ISSN 0003 701X, Applied Solar Energy, 2010, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 6670. Allerton Press, Inc.

., 2010. Original Russian Text R.A. Zakhidov, A.I. Anarbaev, 2010, published in Geliotekhnika, 2010, No. 1, pp. 9698.

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Application of Solar Heat Sources at Thermal Electric Power Plants

R. A. Zakhidov and A. I. Anarbaev
Institute of Power Engineering and Automation, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan
Received January 4, 2010

AbstractThe paper considers promising technology for preliminarily heating feed water at a traditional heat power plant using solar heat sources based on compact linear Fresnel reflectors, as well as the potential for using it in heat and power engineering in the republic. DOI: 10.3103/S0003701X10010147

As international experience in using medium and high potential solar water heaters has shown, they can be efficient in the case of traditional types of fuel burned to produce electrical energy at thermal electric power plants, being partially substituted [1]. Most of the earlier traditional thermal electric power plants in Uzbekistan remain in operation despite their low efficiency, owing to the constantly increasing needs for electric energy in the network and shortage of finan cial resources for their modernization. In the present world market, the decrease in green house gas emissions has money and credit value that can help prolong the commercial life of existing ther mal electric power plants. At traditional thermal elec tric power plants, there are different stages of steam extraction from steam turbines for production needs in heating the initial water in a feed water boiler and then in a steam superheater. This extracted steam can no longer be used to produce electric energy. When a solar adapter is used, these stream extraction devices are excluded. The efficiency expressed in the specific fuel consumption during power generation increases owing to the volumes of its combustion by partially substituted solar energy. Consequently, the greenhouse gas emission per unit of electric energy decreases. The unit cost of heat energy produced by a solar adapter is lower compared to the use of photoelectricity and other renewable energy sources. Economic analysis shows [1] that it will be most advantageous to use solar heat sources during the peak operation of a station. It is known that in developed countries, the greatest solar radiation income per day often coincides with daily peaks of electric energy consumption caused by switching on air conditioners in the summer period. There are different variants to integrate solar heat sources into the cycle of an operating thermal electric power station. THe possible range of temperature, pres sure, and mass flow of a heat carrier, as well as solar radi ation income in a given locality, are determined. The technical part of a stations design depends on this. The
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following are economic questions arising when com paring different possible variants: What is the cost of output at thermal electric power station, if a unit of electric energy is used by a solar adapter at an assigned temperature level? What is the achieved share of heat load substi tuted by solar energy? The optimal parameters of the solar adapter of a thermal electric power station were calculated in [2] taking into consideration all the elements of the sys tem consisting of a collector, a tube type heat exchanger, an accumulator, and a turbine generator. The following values of parameters are indicated to correspond to the minimal prime cost of electric energy: Peak electric power10 MW. Ratio of reflecting surface to area of territory0.4. Maximum velocity of heat carrier8 m/s. Thickness of tube insulation (glass wool)5 cm. Increase in temperature of heat carrier in collec tor60C. Operational temperature of heat carrier250C. The technology for solar heating of feed water can be mainly applied to all designs of thermal electric power stations working on different types of fuel: coal, oil, gas, and even nuclear energy. Of interest is the construction of a solar field based on compact linear Fresnel reflectors [3] made in the form of a solar adapter to existing thermal electric power stations in order to produce compressed hot water or saturated steam. The use of solar energy reduces the volumes of fuel burned in the boilers of a traditional station when feed water is partially heated to obtain steam for the IP and LP stages of a steam tur bine, as well as when saturated steam is produced to feed the system. Such solar powered systems/adapters are often designed to cover the peak load of a thermal electric power station. When the extraction of the required volumes from a turbine is partially or completely

APPLICATION OF SOLAR HEAT SOURCES AT THERMAL ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS , % 70 60 50 40 30 20 2 10 0 100 150 200 250 300 350 Toper, C 100 W 10 MW 1 MW

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Fig. 1. Dependence of the efficiency factor of the collector and turbine generator on the operational temperature of the energy carrier: (1) average annual efficiency factor of the collector; (2) efficiency factor of the turbine generator.

reduced, the conserved steam is accessible for use in turbine sections with lower pressure, and it produces additional electric energy. Therefore, the output capacity of a station can be increased in the periods of greatest solar radiation (high peaks of electric energy consumption owing to air conditioning systems are covered by solar radiation). The efficiency expressed through the specific fuel consumption for power gen eration is also increased thanks to the load being sub stituted by solar energy, correspondingly, the specific

greenhouse gas emission per unit of generated power is decreased in such a case. The installed solar field in the pilot project for con serving volumes of coal combustion owing to solar energy that has been implemented by the Solar Heat and Power Pty Ltd. Company in New South Wales, Australia, will provide an output of more than 100 MW of heat energy by heating feed water of a steam turbine with a capacity of 500 MW to high temperature by solar radiation (Fig. 2). Such projects at solar thermal electric power stations do not require large capital investments. However, as is supposed [3], this approach is an intermediate step to autonomous solar stations, and the increase in conservation at the expense of growth in output will lead to subsequent decreases in their cost. The compact linear Fresnel reflector (CLFR) is an innovational focusing solar heat energy source sug gested by David Mills at Sidney University in 1993. The goal of this constructive proposal is to decrease the mutual blocking of series of the reflector, guaran teeing highly efficient use of the allotted land plot. Solar Heat and Power Pty Ltd., working in cooper ation with Macquarie Generation, which is the largest energy company in Australia, was organized in 2002. The company Solar Heat and Power Europe GmbH Affiliated was founded in 2003 in Germany. The design of the solar adapter suggested by these compa nies differs from the Australian concept of using linear Fresnel reflectors, where all reflecting collectors are directed at a single heat receiver. Its principle is as fol lows: since the sizes of the solar field must be great for large thermal electric power stations, it is correct to represent construction in the form of many linear heat receivers located on towers. If towers are located

Boiler

HP

IP

LP G

Coal

Generator 500 MWe Heat Reheater Exchanger Desuper heater

L

Condenser

Solar insulation

AEP
C

D E

CEP

HPH2

HPH1

BFP

LPH3

LPH2

LPH1 D

GSC E

Deareator Steam 270C in MPa

HDP

Fig. 2. Scheme for connecting the solar adapter at the thermal electric power plant in the city of Liddell, Australia. APPLIED SOLAR ENERGY Vol. 46 No. 1 2010

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ZAKHIDOV, ANARBAYEV Solar radiation Heat receiver absorber

Reflectors
Fig. 3. Main construction of the compact linear Fresnel reflector system with alternating orientation of reflectors.

Fig. 4. Draft of the solar field section of the collectors based on the compact linear Fresnel reflectors.

closely enough, individual reflectors have the ability to reflect solar radiation in opposite directions and, con sequently, there is the possibility of installing another heat receiver (Fig. 3). The location of reflectors at different angles makes it possible to perform a more compact installation of series and, along with this, permits the height of installing the heat receiver to be decreased, minimiz ing mutual blocking and shadowing. Consequently, geometrical and heat losses are also decreased. The compactness ensures such known advantages of the Fresnel reflector system as its small size, low cost, fixed location of the heat receiver without mov able joints,and use of a simpler geometry of mirror col lector other than cylindrical. The solar adapter on the basis of these thins uses flat, somewhat curved reflectors made of cheap glass attached to a composite metallic support. Each set of reflectors is about 12 m long (Fig. 4) and has several groups of mirror panels. In contrast to parabolic cylindrical collectors that must use much more expen sive thin glass to achieve a very small focal length, flat, standard, elastically curved mirrors are used to achieve

the necessary length of a focal radius. The structure of the mirror support was developed to decrease the cost of the project: mirrors are bound in an elastically deformed state on a metalware. The metalware is installed on a simple spatial frame with hoops on a slide fastener. The hoops are installed on rollers that ensure rotation by 360C, which makes it easier to clean the mirrors and excludes the danger of failure under unfavorable weather conditions. The reflectors are guided so that they trace the position of the Sun and are focused on the heat receiver. Consequently, this focused solar radiation can be used as an energy source to produce com pressed hot water or saturated steam. The construction of the heat receiver for the compact linear Fresnel reflectors includes several small absorber tubes made of noncorrosive steel with selective coverage. These tubes are installed parallel to each other in the central plane. The steel frame was developed so as to mini mize convection losses, and it contains absorber tubes. The compact linear Fresnel reflectors have a spe cial advantage in the case of a heat carrier being boiled directly in the heat receiver. Boiling water in the heat
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receiver tubes is always in contact with the illuminated metal on the lower side of a tube. Therefore, the sys tem can operate in a wide diversity of boiling modes without technical problems, since the liquid is in con tact with the illuminated section of the heat receiver during heat transfer. In order to decrease the potential risk for operation of an existing power station, it is necessary to use the solar adapter at the preliminary step of steam extrac tion from a steam turbine in order to preliminarily heat feed water up to an assigned temperature at the entry to an evaporator. According to the estimate [3], as regards the fulfillment of the final stage of putting into operation, the supposed cost of 1 kWh of electric energy produced with the solar adapter will be within 0.04 euros for the conditions of the thermal electric power station in the city of Liddell. The following parameters are important for research: the temperature levels at the entry to the pre heater and at the entry of the boiler evaporator, 228 and 258C, respectively. This heating range is easily ensured by the solar field of the collectors based on the compact linear Fresnel reflectors. The pressure in the system is the same as in the parabolic cylindrical sys tems of the collectors with no need for flexible or revolving junctions. A welded pipeline system has been developed so that pressure is compensated for. This being the case, there is no need for hydraulic disjunction of the water to steam transformation cycle and collectors based on compact linear Fresnel reflectors, since the need for an additional heat exchanger is absent. In the future, owing to the rela tively large distance of the pipeline from the solar field to the heat exchanger, it is recommended that the solar adapter be designed to produce compressed hot water instead of steam. The system is developed so that a part of the feed water flow is separated from the main flow at the HPH1 entrance and pumped through the solar field of the collectors before joining with the main flow at the HPH2 entrance (Fig. 2). For this purpose, a branch is made by an inset in the main pipeline. Therefore, the complete flow can still be transported thanks to the connection existing between HPH1 and HPH2. The locking and regulating equipment is installed so that it is possible to completely switch off the collector sys tem, and the operation of the thermal electric power plant can be prolonged it becomes necessary to tem porarily switch off the solar field. Therefore, the solar adapter is connected to the system in parallel to the existing system of preliminary heating. This simplifies the complex control system that regulates the supply of cold steam in the case of unregulated extraction from the HPH2 stage of the turbine, since the steam flow is automatically regulated depending on temper ature at the entrance to the preheater in the case of unregulated extraction from turbines.
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The solar field of the collectors based on the com pact linear Fresnel reflectors that was created at the thermal electric power station in the city of Liddell has a reflection surface square of 20000 m2 and covers a peak load of approximately 11.5 MWh. This system has a low cost and does not require the presence of special components for its construction. It is impossi ble to organize the local production of construction joints based on a simple project. The development and implementation of all possi ble energy conservation programs and an increase in the efficiency of using fuel and energy resources, including heat supply and hot water supply to residen tial constructions and public buildings, are a distinc tive feature of the modern energy strategy in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The centralized heat supply in the Republic covers approximately 80% of heat consumers, and more than 40% of the annual organic fuel reserve are spent to provide it by direct combus tion of organic fuel in hot water furnaces. The basis of the power industry in Uzbekistan is constituted by low efficient thermal condensation sta tions with a total capacity of 10.64 GW, which con sume approximately 25% of organic fuel used in the republic. The yield of these stations is only 3033%; approximately 387 g of standard fuel are spent to pro duce 1 kWh. This means that two thirds of the possible heat potential are irretrievably lost to the environ ment. It is of note that thermal electric power stations are also one of the main sources of environmental pol lution, including thermal pollution. The increase in the efficiency of using the fuel energy resources in the republic seems extremely important from both the standpoints of conserving fuel energy resources (particularly in light of the unprecedented rise in fuel prices in recent years) and of the worsening ecological state of the environment. In addition, this makes it possible to strengthen the export potential of the republic. The housing and communal sector is known to be the most energy intensive sector of the republics power industry in consumption of primary fuel energy resources. The annual fuel expenses in this sector are 30 million t of standard fuel (2007) or 40% of the total volume of fuel consumed in the republic. The needs for heat and hot water supply (more than 20 Tcal per year) are satisfied in the republic by 7500 boiler plants with 25000 boilers of varying capacity and sufficiently worn out steam turbine units at three main thermal electric power stations in the cities of Murabek, Fer gana, and Tashkent. The complete replacement of existing boiler plants and thermal electric power stations by modern units, which is practiced abroad, is unrealistic owing to the absence of corresponding financial means and target investments. The idea of developing and applying gas turbine superposed plants with solar adapters as applied to operating boiler plants in existing heat sup

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ZAKHIDOV, ANARBAYEV

ply systems is more realistic in this respect [1]. Surely, in each specific case, it is necessary to take a whole series of parameters and local conditions into account to calculate and select a rational scheme and equip ment. Note that there are no universal methods for solv ing the task, since analysis is based on detailed consid eration for many interrelated factors and real local conditions in each concrete case. The application of solar adapters for preliminarily heating a heat carrier up to the calculated parameters in the system of hot water boilers can ensure annual conservation of organic fuel in the specific indices of 0.150.2 t of standard fuel per year from 1 m2 of a solar collector and, correspondingly, a decrease in greenhouse gas and harmful substance emissions in the atmosphere. This can serve as the basis for attracting coal invest

ments in the suggested projects using the Pure Devel opment Mechanism. Consequently, it is urgent for Uzbekistan to integrate the existing typical heat energy generation system with the newest model of solar adapters in order to achieve a higher efficiency of energy conversion. REFERENCES
1. Anarbaev, A.I. and Zakhidov, R.A., Geliotekhnika, 2009, no. 2, p. 81 [Appl. Sol. Energy (Engl. Transl.), 2009, vol. 45, no. 2, p. 127]. 2. Powell, J.C., et al., Dynamic Conversion of Solar Generated Heat to Electricity, Minnepolis: Honeywell Inc., 1974. 3. Mills, D.R., Lievre, P. Le, and Morrison, G.L., First Results from Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector Instal lation, Proc. ANZSES Solar 2004, Murdoch Univ. Western Australia, 2004.

APPLIED SOLAR ENERGY

Vol. 46

No. 1

2010