ECONOMIC AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF HEAT SINK OPTIONS IN COMBINED CYCLE APPLICATIONS

摘要

Because of the current environmental requirements for zero discharge from power plants and scarcity of water, the cooling tower―a proven and industry-recognized conventional option for combined cycle application heat sinka―is being scrutinized by designers, developers, operators, and regulatory agencies. This paper is a guideline to selecting the most appropriate solution for the plant heat sink based on water availability, site location, and wastewater disposal requirements. The paper discusses wet as well as dry cooling systems and evaluates the impact of heat sink selection for cogeneration applications and merchant power plant cycling operation mode. For each proposed option, the performance, relative costs, and noise issues will be presented.