Title: Exergoeconomic analysis of a Kalina cycle coupled coal-fired steam power plant

Authors: Omendra Kumar Singh; S.C. Kaushik

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, GGS Indraprastha University, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, India ' Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi-110016, India

Abstract: This paper presents exergoeconomic analysis of a Kalina cycle coupled coal-fired steam power plant using specific exergy costing (SPECO) methodology. Cost-balance and auxiliary equations are developed and solved. The results indicate that in the topping cycle, the boiler and the turbine contribute maximum to the formation of product cost. High value of exergoeconomic factor for the boiler indicates that increasing capital investment into more efficient boiler design would only marginally reduce its exergy destruction. For the steam turbine, which has a low value of exergoeconomic factor and a high value of relative cost difference, the performance can be improved by capital investment into more efficient design. In the Kalina bottoming cycle, the components that contribute largely to the formation of the product cost are the evaporator and the turbine. Low values of exergoeconomic factors for recuperator and evaporator indicate that improving their efficiency would reduce the exergy destruction cost.

Keywords: exergoeconomic analysis; coal-fired steam power plants; Kalina cycle; cost balance equations; exergoeconomic variables; SPECO; specific exergy costing; boiler design; steam turbines; turbine design; recuperator efficiency; evaporator efficiency; exergy destruction cost.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2014.059512

International Journal of Exergy, 2014 Vol.14 No.1, pp.38 - 59

Received: 08 Jan 2013
Accepted: 22 Feb 2013
Published online: 07 Aug 2014 *

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