In the course of the ERA Net RUS Plus innovation joint project "Optimization of industrial steam networks in order to increase the electricity yield in Russian enterprises" (OISNREORE), Allplan GmbH cooperated with the project partners Energy Efficiency Center of Nizhni Novgorod in Russia and the University of Munich. The aim of this project was to analyse Russian industrial plants which have their own power production, to identify, on one hand, the causes which negatively influence the generation of electricity and, on the other hand, to propose measures to optimize the plants and thus increase power generation. These large industrial companies often use combined heat and power with steam turbines. Many of them generate high-pressure steam, which is partially processed by steam turbines and used to generate electricity. The steam is not completely decompressed but it is usually available at a constant pressure level to provide more heat to the consumers. When designing the systems, the back pressure is defined based on the heat consumers. The lower the back pressure of a turbine is, the higher is the power generation of the system. In this research project, the possibility of lowering the back pressure and the related potential for increasing the current efficiency of individual plants under the influence of the prevailing climate in Russia are examined. A former research project by one of the project partners developed a systematic approach to increase the power yield in production facilities. The simulation of the process was based on a static approach for mild climate in Austria (maximum about -10 ° C in winter). The application of this approach in Russian plants showed that there were large seasonal differences in the heat demand of the sites. Therefore, the static approach benefits only partially, the full potential of energy savings in regions with harsh climates down to -40 ° C in winter, needs to be analyzed under dynamic conditions.

 The following work steps were carried out within the framework of the project in order to achieve the goals of the project:

• Data collection at the power generation plants
• Determination of essential and relevant steam consumers
• Identification of pressure reduction options for individual consumers
• Simulation of higher current efficiency with reduced back pressure
• Influence of the external climatic conditions on the results of the optimizations
• Determination of the efficiency of the variants for increasing the current efficiency
• Identification of the market potential for performing the analysis as a service, especially in Russia.

The developed measures were verified by simulation and also assess from the point of economics. The main objective of the project is to analyze the potential for increasing the electricity yield in steam network plants for regions with severe climatic conditions. The goal was achieved despite the problem with the Russian funding agency and the difficulty in identification of suitable local facilities by using adapted data. In general, the potential for optimization is higher for Russian plants than for Central European sites, as the processes are not yet highly optimized and exhausted. In addition, it should be observed that the average electricity price in Russia is higher than for comparable plants in Austria or in Germany. For this reason, compelling economic potential can be derived.