Patent ID: 8644961
Filing Date: 2014-02-04
Classification: G05B

Abstract:
1. A system for controlling operation of a fossil fuel fired steam generating unit, the system comprising: a model of the steam generating unit embodied in a computer readable medium, said model predicting mercury emissions of the steam generating unit based upon a plurality of input values that are current values for manipulated variables and disturbance variables associated with current operating conditions of the steam generating unit, and for outputting at least one output value indicative of mercury emitted by said steam generating unit in accordance with the input current values of the manipulated variables and the disturbance variables; and a computer control system for receiving the at least one output value from the model and determining optimal setpoint values for manipulated variables using the at least one output value of the model, and for controlling operation of the steam generating unit in accordance with the determined optimal setpoint values for the manipulated variables, said manipulated variables affecting mercury oxidation by influencing one or more of the following factors for oxidation of mercury: proximity of compounds reacting with mercury, residence time of mercury within a reaction temperature zone, and the presence of surface structures as they relate to conversion reactions, wherein said computer control system comprises: wherein said computer control system repeatedly provides the model with current values of the manipulated and disturbance variables associated with current operating conditions of the steam generating unit, in order to determine updated optimal setpoint values from the at least one output value of the model.