Exploring a Variant of PTC 4-2013 for Real-Time Performance Monitoring of Fossil Fuel Power Plants

September 26, 2022

Coal Plant Testing

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a real-time performance monitoring method based on PTC 4-2013 that was developed for determining and reporting annual heat rate for fossil fuel power plants. Unlike for the PTC 4 test, the coal composition is typically not known in real-time, so the procedure uses a modified output-loss approach applied to a control volume that closely conforms to the boiler. A calibration approach utilizes an ultimate analysis to describe the coal being burned during the calibration, while holding the plant load and other factors steady. This permits the calculation of correction factors used during real-time performance monitoring.

Based on several assumptions that are justified within, a real-time estimate of coal composition is obtained. The losses are calculated in a similar manner to PTC 4-2013. However, the losses are expressed on a per-pound of as-fired coal basis, as opposed to a percentage of HHV of the coal, which is not known in real-time.

AUTHORS

Department of Mechanical Engineering – Tennessee Tech University
  • Joseph M. Staller
  • Robert P.M. Craven
  • Stephen Idem, Ph.D.
Shakti Consulting
  • Sastry Munukutla, Ph.D.
McHale and Associates
  • Keith Kirkpatrick, Ph.D.
  • Dudley Benton, Ph.D.
  • Susan Eisenstadt, P.E.
  • Karsten Kopperstad
  • Seth Leedy
  • Joe McHale, P.E.
Licata Energy & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
  • Anthony Licata
ASME
  • Dan Andrei

 

FULL VERSION

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