Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/M01536X/1
Title:	Ultra-Supercritical (USC) steam power generation technology with Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB): Combustion, Materials and Modelling (USC-CFB-CMM)
Principal Investigator:	LIU, Professor H
Other Investigators:	Sun, Professor W Snape, Professor CE Wang, Professor J Hussain, Professor T Sun, Professor C Pourkashanian, Professor M Nimmo, Professor W
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Alstom Group Doosan Babcock Limited E.On Foster Wheeler Energia OY Tsinghua University
Department:	Faculty of Engineering
Organisation:	University of Nottingham
Scheme:	Standard Research
Starts:	01 April 2015	Ends:	30 November 2018	Value (£):	1,033,385
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Energy - Conventional
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Energy
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 03 Dec 2014 Conventional Power Generation Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
To achieve the UK's ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 without compromising energy security, the UK's conventional power plants must be operated in a flexible manner in terms of high efficiency, using alternative fuels (e.g. biomass) and integrating technologies for carbon abatement (e.g. Carbon Capture and Storage, CCS). Major reviews conducted by International Energy Agency in 2013 on the current status of the most advanced solid fuel-based conventional power generation technologies clearly show that ultra-supercritical (USC) steam Rankine cycle power generation combined with Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) combustion technology is the most viable alternative to the pulverised coal (PC)-based USC power generation. In addition, USC/CFB has a number of advantages over USC/PC, particularly regarding fuel flexibility. However, there are still many fundamental research and technical challenges facing the development of USC-CFB technology. In particular, combustion issues related to safe and stable operation of CFB boilers when burning a variety of solid fuels are not yet fully understood and there is a great need to develop novel materials that will be able to cope with adverse conditions associated with USC/CFB operations. This consortium brings together internationally recognised research experts from Universities of Leeds, Nottingham and Warwick in the fields of conventional power generation, fluidized bed combustion, power plant materials, modelling and control with the strong supports of industrial partners in Alstom, Doosan Babcock, Foster Wheeler and E.ON and its international academic partner - Tsinghua University. The project proposed aims to maximize the benefits of USC/CFB in terms of power generation efficiency, fuel flexibility including biomass and integration with CO2 capture by conducting research that addresses the key challenges in combustion, materials and modelling. The specific project objectives are: (1) To understand how the combustion of a variety of fuels affects bed material agglomeration, fouling and corrosion of boiler heat exchanger tubes and emissions (2) To understand the influence of the hostile conditions in USC/CFB in terms of creep and oxidation/corrosion resistance on ferritic, austenitic and Ni-based materials and to use the knowledge gained to develop coatings, enablng these materials to withstand the higher temperatures and pressures (3) To investigate the additional impacts on combustion, emissions and materials when a USC/CFB is operating in the oxy-fuel combustion mode (4) To develop a whole USC/CFB power plant dynamic model and to use the model to study optimal process operation strategies for higher efficiencies and better fuel flexibility To achieve the proposed research aim and objectives and address the fundamental challenges, four inter-connected work packages composed of experimental and modelling studies will be completed: (1) WP1 - Investigating CFB combustion issues through combustion tests at laboratory- and pilot-scales (2) WP2 - Evaluating hostile conditions of USC/CFB on candidate materials (3) WP3 - Development of surface engineered coatings & mechanical testing of coated alloys (4) wp4 - USC/CFB system modelling
Key Findings
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Organisation Website:	http://www.nottingham.ac.uk