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cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml

World's first commercial sCO2 power generator begins operation in China (youtu.be)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml to c/china@lemmygrad.ml

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The world's first commercial supercritical carbon dioxide power generator has begun operation in Southwest China's Guizhou Province. It is viewed as a milestone in changing the power generation mode relying on steam for more than a century. China calls the project "Chaotan-1." CGTN's Zheng Yibing speaks to experts from Nuclear Power Institute of China about it.

Why is this such a big deal? Because traditional power generation relies on steam driven turbines, even in nuclear reactors. The thermodynamic losses in the process are substantial and a major barrier to more efficient power generation. With superheated CO2 as the medium, the efficiency of the energy conversion can be greatly increased and losses reduced.

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[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's both and neither. That's what supercritical means.

[–] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

oh i guess that makes sense then, I just googled sCO2 and it was characterized as a liquid

it's really rude to call it a supercritical fluid if the whole point is that it loses the distinctions between gas and liquid >:(

[–] nohaybanda@hexbear.net 14 points 2 months ago

In physics gases and liquids are both considered fluids.

[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I agree, the terminology can be confusing.

If you get the chance, you can look up what a supercritical transition looks like, because it's really cool. I still remember to this day my first semester in uni one of the coolest demonstrations was seeing a fluid go supercritical, and you can really see the border between the liquid and the gas start to blur and eventually just disappear completely.

[–] darkernations@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 2 months ago

Just watched the Steve Mould video; very enlightening.