Recuperators for compressed-air energy storage plants

Technical Report · Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5226473

Nakhamkin, M ^[1]

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1. Gibbs and Hill, Inc., New York, NY (USA)

An R D study was conducted to provide an engineering solution to the potential problem of corrosion in the cold-end sections of recuperators operating in compressed-air energy storage (CAES) plants. Two options were developed: (1) a conventional, counterflow recuperator with an easily replaceable cold-end section and (2) a recuperator design which eliminates operation at tube temperatures below the exhaust-gas dew point (advanced design). The advanced design consists of an optimized combination of counterflow and parallel-flow sections. The following data resulting from these studies are included: a history of recuperator operating experience, a summary of lab-testing of various materials for corrosion resistance, detailed design and descriptions of the recuperator designs, additional detail descriptions of alternative air-preheating and turboexpander-exhaust systems, and a comparative economic analysis of the various designs developed. The study concluded that for use with No. 2 fuel oil or lower-grade fuels, the advanced recuperator design with carbon-steel tubes and fins would be more cost-effective and trouble-free than one with an easily replaceable tube section. For CAES plants firing very low-sulfur fuel oil or natural gas, the lower capital-cost, counter-flow design can be considered. It was also concluded that a compressed-air bypass of the recuperator be included in the plant design in the event of recuperator outage, and that the recuperator be designed for operation without cavern air going through it. The advanced recuperator concept is currently being implemented at the 110-MW CAES plant for the Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc. 6 refs., 24 figs., 20 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA); Gibbs and Hill, Inc., New York, NY (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI
• OSTI ID: 5226473
• Report Number(s): EPRI-GS-6571
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
COMPRESSED AIR STORAGE POWER PLANTS
TURBOMACHINERY
CORROSION
COMPRESSED AIR ENERGY STORAGE
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
FLOW RATE
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT RECOVERY EQUIPMENT
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
PROGRESS REPORT
TUBES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ECONOMICS
ENERGY STORAGE
EQUIPMENT
MACHINERY
PEAKING POWER PLANTS
POWER PLANTS
STORAGE
250200* - Energy Storage- Compressed & Liquified Gas