PhD Defence by Piotr Niemczyk

Time and place: Friday, September 23, 2011, at 10.00

Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7, room B3-104 (Auditorium)

Title: Model-based Fuel Flow Control for Fossil-fired Power Plants

Abstract
The European liberalized energy market promotes cheap and reliable electricity genera-tion. At the same time, governmental policies aim to lower the environmental impact of such production, encouraging generation from renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines. Unfortunately the production from such sources may vary unpredictably meaning that the desired level of generation cannot always be achieved upon request. On-demand production from controllable units, such as thermal power plants, must change quickly in order to ensure balance between consumer demands and electricity generation. Coal-fired power plants represent the largest reserve of such controllable power sources in several countries. However, their production take-up rates are limited, mainly due to poor fuel flow control. The thesis presents analysis of difficulties and potential improvements in the con-trol of the coal grinding process, to allow more flexible production from these units.

Assessment Committee:
Professor Rafael Wisniewski, Aalborg University, Denmark (chairman)
Professor Claudio De Persis, University of Groningen, NL
Associate Professor Niels Kjølstad Poulsen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

Supervisor:
Associate Professor Jan Dimon Bendtsen, Aalborg University, Denmark

Moderator:
Associate Professor Tom S. Pedersen, Aalborg University, Denmark

After the defence there will be a reception in C3-205
All are welcome!