The use of power facilities operating on the basis of the innovative thermodynamic cycle developed at the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences (JIHT RAS) opens the possibility of implementing a new approach to determining the list of thermal power plant equipment at the construction stage with ensuring independent control of electricity and heat generation in a wide range, and discarding the use of peaking hot water boilers and peaking electricity generating capacities. The article presents, taking a hypothetical local power system as an example, a comparative analysis of the efficiencies of the proposed and alternative typical versions of supplying heat and electricity to a settlement in Central Russia with a population of half million people. The performed calculation and theoretical investigations have shown that the proposed version features higher thermodynamic efficiency and the possibility of decreasing the annual fuel consumption by 20–30%. The comparison was carried out without taking into account the energy consumption in the alternative versions for capturing the carbon dioxide (СО2) produced as a result of fuel combustion. The JIHT RAS thermodynamic cycle employs the oxygen fuel combustion technology, and carbon dioxide is removed from the cycle in liquid form convenient for subsequent СО2 sequestration/disposal. The conventional units will also have to be equipped with an expensive carbon dioxide capturing system and additional energy expenditures for supporting the operation of this system. Owing to the reduced amount of fuel combusted by thermal power plants furnished with the proposed equipment, they will produce a smaller thermal release. With the use of oxygen fuel combustion, the power equipment will not generate nitrogen oxide, which is harmful for human health and detrimental for the Earth ozone layer. Better maneuverability of the proposed equipment and the possibility to operate at deeply decreased partial loads with high thermal efficiency will serve as a pledge for efficient operation of this equipment jointly with facilities on the basis of renewable energy sources (wind and sun).
Kosoi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.