Integration of MHD System to The Gas Turbine and The Steam Turbine Power Plant: A Brief Review

Abstract

Electrical energy generation is essential for the survival of the modern society. Fossil fuels are limited and create pollution. Also the conventional power generation systems using fossil fuel have lesser efficiency due to higher amount of losses in different sections of the plants. The Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) is found as a nonconventional energy generation system which has the capability to enhance the thermal power plant efficiency significantly. The MHD is a direct energy conversion system that describes the interactions of a magnetic field and an electrically conductive fluid to produce electrical power. The system is simple and it avoids the difficulty of choosing a rotating turbine or engine and massive number of complex calculations. The high temperature tolerable materials can be used in the system due to the exponential development of material science. In MHD system, energy of plasma or ionized gas is directly converted into electric power. The conversion process of the system is based on the principle of Faraday’s Laws of electromagnetic induction and fluid dynamics. The MHD generator uses hot conductive ionized gas or plasma as the moving conductor whereas in the mechanical dynamo, in contrast, uses the motion of mechanical devices to accomplish this. Seeding materials such as potassium carbonate, potassium sulphates are used to enhance the conductivity of the ionized gas. The focus of the present study is to investigate alternative methods through which an MHD power generator can be coupled to the existing gas turbine and steam plants. In doing so, the thermal cycle efficiency of these conventional plants can be improved. A case study is also presented to calculate the power output and efficiency in a simple way.