Combined Cycle Power Plant

COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANT 2.1 INTRODUCTION In electric power generation combined cycle is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem off the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy, which in turn usually drives electrical generators . The principle is that the exhaust of one heat engine is used as the heat source for another, thus extracting more useful energy from the heat, increasing the system's overall efficiency. This works because heat engines are only able to use a portion of the energy their fuel generates (usually less than 50%). The remaining heat (e.g., hot exhaust fumes) from combustion is generally wasted. Combining two or more thermodynamic cycles results in improved overall efficiency, reducing fuel costs. In stationary power plants, a successful, common combination is the Brayton cycle (in the form of a turbine burning natural gas or synthesis gas from coal ) and the Rankine cycle (in the form of a steam power plant). Multiple st...