We present results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) of Marcellus shale gas used for power generation. The analysis employs the most extensive data set of any LCA of shale gas to date, encompassing data from actual gas production and power generation operations. Results indicate that a typical Marcellus gas life cycle yields 466 kg CO2eq/MWh (80% confidence interval: 450-567 kg CO2eq/MWh) of gre...

While efficiency is still the major driver in combined cycle power plant design, there is an increasing need for operational flexibility along with additional operating cost reduction. nightly and weekend shutdowns and subsequent start-up capabilities should be considered during the overall evaluation of a power plant. Technological advancements in power plant design involving gas and steam tur...

The capture of CO2 from power plant flue gases provides an opportunity to mitigate emissions that are harmful to the global climate. While the process of CO2 capture using an aqueous amine solution is well-known from experience in other technical sectors (e.g., acid gas removal in the gas processing industry), its operation combined with a power plant still needs investigation because in this c...

Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) integrates two cyclesBrayton cycle (Gas Turbine) and Rankine cycle (Steam Turbine) with the objective of increasing overall plant efficiency. In modern gas turbine the temperature of the exhaust gases is in the range of 500 oC to 550 oC. Modern steam power plants have steam temperature in the range of 500 oC to 630 oC. Hence gas turbine exhaust can be utilized ...

The paper examines design and operating data of current concentrated solar power (CSP) 10 solar tower (ST) plants. The study includes CSP with or without boost by combustion of natural gas 11 (NG) and with or without thermal energy storage (TES). The study then reviews the novel trends to 12 produce better ratio of solar field power to electric power, better capacity factor, better matching of ...

Making potable water through desalination plants is a very important process in Iran where clean water is highly required. On the other hand, large amount of fossil fuel sources leads to the development of gas turbine power plants all over the country. Furthermore, Persian Gulf in the south and Caspian Sea in the north could be the main sources for supplying potable water in water scarcity area...

This paper presents a systematic approach for the design of temperature controller using genetic algorithms (GAs) for thermal power plant subsystems and investigates the robustness of the designed control law. The proposed approach employs GA search for determination of the optimal PI controller parameters for a previously identified nonlinear de-superheater of a 4X 325 MW thermal power plant. ...

Title of Document: Efficiency Enhancement for Natural Gas Liquefaction with CO2 Capture and Sequestration through Cycles Innovation and Process Optimization Abdullah Alabdulkarem, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Directed By: Professor, Reinhard Radermacher, Mechanical Engineering Liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants are energy intensive. As a result, the power plants operating these LNG plants emit hi...