Operational Flexibility and Heat Rate Improvements at La Cygne Unit 1

摘要

Coal-fired units are increasingly expected to operate at varying loads while simultaneously dealing with various operational influences and fuel variations. Maintaining unit load availability while managing adverse effects from varying fuels and operational issues such as flue gas temperature excursions at the economizer outlet, high steam temperatures and the like presents significant challenges. Dynamic adjustment of sootblowing activities is required to effectively control fouling, reduce tube erosion, and enhance reliability in unit operation. Closed-loop optimizers aim to reduce ongoing manual adjustments by control operators and provide consistency in unit operation. Such optimizers are typically computer software-based and work by interfacing an algorithmic and/or artificial intelligence based decision making system into the plant control system. KCP&L is in the process of implementing Siemens SPPA-P3000 combustion and sootblowing optimizers at several Units. The Sootblowing Optimizer solution determines the need for sootblowing based on dynamic plant operating conditions, equipment availability and plant operational drivers. The system then generates sootblower activation signals for propagation in a closed-loop manner to the existing sootblower control system at 'optimal' times. The Sootblowing Optimizer has been successfully installed at La Cygne Unit 1, an 810-MW, cyclone-fired boiler, firing a 90 percent Powder River Basin coal blend. This paper discusses implementation approach as well as operational experience with the Sootblowing Optimizer and presents longer-term operational trends showing unit load sustainability and heat rate improvement.