Fire-resistant fluids and lubricants are products that are used in various industries or energy sector to ensure the reliability and safety of equipment operating under high temperature and pressure conditions. Aspects of the use of fire-resistant fluids (hydraulic or lubricating agents), including those based on xylenol, in the Russian Federation energy industry (control and lubrication systems for automatic control systems of steam or gas turbines), and the problems of switching from imported materials to domestic analogues are considered. The range of issues raised at the All-Russian Scientific and Technical Conference “Modern trends in the development of the market for fire-resistant turbine oils and the record of their operation at thermal power plants and nuclear power plants,” held in March 2023, as well as the decisions made there, are covered. Besides, measures taken by energy companies to legitimize the use of domestic fire-resistant fluids for operation in thermal power equipment in Russia are indicated. The results of laboratory studies of new domestic fire-resistant fluids are presented, conclusions are drawn about the possibility of use, operation, and approval of new domestic lubricating or hydraulic fluids in the energy sector. The article was prepared in cooperation between two large electric-heat-generating companies and with the participation of Power Machines, PJSC. One of the goals set by the authors was to promote the production of domestic fire-resistant fluids synthesized from raw materials available in the Russian Federation, ensuring the reliable functioning of oil systems of turbine units.

A concept has been proposed for the creation of regional liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel complexes on the basis of thermal power plants, ensuring the expansion and reliable functioning of the gas fuel market. The concept provides for the transfer of fuel reserve systems for electric power facilities to LNG, which is produced directly at power plants, as well as the supply of LNG from power plants to regional consumers. A description of a foreign installation for extinguishing gas consumption peaks is given: the closest analogue of a power plant with an LNG fuel backup system. A comparative technical and economic analysis of projects for the construction of a fuel oil facility and an LNG backup fuel system for CHPP-22 of PAO Mosenergo showed that, with comparable capital costs, backup using LNG can provide an economic effect of up to 654 million rubles per year at 2023 prices. If there are large volumes of LNG storage, peak fuel shipments to consumers can be ensured, and the standard reserve will be restored using a liquefaction unit. Data are provided for calculating the costs and investments required to create complexes that guarantee the maintenance of standard emergency fuel reserves in the form of LNG for the CCGT-220 power unit (1778 million rubles excluding VAT). A methodology has been proposed for allocating the costs of a complex of emergency fuels, attributable to the cost of electric power and LNG sold to third-party consumers. It is shown that the relative increase in capital costs for the construction of CCGT-220 with emergency fuel in the form of LNG in relation to similar costs for a power unit with emergency diesel fuel is 1

The integration of wind farms (WFs) into existing energy systems of the Russian Federation is associated with challenges including their increasing influence on the management of thermal power plants (TPPs) to ensure power balance in energy systems given the variable power generation induced by fluctuations in the wind speed and direction. TPPs form the backbone of the Russian electric power system, including the South consolidated power system, where the installed capacity of WFs is particularly high, accounting for 7.16

Almost all the tools used by the state to regulate the protection of atmospheric air (inventory, rate setting, emission fees, regulation of emissions under adverse meteorological conditions, justification of planned activities, governmental support for air protection measures, etc.) require determining the rate (intensity) of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere-mass of emissions per unit time (g/sec, kg/h, tons/year). The emission rate is used to establish emission standards, to assess the effectiveness of air protection measures and state environmental programs, and to determine the fee for the adverse impact on the environment and is the main content of statistical reporting on air-protection activities. In this regard, there is an objective necessity for governmental regulation of the methods of determining the emission rate. Legal problems of determining the intensity of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere from stationary sources using calculation and instrumental methods, as well as possible ways of their solution are considered.

One of the priorities of Mosénergo PJSC is to increase the efficiency of the company’s branch equipment through the introduction of advanced, innovative, and cost-effective technologies that increase equipment reliability and employee safety. Taking into account the actual condition of the equipment and the priorities of technical development in recent decades, a list of priority areas of research and development work is formulated. Innovation is the result of investing in the development and acquisition of new knowledge, previously unused ideas for updating technology and equipment, as well as subsequent processes of implementing this with additional profit, improving the operating modes of equipment. Thus, a process of investment in development with subsequent implementation is necessary in order to obtain a qualitative improvement in terms of reliability, efficiency, and operating modes of equipment of PJSC Mosénergo branches. This article presents some of the most important initiatives of the company in the field of innovation and the results of their implementation. Among such initiatives should be mentioned: experimental studies of the installation of additional gas superheating of steam; use of liquefied natural gas as a backup fuel of the CHP; application of biological post-treatment of wastewater from petroleum products and heavy metals; the use of thermal energy storage. The above tasks were solved jointly with the research organizations of NRU MEI, NSTU named Bauman, LLC Turbocon.

Schemes of high-temperature turbines operating on hydrogen-oxygen and methane-oxygen fuels, the design of an experimental prototype of such a turbine with a capacity of 100 kW, and the results of its testing are described. A combustion chamber for burning methane-oxygen fuel in steam was developed, manufactured, and tested in a laboratory test setup. A unit for additional gas superheating of the working fluid was designed, manufactured, and tested on the basis of the T-25-90-4PR-1 turbine at the cogeneration power plant TETs-16 of the branch of JSC Mosenergo. The experimental studies have demonstrated stable combustion of the methane-oxygen mixture in a steam environment and confirmed the serviceability of the technology for additional gas-fired superheating of the working fluid in a real thermal power plant. Temperature distributions in the metal of the flame tube and casing during start-up and under the design conditions were obtained. The technical characteristics of the high-temperature gas-steam-turbine unit and the classical K-300-23.5-3 version are compared. Unavailability of regulations required for the implementation of an unconventional project at a real thermal power plant is noted. The required technical basis was obtained, and the procedure for elaboration of a demonstration model of a high-temperature gas-steam turbine with a capacity of 25 MW at a temperature of 1000°C and a prototype of a power unit with a capacity of 300–500 MW for a pressure of 30 MPa at a temperature of 1250/1450°C was proposed.

Major trends in the development of the gas industry point to a large-scale expansion of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, which continues to be a fast-growing segment compared to other energy sources. The national policy of the Russian Federation is aimed at developing the infrastructure of LNG complexes. This article analyses the world experience in the use of LNG complexes in gas consumption peak damping installations, which meet the conditions of LNG use as a backup fuel by PJSC Mosenergo branches (low-tonnage production combined with a large volume of LNG storage). It is shown that, in terms of the conditions of production and use of LNG at power plants, the most suitable are installations with 90–100% liquefaction of the incoming gas flow with an external refrigerating circuit using a mixed refrigerant or nitrogen, which provide the composition of regasified LNG almost identical to the composition of the source gas. The authors have formulated requirements for the development of energy-efficient LNG complexes at PJSC Mosenergo branches, including ensuring cycle energy consumption by expanding the network gas in the expander with utilization of refrigerating capacity in the liquefaction cycle, as well as cooling the compressed coolant of the refrigerating circuit by gas flows supplied further for combustion. The technological features of implementation of the LNG complex for production, storage and regasification of LNG as a reserve fuel for TPPs are reviewed. The study has shown that the most suitable power plant for the introduction of an LPG complex is TPP-22, for which a new fuel oil facility is being designed. Despite the current practice of using fuel oil and diesel fuel as backup fuels, LNG can have a competitive advantage through the use of secondary energy resources of TPPs.

The article deals with issues of simulator training for operating and maintenance personnel of the modern energy industries. It defines the concept of simulator training, requirements for a modern integrated training system; its structure and objectives are described. The article presents key principles of scientific methodology for development of advanced simulators and automatic training courses as well as soft- and hardware platforms for simulators. It describes implementation of technical means of education (TME) at generating facilities of the RF, quality parameters of the TME and determines the quality level index of simulators.