Energy, exergy and advanced exergy analyses on Garri “1” combined cycle power plant of Sudan

Abstract

• An advanced thermodynamic analysis on 180-MW Garri “ 1 ” combined cycle power plant is conducted. • The highest contributor of energy loss is the stacks. • The biggest share of exergy destruction is by combustion chambers. • The energy and exergy efficiencies of the plant are 36.1 % and 34.1 %, respectively. • The improvement potential in the plant’s exergy efficiency is only 3 %. Thermal power plants account for 39 % of Sudan’s electricity grid. Consequently, enhancing the performance of these plants is crucial for bolstering the Sudanese energy sector. This paper presents an analysis of energy, conventional exergy, and advanced exergy for 180-MW Garri “ 1 ” combined cycle power plant in Sudan. The study focuses on assessing the enhancement potential of this power plant to provide guidance for performance improvement and identify optimal areas for enhancement within the plant’s components. The energy and classical exergy analyses results indicated that the highest energy losses occur in the stacks (55.1 %), while the largest source of exergy destruction is combustion chambers (50.98 %). Furthermore, the lowest contributions to energy and exergy losses are from the deaerators (0.15 % energy and 0.32 % exergy) and auxiliary systems (0.22 % energy and 2.85 % exergy). The overall energy and exergy efficiencies of the plant were found to be 36.1 % and 34.1 %, respectively. The advanced exergy analysis exhibited that the ratios of unavoidable to avoidable exergy destruction and endogenous to exogenous exergy destruction are 87.95 % to 12.05 % and 68.3 % to 31.7 %, respectively. Moreover, it was shown that the primary source of avoidable endogenous exergy destruction is the combustion chambers (48.53 %). Furthermore, the improvement potential in the plant’s exergy efficiency was found to be only 3 %, suggesting the need for optimization of operational parameters to enhance overall performance. The current paper offers valuable insights into enhancing efficiency of Sudanese energy sector, with implications for optimizing the energy sector in similar developing countries.