The condenser is a key component in any power plant that uses a steam turbine. Its primary function is to increase power by maximizing the pressure drop across the turbine, where efficiency is directly related to the vacuum created by condensing steam. Geothermal condensers are fundamentally different than those found in fossil fuel plants, in that turbine exhaust steam is never recycled to a boiler.
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Wicket gates are a series of adjustable vanes that control the flow of water to a reaction turbine. Each vane, mechanically in parallel, is attached to an adjustable gate ring. Actuating the gate ring either clockwise or counterclockwise positions the wicket gates to regulate water flow to the turbine. Variations of operating the wicket gates are dependent on many factors some including, axis of the turbine, available head, physical space, and turbine type.
Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection is a chemical-free process often employed by wastewater treatment operations as the last stage of treatment to meet tight bacterial limitations on plant discharges. The reliability and efficiency of a UV system is critical to mitigating the threat of permit violations and fines for the discharge of improperly disinfected wastewater effluent. For UV systems with horizontal or slanted lamp orientation, the means to control water levels in the channels is a known trouble spot often stemming from the method of actuation used to regulate said levels.
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Plant setup can vary depending on plant design, geography, and size. A plant set up with a reaction turbine and penstock will usually feature two components: a Turbine Inlet Valve (TIV), also known as a guard or shutoff valve, and a Turbine Inlet Valve Bypass on the downstream end of the penstock before the turbine. The TIV prevents or allows water from entering the turbine.
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When transferring crude oil and petroleum products from the main line to the terminal, pressure control is critical. Therefore, reducing the variation in delivery pressure will result in uniform flow rates that will provide protection from over-pressure conditions in terminal systems.
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Coal fired Supercritical Power Plants are an integral component of the strategy for many generation companies. With a higher pressure/temperature range near 4300 psi and 1100°F, supercritical plants operate more efficiently than their subcritical counterparts. Whether an older design base load plant is now called upon to cycle more often, or a newer Supercritical plant designed to do so, it is imperative that the startup system perform at optimal levels.
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Steel making is an energy intensive process. At a tier one integrated steel mill in Jamshedpur, India, the mill energy consumption required for steel production is met with power generation produced at the power houses on site. The primary fuel sources used are by-product gases from the blast furnaces and coke ovens. Blast Furnace Gas (BFG) is the key fuel source used at the combustion boiler to generate steam.
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Recovery of gold ore has become increasingly challenging as yield per ton of ore has decreased dramatically. Existing mines grades are decreasing, new viable ore bodies are being discovered in remote locations and certain methods of recovery, such as traditional leaching, have been outmoded. In the last decade, pressure oxidation (POX) in autoclaves has become the technologically preferred method for processing gold present in sulfide minerals.
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A major midstream pipeline company is undertaking several projects to expand its capacity to meet the energy transportation needs of North America. One of the projects – a pipeline hundreds of miles long – will result in an increase in flow to more than 1,000,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the original design capacity of 400,000 barrels per day. The project will involve modification and upgrading of the existing pump stations, as well as the addition of a number of new pump stations.
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Controlling the power needle is critical to any hydroelectric plant with an impulse turbine configuration. Operating head ranges are between 20-2000 meters where the water is converted to a high velocity jet stream when released from the nozzle’s orifice. As part of the nozzle for an impulse turbine, the power needle controls the water jet that impinges on a series of buckets rotating the runner.