7 THE SCO₂ OPPORTUNITY The characteristics of sCO2 offer around a 10% increase in efficiency when compared with conventional steam cycles. This is a substantial advantage over existing steam cycle approaches. In addition, the use of sCO2 allows a far more compact power block to be deployed. The turbomachinery components in the STEP Demo project are approximately one-tenth the size of a conventional steam power plant. The turbine has a diameter of about 18 cm, for example, while the heat exchangers are also far more compact than conventional shell and tube type designs. This not only reduces the footprint, the environmental impact and construction cost of a new generation asset but also favours the deployment of sCO2 in multiple retrofit applications. Once installed, simple cycle gas turbine power plants typically face severe restrictions on the available space that would rule out the subsequent addition of a steam cycle. The compact footprint of the sCO2 power conversion island alleviates that issue, making it well suited for use with aero derivative gas turbines such as the LM2500 from GE, for example. There is also scope for installing these devices aboard offshore oil and gas platforms, which typically use simple cycle gas turbines. Both these applications – converting a simple cycle machine into a sCO2 combined cycle – creates a very high efficiency yet compact unit, making operations more efficient and burning less gas. Furthermore, the sCO2 Brayton cycle device can be applied to many different heat sources, including concentrated solar power, advanced nuclear reactors, industrial waste heat, thermal energy storage and geothermal heat. Image 5 – The Heatric “Main Cooler” PCHE after on-site delivery to the 10 MWe STEP Demo project in San Antonio, Texas. “The success of phase 1 of STEP Demo is a major advancement of the commercial maturity of these transformative power systems which represents many technical firsts. Overcoming the challenges associated with the combination of operating temperatures and pressures while generating power highlights the tenacity and perseverance of STEP Demo’s engineering and project teams” Dr. Tim Allison, Director of SwRI’s Machinery Department
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