Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

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Applied Thermal Engineering

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Cold-end integration of thermal system in a 1000 MW ultra-supercritical

double reheat power plant
Xiaolong Lin, Huchao Song, Lukai Wang, Yifan Guo, Yinhe Liu *
State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: More attention has been paid to the ultra-supercritical double reheat power plant due to its high thermal effi­
Flue gas heat recovery ciency. Excessive exergy loss from the low-grade heat recovery process of flue gas, and the high superheat degree
Superheat utilization of extraction steam, especially under partial load conditions, hinder the further improvement of its thermal
Partial load conditions
efficiency. In this paper, a novel double reheat power plant integrating the process heat between the flue gas at
Efficiency improvement
Techno-economic analysis
the boiler cold-end and regenerative system is proposed to reduce the exergy loss in the waste heat recovery
process of flue gas and fully utilize the extraction steam superheat degree under various load conditions. The
thermodynamic and techno-economic analyses are performed for the case and novel units. The results reveal the
following: The power supply efficiency of the proposed system improves by 0.81% points compared with the
conventional unit under turbine heat acceptance load, which is a clear improvement from findings of previous
studies. Moreover, the proposed system also exhibits a better thermodynamic performance under partial load
conditions. The break-even point of the proposed system is 5.28 years and the net present value is 10.98 M$.
Overall, the novel design is feasible and profitable.

the condensate preheating process. In fact, the thermal efficiency of the

unit can be improved by utilizing the superheat heat of extraction steam
1. Introduction reasonably. At present, the outer steam cooler (OSC) has been widely
adopted to utilize the superheat heat of first stage extraction steam after
Facing the issues of energy crisis and environmental pollution, the reheating. The study of Zhou et al. [7] indicated that the thermal effi­
importance of energy conversion and emissions reduction is increasingly ciency of double reheat with OSC thermal system was 0.3% points
prominent [1]. According to BP’s Energy Outlook, although the pro­ higher than the conventional double reheat without OSC thermal sys­
portion of renewable energy power generation has increased gradually tem. DONG Energy [8] proposed a novel superheat utilization system
in the past several years, coal is still the important source of electricity (named regenerative turbine system). In this proposed system, the par­
for Asia in 2040 [2]. Therefore, improving the energy efficiency of the tial exhaust gas of the high-pressure cylinder without entering the
coal-fired power plant is of great significance to achieve the goal of reheater flows directly into the regenerative turbine to replace the in­
energy conversion and emissions reduction. termediate pressure cylinder extraction steam. Because the extraction
Enhancing steam parameters with coal-fired power plants can steam from the regenerative turbine is not reheated, the superheat de­
greatly increase energy efficiency. Cengel et al. [3] pointed out that the gree of steam entering the regenerative heaters is greatly reduced.
thermal efficiency of units could improve by about 3.9% points as the Ploumen et al. [9] evaluated the thermodynamic performance of the
temperature of main steam increased from 350 ◦ C to 600 ◦ C. Currently, single reheat power plant with the regenerative turbine, the thermo­
many countries had carried out the study of the efficient ultra- dynamic analysis results showed that the thermal efficiency increased by
supercritical unit with the main steam temperature of 700 ◦ C, such as 0.4 percentage points with respect to that of the conventional single
the European Union [4], Japan [5], and the USA [6]. However, the su­ reheat power plant. Xu et al. [10] performed a comprehensive com­
perheat degree of extraction steam increases correspondingly with the parison of the OSC system with the regenerative turbine configuration
improvement of main steam parameters. Higher superheat degree will for the double reheat power plant under four typical operation condi­
result in a large heat transfer temperature difference between the tions. Their study results indicated the power generation efficiency of
extraction steam and condensate, and thus the exergy loss increases in

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: yinheliu@[Link] (Y. Liu).

[Link]
Received 18 December 2020; Received in revised form 27 March 2021; Accepted 13 April 2021
Available online 3 May 2021
1359-4311/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

Nomenclature Pr Prandtl number

Q Heat duty, MW
Abbreviations q caloric value, kJ/kg
BPF-T boiler feedwater pump turbine R Thermal resistance, (m2⋅◦ C)/W
DEA deaerator Re Reynolds number
FGCP flue gas-condensate preheater S entropy, kJ/kg
G generator T temperature, K
IPT intermediate-pressure turbine t temperature, ◦ C
LHV lower heating value Δt Logarithmic heat transfer temperature difference, ◦ C
LPT Low-pressure turbine w velocity, m/s
LTE low-temperature economizer y operation year, year
OSC outer steam cooler η power supply efficiency, %
RAH regenerative air heater σ utilization factor
RH regenerative heater π factor
SAH steam–air heater x area share
SB steam bleeding α convective heat transfer coefficient, W/(m⋅K)
THA turbine heat acceptance λ Thermal conductivity, W/(m2⋅◦ C)
VHPT very high-pressure turbine γ benchmark yield, %
ν kinematic viscosity, m2/s
Symbols ξ effectiveness coefficient, %
A heating surface area, m2 μ influence coefficient of fin thickness variation, %
B coal consumption, kg/s ε fouling layer thermal resistance, (m2⋅◦ C)/W
b coal consumption rate, g/(kW⋅h)
C correction efficient Subscripts
CC annual coal cost-saving, M$/a a air
CI cash inflow, M$ au auxiliary
CO cash outflow, M$ ar as received basis
CP heat capacity flow rate, kW/◦ C b wall
CT total investment, M$ c cold working fluid
c specific heat capacity, kJ/(kg⋅◦ C) d convective
d equivalent diameter, m E exergy
E exergy, MW f flue gas
EI equipment investment, M$ g generation
H surface area, m2 H heating
h specific enthalpy, kJ/kg h hot working fluid
i annual compound rate, % i inlet
K overall heat transfer coefficient, W/(m2⋅◦ C) l length
M operation and maintenance cost, M$/a o out
m mass flow rate, kg/s s standard
n power plant lifespan, year t temperature
P power, MW 0 environmental state

regenerative turbine system was 0.51% points higher than that of OSC preheated to design hot air temperature in two stages air preheater,
scheme under full load condition. Further, Yang et al. [11] investigated namely high-temperature and low-temperature air preheaters. Mean­
the energy-saving effect of regenerative turbine system for 700 ◦ C ultra- while, LTE was arranged between these two air preheaters to preheat the
supercritical double reheater units, and simulation results showed that condensate. In this configuration, more high-stage extraction steam was
the power generation efficiency was 1.44% points higher than the saved and consequently, the thermal efficiency was further improved.
reference plant. Besides, their team further put forward another waste heat recovery
In addition to the above measures to improve the thermal efficiency system (named air segment heating system) with the arrangement of
of the power plant, the waste heat recovery from boiler exhaust flue gas three stages air preheaters to improve thermal efficiency [15]. Steva­
is also regarded as an effective method [12]. Currently, the low- novic et al. [16] designed a bypass flue thermal system, in which two-
temperature economizer (LTE) thermal system is widely used for the stage economizers were arranged in parallel with the air preheater,
waste heat recovery of the boiler, in which the waste heat of the exhaust and a front air preheater was set downstream of the air preheater to
flue gas is integrated with the steam cycle to preheat condensate and decrease the exhaust gas temperature to 90 ◦ C. This configuration
thus more low-pressure extraction steam is squeezed out and return to caused a 0.53% points increase in thermal efficiency. Ma et al. [17]
the turbine, and the power output is increased. Xu et al. [13] evaluated compared the thermodynamic performance of the bypass flue system
the energy-saving potential of the LTE thermal system, in which the LTE and air segment heating system for a 600 MW coal-fired power plant.
was set before wet flue gas desulfurization scrubber. Their study showed The results indicated the standard coal consumption rate saved by 0.8 g/
that the overall power plant efficiency improved by about 0.7% points (kW⋅h) with respect to the air segment heating system. Further, ALSTOM
with the reduction of exhaust flue gas temperature from 125 ◦ C to 85 ◦ C. [18] proposed several different bypass flue configurations according to
However, since only the low-pressure extraction steam was saved, the the different condensate extraction positions. The basic idea for these
energy-saving effect was minor in the LTE thermal system. Further, Xu configurations is to match effectively the temperature of the flue gas, air,
et al. [14] proposed a novel boiler cold-end design, in which the air was and condensate to achieve the principle of energy cascade utilization.

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

The process integration, extraction steam heat for air preheating, has steam superheat for the double reheat power plant under various load
been proven to be an effective technical route to improve the thermal conditions. Given this reason, a novel 1000 MW ultra-supercritical
efficiency of units. Han et al. [19] mentioned a bypass flue integrated double reheat power plant was proposed by integrating the process
with a steam–air heater thermal system. They arranged a steam–air heat between the boiler cold-end and regenerative system. In the pro­
heater between the air preheater and front air preheater, and the posed thermal system, the flue gas heat from the boiler cold-end was
extraction steam from the sixth stage regenerative heater was selected as recovered by the condensate. The heat of the air preheated to design hot-
the hot source. The simulation results showed that the standard coal air temperature was entirely fulfilled by the extraction steam. Thermo­
consumption rate can be further reduced by 1.25 g/(kW⋅h) with respect dynamic and techno-economic analysis was carried out to evaluate the
to the bypass flue thermal system. Lin et al. [20] proposed a novel boiler thermodynamic and economic performance of the novel power plant,
cold-end configuration. In this configuration, the front air-preheater was and thermodynamic analysis under partial load conditions was per­
replaced by the three-stage steam–air heater, and the three stages low- formed. The proposed system may provide guidance and suggestions for
pressure extraction steam were introduced as the heat source. the design of efficient and economical double reheat power plant.
Compared with the system proposed by Han et al. [19], the thermal
efficiency was further improved by 0.15%. Further, Liu et al. [21,22] 2. Reference power plant
proposed a novel modified power plant, and the extraction steam was
used to preheat air, and the waste heat of flue gas was recovered by the A 1000 MW ultra-supercritical double reheat coal-fired power plant
condensate. The proposed configuration integrated the heat between the in China is taken as the reference unit. The system diagram of the
boiler cold-end and the regenerative system achieved the efficient uti­ reference unit is shown in Fig. 1. The regenerative system adopts ten-
lization of flue gas waste heat and steam superheat and thus resulted in stage regenerative heater (RH) including 4-stage high-pressure RH1-
1.27% points increase in the energy efficiency. Besides, Li et al. [23,24] RH4, 5-stage low-pressure RH6-RH10, and a deaerator (RH5). After
evaluated the thermodynamic performance of the modified system multi-stage preheating in these RHs, the feedwater is divided into two
mentioned by Liu et al. [21] for 300 MW single reheat subcritical power streams and then flows into the OSC1 and OSC2. Then the feedwater
plant and 600 MW single supercritical coal-fired power plant, respec­ from the OSC exit is further heated in the heating surface of the boiler.
tively. The results indicated the energy efficiency had a significant After heating the feedwater in the economizer, the flue gas is sent to
improvement. regenerative air heater (RAH) arranged at the boiler tail flue to preheat
In recent years, developing the high parameters power plant with cold air from 25 ◦ C to 337 ◦ C. In this paper, the turbine heat acceptance
double reheat technology has become a trend [25]. However, compared (THA) condition is selected as the design condition. Under this condi­
with the single reheat unit, the thermal system of the ultra-supercritical tion, the main steam parameters are 32 MPa, 600 ◦ C, and 2522.9 t/h,
double reheat unit is more complex and the superheat degree of respectively, and the temperature and pressure of primary and second­
extraction steam is higher [26]. Furthermore, units often operate under ary reheat steam, and the condenser backpressure are kept at 620 ◦ C,
low load conditions for a long time due to peak regulation. And the 9.73 MPa, 620 ◦ C, 3.09 MPa, and 0.003 MPa, respectively. Table 1
superheat degree of extraction steam increases with the load reduction shows the composition of coal.
under the mode of sliding pressure operation. Although the regenerative
turbine system proposed by literature [8] can achieve the efficient uti­
lization of steam superheat degree, the problem of large exergy loss in
the flue gas heat recovery process is not solved. Currently, no studies
focused on the comprehensive utilization of flue gas waste heat and

Fig. 1. Flow diagram of reference double reheat power plant.

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

Table 1 are as follows:

Composition of coal.
Ultimate analysis/%wt Proximate analysis/ Lower heating (1) Flue gas-condensate preheater (FGCP) is arranged at the boiler
%wt value (LHV)/ tail flue to replace the RAH. And the condensate from the
kJ‧kg− 1 regenerative system is preheated by the flue gas from the econ­
Car Har Oar Nar Sar Aar Mar Vdaf
omizer exit. A bypass is added at the condensate inlet of the RH7-
55.31 3.16 10.44 0.99 0.49 19.61 10 37.5 20,970
RH9, and a valve is provided on the bypass to facilitate adjusting
* ar: as received basis; daf: dry ash-free basis; C: carbon; H: hydrogen; O: oxygen; the mass flow rate and temperature of condensate entering the
N: nitrogen; S: sulfur; A: ash; M: moisture; V: volatile. FGCP under various load conditions.
(2) 10 stages steam–air heaters (SAH) are set in series with the cor­
3. Novel 1000 MW double reheat power plant responding regenerative heater. The air is heated by extraction
steam to the hot air temperature in multi-stage SAH.
3.1. Description of heat capacity flow rate
4. Methodology
The heat duty of the heat exchanger (Q) neglecting the heat loss is
defined by the following equations [25]: 4.1. System simulation and main assumptions
Qh = mh ⋅ch (th,i − th,o ) = CPh ⋅(th,i − th,o ) (1)
To evaluate the thermodynamic performance of the novel system,
Qc = mc ⋅cc (tc,o − tc,i ) = CPc ⋅(tc,o − tc,i ) (2) the Ebsilon software is introduced, which is widely used for thermody­
namic cycle simulation and optimization [27]. The software strictly
It can be known from Eqs. (1) and (2) that there is inevitably a large follows the mass and energy balance and it has been applied in many
temperature difference between the heat transfer process of the cold and researches [28,29]. In this paper, the reference system model is built
the hot fluids due to the significant difference in the heat capacity flow based on the heat balance diagram, and the THA load condition is
rate. Even if a small temperature difference between the hot and cold selected as the design condition. When building the models of the
fluids is maintained at one side of the heat exchanger, the temperature reference and novel systems, the relevant assumptions are as follows:
difference gradually increases with the heat transfer process proceeding,
resulting in a large exergy loss. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the (1) The constant isentropic efficiencies of HPT, IPT, and LPT are 0.9,
heat transfer temperature difference and improve the heat exchange 0.93, and 0.89, respectively;
efficiency via the reasonable matching of the heat capacity flow rate. (2) The pipelines pressure drops of high-pressure and low-pressure
extraction steam are 3% and 5%, respectively;
3.2. Novel double reheat power plant (3) The first reheater and pipelines pressure drop is 6.4%;
(4) The second reheater and pipelines pressure drop is 10.0%;
Fig. 2 gives the main flow diagram of the novel power plant. (5) The mechanical efficiency of the turbine is 0.99, and the electric
Compared with the reference unit shown in Fig. 1. The main differences generator efficiency is 0.985;

Fig. 2. Flow diagram of the novel double reheat power plant.

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

(6) The isentropic and mechanical efficiencies of the pump are 0.85
and 0.99, respectively. 4.3. Exergy evaluation method

Under these assumptions, some principles should be followed for the Exergy analysis based on the second law of thermodynamics can
reference and novel system: precisely point out the utilization degree of a component, which has
been widely recommended as an effective tool to evaluate system per­
(1) For the modified system, there are few changes in coal con­ formance [20]. For a steady flow process, the physical exergy of the
sumption, hot air temperature, and feedwater temperature. This matter stream is calculated as follows:
leads to a slight variation of flue gas temperature at the econo­
Ex = ms (h − h0 ) − T0 (S − S0 ) (6)
mizer exit. To simplify the calculation, the flue gas temperature at
the outlet of the economizer for the modified unit is the same as Fig. 3 shows the exergy analysis model of the heat exchanger. The
that of the reference unit under the same load condition [20]. exergy balance equation is expressed as follows:
(2) In this paper, the thermal calculation is based on the fixed flow
Ehot,in + Ecold,in = Ehot,out + Ecold,out + Eloss (7)
rate calculation. Therefore, the mass flow rate, pressure, and
temperature of the main steam for the modified system are The exergy efficiency is calculated by the following equation:
consistent with the reference system. And the pressure and tem­
Ecold,out − Ecold,in Eloss
perature of reheated steam, condenser backpressure, and the ηE = = 1− (8)
Ehot,in − Ehot,out Ehot,in − Ehot,out
turbine relative internal efficiency are all selected as same as the
reference unit.
(3) The heat loss of unburned char, radiant heat loss, and miscellanea 4.4. Heating surface area calculation method
heat loss for novel power plants may have slight variations with
respect to reference one due to the difference of coal consumption To calculate the heating surface area of the heat exchanger, the
and hot air temperature. However, these parameters have little classical heat transfer equation is used. And the heating surface area (A)
influence on the calculation of coal consumption. Thus, these is calculated by the following equation:
parameters for the modified power plant are the same as those of
Q
the reference one under the same load condition. And the boiler A= (9)
K⋅Δt
efficiency (LHV basis) is calculated according to the Soviet
Standard of Boiler Thermal Calculation [30]. In this paper, waveform heat storage is adopted for RAH, and the
(4) The auxiliary power ratio of the reference unit is selected to be plate thickness, equivalent diameter, and heat storage area per unit
5%. And the auxiliary power consists of power consumption of volume are 0.5 mm, 9.32 mm, and 396 m2/m3, respectively. The overall
boiler cold-end, condensate, and high-pressure condensate pump heat transfer coefficient of RAH is as follows [31]:
power consumption and other power consumption, in which the σπ
fan power consumption caused by the flow resistance of flue gas K= 1
(10)
xf ⋅αd,f
+ xa ⋅1αd,a
and air in the RAH and FPCC is defined as the power consumption
of boiler cold-end. Since the equipment of the boiler cold-end and where σ is the utilization factor (σ = 0.9), π is the factor reflecting the
regenerative system is redesigned and arranged, only the influ­ non-stable heat exchange (π = 1).
ence of the power consumption of fan at boiler cold-end, The convective heat transfer coefficient of flue gas and air in the RAH
condensate pump, and high-pressure condensate pump on the is expressed by the following equation:
auxiliary power consumption is considered.
(5) Considering the economy of the heating surface, the heat transfer λ
αd = 0.023 Re0.8 Pr0.4 Ct Cl CH (11)
temperature difference of flue gas and condensate is controlled at d
20 ◦ C, and the temperature difference of pinch point for SAHs is
where Ct, Cl, and CH are the correction coefficient of temperature,
chosen as 20 ◦ C.
relative length, and single-sided heating of annular channel (For flue
gas, Ct = 1.6, Cl = 1.01, CH = 1.06; For air, Ct = 1.6, Cl = 1.01, CH =
4.2. Thermodynamic evaluation indicators
1.01), respectively. The values of Cl and CH can be obtained from the
( )n
To evaluate the thermodynamic performance of the reference power corresponding nomogram. Ct is calculated by Ct = TTw , T denotes the
plant and the novel one, the power supply efficiency (ηnet) is selected as
fluid temperature, K, Tw is the temperature of the tube wall, K, and when
one of the thermodynamic evaluation indicators, which is the ratio of
fluid is heated or cooled, n = 0.5 or 0.
the power supply (Pnet) and heat input from the coal combustion, as
According to the Soviet Standard of Boiler Thermal Calculation [30],
expressed in Eq. (3). The power supply is expressed as the difference
between the power generation (Pg) and the auxiliary power consump­
tion (Pau).
Pg − Pau
ηnet = (3)
B⋅LHV
The auxiliary power consumption (Pau) described in Section 4.1 is
calculated as follows:
Pau = Pfan,cold - end + Ppump + Pothers (4)

Another thermodynamic evaluation indicator is the power supply

standard coal consumption rate (bs), which is expressed by the following
equation:
3600B qnet,ar
bs = ⋅ (5)
Pnet qsnet,ar
Fig. 3. Exergy analysis model of heat exchanger.

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

the overall heat transfer coefficient can be calculated by the next feasibility study of the power station system [28]. The break-even point
equation: is defined as the moment when the gains compensate for the investment
costs. The break-even point can be calculated as follows:
1
K= (12)
1
+ R + R 1
th2 + Rth3 + αd,c i i(1 + i)τ
(17)
αd,h th1
CCc + τ − M− ⋅EI = 0
(1 + i) − 1 (1 + i)τ − 1
where Rth1, Rth2, and Rth3 denote the thermal-conduction resistance of
The net present value is selected as the economic indicator to reveal
tube wall, fouling thermal resistance of flue gas or air, and fouling
the economic performance of the novel system. The net present value
thermal resistance of condensate or steam, respectively, (m2⋅◦ C)/W.
NPV is defined as:
Table 2 gives the types and parameters of the heating surface for
FGCP and SAHs. Under the conditions of FGCP and SAH, the thermal ∑
n
NPV = (CI − CO)y /(1 + γ)y − CT (18)
resistance of the condensate side in FGCP and steam side in SAH can be
y=1
neglected when calculating the overall heat transfer coefficient, and
because the thermal-conduction resistance of the tube wall is obviously
5. Results and discussion
less than the thermal resistance of air or flue gas side, it also can is
ignored [21,30]. In addition, FGCP adopts the membrane convective
5.1. Thermodynamic analysis
heating surface. The circular finned tube is used for SAH. Therefore, the
overall heat transfer coefficient of FGCP or SAH equals the converted
5.1.1. Heat recovery process of flue gas
heat transfer coefficient of the flue gas or air, which is shown in the
Figs. 4 and 5 show the temperature-enthalpy diagrams of RAH and
following equation [20]:
FGCP, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters of RAH and FGCP
K = αzs (13) are given in Table 3. It can be seen from Fig. 4 that the heat transfer
temperature difference gradually increases with the heat transfer pro­
The converted heat transfer coefficient αzs can be obtained by the
cess proceeding due to a big difference in heat capacity flow rate of the
following equation:
air and flue gas. In detail, the heat capacity flow rate of air is 0.77 MW/
[ ]
H H ψ lb αd ◦
C while that of flue gas is 0.97 MW/◦ C, and the ratio is 0.79. As depicted
αzs = lb ξμ + g (14)
H H 1 + εψ lb αd in Fig. 4 and Table 3, the released heat of the flue gas from 373 ◦ C to
122 ◦ C is 242.5 MW in RAH. Accordingly, the air is heated from 25 ◦ C to
where Hlb/H is the ratio of the finned surface area and total surface area 337 ◦ C. Although the hot-end temperature difference between the flue
at the flue gas side, Hg/H is the ratio of the remaining part surface area gas and air is only 36 ◦ C, the cold-end temperature difference is 97 ◦ C
(except for the finned surface area) and total surface area at the flue gas and thus the logarithmic heat transfer temperature difference is as high
side ψ lb means the influence coefficient considering the inhomogeneity as 61.64 ◦ C, which will result in a large exergy loss during the air pre­
of exothermic flue gas on the surface of the fin. heating process, and the more details are presented in Section 5.2. In
For the membrane heating surface with a staggered arrangement of addition, it can be seen from Table 3 that the released heat of flue gas
finned tubes, the convective heat transfer coefficient αd is calculated as from 373 ◦ C to 90 ◦ C is 265.5 MW, and the condensate is heated from
follows: 70 ◦ C to 353 ◦ C in FGCP. Since the heat transfer temperature difference
between the flue gas and the condensate is maintained at 20 ◦ C, the
λ wd 0.7
αd = Cn Cs ( ) (15) exergy loss in FGCP can be greatly reduced compared with that of RAH.
d ν
And due to the low exhaust flue gas temperature, the recovered heat of
where Cn and Cs refer to the correction coefficients of tube row number the novel system increases by 23.0 MW with respect to that of the
along with the depth and longitudinal relative pitch (Cn = 1.04, Cs = reference system.
0.107), respectively. Besides, the acid dew point is calculated to be 89.09 ◦ C (calculated by
For the circular finned tube with a staggered arrangement of finned formula from the literature [31]). The low-temperature corrosion
tubes, the convective heat transfer coefficient αd is expressed as follows: problem for FGCP is inevitable due to the low exhaust flue gas tem­
perature. According to the theory of finite corrosion, while the metal
λ d Hh wslb 0.65
αd = 0.227Cn ϕ0.2 ( )− 0.54
( )− 0.14
( ) (16)
slb slb slb ν

where ϕ is the parameter associated with the tube arrangement, slb is the
fin pitch, m, and Hh is the height of fin, m.

4.5. Feasibility evaluation method

The feasibility evaluation is presented in this paper based on the

method of the break-even point analysis, which is widely used for the

Table 2
Types and parameters of the heating surface.
Items FGCP SAH

Heating surface type Membrane heating surface Circular finned tube

Outer diameter of tube/mm 38.5 38
Wall thickness of tube/mm 6 3
Thickness of fin/mm 3 1
Height of fin/mm 55.75 10
Fin pitch/mm – 5
Lateral pitch/mm 80 70
Longitudinal pitch/mm 75 70
Fig. 4. ΔH-T diagram of RAH.

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

5.1.2. Heat utilization process of extraction steam

Table 4 gives the main thermodynamic parameters of SAHs. Fig. 6
shows the temperature distribution curves of the air preheating process
in the multi-stage SAHs. As depicted in Table 4 and Fig. 6, the absorbed
heat of air from 25 ◦ C to 363 ◦ C is 253.1 MW in multi-stage SAHs. Since
the 10.6 MW increase in the heat absorbed by the air in SAHs with
respect to that in RAH, the hot air temperature improves by 26 ◦ C.
Figs. 7 and 8 show the temperature distribution curves of the
extraction steam and condensate in RHs and OSCs for the reference and
novel system, respectively. As depicted in Fig. 7, the superheat degree of
SB1-SB8 is in the range from 77.8 ◦ C to 335.4 ◦ C. The heat transfer
temperature difference between extraction steam and condensate is
relatively large due to the large superheat degree of extraction steam.
Although the superheat degree of SB2 and SB4 is reduced to 49.4 ◦ C and
115.4 ◦ C by arranging the OSCs, respectively, the OSCs can only reduce
the superheat degree of SB2 and SB4. The problem of the higher su­
perheat degree existing in other regenerative heaters has not been
solved. But it can be seen from Fig. 8 that the superheat degree of the
extraction steam is reduced to 0 except for the SB2 and SB4 due to the
arrangement of SAHs in series with RHs.
Fig. 5. ΔH-T diagram of FGCP. The thermodynamic parameters of RHs and OSCs for the reference
and novel systems are given in Tables 5 and 6, respectively. As depicted
in Tables 5 and 6, the absorbed heat of condensate from 24.1 ◦ C to
Table 3 324 ◦ C in the reference unit and from 24.1 ◦ C to 310.4 ◦ C in the novel
Thermodynamic parameters of RAH and FGCP. unit is 752.6 MW and 530.0 MW, respectively. Although the feedwater
Parameters RAH FGCP temperature at the OSCs exit is 310.4 ◦ C, it can increase to 323.6 ◦ C by
Inlet/outlet flue gas temperature/ C
◦
373/122 373/90
mixing with the condensate from the FGCP exit. Overall, the total heat
Flue gas flow rate/kg⋅s− 1 869.6 758 absorbed by condensate in the reference and novel systems is basically
Inlet/outlet air or condensate temperature/◦ C 25/337 70/353 the same.
Air or condensate flow rate/kg⋅s− 1 735.2 202.6
Heat recovery/MW 242.5 265.5
5.1.3. Overall system thermodynamic performance
Table 7 presents the overall performance of the two units. As can be
wall temperature is 25 ◦ C higher than the water dew point, the low- seen: (1) the boiler efficiency of the modified power plant is improved
temperature corrosion rate can be controlled within 0.2 mm/a [31]. from 95.03% to 96.98% due to the low exhaust flue gas temperature. (2)
In the proposed system, the condensate temperature at the FGCP the coal consumption of the novel system reduces by 1.16 kg/s with
entrance is 70 ◦ C, which is 27.3 ◦ C higher than the water dew point respect to that of the reference system, and its gross power output is
(42.7 ◦ C). Obviously, the low-temperature corrosion problem can be 1015.20 MW, which is 16.50 MW higher than that of the reference unit.
effectively mitigated. Therefore, frequent replacement is not necessary This is reflected in 1.4% points increment in the power generation ef­
for FGCP. ficiency in the novel system. (3) Due to the arrangement of the FGCP,
Considering the coal quality variation used for the boiler, ND steel SAHs, and high-pressure condensate pump, the auxiliary power con­
can be adopted in the cold-end tubes of FGCP, and the heat exchange sumption of the novel system increases by 11.43 MW. Overall, the power
tubes in the high-temperature section can be made of carbon steel. supply of the proposed system is 953.83 MW, 5.06 MW greater than that
Although this configuration increases the equipment investment, the of the reference system, resulting in a 0.81 percentage points efficiency
low-temperature corrosion rate can be reduced greatly, ensuring the safe increment and a 4.54 g‧kW− 1‧h− 1 reduction in the power supply
and stable operation of FGCP.

Table 4
Thermodynamic parameters of SAHs.
Items SAH1 SAH2 SAH3 SAH4 SAH5

Inlet steam temperature/◦ C 408.6 539.0 451.4 543.0 427.0

Outlet steam temperature/◦ C 311.3 273.6 240.4 207.6 173.0
Steam flow rate/kg⋅s− 1 74.7 36.5 50.3 17.8 51.3
Inlet air temperature/◦ C 256.1 330.4 171.1 330.4 130.5
Outlet air temperature/◦ C 330.4 362.9 256.1 362.9 171.1
Air flow rate/kg⋅s− 1 736.4 736.4 736.4 736.4 736.4
Heat duty/MW 16.9 7.4 55.7 63.6 30.4

Items SAH6 SAH7 SAH8 SAH9 SAH10

Inlet steam temperature/◦ C 318.34 250.23 179.39 105.02 54.24

Outlet steam temperature/◦ C 142.21 121.32 101.6 80.53 54.24
Steam flow rate/kg⋅s− 1 17.2 15.3 16.0 25.2 23.3
Inlet air temperature/◦ C 106.63 85.29 62.52 34.24 25
Outlet air temperature/◦ C 130.54 106.63 85.29 62.52 34.24
Air flow rate/kg⋅s− 1 736.4 736.4 736.4 736.4 736.4
Heat duty/MW 17.9 16.44 17.06 20.73 6.93
Fig. 6. ΔH-T diagram of the SAHs.

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

Table 5
Thermodynamic parameters of RHs and OSCs for the reference system.
Items OSC1 OSC2 RH1 RH2 RH3 RH4

Inlet steam temperature/ 539.0 543.0 408.6 323.0 451.4 323.00

◦
C
Outlet steam 323.0 323.0 279.2 247.7 213.2 184.9
temperature/◦ C
Steam flow rate/kg⋅s− 1 48.4 29.1 72.4 48.4 36.6 29.1
Inlet feedwater 313.0 313.0 273.6 242.1 207.6 179.3
temperature/◦ C
Outlet feedwater 324.0 324.0 313.0 273.6 242.1 207.6
temperature/◦ C
Feedwater flowrate/ 457.8 243.0 700.8 700.8 700.8 700.8
kg⋅s− 1
Drain water – – 279.2 247.7 213.2 184.9
temperature/◦ C
Heat duty/MW 26.1 13.9 134.8 101.4 106.9 85.6

Items RH5 RH6 RH7 RH8 RH9 RH10

Inlet steam temperature/ 427.0 318.3 250.2 179.4 105.0 54.2

◦
C
Outlet steam – 124.1 104.7 101.6 57.0 29.7
Fig. 7. ΔH-T diagram of the RHs and OSCs in the reference system. temperature/◦ C
Steam flow rate/kg⋅s− 1 61.8 17.1 15.6 16.3 20.1 20.3
Inlet condensate 139.4 118.5 99.1 77.7 51.4 24.1
temperature/◦ C
Outlet condensate 173.0 139.4 118.5 98.8 77.7 51.4
temperature/◦ C
Condensate flowrate/ – 490.1 490.1 441.0 441.0 441.0
kg⋅s− 1
Drain water temperature/ – 124.1 104.7 101.6 57.0 29.7
◦
C
Heat duty/MW 26.1 13.9 134.8 101.4 106.9 85.6

Table 6
Thermodynamic parameters of RHs and OSCs for the novel system.
Items OSC1 OSC2 RH1 RH2 RH3 RH4

Inlet steam temperature/ 350.8 350.6 0.7 318.8 0.6 318.6

◦
C or quality
Outlet steam 318.8 318.6 279.2 243.2 213.2 184.9
temperature/◦ C
Inlet feedwater 308.5 308.5 273.6 237.6 207.6 179.3
temperature/◦ C
Outlet feedwater 310.4 310.4 308.5 273.6 237.6 207.6
temperature/◦ C
Feedwater flowrate/ 362.1 132.5 494.6 494.6 494.6 494.6
Fig. 8. ΔH-T diagram of the RHs and OSCs in the novel system. kg⋅s− 1
Drain water temperature/ – – 279.2 243.2 213.2 184.9
standard coal consumption rate.
◦
C
Heat duty/MW 3.4 1.2 83.9 81.5 65.4 60.4

5.1.4. Thermodynamic analysis and performance evaluation under partial Items RH5 RH6 RH7 RH8 RH9 RH10
load conditions Inlet steam or quality 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8
In this paper, four typical operation conditions are selected for the Outlet steam – 124.1 104.8 101.6 57.0 29.7
thermodynamic performance evaluation, namely THA load, 75% THA temperature/◦ C
Inlet condensate 139.4 118.5 99.2 77.7 51.4 24.1
load, 50% THA load, and 30% THA load conditions. Table 8 gives the
temperature/◦ C
major parameters of the reference and novel units under these four Outlet condensate 173.0 139.4 118.5 98.8 77.7 51.4
operation conditions. temperature/◦ C
The comparison results of the exhaust flue gas temperature for the Condensate flowrate/ 494.6 290.3 290.3 241.7 362.3 447.9
kg⋅s− 1
reference and novel systems (Fig. 9) indicate that the exhaust flue gas
Drain water temperature/ – 124.1 104.8 101.6 57.0 29.7
temperature of 90 ◦ C can be achieved under various load conditions in ◦
C
the novel system, which is always lower than that of the reference Heat duty/MW 72.2 25.8 23.6 21.4 39.9 51.1
system.
Figs. 10 and 11 show the superheat degree distributions of the
extraction steam entering the RHs for the reference and novel systems Table 9 gives the thermodynamic performance of the reference and
under various load conditions, respectively. As can be seen: the super­ novel systems under various load conditions. As shown in Fig. 12, the
heat degree of extraction steam entering the RHs increases corre­ power supply efficiency for the reference and novel units reduces
spondingly as the load reduces in the reference system, however, it is correspondingly as the operation load decreases. Regardless of the load
reduced significantly in the novel system due to the arrangement of conditions, the novel unit exhibits a significant increment in the power
SAHs in series with the corresponding RHs. supply efficiency and reduction in the power supply standard coal
Fig. 12 gives the comparison of power supply efficiency and power consumption rate, however, as the load decreases, the power supply
supply standard coal consumption for the reference and novel systems. efficiency increment reduces gradually. Numerically, the power supply

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

Table 7
Overall thermodynamic performances of the two units.
Items Reference Modified
unit unit

Exhaust flue gas temperature/◦ C 122.00 90.00

Boiler efficiency/% 95.03 96.98
Coal consumption/kg⋅s− 1 97.70 96.54
Gross power output/MW 998.70 1015.20
Power generation efficiency/% 48.75 50.15
Power generation standard coal consumption rate/ 251.99 244.95
g⋅kW− 1⋅h− 1
Power consumption of boiler cold-end/MW 1.69 4.26
Condensate and high-pressure condensate pump 0.49 9.36
power consumption/MW
Other power consumption/MW 47.75 47.75
Auxiliary power consumption/MW 49.94 61.37
Power supply/MW 948.77 953.83
Auxiliary power consumption rate/% 5.00 6.05
Power supply efficiency/% 46.31 47.12
Power supply standard coal consumption rate/ 265.25 260.71
g⋅kW− 1⋅h− 1
Fig. 10. Superheat degree variation of extraction steam entering the regener­
ative heater for the reference system under various load conditions.

Table 8
Main parameters of the reference and novel units under various conditions.
Items THA 75% 50% 30%
THA THA THA

Main steam Flow rate/t⋅h− 1 2522.9 1818.6 1172.9 701.8

Temperature/ 600.0 600.0 600.0 600.0
◦
C
Pressure/MPa 32.0 32.0 32.0 32.0
First reheat Temperature/ 620.0 620.0 620.0 620.0
steam ◦
C
Pressure/MPa 9.7 7.2 4.7 2.9
Second reheat Temperature/ 620.0 620.0 620.0 620.0
steam ◦
C
Pressure/MPa 3.1 2.3 1.6 1.0
Inlet flue gas temperature of RAH or 373.0 357.0 326.0 304.0
FGCP/◦ C

Fig. 11. Superheat degree variation of extraction steam entering the regener­
ative heater under various load conditions for the novel system.

5.2. Exergy analysis

Fig. 13 shows the exergy analysis results comparison of the reference

system and the novel one in the air preheating process. As shown in
Fig. 13, the exergy loss of SAHs is 15.8 MW, which is 8.5 MW less than
that in RAH. Therefore, the exergy efficiency in the air preheating
process for the novel system improves from 76.6% to 82.7%. The
detailed exergy analysis results can be seen in Table 10.
Fig. 14 shows the comparison of the exergy loss and exergy efficiency
in the condensate preheating process. It can be seen from Fig. 14 that the
exergy loss of the RHs and OSCs in the novel system is decreased from
23.9 MW to 11.8 MW compared with the reference system, which in­
Fig. 9. Comparison of the exhaust flue gas temperature for the reference and dicates the arrangement of the SAHs can not only heat the air to 363 ◦ C
novel systems under various load conditions. by utilizing the superheat of the extraction steam, but also effectively
reduce the exergy loss occurring in the RHs and OSCs. In addition, the
efficiency increment of the novel system reduces from 0.81% points to exergy loss in the preheating process of condensate for the FGCP is 6.6
0.34% points as the load decreases from THA load to 30%THA load, MW due to the small heat transfer temperature difference between the
accordingly, the savings in power supply standard coal consumption flue gas and condensate and thus the total exergy loss in the preheating
rate decreases by 2.35 g/(kW⋅h). processes of condensate in the novel system is 18.4 MW, which is 5.5
MW lower than that of the reference system. Therefore, the exergy ef­
ficiency in the preheating process of condensate for the novel system is
improved from 90.8% to 93.1% compared with the reference system.
The detailed exergy analysis results are drawn in Table 11. Noting that,

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

Table 9
Thermodynamic performance of the reference and novel systems under various
load conditions.
Items THA 75% THA

Reference Novel Reference Novel

system system system system

Coal consumption/kg⋅s− 1 97.70 96.54 73.95 73.27

Gross power output/MW 998.70 1015.20 749.60 760.53
Power generation 48.75 50.15 48.34 49.50
efficiency/%
Power consumption of 1.69 4.26 0.90 2.06
boiler cold-end/MW
Condensate and high- 0.49 9.36 0.28 4.96
pressure condensate
pump power
consumption/MW
Other power consumption/ 47.75 47.75 36.30 36.30
MW
Auxiliary power 49.94 61.37 37.48 43.32
consumption/MW
Power supply/MW 948.77 953.83 712.12 717.21
Power supply efficiency/% 46.31 47.12 45.92 46.68
Power supply standard 265.25 260.71 267.49 263.13
coal consumption rate/
g⋅kW− 1⋅h− 1

Items 50%THA 30% THA

Reference Novel Reference Novel

system system system system

Coal consumption/kg⋅s− 1 50.60 50.70 31.69 31.71

Gross power output/MW 500.40 510.50 302.51 306.50
Power generation 47.16 48.01 45.52 46.10
efficiency/%
Power consumption of 0.55 1.26 0.20 0.41
boiler cold-end/MW
Condensate and high- 0.13 2.65 0.05 1.43
pressure condensate
pump power
Fig. 12. Comparison of power supply standard coal consumption rate between consumption/MW
the reference and novel systems. Other power consumption/ 24.34 24.34 14.87 14.87
MW
Auxiliary power 25.02 28.26 15.13 16.71
combining Table 10, it can be found that the exergy loss in the heat consumption/MW
recovery process of low-grade flue gas for the novel system reduces by Power supply/MW 475.38 482.24 287.38 289.79
Power supply efficiency/% 44.81 45.36 43.25 43.58
17.7 MW with respect to that of the reference system.
Power supply standard coal 274.15 270.83 284.04 281.85
consumption rate/
g⋅kW− 1⋅h− 1
5.3. Comparison study

The thermodynamic performance of the thermal systems proposed in

this paper and previous studies are compared in this section. The pro­
posed system in this paper has a significant efficiency improvement due
to comprehensive utilization of the flue gas heat and steam superheat
degree, therefore, the typical thermal systems (OSC, regenerative tur­
bine, bypass flue, and bypass flue integrated with steam–air heater
schemes) are selected as the comparison schemes, and the efficiency
improvement is chosen as the evaluation indicator of thermodynamic
performance. Table 12 gives the comparison results of the proposed
system with OSC and regenerative turbine schemes under THA load
condition. Table 13 shows the comparison results of the proposed system
with the efficient flue gas waste heat recovery systems under THA load
condition. Compared with the OSC and regenerative turbine schemes,
the proposed system shows a better energy-saving effect. In addition, it
can be seen from Table 13 that the proposed system in this paper also
shows an evident advantage with respect to the efficient flue gas waste
heat recovery systems. Overall, the proposed system exhibits an obvious
superiority in similar processes.

Fig. 13. Exergy analysis results of the air preheating process.

6. Techno-economic analysis

Although the novel unit can greatly improve the efficiency of the
power plant, it leads to an increase in the investment and maintenance

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

Table 10 (2) The price of steel is 1235.90 USD/t; the price of standard coal is
Detailed exergy analysis results in the air preheating process. 109.05 USD/t; the annual operating hours of the unit are 5500 h;
Items Exergy loss/MW Exergy released/MW Exergy efficiency/% the benchmark yield is 10%; the annual compound rate is 6%; the
lifespan of the power plant is 30 years [21].
RAH 24.3 103.6 76.6
SAH1 0.4 4.3 89.8 (3) In the actual project, the transportation, installation, and corre­
SAH2 0.4 4.3 89.8 sponding pipelines and valves will increase the investment of the
SAH3 2.0 27.3 92.7 power plant. The investment of heat transfer components is
SAH4 4.2 27.3 84.5 assumed to be 70% of equipment investment, and equipment
SAH5 2.6 11.2 76.3
SAH6 1.4 5.5 74.4
maintenance cost is selected as 2% of equipment investment [30].
SAH7 1.1 4.0 71.6 (4) There are serious problems with clogging and corrosion in the
SAH8 1.2 3.5 64.8 traditional air preheater. Although the damage can be slowed
SAH9 1.8 3.2 44.7 down via regular maintenance, it is still necessary to replace the
SAH10 0.5 0.6 16.8
rotor and related equipment periodically. It is hypothetically
replaced once every five years.

Table 12
Comparison efficiency improvement of the proposed system with OSC and
regenerative turbine schemes.
System description Efficiency improvement/% References

OSC scheme 0.16 Xu et al. [10]

Regenerative turbine scheme 0.67
Proposed scheme in this paper 0.81 This paper

Table 13
Comparison efficiency improvement of the proposed system with efficient flue
gas waste heat recovery systems.
System description Efficiency References
improvement/%

Bypass flue thermal system 0.23 Stevanovic et al.

[16]
Bypass flue integrated with steam–air 0.42 Han et al. [19]
Fig. 14. Exergy analysis results comparison in the condensate preheat­ heater thermal system
ing process. Proposed thermal system in this paper 0.81 This paper

costs due to the addition of equipment and space. Therefore, it is

necessary to carry out the techno-economic analysis to comprehensively Table 14
assess the performance of the proposed power plant. And some as­ Cost of the main equipment heat exchanger.
sumptions are as following: Items Reference power Modified power plant
plant
Equipment RAH FGCP SAHs
(1) The FGCP and SAH may affect the heat exchange of other
equipment such as RHs, economizer, and other equipment whose Heat exchange area/m2 342978.08 302047.37 173746.55
Steel consumption/t 668.81 6602.62 973.07
structure and size are no longer the same as those of the con­
Investment of components/M 0.83 8.16 1.20
ventional unit. But this paper conducts a conservative estimation, $
and only RAH, FGCP, and SAH are considered and regardless of Investment of equipment/M$ 1.18 11.66 1.72
the changes of other equipment. Maintenance cost/M$ 0.024 0.23 0.034

Table 11
Detailed exergy analysis results in the preheating process of the condensate.
Items Reference system Novel system

Exergy loss/MW Exergy released/MW Exergy efficiency/% Exergy loss/MW Exergy released/MW Exergy efficiency/%

OSC1 1.8 14.98 88.0 0.08 1.8 95.5

OSC2 1.0 7.96 87.4 0.03 0.6 96.1
RH1 3.1 66.9 95.4 1.4 40.8 96.7
RH2 1.5 41.98 96.6 1.14 31.8 96.4
RH3 2.9 38.3 92.4 0.9 23.5 96.2
RH4 1.5 26.1 94.5 0.8 15.9 95.0
DEA(RH4) 3.6 22.2 83.7 0.9 11.2 91.8
RH6 1.7 12.9 86.9 0.6 7.3 91.7
RH7 1.3 9.9 86.7 0.5 5.5 90.4
RH8 1.3 8.1 83.6 0.9 5.8 85.3
RH9 2.0 7.6 74.2 2.2 8.5 74.8
RH10 2.3 4.3 48.2 2.4 4.7 48.4
FGCP – – – 6.6 107.0 93.9

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X. Lin et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 193 (2021) 116982

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