Preliminary analysis of MHD retrofit for the Colstrip power plant

Technical Report · Sun Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6704844· OSTI ID:6704844

The US DOE Office of Magnetohydrodynamics has established a development program to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of magnetohydrodynamic power generation through the operation of an Engineering Test Facility (ETF). Two MHD power system designs as candidates for the Engineering Test Facility are presented. The two system designs involve open-cycle MHD power trains retrofitted to the coal fired Colstrip power plant owned by the Montana Power Company. Under retrofit operation, the MHD topping cycle generates electric power from hot (4500/sup 0/F) coal combustion gas flowing through the MHD generator, and produces steam for the Colstrip plant from heat recovered from combustion gas leaving the MHD generator. The Colstrip plant acts as a steam bottoming cycle, receiving a portion of its steam supply from the MHD heat recovery system. A portion of the plant steam supply is also obtained from the original Colstrip boiler. A retrofit facility reduces construction time and cost from what would be required for an entirely new MHD test facility by using not only the available steam cycle equipment, but most of the supplemental facilities as well. One retrofit system employs an oxygen enriched, direct fired MHD power train in which the combustion oxidizer is a mixture of air and oxygen preheated to a moderate temperature (1100/sup 0/F). The preheat is obtained in a recuperative type heat exchanger. The other retrofit system uses an MHD power train with nonenriched air preheated to a high temperature (2500/sup 0/F) as the oxidizer; preheat is obtained in a regenerative type heat exchanger subsystem that is fired separately with oil. A preliminary design and cost estimate for each retrofit system is presented. (WHK)

• Research Organization: Gilbert/Commonwealth, Reading, PA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC01-77ET11058
• OSTI ID: 6704844
• Report Number(s): GAI-2152
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200100 -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Power Plants & Power Generation
30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
300103* -- MHD Generators-- Materials
Components
& Auxiliaries
AIR HEATERS
COAL FINES
COAL-FIRED MHD GENERATORS
COMBINED-CYCLE POWER PLANTS
COMBUSTORS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COOLANT LOOPS
COOLING SYSTEMS
COST
DESIGN
DIAGRAMS
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ENERGY RECOVERY
ENERGY SYSTEMS
ENRICHMENT
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT RECOVERY
HEATERS
MHD GENERATOR ETF
MHD GENERATORS
MHD POWER PLANTS
MONTANA
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN ENRICHMENT
PERFORMANCE
PLASMA SEEDING
POWER PLANTS
RECOVERY
RETROFITTING
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
SEED RECOVERY
SIMULATION
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
TOPPING CYCLES
USA