Almaty power plant tests new plasma unit

Tests of a new plasma-fuel system have started at Almaty Thermal Power Plant No.2, head of thermophysics department of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Scientific-Research Institute of Al-Farabi Kazakh State University Aleksander Ustimenko told Tengrinews.kz. The innovation will allow the plant to stop using residual oil to start up the boilers and cut its hazardous emissions. According to Ustimenko, the tests will finish on May 31. 6 plasma jets have been installed at the thermal power plant: three main and three reserve jets. Their task is to inflame the coal that catches fire only at over 1 thousand degrees Centigrade. Coal dust is supplied into the plasma-fuel system, where it mixes with plasma forming a highly-reactive two-component fuel. If the tests are successful, the unit will start operating in summer 2013. The first tests of the plasma-fuel system at Thermal Power Plant No.2 were made in 2010. Since then the developers eliminated several shortages in the system. Earlier Tengrinews.kz English reported that the plasma-fuel system would allow all Kazakhstan fuel power stations save up to 30 billion tenge ($200 million) a year, provided that the market prices of one ton of residual fuel oil is at around $400. Use of the system allows to more efficiently burn coal and decrease fuel underburning that is one of the problems of Kazakhstan's high-ash coal. By Dmitriy Khegai