Simulation and techno-economic analysis of moisture and heat recovery from original flue gas in coal-fired power plants by macroporous ceramic membrane

Macroporous ceramic membrane can be used to recover heat and water vapor from the original flue gas in coalfired power plants, which is conducive to saving water and improving the economic benefits of power generation. However, the overall mass and heat transfer model for the application of membrane modules has not been established at present, and the impact of various parameters on economic benefits has rarely been studied. Therefore, a heat and mass transfer model for 45,600 membrane tubes in a 330 MW coal-fired power plant was established in this paper. Then EBSILON software was applied to simulate the entire thermal system to analyze the economic benefits under different parameters, including cooling water temperatures, cooling water flowrates, turbine heat acceptance operating conditions, and ceramic membrane areas. Finally, its net present value was calculated. The results indicated that the cost recovery time of the transport membrane condenser was 6.85 years when the cooling water temperature is 25 C-o and cooling water flowrate is 1000 t/h, and the coal consumption rate was reduced by 0.521 g/(kW center dot h), which provided theoretical and empirical support for industrial applications.

Automated summary

This paper establishes a heat and mass transfer model for 45,600 membrane tubes in a 330 MW coal-fired power plant and uses EBSILON software to simulate the entire thermal system. The results indicate that the use of ceramic membranes can recover heat and water vapor from flue gas, reduce coal consumption, and improve economic benefits.