Fig. 1. Coal continues to fuel the largest share of worldwide electric power production.


A ‘holistic’ approach to optimising efficiency in coal-fired power plants


Phil Burge examina el mantenimiento de centrales de carbón, describe las últimas disciplinas y explica cómo pueden utilizarse en aplicaciones del mundo real en el sector de generación eléctrica para optimizar el rendimiento de los equipos y reducir cierres no previstos.


Phil Burge untersucht die Kohlenkraftwerkwartung, beschreibt die neuesten Erkenntnisse und erklärt, wie diese in realen Anwendungen im Energieerzeugungsbereich angewandt werden können, um die Anlagenleistung zu optimieren und ungeplante Abschaltungen zu reduzieren.


Phil Burge looks at coal plant maintenance, describes the latest disciplines and explains how these can be applied in real world applications in the power sector to optimise equipment performance and reduce unplanned shutdowns.


S 40 www.engineerlive.com


trong economic growth, increases in income per capita, leading to improved standards of living, rising consumer demand for lighting and appliances, and growing


requirements for electricity in the industrial sector, all translate to a rapidly growing demand for power generation. Indeed, research conducted in the US has estimated that world net electricity generation will increase by 77 per cent, from 18.0 trillion kilowatthours in 2006 to 23.2 trillion kilowatthours in 2015 and to 31.8 trillion kilowatthours in 2030, increasing by an average of 2.4 per cent each year. Despite recent figures indicating a strong move towards low carbon technologies – indeed


global wind power generation alone grew by 31 per cent in 2009 – traditional methods, namely coal, remains the backbone of European electric generation, normally accounting for well over half of all new power production capacity. In particular, coal continues to fuel the largest share of worldwide electric power production by a wide margin. In 2006, coal fired power generation accounted for 41 per cent of the world’s electricity supply; in 2030, its share is projected to be 43 per cent. Sustained high prices for oil and natural gas make coal power generation more attractive economically, particularly in nations that are rich in coal resources, such as China, India and the United States. For existing coal-fired power plants, the


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