Abstract

In the coming years, global electricity generation will largely be carried out using coal as fuel (coal generation). Certain European countries, the United States, Canada, and Japan are trying to cut down the number of coal-fired power units with their complete disposal by 2030. At the same time, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, mainly China and India, are extensively developing a technology for the coal generation of steam at ultra supercitical (USC) conditions, which improves the efficiency of electricity generation and reduces harmful atmospheric emissions. The world power industry presently uses steam conditions of approximately 30 MPa and 610/620°C. The efficiency is as high as 47%. An overview is presented of the designs of USC coal-fired power boilers from the largest foreign manufacturers of boiler equipment in Europe (Alstom), Japan (Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries), and China (Harbin Boiler Co., Ltd, Dongfang Boiler Co., Ltd, and Shanghai Boiler Works, Ltd.). Russia ranks tenth in the world as to the total coal-fired power generation. The percentage of coal-fired generation in Russia was approximately 13.5% in 2016. The development of engineering solutions for the USC power unit was undertaken in Russia at the beginning of the 21st century. Boiler equipment manufacturers worked out projects of boilers designed to operate on various coal types for a 660-MW power unit. The construction of the USC power unit prototype requires joint efforts of the government, power engineers, metallurgists, research organizations, and equipment manufacturers.