Department Editor: Scott Jenkins

well-operated steam generator can

save money. In a steam-driven turbine
system, water is heated in the steam
generator to produce high-temperature,
high-pressure steam. Steam is then expanded in a turbine to produce electricity from a
generator. Turbine steam is condensed back
into water in the condenser. A pump then
returns the water to the steam generator.

Engine thermodynamics

Theoretically, the most efficient engine possible operates with a heat input (QH) at high
temperature (TH) and a heat discharge (QL)
at low temperature (TL) in which:
(QH/TH) (QL/TL) = 0
This case represents an unattainable ideal
engine, because energy losses due to
friction, heat escaping from the system,
flow disturbances and a variety of other
factors are inevitable. Entropy is the
property scientists have used to describe
this degree of disorder.
Applying the concept to the situation in
a steam generator and turbine system, the
process cannot be made to do work without
some extraction of heat from the process. In
a conventional steam generator, QL is the
heat removed in the condenser. And since
the efficiency of a Carnot engine is =
1 (TL/TH), as the input temperature goes
up or the exhaust temperature goes down,
efficiency increases.

Condenser performance

In a basic steam-generation system (Figure

1), the main purposes of the condenser are
to condense the exhaust steam from the turbine for reuse in the cycle and to maximize
turbine efficiency by maintaining proper
vacuum. As the operating pressure of the
condenser is lowered (vacuum is increased),
the enthalpy drop of the expanding steam
in the turbine will also increase. This will
increase the amount of available work from
the turbine. Lowering the condenser operating pressure will increase turbine output
and overall efficiency, so it is advantageous
to operate the condenser at the lowest possible pressure (highest vacuum).
An example calculation will help illustrate why turbine exhaust steam must be
condensed rather than transported directly
back to the boiler. Consider the system
shown in Figure 1, in which the turbine is
ideal (no frictional, heat or other losses
no change in entropy). The work done by
the turbine can be found using the steadystate energy equation, WT = m (h2 h1),
where WT is turbine shaft work, m is mass
flow into the system and (h2 h1) is the
enthalpy change.
Turbines are typically around 8090%
efficient. Assume for the example that the
input steam temperature is 1,000F and the
inlet pressure is 1,000 psia, and the output
steam is atmospheric pressure (14.7 psia).
The enthalpy (a measure of the available

Steam generator
operation and
thermodynamics
Figure 1. A basic steam-generation
energy of the fluid) for steam and
QB
system with isentropic turbine
saturated liquid conditions such
as this have been calculated,
High-pressure
and are available in steam
steam
tables. From calculated data, the
Boiler
WT
Turbine
enthalpy of the turbine inlet steam
for this system is 1,505.9 Btu per
Turbine
pound of fluid, and the enthalpy Feedwater
exhaust
of the steam exiting the turbine
is 1,080.9 Btu/lb of fluid. If the
Condensate
steam flow is 1 million lb/h and
Condenser
the steam quality is 93%, then the
work done would be 124.5 MW.
FW pump
If the system includes a
WP
condenser, the exhaust presQC
sure would be reduced and the
Figure 2. A steam generator
QB
enthalpy of the turbine exhaust
with reheater
would be lowered to 923 Btu/
lb. At the same steam flow as the
High-pressure
previous example, the total work
steam
Boiler
is 170.6 MW, a 37% increase
WT
Turbine
from a system with no condenser.
Cold reheat
From a physical perspecHot reheat
Turbine
tive, the condensation process
Feedwater
exhaust
reduces the fluid volume by over
17,000 times. The condensCondensate
ing steam generates the strong
Condenser
vacuum in the condenser, which
acts as a driving force to pull
FW pump
steam through the condenser.
WP
QC
What about cases where
waterside fouling or scaling
important to efficient processes. Drawing
causes the condenser pressure to increase
from the previous example, when the steam
from 12 psia? Calculations show that the
pressure is raised to 2,000 psia, the turbine
work output of the turbine drops from 582
work output and overall efficiency rises,
to 546 Btu/h, or 10.6 MW of work. This is
but the steam quality is only around 77%,
a primary reason why proper cooling-water
which means that 23% of the fluid exits
chemical treatment and condenser perforas condensed water droplets. This level of
mance monitoring are so important.
moisture can damage low-pressure turbine
blades. A rule of thumb suggests that 10%
Superheating
moisture at the turbine exhaust should be an
The temperature to which the steam is
upper limit.
raised above saturation represents the
Reheating the steam, as pictured in
degree of superheat. Almost 1,000 Btu are
Figure 2, can help alleviate this difficulty.
required to convert a pound of water into a
Calculations show that the reheating propound of steam. Only about one-third of the
cess improves the turbine exhaust steam
energy contained within superheated steam
quality from 77 to 90%. Calculation of
is available for work in conventional steam
the work output, boiler heat input and
turbines. However, research into more temefficiency of this case becomes slightly
perature-resistant superheater and reheater
more complicated because work is done
tube materials continues. Modern supercritiby two separate steam feeds to the turbine,
cal boilers achieve almost 45% in overall
and heat is added to two separate steam
efficiency, while combined cycle units can
systems in the boiler. Reheating considerreach nearly 60% overall efficiency, where
ably increases work output as compared
electrical production is split between the
to the non-reheated system, but also raises
combustion and steam turbines.
the fuel requirements to the boiler. In a
well-designed reheat system, the moisture in
Reheating
the turbine exhaust system is reduced to low
In an ideal steam-turbine engine, superheat
levels, and the increased fuel requirement is
energy would be completely consumed
more than offset by increased work output
at the last low-pressure turbine blades. A
and better steam quality.
delicate balance must be struck in order to
extract all of the available energy from the
References
steam to power the turbine, but simultane1. Buecker, B., Steam Generation Thermodynamously prevent excessive condensation on
ics, Chem. Eng., November 2010, pp. 4447.
the low-pressure blades. Water droplets
2. Heat Exchange Institute, Tech. Sheet no.113,
condensing on the blades are a challenge
February 2005.
to be addressed and can cause significant
damage. Therefore, steam reheating and
Editors note: This edition of Facts at your Fingertips was adapted from the article in Ref. 1.
operating at elevated pressures become