Reliable electric energy production

The reliability of a modern electric power system depends on continuous real-time control of power and energy production, transmission line flows, system frequency, and voltage. This complex task will get more involved in the new environment with increased market participation on both the supply and the demand sides. 

Electrochemical reactor design is ideally a good compromise between capital and power costs. The power consumption of a cell or reactor is the most important single factor needed to evaluate its performance. Both the powar production and chemical process industries, (CPI), involve heat and electrical energy in a similar fundamental way, and so are governed by the second law of thermodynamics. The second law actually imposes an absolute natural limitation on the efficiency of any energy transformation, and therefore it provides a reliable standard with which to compare and control practical operations (30) (31) (32). 

The gross electric energy demands of the three types of limestone scrubbers are compared in Table III as percentages of the total plant power production. The comparison is based on 2420 cfm per MW (saturated flue gas at 125°F, 1 atm) and 70 percent fan efficiency. In no case does the electric demand for 90 percent S02 removal exceed 0.83 percent of production. It is interesting to note that the differential between the highest demand (spray tower) and the lowest demand (TCA) amounts to only 0.16 percent of the total plant power production. From this viewpoint, the simplicity and increased reliability of the spray tower are not expensive attributes in terms of additional energy drain. 

Even when the time comes to make a purchasing decision, an energy-efficient motor purchase is not a certainty. Sometimes an energy-efficient motor will be the economically efficient choice at other times, not. The capital investment decision is based on the cost in relation to performance, efficiency and reliability. Moreover, the decision depends on the application and the amount of time the motor is in operation. It can be the major component of a product (drill or mixer), or a minor component (computer disk drive) it can be the major component cost of a product (fan), or it can be a minor component cost (stereo tape deck) it can run almost constantly (fan, pump, and machinery), or only a few minutes a day (vacuums and power tools). For example, contractors purchase circular saws almost solely based on performance and reliability. Time is money, and since the saw is operating only a few minutes a day and the contractor is often not responsible for the electricity costs to run the motor, energy efficiency is not a consideration performance and reliability are what matter most. On the other hand, an industrial user, who runs huge electric motors twenty-four hours a day to work pumps, machinery, and ventilation equipment, is very concerned tvitli energy efficiency as well as performance and reliability. 

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