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Gas or Coal Fired Power Station Chemistry Expert

Introduction:

My name is Rami Elias Kremesti, I am a chemistry specialist by trade, and I have worked for over ten years on coal and has fired power stations globally managing the water treatment and chemistry packages. I used to work for various power station EPC contractors and water treatment specialist companies and now I work for myself. I prefer to be my own boss. I am a high IQ and EQ person, and it is excruciatingly painful for me to work for a boss that is less intelligent than me especially if they have a chip on their shoulder or if they are dishonest.

 

Basic Engineering Principles for a Gas Fired Power Station

A gas fired power station, be that a CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) or just a GT power station, is basically a complex engineering system in which gas fired heat/thrust and water come into play to generate power by rotating a large Dynamo just like on the old bicycles of the last century.

I specialise in the water treatment part.

The gas Turbine is like a large jet engine that produces thrust to turn a large Dynamo. The hot gases from the GT are sometimes used to generate steam trough a HRSG (Heat Recovery Steam Generator) to power a steam turbine to increase efficiency and this is called a CCGT – Combine Cycle Gas Turbine.

The Water Steam Cycle needs deminerlised water and the steam turbine needs cooling water. To better understand these principles, I recommend that you go over my presentation on Boiler Water Treatment and Water Steam Cycle Chemistry.

Managing A Large Power Station Project

I have seen the best and the worst in managing a large power station project. First of all you need a good EPC contractor if you are the client. It is a complex relationship that is potentially fraught with tension and frustration. I have seen a lot of politics and egos getting involved in the process and this is detrimental to the success of any project. For best results, the project needs to be run by cool headed technocrats from both sides not MBA or “leader” types. Honesty is key.

Managing The Water Treatment and Chemistry Aspects of a Power Station Project

This package is worth about 15-20 million USD for a 700 MW power station including the civils. There is a cooling water treatment package, the demineralized water treatment package and condensate polishing if required. There is also a sampling and analysis system. To put this into perspective, the power station itself costs about 1 billion Euros.

Getting the clarifers and the filters to work is the first step.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second step is the demin water production. Normally this involves some kind of pre-treatment for an RO system followed by MBX or an EDI system.

Hiring the Right Team for Commissioning

Commissioning the water treatment and chemistry systems requires a team of expert mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, software/PLC, and process engineers. I have seen British engineers from a subcontractor spend a week just looking at an MCC (Motor Control Centre) and after a while their Spanish counterparts from the main contractor took over and commissioned the system in 2 days.

In Conclusion

Managing large power station projects is a challenging task. You need an expert consultant to help you through the process. Kremesti Environmental Consulting Ltd has many years of experience in this area. Let us help.

 

Rami Elias Kremesti M.Sc., CSci, CEnv, CWEM