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PII: S0959-6526(17)32313-2
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.021
Please cite this article as: Saman Sabzchi Asl, Nassim Tahouni, M. Hassan Panjeshahi, Energy
Benchmarking of Thermal Power Plants using Pinch Analysis, Journal of Cleaner Production
(2017), doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.021
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Highlights
Abstract
Benchmarking of process industries with respect to energy consumption has always been a
challenging issue for effective management of energy resources. Having developed a precise
model for estimating the energy consumption, we have a powerful tool to measure and
identify the opportunities for improvements through a plant. In this study, a mathematical-
conceptual model is presented for one-way benchmarking of thermal power plants using
Pinch concepts. Using the environmental variables of the ambient air and relative load of gas
turbine, the model presented for the combined cycle power plants provides a standard for the
functional parameters of the unit. Another model is presented for the conventional steam
cycle power plants enabling the prediction of the results of energy retrofit projects on these
power plants based on combined Pinch and Exergy Analysis. Using this model, the
relationships between minimum temperature difference in heat exchanger networks and the
enhanced efficiency, heat transfer area increment, and energy consumption decline are
specified. A mathematical model is also proposed for estimating the natural gas heating value
and CO2 emission based on natural gas composition. The proposed models have been
validated using data of other existing power plants and showed enough accuracy of given
targets.
Keywords: CO2 Emission, Combined Pinch and Exergy Analysis, Energy Benchmarking,
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1 Introduction
greenhouse effect (Siitonen et al., 2010). One of the most distinctive indicator showing the
per capita”. Efficient energy use, as the aim to decrease the amount of energy required to
provide products and services without even reducing the quality of final products and
services, is one of the energy efficiency level indicators (Tanaka, 2008). Two approaches are
used to acquire the efficient processes: the first is the construction of new plants with new
technologies and energy efficient processes (Pons et al., 2013), and the second is to retrofit
the existing plants with respect to new energy consuming standards (Lund and Mathiesen,
2015). The first approach is not economical and requires a notable finance resources and new
licenses, while the second approach is applicable and appealing to industrialists. That is why
the researchers decrease the energy costs in existing plants through energy management
To be strong enough in competitive market and maintain profit margin, it is necessary to have
a complete overview of plant and be aware of its strengths and weakness (Hughes, 2016).
Benchmarking specifies the reference points and as a tool, helps companies observe the
desired industry and compare the performance of their own plant with the best practice of that
industry. Knowing the gap between the existing plant and the best practice helps managers
setup a comprehensive program about energy-saving projects and make decision regarding
petroleum, fuel-oil, natural gas) in fired thermal power plants, while the remaining 20 % is
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supplied by hydraulic, nuclear, wind, solar, geothermal and biogas sources (Kaushik et al.,
worldwide due to technical problems (Farfan and Breyer, 2017). Nevertheless, power sector
retrofit has begun in many countries for three decades (Shrivastava et al., 2012).
This study is aimed at benchmarking the functional parameters of combined cycle power
plants and significant parameters in targeting the energy-area for the retrofit of conventional
steam cycle power plants based on Combined Pinch and Exergy Analysis (CPEA). A
mathematical model has also been proposed for estimating the natural gas (NG) heating value
and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission based on NG composition through the simulation of
combustion process. Next section looks at benchmarking concepts and methods, section 3 is
about retrofit of power plants, section 4 introduces a new approach for benchmarking of
power plants, section 5 deals with a benchmarking model for combined cycle power plants
functional parameters and also a benchmarking model for conventional steam cycle power
plants retrofit parameters, section 6 shows a benchmarking model for NG heating value and
Benchmarking is a process that allows the companies to assess the status of plants compared
to others (Bogan and English, 1994). It means that to recognize the place of a company in an
industry, it is necessary to compare its substantial function with those of others. In this
comparison process, the last achievements of others can be recognized and the best one
chosen. It is a good practice that shows the path of development to leaders and also specifies
what must be done to improve (Harper, 1996). Benchmarking acts as a function, which
receives some input variables, compares these inputs with a base case and gives a number of
outputs (Jamasb and Pollitt, 2001). Inputs are the information that shall be received from
inspection of plants. Comparing the inputs is the process of comparing the main
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characteristics of desired plant with the other one or may be the best practice, and the output
There is a variety of benchmarking methods and procedures based on the nature of industry
organization can be compared with the performance of all existing samples. This method is
usually time consuming and costly. Also there is more conventional kind of benchmarking
that can be defined according to base case specific property. This unique property can be
divided into two categories. The first one, called “best (frontier)”, is about a sample or
reference that is the best one in a statistical society. The second one that is more applied is
known as “mean (average)”, that is an average performance of statistical society. The details
of each form will be elaborated in next sections (Jamasb and Pollitt, 2000).
Frontier benchmarking methods are usually used for targeting specific efficiency
requirements (Sarıca and Or, 2007). This approach can be applicable at the initial stages of
organization when the priority objective is to reduce the performance gap among the firms.
from the best practice in an industry or a host of firms (Lissitsa et al., 2005). The commonly
used mathematical method for this approach is data envelopment analysis (DEA). In DEA,
indicative of the ranking of that sample among other firms. An advantage of this method is
that there is no need to define a particular production or cost function. This method can be
applied to both general and technical efficiency functions (Shrivastava et al., 2012). The
effect of each internal/ external or environmental item can be detected in this method. The
Norwegian regulator uses this method to build firm specific efficiency requirements and
revenue caps for regional electricity transmission and distribution utilities (Førsund and
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to model inputs and outputs, because DEA method utilizes a limited amount of available
information as reference data, specifically best practices, to deduct the efficiency scores.
Therefore, in this method the accuracy and credit of references play a remarkable role in
Several studies have been carried out on the performance of power plants using DEA. Thakur
et al. (2006) evaluated the performance of 26 state electricity boards and departments in India
using DEA, but efficiency of power plants has not been considered. The input variables in his
work were total cost and number of employees and output variables were number of
customers, length of distribution line and energy sold. Vaninsky (2006) predicted the
efficiency of power generations in USA using DEA with energy losses as input and
utilization of net capacity as output. Sarica (2007) studied the performance of 65 power
plants of Turkey using DEA. Barros (2008) analyzed 25 power plants of Portugl using DEA,
considering the labor, capital, operating cost and investment as input variables and energy
production energy sold, capacity as output variables. Nakano and Managi (2008) conducted a
research on 10 electrical; power generations companies in japan by DEA. Liu et al. (2010)
evaluated the performance of 12 power plants of Taiwan using DEA. In another research,
using a proposed meta-frontier DEA, the energy efficiency and saving potentials of China’s
regional industrial sectors were analyzed for the period of 2000 to 2014 considering
technology gap, management, and scale (Feng and Wang, 2017). Boyd et al. tried to identify
sets of energy performance indicators (EPI) for manufacturing plants to control energy
efficiency and energy consumption. EPI is a statistical benchmarking tool based on stochastic
frontier regression estimating the lowest energy consumption in plants (Benedetti et al., 2018)
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Average benchmarking method is usually used when no egregious difference exists between
firms. This method is used for approximation of firms’ efficiencies in a general progress that
performance of firms as the reference point. One simple mathematical method for mean
benchmarking is Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method that is a regression based on statistical
data of an industry. A version of this approach has been used by the National Energy
Commission (CNE) in Chile to calculate the value added for the electrical distribution
services (Rudnick and Donoso, 2000). A study for estimation the relationship between energy
consumption, economic growth and CO2 emission in China over the period 1970-2015 has
been carried out using OLS method (Riti et al., 2017). A fully modified OLS has been
applied to explore the relationship between greenhouse gas, financial development and
energy consumption in 34 countries from Asia, Europe, Africa and America using data from
Energetic performance criteria evaluate the performance of thermal power plants based on
first law of thermodynamics, including produced electrical power and fuel consumption in
term of thermal efficiency. The actual reason of energy degradation cannot be justified only
by fist law of thermodynamics, because it does not make any distinction between the quality
and quantity of energy (Aminov et al., 2016). In the last decades, the exergy base efficiency
retrieved from second law of thermodynamics has turned to a useful method in the study of
thermal power plants (Regulagadda et al., 2010). The exergy base performance analysis by
itself cannot complete the design and checking process, because it only checks the exergy
efficiency of equipment individually and not in an integrated way. To remove the weakness
of pure Pinch and Exergy Analysis, a combination of these two methods under the title of
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CPEA is needed. Strengths and weakness of each tool will be elaborated (Ganapathy et al.,
2009).
The Pinch technology has been developed as an instrument for the thermodynamic analysis
of industrial processes by calculation of minimum heat loads (process hot and cold utility
demand) through the process streams thermal specifications and minimum temperature
difference (MTD) between them in heat exchanger networks (HEN). The technology
application has led to the improvement of the energetic efficiency in chemical plants (Smith,
2005). In the process analysis, the Pinch technology has two major stages: First stage makes
the energy targets for the process through the Composite Curves (CC) and Grand Composite
Curve (GCC), and the other, devises design patterns that lead to the accomplishment of these
targets (Jabbari et al., 2013). Mirzakhani et al. (2017) applied Pinch Analysis to cement
industry for energy benchmarking of pyro-process unit. The developed mathematical model,
targets the energy demand of the retrofitted process using a few process parameters with no
statistical data. But, to analyze the systems that involve heat and power, as the case of
thermal power plants, Pinch technology cannot completely analyze the process by itself,
because it does not make any distinction between heat and power (Sefidi and Arash, 2006).
inefficient equipment in a system having heat and power, not only in terms of heat loads
(quantity of energy), but in terms of temperature and pressure gradients (quality of energy)
with respect to the ambient conditions. But, exergy analysis is not able to establish clear
practical design guidelines to optimize the energy usage by an integrated view of the entire
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Aljundi (2009) has specified that the performance of a power plant can be subject to the
energy and exergy efficiency evaluation of each equipment. This study has been done on a
power plant in Jordan. An exergy analysis on a 32-MW coal-fired power plant indicated that
the boiler and turbine have the highest exergy losses in the power plant (Regulagadda et.al,
2010). An exergy analysis has been carried out on Garri “2” 180 MW combined cycle power
plant. The results proved that combustion chambers are the main sources of exergy
destruction due to their high irreversibility, which is 63% from the total exergy destruction
(Abuelnuor et al., 2017). A novel system has been proposed to recover the wasted heat and
water in a steam power plant and then exergy and economic analyses are applied to the
system to study its feasibility. The results show that by using this recovery system, the total
3.3 CPEA
individually and as limitations exist in Pinch technology for systems involving heat and
power, CPEA has been conducted for solving such problems. In this method, the whole
system undergoes a comprehensive and complete analysis –including heat and work by
practical techniques and instructions (Ataei and Yoo, 2010). In CPEA, the exergy composite
curve (ECC) and the exergy grand composite curve (EGCC) are used, acquired only by
shifting the CC & GCC vertical axis from temperature to Carnot efficiency. Equations 1-5
indicate the Carnot efficiency, exergy of hot composite curve, exergy of cold composite
curve and exergy degradation in a heat exchanger. Fig. 1 shows the three types of diagrams.
The distinctive feature of the exergy base diagrams is that the area enclosed between the
curves has a thermodynamic concept and can be analyzed by exergy analysis (Arriola-
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𝑇˳
∆Ex HOT = ∆H HOT × (1- 𝑇 ) (2)
𝑇˳
∆Ex COLD = ∆H COLD × (1- 𝑇 ) (3)
𝑇˳
∆Ex H.EX = ∆H H.EX × (1- ∆𝑇 ) (4)
𝐿𝑀𝑇𝐷
∆𝑇𝐻𝑂𝑇 ‒ ∆𝑇𝐶𝑂𝐿𝐷
∆TLMTD = ∆𝑇𝐻𝑂𝑇 (5)
𝐿𝑛(∆𝑇 )
𝐶𝑂𝐿𝐷
Where:
ŋ = Carnot efficiency
Fig. 1. a) composite curves – b) exergy composite curves – c) exergy grand composite curve [30]
Therefore, regarding the aforementioned equations, the area under each exergy composite
curve indicates the exergy level of hot and cold streams. If the system is above ambient
temperature, the area under the hot curve indicates the amount of exergy released by the hot
streams, and the area under the cold curve indicates the amount of exergy delivered to the
cold streams. The area between the two curves indicates the exergy difference between hot
and cold streams of the process. This area also shows the sum of produced axial work and
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degraded exergy in HEN. Consequently, with respect to the given produced axial work, the
case with minimum enclosed area is the best case (Jabbari et al., 2013).
Sefidi and Arash (2006) have optimized the steam extraction mass flowrate in advanced
steam power plants using CPEA. Ahmadi and Toghraie (2016) have implemented the energy
and exergy analysis in Montazer Ghaem steam power plant in Iran. Sardarmehni et al. (2017)
presented a new model for benchmarking of shaft work consumption in olefin plant cold-end,
using process integration concepts. Effect of different licenses, feedstock, capacity and
In this study, a hybrid method, that is a combination of DEA and OLS method, has been
proposed for benchmarking thermal power plants. The presented model, is exactly the same
as OLS method, serves as a function, receives several inputs, and gives a number of outputs.
Like DEA method, it deals with dimensionless parameters to integrate the benchmarking of
similar power plants calculation. It also allows calculation of technical efficiencies and
allocative parameters, especially those related to energy field studies. It can also take into
account the effect of specific factors such as environmental variables. The most important
procedures, it uses the CPEA results as a reference point rather than an existing plant as the
best practice. It is evident that the best case that is calculated according to first and second
The model proposed for combined cycle power plants receives input parameters and specifies
the performance parameters of combined cycle power plant in specified condition. For
conventional steam cycle power plants, the proposed model calculates the targets of CPEA on
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these plants and without the need for routine spending of temporal and economic costs in the
process of engineering calculations. At the end, a model has been proposed for estimating NG
Thermal power plants using fossil fuel as the energy resource are classified in three types
according to the cycle of their processes: 1. gas cycle power plants, 2. combined cycle power
plants, 3. conventional steam cycle power plants. Figs. 2 and 3 show the schematics of gas
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Gas cycles usually consist of three main parts: air compressor, combustion chamber and
combustion flue gas turbine (Woudstra et al., 2010). The mechanism of gas turbines is in the
way that, first, ambient air enters air compressor so that to be compressed and pressurized. In
the second step, with injection of high pressure NG (or gasoil) mixed fluid is ignited and
combustion flue gas enters turbine to produce axial work. Outlet of turbine in open cycle is
connected to the stack in order to discharge stack flue gas to atmosphere (Fig.3). In combined
cycle power plants, outlet of turbine is connected to a Heat Recovery Steam Generator
(HRSG) until the residual heat content of flue gas is utilized for steam generation (Ziębik et
al., 2015). Steam produced in one, two or three levels (pressure) is routed to steam turbine to
generate electrical power (Hafdhi et al., 2015). Taking into account what was said above, and
comparing Figs. 3 and 4, it can be concluded that gas cycle, which only comprises of gas
turbine, is a part of combined cycle power plants. Thus, the model offered for the combined
cycle power plant covers the gas cycle power plant as well. As a result, there are two power
plants groups for benchmarking: combined cycle power plants and conventional steam cycle
power plants.
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The method for Benchmarking and modeling of each group of power plants will be explained
plant
5.1.1 Method
Environmental conditions affect greatly and directly on the function of gas turbine and
consequently steam turbine in a combined cycle power plant (Sabzchi et al., 2016). That is
why the influence of environmental factors on combined cycle function have been
investigated and a model is offered for this type of power plants, to be used as an standard to
evaluate the similar cycles. It should be noted that gas turbine manufacturers record all
For this research, three similar combined cycles with nominal power of 100, 102.3 and 123.4
MW are selected for study and simulation. Since the process data of these units have little
Having prepared data, every combined cycle unit consisting of a gas and a steam cycle, is
simulated using ASPEN HYSYS V. 7.3 simulator software according to Fig. 3. First the
simulated cycle is checked in ISO environmental condition, and the output parameters
(functional parameters) are recorded, including electric power of gas and steam turbine,
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electrical efficiency of gas turbine and the whole unit, and temperature and mass flow rate of
stack flue gas entering HRSG section. Then, each input parameter (environmental condition)
is changed considering the ISO value for other input parameters, in order to investigate the
effect of each single input parameter on the output parameters (functional parameters of
The amount of all input and output parameters are divided into their ISO condition values in
order to get the dimensionless values. Next, a regression is conducted between the
dimensionless input and output parameters. For every input parameter, this procedure is
separately applied. Having done the procedure on all three units, the regression coefficients
according to the three cases of the study are summed up, and a series of general coefficients
are proposed for any kind of regression. The amount of the R-square parameter in every level
Some nomenclatures have been defined for reporting the benchmarking model. Table 2
introduces these nomenclatures with their descriptions and Table 3 describes the symbols
added to nomenclatures.
Table 2. Nomenclature and description for benchmarking of combined cycle power plant
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Table 3. Other symbols for the nomenclatures of combined cycle power plant
The results of benchmarking model for three case studies have been presented in Table 4.
Inputs
Outputs
-9.33×(A.T ^)3
+10.851
As the extensive variables are changed into intensive variables by conducting the
dimensionless method, this model can be applicable in all similar turbines and cycles. It is
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worth mentioning here that to apply some input parameters effects simultaneously on an
output parameter, the effect of each input parameter on the output parameter is computed
separately, then the computed coefficients will be multiplied for creating an overall
coefficient for that output parameter, so that the effect of some input parameters on the output
parameters become specified through the produced dimensionless coefficient. To specify the
real amount of each output parameter, the created coefficient for that parameter must be
multiplied by ISO value of that cycle which has been reported by the manufacturer. Equation
X = X ^ × X ISO (7)
To evaluate the validity of the proposed model, operational data of another existing combined
cycle power plant has been used. Table 5 shows the environmental information of desired
power plant.
For calculating the corresponding ambient pressure related to reported altitude, the equation
(8) that is acquired from regression of geographical barometric pressure – altitude data, is
used:
Inputs calculations:
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specify the effect of each input parameter on the productive power of gas turbine. Here, the
gas turbine power has been proposed, as a sample to show the process of computation and it
has no primacy to the other parameters. In the last step, the generated coefficients are
multiplied in each other, so that the effect of all input parameters cloud be observed at the
same time. Then, this overall dimensionless coefficient of gas turbine power is multiplied by
the nominal ISO power reported by the manufacturer, in order to get the real gas turbine
power at that site condition. Equations (14–19) show the calculation steps of GT output. The
GT = 0.5196×123,200=64,010 kW (19)
Table 6 shows the results of the model prediction, the manufacture report for desired
Table 6. Comparison of the benchmark model and the real data results
Parameters GT (kW) GT. EF (%) E.T (K) E.M (kg/s) S.T (kW) PL. EF (%)
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It is necessary to mention that the model proposed for combined cycle power plants can have
two applications:
5.2.1 Method
As mentioned before, the process efficiency of conventional steam cycle power plants can be
enhanced by some changes in HEN. In this study, the retrofit targeting on these units are
As shown in Fig. 4, steam cycle usually comprises of three high-pressure, mid-pressure, and
low-pressure steam turbines. The bleeds taken from the turbines are used for pre-heating of
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the working fluid in pre-heater HEN. The pressure levels of these bleeds affect the amount of
exergy degradation in pre-heater HEN. Therefore, there is an optimal amount for every bleed
pressure, so that the exergy degradation is minimized in this network and also to produce a
specified amount of power, the minimum fuel will be used (Chang, 2010). Also, from Pinch
technology point of view, the mass flow rates of the bleeds could be selected in a way that the
cycle's hot and cold composite curves have a MTD in each steps of condensation on the
composite curves. Fig. 5 shows schematically the relative position of hot and cold composite
curves(Smith, 2005).
To compute the new values of bleeds' mass flow rates, the relative mass flow rate of stream
input to the condenser is assumed as 1. Then, the mass flow rate coefficients of all the bleeds
are calculated through the equation (20) until hot and cold composite curves have the same
MTD in each step of condensation on the composite curves (Fig 5). If the mass flow rates
coefficient of bleed i is demonstrated by mi, for applying the MTD in each condensation step,
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the relation shown in equation 20 between mass flow rates of bleeds must satisfy (Ataei and
Yoo, 2010):
× (𝑇𝑐𝑝
𝑖 ‒ 𝑇𝑖 + 1) = 𝑚𝑖 × 𝜆𝑖 + 𝑗 𝑚𝑗 × 𝑐𝑝𝑗 × (𝑇 𝑖 ‒ 𝑇𝑖 + 1)
𝑐𝑝 𝑛 ℎ𝑝 ℎ𝑝
𝑚𝑓. 𝑤 × 𝑐𝑝𝑓. 𝑤
∑ (20)
Where:
𝑇ℎ𝑝
𝑖 : hot temperature of the Pinch i
𝑇𝑐𝑝
𝑖 : cold temperature of the Pinch i
𝑇ℎ𝑝 𝑐𝑝
𝑖 ‒ 𝑇 𝑖 = 𝛥𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛(𝑀𝑇𝐷) (21)
steam cycle power plants with nominal power of 277, 305.7 and 354 MW are simulated.
Then pressure levels of bleeds are altered in allowable ranges (advised by the manufacturer),
so that the sum of exergy degradation terms in preheater exchangers gets minimized based on
equations (4-5). Table 7 shows the existing and optimized pressure levels in cycle.
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Table 7. Existing and optimized pressure levels in power plant with nominal power of 305.7 MW
Stream description Existing pressure value (bar) Optimized pressure value (bar)
Bleeds’ mass flow rates are recalculated to apply equation 18 between bleeds’ mass flow
rates. Table 8 shows the existing and optimized mass flow rates in this cycle.
Table 8. Existing and optimized mass flow rates in power plant with nominal power of 305.7 MW
Stream description Existing mass flow rate (kg/h) Optimized mass flow rate (kg/h)
The cycle with new optimized pressure levels and bleeds’ mass flow rates is redesigned to
produce the previous specified power. The cycle stream data are extracted for a range
targeting of energy and area, using PILOT software (Panjeshahi and Fallahi, 2014). Table 9
indicates the results for the case with nominal power of 305.7 MW in MTD ranges.
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Table 9. Results of retrofit targeting with nominal power of 305.7 MW in MTD ranges
concept so that the results of benchmarking are applicable in similar conventional steam
cycle power plants. The existing condition, this time, is selected as the base case, and the
ratio of the targeting results are calculated in relation to the existing condition. In this case,
the input variable in modeling is selected only the MTD. Necessary regressions to calculate
the relationships between all calculated dimensionless output parameters with MTD are
conducted. The linear regression is exerted to all parameters, while logarithmic regression is
Some nomenclatures have been defined for reporting the benchmarking model. Table 10
introduces these nomenclatures with their descriptions and Table 11 describes the symbols
added to nomenclatures.
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Table 10. Nomenclatures and their descriptions for benchmarking of conventional steam cycle power plants
Table 11. Other symbols to the nomenclatures of conventional steam cycle power plants
The calculation results for the case with nominal power of 305.7 MW are shown in Table
12. In this step, the accuracy of regressions' results is approved by the high amount of R-
Table 12. Dimensionless results of retrofit targeting for the case with nominal power of 305.7 MW
Base 1 1 1 1 1
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Next, all the mentioned procedures are conducted in the three power plants, the
correspondent regression coefficients are summed up, and general regression coefficients are
specified for all output parameters and MTD. The results of benchmarking model for
conventional steam cycle power plants are indicated in Table 13. To use the model for a
desired unit, first a MTD is assumed, then all the output parameters are specified by means of
Table 13. Benchmarking model results for retrofit targeting of conventional steam cycle power plants
Parameters Relationships
These output parameters specify the condition of area, efficiency, and energy demand at the
desired MTD after exerting the changes according to the CPEA in comparison with the
existing condition. This can be done in several different MTDs, and the results of investment
and the payback period have been calculated. In this condition, the client is able to pick out
an option based on condition. Another power plant is exercised as a case study on which all
the simulating levels and targeting have been exerted in order to evaluate the accuracy of the
model. Table 14 shows the results of the model as well as targeting results and error extent of
the model for each parameter at selected MTD of 8 ºC. The extent of error for model is less
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Table 14. Comparison between the results of benchmarking model and retrofit targeting
It is difficult to compare the environmental performance between oil and gas industries owing
environmental performance index has been proposed showing nine environmental indicators
by a single index (Frank et al., 2016). A carbon oxidation factor regression model for Chinese
coal-fired power plants has been presented using 240 sets of operating data (Wu et al., 2017).
6.1 Method
As the energy resource of the mentioned case study plants is NG, it is necessary to propose a
model to state the relationship between energy and heating value and CO2 emission of NG.
To prepare this model, a simple stoichiometric combustion process has been simulated for
calculation of the Low Heating Value (LHV) and CO2 emission of an existing composition of
NG. After the simulating of this process, about 6400 different molar compositions of NG
have been examined and the mentioned parameters have been recorded. Next, some
regressions have been implemented to create a model that receives the molar composition of
NG as input and gives the LHV and CO2 emission of that composition in several different
As mentioned in the method section, a statistical benchmarking model has been proposed for
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Coefficients
C0 C1 C2 C3 C4+ CO2 N2
Outputs
mole)
Specific CO2
emission
13.86 -0.12 -0.10 -0.084 -0.066 -0.12 -0.139
(kg CO2/Nm3
NG)
Specific CO2
(kg CO2/kJ)
Specific CO2
-1.523 -1.16 -7.78 -3.9 3.74 -1.47
emission 3.500e-01
e-03 e-03 e-04 e-04 e-04 e-03
(kg CO2/kWh)
For calculation of each output parameter shown in Table 15, molar composition (percent) of
each component part of NG is multiplied by its coefficient reported in the model and then
summed to create the value of that output parameter. C0 is a constant coefficient and C1, C2,
C3, C4+, CO2 and N2 are the coefficients of the methane, ethane, propane, butane and heavier
hydrocarbons content, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Table 16 shows molar composition of a
sample NG pipeline.
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This sample of NG has been used as a case study to evaluate and validate the NG model.
First, the LHV and CO2 emission of this sample is examined by GT Pro, commercial
software to estimate physical and chemical properties for different types of fuels. Then, these
parameters are predicted by the proposed model. Table 17 shows the comparison between
As the Table 17 indicates, the proposed model can estimate NG LHV and CO2 emission with
high accuracy. Having targeted the amount of energy consumption (NG) in combined cycle
power plants or energy reduction of conventional steam cycle power plants through
implementing the retrofit project, the corresponding NG quantity can be calculated. Next, the
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7 Conclusion
The first step to keep the continuous development in a plant is to evaluate the existing
condition and make the short-term and long-term targeting. It is necessary to have a tool to
evaluate the condition without spending regular time and costs, and measure the possibility of
different plans and their costs for meeting the target. To do so, bringing together the
model presented for the combined cycle power plants, provides a standard for the functional
parameters of the unit (the extent of produced power of gas and steam turbines, the efficiency
of gas turbine and the whole unit, and the temperature and mass flow rate of stack flue gas
entering HRSG section) using the environmental variables (temperature, pressure and relative
humidity of the ambient air and relative power extent in part load condition). The model can
predict the performance parameters of a combined cycle power plant for a desired site before
Another model is presented for the conventional steam cycle power plants allowing the
prediction of the results of energy retrofit projects on these power plants based on CPEA.
This means that, the relationship between MTD in retrofit projects and the enhanced
efficiency, heat transfer area increment, and energy consumption decline is specified. Thus,
the model enables engineers to target energy savings in similar retrofit projects without
carrying out a huge number of calculations, which saves both engineering time and costs.
A mathematical model is also proposed for estimating the NG heating value and CO2
emission based on the composition of NG. Having targeted the amount of energy
steam cycle power plants, the NG model can be estimated the amount of CO2 emission.
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As all parameters used in these models are dimensionless, consequently the results are
applicable in other similar power plants. In addition, all models have been validated by real
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to express their gratitude for financial support from Iran National
Nomenclature
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List of Figures:
Fig. 1. a) Composite curves – b) exergy composite curves – c) exergy grand composite curve [29]
List of Tables:
Table 2. Nomenclature and description for benchmarking of combined cycle power plant
Table 3. Other symbols for the nomenclatures of combined cycle power plant
Table 6. Comparison of the benchmark model and the real data results
Table 7. Existing and optimized pressure levels in power plant with nominal power of 305.7MW
Table 8. Existing and optimized mass flow rates in power plant with nominal power of 305.7MW
Table 9. Results of retrofit targeting with nominal power of 305.7 MW in MTD ranges
Table 10. Nomenclatures and their descriptions for benchmarking of conventional steam cycle power plants
Table 11. Added symbols to the nomenclatures of conventional steam cycle power plants
Table 12. Dimensionless results of retrofit targeting for the case with nominal power of 305.7MW
Table 13. Benchmarking model results for retrofit targeting of conventional steam cycle power plants
Table 14. Comparison between the results of benchmarking model and retrofit targeting
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