Integration of Steam Recovered from Molten Salts in a Solar Integrated Combined Cycle

In the current context of the energy transition, Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) power plants are an alternative that are able to reduce carbon emissions from combined cycle (CC) power plants. In addition, the coupling to an energy storage system based on molten salts benefits hybridization,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2024-08, Vol.16 (15), p.6566
Main Authors: Iglesias-Varela, Paula, García-Regodeseves, Pedro, de-la-Cruz-Fernández, Juan, Meana-Fernández, Andrés
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air quality management
Alternative energy sources
Analysis
Carbon
Construction costs
Efficiency
Electric power-plants
Electricity
Emissions
Emissions (Pollution)
Energy consumption
Energy resources
Energy storage
Green technology
Heat transfer
Industrial plant emissions
Natural gas
Optimization techniques
Power plants
Solar energy
Thermal energy
Thermodynamics
Turbines
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Summary:In the current context of the energy transition, Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) power plants are an alternative that are able to reduce carbon emissions from combined cycle (CC) power plants. In addition, the coupling to an energy storage system based on molten salts benefits hybridization, allowing the energy surplus to be to stored to cover peaks in energy demand. Because it is a recent technology, the determination of the optimal injection points for the solar-generated steam into the combined cycle is a critical issue. In this work, a thermodynamic model of a hybrid natural gas and solar thermal CC power plant has been developed using Thermoflex to analyze the integration effects in terms of efficiency and power. For all the steam injection candidate positions, the effects of ‘power boosting’ and ‘fuel saving’ operation modes have been simulated, considering operation conditions that are compatible with the useful range of molten salts. The results show that injection of steam at the high-pressure line before the steam turbine increases the cycle’s gross efficiency with respect to the reference case, estimating a reduction of carbon emissions of 6696 kg/h in the ‘fuel saving’ mode and an increase in gross power of 14.4 MW in the ‘power boosting’ mode. Hence, adapting current combined cycles for hybridization with solar power is a viable solution in the transition period towards more sustainable energy sources.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su16156566