impact on the energy power plant performance in a second plan. Thus, the central question examined in this paper is the connection between abatement capability and its energetic requirements, which seriously decrease power generation efficiency. Evidencing that the CO2 capture needs additional technical effort and establishing that further developments in this area must be constrained by reducing its energy requirements. After a comprehensive literature revision, six different chemical absorption methods are analyzed based on a simplified energetic model, in order to account for its energetic costs. Furthermore, an application case study is provided where the different CO2 capture systems studied are coupled to a natural gas cogeneration power plant.

Gas Turbine With Constant Volume Heat Addition

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Can Gu¨len
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Brayton Cycle ◽  
Heat Addition ◽  
Volume Heat

Increasing the thermal efficiency of fossil fuel fired power plants in general and the gas turbine power plant in particular is of extreme importance. In the face of diminishing natural resources and increasing carbon emissions that lead to a heightened greenhouse effect and greater concerns over global warming, thermal efficiency is more critical today than ever before. In the science of thermodynamics, the best yardstick for a power generation system’s performance is the Carnot efficiency — the ultimate efficiency limit, set by the second law, which can be achieved only by a perfect heat engine operating in a cycle. As a fact of nature this upper theoretical limit is out of reach, thus engineers usually set their eyes on more realistic goals. For the longest time, the key performance benchmark of a combined cycle (CC) power plant has been the 60% net electric efficiency. Land-based gas turbines based on the classic Brayton cycle with constant pressure heat addition represent the pinnacle of fossil fuel burning power generation engineering. Advances in the last few decades, mainly driven by the increase in cycle maximum temperatures, which in turn are made possible by technology breakthroughs in hot gas path materials, coating and cooling technologies, pushed the power plant efficiencies to nearly 40% in simple cycle and nearly 60% in combined cycle configurations. To surpass the limitations imposed by available materials and other design considerations and to facilitate a significant improvement in the thermal efficiency of advanced Brayton cycle gas turbine power plants necessitate a rethinking of the basic thermodynamic cycle. The current paper highlights the key thermodynamic considerations that make the constant volume heat addition a viable candidate in this respect. First using fundamental air-standard cycle formulas and then more realistic but simple models, potential efficiency improvement in simple and combined cycle configurations is investigated. Existing and past research activities are summarized to illustrate the technologies that can transform the basic thermodynamics into a reality via mechanically and economically feasible products.

Study Assesses Potential of Renewable Energy in Power Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (07) ◽  
pp. 65-66
Author(s):  
Chris Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Co2 Emission ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Renewable Energies ◽  
Power Sector ◽  
Reducing Co2 Emission

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper IPTC 21348, “The Color of Energy: The Competition To Be the Energy of the Future,” by Hon Chung Lau, National University of Singapore, prepared for the 2021 International Petroleum Technology Conference, held virtually 23 March–1 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2021 International Petroleum Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. The author of the complete paper, for the purposes of this study, characterizes energies as brown, blue, or green. Brown energies are carbon dioxide (CO2)-emitting fossil fuels, such as gas, oil, or coal. Blue energies use carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technologies to remove the emitted CO2 from brown energies. Green energies are zero- or low-CO2-emitting renewable energies. By analyzing the CO2 intensity and levelized cost of energy of energy carriers of different colors, the author shows that renewable energies are best used in replacing fossil fuels in the power sector, where they have the greatest effect in reducing CO2 emission. Overview By 2017, only 11% of the world’s final consumption came from renewable energies, 85% came from fossil fuel, and 4% came from nuclear energy. Energy consumption can be divided into three sectors: power, transport, and thermal. At the time of writing, 26.4% of global power (electricity) consumption comes from renewable energies. In this sphere, renewable energies are making the most significant contribution in reducing CO2 emission. Forty-one percent of CO2 emission comes from electricity and heat, 21% from transport, and 21% from industry. Consequently, the key to global decarbonization is to decarbonize these three sectors. Green Energy Is Preferred Green energies consist of six major types: solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind, hydroelectricity, geothermal, and biomass. If 1 kWh of electricity generated by renewable energy (with the exception of biomass) is used to replace 1 kWh of electricity generated by fossil fuel, the net CO2 savings will amount to 0.8, 0.6, and 0.4 kg for replacing coal, oil, and natural gas, respectively. However, if 1 kWh of renewable electricity is used to generate green hydrogen (H2), which is then used for heat generation in industry, it will yield roughly 0.8 kWh of thermal energy, which replaces the same amount of thermal energy by natural gas. This amounts to a CO2 savings of only 0.16 kg CO2/kWh. Consequently, renewable power has the highest CO2 savings effect if it is used to replace fossil fuel for power generation rather than to replace fossil fuel for heat generation. Decarbonizing the Power Sector The power sector is easiest to decarbonize. The three methods foreseen to decarbonize the power sector are nuclear power, blue electricity generated by fossil-fuel power plants equipped with CCUS, and green electricity produced by renewables. The use of nuclear power plants is a country-specific issue. The dual challenge of nuclear plant safety and nuclear waste storage is a key sustainability issue. Recently, interest has been renewed in the idea of increasing investment in nuclear energy for decarbonizing the power sector. It is noteworthy that the countries for whom more than a quarter of their power generation is provided by nuclear energy are all in Europe.

scholarly journals Modeling of advanced fossil fuel power plants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farshid Zabihian
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Specific Power ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Utilization Factor ◽  
Fuel Switching ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cycle Efficiency

The first part of this thesis deals with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-fired power stations. The GHG emission estimation from fossil fuel power generation industry signifies that emissions from this industry can be significantly reduced by fuel switching and adaption of advanced power generation technologies. In the second part of the thesis, steady-state models of some of the advanced fossil fuel power generation technologies are presented. The impacts of various parameters on the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) overpotentials and outputs are investigated. The detail analyses of operation of the hybrid SOFC-gas turbine (GT) cycle when fuelled with methane and syngas demonstrate that the efficiencies of the cycles with and without anode exhaust recirculation are close, but the specific power of the former is much higher. The parametric analysis of the performance of the hybrid SOFC-GT cycle indicates that increasing the system operating pressure and SOFC operating temperature and fuel utilization factor improves cycle efficiency, but the effects of the increasing SOFC current density and turbine inlet temperature are not favourable. The analysis of the operation of the system when fuelled with a wide range of fuel types demonstrates that the hybrid SOFC-GT cycle efficiency can be between 59% and 75%, depending on the inlet fuel type. Then, the system performance is investigated when methane as a reference fuel is replaced with various species that can be found in the fuel, i.e., H₂, CO₂, CO, and N₂. The results point out that influence of various species can be significant and different for each case. The experimental and numerical analyses of a biodiesel fuelled micro gas turbine indicate that fuel switching from petrodiesel to biodiesel can influence operational parameters of the system. The modeling results of gas turbine-based power plants signify that relatively simple models can predict plant performance with acceptable accuracy. The unique feature of these models is that they are developed based on similar assumptions and run at similar conditions; therefore, their results can be compared. This work demonstrates that, although utilization of fossil fuels for power generation is inevitable, at least in the short- and mid-term future, it is possible and practical to carry out such utilization more efficiently and in an environmentally friendlier manner.

Distributed Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plants: Despatchable, Reliable, Affordable, Low Carbon Electricity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Welch ◽  
Heidi Anttila
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Generation System ◽  
Renewable Power ◽  
Renewable Power Generation ◽  
Power Generation System

Renewable energy has a significant role to play in helping the world achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction necessary to achieve the pathway to a 2°C increase in global temperature. Electricity generation from wind and solar resources can contribute immensely to the decarbonization of power generation, but these resources are intermittent. High penetration of intermittent renewable power generation can cause grid stability and control issues for network operators, with fast response fossil fuel power plant necessary to provide security of supply and maintain grid stability. Increasingly natural gas-fueled distributed power generation is being installed to provide the necessary grid support. However, hybrid power plants comprised of a fossil fuel power generating system, a renewable power generation system and energy storage can provide both the low CO2 electricity required to meet environmental constraints, and the despatchability and stability required by grid operators. Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plants (ISCCs), comprising a Concentrated Solar Power plant and a natural gas fired combined cycle plant, have the potential to simultaneously reduce fossil fuel consumption, provide secure, highly predictable electricity generation, and reduce the cost of integrating renewable energy into a power system. While a number of ISCCs have been built at a larger scale (above 150MW power output), the concept has rarely been adopted for smaller scale distributed power applications. In addition, the traditional ISCC concept uses a steam bottoming cycle, which consumes water, and often locations where distributed ISCC could be utilized suffer from a scarcity of fresh water. This paper evaluates whether replacing the steam bottoming cycle with an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) alternative can provide a simpler, lower cost distributed ISCC solution that can be utilized on smaller and island grid systems, or mini- and micro-grids, to provide an affordable, water-free, low carbon power generation system.

Alternative Approach to Determining the Preferred Plant Size of Parabolic Trough CSP Power Plants

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Sa´nchez ◽  
H. Frej ◽  
J. M. Mun˜oz de Escalona ◽  
R. Chacartegui ◽  
T. Sa´nchez
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Market Price ◽  
Plant Size ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Parabolic Trough ◽  
Market Conditions

The share of Concentrated Solar Power plants in power generation has increased significantly in the last decade due to the need to develop and deploy clean technologies that help reduce the carbon footprint of the power generation industry and, at the same time, are less voracious in terms of fossil fuel consumption. As a governmental support to promote the installation of solar plants, different incentives are found in most countries: complementary rates to the market price of electricity (premium), tax credits, financial support, long term power purchase agreements and, in general, other mechanisms that are generally grouped in a “feed-in tariff” that should ideally be more demanding (stringent) over time. The objective of these measures is to make this technology competitive in the mid/long term. At the same time, and in order to distribute these economical resources as fairly as possible, governments have usually limited the power output of those power plants benefitting from these incentives, as a means to prevent oligopolies that would eventually stop technology evolution while concentrating on preserving market conditions. This has led to the common 50 and 80 MW limits that exist in Spain and the USA respectively. As a consequence, OEMs and EPCs have focused on developing reliable and cost-effective CSP plants of these sizes, especially 50 MW. This work is based on unrestrained regulatory or market scenarios, with the aim of finding out which plant size yields the best efficiency at the lowest cost of electricity (COE). In other words, the objective is to establish the plant size of interest for power producers and consumers, should CSP facilities compete in the same market conditions as conventional fossil-fuel plants. The work begins by reviewing briefly the origins of the usual constraints applied to CSP plants. Then, a survey of existing literature dealing with the issue of technical and economic CSP optimization is presented, with a special focus on the work by B. Kelly from Nexant Inc. Taking this work as reference, a model of performance of parabolic trough plants developed in Thermoflex environment to put forth strong project specific feature of CSP facilites. Thermal storage and natural gas hybridization are included among the key design parameters.

Evaluation of Impact Loads of Clutch Engaging Within Single Shaft Applications for Power Generation

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Lu¨neburg ◽  
Meinolf Klocke ◽  
Stefan Kulig ◽  
Frank Joswig
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Impact Loading ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Mass Model ◽  
Inertia Effects ◽  
The Impact

Combined Cycle Power Plants (CCPP) in single shaft arrangements consist of a gas turbine, a generator and a steam turbine on one shaft line. In order to enhance the plant availability and operational flexibility, Siemens Fossil Power Generation introduces a switchable clutch between steam turbine and generator. The clutch is a synchronous self-shifting device that engages automatically at rated speed as soon as the steam turbine overruns the gas turbine-generator. It disengages automatically when the steam turbine speed drops below the speed of the gas turbine. A rather complicated mechanism consisting pawls and ratchets and a thread of helical splines including damper mechanisms is used to provide the required coupling functions. The primary reason for the clutch is to ensure independent gas turbine and steam turbine operation below steam turbine rated speed. The clutch is especially advantageous during startup and gas turbine simple-cycle operation. Next to these advantages, the clutch engaging processes could introduce significant impact loading to the shaft components which differ from other. Next to the normal engaging process fault cases like engaging processes after gas turbine trip at high acceleration values due to the gas turbine compressor losses must be sustained by all rotor train components. This paper documents a nonlinear torsional analysis of the single shaft arrangement to assess the impact loading due to clutch engaging processes. A dynamic three-mass-model of the clutch including nonlinear stiffness and damping functions is set up and applied for the simulations. The coupling of the translatory and the rotatory inertia effects of the main sliding component of the clutch has been taken into account. Different load case scenarios in different single shaft component arrangements respectively different inertia ranges of the steam turbine rotor train are investigated in detail by the transient analyses. Based on this procedure, it is ensured that the mechanical layout of the single shaft components is sufficiently designed to withstand all operational loads under normal and faulty operating conditions.

scholarly journals Statistical Analysis for Parametric Optimization of Gas Turbine-Steam Turbine Combined Power Cycle with Different Natural Gas Combustion

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 4563-4570
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Combustion Chamber ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Compression Ratio ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Parametric Optimization ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Gas Combustion

The combined Gas Turbine (GT) and Steam Turbine (ST) power generation techniques plays important role in power production. The coal fired thermal power plants have maximum possible efficiency about 34-36% with all arrangements of reheating and regeneration thermal systems. The integration of GT power generation system with old coal based thermal power plant helps to re-powering of plant and utilization of exhaust energy of GT unit through heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) of ST plant. The proposed title of research deals two steps of analysis. Energy analysis is adopted as first step for performance and energy destruction evaluation purpose where as Multi Linear regression (MLR) method is introduced as second method for parametric optimization. The four natural gases have been considered in this analysis and investigate the suitable fuel gas performance as per operating condition of GT plant such as gas turbine inlet turbine temperature (GTIT), compression ratio (CR) and mass flow of gases. The result of this paper concluded as maximum exergy loss found in combustion chamber of GT system and exhaust flow system of ST system in terms of 41% and 8% respectively. The combined and exergetic efficiency of plant are estimated to be 41% and 38.5% respectively. In present statistical model 4 levels and 3 factors (Pressure ratio, operating temperature and type of fuel gases) have been considered. And overall efficiency, gas turbine efficiency, heat loss in GT plant, Exergy destruction in thermal utilities like Compressor, combustion chamber and gas turbine are investigated. The statistical modeling concluded that the comparative results of actual and predicted results at different compression ratio of combustible gases which is affects the overall performance of combined GT-ST plant. This study helps to justify possible efficiency improvement with identifying the irreversibilities of plant utilities.

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