Modernization Potential of Pulverized Coal Boilers in Response to Contemporary Ecological Challenges

The paper presents an analysis of the possibility of modernization of pulverized coal (PC) boilers fired with hard coal or lignite in order to meet contemporary ecological challenges. The increase in the price of CO2 emission allowances causes a decrease in the profitability of coal combustion. Therefore, the construction of large new coal-fired units is becoming more and more risky. The need to keep existing power plants in operation gives a strong impetus to retrofitting PC boilers to reduce their carbon footprint. The paper assesses the following modernizations in terms of improving the environmental impact of the power plant: increasing the efficiency of the boiler, maintaining high efficiency in a wide range of loads, enabling continuous operation with the lowest load, and increasing the unit load change (ramp rate).