USING ULTRAMAX MODELING AND DYNAMIC OPTIMIZATION SOFTWARE INTEGRATED INTO THE APMS SCADA CONTROL SYSTEM OF UNIT #2 AT EASTERN GENERATION'S, WEST BURTON POWER STATION TO REDUCE NO_X AND IMPROVE OVERALL BOILER PERFORMANCE

摘要

The rapidly changing environment faced by electric power companies in the United Kingdom calls for new equipment and new computer-based technologies in order to meet the increasing demands of emission regulations and competition. An important component of the plan by Eastern Generation's West Burton Plant to control NO_x emissions and reduce cost is the use of advanced optimization software. Boiler tuning with optimization software will not only obtain performance benefits and reduce NO_x emissions, but also prepare West Burton to respond to future changes which effect the operation of their boilers. Eastern Generation has selected ULTRAMAX Dynamic Optimization technology, supplied by Ultramax Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, for use on one boiler in order to evaluate the use of ULTRAMAX and its value as a tool to be used on all of their boilers at West Burton. ULTRAMAX is advanced, intelligent software for optimization and empirical modeling. It is extremely versatile, with successful applications to more than 90 boilers including wall, tangential, cyclone, turbo and cell boilers, fired by a variety of fuels, including many with NO_x control device retrofits. ULTRAMAX technology will be integrated with existing control and data acquisition equipment at West Burton to provide valuable on-line, real-time optimization to help operators maximize boiler performance regardless of conditions. ULTRAMAX will reside on an NT Workstation and interface with West Burton's APMS SCADA system to enable automatic collection of data and, in advisory mode, display recommended parameter settings on the operator's console. From the console, the operator can access models which advise adjustments to control parameters, such as the O_2 setpoint and air biases, to achieve and maintain the best boiler performance at all times and for all operating conditions. This provides operators, regardless of experience level, with a tool that makes their job easier and ensures consistent, low-cost and compliant boiler performance. Eastern Generation will have the option of enabling the closed-loop mode for automatic optimization that bypasses the operator in operating decisions if they decide to operate in this mode at a future date. On-line use of ULTRAMAX, in both advisory mode and closed-loop mode, affords the opportunity for greater fuel savings and emissions control, and the ability to rapidly respond to changes in operating conditions, compliance regulations, and the market environment.