Method for operating a steam turbine power plant and device for producing steam from lignite

• US 8,850,817 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2010
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RWE Power AG (RWE AG)
• Original Assignee: RWE Power AG (RWE AG)
• Inventors: Rupprecht, Toni, Schmidt, Sandra, Berger, Georg, Moser, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HOANG M
• Application Number:
  US13/318,311
• Publication Number:
  US 20120055158A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,630 Days
• Field of Search: 606/53, 606/46, 606/57, 606/70, 606/78, 423/220, 95/1, 951/56, 951/73, 962/01
• US Class Current: 60/653
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2259/65 Employing advanced heat integration, e.g. Pinch technology
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/1425 Regeneration of liquid absorbents
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/1475 Removing carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: F01K 17/06 Returning energy of steam, in exchanged form, to process, e.g. use of exhaust steam for drying solid fuel or plant
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 50/20 Air quality improvement or preservation, e.g. vehicle emission control or emission reduction by using catalytic converters
• CPC Class Codes: Y02C 20/40 of CO2
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 20/32 Direct CO2 mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/151 Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions, e.g. CO2

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a steam turbine power plant comprising at least one steam generator that is fueled by lignite, wherein the lignite is indirectly dried in a fluidized bed dryer that is heated at least partially with steam from the water-steam circuit of the steam generator. Said method is characterized in that the flue gas from the steam generator undergoes gas scrubbing to remove CO2 and that the energy required for the gas scrubbing is at least partially extracted from the drying process in the fluidized bed. The invention additionally relates to a device for creating steam from lignite comprising a drying system for the lignite and a device to scrub CO2 from the flue gas, wherein the drying process and the CO2 gas scrubbing are thermally coupled to each other.

Claims

1. A method for operating a steam turbine power plant having at least one steam generator which is fired with lignite, wherein the lignite is subjected to indirect drying in a fluidized-bed drier which is heated at least partially with steam from the water-steam cycle of the steam generator, wherein the flue gas from the steam generator is subjected to gas scrubbing for the separation of CO₂, wherein energy which is required for the gas scrubbing is extracted at least partially from vapor heated during the drying, and wherein the vapor is compressed subsequent to the fluidized-bed drier.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the residual heat of at least some of the vapor which results during the drying of the lignite is used for regeneration of a CO₂-laden solvent.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein, for regeneration of the CO₂-laden solvent, use is made of at least one condensing heat exchanger, which is exposed to admission of at least a partial flow of the vapor from the drying.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the vapor which is fed to the condensing heat exchanger is precompressed to a pressure of 3 to 5 bar.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the compression of the vapor is carried out by means of low-pressure steam from the water-steam cycle of the steam generation process.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a partial quantity of the energy which is required for solvent regeneration is extracted in the form of low-pressure steam from the water-steam cycle of the steam turbine process.

7. A device for producing steam from lignite, comprising at least one drier for drying pit-wet lignite, at least one steam generator which is fired with the dried lignite, at least one steam turbine which is connected downstream to the steam generator, wherein at least one device for CO₂ scrubbing of the flue gas from the steam generator, comprising at least one absorber column for loading a solvent with CO₂ from the flue gas, at least one desorber column for regeneration of the solvent and at least one reboiler which is associated with the desorber column, wherein the reboiler is connected to the vapor outlet of the drier, and wherein at least one vapor compressor is provided between the vapor outlet of the fluidized-bed drier and the reboiler.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the drier is designed as a fluidized-bed drier.

9. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein at least one second reboiler is associated with the desorber column and is connected to a low-pressure line of the water-steam cycle.

10. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second reboiler is connected to a crossover pipe between the intermediate-pressure section and the low-pressure section of a steam turbine.