Abstract:
Surging in energy demand makes it necessary to improve performance of plant
equipment and optimize operation of thermal power plants. Inasmuch as thermal
power plants depend on fossil fuels, their optimization can be challenging due to the
environmental issues which must be considered. Nowadays, the vast majority of
power plants are designed based on energetic performance obtained from first law of
thermodynamic. In some cases, energy balance of a system is not appropriate tool to
diagnose malfunctions of the system. Exergy analysis is a powerful method for determining
the losses existing in a system. Since exergy analysis can evaluate quality
of the energy, it enables designers to make intricate thermodynamic systems operates
more efficiently. These days, power plant optimization based on economic criteria is
a critical problem because of their complex structure. In this study, a comprehensive
analysis including energy, exergy, economic (3-E)
analyses, and their applications
related to various thermal power plants are reviewed and scrutinized.
