Thermal Power Plant Control and Instrumentation

Thermal Power Plant Control and Instrumentation describes the systems and equipment used for measuring and controlling boilers and heat-recovery steam-generators used in land and marine power plant and in process industries. It provides a practical guide to the design, installation, operation and maintenance of these systems. Starting with descriptions of how each area of the plant operates, it shows how the relevant control systems have evolved, how they are implemented in modern systems and how to evaluate the merits of alternative approaches. The rise of renewable power in the generation mix, and of biomass in the fuel, has demanded greater flexibility from combustion plants, requiring more sophisticated and robust control. In parallel, thermal power plants have been developed with overfire air systems to reduce NOx, once-through supercritical boilers to increase efficiency and model-based control schemes to optimise response. These developments have brought opportunities in terms of flexibility, energy efficiency and safety, but also the risk of a comprehension gap between control specialists and power plant engineers, a gap this new edition aims to bridge.