Eco Factor: Power plant’s peak loads to be managed using liquid nitrogen.
Peak loads on power plants sometimes cause such immense stress that the plant faces blackouts. To deal with this problem, researchers at University of Leeds have found an innovative method that could store excess energy affordably and then use that during the peaks. This approach of energy storage for power plants involves liquid nitrogen and oxygen.
The team’s system works by using surplus electricity generated during non-peak hours to run a special unit that produces liquid nitrogen and oxygen, also known as cryogen. When the demand goes high, the nitrogen would get boiled using waste heat from the power plant, while the oxygen would get mixed with natural gas, improving the combustion process by making it more efficient and less polluting.
The carbon dioxide generated will be released in the form of dry ice that is quite beneficial. As of now, this affordable, greener and practical method to address peak loads is just on paper, but the team hopes to develop an actual test version soon. The researchers claim that their system could bring down peak demand by as much as 50 percent and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
