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Consider a coal-fired steam power plant that produces 175 MW of
electric power. The power plant
operates on a simple ideal Rankine cycle with turbine inlet
conditions of
7 MPa and 550°C and a condenser pressure of 15 kPa. The coal has
a
heating value (energy released when the fuel is burned) of 29,300
kJ/kg.
Assuming that 75% of this energy is transferred to the steam in the
boiler
and that the pump has an efficiency of 80% and the electric
generator has
an efficiency of 85%, determine:
a) the overall plant efficiency (the ratio of net electric power
output
to the energy input as fuel)
b) the required rate of coal supply.