Just like a gas turbine, the steam turbine generates electricity but it also generates heat. The steam turbine has a power output of 160 MW, compared with the gas turbines output of 293 MW. Short facts The turbine, manufactured by Alstom, weighs just over 300 tons with all its auxiliary equipment and consists of components from several different countries such as Poland, Germany, France and Switzerland. The turbine rests on a three-meter thick concrete base with an area of 400 square meters. The base is itself supported by 11.5-meter-high concrete pillars. This is all to help dampen vibrations. The shaft speed of the rotor is 3 000 revolutions per minute and the outer edges of the turbines rotor blades reach a top speed of 2 000 km/hour. resundsverket utilizes energy produced directly from the combustion of gas fuel and energy produced from steam pressure to produce electricity in gas turbines and steam turbines. The electronic efficiency thus reaches a level in excess of 58 percent, which can be compared with the levels of 40-45 percent achieved by conventional coal-fired power stations. At full production levels for electricity and district heat, the energy in the fuel is utilized at a level close to 90 percent only ten percent remains unused. The temperature of the exhaust gases after catalytic cleaning is 71 Celsius the vast majority of the heat energy has been utilized.
This is how it works
The steam turbine is powered, as the name implies, with steam. The hot steam comes from the boiler and powers the turbine that via the generator produces electricity. However, some of the steam can be diverted and utilized to heat water for Malms district heating network. This is the step-by-step process: The hot exhaust gases (630 Celsius) that are formed when the natural gas-fired gas turbine produces electricity heat up water, under pressure, in the large steam boiler to steam at 565 Celsius. This steam is then led to the turbines rotors, which it powers with great force and generates electricity via the generator. The electricity then travels to the power grid and on to the consumer. The turbine consists of a high-pressure section, a medium-pressure section and a low-pressure section. Together, these three sections weigh 197 tons of which the rotor accounts for 85 tons. Steam at 565 Celsius under a pressure of 140 bar (equivalent to the pressure at 1 400 meters below sea level) is led into the high-pressure section. There the steam expands as the pressure drops to 26 bar and the temperature drops to 330 Celsius, thus operating the steam turbines rotor and generating 35 MW of electricity. After passing through the high-pressure section, the steam is reheated in the boiler and then passes into the medium-pressure turbine where it generates 43 MW of electricity. Some of the steam from the medium-pressure turbine can be drawn off to heat water, via a heat exchanger, for the district heating network in Malm.
If no steam has been drawn off, that is to say
there has been no district heating production, the low-pressure section generates 82 MW of electricity. If the steam is utilized for district heating, the amount of electricity generated drops in proportion to the amount of steam used for heat production. By pumping out almost two thousand liters of water at 90 Celsius every second, the resundverket can keep large portions of Malm warm when the cold tightens its grip on the city. resundsverket has the capacity to provide 40 percent of Malms heating needs. The amount of heat produced is controlled by the need for heat and that is, of course, at its greatest in the winter. resundsverket can under normal conditions produce anything between 25 and 250 MW of heat. However, if there are exceptional demands for heat, the plant can produce up to 408 MW of heat through shutting down the steam turbine. The steam turbine can generate 160 MW of electricity with no heat production and 110 MW of electricity whilst producing 250 MW of heat. This heat can be called a byproduct of the plants electricity production by exchanging 1 MW of electricity for 5 MW of heat. resundverket thus obtains a very high degree of efficiency. Waste and emissions are minimal.
Cross-section of the steam turbine
High-pressure steam turbine with 29 stages, meaning 29
rows of guide vanes and rotor blades. Weight 39 tons.
Transportation pipe for steam from the mediumpressure turbine to the low-pressure turbine.
Medium-pressure steam turbine with 21 stages.
Weight 56 tons.
Low-pressure turbine with six stages in each flow
direction. Weight 101 tons.
Generator. Air-cooled. Weight 202 tons.
For more information, contact
E.ON Vrmekraft Sverige AB, T +46 40 25 50 00 eon.se/oresundsverket
Power of Habit: The Ultimate Guide to Forming Positive Daily Habits, Learn How to Effectively Break Your Bad Habits For Good and Start Creating Good Ones