ER100 - Energy and Society:

Modern Power Plants and Emissions

September 20, 2009

This will take place as a single lecture

on September 22
 Alternatives studied
Lots of money poured into alternative fuels
– Coal based liquid fuels
– Direct coal gasification
– Oil shale and other low-grade petroleum resources
These only illustrate the superior qualities of oil
– Transport and movement by pump and tank
– Fluid at ambient temperature and pressure
– Clean
– High energy density per-unit-mass and per-unit-volume
– Comparing energy density per unit mass:
• 110 lb Wood = 750 MJ
• 110 lb Coal = 1465 MJ
• 110 lb Oil = 2400 MJ
 Energy Density per Unit Mass
• Electricity
– -Batteries suffer from poor
energy per unit mass
– Must carry around electrodes,
casing, etc. Percentage of
Transportation Energy
• Coal and wood unfavorable Provided by Fuel
– especially given gasifier
1973 2003
losses
Petroleum 95.8 96.4
• Sets up unfavorable
feedback loop in engineering Natural gas 4 2.5
automobiles! Renewable 0 0.9
• Petroleum is at a natural Electricity 0.1 0.2
strategic advantage with
respect to transportation
 T Natural Gas Power Plant
Qhigh
1 2 Carnot:
Thigh
Wnet = area of rectangle
Tlow Natural Gas Plant:
4 Qlow 3
Wnet = area of blue box

S1 S2 S

• Realistic systems (coal, natural gas, nuclear power plants)

do not fill the entire box – therefore, they have not reached
the Carnot efficiency
• Recall Ideal Gas Law: PV = nRT
 QH
2 3
Combustion
Chamber

Compressor Turbine

Win Heat
Wout
Exchanger
1 4
QL
1-2: Air is compressed
2-3: Heat is added
3-4: Air turns turbine
4-1: Exhaust gases are cooled
 Carnot Diagram

4-1: Heat is transfer from high temp source at Thigh

1-2: Gas expands doing work (spinning a turbine) – no heat lost
2-3: Heat is rejected to cold temp source at Tlow
3-4: Gas is compressed (takes work) – no heat lost
 Old Stack Bottom Ash
Settling Pond

SCRs Units 1 & 2

Scrubbers

Coal
Storage

Coal
Barges
ESPs
Water
treatment

Lime Unloader
FGD Waste
Lime Barges Conveyer to Landfill

Village of Cheshire (former)

Pulverized Coal Plant Schematic

Rankine Cycle: The fluid in Step 3 water and Step 4 is steam.

The pump is not shown. It is installed between Steps 6 and 3.
 Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant

Condenser

Heat Recovery
Steam Generator
(HRSG)
Gas Turbine

Steam Turbine
Brayton Cycle (fluid = air; fuel=gas)
QH
2 3
Combustion
Chamber

Compressor Turbine

Win Heat
Wout
Exchanger
1 4
QL
Win= H1 - H2 QH = H3 - H2 I = Wnet/QH
Wout = H3 - H4 QL = H1 - H4 c = 1 – T1/T3
Wnet = |Wout| - |Win| II = I / c
Remove heat exchanger and discharge gasses  open cycle configuration
Compressors and Turbines
 Brayton Cycle (fluid = air)
QH
2 3
Combustion
Chamber

Compressor Turbine

Win Heat
Wout
Exchanger
1 4
QL
Win= H1 - H2 QH = H3 - H2 I = Wnet/QH
Wout = H3 - H4 QL = H1 - H4 c = 1 – T1/T3
Wnet = |Wout| - |Win| II = I / c
Remove heat exchanger and discharge gasses  open cycle configuration
 Brayton Cycle Description
a - b: Air is compressed, T increased
(requires significant work)
Ta<Tb , Pa< Pb
Work added to drive the compressor Win= (-)
No heat is transferred Q = 0
b - c: Heat is added by burning fuel
Tb<Tc , Pb = Pc
No work is done W = 0
Heat is added Q2 = (+)
c - d: High pressure air drives a turbine (& expands) adiabatically
Tc>Td , Pc > Pd
Work is generated in the turbine Wout = (+)
No heat is transferred Q = 0
d - a: Air exhausted from the turbine is cooled to state a
Td>Ta , Pd = Pa
No work is done W = 0
Heat is rejected QL = (-)
 Brayton Cycles (Gas Turbine Cycles)

waste products

PV = constant (adiabatic process);  = (n + 2)/n n = degrees of freedom

PV = NRT, or P = RT/V (this N is moles)

RTV /V = constant, or TV-1 = constant = TV2/n

(TV2/n)n/2 = constant = Tn/2V
 Brayton Cycles (Gas Turbine Cycles)

waste products

constant = Tn/2V
For ideal gas, V = RT/P
T [(n + 2)/2]/P = new constant, or T = (constant)P[2/(n+2)]
Thus Td = Tc * (P1/P2)[2/(n+2)]
The efficiency of an ideal Brayton cycle is brayton= 1 - (p1/p2)[2/(n + 2)]
 Brayton Cycles

The efficiency of an ideal Brayton cycle is brayton= 1 - (p1/p2)[2/(n + 2)]

waste products

Since air behaves like an ideal gas with n=5 degrees of freedom,
brayton= 1 - (p1/p2)2/7
Most efficient gas turbines have p2/p1  30:
theoretical brayton 0.62; actual brayton 0.40
Turbine inlet temperature Tc = 1300°C = 1573K so Td = 322°C = 595K
Can make steam for a steam turbine with “waste heat”from
gas turbine exhaust.
 Variations on Power Plant Designs
Cogeneration: Production of electricity and other forms of energy,
such as heat or steam

There are two basic types:

Topping: Electricity is delivered first then the heat exhausted is

captured for use in an industrial process.

Bottoming: Heat is extracted from a heat source after it has been

used in a process and used to drive a turbine coupled to
an electric generator
 QH
2 Combustion
3 Combined
Chamber
Cycle
Compressor Turbine

Win,B Wout,B
Heat
Exchanger Instead of wasting the QL
1 4
Q from the Brayton cycle,
8 that heat is used boil the
Boiler 5 water in a Rankine cycle
I = (Wnet,B + Wnet,R) / QH

Pump Turbine

Win.R Wout,R
Condenser
7 6
QL
Combined Cycle Heat Engine

Overall efficiency for a combined cycle

 percentage

 = W/Q2A = (WA + WB)/Q2A

WA = AQ2A
WB = BQ2B = BQ1A = B(Q2A - WA) = B(1 - A)Q2A
 = A + B(1 - A) = A + B - AB
A percentage
 Plant Efficiencies and Emissions

EDF – Clearing California’s Coal Shadow from the American West

Staged Combustion/Superheating/
Thermal DeNOx/SCR
 Energy Conversion Technologies
Engines:
(chemical -> thermal -> mechanical)

Internal combustion engine (Otto - gasoline, or diesel) 20 - 40%

Power Plants:
(chemical -> thermal -> mechanical -> electrical)

Steam turbine (coal, oil, gas) 30 - 40%

Cogeneration (top or bottom); increased overall efficiency
Gas turbine 25 - 50%
Combined cycle 45 - 70%
 Electricity Generation
(not as efficient yet)
• MHD – magnetohydrodynamic
(ions moving in field)

• Thermionic (thermal radiation to electricity)

• Electrochemical and Fuel Cells

(oxidation/reduction to electricity)

• Photovoltaic
(light to electricity)
 Power Plants: Control of Emissions

Clean Air Act: Requires upgrade of emissions controls

if significant modifications or expansion to the plant;
old plants are grandfathered (1977)

EPA: New rule (8/28/03) Upgrade not required if the

cost of the replacement is not above 20 percent of the
cost of a "process unit."

MACT: Maximum Achievable Control Technology

Cost Effectiveness: cost of reducing emission/mass of

pollutant
 Power Plants: Control of Emissions
• NOx: Staged combustion (reburning), water injection, lean
burn, oxygen atmosphere, improved mixing of fuel and reactants
Exhaust treatment: water injection, sorbents, SCR, SNCR
(ammonia, urea)

• SOx: Scrubbing (water or basic solutions), oxidation to SO3,

sorbents

• PM: Filters (physical – bagshouses), electrostatic precipitators

(ESP), oxidation, catalysts

• CO2: Separation and sequestration, non-carbon fuels, biofilters

• Hg: Sorbents, oxidation to compounds

 Trace Gas & PM Emissions
Typical efficiency: 33%
Typical coal: 24 kJ/g and average carbon content of 62%.
Fuel has a 2% sulfur content and 10% unburnable minerals (ash).
70% of ash released as fly ash, 30% settles out of the combustion chamber: bottom ash.

But, Clean Air Act limits:

Sulfur dioxide emissions to 260 grams SO2 per million kJ of heat to the plant
(Molecular Weight of SO2 =32 +2x16 = 64, so 50% of mass is sulfur)
Particulates limited to 13 g/million kJ

First, what are the emissions per kWh?:

 Trace Gas & PM Emissions
Typical efficiency: 33%
Typical coal: 24 kJ/g and average carbon content of 62%.
Fuel has a 2% sulfur content and 10% unburnable minerals (ash).
70% of ash released as fly ash, 30% settles out of the combustion chamber: bottom ash.

But, Clean Air Act limits:

Sulfur dioxide emissions to 260 grams SO2 per million kJ of heat to the plant
(SO2 =32 +2x16 = 64, so 50% of mass is sulfur)
Particulates limited to 13 g/million kJ

First, what are the emissions per kWh?:

Heat Input 1 kJ/s 

= (3kWhr heat)   ÷ (3600 s/hr ) = 10, 800 kJ/kWh
kWh electricity  kW 
260 gS 
Sulfur limit:  6 ÷10,800kJ / kWh = 2.8g SO2 / kWh
10 kJ 
 13g 
Particulate emissions limit:  6 ÷10,800 kJ / kWh = 0.14 g/ kWh
10 kJ 
 Coal-fired Power Plant: Thermal Emissions
Plant efficiency (typical): 33%
Plant electrical output: 1000 MW
15% of waste heat goes up the smokestack; 85% taken away by cooling water drawn from
a nearby river, which has a flow rate of 100 m3/sec and a temperature of 20°C.
Environmental guidelines suggest the plant limit coolant water temperature rise to 10 °C.

What flow rate is needed from the river to carry the waste heat away?
 Coal-fired Power Plant: Thermal Emissions
Typical efficiency: 33%
Plant electrical output: 1000 MW
15% of waste heat goes up the smokestack; 85% taken away by cooling water drawn from
a nearby river, which has a flow rate of 100 m3/sec and a temperature of 20°C.
Environmental guidelines suggest the plant limit coolant water temperature rise to 10°C.

What flow rate is needed from the river to carry the waste heat away?

Output Power  1000 MWe

Input power = 
 ÷
÷ = ( ) = 3000 MW t
 Efficiency  1/ 3
Total thermal losses: 3000MW - 1000 MW = (2000 MWt -e )
. .
Loss to water = 0.85(2000 MW) = 1700 MW dQ/dt = Q = mcT
 Coal-fired Power Plant: Thermal Emissions
Typical efficiency: 33%
Plant electrical output: 1000 MW
15% of waste heat goes up the smokestack; 85% taken away by cooling water drawn from
a nearby river, which has a flow rate of 100 m3/sec and a temperature of 20°C.
Environmental guidelines suggest the plant limit coolant water temperature rise to 10 °C.

What flow rate is needed from the river to carry the waste heat away?

.mcT = Q. = 1700 MW = 1.7x10 J/s 9

.m = 1.7x10 J/s /[(4184J/ kg C)(10 C)] = 40.6x10 kg/s of water

9 3

40.6x103 kg/s(1 m3/103 kg H20) = 40.6 m3/s of water

 Coal-fired Power Plant: Thermal Emissions
Typical efficiency: 33%
Plant electrical output: 1000 MW
15% of waste heat goes up the smokestack; 85% taken away by cooling water drawn from
a nearby river, which has a flow rate of 100 m3/sec and a temperature of 20°C.
Environmental guidelines suggest the plant limit coolant water temperature rise to 10 °C.
What will be the rise in river temperature?

You need 40.6 m3/s of water with the water heating 10 °C

The river has a flow of 100 m3/s

Thus the river temperature will rise 40.6/100 = 4.1°C

The final river temperature will be 24.1 °C

 Basic steam turbine
power plant schematic
Historical trend in the average efficiency of electricity generation in
central-station thermal power plants in the U.S.
(efficiency in percent, higher heating value (HHV) basis)

Higher heating value (gross heat): includes heat released when water condenses.
Lower heating value (net heat): assumes water stays in the vapor state.

Note: the most efficient furnaces work by

causing combustion gases to cool enough to
condense the water vapor before it leaves the
Stack (condensing furnaces).
Fueling up 1979 (AP)

Ethanol ad campaign 1980s

•Negative
marketing by oil
companies drove
consumers the
other way
following the
EtOH boon in the
1970s
•As a result,
many farms
producing
ethanol went
bankrupt in the
late 1980s.
 U.S. Environmental
Goals and Regs
• Siting
– Aesthetics/real estate values
– Preserve canyons
– Equity
• Water consumption
– Damage to ecosystems
(CWIS)
– Water for irrigation
• Climate Change
– CO2 emissions
• Renewable Energy
– RPS
PM control - Cyclones
PM Control – Fabric Filter
PM Control –
Electrostatic
Precipitators
SO2 control – Scrubbers

SO2 scrubber for a

150MW unit at Cherokee
Station in Denver
Power plant burners

Left, gas
Right and
above, coal
NOX Control – Overfire Air
(OFA)
 NOX Control –
Low Excess Air
(LEA) and Low
NOX Burner
(LNB)
NOX Controls
– Selective
Non-Catalytic
Reduction
(SNCR)
NOX Control – Selective Catalytic
Reduction (SCR) plant schematic
Installed emission controls
SNOX installation
Power Plant
ESP
SCR

Merrimack Station, NH
Power Plant
ESP
SCR
Gen. Gavin Power Plant $1.7Billion (1999$)

– Original 1974 Met NSR requirements

2x 1300 MW units
Schematic 17,500GWh/yr
>7M tons coal/yr.

Boiler

Stack Coal
Preparation
ESP Pre-heater
Gavin – 1990 Clean Air Act
Compliance
LNB installed 1999, lowers
NOX emissions by ~50%
SO2 scrubbers installed 1995,
Cost: $27M
lower SO2 emissions by ~90%
Cost: $662M
Gavin – NOX SIP Call
SCR installed 2001, lower SO2
emissions by ~90%
Cost: $195M
 Cap and Trade
• Government:
– Set total mass emissions (cap)
– Create and allocate emission allowances
(grandfathering)
– Require sources to redeem one allowance for each unit
of emissions
– Define emissions monitoring protocols
– Define any additional rules and enforce (if needed)

• Firms:
– Control exactly, or
– Overcontrol (sell or save), or
– Undercontrol (buy or use savings)