Thermal Energy Production-Efficiency Improvement and Emission Reduction of Thermal Power Plants (FWF Research Program S68)

This research program tries to achieve an efficiency improvement and emission reduction of thermal power plants. This task is tackled on several fronts by cooperation of six institutes from the two technical universities in Austria in the field of turbomachinery, boiler design and energy. Also, the program has strong support from the Austrian industry. In general saving fuel an optimal use of fuel has been the most important task for power engineers during the last decades. Top achieve reduction of carbon dioxyde emission has gained utmost importance during the last decade. The most promising way seems to increase the efficiency of thermal power stations in general. Considerable success on thermal efficiency was obtained in the field of combined cycles (gas-steam power plants), here the efficiency could be raised to 60% in conjunction with the environmental friendly fuel natural gas. Its main component methan delivers also the lowest amount of carbon-dioxide emission for a given fuel heat input. In cogeneration plants where useful heat is generated from the gases ejected from gas turbines and from the exhaust heat of steam turbines, the total energy conversion factor can be raised up to 90%. Here it should be mentioned that the first large gas/steam cycle plant was built in the vicinity of Vienna and went in operation in 1960. There are good reasons why in a country like Austria with many hydro-electric power stations there is still ...(this text has been cut automatically) not assigned KP: COST-501/III/WP11