Steam turbine efficiency assessment, first step towards sustainable electricity production

• Main Authors: Anutoiu Sorina, Dosa Ion, Petrilean Dan Codrut
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2021-01-01
• Series: MATEC Web of Conferences
• Online Access: https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/pdf/2021/11/matecconf_simpro21_04007.pdf

The main objective of actual energy policies around the world is the transition to renewable energy. EIA forecasts nearly 50% increase in world energy usage by 2050, which is hard to achieve using only renewable energy. For year 2019 the electricity production in EU relies mainly on conventional thermal (42.8 %) and nuclear energy sources (26.7%). The accelerated transition to electrical cars puts more pressure on energy producers. As a result, in order to match the ever-growing demand of electrical energy, the conventional thermal energy generation will play a key role, among them coal-based production. In order to meet the environmental goals and for sustainable production of electrical power, energy assessment of power production of coal-based power plants must be performed. The purpose of this paper is to perform an energy assessment of the electrical power production, focusing on a key component of this, the steam turbine. The performance characteristics of the turbine in condensing operation were determined. A proper efficiency of the turbine will have a significant impact on sustainable production of electricity.