What is Combined Cycle Power Plant? – Complete Explanation

So, are you searching for the Combined Cycle Power Plant's most full and flawless data? Then you just landed on the most suitable article. Because we will know in detail about the mixed cycle energy facility in this paper. So, you're enthusiastic about learning and growing? Let's start with it.

Introduction:

The combined power plant of the cycle is used for electricity generation. It's also called the Combined Power Gas Turbine most of the time. It's shortened as the CCPP as well. The main aim of using the Combined Cycle Power Plant is to generate more greater performance electricity. This factory generates 50% more electricity than the non-renewable power sources, according to the accounts.

Working Principle:

Now let's speak about the Combined Cycle Gas Turbine's operating theory. As it uses both gas and steam turbine for energy manufacturing, its operating concept in the first quarter is the same as that of the single-cycle power plant. Thus, energy is generated with the assistance of the gas turbine in the first quarter. Now, the waste of the first method implies that in the second quarter, the waste in the form of heat is used in the steam turbine to generate the extra electricity. The function of the second part of the Heat Recovery Steam Generator is essential.

Main Parts:

The primary components of this combined cycle power plant are compressor, combustor, generator, alternator (batteries), condenser, boiler feed pump and HRSG.

Lets discuss the role of each part in detail

1. Compressor: Compresses gases at elevated temperatures so that high-density oxygen is accessible in the combustion room for effective fuel burning. Oxygen helps to burn anything, as we all understand.

2. Combustor: It is a gas turbine region where the entire fuel is combusted. It is also called a chamber of combustion. It gets the compressor's elevated pressure air to burn the petrol.

3. Turbine: The most significant aspect is that it has spinning propellers. The burnt gas from the combustion chamber hits the turbine's blades and it begins spinning and generates electricity combined to its rotor with the assistance of the generator.

4. Alternator or Generator: It is an electric generator combined with the turbine shaft and transforms the turbine's mechanical energy (alternating current) into electricity. The energy generated here is A.C. And therefore these kinds of generators of electricity are called alternators.

5. Condenser: The warm exhaust vapor is condensed to water. 

6. Boiler Feed Pump: It is a sort of centrifugal pump used for the steam generation method to supply the boiler with water.

7. Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG): It is used in the combined cycle power plant to recover thermal from the gas turbine's warm fluids to generate steam for the steam turbine. Since it produces steam from the heat recovered from the gas turbine's warm fluids, it is called HRSG.

Working:

Now, we'd concentrate on the most significant portion of this paper that's nothing but the combined cycle power plant operation. See the points below to see exactly how it works:

1) Burning the petrol inside the gas turbine: the gas turbine initially compresses the atmosphere and mixes the water, which in turn heats up to exceptionally elevated temperatures and burns the petrol. Then the cooked warm gasses pass through the gas turbine blades, which begin to rotate. The gas turbine rotating propellers then operates a generator that transforms the rotational energy into electrical energy.

2) Use of exhaust heat: the exhaust heat generated by the gas turbine is used by the steam generator for heat recovery. The generator of heat recovery steam utilizes heat to transform water into steam that passes into the steam turbine.

3) Steam turbine generation of supplementary electricity: steam turbine transforms high-speed steam energy into mechanical energy (Blades steam turbine rotation). Also a generator is combined with the steam turbine, which transforms the turbine's mechanical energy into electricity. The exhaust vapor from the wind engine is transferred to the air condenser. And then this water is transmitted to the boiler again for heat generation with the assistance of the feed water pump.

Advantages:

Low Capital: Then, if you regard the carbon factory and the mixed cycle plant, you need half of the cash needed to build a mixed cycle facility.

Less emissions: The CCPP emits less than the traditional power plant, and it also cleanerly produces natural gas. It is therefore quite environmentally friendly, and to a very tiny degree it impacts the atmosphere.

Brilliant effectiveness: the combined cycle power plant, as earlier mentioned, is more effective than traditional power plant and techniques of generating energy. It generates electricity with an effectiveness of over 50 percent compared to standard energy.

Disadvantages:

Then, if you speak about the disadvantages, the combined cycle power plant has some disadvantages. Some of them follow:

• It's quite complicated to build this power plant. That implies it needs to be correctly built and tested. The whole region around these power plants can be ruined by a single error.
• High maintenance costs: another difficult aspect is maintaining such complex systems. Every portion should be cared for routinely.
• It utilizes biogas and natural gas. It can therefore be built in locations where these gases are present. It's an area-bound power plant, therefore.

Applications:

The combined cycle power plant is used in more than 4000 apps, for example in sector, hospitals, different organizations, etc. It was used primarily in clinics and in ethanol, glass, pulp and paper production. The CCPP is used by many refineries, sawmills and plastics sectors.