The oldest TPP in the USSR. Thermal power plants

The energy hidden in fossil fuels - coal, oil or natural gas - cannot be immediately obtained in the form of electricity. The fuel is burned first. The released heat heats the water and turns it into steam. The steam rotates the turbine, and the turbine is the generator rotor, which generates, i.e., generates, electric current.

Scheme of operation of a condensing power plant.

Slavyanskaya TPP. Ukraine, Donetsk region.

This whole complex, multi-stage process can be observed at a thermal power plant (TPP) equipped with power machines that convert the energy hidden in fossil fuels (oil shale, coal, oil and its products, natural gas) into electrical energy. The main parts of the TPP are a boiler plant, a steam turbine and an electric generator.

Boiler plant- a set of devices for producing water vapor under pressure. It consists of a furnace in which organic fuel, a furnace space through which combustion products pass into the chimney, and a steam boiler in which water boils. The part of the boiler that comes into contact with the flame during heating is called the heating surface.

There are 3 types of boilers: smoke-fired, water-tube and once-through. A series of tubes is placed inside the fire-burning boilers, through which the products of combustion pass into the chimney. Numerous smoke tubes have a huge heating surface, as a result of which they make good use of the energy of the fuel. The water in these boilers is located between the fire tubes.

In water-tube boilers, the opposite is true: water is let through the tubes, and hot gases are between the tubes. The main parts of the boiler are the furnace, boiler tubes, steam boiler and superheater. In the boiling tubes, the process of vaporization takes place. The steam formed in them enters the steam boiler, where it is collected in its upper part, above boiling water. From the steam boiler, the steam passes to the superheater where it is additionally heated. Fuel is thrown into this boiler through the door, and the air necessary for burning the fuel is supplied through another door to the blower. Hot gases rise up and, bending around the partitions, pass the path indicated in the diagram (see Fig.).

In once-through boilers, water is heated in long serpentine pipes. Water is pumped into these pipes. Passing through the coil, it evaporates completely, and the resulting steam is superheated to the required temperature and then exits the coils.

Boiler plants operating with reheating of steam are integral part installation called power unit"boiler - turbine".

In the future, for example, to use coal from the Kansk-Achinsk basin, large thermal power plants with a capacity of up to 6400 MW with power units of 800 MW each will be built, where boiler plants will produce 2650 tons of steam per hour with a temperature of up to 565 ° C and a pressure of 25 MPa.

The boiler plant produces high-pressure steam, which goes to the steam turbine - the main engine of the thermal power plant. In the turbine, the steam expands, its pressure drops, and the latent energy is converted into mechanical energy. The steam turbine drives the rotor of a generator that generates electricity.

In large cities, most often they build combined heat and power plants(CHP), and in areas with cheap fuel - condensing power plants(IES).

CHP is a thermal power plant that produces not only electrical energy, but also heat in the form of hot water and steam. The steam leaving the steam turbine still contains a lot of thermal energy. At CHPPs, this heat is used in two ways: either the steam after the turbine is sent to the consumer and does not return to the station, or it transfers heat in the heat exchanger to water, which is sent to the consumer, and the steam is returned back to the system. Therefore, CHP has a high efficiency, reaching 50-60%.

Distinguish CHP heating and industrial types. Heating CHPPs heat residential and public buildings and supply them with hot water, industrial ones supply heat to industrial enterprises. The transfer of steam from the CHP is carried out over distances of up to several kilometers, and the transfer of hot water - up to 30 kilometers or more. As a result, thermal power plants are being built near large cities.

A huge amount of thermal energy is directed to district heating or centralized heating of our apartments, schools, and institutions. Before the October Revolution, there was no district heating for houses. Houses were heated by stoves, in which a lot of firewood and coal were burned. Heating in our country began in the first years of Soviet power, when, according to the GOELRO plan (1920), construction of large thermal power plants began. Total CHP capacity in the early 1980s exceeded 50 million kW.

But the bulk of the electricity generated by thermal power plants comes from condensing power plants (CPPs). We often call them state district power plants (GRES). Unlike thermal power plants, where the heat of the steam exhausted in the turbine is used to heat residential and industrial buildings, at CPPs, the steam used in engines (steam engines, turbines) is converted by condensers into water (condensate), which is sent back to the boilers for reuse. IES are built directly at water supply sources: near a lake, river, sea. The heat removed from the power plant with cooling water is irretrievably lost. The efficiency of IES does not exceed 35–42%.

According to a strict schedule, wagons with finely crushed coal are delivered to the high overpass day and night. A special unloader overturns the wagons, and the fuel is poured into the bunker. Mills carefully grind it into a fuel powder, and together with air it flies into the furnace of a steam boiler. Tongues of flame tightly cover the bundles of tubes in which the water boils. Water vapor is formed. Through pipes - steam pipelines - steam is directed to the turbine and hits the turbine rotor blades through nozzles. Having given energy to the rotor, the exhaust steam goes to the condenser, cools and turns into water. Pumps feed it back to the boiler. And the energy continues its movement from the turbine rotor to the generator rotor. In the generator, its final transformation takes place: it becomes electricity. This is the end of the IES energy chain.

Unlike hydroelectric power plants, thermal power plants can be built anywhere, and thereby bring the sources of electricity closer to the consumer and arrange thermal power plants evenly across the territory of the economic regions of the country. The advantage of thermal power plants is that they operate on almost all types of fossil fuels - coal, shale, liquid fuel, natural gas.

Reftinskaya ( Sverdlovsk region), Zaporozhye (Ukraine), Kostroma, Uglegorsk (Donetsk region, Ukraine). The capacity of each of them exceeds 3000 MW.

Our country is a pioneer in the construction of thermal power plants, the energy of which is provided by atomic reactor(cm.

The very first central power plant, the Pearl Street, was commissioned on September 4, 1882 in New York City. The station was built with the support of the Edison Illuminating Company, which was headed by Thomas Edison. Several Edison generators with a total power of over 500 kW were installed on it. The station supplied electricity to the entire area of ​​New York with an area of ​​​​about 2.5 square kilometers. The station burned to the ground in 1890 and only one dynamo survives, now in the Greenfield Village Museum, Michigan.

On September 30, 1882, the first hydroelectric power plant, the Vulcan Street, in Wisconsin, started operating. The author of the project was G.D. Rogers, CEO of the Appleton Paper & Pulp. A generator with a capacity of approximately 12.5 kW was installed at the station. There was enough electricity for Rogers' house and two of his paper mills.

Gloucester Road power station. Brighton was one of the first cities in the UK to have continuous electricity. In 1882, Robert Hammond founded the Hammond Electric Light Company, and on February 27, 1882, he opened the Gloucester Road Power Station. The station consisted of a brush dynamo that was used to power sixteen arc lamps. In 1885, Gloucester Power Station was purchased by the Brighton Electric Light Company. Later, a new station was built in this area, consisting of three brush dynamos with 40 lamps.

Power plant of the Winter Palace

In 1886, in one of the courtyards of the New Hermitage, which has since been called the Electroyard, a power plant was built according to the design of the palace administration technician, Vasily Leontyevich Pashkov. This power plant was the largest in all of Europe for 15 years.

Machine room of the power plant in the Winter Palace. 1901

Initially, candles were used to illuminate the Winter Palace, and from 1861 gas lamps began to be used. However, the obvious advantages of electric lamps prompted experts to look for ways to replace gas lighting in the buildings of the Winter Palace and adjacent Hermitage buildings.

Engineer Vasily Leontyevich Pashkov proposed, as an experiment, to use electricity to illuminate the palace halls during the Christmas and New Year holidays of 1885.

On November 9, 1885, the project for the construction of an "electricity factory" was approved by Emperor Alexander III. The project provided for the electrification of the Winter Palace, the buildings of the Hermitage, the courtyard and the surrounding area for three years until 1888.
The work was entrusted to Vasily Pashkov. To exclude the possibility of vibration of the building from the operation of steam engines, the power plant was placed in a separate pavilion made of glass and metal. It was located in the second courtyard of the Hermitage, since then called "Electric".

The station building occupied an area of ​​630 m², consisted of an engine room with 6 boilers, 4 steam engines and 2 locomobiles and a room with 36 electric dynamos. The total power reached 445 hp. The first part of the ceremonial premises was lit up: the Anteroom, Petrovsky, Big Field Marshal's, Armorial, St. George's Halls, and outdoor illumination was arranged. Three lighting modes were proposed: full (holiday) lighting five times a year (4888 incandescent lamps and 10 Yablochkov candles); working - 230 incandescent lamps; duty (night) - 304 incandescent lamps. The station consumed about 30,000 poods (520 tons) of coal per year.

The main supplier of electrical equipment was Siemens and Halske, the largest electrical company of that time.

The network of the power plant was constantly expanding and by 1893 it was already 30 thousand incandescent lamps and 40 arc lamps. Not only the buildings of the palace complex were illuminated, but also the Palace Square with the buildings located on it.

The creation of the Winter Palace power plant has become a clear example of the possibility of creating a powerful and economical source of electricity that can feed a large number of consumers.

The electrical lighting system of the Winter Palace and Hermitage buildings was switched over to the city power grid after 1918. And the building of the power plant of the Winter Palace existed until 1945, after which it was dismantled.

On July 16, 1886, the industrial and commercial Electric Lighting Society was registered in St. Petersburg. This date is considered to be the date of foundation of the first Russian energy system. Among the founders were Siemens and Halske, Deutsche Bank and Russian bankers. Since 1900, the company has been named the Electric Lighting Society of 1886. The purpose of the company was designated according to the interests of the main founder Karl Fedorovich Siemens: “To illuminate streets, factories, factories, shops and all kinds of other places and premises with electricity” [Ustav..., 1886, p. 3]. The society had several branches in different cities of the country and made a very large contribution to the development of the electrical sector of the Russian economy.

The majority of the population of Russia and other countries of the former USSR knows that the country's large-scale electrification is associated with the implementation of the State Electrification of Russia (GoElRo) plan adopted in 1920.

In fairness, it should be noted that the development of this plan dates back to the time before the First World War, which, in fact, prevented its adoption then.

BARINOV V. A., Doctor of Engineering Sciences, ENIN them. G. M. Krzhizhanovsky

In the development of the electric power industry of the USSR, several stages can be distinguished: the connection of power plants for parallel operation and the organization of the first electric power systems (EPS); EPS development and formation of territorial unified electric power systems (IPS); creation of a unified electric power system (UES) of the European part of the country; the formation of the UES on a countrywide scale (UES of the USSR) with its inclusion in the interstate energy association of the socialist countries.
Before the First World War, the total capacity of power plants in pre-revolutionary Russia was 1,141,000 kW, and the annual electricity generation was 2,039 million kWh. The largest thermal power plant (TPP) had a capacity of 58 thousand kW, the largest capacity of the unit was 10 thousand kW. The total capacity of hydroelectric power plants (HPP) was 16,000 kW, the largest was a HPP with a capacity of 1,350 kW. The length of all networks with a voltage higher than the generator voltage was estimated at about 1000 km.
The foundations for the development of the electric power industry of the USSR were laid by the State Plan for the Electrification of Russia (the GOELRO plan), developed under the leadership of V. I. Lenin, which provides for the construction of large power plants and electrical networks and the integration of power plants into EPS. The GOELRO plan was adopted at the VIII All-Russian Congress of Soviets in December 1920.
Already on initial stage implementation of the GOELRO plan, significant work was carried out to restore the country's energy economy destroyed by the war, to build new power plants and electrical networks. The first EPS - Moscow and Petrograd - were created in 1921. In 1922, the first 110 kV line was put into operation in the Moscow EPS, and 110 kV networks were subsequently widely developed.
By the end of the 15-year period, the GOELRO plan was significantly overfulfilled. The installed capacity of the country's power plants in 1935 exceeded 6.9 million kW. The annual output has exceeded 26.2 billion kWh. For the production of electricity Soviet Union ranked second in Europe and third in the world.
The intensive planned development of the electric power industry was interrupted by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The relocation of the industry of the western regions to the Urals and the eastern regions of the country required the accelerated development of the energy sector of the Urals, Northern Kazakhstan, Central Siberia, Central Asia, as well as the Volga, Transcaucasia and Far East. The energy sector of the Urals has received exceptionally great development; electricity generation by power plants in the Urals from 1940 to 1945. increased by 2.5 times and reached 281% of the total output in the country.
The restoration of the destroyed energy economy began already at the end of 1941; in 1942, restoration work was carried out in the central regions of the European part of the USSR, in 1943 - in the southern regions; in 1944 - in the western regions, and in 1945 these works were extended to the entire liberated territory of the country.
In 1946, the total capacity of power plants in the USSR reached the pre-war level.
The highest capacity of thermal power plants in 1950 was 400 MW; a turbine with a capacity of 100 MW at the end of the 40s became a typical unit introduced at thermal power plants.
In 1953, power units with a capacity of 150 MW for a steam pressure of 17 MPa were commissioned at the Cherepetskaya GRES. In 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant (NPP) with a capacity of 5 MW was put into operation.
As part of the newly commissioned generating capacities, the capacity of HPPs increased. In 1949-1950. decisions were made on the construction of powerful Volga hydroelectric power stations and the construction of the first long-distance power lines (VL). In 1954-1955, the construction of the largest Bratsk and Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power stations began.
By 1955, three separately integrated electric power systems of the European part of the country had received significant development; Center, Ural and South; the total generation of these IESs accounted for about half of all electricity produced in the country.
The transition to the next stage in the development of the energy sector was associated with the commissioning of the Volzhsky HPPs and 400-500 kV overhead lines. In 1956, the first overhead line with a voltage of 400 kV Kuibyshev - Moscow was put into operation. The high technical and economic performance of this overhead line was achieved through the development and implementation of a number of measures to improve its stability and throughput: splitting the phase into three wires, building switching points, accelerating the operation of switches and relay protection, using longitudinal capacitive compensation for line reactivity and transverse compensation line capacity with the help of shunt reactors, the introduction of automatic excitation regulators (ARV) of "strong action" generators of the starting hydroelectric power station and powerful synchronous compensators of receiving substations, etc.
When the 400 kV Kuibyshev-Moscow overhead line was put into operation, the Kuibyshev EES of the Middle Volga region joined the operation in parallel with the IPS of the Center; this laid the foundation for the unification of the EES of various regions and the creation of the EES of the European part of the USSR.
With the introduction in 1958-1959. sections of the Kuibyshev-Ural overhead line, the EPS of the Center, Cis-Urals and the Urals were merged.
In 1959, the first circuit of the 500 kV Volgograd-Moscow overhead line was put into operation, and the Volgograd EES became part of the UES of the Center; in 1960, the EES Center of the Central Chernozem Region joined the UES.
In 1957, the construction of the Volzhskaya HPP named after V.I. Lenin with units of 115 MW was completed, in 1960 - the Volzhskaya HPP named after V.I. XXII Congress of the CPSU. In 1950-1960. Gorkovskaya, Kamskaya, Irkutskaya, Novosibirskaya, Kremenchugskaya, Kakhovskaya and a number of other HPPs were also completed. At the end of the 50s, the first serial power units for a steam pressure of 13 MPa were commissioned: with a capacity of 150 MW at the Pridneprovskaya GRES and 200 MW at the Zmievskaya GRES.
In the second half of the 50s, the unification of the EES of Transcaucasia was completed; there was a process of unification of the EPS of the North-West, the Middle Volga and the North Caucasus. Since 1960, the formation of the IPS of Siberia and Central Asia began.
Extensive construction of electrical networks was carried out. Since the end of the 50s, the introduction of a voltage of 330 kV began; networks of this voltage have been greatly developed in the southern and northwestern zones of the European part of the USSR. In 1964, the transfer of 400 kV long-distance overhead lines to 500 kV voltage was completed and a single 500 kV network was created, sections of which became the main backbone links of the UES of the European part of the USSR; Later, in the UES of the eastern part of the country, the functions of the backbone network began to be transferred to a 500 kV network superimposed on a developed 220 kV network.
Since the 60s characteristic feature development of the electric power industry has been a consistent increase in the share of power units in the composition of the commissioned capacities of thermal power plants. In 1963, the first 300 MW power units were commissioned at the Pridneprovskaya and Cherepetskaya state district power plants. In 1968, a 500 MW power unit at Nazarovskaya GRES and an 800 MW power unit at Slavyanskaya GRES were put into operation. All these units operated at supercritical steam pressure (24 MPa).
The predominance of the commissioning of powerful units, the parameters of which are unfavorable in terms of stability, has complicated the tasks of ensuring the reliable operation of the IPS and UES. To solve these problems, it became necessary to develop and implement the ARV of the strong action of generators of power units; it also required the use of automatic emergency unloading of powerful thermal power plants, including automatic emergency control of the power of steam turbines of power units.
Intensive construction of hydroelectric power stations continued; in 1961, a 225 MW hydraulic unit was put into operation at the Bratskaya HPP; in 1967, the first 500 MW hydro units were put into operation at the Krasnoyarsk HPP. During the 60s, the construction of the Bratskaya, Botkinskaya and a number of other hydroelectric power stations was completed.
Construction began in the western part of the country nuclear power plants. In 1964, a 100 MW power unit was put into operation at Beloyarsk NPP and a 200 MW power unit at the Novovoronezh NPP; in the second half of the 1960s, the second power units were commissioned at these NPPs: 200 MW at Beloyarskaya and 360 MW at Novovoronezhskaya.
During the 60s, the formation of the European part of the USSR continued and was completed. In 1962, 220-110 kV overhead lines were connected for parallel operation of the UES of the South and the North Caucasus. In the same year, work was completed on the first stage of the experimental industrial power transmission line 800 kV DC Volgograd-Donbass, which laid the foundation for the Center-South intersystem communication; This overhead line was completed in 1965.

Year	Installed capacity of power plants, million kW	Higher voltage, kV*	Length of overhead lines*, thousand km

* Without 800 kV DC overhead lines. ** Including 400 kV overhead lines.
In 1966, by closing the intersystem connections 330-110 kV North-West-Center, the North-West UPS was connected to parallel operation. In 1969, parallel operation of the UES of the Center and the South was organized along the distribution network of 330-220-110 kV, and all power associations that are part of the UES began to work synchronously. In 1970, via 220-110 kV connections, Transcaucasia - North Caucasus joined the parallel operation of the IPS Transcaucasia.
Thus, at the beginning of the 1970s, the transition to the next stage in the development of the electric power industry of our country began - the formation of the UES of the USSR. As part of the UES of the European part of the country in 1970, the UES of the Center, the Urals, the Middle Volga, the North-West, the South, the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia, which included 63 EES, worked in parallel. Three territorial IPS - Kazakhstan, Siberia and Central Asia worked separately; The IPS of the East was in the process of formation.
In 1972, the IPS of Kazakhstan became part of the UES of the USSR (two EES of this republic - Alma-Ata and South Kazakhstan - worked in isolation from other EES of the Kazakh SSR and were part of the IPS of Central Asia). In 1978, with the completion of the construction of a 500 kV transit overhead line, Siberia-Kazakhstan-Ural joined the parallel operation of the IPS of Siberia.
In the same 1978, the construction of an interstate 750 kV overhead line Western Ukraine (USSR) - Albertirsha (Hungary) was completed, and since 1979, the parallel operation of the UES of the USSR and the IPS of the CMEA member countries began. Taking into account the IPS of Siberia, which has ties with the EES of the Mongolian People's Republic, an association of the EES of the socialist countries was formed, covering a vast territory from Ulaanbaatar to Berlin.
Electricity is exported from the UES networks of the USSR to Finland, Norway, and Turkey; through a DC converter substation near the city of Vyborg, the UES of the USSR is connected to the energy interconnection of the Scandinavian countries NORDEL.
The dynamics of the structure of generating capacities in the 70s and 80s is characterized by the increasing commissioning of capacities at nuclear power plants in the western part of the country; further commissioning of capacities at highly efficient hydroelectric power plants, mainly in the eastern part of the country; the beginning of work on the creation of the Ekibastuz fuel and energy complex; a general increase in the concentration of generating capacities and an increase in the unit capacity of the units.

In 1971-1972. two pressurized water reactors with a capacity of 440 MW each (VVER-440) were put into operation at the Novovoronezh NPP; in 1974, the first (head) water-graphite reactor with a capacity of 1000 MW (RBMK-1000) was put into operation at the Leningrad NPP; in 1980, a 600 MW breeder reactor (BN-600) was put into operation at the Beloyarsk NPP; in 1980, the VVER-1000 reactor was introduced at the Novovoronezh NPP; in 1983, the first reactor with a capacity of 1500 MW (RBMK-1500) was put into operation at the Ignalina NPP.
In 1971, an 800 MW power unit with a single-shaft turbine was put into operation at Slavyanskaya GRES; in 1972, two 250 MW cogeneration units were put into operation at Mosenergo; in 1980, a 1200 MW power unit for supercritical steam parameters was put into operation at the Kostromskaya GRES.
In 1972, the first pumped-storage power plant in the USSR (PSPP) - Kyiv - went into operation; in 1978, the first 640 MW hydraulic unit was put into operation at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. From 1970 to 1986, the Krasnoyarskaya, Saratovskaya, Cheboksarskaya, Ingurskaya, Toktogulskaya, Nurekskaya, Ust-Ilimskaya, Sayano-Shushenskaya, Zeyskaya and a number of other HPPs were put into full operation.
In 1987, the capacity of the largest power plants reached: nuclear power plants - 4000 MW, thermal power plants - 4000 MW, hydroelectric power plants - 6400 MW. The share of nuclear power plants in the total capacity of power plants of the UES of the USSR exceeded 12%; the share of condensing and heating power units of 250-1200 MW approached 60% of the total capacity of TPPs.
Technological progress in the development of backbone networks is characterized by a gradual transition to higher voltage levels. The development of the 750 kV voltage began with the commissioning in 1967 of the pilot industrial overhead line 750 kV Konakovskaya GRES-Moscow. During 1971-1975. a 750 kV latitudinal highway Donbass-Dnepr-Vinnitsa-Western Ukraine was built; this main line was then continued by the 750 kV overhead line USSR-Hungary introduced in 1978. In 1975, a 750 kV Leningrad-Konakovo intersystem connection was built, which made it possible to transfer excess power of the North-West UPS to the Center's UPS. The further development of the 750 kV network was connected mainly with the conditions for generating power from large nuclear power plants and the need to strengthen interstate ties with the IPS of the CMEA member countries. To create powerful connections with the eastern part of the UES, a 1150 kV main overhead line Kazakhstan-Ural is being built; work is underway on the construction of a 1500 kV DC power transmission Ekibastuz - Center.
The growth of the installed capacity of power plants and the length of electrical networks 220-1150 kV UES of the USSR for the period 1960-1987 is characterized by the data given in the table.
The unified energy system of the country is a developing state plan a complex of interconnected power facilities united by a common technological regime and a centralized operational management. The unification of EPS makes it possible to increase the growth rate of energy capacities and reduce the cost of energy construction by consolidating power plants and increasing the unit capacity of units. The concentration of energy capacities with the predominant commissioning of the most powerful economical units manufactured by the domestic industry ensures an increase in labor productivity and an improvement in the technical and economic indicators of energy production.
EPS unification creates opportunities for rational regulation of the structure of consumed fuel, taking into account the changing fuel situation; it is necessary condition solution of complex hydropower problems with optimal use of the water resources of the main rivers of the country for the national economy as a whole. A systematic reduction in the specific consumption of reference fuel per kilowatt-hour released from the tires of TPPs is ensured by improving the structure of generating capacities and economic regulation of the general energy regime of the UES of the USSR.
Mutual assistance of EPS operating in parallel creates the possibility of a significant increase in the reliability of power supply. The gain in the total installed capacity of UES power plants due to the reduction of the annual maximum load due to the difference in the timing of the onset of EPS maxima and the reduction in the required reserve capacity exceeds 15 million kW.
The overall economic effect from the creation of the UES of the USSR at the level of its development reached by the mid-1980s (in comparison with the isolated work of the UES) is estimated by a decrease in capital investments in the electric power industry by 2.5 billion rubles. and a decrease in annual operating costs by about 1 billion rubles.

Definition of TPP, types and characteristics of TPP. TPP classification

Definition of TPP, types and characteristics of TPP. TPP classification, TPP device

Definition

cooling tower

Characteristics

Classification

Combined heat and power plant

Device mini-CHP

Purpose of mini-CHP

Use of heat from mini-CHP

Fuel for mini-CHP

Mini-CHP and ecology

Gas turbine engine

Combined-cycle plant

Operating principle

Advantages

Spreading

condensing power plant

Story

Principle of operation

Main systems

Influence at environment

Current state

Verkhnetagilskaya GRES

Kashirskaya GRES

Pskovskaya GRES

Stavropolskaya GRES

Smolenskaya GRES

Thermal power plant is(or thermal power plant) - a power plant that generates electrical energy by converting the chemical energy of fuel into mechanical energy of rotation of the shaft of an electric generator.

The main units of the thermal power plant are:

Engines - power units of thermal power plant

Electric generators

Heat exchangers of thermal power plant

Cooling towers.

cooling tower

Cooling tower (German: gradieren - to thicken brine; originally, cooling towers were used to extract salt by evaporation) - a device for cooling a large amount of water with a directed flow of atmospheric air. Sometimes cooling towers are also called cooling towers.

Currently, cooling towers are mainly used in circulating water supply systems for cooling heat exchangers (as a rule, at thermal power plants, thermal power plants). In civil engineering, cooling towers are used in air conditioning, for example, for cooling the condensers of refrigeration units, cooling emergency power generators. In industry, cooling towers are used for cooling refrigeration machines, plastic molding machines, and for chemical purification of substances.

The cooling process occurs due to the evaporation of part of the water when it flows down in a thin film or drops along a special sprinkler, along which an air flow is supplied in the opposite direction to the movement of water. When 1% of the water evaporates, the temperature of the remaining water drops by 5.48 °C.

As a rule, cooling towers are used where it is not possible to use large reservoirs for cooling (lakes, seas). In addition, this cooling method is more environmentally friendly.

A simple and cheap alternative to cooling towers are splash ponds, where water is cooled by simple splashing.

Characteristics

The main parameter of the cooling tower is the value of irrigation density - the specific value of water consumption per 1 m² of irrigation area.

The main design parameters of the cooling towers are determined by a technical and economic calculation depending on the volume and temperature of the cooled water and the atmospheric parameters (temperature, humidity, etc.) at the installation site.

Using cooling towers in winter, especially in harsh climates, can be hazardous due to the possibility of freezing of the cooling tower. This happens most often in the place where frosty air comes into contact with a small amount of warm water. To prevent freezing of the cooling tower and, accordingly, its failure, it is necessary to ensure uniform distribution of the cooled water over the surface of the sprinkler and monitor the same density of irrigation in separate sections of the cooling tower. Blowers are also often exposed to icing due to improper use of the cooling tower.

Classification

Depending on the type of sprinkler, cooling towers are:

film;

drip;

spray;

Air supply method:

fan (thrust is created by a fan);

tower (traction is created using a high exhaust tower);

open (atmospheric), using the force of the wind and natural convection when air moves through the sprinkler.

Fan cooling towers are the most efficient from a technical point of view, as they provide deeper and better cooling of water, withstand large specific heat loads (however, they require the consumption of electrical energy to drive the fans).

Types

Boiler-turbine power plants

Condensing power plants (GRES)

Combined heat and power plants (cogeneration power plants, thermal power plants)

Gas turbine power plants

Power plants based on combined cycle plants

Power plants based on reciprocating engines

Compression ignition (diesel)

With spark ignition

combined cycle

Combined heat and power plant

Thermal power plant (CHP) is a type of thermal power plant that produces not only electricity, but is also a source of thermal energy in centralized systems heat supply (in the form of steam and hot water, including for providing hot water supply and heating of residential and industrial facilities). As a rule, a CHP plant must operate according to a heating schedule, that is, the generation of electrical energy depends on the generation of thermal energy.

When placing a CHP, the proximity of heat consumers in the form of hot water and steam is taken into account.

Mini CHP

Mini-CHP - a small combined heat and power plant.

Device mini-CHP

Mini-CHPs are thermal power plants that serve for the joint production of electrical and thermal energy in units with a unit capacity of up to 25 MW, regardless of the type of equipment. At present, the following installations have found wide application in foreign and domestic thermal power engineering: steam turbines, condensing steam turbines with steam extraction, gas turbine plants with water or steam recovery of heat energy, gas piston, gas-diesel and diesel units with heat recovery various systems these units. The term cogeneration plants is used as a synonym for the terms mini-CHP and CHP, however, it is broader in meaning, as it involves the joint production (co - joint, generation - production) of various products, which can be both electric and thermal energy, and and other products, such as heat and carbon dioxide, electricity and cold, etc. In fact, the term trigeneration, which implies the production of electricity, heat and cold, is also a special case of cogeneration. A distinctive feature of a mini-CHP is the more economical use of fuel for the produced types of energy in comparison with the generally accepted separate methods of their production. This is due to the fact that electricity nationwide is produced mainly in the condensing cycles of thermal power plants and nuclear power plants, which have an electrical efficiency of 30-35% in the absence of a heat consumer. In fact, this state of affairs is determined by the existing ratio of electrical and thermal loads of settlements, their different nature of change during the year, as well as the impossibility of transmitting thermal energy over long distances, unlike electrical energy.

The mini-CHP module includes a gas reciprocating, gas turbine or diesel engine, an electric power generator, a heat exchanger for utilizing heat from water when cooling the engine, oil and exhaust gases. A hot water boiler is usually added to a mini-CHP to compensate for the heat load at peak times.

Purpose of mini-CHP

The main purpose of a mini-CHP is to generate electrical and thermal energy from various kinds fuel.

The concept of building a mini-CHP in close proximity to the consumer has a number of advantages (compared to large CHPs):

avoids the cost of building expensive and dangerous high-voltage power lines (TL);

losses during power transmission are excluded;

there is no need financial costs for execution specifications to connect to networks

centralized power supply;

uninterrupted power supply to the consumer;

power supply with high-quality electricity, compliance with the specified values ​​​​of voltage and frequency;

possibly making a profit.

In the modern world, the construction of mini-CHP is gaining momentum, the advantages are obvious.

Use of heat from mini-CHP

A significant part of the fuel combustion energy in electricity generation is thermal energy.

There are options for using heat:

direct use of thermal energy by end consumers (cogeneration);

hot water supply (DHW), heating, technological needs (steam);

partial conversion of thermal energy into cold energy (trigeneration);

cold is produced by an absorption refrigeration machine that consumes not electrical, but thermal energy, which makes it possible to use heat quite efficiently in summer for air conditioning or for technological needs;

Fuel for mini-CHP

Types of fuel used

gas: main natural gas, liquefied natural gas and other combustible gases;

liquid fuel: oil, fuel oil, diesel fuel, biodiesel and other combustible liquids;

solid fuel: coal, wood, peat and other types of biofuels.

The most efficient and inexpensive fuel in Russia is the main natural gas, as well as associated gas.

Mini-CHP and ecology

The use of waste heat from power plant engines for practical purposes is a distinctive feature of mini-CHP and is called cogeneration (cogeneration).

The combined production of two types of energy at a mini-CHP contributes to a much more environmentally friendly use of fuel compared to the separate generation of electricity and thermal energy at boiler plants.

Replacing boiler houses that use fuel irrationally and pollute the atmosphere of cities and towns, mini-CHP contributes not only to significant fuel savings, but also to an increase in the purity of the air basin, and an improvement in the general ecological state.

The energy source for gas reciprocating and gas turbine mini-CHPs is, as a rule, natural gas. Natural or associated gas organic fuel that does not pollute the atmosphere with solid emissions

Gas turbine engine

A gas turbine engine (GTE, TRD) is a heat engine in which the gas is compressed and heated, and then the energy of the compressed and heated gas is converted into mechanical work on the gas turbine shaft. Unlike a piston engine, processes in a gas turbine engine take place in a flow of moving gas.

Compressed atmospheric air from the compressor enters the combustion chamber, fuel is also supplied there, which, when burned, forms a large amount of combustion products under high pressure. Then, in the gas turbine, the energy of the gaseous products of combustion is converted into mechanical work due to the rotation of the blades by the gas jet, part of which is spent on compressing the air in the compressor. The rest of the work is transferred to the driven unit. The work consumed by this unit is the useful work of the gas turbine engine. Gas turbine engines have the highest specific power among internal combustion engines, up to 6 kW/kg.

Protozoa gas turbine engine has only one turbine, which drives the compressor and at the same time is a source of useful power. This imposes a restriction on the operating modes of the engine.

Sometimes the engine is multi-shaft. In this case, there are several turbines in series, each of which drives its own shaft. The high-pressure turbine (the first one after the combustion chamber) always drives the engine compressor, and the subsequent ones can drive both an external load (helicopter or ship propellers, powerful electric generators, etc.) and additional engine compressors located in front of the main one.

The advantage of a multi-shaft engine is that each turbine operates at optimum speed and load. With a load driven from the shaft of a single-shaft engine, the throttle response of the engine, that is, the ability to quickly spin up, would be very poor, since the turbine needs to supply power both to provide the engine with a large amount of air (power is limited by the amount of air) and to accelerate the load. With a two-shaft scheme, a light high-pressure rotor quickly enters the regime, providing the engine with air, and the turbine low pressure plenty of gas for acceleration. It is also possible to use a less powerful starter for acceleration when starting only the high pressure rotor.

Combined-cycle plant

Combined-cycle plant - an electric generating station that serves to produce heat and electricity. It differs from steam-powered and gas turbine plants by increased efficiency.

Operating principle

Combined-cycle plant consists of two separate units: steam power and gas turbine. In a gas turbine plant, the turbine is rotated by the gaseous products of fuel combustion. The fuel can be both natural gas and products oil industry(fuel oil, diesel fuel). On the same shaft with the turbine is the first generator, which, due to the rotation of the rotor, generates an electric current. Passing through the gas turbine, the combustion products give it only a part of their energy and still have a high temperature at the outlet of the gas turbine. From the outlet of the gas turbine, the combustion products enter the steam power plant, into the waste heat boiler, where they heat water and the resulting steam. The temperature of the combustion products is sufficient to bring the steam to the state required for use in a steam turbine (a flue gas temperature of about 500 degrees Celsius makes it possible to obtain superheated steam at a pressure of about 100 atmospheres). The steam turbine drives a second electric generator.

Advantages

Combined-cycle plants have an electrical efficiency of about 51-58%, while for steam-powered or gas turbine plants operating separately, it fluctuates around 35-38%. This not only reduces fuel consumption, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Since the combined cycle plant extracts heat from the combustion products more efficiently, it is possible to burn fuel at more high temperatures, as a result, the level of nitrogen oxide emissions into the atmosphere is lower than that of other types of plants.

Relatively low production cost.

Spreading

Despite the fact that the advantages of the steam-gas cycle were first proven back in the 1950s by the Soviet academician Khristianovich, this type of power generating installations has not been widely used in Russia. Several experimental CCGTs were built in the USSR. An example is the power units with a capacity of 170 MW at the Nevinnomysskaya GRES and with a capacity of 250 MW at the Moldavskaya GRES. AT last years A number of powerful combined-cycle power units were put into operation in Russia. Among them:

2 power units with a capacity of 450 MW each at the Severo-Zapadnaya CHPP in St. Petersburg;

1 power unit with a capacity of 450 MW at the Kaliningrad CHPP-2;

1 CCGT unit with a capacity of 220 MW at Tyumen CHPP-1;

2 CCGTs with a capacity of 450 MW at CHPP-27 and 1 CCGT at CHPP-21 in Moscow;

1 CCGT unit with a capacity of 325 MW at Ivanovskaya GRES;

2 power units with a capacity of 39 MW each at Sochinskaya TPP

As of September 2008, several CCGTs are in various stages of design or construction in Russia.

In Europe and the USA, similar installations operate at most thermal power plants.

condensing power plant

A condensing power plant (CPP) is a thermal power plant that produces only electrical energy. Historically, it received the name "GRES" - the state regional power plant. Over time, the term "GRES" has lost its original meaning ("district") and in modern understanding means, as a rule, a condensing power plant (CPP) of large capacity (thousands of MW) operating in the interconnected energy system along with other large power plants. However, it should be borne in mind that not all stations that have the abbreviation "GRES" in their names are condensing, some of them operate as combined heat and power plants.

Story

The first GRES "Electroperedachi", today's "GRES-3", was built near Moscow in the city of Elektrogorsk in 1912-1914. on the initiative of engineer R. E. Klasson. The main fuel is peat, the power is 15 MW. In the 1920s, the GOELRO plan provided for the construction of several thermal power plants, among which the Kashirskaya GRES is the most famous.

Principle of operation

Water heated in a steam boiler to a state of superheated steam (520-565 degrees Celsius) rotates a steam turbine that drives a turbogenerator.

Excess heat is released into the atmosphere (nearby bodies of water) through condensing units, unlike combined heat and power plants, which transfer excess heat to the needs of nearby facilities (for example, heating houses).

A condensing power plant typically operates on the Rankine cycle.

Main systems

IES is a complex energy complex consisting of buildings, structures, power and other equipment, pipelines, fittings, instrumentation and automation. The main IES systems are:

boiler plant;

steam turbine plant;

fuel economy;

ash and slag removal system, flue gas cleaning;

electrical part;

technical water supply (to remove excess heat);

chemical treatment and water treatment system.

During the design and construction of the IES, its systems are located in the buildings and structures of the complex, primarily in the main building. During the operation of IES, the personnel managing the systems, as a rule, are combined into workshops (boiler-turbine, electrical, fuel supply, chemical water treatment, thermal automation, etc.).

The boiler plant is located in the boiler room of the main building. In the southern regions of Russia, the boiler plant may be open, that is, without walls and a roof. The installation consists of steam boilers (steam generators) and steam pipelines. The steam from the boilers is transferred to the turbines via live steam pipelines. The steam pipes of different boilers are usually not cross-linked. Such a scheme is called "block".

The steam turbine plant is located in the engine room and in the deaerator (bunker-deaerator) section of the main building. It includes:

steam turbines with electric generator on one shaft;

a condenser in which the steam that has passed through the turbine is condensed to form water (condensate);

condensate and feed pumps that return condensate (feed water) to steam boilers;

low and high pressure recuperative heaters (LPH and HPH) - heat exchangers in which feed water is heated by steam extraction from the turbine;

deaerator (also serving as HDPE), in which water is purified from gaseous impurities;

pipelines and auxiliary systems.

The fuel economy has a different composition depending on the main fuel for which the IES is designed. For coal-fired IES, the fuel economy includes:

a defrosting device (the so-called "teplyak" or "shed") for thawing coal in open gondola cars;

unloading device (usually a wagon dumper);

a coal warehouse serviced by a grab crane or a special reloading machine;

crushing plant for preliminary grinding of coal;

conveyors for moving coal;

aspiration systems, blocking and other auxiliary systems;

pulverizing system, including ball, roller, or hammer coal mills.

The pulverizing system, as well as the coal bunker, are located in the bunker-deaerator compartment of the main building, the rest of the fuel supply devices are outside the main building. Occasionally, a central dust plant is arranged. Coal warehouse is calculated for 7-30 days continuous work IES. Part of the fuel supply devices is reserved.

The fuel economy of IES running on natural gas is the simplest: it includes a gas distribution point and gas pipelines. However, at such power plants, fuel oil is used as a backup or seasonal source, so a fuel oil economy is also arranged. Oil facilities are also being built at coal-fired power plants, where fuel oil is used to kindle boilers. The oil industry includes:

receiving and draining device;

fuel oil storage with steel or reinforced concrete tanks;

fuel oil pumping station with heaters and fuel oil filters;

pipelines with shut-off and control valves;

fire fighting and other auxiliary systems.

The ash and slag removal system is arranged only at coal-fired power plants. Both ash and slag are non-combustible coal residues, but slag is formed directly in the boiler furnace and is removed through a tap-hole (a hole in the slag mine), and the ash is carried away with flue gases and is captured already at the boiler outlet. Ash particles are much smaller (about 0.1 mm) than slag pieces (up to 60 mm). Ash removal systems can be hydraulic, pneumatic or mechanical. The most common system of recirculating hydraulic ash and slag removal consists of flushing devices, channels, bager pumps, slurry pipelines, ash and slag dumps, pumping and clarified water conduits.

Emission of flue gases into the atmosphere is the most dangerous impact of a thermal power plant on the environment. To capture ash from flue gases, various types of filters (cyclones, scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, bag fabric filters) are installed after the blowers, which trap 90-99% of solid particles. However, they are unsuitable for cleaning smoke from harmful gases. Abroad and in recent times and at domestic power plants (including gas-oil), install systems for gas desulfurization with lime or limestone (so-called deSOx) and catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides with ammonia (deNOx). The cleaned flue gas is ejected by a smoke exhauster into a chimney, the height of which is determined from the conditions of dispersion of the remaining harmful impurities in the atmosphere.

The electrical part of the IES is intended for the production of electrical energy and its distribution to consumers. In IES generators, a three-phase electric current is created with a voltage of usually 6-24 kV. Since with an increase in voltage, energy losses in the networks are significantly reduced, immediately after the generators, transformers are installed that increase the voltage to 35, 110, 220, 500 or more kV. Transformers are installed outdoors. Part of the electrical energy is spent on the power plant's own needs. Connection and disconnection of power lines outgoing to substations and consumers is carried out on open or closed switchgears (OSG, ZRU) equipped with switches capable of connecting and breaking the high voltage electrical circuit without the formation of an electric arc.

The service water supply system supplies a large amount of cold water to cool the turbine condensers. Systems are divided into direct-flow, reverse and mixed. In once-through systems, water is taken by pumps from a natural source (usually from a river) and, after passing through the condenser, is discharged back. At the same time, the water heats up by about 8-12 °C, which in some cases changes the biological state of the reservoirs. In circulation systems, water circulates under the influence of circulation pumps and is cooled by air. Cooling can be carried out on the surface of cooling reservoirs or in artificial structures: spray pools or cooling towers.

In low-water areas, instead of a technical water supply system, air-condensation systems (dry cooling towers) are used, which are an air radiator with natural or artificial draft. This decision is usually forced, as they are more expensive and less efficient in terms of cooling.

The chemical water treatment system provides chemical purification and deep desalination of water entering steam boilers and steam turbines to avoid deposits on the internal surfaces of the equipment. Typically, filters, tanks and reagent facilities for water treatment are located in the auxiliary building of the IES. In addition, thermal power plants create multi-stage systems for the treatment of wastewater contaminated with oil products, oils, equipment washing and washing water, storm and melt runoff.

Environmental impact

Impact on the atmosphere. When fuel is burned, a large amount of oxygen is consumed, and a significant amount of combustion products is released, such as fly ash, gaseous sulfur oxides of nitrogen, some of which have a high chemical activity.

Impact on the hydrosphere. First of all, the discharge of water from turbine condensers, as well as industrial effluents.

Impact on the lithosphere. A lot of space is required to bury large masses of ash. These pollutions are reduced by using ash and slag as building materials.

Current state

At present, typical GRESs with a capacity of 1000-1200, 2400, 3600 MW and several unique ones are operating in Russia; units of 150, 200, 300, 500, 800 and 1200 MW are used. Among them are the following GRES (which are part of WGC):

Verkhnetagilskaya GRES - 1500 MW;

Iriklinskaya GRES - 2430 MW;

Kashirskaya GRES - 1910 MW;

Nizhnevartovskaya GRES - 1600 MW;

Permskaya GRES - 2400 MW;

Urengoyskaya GRES - 24 MW.

Pskovskaya GRES - 645 MW;

Serovskaya GRES - 600 MW;

Stavropolskaya GRES - 2400 MW;

Surgutskaya GRES-1 - 3280 MW;

Troitskaya GRES - 2060 MW.

Gusinoozyorskaya GRES - 1100 MW;

Kostromskaya GRES - 3600 MW;

Pechorskaya GRES - 1060 MW;

Kharanorskaya GRES - 430 MW;

Cherepetskaya GRES - 1285 MW;

Yuzhnouralskaya GRES - 882 MW.

Berezovskaya GRES - 1500 MW;

Smolenskaya GRES - 630 MW;

Surgutskaya GRES-2 - 4800 MW;

Shaturskaya GRES - 1100 MW;

Yaivinskaya GRES - 600 MW.

Konakovskaya GRES - 2400 MW;

Nevinnomysskaya GRES - 1270 MW;

Reftinskaya GRES - 3800 MW;

Sredneuralskaya GRES - 1180 MW.

Kirishskaya GRES - 2100 MW;

Krasnoyarsk GRES-2 - 1250 MW;

Novocherkasskaya GRES - 2400 MW;

Ryazanskaya GRES (units No. 1-6 - 2650 MW and block No. 7 (former GRES-24, which became part of Ryazanskaya GRES - 310 MW) - 2960 MW);

Cherepovetskaya GRES - 630 MW.

Verkhnetagilskaya GRES

Verkhnetagilskaya GRES is a thermal power plant in Verkhny Tagil (Sverdlovsk Region), operating as part of OGK-1. In operation since May 29, 1956.

The station includes 11 power units with an electric capacity of 1497 MW and a thermal power unit of 500 Gcal/h. Station fuel: natural gas (77%), coal (23%). The number of personnel is 1119 people.

The construction of the station with a design capacity of 1600 MW began in 1951. The purpose of the construction was to provide thermal and electrical energy to the Novouralsk Electrochemical Plant. In 1964, the power plant reached its design capacity.

In order to improve the heat supply to the cities of Verkhny Tagil and Novouralsk, the station was modernized:

Four K-100-90(VK-100-5) LMZ condensing turbine units were replaced with T-88/100-90/2.5 cogeneration turbines.

TG-2,3,4 are equipped with network heaters of PSG-2300-8-11 type for heating network water in the heat supply scheme of Novouralsk.

At TG-1.4, network heaters were installed to supply heat to Verkhny Tagil and the industrial site.

All work was carried out according to the project of KhF TsKB.

On the night of January 3-4, 2008, an accident occurred at Surgutskaya GRES-2: a partial collapse of the roof over the sixth power unit with a capacity of 800 MW led to the shutdown of two power units. The situation was complicated by the fact that another power unit (No. 5) was under repair: As a result, power units No. 4, 5, 6 were stopped. This accident was localized by January 8. Throughout this period of time, the GRES worked in a particularly intense mode.

In the period up to 2010 and 2013, respectively, it is planned to build two new power units (fuel - natural gas).

There is a problem of emissions into the environment at the GRES. OGK-1 signed a contract with the Energy Engineering Center of the Urals for 3.068 million rubles, which provides for the development of a project for the reconstruction of the boiler at Verkhnetagilskaya GRES, which will lead to a reduction in emissions to comply with MPE standards.

Kashirskaya GRES

Kashirskaya GRES named after G. M. Krzhizhanovsky in the city of Kashira, Moscow Region, on the banks of the Oka.

Historical station, built under the personal supervision of V. I. Lenin according to the GOELRO plan. At the time of commissioning, the 12 MW plant was the second largest power plant in Europe.

The station was built according to the GOELRO plan, the construction was carried out under the personal supervision of V. I. Lenin. It was built in 1919-1922, for the construction on the site of the village of Ternovo, a working settlement Novokashirsk was erected. Launched on June 4, 1922, it became one of the first Soviet regional thermal power plants.

Pskovskaya GRES

Pskovskaya GRES is a state district power plant, located 4.5 kilometers from the urban-type settlement of Dedovichi, the district center of the Pskov region, on the left bank of the Shelon River. Since 2006, it has been a branch of OAO OGK-2.

High-voltage power lines connect the Pskovskaya GRES with Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania. The parent company considers this an advantage: there is an energy export channel that is actively used.

The installed capacity of the GRES is 430 MW, it includes two highly maneuverable power units of 215 MW each. These power units were built and put into operation in 1993 and 1996. The initial project of the first stage included the construction of three power units.

The main type of fuel is natural gas, it enters the station through a branch of the main export gas pipeline. The power units were originally designed to operate on milled peat; they were reconstructed according to the VTI project for burning natural gas.

Electricity consumption for own needs is 6.1%.

Stavropolskaya GRES

Stavropolskaya GRES is a thermal power plant in Russia. Located in the city of Solnechnodolsk, Stavropol Territory.

Loading of the power plant allows for export deliveries of electricity abroad: to Georgia and Azerbaijan. At the same time, the maintenance of flows in the backbone electrical network of the Unified Energy System of the South at acceptable levels is guaranteed.

Part of Wholesale Generating Company No. 2 (JSC OGK-2).

Electricity consumption for the station's own needs is 3.47%.

The main fuel of the station is natural gas, but the station can use fuel oil as a reserve and emergency fuel. Fuel balance as of 2008: gas - 97%, fuel oil - 3%.

Smolenskaya GRES

Smolenskaya GRES is a thermal power plant in Russia. It has been a part of Wholesale Generating Company No. 4 (JSC OGK-4) since 2006.

On January 12, 1978, the first block of the state district power station was put into operation, the design of which began in 1965, and construction in 1970. The station is located in the village of Ozerny, Dukhovshchinsky District, Smolensk Region. Initially, it was supposed to use peat as a fuel, but due to the backlog in the construction of peat mining enterprises, other types of fuel were used (coal near Moscow, Inta coal, shale, Khakass coal). In total, 14 types of fuel were changed. Since 1985, it has been finally established that energy will be obtained from natural gas and coal.

8.16. Smolenskaya GRES

Sources

Ryzhkin V. Ya. Thermal power stations. Ed. V. Ya. Girshfeld. Textbook for high schools. 3rd ed., revised. and additional - M.: Energoatomizdat, 1987. - 328 p.

Thermal power plants generate electricity by converting thermal energy released by burning fuel. The main types of fuel for a thermal power plant are natural resources - gas, fuel oil, less often coal and peat.
A type of thermal power plant (TPP) is a combined heat and power plant (CHP) - a thermal power plant that produces not only electricity, but also heat, which in the form of hot water through heating networks comes to our batteries.On fig. the path of energy from the power plant to the apartment.

A boiler with water is installed in the machine room of the thermal power plant. When fuel is burned, the water in the boiler heats up to several hundred degrees and turns into steam. The steam under pressure rotates the blades of the turbine, the turbine in turn rotates the generator. The generator generates electricity. Electric current enters the electrical networks and through them reaches cities and villages, enters factories, schools, homes, hospitals. The transmission of electricity from power plants through power lines is carried out at voltages of 110-500 kilovolts, that is, significantly higher than the voltage of generators. An increase in voltage is necessary for the transmission of electricity over long distances. Then it is necessary to reverse the voltage drop to a level convenient for the consumer. Voltage conversion occurs in electrical substations using transformers. Through numerous cables laid underground and wires stretched high above the ground, the current runs to people's homes. And heat in the form of hot water comes from the CHP through heating mains, also located underground.

Designations in the figure:
cooling tower- a device for cooling water at a power plant with atmospheric air.
Steam boiler- a closed unit for generating steam at a power plant by heating water. Water heating is carried out by burning fuel (at Saratov thermal power plants - gas).
power lines- power line. Designed for the transmission of electricity. There are overhead power lines (wires stretched above the ground) and underground (power cables).

The first appeared at the end of the 19th century in New York (1882), and in 1883 the first thermal power plant was built in Russia (St. Petersburg). From the moment of its appearance, it is TPPs that have become most widespread, given the ever-increasing energy demand of the coming technogenic age. Until the mid-70s of the last century, it was the operation of thermal power plants that was the dominant method of generating electricity. For example, in the USA and the USSR, the share of thermal power plants among all the electricity received was 80%, and around the world - about 73-75%.

The above definition, although capacious, is not always clear. Let's try to explain in our own words general principle operation of thermal power plants of any type.

Electricity generation in thermal power plants occur with the participation of many successive stages, but the general principle of its operation is very simple. First, the fuel is burned in a special combustion chamber (steam boiler), while a large amount of heat is released, which turns the water circulating through special pipe systems located inside the boiler into steam. The constantly increasing steam pressure rotates the turbine rotor, which transfers the rotational energy to the generator shaft, and as a result, an electric current is generated.

The steam/water system is closed. The steam, after passing through the turbine, condenses and turns back into water, which additionally passes through the heater system and again enters the steam boiler.

There are several types of thermal power plants. At present, among thermal power plants, most of all thermal steam turbine power plants (TPES). In power plants of this type, the thermal energy of the fuel burned is used in a steam generator, where a very high pressure of water vapor is achieved, driving the turbine rotor and, accordingly, the generator. As a fuel, such thermal power plants use fuel oil or diesel, as well as natural gas, coal, peat, shale, in other words, all types of fuel. The efficiency factor of TPES is about 40%, and their power can reach 3-6 GW.

GRES (state district power plant)- a fairly well-known and familiar name. This is nothing more than a thermal steam turbine power plant equipped with special condensing turbines that do not utilize the energy of exhaust gases and do not turn it into heat, for example, to heat buildings. Such power plants are also called condensing power plants.

In the same case, if TPES are equipped with special heating turbines that convert the secondary energy of the exhaust steam into thermal energy used for the needs of public utilities or industrial services, then these are thermal power plants or thermal power plants. For example, in the USSR, the GRES accounted for about 65% of the electricity generated by steam turbine power plants, and, accordingly, 35% - for the share of thermal power plants.

There are also other types of thermal power plants. In gas turbine power plants, or GTPPs, a generator is rotated by a gas turbine. As a fuel for such thermal power plants, natural gas or liquid fuel (diesel, fuel oil) is used. However, the efficiency of such power plants is not very high, about 27-29%, so they are used mainly as backup sources of electricity to cover the peak load on electrical network, or to supply electricity to small settlements.

Thermal power plants with combined-cycle gas turbine plant (PGPP). These are power plants combined type. They are equipped with steam turbine and gas turbine mechanisms, and their efficiency reaches 41-44%. These power plants also make it possible to recover heat and turn it into thermal energy that is used to heat buildings.

The main disadvantage of all thermal power plants is the type of fuel used. All types of fuel that are used at thermal power plants are irreplaceable natural resources that are slowly but steadily running out. That is why at present, along with the use of nuclear power plants, the development of a mechanism for generating electricity using renewable or other alternative energy sources is underway.