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Abstract: Advanced UltraSuperCritical (A-USC) steam cycle conditions are arguably the environmentally-best choice to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, resource consumption, and direct heating of our surroundings – at a meaningful scale. The pressure operating mode should be selected according to the particular market environment, which means that the appropriate choice in many regions of the USA may not be the same as that for Europe or Japan. While sliding pressure design and operation permits fast turbine load ramping, it offers negligible heat rate advantage across the load range and requires a larger and hotter furnace section compared to boilers designed for constant pressure operation. Especially as conditions approach A-USC, constant pressure design offers significant cost savings since the furnace may be made of low-chrome ferritic alloy material, rather than expensive nickel-based alloys likely required for sliding pressure design. |
