Steam Turbine Generators
Diesel generator or steam turbine?
Having lots of diesel fuel to make electricity (200-800KW)
is it better to use a diesel generator or a steam turbine?
(Remember : the only way to produce steam is burning diesel)
Does anybody know how many KWh can make per 1000gal?
Diesel generators in the 200 to 800 kW range are very common. The cost of anything above 600kW gets pretty high, but the diesel engine is much less expensive than a steam or gas turbine. The advantage to a reciprocating engine vs a turbine is that a reciprocating engine can better react to varying load conditions. Although a gas turbine is generally more efficient than a piston engine, they can not react quickly to a change in load. You also have a lot of excess machinery to utilize the high shaft speed of a turbine.
There is one answer that suggests that you “count the number of energy transfers”. This can be a valid point, but you need to take into account the efficiency at which you are transferring your energy and how much waste heat you can recover and put to good use.
A standard diesel engine turns fuel into work at about 35% efficiency, with little chance of recovering any usable waste heat.
A turbine converts heat energy into work energy at about 40% efficiency. However, in the case of the steam turbine, a heat exchanger can be used to remove energy from the exhaust and preheat the boiler water, thus requiring less energy input from the diesel fuel, provided the system is at a steady state condition.
In practicality, but a diesel genset.
Steam Turbine
|
|
Jensen Steam Engine Dry Fuel Heated 76 $139.95 A Do-It-Yourself Model Steam Engine — – An American tradition, this solid brass and nickel plated steam engine is perfect for learning more about mechanical energy, motion and the way “things work”. — – The steam engine runs on steam pressure made by heating water in a boiler just as water is boiled in a tea kettle. In the early 1700′s, the first practical steam engines were built to pump wate… |
|
|
Tesla Turbine $399.99 Once again this Tesla turbine is eagerly awaited. Further improvements have been made after plenty of R&D from the last turbine. The turbine efficiency has been increased by increasing nozzle pressures and added shaped spacers that act like an impulse turbine AFTER the useful energy has be captured using the discs. This may not be that satisfactory to some Tesla purists that don’t think that impul… |
|
|
Power Generation Handbook : Selection, Applications, Operation, Maintenance $125.00 Weâve all lived through long hot summers with power shortages, brownouts, and blackouts. But at last, all the what-to-do and how-to-do it information youâll need to handle a full range of operation and maintenance tasks at your fingertips. Written by a power industry expert, Power Generation Handbook: Selection, Applications, Operation, Maintenance helps you to gain a thorough understand… |