Conceptual Feasibility Study on Heat Pumps Integration in Power Plants for Low Heat Release Thermo-economic Estimation in the Circumstance of South Korea

摘要

In coal power plants with one-through cooling systems, once the 70 to 180 billion gallons of water cycle through the power plant (for a typical 600-megawatt plant); they are released back into the river or ocean. This water is hotter than the water that receives it, creating ‘thermal pollution’ that can decrease fertility and increase heart rates of fish. In a cooling tower system, the majority of waste heat is released into the atmosphere by consuming lots of water. The heat pump can be integrated in power plants to lower the heat release to environments and to reduce the consumption of cooling water. In Korea, using hot waste water obtained from power plant is selected as one of the renewable energy. In this paper, thermo-economic estimation is carried out to apply multi-functional heat pumps for a power plant. Additionally, the most promising refrigerants are discussed for the application.