Question

DESIGN OF A STEAM POWER PLANT IN THE AGE OF CARBON TAXATION, Due: Aug. 15, 2018 Introduction: As the world continues to spew unprecedented amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of combustion of fossil fuels, many countries are considering imposing a "carbon tax." A carbon tax is a tax on the carbon emissions, which are currently emitted for "free." The tax would effectively raise the cost of burning fossil fuels in an amount proportional to the carbon emitted. This tax will transform energy investment and consumption and sharply reduce the carbon emissions that are driving global warming. Your task is to design a 10 MW power plant within the constraints specified below which would maximize both plant efficiency and profit in the age of carbon taxation. Background: In "thermofluid applications" course, you learned to analyze the basic steam power cycle as well as methods to improve the cycle performance. Review these concepts prior to attempting the steam power plant design. Design Constraints: Tax: 600 °C, Pmax: 30 MPa (Note: These values are consistent with a modern supercritical vapor power plant.) Maximum Turbine efficiency: 90% Maximum Pump efficiency: 80% Maximum Boiler efficiency: 87% Maximum number of feed water heaters (open): 1 Fuels: The various properties of available energy sources are provided in the table below: Emitted (lbs CO2 per Fuel Cost Per (dollars) l Price Per Million Btu Type e%) Fuel Oil (#2) $28.99 78% $37.17 Natural Gas 2 $10.02 82% $12.22 161.3 Coal (Anthracite) $8.00 75% $10.67 210.2 $0 (see note Solar Concentrated NA NA none 1 http://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/co2_vol_mass.cfm 2 http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/heatcalc.xls 3 The one time cost of building a solar concentrator is $5 per Watt. The high cost of this concentrator includes the cost of energy storage such that the system is able to provide energy 24-7

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