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ADVANCEMENT IN
COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS:
HIGHER EFFICIENCY USING
ADVANCED MATERIALS
G.-N. Stamatelopoulos and E. Sadlon

ALSTOM

Abstract
The availability of the worldwide coal resources and their price stability compared to natural
gas and oil will maintain and enhance coal´s important role in power generation in Europe
and worldwide. Among the technologies of major interest today for coal utilisation are state-
of-the-art supercritical pulverised coal (PC) steam generators and circulating fluidised bed
(CFB) steam generators.

This paper reviews latest advancements in supercritical plant designs. Operational aspects
including start-up, base load, and two-shift mode will be discussed. Special focus is given on
the advancement of the materials development for reaching high supercritical steam
parameters. The critical boiler components are identified and the state-of-the-art of the
respective materials for these components are shown. With increasing steam parameters,
resistance to steam oxidation and hot gas corrosion play a major role in selecting the proper
material besides the creep properties requirement.

An overview of the further development stages of the 700 °C power plant with an efficiency
of over 50 % (LHV) is shown. Results of current development and testing programs are
presented, as well as the timeframe and the necessary steps towards a commercial (first of a
kind), or demonstration application. Finally, the potential contribution of efficient coal-fired
power plants in the reduction of CO2 emissions in Europe and worldwide will be
demonstrated.

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Coal Utilisation for Power Generation

The worldwide resources of coal guarantee a stable fuel supply for the next centuries and
contribute to the selection of pulverised coal (PC), or circulating fluidised bed (CFB)
technology as the preferred option for many utilities. The competitive liberalised environment
forces European utilities to keep their fuel costs low and leads more and more to high
efficient, cost effective coal-fired supercritical steam power plant designs for the coal
utilisation. Additional reasons establishing supercritical design as the preferred technology
choice include:

• the reliability of a technology which has evolved in incremental steps,

• high level of availability and operational flexibility,

• high efficiencies and low generation costs,

• the reduction of SO2, NOX and CO2 emissions.

Despite its long history, coal-fired power plant technology is still evolving, and efficiency has
been improved significantly since the late 1950s. It will be improved still further. The
increase of steam parameters to advanced supercritical conditions is the main development
trend to improve the power plant efficiency. As an example, Figure 1 shows the evolution of
the efficiency improvement of the power plants worldwide. In Figure 2, contributions of a
range of different measures for the efficiency increase are summarised. These include
advancements in steam cycle conditions, as well as advanced turbine designs, improved
materials for heat transfer and process optimisation.

The basis for development of supercritical cycles was the commercial availability of once-
through technology in the 1950s. Since their introduction, supercritical cycles have fully
evolved from constant pressure application to today’s advanced once-through sliding pressure
technology. As steam cycles increased, components remained the same; and thus these well
proven designs have required adaptations only to materials selection and dimensioning of
pressure parts.

New project inquiries are increasingly specifying supercritical technology with high steam
temperatures up to 600 / 620 °C and it is anticipated that the share of supercritical cycles will
continue to increase. The challenge lies in combining the high efficiency with high
operational flexibility and applying the positive experience from a variety of fuels, such as
the brown coal-fired 1,000 MW BoA 1 boiler in Niederaussem, Germany, the 2 x 800 MW

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bituminous coal-fired boilers for Korean National utility at Yonghung in Korea, and
2 x 980 MW boilers for Wai Gao Qiao in Shanghai, P. R. of China.

Figure 1: Evolution of steam power station efficiency worldwide

Turbine efficiency

Condenser pressure
Basis 7.2 % Process optimization
38 % (FWT, feed heater arrangement, ...)

Steam parameters

Feedwater temperature
Measures on steam generator
(∆p, Pel, λ, Texhaust gas)

Figure 2: Contribution of efficiency increasing measures on steam plants efficiency

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Advanced Materials

For the increase of the efficiency of coal-fired power plants the main development trend is
the increase of steam parameters with supercritical pressures and higher temperatures at the
boiler outlet. To meet these new steam cycles, attention must be paid to ensure that material
selection is appropriate and adapted to the new steam cycle requirements. The increase of
steam conditions primarily affects the water walls, final superheater and reheater tubing, and
the thick-walled components, mainly the high pressure outlet headers and the piping to the
turbine. Several boiler materials with improved mechanical properties have been developed
in the last years. Some new materials are still in the stage of development. Besides the aspects
of strength and workability of the materials, attention must be paid to the corrosion and
oxidation behaviour at high temperatures [1]. The following sections give an overview of the
available materials for the critical boiler components and Figure 3 shows the available
materials for the critical boiler components. Not all these materials are yet standardised.
Several of the future option materials are still under development; their use will be
determined based on performance testing. Specific material applications may vary depending
on the design code used (EN 12952, ASME, etc.).

Membrane Walls Tubes SH outlet header

HCM 12 , Nickel alloy Nickel alloy

Future Nickel alloy
Options
Austenitic
NF 12, SAVE 12,
12 CrCoMo

9 - 12 %
Current Cr-steels
7 CrMo VTiB 10 10 Austenitic E 911, P 92, P 122
HCM 2S

Past

13 CrMo 4 4 X 20 CrMoV 12 1 Austenitic X 20 CrMoV 12 1 P 91

260 270 290 300 350 260 270 290 300 350 bar SHO 260 270 290 300 350
550 580 600 630 700 550 580 600 630 700 °C SHO 550 580 600 630 700
570 600 620 650 720 570 600 620 650 720 °C RHO 570 600 620 650 720

Figure 3: Available materials for boiler components at different steam outlet conditions

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Waterwall

The waterwall is defined as the flue gas-tight enclosure of the furnace and the heat exchanger
section of the boiler.

For drum type boilers with subcritical steam conditions, carbon steel or in some cases the
low-alloy Mo-steel 8MoB5-4 (T1) is used as waterwall material. For supercritical boilers
with moderate steam conditions of 545 °C (SH outlet) and 570 °C (RH outlet) the low-alloy
CrMo steel 13CrMo4-5 (T12) is used as waterwall material. Depending on fuel
characteristics steam conditions up to 270 bar and 580 °C to 600 °C (operating conditions at
SH outlet) can be realised with the material T12. This corresponds to a maximum waterwall
outlet temperature of approximately 460 °C.

For advanced supercritical boilers with steam conditions of 600 °C (SH outlet) and 620 °C
(RH outlet) the new developed 2 - 2.5 % chromium steels HCM2S (T23) or 7CrMoVTiB10-
10 (T24) are needed due to the requirements of higher creep strength. Both materials are
developed based on the steel 10CrMo9-10 (T22) and have much higher creep strength values
than the steel T22. By use of the T23 or T24 steels, the steam temperature limit at the
waterwall outlet can be raised by approximately 50 K in comparison with the conventional
T12 steel.

Besides the mechanical properties the main important factor for the selection of the waterwall
material is that no post weld heat treatment is necessary after manufacturing or after erection
on site. Under European rules, this requires hardness values < 350 HV10 after welding of the
panels.

Superheater and Reheater Tubes

For superheater and reheater tubes, the creep strength of the used materials has to be high
enough at the relevant pressure and temperature range. In addition to this requirement for
higher strength, more attention has to be paid to the corrosion and oxidation behaviour of the
materials. The oxide layer on the steam side can become significant and leads to higher
material temperatures, which could cause creep damage. External high-temperature corrosion
on the flue gas side reduces the effective wall thickness of the tubes.

Due to the requirements for high creep strength and high corrosion resistance, the martensitic
steels like X10CrMoVNb9-1 (T91) can be only used for sub- and supercritical boilers with
steam temperatures up to approximately 550 °C (SH outlet) and 570 °C (RH outlet).

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Above this temperature, for advanced supercritical boilers with steam conditions up to
approximately 600 °C (SH outlet) and 620 °C (RH outlet), austenitic materials are needed.
The austenitic materials have much higher chromium content which is beneficial in terms of
increased oxidation and corrosion resistance. Typical austenitic materials for superheater and
reheater tubes, which are commercially available are TP347HFG (fine grained), Super304H,
HR3C and TP310N. The fineness of the metallographic structure enhances the oxidation
resistance properties. In order to further increase the oxidation resistance on the tube inside,
shot blasting procedures can be applied for some materials.

Figure 4 shows the 100,000 hours creep rupture values of the superheater and reheater
materials previously discussed.

X 20: DIN 17175 and DIN 17176 SUPER 304 H: Sumitomo

T 91: VdTÜV Material Sheet 511/2 TP 347 HFG: Sumitomo and ASME C.C. 2159
HCM 12: VdTÜV Material Sheet 510 NF 709: Nippon Steel
1.4910: DIN 17459 SAVE 25: Sumitomo
AC 66: VdTÜV Material Sheet 497 HR 3C: Sumitomo and ASME C.C. 2115
250
100,000 h - Creep rupture values (average)

N/mm2 TP 347 HFG

200
SAVE 25

HCM 12 SUPER 304 H

150
HR 3C
T 91 NF 709

100

X 20
50
1.4910
AC 66

0
560 580 600 620 640 660 680 °C 700
Temperature

Figure 4: 100,000 h creep rupture values for SH and RH materials

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Thick-Walled Components

As candidate materials for thick-walled components such as high pressure outlet headers and
steam piping, main attention has been paid up to now to the improvement of the modified 9 -
12 % chromium steels.

In Europe, the conventional steel for thick-walled components has historically been
X20CrMoV121. Extensive operating experience is available in the steam temperature range
up to 560 °C. With an increase of the steam parameters, the limit of the steel X20CrMoV121
is quickly reached. In order to have higher strengths, new materials have been developed. The
next development in this area led to the application of the material X10CrMoVNb9-1 (P91),
which was co-developed by ALSTOM and can be regarded meanwhile as well-proven
material. With the material P91, the steam parameters can be increased to 270 bar and 580 °C
(operating conditions at SH outlet).

In a further development, the creep rupture values of the new steels have been further
improved through the addition of tungsten. The typical materials from this new development
are the tungsten-alloyed chromium steels P92, E911 and P122 (HCM12A). With such
materials the steam parameters can be extended to approximately 290 bar and 600 °C.

Operational Aspects
The liberalisation and deregulation of the electricity markets increases the economic pressure
on the utilities that undertake efforts to concentrate and consolidate their power plant fleet,
especially with the decommissioning of the older and typically, lower capacity units. The
requirements in terms of load-following capabilities for the remaining and also for the new
power plants increase. Also, due to the incentives policy for the support of renewable energy
sources their percentage in the European energy mix is increasing. Nevertheless, it is known
that renewables are characterised by a low capacity utilisation and their utilisation plan is
difficult to forecast.

In this context a new regulation for the support of the network frequency through the
available capacity margin was defined in the year 2000: 2 % -- based on the nominal
capacity -- of additional capacity should be available within 30 seconds and must stay
available for at least 15 minutes. Additionally, the power plant should be able to react quickly
to long-lasting load change requirements. These requirements can be fulfilled through the

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throttling of the live steam control valves, the condensate-stop-process, the condensate-retain-
process, or the closure of the bled steam pipes.

Adequate cycling ability, in terms of number of starts and their duration, hot starts, as well as
the ability for rapid load change rates are expected from a modern coal-fired power plant.
This requirement is challenged by practical design considerations that higher steam
parameters increase the wall thickness of boiler components and thus limit operational
flexibility. This contradiction is addressed by balancing the number of startups and load
changes, the associated ramp rates, and operating temperatures. The following
design/operating approaches will assist in addressing cycling needs.

a. Limitation of the number of hot starts in such a way that in off-peak periods the boiler can
operate in the once-through mode at the lowest possible load. The advantage herein is that
the critical components, like the high temperature headers and pipes do not experience any
significant temperature changes. On the other hand, load changes can be executed at
adequately high rates. Only for very large load changes, the limitation is shifted to the
cyclone steam separator. Additional steam separators arranged in parallel can further
improve the load changes rates. Designing the boiler for low minimum once-through load
affects the evaporator design and makes more sense if such low loads can still be achieved
without the need for secondary fuel firing.

b. Extension of the start-up duration for a hot start-up. Assuming the same number of load
cycles for cold, warm and hot starts and the same lifetime consumption, then the duration
of a hot start almost doubles for a boiler with steam parameters of 600 / 620 °C compared
with steam parameters at the 550 / 570 °C range.

c. Limitation of the steam temperatures up to 550 / 570 °C allows a high number of hot starts
and a daily start-up and shut-down of the unit. This flexibility is paid by a reduced
efficiency of approximately 1-2 % point for the whole plant.

d. Limitation of the live steam pressure up to approximately 250 bar, while the steam
temperatures are retained in the range of 600 / 620 °C. Such limitation reduces the
efficiency by approximately 0,3 % points from 290 bar operation, but can reduce the wall
thickness of the high pressure outlet header by approximately 10 mm. In the context of
lifetime consumption this variant lies between variants b and c.

e. Replacement of the high pressure outlet headers after evidence of fatigue life exhaustion.
These particular components can be designed by using the 100,000 h creep values and

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therefore the selected wall thickness may be reduced. The unit can be operated as a cycling
unit. Nevertheless, after their lifetime consumption, these components must be replaced.
As the costs for the replacement of the outlet headers depend mainly on the outage time
needed for such a work, it is worthwhile to monitor their lifetime consumption and execute
the replacement in the framework of a scheduled inspection.

f. Exhaustion of every margin for the design of the thick-walled components. This can be
done, if a Finite Element Method calculation is done for these particular components. Such
a calculation should be explicitly approved by the inspecting authority. In the context of
lifetime consumption, this variant lies between variants b and c.

With these measures ultra-supercritical power plants also can achieve a high degree of
operational flexibility comparable to the practice of coal-fired power plants currently in
operation in Europe, as Figures 5 and 6 depict.

250 600 100

bar °C %
225 570 90

200 540 80

175 510 70

150 480 60

125 450 50

100 420 40

75 390 30

50 360 20

25 330 10

0 300 0
9:30 9:45 10:00 10:15 10:30 10:45 11:00 11:15 11:30
Total firing rate [%] SH Steam temperature [°C] Generator output [%]
RH Steam temperature [°C] SH Steam flow [%] Total air flow [%]
SH Steam pressure [bar]

Figure 5: Hot start-up of a lignite-fired power plant

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250 600 120

bar °C %
225 550 110

500 100
200
450 90
175 95.28 %/10:14:52
400 80
150 350 70 6.7 %/min.

125 300 60 64.8 %/10:10:19

100 250 50
200 40
75
150 30
50
100 20
25 50 10
0 0 0
10:00 10:05 10:10 10:15 10:20 10:25 10:30

Total firing rate [%] SH Steam temperature [°C]

RH Steam temperature [°C] SH Steam flow [%]
SH Steam pressure [bar] Auxiliary line

Figure 6: Load increase with over 6 % steam flow variation per minute

Further Development stages towards the 700 °C technology

Today´s state-of-the-art enables efficiencies of over 45 % and 43 % (LHV) for bituminous
coal and lignite-fired power plants respectively (corresponding to steam outlet temperatures
of 600 / 620 °C), compared to a 35 % average in the 1970s. In the mid 1990s manufacturers
and utilities decided to make the step towards the 700 °C technology for coal-fired power
plants, a step that is equivalent to a net efficiency of over 50 % (LHV) for coal-fired power
plants. The advantages of this development are obvious:

The increased efficiency offers a satisfactory response to the requirements for lower Cost of
Electricity (CoE), reduction of all primary emissions, saving resources and reduction of CO2
emissions.

From a technical point of view, the main processes involved in the construction and operation
of coal-fired power plants do not change and thus the 700 °C technology can benefit in terms
of reliability and availability from the experience gained over decades. Therefore the risk
related to the introduction of a new technology is minimised and limited to a number of
critical components that need to be tested in advance.

The testing of the critical components for the 700 °C technology was the reason for launching
the AD700 project in 1998 [2]. This phased-program aims at covering design, materials and

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demonstration issues linked with this technology. The first phases were jointly funded by the
EU and the participating partners, including equipment suppliers, as well as material
manufacturers and utilities.

The formation of the Emax initiative by VGB, consisting of major European utilities (RWE,
E.ON, EnBW, EDF, Vattenfall, Electrabel, Energi E2, Elsam and PPC) accelerated the
identification of additional development needs that require a minimum operational time and
shall thus be demonstrated. These needs include:

• long term creep behaviour linked with real plant dimensions and other design features

• determination and evaluation of residual service life

• in-service inspections

• operational testing of Ni-based alloys for pipes and valves

• steam oxidation and hot gas corrosion under real operating conditions.

In order to fulfil the above needs, the project COMTES700 was launched in 2004 and aims at
the demonstration of the critical boiler components, of a turbine inlet valve, of a safety valve
and a high pressure (HP) bypass valve for a 700 °C temperature. The project is partly funded
by the EC and the partners including the utilities named above and ALSTOM, Siemens,
Babcock Hitachi Europe and Burmeister & Wain Energy. ALSTOM has developed the
concept and has the technical leadership of the project. Figure 7 shows the flow diagram of
the Component Test Facility (CTF).

M M M M M M
from
Feedwater
System

Safety
Valve
HP-Bypass M

from SH 1
Inlet Header M

to SH 4
Outlet Header

Evaporator Superheater to Hot Reheat

Legend: APB BHE Pool BWE SIEMENS/APG

HORA: HP-Bypass and Start-Up Valves
Sempell: Sempell: Safety and Stop Valves

Figure 7: CTF Flow Scheme

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The CTF test facility will be installed in the 750 MWel bituminous coal-fired power plant
Scholven F. Steam for testing (12 kg/s) is taken from the inlet header of the first superheater
stage (SH1) and is led to the membrane wall panel, where it is heated to 600 °C. Between the
membrane wall panel and the superheater, an injection is foreseen, which can quickly control
the temperature level before the test superheater inlet. The steam is heated in the test
superheater at 705 °C and will then either enter the HP bypass test valve, or will be cooled
down to SH3 temperature level and mixed with the main superheater steam. In the first case
the steam after leaving the HP bypass test valve will be cooled down and led to the final
reheater stage outlet header.

Figure 8 shows the arrangement of the boiler critical components of the CTF into the existing
boiler in Scholven F [3].

Figure 8: CTF Implementation into existing boiler

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The CTF is expected to be placed in operation in early summer 2005 and the demonstration
will last for at least three years. After completion of the demonstration, secure operational
data with the implemented materials will be available that will enable the construction of the
first full scale 700 °C power plant. From the technical point of view, the CTF demonstration
is the final step that will prove the 700 °C technology concept. The subsequent construction
of a commercial, or demonstration full scale coal-fired power plant applying this technology
will then depend on economic considerations related to the development of the materials, coal
prices, and the value for the avoided CO2 emissions.

Summary

The paper gives an overview of the developments in supercritical PC designs for coal-fired
power plants. As coal will continue to play a major and stabilising role in electricity
generation in Europe and worldwide, the development of improved coal fired technology will
enable continued reliable, economic and environmentally friendly electricity generation.
Through efficiency improvement enabled by the increase of the steam parameters, coal-fired
power plants can contribute decisively to the reduction of the CO2 emissions and the saving
of resources. In this context, the development of new materials for very high steam
parameters will remain a high priority. The advantage of the efficiency increase as a CO2
reduction strategy compared to other technologies is that all the other technologies will
require field demonstration to confirm practical considerations such as performance,
reliability, robustness, environmental impact and economics. Additionally, efficiency
increases enhance the potential for application of future CO2 capture and sequestration
technologies.

References

[1] Chen, Q., Scheffknecht, G.: New boiler and piping materials: Design consideration for
advanced cycle conditions. VGB Conference "Power Plants in Competition", March
2003, Cologne, Germany.

[2] Kjaer, S.; Klauke, F.; Vanstone, R.; Zeijseink, A.; Weissinger, G.; Kristensen, P.; Meier,
J.;Blum, R.; Wieghardt, K.: The advanced supercritical 700 °C pulverised coal-fired
power plant, Power-Gen Europe 2001, 29. - 31. May 2001, Brussels, Belgium.

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[3] Bauer, F.; Stamatelopoulos, G.-N.; Vortmeyer, N.; Bugge, J.: Driving Coal-fired Power
Plants to Over 50 % Efficiency, VGB PowerTech 12/2003, pp. 97 – 100.

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