System for combined flue gas heat recovery and dust precipitation improvement as retrofit solution for existing coal-fired power stations

A power plant having a boiler for combusting carbonaceous fuel and generating flue gas having dust disposed therein, said power plant comprising:

• a flue gas line to convey flue gas;
• a diffuser to receive and diffuse flue gas from the flue gas line;
• a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with the diffuser to receive and cool flue gas from the diffuser;
• a dust precipitator abuttingly connected to the first heat exchanger to receive flue gas from the first heat exchanger and remove dust from the flue gas received from the heat exchanger;
• an induced draft fan downstream of the dust precipitator for raising the pressure of flue gas exiting the dust precipitator and transporting the flue gas exiting the dust precipitator towards an outlet stack;
• and
• a second heat exchanger in parallel to a first feedwater heater, wherein heat extracted from flue gas passing through the first heat exchanger is transferred to a thermal energy carrier that flows through conduits to the second heat exchanger, and wherein the second heat exchanger is configured to heat feedwater bypassing the first feedwater heater with heat from the thermal energy carrier,
• wherein the diffuser and the first heat exchanger are disposed upstream of the dust precipitator system, the diffuser is configured to reduce a velocity of flue gas flowing to both the first heat exchanger and the dust precipitator, and
• wherein the first heat exchanger and the dust precipitator define respective cross-sections where the first heat exchanger and the dust precipitator directly abuttingly connect, and the respective cross sections are the same.