A combined heat and power system is provided with a Rankine cycle passage, a heat medium passage, an evaporator, an expander, a condenser, a pump, a temperature sensor, a sensor, and a controller. The evaporator receives the heat from the heat medium to heat a working fluid. The temperature sensor detects the temperature of the heat medium after radiating heat for heating the working fluid. The sensor detects the pressure of the working fluid flowing between the outlet of the evaporator and the inlet of the expander. The controller adjusts the rotation speed of the pump based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and in addition, adjusts the rotation speed of the expander based on the pressure detected by the sensor.

Systems and methods to control power plant operation via control of turbine run-up and acceleration are disclosed. According to one embodiment of the disclosure, a method of controlling a turbine in a power plant can be provided. The method may include receiving an operating pressure of a condenser associated with a power plant; receiving a rotor speed of a turbine associated with the power plant; receiving a last stage blade (LSB) protection limit for the turbine; based at least in part on the operating pressure of the condenser, the rotor speed of the turbine, and the LSB protection limit, allowing, via a control system, a run-up of the turbine. The method may further include: receiving a rotor speed gradient of the turbine; receiving one or more critical speed ranges associated with the rotor speed of the turbine; and based at least in part on the operating pressure of the condenser, the rotor speed, the rotor speed gradient, and the one or more critical speed ranges, regulating, via the control system, at least one of: the rotor speed of the turbine and the rotor speed gradient of the turbine.

A thermal power generation system includes: a boiler; at least one steam turbine; a generator; a condenser; at least one low-pressure feed water; a high-pressure feed water pump; at least one high-pressure feed water heater capable of heating water pumped by the high-pressure feed water pump by utilizing extracted steam; a catalyst device including at least one kind of catalyst capable of promoting reduction reaction of nitrogen oxide and oxidation reaction of metallic mercury, the nitrogen oxide and the metallic mercury both being contained in the exhaust gas; at least one mercuric oxide removing device capable of removing mercuric oxide produced by the oxidation reaction of the metallic mercury from the exhaust gas; and an exhaust gas temperature adjustment device capable of adjusting a temperature of the exhaust gas at the catalyst device, by adjusting heating of the water by the at least one high-pressure feed water heater.

A thermal energy recovery device capable of suppressing a rapid increase of thermal stress generated in an evaporator when the operation is started and a start-up method thereof are provided. The thermal energy recovery device includes an evaporator, a preheater, an energy recovery unit, a circulating flow path, a pump, a heating medium flow path for supplying a heating medium to the evaporator and the preheater, a flow adjustment unit provided in a portion on the upstream side than the evaporator within the heating medium flow path, and a control unit. The control unit controls the flow adjustment unit so that the inflow amount of the heating medium in a gas-phase to the evaporator gradually increases, in a state that the pump is stopped, until the temperature of the evaporator becomes a specified value.

A coal fired Oxy boiler power plant having a combustion system configured to burn coal using an oxygen stream to produce a flue gas stream, a CO2 capture system connected to the flue gas stream and a steam cycle with serially arranged low pressure heaters forming part of a condensate system. The combustion system includes, an Air Separation Unit for removing N2 from air to produce the oxygen stream for the boiler. The Air Separation Unit includes an Air Separation Unit heat exchanger that is thermally and fluidly connected to the condensate system so as to be fluidly parallel to at least one serial low pressure heater and fluidly parallel to at least one less that the total number of serial low pressure heaters. The Flue Gas Heat Recovery System, Flue Gas Condenser and Gas Processing unit are thermally integrated into the condensate system.

An Air Separation Unit is disclosed which is thermally integrated into a coal fired oxy boiler power plant. The Air Separation Unit has a Dryer with a dryer heater, wherein an extraction line connects the steam extraction port to the dryer heater. A drain line of the dryer heater then fluidly connects the regeneration heater to a point of a Rankine steam cycle fluidly within the condensate system.

Systems and methods to control power plant operation via control of turbine run-up and acceleration are disclosed. According to one embodiment of the disclosure, a method of controlling a turbine in a power plant can be provided. The method may include receiving an operating pressure of a condenser associated with a power plant; receiving a rotor speed of a turbine associated with the power plant; receiving a last stage blade (LSB) protection limit for the turbine; based at least in part on the operating pressure of the condenser, the rotor speed of the turbine, and the LSB protection limit, allowing, via a control system, a run-up of the turbine. The method may further include: receiving a rotor speed gradient of the turbine; receiving one or more critical speed ranges associated with the rotor speed of the turbine; and based at least in part on the operating pressure of the condenser, the rotor speed, the rotor speed gradient, and the one or more critical speed ranges, regulating, via the control system, at least one of: the rotor speed of the turbine and the rotor speed gradient of the turbine.

A steam cycle system includes a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) which receives exhaust gases, a steam turbine coupled to the HRSG which receives a first steam flow generated by the HRSG, and a condenser which condenses a second steam flow output by the steam turbine. The condenser includes a plurality of heat exchanger tubes, a fan, and a steam collection header. The system includes one or more sensors which measure one or more properties of the steam flow. The system includes a closed-loop controller communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors. The controller receives data from the one or more sensors, determines a flow rate of the second steam flow through the steam header using the one or more sensors, calculates whether the flow rate of the steam is within a threshold, and adjusts one or more operating parameters of the fan.

Disclosed are an air cooled condenser capable of preventing air from being mixed into a working medium flow path, and a power generating apparatus including the air cooled condenser. The air cooled condenser includes a heat exchanger for air-cooling a working medium indirectly through a wall, a fan, a sensor for measuring a pressure value of the working medium at an outlet of the heat exchanger, and a controller for controlling the rotating speed of the fan such that the pressure value obtained by the sensor comes closer to a target value set to be equal to or larger than an atmospheric pressure.

Disclosed are power generation apparatuses. An exemplary power generation apparatus (1) is configured such that water vapor generated in a steam generator (2) is supplied to a scroll expander (3) to drive the scroll expander, wherein: a condensation device (5) is arranged in a discharge path (12) downstream of the scroll expander, the condensation device being configured to mix water vapor having passed through the scroll expander directly with cooling water to condense the water vapor; and the condensation device includes a control unit (10) that performs a control of adjusting the amount of cooling water supply so as to obtain condensed water having a predetermined temperature.