University

of Georgia Steam Plant Overview

Ben Morris

Dr. Sudhagar Mani

22nd November 2015


Table of Contents

Page

Introduction.... 1

Description of Plant 1

Energy Analysis. 2

Discussion and Conclusions... 3

References 4

Appendix... 5


List of Figures

Page

Figure 1. Heating Process (Thermodynamics: T-v and P-v diagrams) 1

Figure 2. Thermodynamic System Diagram.. 2

Morris 1

Introduction:

The central steam plant at the University of Georgia (UGA) provides steam to
101 buildings across campus. It operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and
365 days per year. Although the loads on the plant vary throughout the year, the
plant still produces the needed amount of steam by simply adjusting the amount of
water and fuel added to the boilers. The steam that is produced is used
predominately to provide hot water and heating to the buildings it services.

In order to produce steam, the steam plant needs fuel. Although the plant
formerly used coal as a primary source of energy to power its boilers, it now uses
natural gas as a cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternative. An electric
boiler is also under construction to provide the plant with another fuel alternative
and to provide a higher net output of steam from the plant during times of high
demand. Water is also needed to produce steam. Although some of the steam
provided to campus is lost, most of the steam used to heat buildings and water is
collected once it condenses in the pipes and is sent back to the steam plant for reuse.
The practice of reusing water makes steam generation less expensive and more
environmentally friendly.

The steam produced by the plant is used exclusively for heating. This is
different from a steam power plant because a power plant uses its steam to rotate a
turbine, harnessing the steams energy and converting it to mechanical and
electrical power. Because the UGA steam plant is used only for heating, it is able to
heat buildings more efficiently than if it also used its steam for power generation.

Description of Plant:

The plant is located in the middle of campus near the graduate research
building and along East Campus Road. The main steam plant building is a large two-
story building with the boilers, control room, an emergency generator, and some
control valves on the lower floor, and a water treatment tank and more control
valves on the upper floor. The new electric boiler is located in another building
separate from the main building. An emergency fuel reserve is also located nearby,
buried under a small field. Several distribution pipes originate at the plant and
spread underground to the buildings on campus.

Before steam generation can begin, water is pumped through the treatment
tank on the upper floor, which removes any oxygen from the water, preventing the
boilers from oxidizing. The water is then pumped to the boilers and heated. Boiler
number one, one of the natural gas boilers, burns 87.2 gallons per minute of natural
gas at 2750 degrees Fahrenheit, and superheats water to 338 degrees Fahrenheit
and 95 psi (University of Georgia). Boiler number one alone produces 80,000
pounds of steam per hour (University of Georgia). The steam is then pumped out
through the external distribution pipes and distributed to the buildings on campus.
As the steam distributes around campus and loses its heat, it condenses back into
liquid water. This liquid water is collected at several locations around campus in
condensate traps. The water is then returned to the steam plant to be reused. The
steam plant recovers approximately 75 percent of its steam as condensate for reuse.

Morris 2
Energy Analysis:

In each of the four boilers, water and heat energy enter, and superheated
steam exits. The water enters at atmospheric pressure and room temperature
(14.696psia, 68F/20C), and exits at 109.696psia, 338F/170C as steam
(Versteeg). A P-v phase diagram illustrating the process is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Heating Process (Thermodynamics: T-v and P-v DIagrams)

This change of state and corresponding increase in temperature and
pressure results in an increase in enthalpy. The increased enthalpy, coupled with
the large mass flow rate of the steam, allows for effective heat distribution across
campus.

In order to analyze the efficiency of each boiler, an efficiency equation needs
to be developed from a thermodynamic system diagram. A system diagram
describing boiler 1 is shown in Figure 2.

Morris 3

Figure 2. Thermodynamic System Diagram

From Figure 2, it can be shown that, for a thermal efficiency of 85% (arbitrarily
chosen), the mass flow rate of fuel is inversely proportional to the higher heating
value of the fuel as,

31149.5
!"#$ (
)
!"#$

For an efficiency of 85%, taking the higher heating values of natural gas and diesel
fuel to be 21000 Btu/lb and 19300 Btu/lb, respectively, the mass flow rate of fuel to
the boiler using natural gas and diesel fuel is 1.48 lb/s for natural gas and 1.61 lb/s
for diesel (.671 kg/s for natural gas, .73 kg/s for diesel.) Appendix A details the
calculation. This implies that the boiler would have to receive more diesel using a
diesel system than natural gas using a natural gas system to achieve an efficiency of
85%.

From appendix A, Eq. 1 seems to imply that the efficiency of the boiler can be
increased as much as desired by simply reducing the heat introduced into the
system and increasing the mass flow rate and enthalpy of the steam coming from
the system. However, from the first law of thermodynamics, it can be seen that these
three quantities are all interconnected. Without adding heat or some other form of
energy to the system, the mass flow rate and enthalpy of the steam from the system
cannot be increased. The energy at the outlet of the system will always be less than
the energy at the inlet. Therefore, the thermal efficiency of the system will always be
less than one.



Discussion and Conclusions:

The steam plant is a powerful and vital entity to the universitys
infrastructure. The plant is the main source of heat to the buildings on campus, and
is an inexpensive resource to the university compared to the cost of buying heat
from a third party. It is also relatively clean, having recently switched completely
from coal to natural gas as its fuel source.

Morris 4

Although the steam plant is already a valuable asset to the university, a
natural question arises: why not add a power generation stage to the existing steam
plant? The only modification needed to introduce a power generation stage to the
plant would be to add a steam turbine between the boiler and the outlet. This
turbine would power a generator, which would generate electricity for use on
campus. No other special fuels, equipment, or structures would be necessary. The
turbine would be powered by steam, which would continue to be powered by
natural gas.

The addition of a power generation stage is a viable option. However, adding
a turbine to the system would reduce the efficiency of the existing heating function
of the plant by removing some outgoing energy in the form of shaft work. To
compensate for this loss of efficiency, more water and more fuel would need to be
used, and the boilers would need to work harder. Besides the additional cost of fuel,
this would likely not be an issue, since the maximum possible production of the
plant (240,000 lb/hr) is far greater than the current average daily production
(140,000 lb/hr in winter) (Versteeg). More steam could easily be generated to
overcome the loss of efficiency and to generate power.

However, the additional load on the boilers could potentially cause issues.
Firstly, because the load on the boilers would be closer to the boilers maximum
capacity, the likelihood of an accident would be increased. Secondly, because the
likelihood of malfunction would be increased, additional preventative maintenance
would also likely be needed.

A combined heat and power system would likely be of great economic benefit
to the university. However, the system would also come with increased complexity,
and therefore increased risk. The current system is simple and requires minimal
maintenance, but the addition of a power system would require careful monitoring
and regular maintenance. It seems that the most sustainable, risk-free option for the
university would be to maintain the steam plant as a heat generation plant only, and
to continue to buy power from a third party.

The UGA steam plant has been servicing the university for many years. It has
seen several upgrades since its inception, and it continues to be upgraded. The plant
recently stopped using coal as a fuel, and a new electric boiler is currently under
construction. The steam plant provides a simple, reliable way to produce heat to
provide to campus, and it will likely continue to do so for years to come.

References

Thermodynamics: T-v and P-v Diagrams. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

University of Georgia Steam Plant data courtesy of the University of Georgia Steam
Plant.

University of Georgia Steam Plant data used for energy analysis courtesy of Casper
Versteeg.

Morris 5

Appendix

Appendix A Mass Flow Rate calculation

Assuming the thermal efficiency of the boiler (boiler 1) to be 85%,

! !
= .85 =

!"

Eq. 1
Taking the mass flow rate of the steam to be the flow rate of steam from the boiler
and the specific enthalpy of the steam at the exit to be the specific enthalpy of steam
at 95psig and 338F, Eq. 1 becomes,

(80000 )(3600 )(1191.47 )

= .85 =

!"

Additionally,

!" = !"#$ !"#$
Eq. 2
Combining Eq. 1 and Eq. 2 and solving for the mass flow rate of fuel,

(80000 )(3600 )(1191.47 )

31149.5
!"#$ =
(
)
!"#$ .85
!"#$

Substituting values of 21000 Btu/lb and 19300 Btu/lb for the higher heating values
of natural gas and diesel, respectively,

!"#$%"& !"# = 1.48 = .671

!"#$#% = 1.61 = .73