ESL-IE-97-04-51

Economical Condensing Turbines?

by J.E.Dean, P.E.

Steam turbines have long been used at utilities and in industry to generate power. There are three basic types of steam turbines: condensing, letdown 1 and extraction/condensing.

Letdown turbines reduce the pressure of the incoming steam to one or more pressures and generate power very efficiently, assuming that all the letdown steam has a use. Two caveats: Letdown turbines produce power based upon steam requirements and not based upon power requirements, and If all the steam letdown does not have a use, letdown turbines can become a very expensive way of producing electric power. Condensing turbines have the ability to handle rapid swings in electrical load. Unfortunately, they can only condense a small percentage of the stearn, usually less than 14%. Therefore only a small percent of the heat of condensation is available for their use. Also equipment must be used to condense the remaining steam below atmospheric pressure. Extraction/condensing turbines both extract steam at a useful temperature and pressure and then condense the remainder of the steam. These units have the ability to load follow also. They are often used in concert with gas turbines to produce the balance of electrical power and to keep a electric self generator from drawing electrical power from the grid.
The method for analyzing the cost of the condensing steam produced power is exactly the same in all cases. This paper will attempt to provide a frame work for preliminary economic analysis on electric power generation for condensing steam turbines.
Fuel Cost Fuel cost is an all important variable. If the fuel is a waste material which must be disposed of (free fuel) then fuel cost is zero. If a less expensive fuel can be used to generate the steam this diminishes the impact of the fuel cost. The attached table calculates the fuel cost per kW based upon $1.87 per million Btu natural gas 2 and $3.19 per million Btu natural gas (Based upon Energy User News, May 1995 issue, page 63, $1.87 is the average Louisiana price and 33 of the 51 utilities listed sell natural gas for higher than $3.19 per million Btu)

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B. C. enthalpy change A. to fuel pressure sat. superheat actual temp enthalpy condensed needed temp F F psig btu/# water F Btu/#

Input Steam

D.
isentropic enthalpy of outlet steam

E. F. G. H. fuel I. fuel cost 2 power natural cost per per kwh isentropic produced gas fuel kwh@ @ difference kWper needed, $1.87 per $3.19 per in enthalpy including exit 1000# btu per million million Btu loss, Btu/# kwh Btu
450 402 382 284 244 87.8 78.3 74.4 55.4 47.5 17,885 19,406 20,260 26,484 30,453

1000 650 400 100 50

547 497 448 339 298

200 150 150 150 150

747 647 598 489 448

1,355 1,315 1,305 1,272 1,257

1,261 1,221 1,211 1,178 1,163

1,570 1,519 1,506 1,466 1,447

895 903 913 978 1,003

$ 0.033 $ 0.036 $ 0.038

$ 0.050 $ 0.057

$ $
$ $ $

0.057 0.062 0.065 0.084 0.097

K. assume 2 psia at outlet of condensing turbine enthalpy of 126 F, 2 psia water =

Please note state sales tax is not included in this calculation

93.96 Btu/#

Assumptions

W N 1.0

loss in blowdown = boiler efficiency = loss on exit of turbine isentopic turbine efficiency mechanical electrical losses shaft losses = generator losses total

2% 82% 10 70%

(relatively clean water)

( older units frequently are less efficient, HRSG's4 would tend to be higher)
Btu/# of steam (assumed mid range number) (the range can be from 50% or lower for older less efficient units to 80% to 85% for new super efficient units. If water in the exit steam is more than 14%, investigate) (while transformer loses can be 2% in this case no transformer is included)

2% 3% ( for smaller units, 6 to 8 % may be more normal.) 5%

Equations

lA. & D.)

from steam tables (B.) enthalpy change to condensed water ( Btu/# steam)

=( A.)steam enthalpy minus (K.)enthalpy of 126 F water

(C.) fuel needed = (B.)enthalpy change to condensed water

boiler efficiency x (1- loss in blowdown)
(E) isentropic 2 difference in enthalpy including exit loss, Btu/# = [(A.)enthalpy of input steam] minus [(D.)enthalpy of steam out] (F.)power produced [kW 11000# of steam] steam mass flow times (E.) isentropic difference in enthalpy including exit loss, Btu/# times turbine (or isentropic) efficiency times (1- % mechanical efficiency)
(G.)natural gas needed, btu per kW = fuel needed divided by power produced (kW per 1000# steam)
(H.& I.)fuel cost per kW = (G.) natural gas needed times cost of fuel

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Operation & Maintenance Costs

Operation and maintenance costs are typically hard to estimate. In Cogeneration in Louisiana, Is It rightfor You, a 1987 publication, O&M costs are estimated at $0.003 to $0.005 per kwh. for the steam condensing turbine generator alone. The boiler, cooling towers, etc. are not included.

Capital Costs
If the unit is already installed and in good condition please skip this section. Capital costs are very site specific, for the types of condensing steam turbine generator shown above, prices can range from below $400 to over $1000 per kW depending upon whether the boiler is in existence, transformer/substation costs, condenser / cooling tower / heat rejection costs or availability and a number of other factors. Used equipment can be less expensive. However, if we assume an installed capital cost of$600 / kW, and a 20% annual capital recovery factor, a quick estimate of the cost of capital per kwh is as follows:
Operating Time Description run 24 hours per day, 365 days per year no downtime or repairs 2 weeks down per year, otherwise 24 hours per day 2 weeks down per year, otherwise 24 hours per day, 75% load factor
4 weeks down per year, otherwise 24 hours per day 10 hours per day, 6 days per week, off 10 holidays per year 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year Hours per ear 8,760
8,424
6318
8,088 3,229 2,000 $0.015
$0.037
$0.060

Summary of Costs
Costs can build up fast when Capital, Operation & Maintenance and Fuel Costs are added together. Lets examine a mid range unit to see how it stacks up.

Description of cost fuel cost 650 psig, 150F superheat, steam case operation & maintenance estimate Capital cost, 10 hours per day, 6 days per week off 10 holidays per year Total estimated cost per kwh

Gas Cost $1.87/MMBtu 5 $3.19/MMBtu $0.036 /kwh $0.062 $0.003 $0.003

$0.037 $0.066/kwh $0.037 $0.102/kwh

Based upon Energy User News, May 1995 issue, page 63, at the $3.17 per million Btu natural gas price level, two of the 170 utilities listed higher prices for electricity

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Other Considerations Extraction/condensing turbines usually use a condenser to cool the turbine. This dictates a minimum condensing stearn flow for safe operation. Please check with your turbine's manufacturer before reducing flow to the condenser section. Many utilities have special low rates for customers who can self generate power during utility peak load times or can stand limited interruptions. You may want to investigate the availability of these rates with your local utility. Conclusion This is a very broad and preliminary estimate of the cost of generating electricity. It should enable an engineer decide when to conduct an in depth study of the economics either in the company or outside utilizing professional engineers who are experts in this type of project. Condensing steam turbines may not be economical when the fuel is purchased at average market pricing, and when the turbines have a low load factor (will not be run on nights, weekends, holidays etc.). Engineers should study proposed and existing condensing turbines to learn if opportunities exist to reduce plant energy costs. Footnotes:

I. Please note that extraction, backpressure, and letdown refer to exactly the same type of turbine and are all usedfrom time to time in this paper. 2. Isentropic means at the same entropy. Steam turbine turbines usually use isentropic efficiencies to calculate power output. 3. Natural gas is usually sold at Higher Heating Value so only Higher Heating Value is used in this paper. Beware ofconfusing Higher and Lower Heating Value as results may be II% off 4. HRSG is a abbreviation for Heat Recovery Steam Generator. They are frequently used to convert the hot exhaust from Gas Turbines into steam. 5. In this case MMBtu is Million Btu Higher Heating Value Natural Gas

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References Energy User News, May 1995 Issue, a Chilllon publication, Radnor, PA. Cogeneration in Louisiana, Is It right for You, by Joel Gilbert, P.E. published by the Department of Natural Resources, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1987

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