Readers ask: How do you increase the efficiency of a condenser?

February 2023 · 4 minute read

Reducing cooling water temperatures is a sure-fire way to improve condenser performance: A decrease in cooling water temperature of 10 degrees F can improve the overall heat rate of a power plant by 1%.

What is condenser efficiency?

The thermal efficiency of a condenser is defined as the ratio of actual rise in temperature of cooling water to the maximum possible rise.

How do you calculate condenser efficiency?

Vacuum efficiency = (Actual vacuum in condenser X 100)/Max. Obtainable vacuum. Example-4: The air leakage into the steam condenser is 0.721 kg/min.

What happen if the vacuum inside the condenser increases?

When a vacuum exists in the condenser, atmospheric air will leak into the condenser shell through flanges and other leakage points raising the condenser pressure. Dissolved gas in the water used to raise the steam will also enter the condenser along with the steam, but will not condense.

What are the methods to increase the efficiency of Rankine cycle and explain any one?

Increasing the Efficiency of Rankine Cycle That is, to increase the efficiency one should increase the average temperature at which heat is transferred to the working fluid in the boiler, and/or decrease the average temperature at which heat is rejected from the working fluid in the condenser.

What are the methods for achieving maximum vacuum in a condenser?

There are various methods used for obtaining maximum possible vacuum in the condenser. (1) Air Pump: The air pumps are used to maintain the desired vacuum in the condenser by extracting the air and other non-condensable gases. The air pumps can remove mixture of condensate and non-condensable gases.

What is TTD of condenser?

TTD is an indication of the efficiency with which heat is transferred. While the TR can show an overall operational change and degradation in performance due to a decrease in flow, the TTD degradation is an indication of an actual change in heat transfer related to the condenser tubes themselves.

How is a vacuum created in a condenser?

Water is used to condense steam back to liquid water in any form of boiler system, whether on board ship or in power plants. In other words, the specific volume of water at a given pressure is many times lower than that of steam. This enormous reduction in volume creates the vacuum inside the condenser.

Why do we reheat steam?

Why Reheating of steam is used? Explanation: Work output = work done by turbine – work done by compressor. Explanation: Since work output increases the steam rate decreases. Explanation: Efficiency = work output / heat supplied, heat supplied is less in this condition only.

Why do we keep vacuum in condenser?

The removal of air and other noncondensable gases from the condenser shell side is required for proper heat transfer from steam to cooling water in the condenser and, thus, to maintain high vacuum in the condenser.

What happens when a condenser loses its vacuum?

A common cause of poor condenser vacuum is excessive air ingress or leakage. Any fall in condenser vacuum would have consequent rise in turbine heat rate vis-à-vis plant heat rate. As a result, cost of power generation would increase with eventual loss in revenue earning.

What happens when air is removed in a surface condenser?

The prevention of leakage of air in the surface condenser is difficult because of the presence of the high vacuum in the condenser. (2) The air leakage results in lowering the partial pressure of the steam and temperature. This naturally results into increase in latent heat and hence more cooling water is required.

What gives the input steam for condenser?

These condensers are heat exchangers which convert steam from its gaseous to its liquid state, also known as phase transition. In so doing, the latent heat of steam is given out inside the condenser.

What are the advantages of condenser?

Advantages of a condenser in a steam power plant It reduces back pressure of the steam which results in more work output. It reduces temperature of the exhaust steam which also results in more work output. The condensed steam can be reused as feed water for boiler which reduces the cost of power generation.

How does condenser improve performance of steam power plant?

Condensers increase the enthalpy drops and turbine work by lowering the turbine outlet pressure. The lower the pressure, the higher the efficiency and power are. As seen in equations 1 and 2, to maximize the thermal efficiency and power, the enthalpy drop in the turbine must be increased.

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