Utilizing Association Intelligence
VGB Power Tech
The association serves 423 members in 29 countries. In addition to European countries, members include Brazil, India, Israel, and South Africa. The association includes operators of 295,000 MW of fossil-fired plants, 114,000 MW of nuclear plants and 62,000 MW of Hydro plants for a total of 417,000 MW of installed capacity. The headquarters are in Essen but offices are also located in Brussels and Berlin.
VGB PowerTech e. V.
VGB PowerTech e.V., abbreviated VGB, is - as the European technical association for power and heat generation - a voluntary association of companies, for which power plant operation and the appropriate technique are an important basis of their business.
VGB’s registered office is located in Essen.
Our
goal is to promote and
optimize
the operational safety and environmental compatibility
availability and economy of
existing plants and plants to be constructed for power and heat generation.
We are dealing with all questions regarding power and heat generation with their contiguous issues of environmental protection – in fact in close co-operation with EURELECTRIC on a European level and with VDEW on a national level.
Our main focus of work is:
· Compilation of technical competence and services for our members in the range of:
Power plant concepts
Fuel technology and firing systems
Steam generators
Steam and gas turbines
Generators, electrical engineering, I&C, and IT
Materials and civil engineering
Operational, maintenance and environmental management
· Operational services in the range of:
Technical consulting
Damage analysis and material test laboratory
Monitoring of construction and assembly/quality monitoring
Chemical investigations
·
Compilation
of technical standards as:
Re-organization of the operational monitoring
VGB guidelines
VGB instruction sheets
Co-ordination of projects and R&D measures
Technical lobbying and public relations
Information and publication of technical reports
Organization of congresses, symposia and conferences, technical exhibitions, seminars and workshops
Training and further vocational training of power plant personnel.
The focus of the VGB joint venture are voluntary committees, all ordinary member companies send their representatives to. Actually, about 1400 experts are active in about 80 Technical Committees. These committees are supported by competent advisers working for VGB.
The classic committee structure in the fields of Nuclear Power Plants, Fossil-fired Power Plants, Renewables and Distributed Generation and Environmental Protection, Working Place Safety and Chemistry is developing towards European technical committees, English being the working language.
The expert's network founded on this institutionalized Exchange of Experience is the basis of the high-level technical competence of the overall VGB organization. Owing to the member companies’ preparedness to exchange (operating) experience and develop joint solutions, VGB can fulfill its task as a neutral platform in a market of competing companies. Exchange of information with the member companies via closed user groups on the internet is increasingly used.
The expert's network is of particular importance for the Technical Lobbying of electricity- and heat-generation plant operators. Through technical committee members and technical experts, VGB is represented in many generation-relevant associations and organizations. Here, information is compiled and joint positions of the generation side on technical standards and political conditions developed. Maintenance and development of the VGB guidelines and focusing experience of the member companies in the sense of the best-practice-approach is also of considerable importance.
Eurelectric and VGB Cooperation
The tendency of electricity companies to expand their business over Europe and the growing impact of European bodies like the European Commission and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) on power plant operation require close co-operation of the European power producers in all technical questions. As an association with long-term experience and international membership, VGB are determined to strengthen their efforts in contributing to this process.
VGB and the Union of the Electricity
Industry EURELECTRIC agreed on co-operation in the area of power generation. In
a memorandum of understanding signed by EURELECTRIC and VGB in April 2000 it is
stated that:
· EURELECTRIC and VGB will co-operate based on an allocation of competencies and responsibilities whereby VGB is a center of technical expertise for power generation including environmental aspects and EURELECTRIC a center of general strategic expertise and of representation in public affairs of the electric industry.
· EURELECTRIC and VGB will co-operate based on the development of synergies, whereby VGB's relevant technical expertise will be made available to and used by EURELECTRIC, and whereby EURELECTRIC´s relevant strategy and policy making expertises will be made available to and used by VGB.
In order to meet the future tasks regarding the exchange of information and development of common technical positions among the European producers, the VGB Board of Directors supported the establishment of two European Technical Committees (ETC).
The committees are entitled to establish temporary Working Groups to deal with current tasks.
The working language of all European VGB bodies is English.
On a European level currently European Technical Committees (ETC), Steering Committees (SC), Technical Committees (TC), European Working Groups (EWG) and User Groups do exist.
· ETC Generation and Technology
EWG Power Generation Maintenance Optimization Network
User Group Gas Turbines
User Group Fluidised Bed Combustion
· ETC Environment
EWG Safety and Health at Work
EWG Power Plant Chemistry
· SC Hydro
· TC Use of Renewables and Distributed Generation
·
In the European Working Group "Flue Gas Cleaning" new installations of flue gas cleaning devices are a main point of discussion. For existing devices all techniques of flue gas cleaning are dealt with at furnaces for fossil fuels, biomass and wastes. (In furnace technical measures are not generally included.)
·
SO2/SO3
emission reduction techniques (FGD); processes: Wet, limestone/lime based, spray
absorption, dry absorption, proposed new techniques.
·
NOx
emission reduction techniques (DENOx); processes: Selective Catalytic
Reduction (SCR), Selective Non Catalytic Reduction (SNCR), proposed new
techniques.
· Dust precipitation/separation of FGD by-products, processes: ElectroStatic Precipitation (ESP), Fabric Filter (FF), emission reduction of aerosols, of particulate matter bound heavy metals.
· Emission reduction of traces like HCl, HF, N2O, Corg + further gaseous traces by existing control equipment, and when required by further measures.
· Decrease of internal energy consumption of emission reduction techniques.
· Support process optimization.
· Analyze repair possibilities on cost and time requirements.
· Analyze lifetime and possibilities of reactivation of components.
· FGD wastewater treatment aspects.
· Recycling of wastewater treatment sludge.
· LCPD and IPPCD European and national requirements, technical realization of legal regulations with system depending technical exceptions.
· Analyze cost aspects of additional requirements.
· Analyze new FGC techniques for LCPs, co-combustion of wastes in LCPs and for waste incineration plants.
· Check new process economics.
· Analyze applicability of commercial available process additives.
· Discuss regulation exceptions for start up, shutdown and operational failure.
·
Consulting
in following areas:
Increase reduction of environmentally
significant emissions
Limiting risks of corrosion/deactivation of catalysts
Limiting by-pass flow
Limiting internal consumption
Impacts of different fuels on FGC devices
Interaction of FGC devices
· New planned and commissioned FGC devices
· Options for FGC devices with respect to Wet Stack application
· Further development of flue gas cleaning techniques for application at new power plants.
·
FGD
Fluid Dynamics
This project theoretically evaluated droplet collisions to decrease droplet size
without additional nozzle pressure and increase the surface of liquid for
absorption of SO2 without significant increase of liquid to gas (l/g)
relation. Finished: May 2002.
·
Optimised FGD nozzle distribution modeling.
Different nozzle distributions have been simulated to reach any part of the
scrubber volume in the best way. The results were very promising, and support
future application on real scrubbers. Finished: End of 2004.
·
Flow
correlated positioning of nozzles.
Planned is a modeling of FGD operation regarding droplet collision to reduce
by-pass flows at the wall and by streak evolution. This modeling is applied to
optimize positioning of nozzles in real scrubbers by a commercial CFD program.
Start expected: Begin of 2005
· Implementation of German Large Combustion Ordinance and Waste Incineration Ordinance
· Implementation of German Technical Instruction on Air Quality
· Implementation of German Emissions Declaration Ordinance
· National Seveso-II-Directive implementation
· EU Ambient Air Quality Directive and Daughter Directives
· BREF Documents
· 6. EU Environmental Action Programme
· EU Programme CAFE (Clean Air for Europe)
· EU Programme SCALE (European Strategy for Environment and Health) Particulate Matter (PM)
· Commission’s Mercury Strategy
· European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER)
· Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR)
· National Emission Ceilings (NEC-Directive)
· Global Climate
· Emission Trading
· CO2 Capture and Storage
· Organization of Conferences and Workshops
· Consulting concerning:
Emissions Measurement and Evaluation
Plant Safety Regarding Hazardous Incidents (Seveso)
Dispersion of Flue Gas
Development of Emission and Emission Limit Values.
·
Flue Gas
Analysis auf Concerning Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxines and Dibenzofuranes
Particulate Matter and Health,
Expertise1.pdf,
Expertise2.pdf
· Impact of Buildings on Discharging Flue Gas by Means of Cooling Towers
· Measurement of Dust Emissions
Project Number 262
In many cases the discharging of flue gases via cooling towers has proved itself both under ecological and economic criteria and is carried out at a number of power plant locations. Also plannings in the future will take this option into consideration.
The dispersion model (to evaluate the emission additional loading caused by a power plant) of the new Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA Luft) does not include a consideration of the influence of buildings regarding the discharging of flue gases via cooling towers. As according to the Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control this influence is to be considered, however, the operators, in whose plants flue gases are discharged via cooling towers, would be dependent on the engagement of experts in many cases. In such cases typically expensive wind tunnel investigations were carried out in licensing procedures, resulting in delays of these procedures. Dependent on the experts chosen, different approaches would be used which could result in an increase of objections and therefore also in delays of the licensing procedures.
Due to legal security the existence of a uniform, generally accepted model is necessary. Therefore, the Technical Committee Air Pollution and Noise Control suggested the realization of the elaborated research project.
In a preliminary project (VGB No. 242) it was examined if — based on available results of wind tunnel examinations and on new examinations — sets of parameters for amplification factors for the calculation of the additional emission loading of plants could be developed so that in the future wind tunnel examinations could be substituted. The project results showed that the investigations for determining realistic sets of parameters would become too extensive. Choosing one “most pessimistic” standard parameter set would result in an unacceptable over-evaluation of the additional emission load.
In this project a program, developed by the federal environmental agency, considering the influence of buildings shall be examined with the objective of testing its applicability for cooling towers, also beyond the application range of TA Luft (height of emission source > 1.2 x height of relevant building - in such cases in principle an expert had to be employed). The discharging via stacks shall be examined, too.
Should the results show the applicability of the program in the framework of licensing procedures for power plants discharging flue gas via cooling towers, VGB will make efforts to ensure the acceptance of this approach on the part of the authorities. Experts of the federal environmental agency and the emission committee of the federal states will be members of the panel (installed by VGB TC Air Pollution and Noise Control) overseeing the project.
The project will be carried out by the “Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Umweltmeteorologie und Luftreinhaltung – Bahmann & Schmonsees GbR”. Results are expected by summer 2005. The project is accompanied by the Technical Committee "Air Pollution and Noise Control".
Project Number 255
The amendments of the German regulations TA Luft, 13. BImSchV and 17. BImSchV resulted in a drastic lowering of the national dust concentration emission limit values. Numerous surveys among power plant operators pointed out that meeting the limit values cannot be guaranteed in all cases. A lot of plants will have dust emission concentrations near the limit values. So a sound dust measurement is very important because even small additional but wrong “dust” findings may result in exceeding the limit values.
It is the aim of this project to determine boundary conditions for a gravimetric dust measurement which allow for a measurement which is to a large extent free of virtual dust findings. This shall take place through measurements in two power plants with a sampling probe which has been developed especially for this application.
The project is carried out in spring 2005 with participation of Vattenfall Europe Power Consult GmbH, E.ON Engineering GmbH and STEAG Aktiengesellschaft. Volker Hamacher, VGB PowerTech e. V., manages the project supported by the VGB technical committee "Air Pollution and Noise Control".
To carry out specific works, working procedures or complex operational sequences their economicalness and/or productivity are examined and evaluated more frequently. With the help of such examinations or assessments, unprofitable working procedures or sequences are optimized or abolished. In the framework of VGB's committee and joint tasks works are carried out, whose meaning does not necessarily show an immediate advantage by saving costs. A "Decision Analysis" method established by KEMA/NRG on behalf of Dutch power plant operators on the evaluation of technical processes will be tested to evaluate the benefit of these tasks.
This "Decision analysis" method was
developed in U.S. by Strategic Decision Group and other companies and consists
in the following working procedures:
· Preparation of a project to enable an integration in a matrix of influence and relationship.
· Investigation of relevant influence parameters (e.g. Tornado Diagram).
· Evaluation of probabilities of possible success. The result is shown in a portfolio whereby an indicator of success is presented as a function of the required work.
·
The
indicator of success is defined by the ratio of probability of success to the
possible benefit and the means invested. The advantage of the procedure is a
clear systematic, which is based on objective comprehensible factors and which
enables a realistic evaluation.
The target of this research project is the evaluation of committees and joint tasks, which financial benefit is hard to demonstrate (e.g. research projects, provision of guidelines, exchange of experience, etc.). In three pilot projects the "Decision Analysis" method will be tested on the applicability to these tasks and the results will be extended to further working fields. The project shall provide an objectively comprehensible decision criteria in all cases applied.
Hans Joachim Feuerborn
Phone: +49-(0)2 01-81 28-2 97
Fax: +49-(0)2 01-81 28-3 64
E-mail:
hans-joachim.feuerborn
In existing regulations for the use of flyash as concrete addition, requirements concerning the composition of the concrete regarding the minimum cement content, the maximum water/cement-ratio and, on the basis of experience, the thereby resulting class of compressive strength of the concrete are defined.
For some applications reactive additions like flyash (according to DIN EN 450 or with certificate) can be calculated to the cement content, whereby the efficiency of flyash is partly considered. The calculation follows a common approach, empirically derived from the compressive strength and the durability of concrete. This common approach is clogged with high safety factors.
A number of damaging reactions or special properties of concretes significantly depends of the mass transfer into or out of the concrete. That means, they directly depend on the pore structure of the concrete. Fly ash as addition to concrete can cause substantially higher efficiency regarding the avoidance of a respective damaging reaction.
The efficiency of flyash in concrete for different fields of applications shall be demonstrated by an intensive literature research and evaluation of the results of examinations over the last 30 years at the Institute of Building Material Research, as well as by results on current research work on special concretes and special investigations to close the lack of experience.
Based on the results of this work, a new concept for the evaluation for the calculation of flyash in concrete shall be developed, which should consider the positive effect of flyash in concrete.
The project is carried out by the
Institute for Building Material Research at Aachen University, managed by Prof.
Wolfgang Brameshuber, and is technically supervised by a working group of the
Working Panel “Power
Plant By-products“. The results of the project are expected to be available
in March 2007.
Air quality legislation, in particular the European Large Combustion Plant Directive, is forcing many operators of fossil-fired power plants to consider new or reconsider existing flue gas cleaning systems because of more stringent national Emission Limit Values (ELV). Discussion about the Best Available Technique (BAT) in the BAT Reference document for Large Combustion Plants (BREF LCP) has an impact on permit requirements, also.
This workshop is intended to provide involved representatives from power plants with a platform for discussion on flue gas cleaning. The VGB Workshop offers experience in planning, construction, operation and updating of ESP, FGD and SCR as part of the power plant. The knowledge presented is based on long-term operation experience, recent construction of new flue gas cleaning units and updating of existing flue gas cleaning units. The workshop includes a site visit to a coal-fired power plant, retrofitted with wet limestone FGD and SCR.
Workshop presentations (subject to revision):
· The Response to the LCPD in the UK
· Products of Semidry and Dry FGD Processes as Sorbent in Wet Limestone FGD Application of Dry FGD Processes
· Latest Operating and Updated FGD Units in Europe
· West Burton Power Station FGD Project
· Additives for Wet Limestone FGD
· Impact of Specific Coal Properties on ESP and FGD and Optimization Measures
· Developments in SCR Technology
· Impact of Co-Combustion of Wood on ESP, SCR DENOx and Wet Limestone FGD in Power Plants Fired with Heavy Fuel Oil and Natural Gas
· Environmental & Engineering Considerations for the FGD "Wet Stack" Operation at Cottam Power Station
· FGD Operation Without Reheat - Impact of Legislation on Efficiency, Emissions and Air Quality
· FGD Operation without Reheat - Impact on Stack, Wet Stack Solutions.
An invitation flyer is available by mail or email from I. Moors, responsible for registration, phone: +49-201-8128-275
Further information: Dr. H. Krueger, phone: +49-201-8128-324
mailto:hartmut.krueger@vgb.org
·
Volker
Hamacher
Telefon: +49-(0)2 01-81 28-320
Telefax: +49-(0)2 01-81 28-3 64
E-Mail:
volker.hamacher@vgb.org
·
Gerda
Behrendes
Telefon: +49-(0)2 01-81 28-313
Telefax: +49-(0)2 01-81 28-3 64
E-Mail:
gerda.behrendes@vgb.org