coal-fired power plants 火力发电厂 火力发电厂（燃煤电厂火力发电厂火力发电厂）.doc

coal-fired power plants 火力发电厂 火力发电厂（燃煤电厂火力发电厂火力发电厂） 1879 Thomas A. Edison发明的白炽灯创造了一种廉价易得的燃料的需求，这种燃料可以产生大量的电力。煤似乎符合这一要求，它为最早的发电站提供燃料。（这是十九世纪底由爱迪生自己创办的）。随着全国各地发电厂的兴建，全国各地对煤炭的依赖性越来越强，对煤炭的依赖性日益增强。自第一次世界大战以来，美国每年都有燃煤发电厂合并。在1986个这样的工厂中，发电量为289000兆瓦，消耗了当年在该国开采的近9亿吨煤中的83%。考虑到该国当年开采的近9亿吨煤的未来增长的不确定性。考虑到未来核电的增长和石油和天然气供应的不确定性，到本世纪末，燃煤发电厂将在美国提供高达70%的电力供应。 然而，尽管煤炭长期以来一直是电力的来源，并可能持续多年（煤炭约占美国化石燃料储量的80%），但实际上它从来不是发电厂最理想的化石燃料。煤的重量单位重量比天然气或石油所含的能量少，运输困难，而且与许多环境问题有关，其中包括酸雨。自1960年底以来，排放控制和废物处理的问题大大降低了燃煤发电厂的吸引力。改善这些环境问题的成本，以及建造一座大型而复杂的燃煤发电厂的成本不断上涨，也使这种工厂从单纯的经济角度看不那么吸引人。 不过，燃煤发电厂技术基础的变化可能会恢复它们的吸引力。虽然其中一些变化主要是为了提高现有工厂的生产率，但正在开发全新的洁净煤燃烧技术。 托马斯爱迪生1879年发明的白炽灯导致对便宜、易得、可生产大量电能的燃料的需求。煤似乎符合这个要求，并成为第一批电厂的燃料（正是爱迪生本人在19世纪末建造了第一批电厂）。全国到处兴建电厂时，对煤的依赖加深了自第一次世界大战以来，美国每年约有一半的电力是以煤为燃料的电厂提供的。 In 1986, the total power generating capacity of these power plants reached 28900 kilowatts and consumed 83% of the nine hundred million tons of coal mined in the country. Given the growth of nuclear power and uncertainties in oil and gas supplies, thermal power plants may still provide as much as 70% of the electricity for the United States by the end of this century. However, although coal has long been one of the sources of electricity and may continue to do so (coal accounts for 80% of fossil fuel reserves in the United States), it is not an ideal fuel for power plants. The unit energy content of coal is lower than that of petroleum and natural gas, and it can lead to a series of environmental problems including acid rain. Since 1960, emissions control and waste disposal have greatly weakened the appeal of coal-fired power plants. The cost of reducing these environmental problems, and the cost of building large, complex coal-fired power plants, also makes the plants unattractive from an economic point of view. Changing the basic technology of thermal power plants may restore their appeal. While some technological improvements are gradual, with the aim of improving productivity in existing power plants, new clean coa