Preliminary assessment of a potassium-steam-gas vapor cycle for better fuel economy and reduced thermal pollution
The facts of fuel supply limitations, environmental quality demands, and spiraling electric generating costs strongly favor development of electric power plants that simultaneously run at higher efficiency, i.e., higher temperature, use to advantage clean fuels, and have as low a capital cost as possible. Both fuel supply and thermal pollution considerations that are becoming progressively more important strongly favor the development of a higher temperature, and more efficient, thermodynamic cycle for electric power plants. About 200,000 hr of operation of boiling potassium systems, including over 15,000 hr of potassium vapor turbine operation under the space power plant program, suggest that a potassium vapor topping cycle with a turbine inlet temperature of approximately 1500/sup 0/F merits consideration. A design study has been carried out to indicate the size, cost, and development problems of the new types of equipment required. The results indicate that a potassium vapor cycle superimposed on a conventional 1050/sup 0/F steam cycle would give an overall thermal efficiency of about 54% as compared to only 40% from a conventional steam cycle. Thus the proposed system would have a fuel consumption only 75% and a heat rejection rate only 50% that of a conventional plant. The system requires clean fuel, and takes advantage of the present trend toward eliminating SO/sub 2/, NO/sub x/ and ash emissions. Surprisingly, at first sight, the assessment at this stage shows that the capital cost may be less than that of a conventional plant. The main reason for this is use of pressurized combustion, which leads to a much smaller combustor, and thin tube walls to contain potassium at about the same pressure.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- OSTI ID:
- 7121720
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL-NSF-EP-6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
COMBINED-CYCLE POWER PLANTS
FUEL CONSUMPTION
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DESIGN
ECONOMICS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
GAS TURBINES
POTASSIUM
STEAM TURBINES
THERMAL POLLUTION
TOPPING CYCLES
ALKALI METALS
EFFICIENCY
ELEMENTS
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
METALS
POLLUTION
POWER PLANTS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY
200102* - Fossil-Fueled Power Plants- Power Cycles