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SUMMARY:High efficiency\, low emissions: Power generation on the road to t
 hermotopia - John Young - Professor of Applied Thermodynamics\, University
  of Cambridge
DTSTART:20080213T170000Z
DTEND:20080213T180000Z
UID:TALK10467@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Jon Cullen
DESCRIPTION:When the world’s first public electricity generating station
  opened in London in 1882\, the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics ha
 d been known for less than a quarter of a century. Nevertheless\, it was t
 he application of those laws which guided the development of power generat
 ion through the twentieth century and those same laws which have made poss
 ible the dramatic increases in efficiency seen over the last fifteen years
 .\n\nThe search for high efficiency and low emissions has spawned a bewild
 ering array of complex thermodynamic cycles\, each claiming some particula
 r benefit. Manufacturing industry is constrained to move by comparatively 
 small evolutionary steps\, however\, and so the world is unlikely to progr
 ess with great rapidity to a radically different infrastructure for power 
 generation. The industrial gas turbine has more than proved itself and is 
 likely to retain a large share of the market for the foreseeable future. I
 n simple-cycle operation its efficiency is not high but it can be incorpor
 ated into a wide range of cycles to enhance its performance.\n\nWaiting in
  the wings\, however\, is the exciting possibility of overcoming the Carno
 t limitation\, that longest standing of all thermodynamic restrictions\, e
 ver-present whenever fuel is burned to produce heat. The ‘holy grail’ 
 of power generation\, the direct conversion of chemical energy to electric
 ity\, is now technically feasible with the solid oxide fuel cell and in th
 e SOFC-GT combined-cycle\, the goal of ultra-high efficiency and near-zero
  emissions may finally be realised.\n\nBut will these engineering advances
  do much to reduce the rate of carbon emission to the atmosphere? Despite 
 the huge publicity\, the scale of the problem is not widely appreciated ev
 en by practising engineers. A few very simple calculations can display the
  enormity of the task\, and some inescapable conclusions emerge.  \n\nJohn
  Young is the Hopkinson and ICI Professor of Applied Thermodynamics in the
  Cambridge University Engineering Department. His research interests inclu
 de the theory of non-equilibrium two-phase flow\, wet-steam turbine techno
 logy\, homogeneous nucleation theory\, various applications in clean-coal 
 technology\, solid particle transport and deposition in turbulent gas flow
 s\, the thermodynamics of advanced cycles for power generation\, gas turbi
 ne blade cooling\, multicomponent diffusion theory and solid oxide fuel ce
 ll technology. Although much of his work is related to the power generatio
 n industry\, he is also interested in more fundamental problems in thermod
 ynamics.
LOCATION:LR1\, Engineering Department\, Inglis Building
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