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Thermal power station

A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was heated; this is known as a Rankine cycle. The greatest variation in the design of thermal power stations is due to the different fuel sources. Some prefer to use the term energy center because such facilities convert forms of heat energy into electricity. Some thermal power plants also deliver heat energy for industrial purposes, for district heating, or for desalination of water as well as delivering electrical power. A large part of human CO2 emissions comes from fossil fueled thermal power plants; efforts to reduce these outputs are various and widespread.

Efficiency
he energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power station, considered as salable energy as a percent of the heating value of the fuel consumed, is typically 33% to 48%. This efficiency is limited as all heat engines are governed by the laws of thermodynamics. The rest of the energy must leave the plant in the form of heat. This waste heat can go through a condenser and be disposed of with cooling water or in cooling towers. If the waste heat is instead utilized for district heating, it is called co-generation. An important class of thermal power station are associated with desalination facilities; these are typically found in desert countries with large supplies of natural gas and in these plants, freshwater production and electricity are equally important co-products.

A Rankine cycle with a two-stage steam turbine and a single feed water heater. Above the critical point for water of 705 F (374 C) and 3212 psi (22.06 MPa), there is no phase transition from water to steam, but only a gradual decrease in density. Boiling does not occur and it is not possible to remove impurities via steam separation. In this case a super critical steam plant is required to utilize the increased thermodynamic efficiency by operating at higher temperatures. These plants, also called once-through plants because boiler water does not circulate multiple times, require additional water purification steps to ensure that any impurities picked up during the cycle will be removed. This purification takes the form of high pressure ion exchange units called condensate polishers between the steam condenser and the feed water heaters. Sub-critical fossil fuel power plants can achieve 3640% efficiency. Super critical designs have efficiencies in the low to mid 40% range, with new "ultra critical" designs using pressures of 4400 psi (30.3 MPa) and dual stage reheat reaching about 48% efficiency. Current nuclear power plants operate below the temperatures and pressures that coal-fired plants do. This limits their thermodynamic efficiency to 3032%. Some advanced reactor designs being studied, such as the Very high temperature reactor, Advanced gas-cooled reactor and Super critical water reactor, would operate at temperatures and pressures similar to current coal plants, producing comparable thermodynamic efficiency.

Diagram of a typical coal-fired thermal power station


Typical diagram of a coal-fired thermal power station 1. Cooling tower 10. Steam Control valve 19. Superheater 11. High pressure steam 20. Forced draught (draft) 2. Cooling water pump turbine fan 3. transmission line (3-phase) 12. Deaerator 21. Reheater 4. Step-up transformer (313. Feedwater heater 22. Combustion air intake phase) 5. Electrical generator (314. Coal conveyor 23. Economiser phase) 6. Low pressure steam 15. Coal hopper 24. Air preheater turbine 7. Condensate pump 16. Coal pulverizer 25. Precipitator 26. Induced draught 8. Surface condenser 17. Boiler steam drum (draft) fan 9. Intermediate pressure 18. Bottom ash hopper 27. Flue gas stack steam turbine

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