QUESTIONS OF POWER GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES

1. Units of power, energy, force

Force → Newton (N) = mass x acceleration
Energy → Joule (J) = force x distance
Power → Watt (W) = Energy/time

2. What does it mean: conversion of energy, transformation of energy, give examples.

Conversion of energy: process of changing energy from one type of energy to another. For example, A 100 watt,
light pub, is converting one hundred joules of electrical energy into light each second.
Transformation of energy: process that convert energy form one type to another. For example, when we rub
our hands to keep warm we change from kinetic to thermal energy.

3. Name the electrical energy generation technologies. Which technologies are called „conventional”?
• Indirect (heat engines): steam engines, steam turbine, ORC turbine, Stirling energy, gas turbine, spark
ignition engine and diesel engine.
• Indirect (mechanical engine): hydro turbines and wind turbines
• Direct: photovoltaics and fuel cells.

Conventional: Steam Rankine, gas turbine, combined cycle power station, nuclear power station, hydroelectric
power station, spark ignition engine and compression-ignition engine.

4. Draw and explain the chain of transformations of energy in the heating power plant.
Heat input is supplied by burning fossil fuel (coal, oil) and biomass, or processing nuclear fuel, or harvesting
thermal energy from renewable energy source.

5. Categorization of fuels (give an example in each category).

Fuels can be categorized in two major classes
1) Fossil fuels, for example natural gas, petroleum, oil shale.
2) Alternative fossil fuels. For example: wood, biogas, nuclear fuels.
6. According to the so-called coal rank there are four categories of coals: name them, what are the main
differences between them?
The classification pf coal from highest to lowest rank is: Anthracite, bituminous coal, sub-bituminous coal and
lignite/brown coal.
The main difference is that the coal of low rank have high moisture and oxygen content and soft friable texture,
whereas higher rank coal are vitreous and hard, having low oxygen and low moisture content and very good
heating value compared to lower rank coals.

7. What combustible and non- combustible components are included in the composition of coal?
Combustible components: carbon, hydrogen and sulphur,
Non-combustible components: ash and moisture

8. Why usually water is used as working fluid in Rankine cycle?

Water is use for:
• Availability
• Relatively low price
• Neutral for the environment
• Possibility of realization isotherm-isobaric processes

9. Draw T,s diagram od superheated Rankine cycle? Name the

processes.
• Isentropic expansion of the superheated working fluid process 1-
2
• Isobaric condensation process of the working fluid until it
reaches saturated liquid states, process 2-3
• Isentropic pressurization of the working fluid in saturated liquid
state, process 3-4
• Isobaric vapor generation, process 4-1 (with sub processes of
heating 4-4a, boiling 4a-4b and superheating 4b-1)

10. Draw schematic for a simple coal-fired power plant, name the elements of installation.
11. When, in Rankine cycle, condensing steam turbine is used and when back-pressure steam turbine ?
The condensing steam turbines are used if the turbine is utilised solely for power generation i.e. it is connected
to a generator and does not provide process steam.
A back-pressure steam turbine reduce the pressure of the inlet steam to the steam turbine. This turbines don’t
require a condenser and it use in industrial plants that require a large amount of process steam

12. What is "natural gas", what is its average composition?

Natural gas as it is extracted from gas fields is a mixture of combustible hydrocarbons.
The average composition is:
• Methane (CH4) between 70-90%
• Other hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane and butane can account for up to 20% of the mixture
• Up to 8% carbon dioxide
• Up to 5% hydrogen
• Smal amounts of oxygen and nitrogen.

13. Draw a diagram of a simple Brayton cycle. Name the elements of installation. When it is used?

14. The basic gas turbine cycle can be modified to attempt to improve the performance. List these methods.
1) Reheating
2) Intercooling
3) Mass injection
4) Recuperation

15. What kind of fuel can be burn in piston engine?

Piston engines can burn a wide range of fuels including: natural gas, biogas, LPG, gasoline, diesel, biodiesel,
heavy fuel oil and even coal.

16. List the types of piston engine, write a few words about each of them.
• Spark-ignition engine: This type is an internal combustion engine. The spark-ignition engine uses a spark
plug to ignite the fuel-air mixture that is admitted to each cylinder of the engine. Burning natural gas have
become the more popular unit for power generation
• Compression (diesel engine): Is an internal combustion engine. Was traditionally, the most popular for
power generation applications because of its higher efficiency but also produces high levels of atmospheric
pollution, particularly nitrogen oxide.
• Stirling engine: Is an external heat engine. The heat energy used to drive a Stirling engine is applied outside
the cylinders, this cylinders are completely sealed. The original engines used air while the modern ones
used helium or hydrogen. This motors have great efficiency and another advantage is that the thermal
energy is applied externally, so this energy can come from any source.
17. Why the fission reaction is called a chain reaction? Explain it on the example.
The result of fission reaction for a 235 U element is:
1) Fission product that are radioactive
2) Radiation
3) Fast neutrons
4) Heat

The process is controlled by the number of neutrons since the number of fission per second is proportional to
the number of neutrons presents to induce the fission.

In theory, each of the three neutrons produced during this reaction could cause three more atoms of uranium-
235 to split, however, this also depends on the critical mass of uranium present. This leads to a rapidly
accelerating reaction, called a chain reaction, which will release an enormous amount of energy.

18. Draw the schematic diagram of boiling water reactor (BWR). Name the components.
1) Containment structure
2) Reactor vessel
3) Turbine
4) Generator
5) Condenser

19. Draw the schematic diagram of PWR pressurized water reactor. Name the components.
1) Containment structure
2) Reactor vessel
3) Pressurizer
4) Steam generator
5) Turbine
6) Generator
7) Condenser
20. What is a fuel cell? On the selected example, present the construction and principle of operation.

Fuel cells is an electrochemical device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel and oxidant directly into
electric energy.

21. List the advantages and disadvantages about fuel cells.

Advantages:
• High efficiency
• Quiet operation (no mechanical, moving parts)
• No emission of SO2, CO, NOx and particulates
• Small sizes
• Low water consumption
• The ability to burn not only hydrogen, but also other fuels
• Reliability in operation with the time of work up to 10000 hours
• Low operating cost
• Getting lower manufacturing cost

Disadvantages:
• The needed for appropriate treatment of fuel
• Relatively short period of working time (compared to other technologies)

22. What is the difference between heat engine and fuel cell?
A heat engine converts heat or thermal energy to mechanical energy while a fuel cell uses the chemical energy
of hydrogen or another fuel to produce electricity
23. How can be power generated by using biomass? List methods.

24. Write the equation of maximum amount of power that can be obtained from a wind turbine, explain
symbols.
The maximum amount of power can be calculated from:
𝐶 ∗ 𝑑 ∗ 𝐴 ∗ 𝑣3
𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
2
Where:
• d is the density of air
• A is the area swept out by spinning (wind) turbine blades
• V is the speed of the wind
• C is a number that represents the maximum percentage of the wind’s energy that can be obtained

25. What are the offshore wind power plant construction advantages over onshore construction
• Fewer environmental restriction so that it is often easier to gain permission for development offshore than
for construction
• The wind regime is generally better offshore this means that similarly sized wind farms will generate more
power, more reliably
• Offshore wind turbine can be significantly large than those used onshore.

26. What are the disadvantages the offshore wind power plant over onshore construction
• Offshore turbines have to be more rugged than onshore turbines because of the harsher environment
• Additional cost of creating a wind turbine foundation offshore
• Offshore maintenance is much more difficult to carry out and therefore also more costly that for similar
unit onshore
• Bringing power ashore.
27. Write the equation of power output from hydro power plant, explain symbols.
𝑃 = 𝜂𝜌𝑔ℎ𝑉
Where:
• P is power output
• 𝜂 is efficiency of turbine
• 𝑉 volume of water flowing per second
• ℎ vertical distance between the surface of the water in a reservoir and turbine
• 𝜌 is density of water
• 𝑔 is acceleration due to gravity

28. In hydro power plant, the water turbine are used. When the better choice is Pelton turbine, and when Kaplan
turbine?
Kaplan turbines, that are reaction turbines, are suited for low h and large V, e.g. run-of-river sites, and The
Pelton Turbine, that are impulse turbine, are suited for large h and low V, e.g. fast moving mountain stream.

29. Write the equation of the amount of geothermal energy which can be received from geothermal water,
explain symbols.
𝑄𝑔 = 𝑉𝑔 𝜌𝑔 𝑐𝑔 (𝑇𝑔1 − 𝑇𝑔2 )
𝑉𝑔 → Flow rate of geothermal water
𝜌𝑔 → density of geothermal water
𝐶𝑔 → specific heat of geothermal water
𝑇𝑔1 → Temperature of extracted geothermal water
𝑇𝑔2 → Temperature of injected geothermal water.

30. Draw the schematic diagram of dry steam geothermal power plant. Name the components. How it works?
Dry steam Power Plant: First the “dry” steam is extracted from natural reservoir
and then used to drive a turbogenerator and finally the steam is condensed and
pumped back into the ground

31. Draw the schematic diagram of organic Rankine cycle geothermal power plant