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.