Maasvlakte Power Station
With its two production units the Maasvlakte power station is notable for a very high level of availability for this type of power station. Availability means the number of hours per year during which electricity can be generated in relation to the total hours per year. Unit 1 is featured in the Guinness Book of Records with 13,000 hours continuous production.
The design of the power station also makes it particularly ideal for burning a range of liquid and solid materials. Currently it is already burning biomass. This biomass fuel is a CO2-neutral replacement for coal.
In the environmental-technological context the design takes account cancelling out of ancillary effects of generating electricity with coal. Covering conveyor belts to prevent dust, removing fly-ash from flue gases before these can get into the atmosphere, removing the SO2 from flue gases and limiting the maximum temperature of the cooling water via which these can be taken off to sea – these are a few of the key measures taken to minimise the impact on the environment.
Generation
The coal-fired generator at Rotterdam Maasvlakte is E.ON Benelux’s largest power station. Originally this operated with natural gas and heavy furnace oil. Following conversion in the 1980s the Maasvlakte is now E.ON Benelux’s only 'pulverised-coal fired' power station. Among other things using cheaper coal is designed to reduce dependence on oil and gas. In fact, if necessary both units can switch over to gas.
The units operate along a conventional steam cycle with non-complex reheating and condensation.
Steam conditions:
Fresh steam:
Reheated steam:
Each unit has five pulverised coal mills where the coal (180 tons per hour at full power) is crushed to a fine powder. This is burned in the boilers, in combination with air. The heat released heats water into steam. In turn, this steam runs the turbine to which the generator (dynamo) is linked. The electricity generated here is supplied to the grid, via a transformer, at 380,000 volts.
Environment
Although burning gas is cleaner than coal, E.ON Benelux has also ensured that coal does not create any irresponsible burden on the environment. To this end a whole series of inventive measures have been put in place at the Maasvlakte, including:
The heavy ash-particles are caught in the furnaces and removed. This 'bottom ash' is used for hardening road surfaces and as a raw material in the construction industry. Around 99.8% of the light ash particles or 'fly-ash', is trapped in electrostatic fly-ash traps and removed to storage silos. Further transportation to the users is by road or ship. A full 100% of this material is put to meaningful re-use. Examples include manufacture of artificial gravel and in the cement and concrete industry. Meanwhile, 100% of the flue gases from the units are cleansed of sulphur in the washing installations. The sulphur dioxide (SO2) created by burning the sulphur in coal, is brought in to contact with chalk in special, 52 metre high wash towers. This forms plaster. The plaster processing industry takes all of this high quality product from E.ON Benelux for use in manufacture of plaster products, plaster board and plaster for flooring products in the construction industry.