Integration of Steam Power Plant With Site Utility System Using a New Cogeneration Targeting Method

Abstract

The purpose of a steam power plant usually is power production; however, it can work as a dual-purpose plant with the production of steam and power simultaneously. The aim of this paper was to find the optimum integration of steam power plant as a source and a site utility system as a sink of steam and power. Estimation of cogeneration potential prior to the design of the central utility system for site utility systems is vital to set targets on the site fuel demand as well as heat and power production. In this regard, a new cogeneration targeting model was developed for the integration of steam power plant and site utility of the process plant. The new procedure for finding the optimal integration was proposed based on new cogeneration targeting. In addition, a modified Site Utility Grand Composite Curve (SUGCC) diagram was proposed and compared with the original SUGCC A steam power plant and a process site utility was considered as a case study. The applicability of the developed procedure was tested with other existing design methods, STAR® and Thermoflex software through a case study. The proposed method was shown to give comparable results and the targeting method was used for obtaining optimal integration of steam levels. Identifying optimal conditions of steam levels for integration is very important in the design of utility systems since the selection of steam levels in steam power plants and site utility for integration heavily influence the potential for cogeneration and energy recovery for the site. In this work, the integration of steam levels of steam power plant and site utility system were carried out in a case study, in which the usefulness of the this method was clearly demonstrated for reducing the overall energy consumption for the site.