Experimental Study of Processes in the Elements of Thermochemical Fuel Treatment Systems of Integrated Power Generating Units

The results of the experimental study of the regularities of processes in the elements of thermochemical fuel treatment through the utilization of secondary energy resources have been presented in the article. As criteria for evaluating the energy efficiency of the processes of thermochemical treatment of hydrocarbon fuels have been proposed: the coefficient of increasing the calorific value of the base fuel and the energy utilization coefficient. Criteria for evaluating the energy efficiency of the processes of thermochemical treatment of hydrocarbon fuels have been proposed. The scheme of the experimental stand and the research methodology have been represented. The results of a comprehensive analysis of the influence of the process parameters of thermochemical processing of the base fuel on the efficiency of steam conversion have been described. Experimental study has been carried out in the range of water vapour/ethanol ratio 0.3... 2.7, pressure 0.175... 0.45 MPa, temperature 850... 950 K. By the method of experiment planning, the dependencies of indicated criteria for evaluating the energy efficiency on the process parameters have been obtained. It has been shown that the influence of the process pressure is essential. In the specified range of parameters for ethanol, the maximum value of the coefficient of increasing the calorific value of the base fuel reaches 0.21. Mechanical energy consumption when organizing the processes of thermochemical treatment is 6... 12% of the total energy costs and significantly affects the efficiency of utilization of secondary energy resources.