ABSTRACT
Basic human needs can be met only through industrial growth, which depends to
a great extent on energy supply. The large increase in population during the last
few decades and the spurt in industrial growth have placed tremendous burden on
the electrical utility industry and process plants producing chemicals, fertilizers,
petrochemicals, and other essential commodities, resulting in the need for
additional capacity in the areas of power and steam generation throughout the
world. Steam is used in nearly every industry, and it is well known that steam
generators and heat recovery boilers are vital to power and process plants. It is no
wonder that with rising fuel and energy costs engineers in these fields are working
on innovative methods to generate electricity, improve energy utilization in these
plants, recover energy efficiently from various waste gas sources, and simulta-
neously minimize the impact these processes have on environmental pollution
and the emission of harmful gases to the atmosphere. This chapter briefly
addresses the status of various power generation systems and the role played
by steam generators and heat recovery equipment.