Driving Down Fuel Costs With Feedwater Heater Level Control

For most power plants, 70 to 80% of their production costs are fuel expenses. Hence, any improvement in fuel efficiency can have a significant impact on a plant’s profitability. By improving final feedwater heater temperature through better feedwater heater level control, plants can reduce heat rate and realize significant cost savings. For instance, in a 500-megawatt power plant, improving heat rate by 1% could generate $500,000 in annual savings.

熱速率是植物使用熱能的有效程度的衡量標準。熱速度越高，植物效率越少。熱速率對公司的底線具有重大影響及其在不受監管的市場中競爭的能力。改善的熱速率的好處遠遠超出消耗和成本。通過簡單地減少產生給定的能量所需的燃料量，植物可以看到排放的減少。在許多情況下，這可以通過改善給水加熱器電平控製來以成本有效的方式完成。乐动体育下载通過消除過度漂流，減少熱速率也增加了鍋爐壽命。當一個工廠表現出采取所有可能的步驟時，存在重大的公共關係值，以盡量減少對環境的影響。

乐动体育下载整個電源循環的水平控製
Maintaining accurate, reliable level control throughout the power cycle is critical. The condenser is the beginning of the feedwater heater process, where condensed steam from feedwater heater drains and HP, IP, and LP turbines is routed through successive feedwater heaters. At the same time, extraction steam from turbines reaches the appropriate feedwater heaters and the transfer of energy takes place. Reliable, accurate level control is critical to achieving the final temperatures that this cycle requires.

Feedwater Heater Operation
Feedwater heaters use the heat of condensation to preheat water to the correct temperature for the boiler. During this process, shell and tube heat exchangers allow feedwater to pass through the tube side and extract water from the turbine to the shell side. When controlled properly, feedwater heaters can decrease fuel costs by using extraction steam to preheat water rather than costly hot fuel. Achieving optimum water level in the feedwater heater reduces heat rate and lowers fuel costs. Making an investment in level control can help you achieve optimum heat.

Instrumentation for Feedwater Heater Level Control
The Eclipse® Model 706, a guided wave radar transmitter produced by Magnetrol®, is a smart choice for monitoring feedwater heater level control. The ECLIPSE 706 guided wave radar (GWR) transmitter can help plant operators optimize the condensing zone, deliver accurate level control, maximize energy transfer, and minimize undue wear and tear.

While older level technologies, such as differential pressure, magnetostrictive, RF capacitance, and torque tubes are often used to measure feedwater heater level, these instruments can cause issues for power plant operators. Older technologies such as these are vulnerable to process conditions, induced instrument errors, shifts in specific gravity and mechanical or electronic drift.

GWR is the truly reliable measurement solution for feedwater heater level control, because it is unaffected by process conditions, requires no calibration or gravity corrections, and has superior signal-to-noise ratio. Using a guided wave radar transmitter like the ECLIPSE Model 706 can help power plants achieve a reduced heat rate and lower fuel costs.

More Information
To learn more about feedwater heater level control, and to download a kit about managing your heat rate, visitheatrate.magnetrol.com.