700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology is ready to go

"The power generation efficiency of a 600℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired unit is about 45.4%, and its designed standard coal consumption is about 271g/kwh. The 700℃ ultra-supercritical power generation unit we plan to develop will have a power generation efficiency of more than 51%, and the unit standard coal consumption can be reduced to 241g/kwh. For example, a 600MW unit has an annual utilization hour of 5,500 hours and an annual power generation of 3.3 billion kWh. The annual coal consumption of a 700℃ ultra-supercritical unit is about 795,000 tons, which is 99,000 tons less than the 894,000 tons of a 600℃ ultra-supercritical unit." Sun Rui, deputy secretary-general of the National 700℃ Ultra-Supercritical Coal-fired Power Generation Technology Innovation Alliance (hereinafter referred to as the "Innovation Alliance") and chief engineer of China Electric Power Engineering Consulting Group Corporation, repeatedly emphasized the great significance of the research and development of 700℃ ultra-supercritical units through figures.

On June 24, the National Energy Administration organized the first meeting of the Council and Technical Committee of the National 700℃ Ultra-Supercritical Coal-fired Power Generation Technology Innovation Alliance. Although the innovation alliance was announced in July last year, due to the large number of units involved in the project and the broad research field, in order to more steadily promote the development of the project, after nearly a year of careful preliminary planning, the alliance officially began to operate.

The Innovation Alliance Council includes my country's five major power generation groups, three major power groups, as well as key power design, research units, material research and smelting units, etc. Liu Tienan, Director of the National Energy Administration, personally serves as the chairman of the council, which further highlights the country's high attention to the project.

"The development of 700℃ ultra-supercritical power generation technology is an important measure to optimize and adjust the coal-based power structure. It is a requirement for achieving clean and efficient utilization of China's coal resources and deepening energy conservation and emission reduction. It is also an important part of the national energy strategy." Liu Tienan pointed out at the meeting.

China's research and development of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology is ready to go.

Technology research and development has many benefits

"Although my country has vigorously developed renewable energy, coal as the main energy source will not change much in the future for quite a long time." Sun Rui told our reporter, "Therefore, improving the power generation efficiency of thermal power plants and reducing coal consumption in power generation are of great significance to my country's energy conservation and reduction of pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions."

In order to cope with global climate change, my country has set a goal of increasing the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption to about 15% by 2020 and reducing the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40%-45% compared with 2005. To achieve this goal, China's energy sector needs to make great efforts.

"Compared with 600℃ ultra-supercritical power generation technology, 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11%. The use of 700℃ ultra-high parameter thermal power units is one of the most important measures for my country to achieve its CO2 emission reduction goals. This will ease the tremendous pressure on my country in terms of environmental protection in international political exchanges and help establish my country's image as a responsible major country. Therefore, from this perspective, the research and development of 700℃ technology is also necessary." Sun Rui said.

According to the forecast of relevant departments, by 2020, the installed capacity of power generation in China will exceed 1.7 billion kilowatts, and the installed capacity of coal-fired power generation will exceed 1 billion kilowatts. At the same time, a large number of inefficient and highly polluting units need to be shut down. Faced with the pressure of energy conservation and emission reduction and the market demand for new power generation capacity and replacement power generation capacity, it is necessary to develop cleaner and more efficient thermal power generation units. "Due to the long research and development cycle of 700℃ ultra-supercritical, we started late, so we must make breakthrough progress as soon as possible to catch up with the international pace." Sun Rui explained.

It is reported that the implementation of this project will enable my country to master key technologies such as high-temperature material smelting technology, processing and manufacturing, welding and testing of major equipment and components of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation, and then form independent design, development and manufacturing capabilities of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation units, comprehensively enhancing the core competitiveness of my country's metallurgical, machinery and power companies.

"The power generation efficiency of a 600℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired unit is about 45.4%, and its designed standard coal consumption is about 271g/kwh. The 700℃ ultra-supercritical power generation unit we plan to develop will have a power generation efficiency of more than 51%, and the unit standard coal consumption can be reduced to 241g/kwh. For example, a 600MW unit has an annual utilization hour of 5,500 hours and an annual power generation of 3.3 billion kWh. The annual coal consumption of a 700℃ ultra-supercritical unit is about 795,000 tons, which is 99,000 tons less than the 894,000 tons of a 600℃ ultra-supercritical unit." Sun Rui, deputy secretary-general of the National 700℃ Ultra-Supercritical Coal-fired Power Generation Technology Innovation Alliance (hereinafter referred to as the "Innovation Alliance") and chief engineer of China Electric Power Engineering Consulting Group Corporation, repeatedly emphasized the great significance of the research and development of 700℃ ultra-supercritical units through figures.

On June 24, the National Energy Administration organized the first meeting of the Council and Technical Committee of the National 700℃ Ultra-Supercritical Coal-fired Power Generation Technology Innovation Alliance. Although the innovation alliance was announced in July last year, due to the large number of units involved in the project and the broad research field, in order to more steadily promote the development of the project, after nearly a year of careful preliminary planning, the alliance officially began to operate.

The Innovation Alliance Council includes my country's five major power generation groups, three major power groups, as well as key power design, research units, material research and smelting units, etc. Liu Tienan, Director of the National Energy Administration, personally serves as the chairman of the council, which further highlights the country's high attention to the project.

"The development of 700℃ ultra-supercritical power generation technology is an important measure to optimize and adjust the coal-based power structure. It is a requirement for achieving clean and efficient utilization of China's coal resources and deepening energy conservation and emission reduction. It is also an important part of the national energy strategy." Liu Tienan pointed out at the meeting.

China's research and development of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology is ready to go.

Technology research and development has many benefits

"Although my country has vigorously developed renewable energy, coal as the main energy source will not change much in the future for quite a long time." Sun Rui told our reporter, "Therefore, improving the power generation efficiency of thermal power plants and reducing coal consumption in power generation are of great significance to my country's energy conservation and reduction of pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions."

In order to cope with global climate change, my country has set a goal of increasing the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption to about 15% by 2020 and reducing the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40%-45% compared with 2005. To achieve this goal, China's energy sector needs to make great efforts.

"Compared with 600℃ ultra-supercritical power generation technology, 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11%. The use of 700℃ ultra-high parameter thermal power units is one of the most important measures for my country to achieve its CO2 emission reduction goals. This will ease the tremendous pressure on my country in terms of environmental protection in international political exchanges and help establish my country's image as a responsible major country. Therefore, from this perspective, the research and development of 700℃ technology is also necessary." Sun Rui said.

According to the forecast of relevant departments, by 2020, the installed capacity of power generation in China will exceed 1.7 billion kilowatts, and the installed capacity of coal-fired power generation will exceed 1 billion kilowatts. At the same time, a large number of inefficient and highly polluting units need to be shut down. Faced with the pressure of energy conservation and emission reduction and the market demand for new power generation capacity and replacement power generation capacity, it is necessary to develop cleaner and more efficient thermal power generation units. "Due to the long research and development cycle of 700℃ ultra-supercritical, we started late, so we must make breakthrough progress as soon as possible to catch up with the international pace." Sun Rui explained.

It is reported that the implementation of this project will enable my country to master key technologies such as high-temperature material smelting technology, processing and manufacturing, welding and testing of major equipment and components of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation, and then form independent design, development and manufacturing capabilities of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation units, comprehensively enhancing the core competitiveness of my country's metallurgical, machinery and power companies.

"One of the most important links in the research and development of this project is the performance verification test of the high-temperature components of the main equipment. Since there is no verification test platform in China, the new materials independently developed in China cannot obtain long-term performance data. Now through the 700℃ research and development, this problem will be solved." Sun Rui told reporters, "In the project plan, we will transform an existing thermal power unit and establish a verification test platform for high-temperature components. In this way, while completing the research and development of 700℃ materials and components, it will also play a good role in promoting the independent development of 600℃ materials."

"More importantly, the implementation of this project will enable our country to quickly integrate into the forefront of international power technology and engineering, form independent intellectual property rights, and lay the foundation for achieving technological transcendence in the near future," Sun Rui emphasized.

The technical difficulty is not only the high temperature material

"In the 700℃ ultra-supercritical technology development plan, the research and development of heat-resistant materials occupies a crucial position. Heat-resistant materials are the most important constraint in the construction of advanced coal-fired power plants." Liu Zhengdong, head of the materials group, one of the four special working groups of the alliance technical committee and deputy director of the Institute of Structural Materials of China Iron and Steel Research Institute, said frankly, "However, the materials needed for 700℃ coal-fired power plants, at present, there are no mature materials that have been confirmed to meet the design requirements of power plants internationally."

It is reported that for coal-fired power plants, the steam temperature is increased from 600℃ to 700℃, which is a huge challenge in terms of material technology. The material performance requirements of coal-fired power plants generally include: long-term creep performance, steam corrosion resistance, weldability, and cold-hot processing performance. In addition, the economic efficiency of the material must also be considered.

"At present, the price of 700℃ high-temperature materials is more than 10 times that of 600℃. Economic factors are also an important reason for the suspension of the AD700 demonstration project in Europe." Sun Rui, who is also the leader of the system and engineering solution group, said, "Therefore, if the 700℃ unit is to be used in the market, both the host equipment and the system layout design must make great efforts to reduce the use of high-temperature materials and innovate the overall design of the power plant to minimize the project investment."

For Xu Xueyuan, the leader of the boiler group and chief engineer of the Shanghai Electric Group Boiler Plant, materials are still an unavoidable problem. "The high temperature of 700°C places higher requirements on the heat transfer of the boiler. Given the high cost of materials, how to reasonably distribute the heating surface is what our boiler group needs to focus on."

It is reported that the increase in temperature and pressure has put forward new requirements for the materials, installation and construction of boilers. Since the 700℃ materials are not very mature at home and abroad, their corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance need further research.

"This requires a lot of experimental time and financial investment, so it is impossible to do without national support." Xu Xueyuan said, "The materials group and our research focus is different. They want to conduct more advanced material research, while we focus on material application. Under the current circumstances, our boiler group must not only consider energy conservation, but also how to reduce SO2 and CO2 emissions."

Wang Weimin, leader of the steam turbine group and president of the Central Research Institute of China Dongfang Electric Corporation, said when talking about the project that for the research and development of steam turbines, the weight of large high-temperature castings and forgings will reach 10-30 tons. Therefore, the processing of large high-temperature castings and forgings and the welding of various high-temperature materials are all key points that need to be tackled.

Innovation alliance has obvious advantages

It is reported that this innovation alliance is the first energy innovation alliance organized by the Energy Bureau, and its main role is organization and coordination.

The main tasks of the Innovation Alliance are to carry out technical research around the commonalities and key technologies of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology innovation, break through core technologies, and achieve the independence of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology; promote domestic and international technical cooperation and exchanges on 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology, accelerate the transformation of innovative achievements and engineering applications; drive the development of related domestic industries, and improve the technical level of ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation.

Since 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology has been included in the "12th Five-Year Plan" National Science and Technology Plan and the "12th Five-Year Plan" for energy technology, the National Energy Administration and the Ministry of Science and Technology have arranged corresponding scientific and technological projects with different focuses. Through a combination of national special science and technology funds and self-raised funds by the subject undertaking units in accordance with the prescribed proportions, and in accordance with the science and technology project management methods, contracts have been signed with the undertaking units of each research project to ensure the smooth completion of each research project.

"Since 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology involves a wide range of areas, there are many technical intersections, and the research and development cycle is long, the overall planning and coordination of the alliance can avoid duplication of content and incoordination of progress among various scientific research projects. We are currently formulating the technical route and overall work plan for the development of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology, studying and determining the division and undertaking units of scientific research topics, and organizing applications for scientific and technological projects related to government departments." Sun Rui told reporters, "The specific work of the alliance in the future will mainly focus on coordinating the intersection of content and progress of various topics, organizing experts to discuss and review the key content of the topics, and organizing relevant domestic and foreign technical exchanges. "

Clean coal-fired power generation in parallel

"At present, our country is pursuing multiple approaches in the research and development of clean coal-fired power generation technology, and ultra-supercritical power generation technology is only one of them," Sun Rui finally emphasized to reporters, "Under the promotion of the National Energy Administration, projects including IGCC, 600MW supercritical circulating fluidized bed boilers, and carbon capture are being continuously promoted."

It is reported that during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, my country has made great achievements in clean coal-fired power generation technology. The 120,000 tons/year CO2 capture project in Shanghai was put into operation; the 265MW integrated gasification combined cycle demonstration project (IGCC) of Tianjin Green Coal Power has basically completed construction and has entered the commissioning stage; and the development of the 600MW supercritical circulating fluidized bed boiler and the preparation work for the Baima demonstration project have been completed.

According to relevant information, during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the country will also focus on promoting high-parameter ultra-supercritical power generation above 700℃, 400MW-level integrated gasification combined cycle power generation technology (IGCC), integrated control of coal-fired pollutants, carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage technology, advanced circulating fluidized bed boiler technology, etc. in the energy field, and some projects have been launched and various tasks are being carried out in accordance with the corresponding plans.

"Therefore, the research and development of 700℃ ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology will, together with other clean coal-fired power generation technologies, jointly promote the technological upgrading and diversified development of my country's coal-fired power generation field." Sun Rui concluded.