ENVIRONMENT COMPLIANCES IN

THERMAL POWER PLANTS ISSUES AND

CHALLENGES
DRY/WET COOLING SYSTEMS
AND FLUE GAS SYSTEM
BY ZOLTAN TAKACS (ENEXIO)
NEW DELHI, 30 JANUARY, 2017
TOPICS

1. Environmental Compliance of Cooling Systems

2. Basic Cooling System Solutions
3. Combined Dry/Wet Cooling Systems
4. Clean Flue Gas Discharge via the Cooling Tower
ENVIRONMENT COMPLIANCE OF COOLING SYSTEMS:

Our intent:
maintain good plant efficiency
increase reliability/availability

while
eliminate or at least reduce water consumption
decrease emissions
CLASSIFICATION OF COOLING SYSTEMS
POWER COOLING
SYSTEMS

Once-through Cooling or Spray Evaporative Dry Cooling

Cooling (OTC) Pond Cooling
(Wet Cell/Tower) Direct Indirect Cooling
ACC HELLER System

Combined Wet/Dry or Dry/Wet Cooling

OTC-WET

Direct ACC Indirect / HELLER

Related related
PAC
 1,0

Boundary of Direct

MAKE-UP WATER COST, /m3

0,9
Boundary of HELLER
ACC's viability
System's viability
0,8
against Evaporative
against Evaporative
Cooling
Cooling
0,7

0,6

0,5

0,4

0,3

0,2

EVAPORATIVE COOLING
0,1

0,0
0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 7,0 8,0

ELECTRICITY PRICE, cent/kWh

Economic viability of dry cooling vs. wet cooling is

significantly extended by all dry HELLER System
WET COOLING SYSTEMS |
NATURAL DRAFT COOLING TOWER
Designed especially for power plants
and industries with large cooling
water flow. The natural draft cooling
tower provides the basis for economic
solutions throughout the entire life
cycle of a plant.

Maximum cost-effectiveness over the

entire life cycle
Integrated discharge of the cleaned flue
gas. Lower costs compared with high invest
costs for chimneys
Energy efficiency, low operation costs
Low maintenance and spare parts costs
Low emissions in the vicinity of the power
plant (Natural draft cooling tower with sound absorbers at the air inlet
and flue gas injection. Lnen power station, Germany 1x 750MW)
WET COOLING SYSTEMS |
FAN ASSISTED NATURAL DRAFT COOLING TOWER
Designed especially for power stations
and process cooling applications as
well. They are the right choice for
medium and large cooling water flow
and are also available as a hybrid
alternative.

Investment optimized application

Lower total construction height than
natural draft cooling tower
Optimized plot area
Lower emissions in the vicinity of the
power plant
Hybrid technology possible
(OL2K, Kuwait seawater cooling tower with an water flow of
55,000 t/h each.)
WET COOLING SYSTEMS |
FIELD ERECTED CELL COOLING TOWER
The multi-talent coming from ENEXIO,
for any cooling water flow and heat
capacity. This product allows a flexible
design to satisfy process requirements
and environmental conditions
securing a maximum of operation
flexibility and availability.
Low investment cost
Highly flexible operation level
Compact structure
High noise requirements can be
effectively met
High resistance to corrosion and
weathering
Diversity of structure material (1,100 MW combined cycle power plant in Florida/ USA with 24
cells made of glass-fibre reinforced plastic.)
DRY COOLING SYSTEMS |
PRINCIPLE OF THE AIR COOLED CONDENSER
How it works Mechanism of an Air Cooled Condenser
Tube
Air Cooled Condenser Steam duct bundle
Power turbine

Hot air
Exhaust steam from the turbine
arrives in the steam duct at the ACC
and is distributed to the bundles
Cold air is blown around the bundles
for cooling the hot steam within the
bundles
Steam entering the condenser
bundles gets condensed into water
while the condensation energy is
transferred to the cold air by heating
it up
Condensed water is collected in the Cold air Evacuation
condensate tank
Steam left uncondensed in
condenser bundles is captured and Cooling air Condensate
condensed in the dephlegmator
circulation tank
section
 DRY COOLING SYSTEMS |
The new induced draft ACC
Innovative and intelligent design:
Reduced air inlet and total height of ACC:
less visual Impact
Smaller footprint of columns
Reduction of steel structure quantities (up to -
60 %)
Reduction of steel structure weight (up to-50 %)
Reduced costs for construction (-10 % to -25 %)
Reduced construction duration: (-20 % to -30 %)
decrease in man-hours for erection work
Easier pre-assembly (pre-assembly mainly at
grade)
Inherent design of supporting steel structure
greatly reduces the requirement of scaffolding
Reduction in the length of the main steam duct
DRY COOLING SYSTEMS |
HELLER SYSTEM
Invented by an ENEXIO group
company in Hungary in the early
1950s, Heller System has gained
worldwide recognition as the ultimate
dry cooling choice where minimum
life cycle costs are in focus.

The main benefits are:

Low operational cost and highest
operational availability
Noiseless and can diminish ground level
pollution
Lowest vacuum space among dry power
cooling systems
Provides ultimate resistance to freezing in
even in partial load winter operation
DRY COOLING SYSTEMS |
PRINCIPLE OF THE HELLER SYSTEM
Direct Contact
1 Jet Condenser vs. 2 Hydro system 3 Condensate extraction 4 Cooling tower
surface condenser
No recovery Condensate is Cooling tower
DC Jet Condenser of excess recovered at can either be
eliminates pressure the pump natural draft or
thermal barrier from cooling discharge and mechanical
between cooling Option A: With tower Option A (warm): brought back draft
water and steam pressure From pump to the boiler
reduction valve discharge (warm) Optional: Flue
Surface gas injection
condenser and/or
Excess Condensate
requires more placement of
pressure is extraction is
space and larger Flue Gas
recovered also possible
tower Scrubber inside
using hydro at the hydro
Option B (cold): Heller Tower
Air evacuation: Option B: turbines turbine
From hydro
Cooling water is With recovery suction
turbine suction Inlet shutters
sprayed on turbine
exhaust steam control airflow

Steam
4
turbine/
condenser Cooling
Heller tower
1
system
Power
station
2 3
 3777 MW Adapazari CCPP, Turkey, 2002
Natural draft concrete towers with DC Jet Condensers
(Worlds largest dry cooled combined cycle plant)
CONDENSER OPTIONS:

Heller System with Direct Contact (DC) jet condenser

Dry Cooling Tower

LP ST G

Exhaust Steam

Recovery Turbine

DC Jet Condenser

Condensate Pump
M

Heller System with surface condenser

 with DC Jet Condenser (TTD=~0.5K)
DC Jet Condenser Surface Condenser

with Surface Condenser (TTD=~3K)

Rejected heat Q = k x F x DTln, where
k: heat transfer rate (kcal/h,m2,oC)
F: heat transfer surface, (m2)
DTln: logarithmic mean temperature difference
To attain the same vacuum, the tower of systems with
DC Jet can be smaller than if with surface condenser as
DTln between air and cooling water is larger
Condenser Options
Direct Contact Jet Condensers in a
700MW Supercritical Unit
Concrete Tower Option
Steel/Alu Tower Option
3.
DRY/WET COOLING SYSTEMS
DRY/WET COOLING SYSTEMS

means combination of dry and wet (evaporative) cooling systems in

order to
- reduce water consumption with wet cooling
- decrease emissions (evaporation and blowdown)
- improve operational flexibility
- peak generation ability
CLASSIFICATION OF COOLING SYSTEMS

Classification by annual and

maximum daily (hottest day)
water consumptions relative
to those of all-wet coolings

Based on optimization and

case studies, ENEXIO
suggests to consider real
water conservation type
dry/wet systems in a broader
range with 1-40% annual
(targeted range of 1-20%) and
10-50% maximum daily water
consumption.
ENEXIOS EXPERIENCES

ENEXIO Invented and patented dry / wet systems

such as:

ENEXIOs PAC system

ENEXIOs HELLER based derivatives

PAC SYSTEM

Combination of Air cooled condenser and wet cooling system

PAC SYSTEM

Parallel Air Cooled Condenser

design, i.e. an ACC with significant
summertime performance
enhancement by the wet cooling
cells.

Reduced water consumption

comparing to 100% Wet System

Reduced Capital Cost and improved

performance comparing to 100% Dry
System

Reduced or Eliminated Visible Plume

PAC SYSTEM

Typical Operating Characteristic

Parallel System Load Distribution Parallel System Water Consumption

Percent Heat Load

100 100
80

% Make-up
Dry 80
60
60
40 Wet
20 40
0 20
-20 -5 10 25 40 0
-20 -5 10 25 40
Inlet Dry Bulb Tem perature, deg C
Inlet Dry Bulb Tem perature, deg C
PAC SYSTEM

Cooling System Comparison (Typical STG Backpresure Profile)

0,19
Steam Turbine Backpressure, bar

0,17

0,15

0,13

0,11

0,09

0,07

0,05
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Dry Bulb Temperature, oC
CLASSIFICATION OF COOLING SYSTEMS
Derived from the all dry HELLER System ENEXIO has developed several dry/wet combinations. Their water
conservation features can be classified best by their annual and daily maximum water consumptions - referred
to those of an all-wet cooling system (the hourly maximum is not a representative value since within the daily
maximum it shall be bridged by reserving).

The actual division of heat rejection between the dry and the wet sections can be changed seasonally, daily
and even hourly within certain limits. The selection of the capacity ratio - either for the plant investment or for
the operational schedule - depends on the make-up water availability & cost, the power demand & the
electricity price as well as on investment and environmental costs, fees & limitations.

PAC system
HELLER BASED DRY/WET DERIVATIVES

Hybrid wet/dry solutions of ENEXIO

offer the following advantages:

Reduced water consumption compared to

all-wet solutions
No plume formation in winter (with plume
abated option)
Higher year-round energy generation, than
with all-dry systems, while water
consumption remains much below that of
all-wet wet cooling
Smaller investments for the same heat
rejection than with an all-dry system

!
(The plume rising from the tower is the clean, humid flue gas from the wet flue gas
desulphurizer placed inside the Heller tower; summertime capacity enhancement by
the wet cooling cells in the front) | The image shows a Dry Heller System application
with summertime capacity enhancement by the wet cooling cells in the front
HELLER BASED DRY/WET DERIVATIVES
HELLER-based separate circuit Dry/Wet System
Totally closed circuit (safety and maintenance issues)
Cooler tube material can be all-aluminum (low cost) ENEXIO PATENT
Low maintenance cost expected
Very high flexibility in operation
Wet part may be located inside a Dry tower
(natural or fan assisted natural draft)
Balanced year-round performance (flexibility)
Does not require booster pumps for Dry part
Supplemental Spraying may be applied
Lowest auxiliary power consumption can be expected
High level of year-round water savings

Surface Divided
condenser Surface
condenser
INVESTIGATION BASIS TO FIND BEST &
OPTIMAL SOLUTION
EXAMPLE
INVESTIGATION BASIS TO FIND BEST &
OPTIMAL SOLUTION

EXAMPLE
CHARACTERISTICS & PERFORMANCE
COLD-END CHARACTERISTICS OF INVESTIGATED VARIANTS
6,0
Alarm point: 5.5 inHg

var MW
5,0 var. Sing. ND-W
var. Sing. MD-W
EXAMPLE
var. Sep(X) ND-W
Turbine backpressure, inHg

var. Sep(X) MD-W

4,0
LImit
var. Sep(X&C) ND-W (warm)
var. Sep(X&C) ND-W (cold)
3,0

2,0

1,0

0,0
15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105

Ambient dry bulb temperature, F

CHARACTERISTICS & PERFORMANCE
"NET" OUTPUT OF INVESTIGATED VARIANTS
575

570 EXAMPLE
565

560
"Net" output, MWe

555

550 var MW
var. Sing. ND-W
var. Sing. MD-W
545
var. Sep(X) ND-W
var. Sep(X) MD-W
540 var. Sep(X&C) ND-W (warm)
var. Sep(X&C) ND-W (cold)
535
15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105

Ambient dry bulb temperature, F

CHARACTERISTICS & PERFORMANCE
WATER CONSUMPTION OF INVESTIGATED VARIANTS
6000

EXAMPLE
5000

4000
Water consumption, gpm

3000

var MW
2000 var. Sing. ND-W
var. Sing. MD-W
var. Sep(X) ND-W
1000 var. Sep(X) MD-W
var. Sep(X&C) ND-W (warm)
var. Sep(X&C) ND-W (cold)
0
15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105

Ambient dry bulb temperature, F

Coal plant capacity increase by additional gas turbine,
its waste heating the feed water system,
plus wet cooling addition to former dry cooling system in Mtra PS (Hungary)

Additional feature:
wet FGD located in Heller dry cooling tower
Separate Circuit Dry/Wet Cooling
The separate circuit system variants can favorably be used if high level water conservation is
targeted in parallel with significantly improved hot summer output, compared to all-dry cooling
and with annual power generation close to that of the all-wet cooling system.
Its auxiliary power consumption is measurably lower than that of a single circuit serial dry/wet
system.
Due to the separate circuits for the dry and wet cooling its maintenance cost is significantly less
than those of single circuit serial systems.
It offers high design and operational flexibility. Combining the different ways of interfacing the
separate circuits with each other, and perhaps also with supplemental spraying, may create the
best response to specific requirements (set by environmental constraints and changing ambient
conditions, as well as adaption to the profile of electric power demand).

An example for separate circuit dry/wet CS at

2238 MWe units of the lignite fired Mtra PS, Hungary
NUCLEAR PP Nuclear main & emergency cooling
4.
CLEAN FLUE GAS DISCHARGE VIA THE
COOLING TOWER
Gases from boilers to be exhausted via cooling towers.
Benefits:

Lower pollutant concentration on ground level

Higher flue gas discharge lift (virtual chimney height)

Cost saving: short stack within tower

Re-warming recuperator may be ommitted (with dry cooling

tower and if wet FGD is applied)
First applications were in Europe, where boiler exhaust gases were
discharged via WET cooling towers first. Today this is widespread
practice.

Technical features:
corrosive wet plume discharged into saturated air
moderate air draft and outlet air speed (3-4m/s)
arrangement problems
(gas pipe breakthrough cooling tower shell,
cooling tower shell needs special
corrosion protection,
gas rewarming is needed)
material restrictions
Better conditions inside DRY cooling tower (vs. wet):
larger air flow (~3x larger than at wet cooling)
warm air (Tambient+~20C)
low humidity (10..20%)
larger air lift/draft (due to larger ITD)
larger air exit velocity at tower top (6-7 m/s)
no need for flue gas reheat

Arrangement flexibility in dry cooling tower:

flue gas inlet: near ground level or via shell
space available in dry tower for optional FGD
FGD outside tower FGD inside tower

Clean Flue Gas Exhaust via Dry Cooling Tower (FGD location options)
Clean Flue Gas Exhaust via Dry Cooling Tower (FGD inside CT)
Clean Flue Gas Exhaust via Cooling Tower (FGD inside CT)
Heller Dry Cooling Tower with Integrated Flue Gas Stack
(CAN 2x160 MWe CFB Plant)
 Mtra (Gagarin) Power Station, Unit IV-V., Hungary, 1972
Natural draft concrete towers with DC Jet Condensers, FGD-in-tower
Discharge Pattern / Virtual Chimney Height
SO2 concentration (from 1 unit)
 2 units!

SO2 concentration (conventional chimney)

 2 units!

SO2 concentration (stack-in-tower)

Wind

51
 52

Wind
 53

Wind
 3150 MW Tufanbeyli CFB TPP, Unit 1-3., Turkey, 2015
Natural draft concrete tower (three units served by one tower) and deluged peak
coolers with DC jet condensers; Stack-in-tower
 WE ARE AT YOUR SERVICE
Contacts:
Zoltan Takacs
phone: +36-1-2256-196
zoltan.takacs@enexio.com

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

This document is property to ENEXIO Hungary. All rights reserved.