The objectives of the course are the following: (i) to provide a clear picture of the operation of a conventional thermal power plant and to present the main elements and functional characteristics of the facilities for the production of heat and electricity by heat; (ii) to introduce the themes of safety and environmental impact related to the different life phases and management of the energy systems; (iii) to introduce the basics of energy sources economics and to provide an overview of the main analysis tools for assessing the energy and environmental performances of energy systems. The approach will be twofold: on the one side, the main constitutive elements will be analyzed (design problems, laws describing the behavior and functioning of components, performances, mechanisms of formation and destruction of atmospheric pollutants); on the other side, an overview of the state of the art and of the technological development of energy systems and plants will be provided.

At the end of the course the students should:
- know the structural and functional characteristics of a thermal power plant for the production of electricity, its main components and the fuel cycle adopted; be able to use the proper computational techniques for the evaluation of the performance of thermal power plants;
- know the mechanisms of formation of atmospheric pollutants in thermal power plants and the (primary and secondary) techniques for their abatement; know the main techniques and methodologies for the evaluation of the impact that the various operation phases of energy systems have on the environment (with particular reference to the emission of pollutants in the atmosphere);
- know the fundamental concepts underlying safety and risk analyses of energy systems; know and be able to use the (basic) qualitative and quantitative techniques for safety and risk analyses;
- be able to find and use proper statistical indicators of the energy and environmental performances of different countries; recognize retail products with a low environmental impact and be able to solve simple optimization problems.

Fundamentals of chemistry, applied thermodynamics and heat transfer, thermo-hydraulics and thermo-fluid dynamics.

1. Introduction and description of the contents of the course (3h).

2. Supply of primary sources of energy (21h):
2.1. Coal: reserves availability, diffusion and classification, coal mining, coal preparation, coalmine safety issues, site rehabilitation. Coal transportation patterns and techniques.
2.2. Oil: reserves availability, diffusion and classification, hydrocarbon formation, classification of fields and of crudes. Exploration, drilling and production technologies, onshore and offshore. Offshore safety issues, major accidents, maintenance and environmental impacts. Main oil corridors.
2.3. Refining technologies and plants.
2.4. Natural gas: reserves diffusion. Natural gas in Italy. Gas network structure: pipelines, compression and storage plants. Design and construction of a gas pipeline, maintenance. River and water basins crossings. Lay in deep and ultra-deep water. Main natural gas corridors. LNG: trade and regasification plants in Italy.
2.5. Unconventional fossil fuels.
2.6. Uranium: extraction, production, refining, conversion, transportation.
2.7. Hydrogen: notes on production. Hydrogen pipelines: regulations and case studies.

3. Thermoelectric plants (thermodynamic cycles, machines and plants) (about 35h):
- the context of energy resources, production and consumption;
- the electrical energy production system in Italy.
3.1. Conventional thermoelectric plants based on steam cycles:
- analysis of the thermodynamic cycle;
- evaluation of the performance: efficiencies, energy production costs and importance of their optimization, second law analysis;
- steam generators: types, components (boilers, re-heaters, super-heaters, economizers, degasers, ...), circulation, control of the combustion process, losses of efficiency, fuels adopted;
- condensers and release of heat to the environment: general issues, optimization of heat exchangers, water-cooled, air-cooled, evaporative systems;
- other components of the Balance Of Plant (BOP) (e.g., steam turbines, etc.).
3.2. Thermoelectric plants based on gas and combined cycles:
- ideal and real gas cycles, second law analysis;
- technology and performance analysis of the main components of a plant based on a gas cycle: compressors, turbines (with blade cooling), combustors (and fuels);
- effect of the environmental conditions on the performance of a plant based on a gas cycle;
- combined cycle (gas-vapor): layout, optimization of thermal recovery, waste heat recovery boilers, performances.
3.3. Basic concepts on nuclear power plants.

4. Environmental impact of energy systems (about 20h):
4.1. Basic concepts:
- the environment and its "components";
- effects of anthropic activities on the environment;
- types of environmental impacts, components and impact factors;
- environmental compatibility requirements of an industrial plant.
4.2. Overview on the (polluting) emissions and the related issues:
- unit of measure of the concentration of polluting emissions in gas mixtures, dilution, conversion;
- global environmental issues (basics): greenhouse effect, stratospheric ozone depletion, acid rains (causes and effects, European and Italian Legislation, indicators);
- main atmospheric pollutants (PM10, CO, SOx, NOx, C6H6): health effects, limit values, indicators;
- mechanisms of formation and destruction of pollutants during combustion (fundamentals) and relevant parameters.
4.3. Techniques for the reduction and abatement of polluting emissions (in particular, Sox, NOx and powders) from conventional thermal power plants:
- primary techniques for abatement: staged combustion, exhaust gas recirculation, dilution by inert gases, premixed combustion;
- secondary techniques for abatement: Selective Catalytic Reduction-SCR, desulfurization (scrubbers), abatement of powders from exhaust gases, complete line of exhaust gas management.
4.4. Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), basic principles on the technologies for separation and capture.
4.5. Evaluation of the concentration of atmospheric pollutants: dispersion models.
4.6. Basic concepts on the European and Italian Legislation on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) format, on methods for the identification of significant impact and impact chains.

5. Safety of energy systems (about 20h):
5.1. Fundamentals of safety analysis: risk perception and acceptance, prevention and mitigation measures.
5.2. Legislation on safety of energy systems (basics).
5.3. Fundamentals of probability theory, serving as introduction to the topics of item 5.4.
5.4. Qualitative and quantitative techniques used in safety and risk analysis of industrial systems.

6. Rational use of energy and optimization (24h):
6.1 Energy end-uses and energy balances – The final uses in the energy chain: demands, sectors and technologies. Energy balances, the Italian National Energy Balance. The energy requirements.
6.2 The international framework: environmental, geopolitical and economic issues. The effects of geopolitical crises on the energy supply. The oil price and its evolution with reference to the international events.
6.3 Evolutionary dynamics of the energy systems. Energy indicators and data sources for the statistical analysis. Introduction to the logistic substitution. Multiple competition, the Fisher-Pry transformation, the Kondratiev cycles. The penetration of energy sources (Marchetti and Nakicenovic).
6.4 The technical/economic characterization of a technology. The production cost of electricity and its components. Elements of linear programming. The optimization of an energy system and its application to the power generation.

During the exercise sessions, the students will apply the models and methods explained in class.

- Lecture notes provided by the teachers.
- Babcock and Wilcox, "Steam, its generation and use", Edited. S. C. Stultz and j. B. Kitto, Babcock & Wilcox Company, 1992.
- K. Rayaprolu, "BOILERS for POWER and PROCESS", CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742, International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4200-7537-3 (Ebook), 2009.
- V. Ganapathy, "Industrial Boilers and Heat Recovery Steam Generators. Design, Applications, and Calculations", ABCO Industries, Abilene, Texas, U.S.A., Marcel Dekker, Inc. ISBN: 0-8247-0814-8
Assessment and grading criteria, 2003.
- G. Lozza, "Turbine a gas e cicli combinati", Esculapio, 2006.
- E. Zio, "Introduction to the basics of reliability and risk analysis", Editor: World scientific, 2007.

The exam consists of a written test including both numerical exercises and theoretical questions on all the macro-topics treated (items 2-6 of the Contents section, each of which corresponds to an element/objective of the Section Expected Learning).
The duration of the exam is 3h (max). The use of any learning resource (books, handouts, etc.) is not allowed. Maximum score is 30/30.