Running
a
power
plant
at
maximum
efficiency
has
become
a necessity for
every
generating
station.
Rising
fuel
prices,
stringent
emission
norms,
inefficient
production,
maintaining
availability,
need
for
flexibility
and
accelerating
demand
are
all
making
way
for
an
increased
focus
on
the
efficient
running
of
a
power
plant.
New
power
plants
make
use
of
advanced
neural
network
based
optimization
technologies
that
strictly
monitor
and
optimize
the
key
performance
indicators
of
a
plant.
For
the
older
plants,
Renovation
and
Modernization/Life
Extension
&
Uprating
activities
are
being
undertaken
on
a
selective
mode
based
on
a
comparison
study
with
constructing
capital
intensive
new
plants
as
per
guidelines
set
by
the
Central
Electricity
Authority
of
India.
With
such
a
directional
and
policy
level
initiatives
in
place,
one
of
the
key
parameters identified for
measuring
the
operational
efficiency
of
a
plant
is
its
Heat
Rate.
Heat Rate is defined as the input needed to produce
one unit of output. As in simple terms it indicates the amount of
fuel required to generate one unit of electricity, the station heat
rate of a power plant directly indicates its performance.
Performance parameters tracked for any thermal power plant like
efficiency, fuel costs, plant load factor, emissions level, etc are
a function of the Station heat rate and can be linked directly. It
accounts for all generation requirements including the core BTG as
well as the auxiliary consumption and is typically represented in
Btu/kWh or kJ/kWh or kcal/kWh.
Ideally if a power plant converts 100% of the input
chemical energy to electrical energy, the heat rate would be around
862kcal/kWh. On an analysis done by the CEA, the typical design heat
rate of a thermal power station in India lies between 2200-2600
kcal/kWh. The actual operating heat rate, though varies from 2% to
over 50% for certain thermal power plants highlighting the need for
an improvisation of heat rate by addressing the root causes.
Gross heat rate is a function of the turbine heat rate and boiler efficiency. The net heat rate would further bring the APC% or the auxiliary power consumption to the defining loop. BEE in its PAT scheme computes Net heat rate of the individual designate consumers and this is typically used for defining, monitoring and evaluating a plant on its operational efficiency and performance.
No comments:
Post a Comment