Solar Power Technology

In a gas turbine plant where oil, natural gas, or synthesis gasmaybe used as a fuel, the hot combustion gases are directly used to drive a gas turbine, rather than transferring heat to steam and driving a steam turbine. This requires a different turbine, appropriate for the much higher temperature of the combustion gases and [...]

The boiler is the central component of a fossil-fueled steam power plant. Most modern boilers are of the water wall type, in which the boiler walls are almost entirely constructed of vertical tubes that either carry feed water into the boiler or carry steam out of the boiler. The first water wall boiler was developed [...]

The role of the burner is to provide a thorough mixing of the fuel and air so that the fuel is completely burned. Ignition is accomplished by a spark-ignited light oil jet until the flame is self-sustaining. In the combustion chamber a pulverized coal particle or atomized oil droplet burns in a fraction of a [...]

In a fossil-fueled power plant the chemical energy inherent in the fossil fuel is converted first to raise the enthalpy of the combustion gases; that enthalpy is transferred by convection and radiation to a working fluid (usually, water/steam); the enthalpy of the working fluid is converted to mechanical energy in a turbine; and finally the [...]

Coal is found practically on every continent and subcontinent. It is found buried deeply in the ground or under the seabed, or close to the surface. Coal characteristics vary widely according to its biological origin (forests, low growing vegetation, swamps, animals) and geological history (age, overburden, temperature, pressure). Thus, the chemical and physical characteristics of [...]