Scientists of the Saratov State Technical University (SSTU) named after Yu. A. Gagarin have developed an economical method of operation of an air-accumulating gas turbine power plant (VAGTE) at a salt deposit. The method consists in connecting a system for heat utilization running on salt brine, the press service of the university told TASS on Sunday.
“SSTU scientists have developed a new method of operation of an air-accumulating gas turbine power plant, which can be used in thermal power engineering. In particular, to reduce the costs of own needs of compressed air energy storage units. This invention is designed to generate electricity when covering a variable load of electricity consumption based on a promising technology of air energy storage,” the university noted.
Uniqueness of the method
As explained at the university, at night – during the hours of low electrical load – the compressor included in the VAGTE pumps compressed air into the battery. During the peak of power consumption, compressed air from the battery is sent to the gas turbine, and electricity generation begins.
SSTU scientists have found that after the gas turbine, the temperature of the outgoing gases remains high enough, it makes sense to utilize this heat. This is possible by connecting a heat recovery circuit, the water treatment plant of which uses table salt. If you place VAGTE on a salt deposit, you can save money from the purchase of table salt and use a natural source, the university clarified. Calculations have shown that in this case, the installation costs are reduced by more than two times.
According to the press service, installations operating on the VAGTE principle are available in Germany and the USA. There are none in Russia yet, but interest in this technology is growing. According to scientists, a site in the south-east of the Volgograd region, in the Svetloyarsky district, is suitable for placing VAGTE in Russia. “The mining and geological potential of this territory allows the construction of underground air accumulators in rock salt deposits near large industrial centers and cities where regulation of uneven power consumption is required,” the university explained.
The authors of the development were associate professors of the Department of Thermal and Nuclear Power named after A. I. Andryushenko – Sergey Novichok, Irina Rostuntsova, as well as a master’s student of the department Evgeny Grigoriev.
Saratov State Technical University named after Yuri Gagarin was founded in 1930 and is one of the leading technical universities in Russia. More than 20 thousand students and trainees study at SSTU. The structure of the university includes eight institutes, a military training center, two branches and two colleges. The university provides training and retraining of personnel in a wide range of engineering, technical, natural science, economic, managerial, social and humanitarian specialties and directions.
A source: https://e-cis.info/news/569/108830/
