A Systematic Approach Linking Condenser Performance to Heat Rate and CO2 Emissions
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A Systematic Approach Linking Condenser Performance to Heat Rate and CO2 Emissions Peter de Graaf, Nalco Europe BV Martyn Gilbert, Rocksavage Power Station Ltd, and Andrew Hurst, Nalco Ltd ABSTRACT A systematic approach to cooling system management was taken at InterGen’s Rocksavage Power Station with the objective of improving the overall performance of the cooling tower and condenser under varying conditions. The approach included a combination of engineering, operational and chemistry initiatives that led to measurable performance improvements. This paper will present the path taken by the Rocksavage Power Station to not only improve condenser performance, but also to quantify the impact on plant heat rate and CO2 emissions. Plant data over a multi-year timeframe was used to document the improved operating practices and control. Due to the implementation of these systematic improvements, a significant improvement in system cleanliness was achieved that resulted in reduced steam turbine backpressure and better cooling tower efficiency. Savings opportunities in terms of gas consumption and reduced carbon dioxide emissions were highlighted. These gains can help to improve the environmental performance of the Station, which would result in reduced total operating costs of the cooling system while maintaining condensing performance. INTRODUCTION Power plant condenser cooling systems play a vital role in maintaining generation efficiency and plant heat rate. Deposition in the condenser or cooling tower fill will increase turbine backpressure and require higher steam flow to maintain power. Higher steam flow will require more fuel to be burned, assuming the boiler system has the capability to generate more steam. In some cases, the plant cannot generate at full power with a fouled condenser the result of which is de-rating. The increased fuel requirement increases plant heat rate, which translates directly to fuel cost and emissions. Even though the increase in fuel consumption may be small (< 1%), the environmental and financial impacts may be significant, as emission-trading schemes (cap-and-trade) for greenhouse gasses are directly affected. Condenser and cooling tower performance-monitoring helps to link cooling system performance to heat rate and can be expressed in terms of environmental performance and compliance. Condenser cooling operating variables can be combined with cooling system chemistry performance as well as control data and engineering calculations to help document the impact of cooling system performance on heat rate, fuel consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases. The lowest environmental impact can thus be achieved from existing plant equipment. This paper will be presented in a case history format using actual plant data. The paper builds on a previous paper presented at POWER-GEN Asia in 2006.1 THE EU EMISSION CREDIT TRADING SCHEME Signatories to the Kyoto protocol, including all Member States of the European Union (EU), have committed to control and reduce emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in order to decrease their impact on global warming.2 The European Commission has mandated an Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)3 to manage the cost-effective reduction in GHG emissions across the 27 EU countries. The ETS gives each plant an annual GHG ‘allowance’ or emission volume in metric tons of carbon dioxide & the amount of other GHG with the equivalent global warming potential to CO2. The allowance is calculated on the basis of the National Allowance Allocation Plan for GHG control agreed to by each EU Member State. Each following year, the plant has to ‘surrender’ an allowance allocation equivalent to the actual volume of GHG emitted during the previous year. If emissions are below the allowance, they become credits that may be ‘traded’ with other plants that are exceeding their 1 particular allowance. Credits may also be earned by participation in Joint Implementation (JI) or Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. If a plant fails to ‘surrender’ an amount of allowance equivalent to the previous years’ emissions, meaning for example that it exceeded its maximum permitted emission volume, then a penalty is payable for the excess emissions. Up until January 1, 2008, the penalty is €40 per ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent; thereafter the amount increases to €100 per ton. Payment does not remove the legal obligation to still surrender the necessary allowance. Note that the penalty is well in excess of the expected trade value of the credits, providing an incentive for producers to meet their emission goals through performance, trading, or offsets. The first cycle of emission allowances commenced on January 1, 2005 and covers the three years to January 1, 2008. The commitment of the EU to the Kyoto Protocol drives the control of the total GHG emission volume for the EU as a whole, or, in other words, the sum of all National Allowance Allocation Plans across EU27. Plans will be reviewed every 5 years from 2008. It is expected that Emission Allowances will be progressively reduced every five years. ROCKSAVAGE POWER STATION Rocksavage Power Station is a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant located in Runcorn, Cheshire, UK with a nominal output of 743 MW. The station is 100% InterGen owned and operates in a load following mode. It is one of the cleanest and most efficient power plants in the UK, with an average availability of 94% during the last four years. The Station consists of two Alstom GT26A combustion turbines, two triple-pressure unfired HRSG’s and one Alstom, 284 MW, steam turbine. It has a two pass surface condenser which is cooled using filtered river water supplied from a 12 cell plume-abated cooling tower with a system volume of approximately 5,000 m3 (1,320,000 gallons). Photo 1 – Arial photograph of Rocksavage Power Station The UK National Allocation Plan GHG annual allowance for Rocksavage Power Station for the trading period 2008-2012 is 1.08 million tons of CO2 equivalent, which is a considerable shortfall compared to current emissions.4 This shortfall has to be traded on the Carbon Exchange market; 5 futures (2008-2009) indicate a cost in the range of €20-25 per ton of CO2. The calculated estimate for the GHG emission cost for the Rocksavage Power Station is in excess of 10 million Euros per year. There is a clear incentive to trim GHG emissions in every possible way. 2 DETERMINATION OF CONDENSER PERFORMANCE IMPACT ON HEAT RATE AND EMISSIONS Instead of walking the reader through the input fields required to determine condenser performance, this paper will focus on the key empirical correlations that are the backbone to the calculation model. We will first look at establishing bogey backpressure and what that means in practice. Then we will examine the relationship between heat rate and condenser backpressure, and finally how the heat rate loss is extrapolated to fuel and emissions cost, or alternatively MW de-rating. The bogey backpressure is the expected backpressure for a condenser if the tubes are clean and the condenser is operating to design specifications. We can estimate the bogey backpressure based on the cooling water outlet temperature and the design terminal temperature difference for the condenser. An alternative method is the use of condenser design graphs that contains correlations between condenser load and backpressure as function of cooling water inlet temperature and condenser cleanliness (Figure 1). Figure 1 – Condenser design graph 12.0 Condenser Cleanliness Factor is 90% 11.0 10.0 29.4oC (85oF) 9.0 8.0 24.4oC (76oF) 7.0 21.1oC (70oF) 6.0 5.0 15.6oC (60oF) 4.0 10.0oC (50oF) 3.0 4oC (39oF) 2.0 80% 90% 100% 110% 120% Condenser Load [%] The backpressure readings from the sensors in the condenser should not be below the theoretical bogey backpressure. They can read low, however, if steam condenses in the sensing element. If apparent backpressure is below bogey, the plant must perform sensor maintenance to allow accurate performance measurements. For the Rocksavage Power Plant, with three pressure sensors on the condenser, the backpressure readings that were below bogey were corrected by establishing a correlation between the LP exhaust pressure and condenser backpressure as shown in Figure 2. The crux of the model revolves around the establishment of the correlation between heat rate and condenser backpressure. This correlation forms the basis for calculating the fuel and emissions penalties. The plant heat rate is the net efficiency in heat conversion and transfer of the various stages of the process: the gas turbine, the HRSG, the steam turbine, plus the plant operating practices. Empirical correlations between heat rate and backpressure are not straightforward, and this is shown in Figure 3. One can argue that a better correlation could be established by looking at steam turbine heat rate versus backpressure, but this brings additional complexity to the model that does not 3 necessarily have a payoff in terms of a more precise result relative to the effort that a performance engineer needs to make. Figure 2 – Empirical correlation between backpressure and exhaust steam pressure 11.00 LP Exhaust Steam Pressure = 10.50 0.7925 Back Pressure + 2.5094 10.00 9.50 9.00 8.50 8.00 7.50 7.00 6.50 6.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00 Condenser Back Pressure [kPa] Figure 3 – Empirical correlation between heat rate and bogey backpressure 7400 Heat Rate = 44.14 (Backpressure - Bogey Backpressure) + 6,930 7300 7200 7100 7000 6900 6800 6700 6600 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 Backpressure - Bogey [kPa] 4 The heat rate penalty for Rocksavage Power Station, according to this empirical correlation, is 44 kJ/kWh per kPa change in condenser backpressure (141 BTU/kWh for 1“ Hg).6 This equals 0.63% of efficiency loss per kPa (2.15% for 1” Hg) deviation from the theoretical backpressure using the design terminal temperature difference.