Herbert Leopold GABRYŚ
How has the Polish power industry been changing for the last twenty-some years? (Not necessarily objective but a little emotional judgement of the co-creator and participant of these changes)
Made is general evaluation of the existing restructuring of the Polish energy sector. Outlined are, with the help of the Author’s own reminiscences as he was the co-creator of this part of the Polish economy reforms, the course of events and main stages of the transformation process and moreover they are additionally supplemented with His, not always impersonal, thoughts. Pointed out are some, often negative, features characterizing development programs of this industrial branch. Described are the beginnings of creation of the Polish Energy Law. Shown is that the present organizational structure came into being as a result of a survey conducted among the concerned energy companies and the respondents were unanimously in favour of a corporation type consolidation - but the Author does not add that the decision processes in this field were not the effect of optimization taking also into account the more objective criteria. Finally, the Author very strongly points out the negative for Poland effects of the EU promotion and enforcement of „climate romanticism” philosophy.
Keywords: energy sector restructuring, energy policy, electric energy market
Waldemar DOŁĘGA
The electric power infrastructure development in the aspect of environmental safety under the EU legal regulations
Presented is the analysis and evaluation of law regulations being in force and concerning environmental safety in the context of electric power infrastructure development. Law regulations referring to environmental safety are contained on The European Union level in various directives, policies, strategies, announcements and decisions as well as on the national level in some acts, ordinances, strategies and policies. They are of a multidimensional character and concern, among other things, energy enterprises.
Keywords: electric power infrastructure, development, environmental safety, law
Artur ANDRUSZKIEWICZ, Krzysztof KUBAS, Wiesław WĘDRYCHOWICZ, Paweł REGUCKI
Application of numerical methods in modernization of power boiler flow systems
Presented is the possibility of numerical methods application to analyse the hydraulic systems operation on the example of a power boiler auxiliary devices cooling system. Derived is a mathematical model of the cooling water series-parallel propagation and iterative methods are used to solve the nonlinear equations system. The obtained results of numerical calculations make it possible to analyse various options of the studied system modernization and to indicate its critical elements. An economic analysis of various options allows the investor to choose the optimal option of the installation reconstruction.
Keywords: power boilers, flow systems, boiler modernization
Michał BARDADYN, Krystian PARADOWSKI, Andrzej ZAGÓRSKI, Mateusz WRÓBEL
Diagnostics of underground pipeline systems faults by means of the acoustic emission method
The aim of investigations described in this article was to verify the possibility of monitoring and localizing of underground pipelines faults. The nowadays used methods, like monitoring pressure changes inside a pipeline, do not allow detection and spotting of small leaks. Identification of such places is possible, among other methods, by means of the so-called „intelligent pistons” but the underground pipeline system in Poland is in many cases not ready for this type of testing so one of the solutions is the acoustic emission method (AT) and the investigations carried out under this project allowed designing a system for testing underground pipelines based on this method. Tested was the application of measurement sensors put inside a pipeline that is a much better method than the traditional use of AT where one must unearth the measuring points and place sensors on a pipeline surface - this way it can be used in such inaccessible places like pipelines running under water reservoirs. The analysis of testing results shows that the signal from sensors placed inside a pipeline is comparable to read-outs from the traditionally mounted ones. Confirmed is also a change in susceptibility to external interferences dependent on the location of sensors. Investigations allowed as well designing of a transporting module for a sensor put into a pipeline and elaboration of guidelines for remote testing monitoring and wireless transmission of alarm signals. All this research was realized under the development project of the National Centre for Research and Development Nr 15 0050-10 „Innovation system for detection and localization of discontinuities in constructional material of industrial underground pipelines”
Keywords: underground pipelines, acoustic emission, pipeline testing, discontinuity detection
Elżbieta MORYŃ-KUCHARCZYK
Social aspects of nuclear power engineering
Discussed are legal conditionings of the nuclear power engineering development in Poland as well as the measures anticipated in the Polish Nuclear Power Program having in view uplifting of a social knowledge concerning nuclear power stations. According to a popular opinion the social support for nuclear power engineering rises together with the knowledge level of this problem. Presented are also results of the author’s direct surveys conducted among students to get acquainted with their knowledge sources concerning nuclear power stations that in turn served a fragmentary verification of the government’s educational activities.
Keywords: Polish Nuclear Power Program, education in the range of nuclear power engineering, support for the nuclear power engineering
Tomasz RADZIK
Improvement of a power boiler steam cycle efficiency – theory and reality
Described are methods to improve the Rankine cycle efficiency on the example of big output condensing units in the Polish commercial power plants. Analysed are methods and technical solutions influencing efficiency improvement of main power unit elements like a coal-fired steam boiler and a steam TG unit. Discussed is briefly a theoretical base for efficiency improvement and, more broadly, a real performance of some steam power units. Presented are existing possibilities of steam cycle efficiency improvement enabling increase of electric power generation efficiency and, indirectly, reduction of environmental pollution. All these aspects should be thorougly considered when making a decision of a possible modernization of the existing power units or building the new ones.
Keywords: power unit, steam cycle, efficiency improvement
Tomasz SŁUPIK
BAT – requirements concerning generation efficiency of power production units in the context of their further operation
The imminent coming into life of the IED Directive records enforced a modernization wave in our domestic power industry. This Directive obliges also to periodic review of the BAT document (that stands for the Best Available Techniques Reference Documents) dedicated to large combustion plants, the result of which is an appearance of the BAT Conclusions. Their records introduce the aspect of efficiency as an element taken into account by authorities when examining the possibility to issue the integrated permit to a power production unit which procedure will take place after the records have come into force (expected in 2019). On the one hand the case is very serious and concerns practically the whole generation area but on the other there is not much discussion about it in the energy sector. Is it because the perspective of these changes is so far away that there is nothing to fear of? An attempt is made to answer this question.
Keywords: generation efficiency, energy generation units, BAT
Rafał SZYMANOWICZ
Measurement of coal pile volumes in a storage yard as a fuel accounting control method
Supervision over coal storage yards condition, coal rotation in the yard, evidence and registration of coal turnover do not make us sure that after a time the real quantity and quality of the stored coal will be the same as in the register. The differences can result either from coal properties, impossible to exclude uncertainties connected with determination of ingoings and outgoings, loss of documents or other reasons. That is why it is necessary to periodically establish the real stock balance by means of the storage yard stocktaking and then conducting balance sheet valuation. Presented is a method of taking measurements together with measurement uncertainty calculation methodology which has been elaborated and is now in use by ENERGOPOMIAR for measurements of coal pile volumes in storage yards. This method is an alternative to the measurements which are in many cases taken on basis of the out-of-date regulation that expired with the end of 1980s.
Keywords: coal storage yards, storage yard measurements, fuel accounting control