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Lecture 13

Lecture 13: Combined Cycle with Multi-

pressure Steam
Combined Cycle with Multi-pressure Steam
A combined cycle with multi-pressure steam reduces the temperature of the gas leaving the heat-
recovery boiler and hence results in increased efficiency of the plant as a whole. With steam
cycles operating around 1300 psia (90 bar), saturation temperatures around 575 oF (300oC), and
feedwater into the HRB at about 265oF (130oC), the gas temperature leaving the HRB to the stack
is still at about 300 to 400oF (150 to 200oC). Some of the energy leaving with that gas can be
utilized in a multi-pressure steam cycle. The simplest such cycle is a dual-pressure one, although
triple-pressure cycles have been considered.

A dual-pressure cycle (Fig. 13.1) shows a heat-

recovery boiler with two steam circuits in it.
One, a high-pressure circuit, feeds steam to the
steam turbine at its inlet; the other, a low-
pressure circuit, feeds the steam to the same
turbine at a lower-pressure stage. A
corresponding temperature-enthalpy diagram of
both gas and steam circuits in the HRB is
shown in Fig 13.2.

Exhaust gas leaving the gas turbine enters

supplementary firing (SF) at 4 and the heat-
recovery boiler (HRB) at 5, leaving it to the
stack (ST) at 6. Condensate leaves the steam
condenser (C) at 8 and enters the condensate
pump (CP) and two closed-type feedwater
heater (FWH) and one open-type deaerating
heater (DA). It then enters the boiler feed pump
(BFP) at 9, where it is pumped to 10 to a lower
pressure than that of steam maximum. Process
10-11 is feedwater heating in a low-pressure
economizer, followed by evaporation to 12 and
superheat to 13. Superheated low-pressure
steam at 13 enters the steam turbine at a low-
pressure stage.

Water from low pressure steam drum at 11 is

pumped by a booster pump (BP) to 14 and goes
to the high-pressure economizer. Evaporation
occurs from 15 to 16 and superheat to 17.
High pressure superheated steam at 17 enters Figure 13.1: A schematic diagram for a dual-pressure combined cycle
the steam turbine first stage.
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Lecture 13
It can be seen from T-H diagram (Fig 13.2) that low-pressure steam
boils at a temperature (12) below that of high-pressure steam (16),
and hence there are two pinch points between the gas line and the
saturated steam lines. It can also be seen that a single high-pressure
steam circuit could be represented by 10'-15-16-17 with gas leaving
to the stack at 6'. Adding the low-pressure circuit allows the gas to
leave at a lower temperature (6), thus extracting more energy from it
and increasing the overall cycle efficiency.
Figure 13.2: T-H diagram of HRB.

An example of a dual-pressure combined cycle is the Donge-Geertruidenberg plant of PNEM in

Holland. It has a gas-turbine output of 76.7 MW and a steam-turbine output of 47.3 MW and
attains a remarkable 46.1 percent efficiency at a standard air condition of 15 oC (59oF) and 1 atm,
with only one DA feedwater heater.

A proposed triple-pressure combined cycle generates steam at an intermediate pressure between

the two steam-turbine inlets. This steam is injected into the gas-turbine combustion chamber to
reduce nitrogen oxide emissions to meet NO x rigid standards, if applicable. The water, thus lost,
must of course be continually made up.

A Combined Cycle for Nuclear Powerplants

A combined cycle for nuclear plant presupposes that a high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear
reactor (HTGR) is the heat source for the gas-turbine cycle. Such a reactor-turbine combination
uses helium gas as the reactor coolant and gas-turbine cycle working fluid in a closed cycle.

Figure 13.3: (a) A schematic diagram for a combined cycle with a nuclear gas turbine and fossil-
fuel fired steam turbine (b) T-s diagram of helium and steam cycles
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Lecture 13

Helium at 1 (Fig 13.3 (a) and (b)) is compressed in a helium compressor (HeC) to 2. It is then
preheated in a regenerator (R) to 3, enters the HTGR, and leaves at 4 at 1435 to 1470 oF (780 to
800oC). It expands in the helium turbine (HeT) to 5 and enters the regenerator. The energy left in
the gas at 6 is finally transferred to the steam cycle in a closed-type steam feedwater heat (FWH).
The helium, back at 1, reenters the helium compressor.

The steam cycle is fairly standard. Feedwater leaves the FWH at 7, enters the fossil-fueled steam
generator (SG), and leaves it as superheated steam at 8. This expands in the steam turbine (ST)
and enters the condenser at 9. Condensate at 10 is pumped by pump (P), after which it enters the
FWH to repeat the cycle.

It can be seen that the gas and steam cycles are coupled only by the FWH, that the heat generated
in the HTGR is completely utilized in both cycles, and that heat is rejected only in the steam
condenser.

Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle Power Plants

For decades vapor power plants fueled by coal have been the workhorses of U.S. electricity
generation. However, human-health and environmental-impact issues linked to coal combustion
have placed this type of power generation under a cloud. In light of large coal reserves and the
critical importance of electricity to our society, major governmental and private-sector efforts are
aimed at developing alternative power generation technologies using coal, but with fewer adverse
effects. In this section, we consider one such technology: integrated gasification combined-cycle
(IGCC) power plants.
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Lecture 13

Figure 13.4: Integrated gasification combined-cycle power plant.

An IGCC power plant integrates a coal gasifier with a combined gas turbine–vapor power plant
like that considered previously. Key elements of an IGCC plant are shown in Fig. 13.4.
Gasification is achieved through controlled combustion of coal with oxygen in the presence of
steam to produce syngas (synthesis gas) and solid waste. Oxygen is provided to the gasifier by the
companion air separation unit. Syngas exiting the gasifier is mainly composed of carbon
monoxide and hydrogen. The syngas is cleaned of pollutants and then fired in the gas turbine
combustor.

In IGCC plants, pollutants (sulfur compounds, mercury, and particulates) are removed before
combustion when it is more effective to do so, rather than after combustion as in conventional
coal-fueled power plants. While IGCC plants emit fewer sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide, mercury,
and particulate emissions than comparable conventional coal plants, abundant solid waste is still
produced that must be responsibly managed.

Taking a closer look at Fig. 13.4, better IGCC plant performance can be realized through tighter
integration between the air-separation unit and combined cycle. For instance, by providing
compressed air from the gas turbine compressor to the air-separation unit, the compressor feeding
ambient air to the air-separation unit can be eliminated or reduced in size. Also, by injecting
nitrogen produced by the separation unit into the air stream entering the combustor, mass flow
rate through the turbine increases and therefore greater power is developed.

Only a few IGCC plants have been constructed worldwide thus far. Accordingly, only time will
tell if this technology will make significant inroads against coal-fired vapor power plants,
including the newest generation of supercritical plants. Proponents point to increased combined
cycle thermal efficiency as a way to extend the viability of U.S. coal reserves. Others say
investment might be better directed to technologies fostering use of renewable sources of energy
for power generation than to technologies fostering use of coal, which has so many adverse
effects related to its utilization.