According to GB/T10184—2015, the calculation model of blast furnace gas boiler efficiency is constructed, and the calculation method of blast furnace gas boiler efficiency is analyzed. The results show that the calculation methods of gas moisture content and low-level calorific value are different due to the difference of gas benchmarks.Three methods for solving the excess air coefficient, actual flue gas volume and CO₂ content in the flue gas are proposed for blast furnace gas boilers, and a correction method for exhaust gas temperature of blast furnace gas boilers with gas heaters is proposed;The calculation of some formulas in the GB/T10184—2015 needs to be further discussed, and appropriate modifications can be made.

To address the demand for low-carbon transition in coal-fired power plants, ammonia, as a zero-carbon fuel and efficient hydrogen storage carrier, provides a novel pathway for carbon reduction in the thermal power industry. The key technologies and research advances in green ammonia synthesis, storage, transportation, and ammonia-coal co-firing are systematically reviewed from the perspective of the “production-storage-transportation-utilization” whole industry chain, and the economic feasibility is also evaluated. The study reveals that, the second-generation low-temperature and low-pressure synthesis technology (Fe/Ru catalysts) exhibits the greatest industrial potential for green ammonia production, but requires breakthroughs in enhancing catalytic activity and dynamic matching technologies for renewable energy-based hydrogen-ammonia synthesis systems. It is urgent to develop 100 000-ton-level cryogenic storage tanks and long-distance liquid ammonia pipelines, and establish a “West-to-East Ammonia Transmission” network to support large-scale applications. Ammonia-coal co-firing can achieve NO_x emissions comparable to pure coal combustion by optimizing ammonia injection positions (post-injection in low-oxygen zones), air staging (equivalence ratio of 1.1~1.3 in primary zone), and ammonia blending ratios, alongside designing low-NO_x co-firing burners. However, the weakened radiative heat transfer and enhanced convective heat transfer post-co-firing necessitate compatibility adjustments in boiler steam-water systems. When the cost of renewable electricity decreases to 0.10 yuan/(kW·h) with carbon price exceeding 370 yuan/t, or by utilizing curtailed wind/solar power (with near-zero electricity costs), green ammonia is more competitive than coal. In the future, it is necessary to promote the implementation of technology through green ammonia cost reduction, carbon price mechanism and policy support. This study provides comprehensive technical references and economic optimization strategies for scaling up green ammonia co-firing in coal-fired power plants.

Geothermal power generation, as one of the main ways to develop and utilize geothermal resources, is of great significance to promote the low-carbon and clean energy structure and the realization of the “dual carbon”. Firstly, the development history of geothermal resources in the world is analyzed. Then, main geothermal power generation technologies such as dry steam power generation, flash steam power generation, binary cycle power generation and wellhead power generation technology are overviewed. On this basis, the hot dry rock power generation, thermovoltaic power generation, supercritical CO₂ cycle power generation, combined power generation technology and multi-energy eomplementary power generation technologies such as geothermal-solar, geothermal-wind, geothermal-biomass, and geothermal-ocean energy, are elaborated in detail. Finally, combining with the current situation and existing problems of geothermal power generation in China, some suggestions for the development of geothermal power generation are put forward, to provide reference for the future development of geothermal power generation.

Phosphate ester fire-resistant fluids, serving as hydraulic working medium for the speed regulation system of steam turbines, play a crucial role in the normal operation of steam turbines. Currently, imported products dominate the phosphate ester fire-resistant fluids market for the speed regulation system of steam turbines in domestic power generation units. To break the power industry’s high dependence on imported fire-resistant fluids, it is imperative to develop domestic phosphate ester fire-resistant fluids through independent research and application. Through performance evaluation of various domestic tri-aryl phosphate esters, tri-(dimethylphenyl) phosphate was identified as the optimal choice for domestic fire-resistant fluid development. Via oxidation and adsorption refining processes, the stability of the domestic tri-(dimethylphenyl) phosphate was significantly enhanced, resulting in the successful development of high-performance phosphate ester fire-resistant base oil. After the research on various additives, an optimized additive formulation was established, ultimately producing high-performance phosphate ester fire-resistant fluid that meets the new fluid requirements specified in Guide for Operation and Maintenance of Phosphate Ester Fire-resistant Fluid Used in Power Plant (DL/T 571—2014). Static and dynamic simulated aging tests demonstrated that the domestic phosphate ester fire-resistant fluid exhibits superior anti-aging performance compared to the commercially available alternatives. Following one year of industrial demonstration in power generation units, the fluid maintained new-oil quality standards throughout the application period, with the turbine governing system operating normally.

With the rapid development of energy storage industry and the continuous increase in the installed capacity of energy storage power stations, safety accidents in electrochemical energy-storage power stations have become increasingly frequent, and safety issues have gradually become a key factor restricting the large-scale development of the industry. Therefore, the current policies and standards related to safety risk assessment of electrochemical energy storage power stations at home and abroad are systematically reviewed at first. Then, by analyzing typical safety incidents of electrochemical energy storage power stations, the safety risk points of such power stations are summarized. Based on this, the research progress of the theory and evaluation methods of safety risk assessment of electrochemical energy storage power stations is summarized, from the aspects of battery body, power station working environment, external stimulation and human factors. Finally, the safety development of energy storage power stations in the future is discussed from improving the safety evaluation policies and standards of energy storage power stations, enhancing the construction of the safety assessment system for energy storage power stations, improving the safety and operation management system of energy storage power stations, and strengthening the cultivation of professionals in the energy storage field. It is hoped that this will provide some references for subsequent related researches.

With the expansion and continuous development of the photovoltaic power generation industry, photovoltaic modules will face large-scale decommissioning in the coming years, and the recycling of modules has become an important issue for global energy sustainability and the circular economy system. Decommissioned photovoltaic modules are rich in high-value precious metal elements such as silicon, silver, and aluminum, but also contain toxic substances such as lead and fluorides, which can cause significant harm to the environment and human health if not properly handled. The current development status and decommissioning status of the photovoltaic power generation industry, as well as the structure and main components and values of photovoltaic modules, are summarized. The principles, advantages, and disadvantages of recycling technologies such as physical methods, thermal treatment methods, and chemical methods are analyzed and compared. Moreover, the progress of recycling technologies in China is investigated. Finally, the recycling of waste photovoltaic modules is systematically summarized and prospected, providing a scientific basis and decision-making support for the low-carbon development and resource recycling of the photovoltaic power generation industry.

To achieve efficient coupling between coal-fired power plants (CFPP) and compressed air energy storage (CAES), a system that couples the flue-gas side of CFPP with CAES is proposed. During the energy release phase of this coupled system, the flue gas from CFPP is used to heat the high-pressure air before it enters the expander. This avoids introducing additional heat sources, which would increase costs, or extracting steam from the turbine side to heat the high-pressure air, which would affect the output of the thermal power unit. Subsequently, to reduce the effect of extracted flue gas on the operation of a single thermal power unit, a CAES coupled system sharing the flue gas of two thermal power units is established. Based on the above thermodynamic models of the systems, modeling is carried out using EBSILON software and performance analysis is conducted. Then, an optimal economic operation strategy for the plant-level coupled system is proposed. The results show that, at full load, compared with the steam-coupling scheme, the flue-gas-coupling scheme reduces the standard coal consumption rate by 2.15 g/(kW·h), increases the heat consumption rate by 37.06 kJ/(kW·h), raises the energy utilization coefficient by 0.33 percentage point, and decreases the auxiliary power rate by 0.20 percentage point. The overall electrical efficiency, round-trip efficiency, and CAES operating efficiency of the flue-gas-side coupling are all higher than those of the steam-side coupling. After the economic optimization of the plant-level coupled system, the net revenues of four typical days increase by 143 700, 157 600, 188 100 and 208 700 yuan, respectively.

With the increasing penetration rate of renewable energy in China’s power system in the future, the stability of the system will face more severe challenges. Long-term energy storage technology plays an important role in balancing grid demand, improving grid stability, promoting the consumption of renewable energy, and promoting green and low-carbon development in the power system. Long-term energy storage has a wide range of application scenarios on the power supply side, grid side, and load side of the system, which is of great significance for the development of China’s new power system. Firstly, the characteristics and development trends of the current new power system are introduced, and the supporting role of long-term energy storage technology in the new power system is analyzed. Then, the technical principles and routes of five long-term energy storage technologies, such as the compressed air energy storage, lithium-ion battery energy storage, liquid flow battery energy storage, molten salt energy storage, and hydrogen energy storage, are summarized. The advantages and disadvantages of various long-term energy storage technologies are also analyzed. Finally, the future application prospects of long-term energy storage technology in the new power system are discussed.

With the transformation of the power system to low-carbon, the proportion of new energy installed capacity is increasing year by year, renewable energy power generation has the characteristics of intermittent, the main power generation period and peak power consumption period are misaligned, there is an imbalance between supply and demand, and the demand for flexibility in power balance is intensified, and long-term energy storage power stations have become a magic weapon to solve the problem. According to the development of long-term energy storage technology, the technical characteristics, advantages and current bottlenecks of pumped storage, compressed air, lithium-ion batteries, flow batteries, molten salt heat storage, and hydrogen energy are analyzed, and the typical application projects of the above energy storage technologies are analyzed. Then, the typical scenario applications of energy storage are analyzed from different sides of the power supply side, the power grid side and the user side, and the application comparison of seven energy storage technologies in multiple scenarios such as energy transfer, auxiliary services, black start, and smooth new energy output is expounded. The technical parameters, battery selection, system wiring, energy management and other issues of chemical energy storage demonstration project, heat storage demonstration project and mechanical energy storage demonstration project were summarized and analyzed, and finally the future energy storage power station technology was prospected.

Thermal power units, as a cornerstone of conventional electricity generation, release considerable quantities of waste heat during their operation. If not effectively harnessed, this waste heat will result in substantial energy inefficiency and exacerbate environmental challenges. Consequently, the efficient recovery and utilization of waste heat from thermal power units represents a pivotal strategy for optimizing energy use and mitigating carbon emissions. The energy-saving and carbon-reduction potential of various cycle components in thermal power units should be thoroughly explored. Conducting parameter matching to enable the efficient and comprehensive utilization of waste heat at different grades in thermal power units holds significant importance for achieving deep energy conservation and emission reductions in China’s thermal power industry. A comprehensive examination of waste heat recovery in thermal power units is provided. It begins by identifying the primary sources and distinctive characteristics of waste heat. Subsequently, it delves into specific recovery methodologies and their technical principles, encompassing low-pressure turbine exhaust heat utilization, flue gas heat recovery, boiler blowdown and continuous blowdown heat recovery. For each method, the system configuration, current deployment status, economic feasibility, and environmental benefits are analyzed in detail. The strengths and limitations of these approaches are critically evaluated. Finally, the future prospects and developmental trajectories of waste heat recovery technologies in the thermal power sector are thoroughly explored and anticipated.