V. Ya. Shterenberg

A steam-gas power plant for combined generation of electricity, heat, and cold (Trigeneration)

The creation of power plants for combined generation of electricity, heat, and cold is considered. Technical and economic comparative analysis of different ways to accomplish this task is performed on the basis of a special technique developed at the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is shown that on the basis of the existing domestic gas-turbine equipment, power plants for combined generation of electricity, heat, and cold can be created that are significantly superior in their performance to the best technologies in the world.

A high-efficiency steam-gas plant for combined electrical power and heat production

An original scheme of power plant for combined production of heat and electric power is considered in paper. A comparison is made of main thermodynamic and techno-economic characteristics of the setup proposed with the alternatives. A conclusion is made that the considered combined-cycle plant with high thermal efficiency, reduced weight-dimension characteristics and improved electrical-thermal production ratio can meet the requirements on energy-supply of mutual residential communities and industrial projects.

Economic indicators characterizing an integrated technology for reprocessing natural gas and wood wastes to obtain hydrogen and pure carbon materials

We describe the results from a technical and economic analysis of a new technology for combined reprocessing of wood wastes and natural gas [1] to obtain hydrogen and pure carbon materials. World prices for hydrogen are compared with the calculated price of its production using the technology being developed. The cost of the simultaneous production of high-pure carbon materials is determined and its dependence on the possible alternatives of hydrogen utilization is shown.

A comparative technical and economic analysis of different alternatives for using coal in a combined-cycle plant with minimal emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

We consider the technical and economic aspects of a problem related to reducing the amount of CO2 emitted when coal is burned at thermal power stations. The additional costs associated with different technologies for entrapping carbon dioxide produced when coal is burned in steam-turbine units and combined-cycle plants (which are the main types of power-generating installations) are analyzed by way of comparison. The specific cost of removing carbon dioxide using different technologies for its entrapment is estimated.

A comparative thermodynamic analysis of alternative technologies for using coal in a combined-cycle plant with minimization of emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

We consider the problem of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere when using coal at power stations. A comparative thermodynamic analysis of different methods for entrapping carbon dioxide during the combustion of coal in steam-turbine units and combined-cycle plants is carried out. The levels of reducing CO2 emissions achieved using different technologies for entrapping it are compared, and the resulting loss in the thermal efficiency of power installations is analyzed.

The Conceptual Process Arrangement of a Steam–Gas Power Plant with Fully Capturing Carbon Dioxide from Combustion Products

The article proposes a new concept for designing power plants operating on natural gas and involving means for fully removing carbon dioxide from the cycle in the liquid phase form in order to subsequently bind or bury it for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In contrast to means used in the conventional power plant process arrangements for capturing CO2 from the combustion products, the proposed concept involves the need to develop fundamentally new power engineering technologies, in which the CO2 utilization system is intrinsically built into the cycle structure already at the initial stage of power plant design and optimization of its parameters. As an example, the process flow diagram of a natural gas fired power plant generating electricity and heat is considered. The integral indicators characterizing the thermal efficiency of such a power plant are given and compared with the similar indicators of the operating or newly designed plants fitted with CO2 capturing systems, the process arrangement of which implies direct emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The comparison is carried out for the average ratio between the generated electricity and heat that has historically been established in the climatic zone of central Russia. It is shown that the proposed cycle features high thermodynamic efficiency and competitiveness with respect to the same indicators of alternative systems for combined generation of electricity and heat. The article suggests versions of the CO2 capturing system configuration that allows, with the modern technological level of equipment, the carbon dioxide emissions to be reduced down to 0.5–5.0% of the total amount produced in firing natural gas.

Comparative Analysis of the Efficiency of Alternative Electric and Thermal Technologies of Natural Gas Energy Production

This article presents a comparative analysis of the efficiency of six conventional energy technologies for the production of electrical and thermal energy and three original alternative technologies developed at the Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences, that have been proposed for implementation. The thermal efficiency of all the of the considered options for the ratio of electric and thermal energy production typical of Russia’s average climatic conditions is compared with a unified methodology. The efficiency values of electric power generation based on heat consumption is compared for all the options. It is demonstrated that, when domestic gas turbine units are used, the efficiency of the electric energy generation of the developed technologies can significantly exceed that in the best existing energy technologies with the use of promising, imported, high-power gas turbines. These advantages can be attained not only by increasing the parameters of the working fluid but also by optimizing the structure of the thermodynamic cycle of the energy technology.

Torrefaction of wood pellets: New solutions

The current state of the market of conventional and torrefied wood pellets and the trends of its development have been analyzed. The advantages and disadvantages of pellets of both types have been compared with other alternative fuels. The consumer segment in which wood pellets are the most competitive has been determined. The original torrefaction technology using exhaust gas heat from a standard gas engine that was developed at the Joint Institute for High Technologies and the scheme of an experimental unit for the elaboration of the technology have been presented. The scheme of the combined operation of a torrefaction unit and a standard hot water boiler, which makes it possible to utilize the heat of exhaust steam-and-gas products of torrefaction with the simultaneous prevention of emissions of harmful substances into the environment, has been proposed. The required correlation between the capacity of the torrefaction unit and the heating boiler house has been estimated for optimal operation under the conditions of the isolated urban village in a region that is distant from the areas of extraction of traditional fuels and, at the same time, has quite sufficient resources of raw materials for the production of wood pellets.

Integrated reprocessing of natural gas to obtain hydrogen for power engineering purposes and carbon materials for wide use in industry

We describe a new integrated technology for reprocessing vegetable wastes and natural gas to obtain high-purity solid carbon materials, which can be used as an environmentally friendly fuel and raw material for industrial technologies, and a gaseous fuel with high content of hydrogen.