Vol 63, No 9 (2016)

Investigations have been carried out into the basic implications of the decisions taken in December 2015 at the Paris conference of the countries–participants of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change for the world energy and for the atmosphere and climate. Based on the studied historical record of specific CO₂ emissions in the energy production by different countries, it is shown that the implementation of the Paris Agreement will require an unprecedented effort to modernize the global energy sector; in particular, rapid elimination of coal from the global energy mix and a substantially increased share therein of carbon-free energy sources (hydro and nuclear power and alternative renewable energy sources (renewables)) to one third by the middle of this century. We have developed a scenario for the global energy demand mix corresponding to the guidelines of the Paris Agreement and its more conservative variant extending the trend of the last 15 years. It has been established that, under any of the development scenarios, the global mean temperature is to exceed the level of 1.5°C as soon as within a few decades. Using model simulations of the changes in the atmosphere and climate, we show that even the full implementation of the Paris Agreements will not prevent the increase in average global temperature by 2°C as compared to the preindustrial levels. The world community faces a difficult choice between the implementation of more stringent measures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which we believe to be almost unreal, and adaptation to utterly new climatic conditions, which will last for centuries to come.

This paper analyzes the cost-effectiveness of the use of renewable energy sources (RES) and peat in production of electric and heat energy in rural places of the country by comparing tariffs (prices) of energy versus total expenditures on generation of electric and heat energy when using RES and peat. The appraisal of a cost-effective scale in application of energy plants working on RES and peat in the rural side in Russia is made by using a model-information set developed at the Energy Institute of the National Research University (Higher School of Economics). It is shown that with the current tariffs, the production by use of RES and peat may become economically effective, which means to achieve 1.8 billion kW/h of electric and 250 million GJ of heat energy per year, and, in the long run, 30 billion kW of electric and up to 400 million GJ per year. In comparison of total expenditures on production of electric and heat energy in rural areas (which are considerably above the established tariffs), it becomes cost effective to produce the electric energy of up to 12 billion kW in the nearest years and up to 80 billion kW in the long run. The need for the governmental policy motivating the projects based on use of RES and peat and the lines of this policy for the rural areas of the country are outlined.

Justification of using renewable energy sources and a brief analysis of their application prospects is given. The most common renewable energy sources for mobile thermal power plants are presented. The possibilities and ways of using ethanol as an energy source for such plants with diesel engines are analyzed. It is shown that it is feasible to add small amounts of ethanol to oil diesel fuel (DF) for obtaining an environmentally sustainable energy source for diesel engines. Therewith, a stable mixture of components can be obtained by adding anhydrous (absolute) ethanol to the oil fuel. The authors studied a mixture containing 4% (by volume) of absolute ethanol and 96% of oil DF. The physicochemical properties of the mixture and each of its components are presented. Diesel engine of the type D-245.12S has been experimentally studied using the mixture of DF and ethanol. The possibility of reducing the toxicity level of the exhaust emissions when using this mixture as an energy source for diesel engines of mobile power plants is shown. Transition of the studied diesel engine from oil DF to its mixture with ethanol made it possible to reduce the smoke capacity of the exhaust gases by 15–25% and to decrease the specific mass emissions of nitrogen oxides by 17.4%. In this case, we observed a slight increase in the exhaust gas emissions of carbon monoxide and light unburned hydrocarbons, which, however, can easily be eliminated by providing the exhaust system of a diesel engine with a catalytic converter. It is noted that the studied mixture composition should be optimized. The conclusion is made that absolute ethanol is a promising ecofriendly additive to oil diesel fuel and should be used in domestic diesel engines.

In the development of advanced high-power steam-turbine plants (STP), special attention is placed on the design of reliable and economical high-pressure heater (HPH) capable to maintain the specified thermal hydraulic performance during the entire service life. Comparative analysis of the known designs of HPH, such as the spiral-collector HPH, the collector-coiled HPH, the collector-platen HPH, modular HPH, and the chamber HPH, was carried out. The advantages and disadvantages of each design were pointed. For better comparison, the heaters are separated into two groups—horizontal and vertical ones. The weight and dimension characteristics, the materials and features of the basic elements, and operating features of variety HPH are presented. At operating the spiral-collector HPH used in the majority of regenerative schemes of high-pressure STP of thermal and nuclear power plants, the disadvantages reducing the economy and reliability of their operation were revealed. The recommendations directed to the reliability growth of HPH, the decrease of subcooling the feed water, the increase of compactness are stated. Some of these were developed by the specialists of OAO NPO TsKTI and are successfully implemented on the thermal power plants and nuclear power plants. Technical solutions to reduce the cost of regeneration system and the weight of chamber HPH, reduce the thickness of the tube plate of HPH, and reliability assurance of the cooler of steam and condensate built in the HPH casing under all operating conditions were proposed. Three types of feed water chambers for vertical and horizontal chamber HPH are considered in detail, the constructive solutions that have been implemented in HPH of the regeneration system of turbines of 1000 and 1200 MW capacity with water-moderated water-cooled power reactor (WMWCPR) are described. The optimal design of HPH for the regeneration system of high-pressure turbine plant with BN-1200 reactor was selected.

Due to termination of work at the Leningrad Shale Deposit, the Russian shale industry has been liquidated, including not only shale mining and processing but also research and engineering (including design) activities, because this deposit was the only commercially operated complex in Russia. UTT-3000 plants with solid heat carrier, created mainly by the Russian specialists under scientific guidance of members of Krzhizhanovsky Power Engineering Institute, passed under the control of Estonian engineers, who, alongside with their operation in Narva, construct similar plants in Kohtla-Jarve, having renamed the Galoter Process into the Enifit or Petroter. The main idea of this article is to substantiate the expediency of revival of the oil shale industry in Russia. Data on the UTT-3000 plants' advantages, shale oils, and gas properties is provided. Information on investments in an UTT-3000 plant and estimated cost of Leningrad oil shale mining at the Mezhdurechensk Strip Mine is given. For more detailed technical and economic assessment of construction of a complex for oil shale extraction and processing, it is necessary to develop a feasibility study, which should be the first stage of this work. Creation of such a complex will make it possible to produce liquid and gaseous power fuel from oil shale of Leningrad Deposit and provide the opportunity to direct for export the released volumes of oil and gas for the purposes of Russian budget currency replenishment.

Analysis of the thermal state of molten pools that can be formed on the vessel bottom of the VVER-600 medium-power reactor during a severe anticipated accident with melting of the core is represented. Two types of the molten pool of core materials, with the two-layer and inverse three-layer stratification, are considered. Thermal loads acting on the reactor vessel from the melt are estimated depending on its formation time. Features of the thermal state of the melt in the case of its inverse stratification are analyzed. It is shown that thermal loads on the reactor vessel exceed the critical heat flux (CHF) when forming the two-layer stratified molten pool 10 and 24 h after its shutdown, and the thermal load is close to the corresponding CHF or somewhat exceeds it in 72 h. In the case of the formation of the inverse structure of the melt, one can observe a decrease by more than 2.5 times (in comparison with the two-layer stratified structure) in the thermal load on the reactor vessel in the region of its contact with the upper layer of the steel melt. Analysis of results showed that maximum densities of heat flux to the reactor vessel from the bottom metallic layer with the melt inversion did not exceed corresponding CHFs 24 and 72 h after the reactor shutdown. Because the thermal load on the reactor vessel can be localized in the region of its bottom, where the CHF is relatively small, during the inverse stratification of the melt, there is a need to carry out further in-depth experimental and analytical investigations of conditions for formation of the stratified molten pool and to obtain corrected experimental CHFs for conditions and outlines of cooling the external surface of the VVER-600 vessel in a severe accident.

New challenges—including the modern urban development policy, formation of the market of energy efficient technologies and different types of equipment of a broad power capacity range, tightening requirements to reliability, quality, and economic accessibility of heat supply—enhance the competitiveness of decentralized heat supply. In addition, its spontaneous growth and not always reasonable implementation lead to unjustified expenses, low efficiency, and ecological inconsistency. This proves the relevance of solving the problems of dividing an urban territory into zones of centralized heating (CH) and decentralized heating (DCH) along with their planning and justification, as well as determining a reasonable level of heat supply centralization and concentration of heat sources' power capacity. Solving these problems using the suggested method will allow optimizing the application areas for various types of heat supply and heat sources, justifying the degree of heat power capacity concentration and the extent of the systems as early as at the phase of a detailed urban planning project and then refining them during the design of urban heat supply systems. This will dramatically improve the reasonability of the decisions made and will simplify the procedure of their implementation. For criteria of limiting the extent (radius) of heat supply systems and defining their type, we suggest using standard values—the density of heat load per unit length of the pipeline and per unit area of urban territory. Standard values must be differentiated across the territory of Russia taking into account regional climatic and economic conditions and unique characteristics of heat supply development in cities and towns. The present article continues and develops the statements made in the previous articles created within the framework of the Theory of Hydraulic Circuits and takes into account the current situation and emerging trends in heat supply.

The macroscopic regularities and integrated characteristics of the motion and evaporation of sprayed water droplets in the field of high-temperature (1100 K) combustion products under the conditions typical for water heaters of contact type (economizers) were studied using a cross-correlation complex working on the basis of panoramic optical methods (particle image velocimetry, particle tracking velocimetry, shadow photography) and high-speed (10⁵ fps) Phantom video cameras. High-speed video recording devices with specialized software were used for continuously monitoring the motion and evaporation of droplets. Titanium dioxide nanopowder tracer particles were introduced to determine the rate of high-temperature gases. The characteristic distances covered by water droplets before their full retardation in the counter-flow of high-temperature combustion products were determined. The integrated dependences were obtained, and the main characteristics of evaporation were determined, which allow one to predict the intensity of the phase transformations of droplets (with sizes of 0.05–0.5 mm) and the distances covered by them before they completely turn in the opposite direction under the conditions corresponding to the heat-exchange chambers of contact water heaters: the vapor-droplet rate 1–5 m/s, gas flow rate 0.5–2 m/s, and gas temperature ~1100 K. Approximating expressions were derived to predict the characteristics of the processes. The performance of the economizers under study can be significantly increased by using the obtained experimental dependences, the corresponding approximating expressions, and the resulting conclusions. Conditions were determined under which the influence of phase transformations on retardation exceeds the contribution of the counter-motion and active retardation and evaporation of water droplets occur in the heat-exchange chambers of contact water heaters of typical sizes.

One of the most effective energy saving technologies is the improvement of existing heat and mass exchange units. A stream-bubble contact device is designed to enhance the operation efficiency of heat and mass exchange units. The stages of the stream-bubble units that are proposed by the authors for the decarbonization process comprise contact devices with equivalent sizes, whose number is determined by the required performance of a unit. This approach to the structural design eliminates the problems that arise upon the transition from laboratory samples to industrial facilities and makes it possible to design the units of any required performance without a decrease in the effectiveness of mass exchange. To choose the optimal design that provides the maximum effectiveness of the mass-exchange processes in units and their intensification, the change of the mass-transfer coefficient is analyzed with the assumption of a number of parameters. The results of the study of the effect of various structural parameters of a stream-bubble contact device on the mass-transfer coefficient in the liquid phase are given. It is proven that the mass-transfer coefficient increases in the liquid phase, in the first place, with the growth of the level of liquid in the contact element, because the rate of the liquid run-off grows in this case and, consequently, the time of surface renewal is reduced; in the second place, with an increase in the slot diameter in the downpipe, because the jet diameter and, accordingly, their section perimeter and the area of the surface that is immersed in liquid increase; and, in the third place, with an increase in the number of slots in the downpipe, because the area of the surface that is immersed in the liquid of the contact element increases. Thus, in order to increase the mass-transfer coefficient in the liquid phase, it is necessary to design the contact elements with a minimum width and a large number of slots and their increased diameter; in this case, the filling degree of contact elements by the liquid must be maximum.