According to the U.S. Department of Energy, coal plants can reduce sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and greenhouse-gas emissions by using biomass as a supplemental fuel in existing coal boilers.
With the ability to link multiple units together in a series the electricity and heat output can be scaled to suit. A dairy farm - an example of biomass CHP use: The CHP plant installed on a farm produces electricity during the day for the milking plant, machinery, etc.
In an effort to improve efficiency, progress is being made toward the use of steam at ever-higher pressures and temperatures. There are some thermal electric power plants that use 25 MPa abs (3625 psia), 610°C (1130°F) superheated, supercritical pressure steam in their turbines.
With high energy costs, you must return as much condensate as possible to the boiler plant for reuse. The benchmark for optimal condensate return is as high as 90%. This is possible if the plant doesn't use direct steam injection for process applications.
(9) In some power plants, coal pyrites are disposed of with the bottom ash or boiler slag. In such cases, some pyrite or soluble sulfate is contained in the bottom ash or boiler slag, (9) which may be reflected in higher sodium sulfate soundness loss values.
Overall, the power plant can produce 66 megawatts of electricity and 1.1 million pounds of steam an hour — enough to service more than 13 million square feet of campus buildings. The biomass boiler will use 100,000 tons of biomass a year, which will be delivered by a dozen or more semitrailers a day and stored in three large covered silos.
