Datteln 4, a 1.1GW power plant in Germany, stands among the world’s most modern coal-fired power plants under development. The project will be a monoblock unit with a net efficiency of more than 45%. It will produce district heating in addition to power generation.
The foundation stone for the Datteln 4 thermal power plant was laid in November 2007. The Datteln City Council passed the project in May 2014 and all the necessary emission-control permits are anticipated to be obtained in 2015.
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EON is the developer of the new hard coal-fired plant, which is estimated to require an investment of more than €1bn (more than $1.09bn). Upon completion, the project will replace the ageing Datteln 1-3 and Shamrock (Herne) power plants.
Approximately 6,300 people participated in the construction of the project. It is expected to create 500 operational jobs, including 200 direct jobs at the power plant.
Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant details
Trianel Kohlekraftwerk Lünen (TKL) developed the 750MW hard coal-fired power plant at Lünen, Germany.
The Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant will be equipped with an advanced multi-step flue gas purification system, which will eliminate nitrogen oxides, dust and sulphur from the flue gas.
Out of the total electricity produced, 413MW of traction current will be delivered to Deutsche Bahn’s grid for its railway system. The remaining 642MW will be transmitted to the region’s public electricity grid.
The 50Hz power generated by the plant will be converted into 16.7Hz, which is ideal for the train system, by a traction current converter facility to be constructed along with the power station. The converted energy will be fed to Deutsche Bahn’s 110kV high-voltage grid.
Using combined heat and power technology, the Datteln 4 power plant will also produce approximately 1,000GWh of district heating, a sufficient supply for approximately 100,000 houses. It will provide district heating to the Castrop-Rauxel and Dortmund-Bodelschwingh areas.
A portion of the water vapour will be extracted in the two parts of the low-pressure turbine and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger will transfer the heat energy in the flow line of the district heating network to the district heating water transferring the heat through the district heating system to the customer.
The flue gas is cleaned in a complex three-stage process in the power plant. Nitrogen oxide is washed first followed by dust and finally sulphur.
Power generation at Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant
Hard coal for the power station will be delivered by barges through the Dortmund-Ems canal. Closed conveyor belts will either transport the fuel to the coal storage facility or directly to the coal bunker.
The hard coal will initially be ground to a fine dust using five coal pulverisers. The fine dust will then be dried using hot air and blown into the combustion chamber of the boiler, which will also house the steam generator and a complex system of pipes.
In the combustion chamber, the fine coal dust will be burned at more than 1,300°C. The resulting heat will bring the water in the lines to the boil and transform it into steam, which will be passed into the turbines at high pressure. The steam output from the turbines will be condensed into water in the condenser and transferred back to the boiler.
The steam turbine will rotate at 3,000 revolutions per minute and consist of one high-pressure, one medium-pressure and two low-pressure sections. The turbine blades will transfer the steam’s energy onto the shaft. The turbine will be linked to a generator, which will convert the mechanical energy into electrical energy.
The electricity generated at Datteln 4 will be supplied to the power grid through a transformer.
Contractors involved
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems is the supplier of the utility steam generator for the Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant. Its scope of work includes supply of the components as well as engineering, installation and commissioning.
Rheinmetall was contracted in February 2008 for the supply of an engineering simulator for the Datteln 4 power plant.
ABB is the supplier of process control system consisting of boiler protection, instrumentation and actuators as well as complete engineering, installation and commissioning.
Bilfinger was awarded the contract for providing the high-pressure piping system for the Datteln 4 project.
Draheim steel prepared the detail engineering and workshop planning for the construction of the boiler house, which is estimated to use 5,150t of steel.
