Steam turbine plant, and method of operating a steam turbine plant

Abstract

In a steam turbine plant having a vacuum pumping configuration which has a jet pump and a liquid ring pump disposed in series one after the other, steam collecting in the plant, preferably mixed with air, is used as a motive fluid for the jet pump. As a result, the downstream liquid ring pump can be dimensioned so as to be comparatively small. The vacuum pumping configuration is preferably configured as a central vacuum pumping system for the steam turbine plant and serves to deaerate a multiplicity of plant components.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A steam turbine plant, comprising: 
 a vacuum pumping configuration having a jet pump and a liquid ring pump disposed in series one after another;    a sealing steam circuit for a turbine seal; and    a steam line connected to said sealing-steam circuit and provided for feeding steam, collecting in the steam turbine plant, as a motive fluid for said jet pump, said steam line connected to said jet pump.    
     
     
         2 . The plant according to  claim 1 , further comprising a gas line connected to said steam line, said gas line admixing air to the steam resulting in a steam/air mixture as the motive fluid.  
     
     
         3 . The plant according to  claim 2 , wherein said liquid ring pump has a pressure side and said gas line is also connected on said pressure side to said liquid ring pump.  
     
     
         4 . The plant according to  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a steam turbine;    a condenser disposed downstream of said steam turbine and condensing process steam discharging from said steam turbine; and    a dearating line connecting said condenser to said vacuum pumping configuration, said dearating line provided for deaerating said condenser.    
     
     
         5 . The plant according to  claim 4 , further comproising: 
 an auxiliary turbine;    a further condenser disposed downstream of said auxiliary turbine; and    a further dearating line connecting said further condenser to said vacuum pumping configuration.    
     
     
         6 . The plant according to  claim 4 , further comprising an additional dearating line, said condenser, for a cooling liquid, has a water chamber, which, in order to deaerate said water chamber, said water chamber is connected to said vacuum pumping configuration by said additional deaerating line.  
     
     
         7 . The plant according to  claim 6 , wherein said liquid ring pump has an additional port connected to said additional deaerating line.  
     
     
         8 . The plant according to  claim 7 , wherein said liquid ring pump has a housing with a suction connection and a pressure connection, said additional port is disposed between said suction connection and said pressure connection and is connected to a working space forming during operation.  
     
     
         9 . The plant according to  claim 3 , further comprising a separator connected between said pressure side of said liquid ring pump and said gas line.  
     
     
         10 . The plant according to  claim 4 , wherein said steam turbine has a low-pressure part and said condenser is provided for condensing the process steam discharging from said low-pressure part.  
     
     
         11 . A method of operating a steam turbine plant, which comprises the steps of: 
 deaerating a plant component using a vacuum pumping configuration having a jet pump and a liquid ring pump disposed in series one after another;    feeding steam collecting in the steam turbine plant as sealing steam for a turbine seal as a motive fluid to the jet pump.    
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , which further comprises forming the motive fluid as a steam/air mixture.  
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12 , which further comprises setting a ratio of steam and air in the steam/air mixture to be approximately equal.  
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 11 , which further comprises condensing the sealing steam in the vacuum pumping configuration.  
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 11 , which further comprises deaerating a condenser of a steam turbine.  
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , which further comprises deaerating a water chamber of the condenser.  
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises for deaerating the water chamber, drawing off saturated water-chamber air collecting in the water chamber through an additional port in the liquid ring pump.