Cherednichenko O. Efficiency of Power Plants with Thermochemical Systems for Technology-Intensive Ships and Offshore Oil and Gas Production Facilities

The dissertation is devoted to the solution of an important scientific issue of efficiency increasing of fuel resources use and reduction of toxic components emissions by rational organization of energy transformations in thermochemical systems of waste heat recovery of secondary energy sources in power plants of technology-intensive ships and offshore oil and gas production facilities. The need to comply with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) legislation to improve energy efficiency determines the demand for practices aimed at adapting energy-efficiency technologies in ship power engineering by means of implementation of advanced heat engines and plants. It also estimates the achievable range of such engines and plants parameters with the development of scientifically sound promising design solutions supplying the increasing of fuel recourses efficiency use, minimizing emissions of CO2 and other harmful substances in the environment. The aim of the research is to increase the efficiency of power plants with thermochemical systems of waste heat recovery of secondary energy sources in power plants for technology-intensive ships and offshore oil and gas production facilities. As a result of the performed scientific researches, the concept of increase of efficiency of ship power plants of technology-intensive ships and offshore oil and gas production facilities is developed. This concept satisfies IMO’s perspective requirements on energy efficiency that is expected to come into force since 2025. It is realized by thermochemical treatment of hydrocarbon and alcohol fuels by heat supplying of exhaust gases of gas turbine and combined diesel-gas turbine power plants, as well as by using the potential of secondary energy resources of low-speed diesel engines by means of thermochemical energy conversion in recovery metal-hydride plants. Efficiency improving of thermochemical recovery of secondary energy resources of power plants for technology-intensive ships and offshore oil and gas production facilities is achieved by agreeing on the parameters of operating processes of thermochemical fuel treatment along with heat engines and increases the efficiency of power plants up to 3%. Thermochemical treatment of hydrocarbon and alcohol fuels with low-emission combustion of gaseous products and utilization of secondary energy resources of gas turbine and combined diesel-gas turbine power plants along with the use of waste heat energy of low-speed diesel engines in recovery metal hydride plants provides reduction of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of transport work of technology-intensive ships. The mathematical model of the low-emission gas turbine combustion chamber operating on thermochemical conversion products has been developed, and the research results of operating process characteristics at work on thermochemical conversion products of an associated gas have been shown. The possibility of efficient use of thermochemical conversion products of an associated gas as the main fuel has been proved. The integrated use of thermochemical fuel treatment and the organization of low-emission combustion in a gas turbine combustion chamber with preliminary partial mixing of fuel with air ensure compliance of major toxic components emissions of power plants of technology-intensive ships and offshore oil and gas production facilities with the modern European standards. The scientific and practical significance of the dissertation is to expand ideas about the physicochemical processes of thermochemical recuperation of secondary energy resources, fuel treatment and combustion processes of their conversion products, which is the scientific basis for implementing the concept of technology-intensive ships and offshore oil and gas production facilities corresponding to the global rate according to level of economy and environmental friendliness. Substantiation of effective use range of a number of hydrocarbon and alcohol fuels and the obtained regression dependences, describing the patterns of influence of heat engine operating process parameters on the component composition and energy characteristics of thermochemical products, has allowed to increase the design efficiency of ship power plants operating on various fuels. Design solutions and practical recommendations for the application of thermochemical recovery systems in advanced gas turbine and combined plants have provided an opportunity to develop conceptual designs for LNG and LPG carriers, cruise ships and Ro-pax, which meet the promising IMO’s energy efficiency requirements. The results of the dissertation are used in the practice of forming technical tasks, technical proposals in implementing of design studies of power equipment and in the educational process in the training of bachelor and master students.