Coal Pulverising in Boilers

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 6/1/2011 Pulverizing coal for a boiler is very important factor in overall cycle efficiency. There are many types of pulverizers available, but proper selection will ensure consistent boiler and cycle efficiency. This helps in reduction of carbon-dioxide emission per million units of electricity generated.

Boilers for steam generation in power plants and process industries use coal as fuel. The percentage of boilers operating with coal as fuel outnumbers the boilers using all other fuels combined. Coal is pulverized before firing for achieving a stable and efficient combustion. Many types of pulverizers are used in boilers by different designers. History of pulverization The history of pulverization dates back as early as 1824 and was envisioned by Carnot in a coal fired engine. In 1890 Diesel made use of pulverized coal in his diesel engine. Pulverized coal firing was first developed in the cement industry and then migrated to the power and process industries. Actually Thomas Alva Edison and the Niepce brothers of France were pioneers in pulverized coal firing. This technology gained momentum after World War I in the power generating industry. It was John Anderson, chief engineer of power plants at the Wisconsin Electric Power Company who introduced pulverized coal firing in power stations. Pulverized coal is the most efficient way of using coal in a steam generator. The coal is ground so that about 70 % will pass through 200 mesh (0.075 mm) and 99 % will pass through 50 mesh (0.300 mm). A pulverized coal boiler can be easily adapted for other fuels like gas if required later without much difficulty. However, during the design stage it is possible to make boilers firing multiple fuels. With pulverization technology, large size boilers could be designed, manufactured, erected, and run much more efficiently. Types of pulverizers Mainly there are three types of pulverizer used in industry: the slow speed mills like ball tube mills, the medium speed mills like bowl, ball and race, roller mills fall in this category, and the third type is the high speed impact mill. The slow speed and medium speed mills are selected for coals ranging from sub-bituminous to anthracite. The high speed mills are used mainly for lignite. The purpose of a pulverizer in a coal fired boiler
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To supply pulverized coal to the boiler as per requirement of steam generation Transport the pulverized coal from pulverizer to the burners in the boiler To remove moisture in coal to an acceptable level for firing in boiler To remove high density inorganics from coal during pulverization

To classify coal particles to the required level of fineness, normally 70 % through 200 mesh and less than 2% on 50 mesh

Coal parameters affecting pulverizer output While selecting a pulverizer, the coal characteristics play an important role. The Hardgrove index, total moisture, input coal size, output fineness, and mill wear have direct impact on the mill output. The Hardgrove index of coal tells us about the ease with which it can be pulverized. A higher Hardgrove index indicates the coal is easier to grind. 50 HGI normally is taken for calculating the base capacity of the mill. When coal with HGI higher than 50 is fed to the pulverizer, the output will be higher than base capacity, and below 50 HGI, the output will be lower. o The total moisture in coal has a high effect on mill output. The higher the moisture, the lower the output. o Higher pulverized coal fineness increases the recirculation in the mill and the output reduces. o The inlet size of the coal also affects the mill output directly. o Mill air flow variations result in changes in mill outlet temperature and fineness as well as capacity. Ball tube mill
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Ball tube mills are either pressurized or suction type. In the pressurized type, the hot primary air is used for drying the coal and to transport the milled coal to the furnace. In this type, leakage in the mill area is high. In the suction type, the exhauster is used for lifting the milled coal from the pulverizer to the furnace through a cyclone. The tube mills have a large circular drum, with adequate ball charge, which is rotated at about 70% of the speed at which the ball charge would be held against the inner surface by centrifugal force. In this mill the grinding balls can be replenished on the line. Normally the ball mill designers use three types of balls with three different diameters. These balls reduce in size as the mills operate and so the highest size ball is normally used for recharging. In earlier days, most of the ball mills had a single inlet and outlet, but now designers use both ends to feed coal and also for taking out pulverized coal. The control systems are well made to understand the requirement of ball charge and the output from the mill. Ball mills are always preferred to be operated at full capacity because the power consumption of this type of mill is very high at lower loads when compared with other types. Ball mills can be designed for a very high capacity like 75 tons per hour output for a specific coal. Vertical spindle mill There are many different varieties of vertical mills. Designers use large steel balls ranging from 2 to 6 or more between two grinding rings for pulverizing. There are also other types like conical rollers with shallow bowl; deep bowl, etc. where load is applied on the rollers and the bowl

rotates while pulverizing. These types of mill are designed normally up to 60 tons per hour for a specific coal; however there are vertical mills with 90 tons per hour output. A vertical spindle mill is also designed for pressurized and suction type requirements. Boiler designers use this type of mill for poor quality coal as this type of mill rejects foreign materials like stones and other high density materials. The power consumed by the mill per ton of coal ground is only two-thirds of the ball mills. However if the primary air fan power is also taken into account, in the case of a pressurized mill the power consumption is lower only by about 15%. High speed impact mill This type of mill uses a central horizontal shaft which has a number of arms, and a beater of different design is attached to these arms to beat the coal to be pulverized. High speed impact mills are mainly used in pulverizing lignite. Today all boiler designers opt to use ball or vertical spindle mill for coal other than lignite. While selecting the type of mill boiler designers must clearly understand the coal characteristics, the overall system being used, and the maintenance requirement. It is always seen that if the advantage of the mill alone is considered, then the overall boiler economics can prove to be different.

Fly Ash Erosion in Boilers Firing High Ash Coals

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 5/19/2011 Coal is one of the the main fuels for power production. Coal quality deterioration over the years has created challenges for boiler designers the world over to compact and minimize erosion in pressure parts. Fly ash erosion is a major factor for pressure parts damage in high ash coal fired boilers. Next Slide

slide 1 of 3 In high ash coal fired boilers, fly ash erosion is a major concern and the tube failures due to fly ash erosion are almost 35% of the total tube failures. The amount of ash in coal and its velocity are major factors in the rate of pressure part erosion. Fly ash erosion is experienced in the economizer, primary SH, and inlet section of steam reheater tubes. When non-uniform flue gas flow distribution occur in these areas, the rate of erosion increases multifold. Factors influencing fly ash erosion in coal fired boilers are
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The velocity of flue gas The temperature of flue gas The mineral content in coal The change in direction of flue gas The arrangement of pressure parts and The operation above the maximum conditions design rating or with excess airflow above design rate.

Of these factors, the velocity of flue gas, the temperature of flue gas (ash), and mineral matter in coal are the main influencing factors. The velocity of flue gas For low ash coals, the weight loss in pressure parts due to erosion is proportional to flue gas velocity to the power of 1.99. However for high ash Gondwana coals the erosion rate is velocity to the power of 3 to 5. The power depends upon the percentage of ash in coal, the percentage of silica in coal ash, the percentage of quartz in this silica, the percentage of alpha quartz in this quartz, and the structure of alpha quartz. Temperature of flue gas Higher temperature softens the minerals in the ash as well as reduces the strength properties of the material of pressure parts; due to this ash erosion is not predominant in high temperature zones like furnaces, final superheaters, exit reheaters, etc. The ash erosion mainly starts in the conventional two-pass boilers from the area where gas temperature is around 700 750 deg.C.

The low temperature superheater (LTSH) and economizer are the areas where ash erosion is severe in a conventional two-pass boiler. The temperature of flue gas entry to LTSH can be around 650 to 700 degree C and leaving, the economizer can be around 350 300 degree C. The minerals, which mainly constitute the ash in flue gas at these temperatures, become hard and attain its full abrasiveness.

Mineral matter in coal The proportion and composition of the mineral matter in coal will determine the extent of fly ash erosion that can take place. All the mineral matter undergoes phase transformation during the process of combustion of coal in furnace. The phase transformation of the mineral matter is dependent on various factors like the presence of oxygen (oxidizing or reducing atmosphere) in the localized area of furnace, the temperature of the flame / furnace, the retention time, the composition of the minerals in question, etc. Measures to Reduce Flyash Erosion The following are the areas in boiler where coal ash erosion is normally experienced. (i) economizer bends and tubes (ii) LTSH bends and tubes (iii) screen tubes (iv) goose neck portion at furnace top (v) soot blower openings in the water walls (vi) wind box opening in the furnace (vii) bottom hopper tubes In the case of (i), (ii) and (iii) the erosion is due to ash in the flue gas stream directly impact and flow over the tube. In the case of (iv) and (vi) it is more due to ash collected in this region sliding over the tubes. In the bottom hopper impact of the water wall deposit is predominant. In the case of (v) and (vi) it is more due to entrained ash / fuel causing erosion due to eddies formed in this area. To reduce the erosion in these areas (a) Reduced gas velocity in second pass (b) Use Inline arrangement for all second pass heat transfer surface

(c) Provide shield in places prone for higher erosion (d) Provide cassette baffles for LTSH and economizer bends (e) Go for refractory lining in areas of high erosion where shields cannot be provided. As low grade coals are now emerging to be used in large quantity in boilers for power generation and process steam requirement, it has become necessary to protect the pressure parts from ash erosion. It can be said with confidence that in the case of high ash coals, erosion cannot be avoided; it can be only minimized to an optimum level. However data show that the boiler pressure parts in the second pass like LTSH and Economizer may need replacement in full from about 10-15 years of operation depending upon the nature of the ash, the type of operating regime maintained, etc.

Coal Formation Theories

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 1/5/2010 Coal may be defined as a compact stratified mass of plant debris which has been modified chemically and physically by natural agencies, interspersed with smaller amounts of inorganic matter. In situ and Drift are the two major theories of coal formation.

Theories of Coal Formation

The natural agencies causing the observed chemical and physical changes include the action of bacteria and fungi, oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis and condensation - the effect of heat and pressure in the presence of water. Many factors determine the composition of coal.
o o o o o o

Mode of accumulation and burial of the plant debris forming the deposits. Age of the deposits and the geographical distribution. Structure of the coal forming plants, particularly details of structure that affect chemical composition or resistance to decay. Chemical composition of the coal forming debris and its resistance to decay. Nature and intensity of the peat decaying agencies. Subsequent geological history of the residual products of decay of the plant debris forming the deposits.

The In situ Theory of Coal Formation

Major in situ coal fields generally appear to have been formed either in brackish or fresh water, from massive plant life growing in swamps, or in swampland interspersed with shallow lakes. The development of substantial in situ coal measures thus requires extensive accumulations of vegetable matter that is subjected to widespread submersion by sedimentary deposits. Accumulations of vegetable matter and associated mineral matter, generally clays and sands, are balanced by the subsidence, or motion of the Earths surface, in the area on which these materials are accumulating. Hence, coal formed like this has bands of coal and inorganic sedimentary rocks arranged in a sequence.

The Drift Theory of Coal formation

It was the difference in coal properties of Gondwana coals that led to the formation of the drift theory. The mode of deposition of coal forming can be explained as said below:
o o

Coal is formed largely from terrestrial plant material growing on dry land and not in swamps or bogs. The original plant debris was transported by water and deposited under water in lakes or in the sea.

o o

o o o o

There will not be a true soil found below the seam of coal. The transported plant debris, by its relative low density even when water logged, was sorted from inorganic sediment and drifted to a greater distance in open water. The sediments, inorganic and organic, settled down in regular succession. The process of sedimentation of the organic and inorganic materials continues until the currents can deposit the transported vegetation in the locations. These deposits are covered subsequently by mineral matters, sand, etc. and results in coal seams. The depositions can also stop for a particular period and again begin to happen depending upon the tidal and current conditions. The coal properties vary widely due to the varied types of vegetation deposited.

Coal Analysis for Boiler Designers

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 7/3/2009 Hydrocarbon fuels are the major source of energy for power and process steam generation, and coal takes a major share in this. Boiler furnace design will depend more on fuel characteristics, and further heat transfer surface sizing will depend on furnace outlet temperature.

The world's thermal power is mainly dependent on coal as its fuel. When designing a boiler, fuel analysis plays a major role. The performance of the boiler, and ultimately the entire unit, can change considerably if the coal being used is substantially different from that for which the boiler was designed. What is fuel?
o o o

Any combination of organics and inorganic material which during chemical reaction or transformation gives out large amount of heat is called fuel Fuel can be hydrocarbon fuel and non-hydrocarbon Industrial fuels have heat values from as low as 500 kcal/kg to as high as 11000 kcals/kg

Heat generated by fuel is used a boiler to generate steam for process, power generation, and a variety of other applications. The chemical characteristics of the fuel decide many aspects of boiler design. The boiler designed for gas fuel will have the smallest furnace size, and the boiler designed for coal will have the biggest size. Why is coal different?
o o o o

All fuels are hydrocarbons Gas and oil have defined hydrocarbons and structure, which means C & H in fuel does not vary much Coal is a heterogeneous fuel and has only an assumed structure C & H vary highly C & H in Coal can be only be known if you do an ultimate analysis, and the way in which these hydrocarbon behave can be different from one coal to the other. This will depend on its reactivity and formation. Formation of coal has vast impact on boiler design; the Gondwana coals are different from American and European. (Coal formation theories).

Why is consistency in hydrocarbon important for boiler performance?

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It starts from combustion air calculation; the carbon hydrogen ratio decides the quantity of combustion air. Flame temperature is dictated by the chemical composition of the fuel, and this changes the furnace behavior. The completion of combustion is another very important factor in boiler design. This will depend on how the hydrocarbon rings are formed and bonded. If the coal burns slowly requiring more residence time then the SH and RH (superheater and reheater) behavior

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changes when compared to the fast burning coal. This will lead to large injection in SH and/or RH which will reduce the life of the tubes and also reduce boiler efficiency. The amount of unburned material in fly ash and bottom ash of the boiler can change, and, if it increases will increase fuel requirement, maybe only marginally. Lack of consistency can lead to loss of the capability to generate when the ash level increases beyond a threshold of the fuel preparation system capacity. This can also lead to limitations on the fuel handling system.

Major effects of fuel on boiler design

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A wide range of coal properties can lead to oversized pulverizing/firing equipment which will in turn lead to a limitation on turn down and a possible increase in auxiliary power consumption. This will also increase the furnace size and the SH and RH will need to be sized properly, which can be difficult at times, to get the rated outlet temperature. Oversizing of pulverizers and air heaters to handle occasionally high moisture coals will require excessive tempering air when handling normal moisture coals. Ultimately all these will result in higher gas outlet temperature, reducing the boiler efficiency. The behavior of the ash during the combustion process and managing the coal-ash are the major issues in boiler design. Deposition and slagging, heat transfer upsets, and fouling in convection passages are some of the major issues to be dealt during operation of the boiler.

Steam generator performance is greatly influenced by the coal/ash properties. Changes in coal property result in efficiency variation and the designer may not be able to demonstrate the guarantees. This can also result in changes in power consumption, load limitations, boiler availability loss due to slagging and fouling, tube failure increases, and plant heat rate reduction. There are known and unknowns with coal during combustion. The known are the coal Proximate, Ultimate, Calorific Value, HGI, and Ash analysis. The unknown are Petrographic analysis, Reactivity, Slagging and fouling analysis, etc. All unknown become known only after the combustion of coal in the boiler furnace and at the cost of boiler performance.

Predicting Combustibles in Pulverized Coal Fired Boilers Fly Ash and Bottom Ash
written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 5/19/2011 Predicting the percentage of combustibles in fly ash in a tangential fired boiler using proximate analysis of coal gives boiler designers an edge during the proposal and contract stages. Here is how to predict fly ash and bottom ash combustibles in order to compute carbon loss in a boiler.

In boilers with pulverized firing systems, about 80% of the ash in coal being fired is carried as fly ash. The other about 20% get collected as bottom ash. During the combustion of coal, some portion of the hydrocarbon, mainly char, leaves the furnace as unburned particles. The amount of such unburned particles leaving the furnace depends on many factors like the coal property, the type of burning system, the resident time available in the furnace, the ash percentage in coal, the calorific value of coal, the fuel ratio, the operating conditions, etc. The existence of unburned carbon in ash decreases not only the combustion efficiency, but also the grade of fly ash for commercial sale. Carbon loss is influenced by the following: (1) coal preparation and grinding, such as changes in ash and maceral content ; mean, standard deviation, and higher moments of the particle size distribution; moisture remaining in the pulverized coal, (2) properties of the pulverized coal and its char like heating value, char yield on pyrolysis, char structure, char reactivity, ash content and composition, and characteristics, and (3) adjustments of the burners and furnace such as air preheat, excess air, mixing, residence time, and furnace temperature. Hottel and Stewert (1940) were the first to consider the interaction between furnace design and coal properties in the determination of carbon conversion, analyzing the effects of grind, reactivity, temperature, excess air, and residence time on unburned carbon loss. With the estimated values of percentage combustibles in fly ash as well as bottom ash, the carbon loss can be calculated by using the formula given in BS_EN_12952, ASTM, PTC 4 and any other International Standards. Boiler designers during the design stage have only proximate analysis, ultimate analysis and ash composition of coal. Carbon loss calculation involves calculating the carbon loss in fly ash and bottom ash. This article provides a tool for the designers and others to predict the percentage of combustibles in fly ash and bottom ash in a tangential fired boiler using proximate analysis of coal and the residence time in the boiler furnace. Based on combustibles in flyash and bottom ash, it is possible to compute the carbon loss in a boiler.

Fly ash unburned prediction The major portion of carbon loss in a boiler is from unburned carbon in fly ash. A method was developed by me after a large volume of data was subjected to analysis and validation. It is seen from the analysis and literatures that the fuel ratio i.e. the ratio of fixed carbon and volatile

matter in coal has a very significant effect. The ash in coal is a burden for combustion and can cause large problems during and after combustion. Deposits and slagging in boiler furnaces using high amounts of medium slagging and slagging coals are common. After combustion they can foul the heat transfer surface in the convection region. So it is seen that log of ash % correlates well with fly ash combustibles. Coal calorific value indicates the heat value of the coal being fired hence has to be taken into account when we want to predict the fly ash combustibles. The calorific value of the coal in question divided by the calorific value of carbon gives meaning to the factor. This indicates the relative stage where the coal in question lies with respect to its ultimate transformation and also is an indirect indicator of the difficulty to ignite and burn. I would not like to call it as reactivity as the same has not been studied / understood much with respect to this ratio of coal. Inverse of residence time is another major factor which affects the fly ash combustibles. As boilers are operated within a close range of excess air and fineness of coal, these variables do not affect the unburned to any significant level. A factor combining all the parameters is evolved which is used for fitting a curve with percentage combustibles in fly ash. The factor is defined as [{(FC/VM)+(HVV/8080)*100+Log(A)}/Res^2] The equation governing the curve fitted on a fourth order polynomial is Y = -3E-06 X4 + 0.0004 X3 - 0.0161 X2 + 0.2969 X - 0.9438 with a R square value of 0.8824. As this predictive equation is only made for a pulverized coal tangentially fired boiler, this has to be verified for pulverized coal wall firing, down shot firing, opposed firing, etc. However, more than 50% of the pulverized coal fired boilers in the world are equipped with tangential firing system. Bottom ash unburned prediction The single most independent variable affecting the bottom ash combustibles is the plus 50 mesh size of pulverized coal. A plot of percentage bottom ash combustible plotted against percentage plus 50 particle sizes has a fourth order polynomial curve with an R2 value of 0.9412. The equation governing this fit is Y1 = 0.0233X14 - 0.3925X13 + 1.9277X12 - 0.1593X1 + 0.2357 where, Y1 is percentage combustibles in bottom ash and X1 is plus 50 mesh particle percentage in the pulverized coal. It is seen that this percentage plus 50 in the pulverized fuel should be retained below 2% to minimize the percentage combustible in bottom ash. This is generally recommended by boiler manufacturers.

Flyash & Bottom ash Combustible

- See more at: http://www.brighthubengineering.com/power-plants/37958-predictingcombustibles-in-pulverized-coal-fired-boilers-fly-ash-and-bottom-ash/#sthash.VFDN9Fhs.dpuf

Importance of Boiler Water Treatment

written by: johnzactruba edited by: Swagatam updated: 5/18/2011 Maintaining water quality is high on the agenda of all boiler operators. What makes it so important? Why is it all the more important in a Supercritical unit?

Boiler water quality has long been an important factor in the operation of boilers. As the power plant operating pressures increase, water quality requirements also become stricter. With the current units operating at Supercritical pressures, the requirements are tough. Continuous improvements and changes in the methods of maintaining water quality, understanding the corrosion mechanisms, and the development of new chemicals have resulted in a more economical and efficient water regime management.

Four Reasons Why Boiler Water Treatment is Important

There are four main reasons why water quality is so important. Impurities in water form scales. Water contains dissolved salts, which upon evaporation of water forms scales on the heat transfer surfaces. Scales have much lower heat transfer capacity than steel: the heat transfer coefficient of the scales is 1 kcal/m/C/hr against 15 kcal/m/C/hr for steel . This leads to overheating and failure of the boiler tubes. Scale also reduces flow area, which increases pressure drop in boiler tubes and piping. o Low pH or dissolved oxygen in the water attacks the steel. This causes pitting or lowering the thickness of the steel tubes, leading to rupture of the boiler tubes. Contaminants like chlorides, a problem in seawater cooled power plants, also behave in a similar way. o Flow assisted corrosion occurs in the carbon steel pipes due to the continuous removal of the protective oxide layer at high flows. o Impurities carried over in the steam, causing deposits on turbine blades leading to reduced turbine efficiency, high vibrations, and blade failure. These contaminants can also cause erosion of turbine blades. Silica at higher operating pressures volatilizes and carries over to the turbine blades. The first step is to get the make-up water to the steam cycle as pure as possible. The correct operation of the De-Mineralisation (DM) plants ensures this.
o

The second step is to form a magnetite layer on the inside surface of the tubes which protects the metal surface from any further corrosion attacks. The third step is to maintain this magnetite layer throughout the life of the plant. If the water quality goes down, this protective layer will be destroyed and corrosion starts damaging the tubes.

In a 500 MW power thermal plant around 1300 Tons of water is circulating per hour continuously in the water steam cycle through the boiler, turbine, condenser and heaters. As the

water circulates, there is an increase in contaminant level and a change in water quality. This is due to many reasons like: o contact with almost 25000 m area of wetted steel in the tubes, piping and heat exchangers o the residue of chemicals added o entrapped oxygen and other gases especially in the vacuum area o returning condensate from traps, glands, vents and drains o impurities in the DM water make-up Major parameters that require monitoring for water treatment are: 1. The dissolved solids. 2. The pH of the boiler feed water. 3. Dissolved Oxygen in the feed water entering the boiler. 4. Silica in boiler water.

Water Steam Circuit- Sub Critical vs Super Critcal

Differences in a Supercritical Unit

The Water Steam circuit in a Supercritical unit is different from that of a sub-critical unit. This makes the water quality requirement more stringent in a Supercritical unit.

In a subcritical unit, water steam separation takes place in the drum. Any contaminants remain in the water. As their concentration level increases, continuous blow down removes these. The drum, water walls, and down comers act as a reservoir and an internal circulation circuit and help in concentrating and removal. o In supercritical once-through boilers this is not possible, which means any contaminants will adhere to the tubes or caries out through the steam. To prevent this, purity of the water entering should be very good. This makes it mandatory to have a full condensate polishing unit before the water enters the heating sections. PH control is by the addition of chemicals like Tri-Sodium Phosphate in the boiler water or the caustic treatment. This helps in maintaining the pH levels in the range of 9.0, slightly alkaline.

The chemical reactions result in the formation of salts, which increases the dissolved solids level. In subcritical unit, blow down removes this. o This is not possible in supercritical units. So an all volatile treatment (AVT) is used. This method uses amines whose reaction products are volatile, leaving behind no solids. This passes along with steam and removal takes place in the de-aerator or polishing systems. AVT is also the new method in subcritical drum type units. o Super critical units also use the oxygenated treatment (OT) system, which involves injecting a known quantity of oxygen in the feed water. This helps in maintaining the magnetite or hematite layer, which provides the barrier to prevent any further corrosion in the piping and tubes. o During start-ups and at lower loads where the water chemistry regimes are fluctuating, boiler water control is by the AVT method. .

Dissolved oxygen removal is in the deaerator where at saturation temperatures oxygen stripping is easier. Addition of hydrazine at the deaertaor outlet also removes the dissolved oxygen if any in the feed water. o Supercritical units also use deaerators. But some plants using only OT operate without a deaerator. Silica control can is by blow down in a subcritical unit. o In Supercritical units the only way is to ensure very low Silica in incoming DM water and good removal in the condensate polishing unit. As the thermal plant operating pressures increase and become supercritical, water chemistry management also becomes critical. Along with adopting the correct water treatment method, a high quality DM plant and precision analytical instruments for monitoring online water chemistry is a must to eliminate outages of the plant.

Low Drum Level in Boilers - A Major Cause of Concern

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 5/18/2011 Drum level in a boiler indicates the level of water in the drum available for steam generation. Low drum level operation leads to availability loss of the boiler. Low-level trips in a boiler must always be responded to quickly and correctly.

The drum level in a boiler is maintained near the previously defined normal water level, which generally is below the geometric center of the drum. Maintaining a high drum level has its own problems like carryover of salt to superheaters etc., but low drum level operation has much more serious effect on the boiler tubes. Whenever this happens, the operator is warned by alarm to take corrective action. If this is not responded to and the drum level goes further down to a dangerously low level, the boiler trips on auto to protect the boiler. The specific causes for a drum level trip, the boiler response, and the immediate action of the boiler control room operator and the local operator are given in outline form below. Specific causes
o o o o o o o o o

One feed pump trips Mal-operation of feed control auto Mal-operation of feed pump scoop Mal-operation of feed control / regulating valve Sudden reduction in load Sudden tripping of one or more mills Tube failure in water wall with large opening Mal-operation of emergency drain valve Mal-operation of low point drain

Plant response
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Low drum level alarm Very low drum level trip

Immediate boiler desk operator action

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Start reserve feed pump if needed Change to manual feed water control if required Never by-pass the very low drum level trip Trip the unit if the visible level goes out even if auto did not act

Immediate local operator action

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Check the tripped pump, rectify cause and inform boiler desk operator that it is ready for restart Check for possible tube leak in furnace first and other areas if needed

o o o

Check drum drain and low point drain for possible opening Check the feed water auto controller in local and inform condition, also arrange for rectification Check feed controller for any link failure

The effect of very low drum level operation is very severe that it can cause the water wall tubes to get overheated; it can cause snaking of water wall tubes leading to lot of projection in and out of furnace. It can cause instant short term fish mouth tube failures in water wall. This kind of failure has led to furnace explosion under certain specific conditions and based on the location of the failure. If the failure of the tube is in such a location in furnace that the steam coming out of the tube mixes with the coal particles to form producer gas, then an explosive mixture forms and the boiler furnace explodes. The overheating is seen to happen in many water wall tubes rather than a single tube as experienced in many cases. Rectification of the furnace wall becomes more difficult and time consuming as it requires extensive checking both by an NDT (non-destructive testing) method as well as a sampling method. Leaving tubes that have snaked may not lead to any adverse effect in performance of the boiler except in certain specific locations, like near the burner where fuel impingement can occur and cause fuel ash erosion. The reason for such major failure of water wall tubes when the drum level goes to lower than the very low limit is due to the fact that the steam in the drum gets entrained in the down comers of the circulation system, and this upsets the whole natural circulation in the boiler. When the circulation in furnace tubes is upset, the cooling of tubes does not take place effectively, which leads to failure of tubes due to short term overheating.

Low Drum Level

Coal Power - the Backbone of Power Generation

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 5/18/2011 Coal fired power plants form the major percentage of boilers used for power generation across the globe. The main reason is coal availability and its economics for power generation. Looking only from a technical aspect, gas fired boilers will be preferred when compared to oil and coal boilers.

Any power plant will have fuel storage and handling equipment and systems, the fuel preparation system, water treatment system, the boiler, the ash handling system, compressed air system, lighting system, firefighting system, turbine, generator and electric power gridding system. The coal power plant is no exception. The pros and cons of these systems individually has to be looked into to understand the total value of a coal fired power plant. Here the discussion will be mainly on the fuel handling, fuel preparation, ash handling system, and boiler point of view. Fuel storage and handling
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o o o o o

The calorific value of coal varies very widely across the globe. It can be as low as 2800 kcals/kg to as high as 7000 kcals/kg on an air dried basis. This means the quantity to be stored, and handled per million kilo calories, will also vary widely. Oil and gas, which are classified under fossil fuels, do not have such large variation. Hence storage and handling does not differ much. Coal is stored in the open generally; however closed storage is also adopted in a limited basis. Storage of oil and gas need special tankers and equipment. Coal requires large and heavy equipment to handle, however oil and gas requires much simpler and compact equipment to handle. Coal can result in lot of dust problems, but gas and oil can result in leakage which can explode. Coal requires large bunkers near boiler area; oil can be stored in day tanks and gas can be pressure reduced and needs, in most cases, no storage.

Fuel preparation system The fuel preparation system in the case of oil is a simple heating and pumping unit. In the case of gas it is also a simple pressure reducing and water removing system. In the case of coal fired boiler it is an elaborate system starting from a crushing unit to a grinding unit with a rejects handling system, if the mills in the grinding system have rejects. Optimizing the milling system for optimum performance requires knowledge about the coal being fired and the combustion characteristics, which involves large laboratory tests. In the case of oil, simple laboratory tests estimating the temperature for firing viscosity will be enough. The need to know the chemical composition is for all fuels.

Ash handling system This is unique to the coal fired boiler. There are two ash handling systems to be provided: the fly ash and bottom ash handling system. This size of this system will depend upon the ash percentage in the coal. However no such system is required for an oil or gas fired boiler. Boiler Boiler design depends on the type of fuel being fired; gas fired boilers have the smallest furnace and the coal fired the biggest. The coal fired boiler furnace size further changes with respect to the amount and type of inorganics (ash) the coal contains. When we compare two boilers firing with the same percentage ash coal- one slagging type and the other non-slagging- the one with the slagging nature will have to be designed with a larger furnace size. Except for the economics of coal fired boiler for steam generation, in all other aspects it has a lesser preference with the users. Coal fired boilers have many more auxiliaries, are cumbersome to operate, the uncertainties in fuel characteristics are high, higher pollutants have to be addressed, etc. There are many types of design available for all fuels, and more so for coal firing with combinations of auxiliaries. The amount of auxiliary power consumption is the highest for coal fired boilers. Other systems All other systems like the compressed air system, lighting system, firefighting system, turbine, generator and electric power gridding system can have the same features for any type of boiler used with any fuel as they all are independent of boiler type and fuel.

Understanding Flame Quality in Tangential Firing Boilers

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 5/18/2011 In a tangential coal fired boiler, the furnace act as a single burner and so it is required to look at and understand the quality of the flame. It is necessary to start from the control room of the boiler, then go to the mill, furnace, bottom ash and fly ash areas and study all in detail.

Understanding the quality of flame in any boiler furnace is very important in tuning the boiler to the optimal level of performance. The aspects of combustion tuning involve looking at the boiler furnace and making sure the quality of flame is acceptable and good.The gas and oil fired boilers do not pose much problem in establishing a good flame in the furnace. The available instruments like flame scanners, CO monitors and oxygen indicators, along with the exit gas temperature, give a good indication to perceive if the quality of the flame is good. In coal fired boilers and mainly in tangential fired boilers, the furnace acts as a single burner, so it is required to look at the flame and understand the quality of the flame. It is necessary to start from the control room of boiler then go to the mill area, to the furnace, and then to the bottom ash and fly ash area to fully make sure of combustion quality in furnace. The control room of the boiler
o o o o o o o o

Look at the load at which the boiler is operating, availability of support fuel, SH & RH parameter Look at the number of mills operating Note the load, air flow, and outlet temperature on each mill Check the oxygen level at Eco / APH outlet Check the furnace pressure, scanner performance- watch for a few minutes for any fluctuations Look at the coal proximate analysis within 8 hours- if not available then at the max 24 hrs Check the PC fineness reading of each running mill if available Keep a note of those mills which have plus 50 more than 2% and minus 200 below 65%

Check each running mill in the mills area

o

Bowl mills Check each spring loading by feeling the bumping of the pressure spring shaft Regular bump indicate the springs are loaded - how much cannot be estimated by feel - low minus 200 & or mill reject can be an indicator Watch for any abnormal sound Check the level of mill reject - look for coal in rejects - if nil or very low then ok Look at classifier vane position check if they are equal in each mill. Close further to improve fineness - if needed

Ball mills Check for ball noise in the mill area - high noise indicates low coal levels or low speed Check the mill speed and by-pass air Check classifier settings Look for any gear box noise Understanding the quality of flame in any boiler furnace is very important to tune the boiler to the optimal level of performance. The aspects of combustion tuning involve looking at the boiler furnace and making sure the quality of flame is acceptable and good. The gas and oil fired boilers do not pose much problem in establishing a good flame in furnace. The available instruments like flame scanners, CO monitors and Oxygen indicators along with the exit gas temperature give a good indication to perceive the quality of flame is good. In coal fired boiler mainly in tangential fired boiler, as the furnace act as a single burner, it is required to look at the flame and understand the quality of the flame.
o

Checking the furnace and flame condition o Look at the flame front in each corner and elevation- stand in front of the peephole at the corner and see if you can find a tip of flame moving to and fro (visible and out of sight) o If it is not visible note the fuel air damper position in the windbox and close it to less than 5% open condition o Look at the flame in the furnace from just above wind box and count the number of flickers. Go to the furnace outlet plane elevation - normally at this elevation more peep holes are provided. Check the flicker at this elevation- if less than 10 per minute and bright orange red in colour, the flame is good o Open all peep holes one by one in the bottom hopper level - normally around 10 Mt level o Watch the particles falling each peep hole on both side walls o If large number of shooting star-like particles of pebble sizes or above is seen with frequent intervals or continuous this indicate deposition on the waterwalls o If this is experienced, then look at the bottom ash collection for any glazed lumps - this confirms deposition tending to slag o Open the other peep holes and see if they are loaded with ash particles or bridged by fused particles or glowing ash in with a narrow opening or black colour in center. If loose ash of some amount is found, this indicates friable ash and is normally seen in good operation / furnace condition. Higher fused ash and bridging indicates that furnace deposits are high and/or high temperature combustion o In the high heat flux region - just about 1 Mt above the wind box / top burner level - one will see fused lumps, but not bridging or flowing slag - if seen then higher furnace deposition is indicated o Look through the top most peep holes in the front wall - generally given at furnace outlet plane, apart from seeing the flame flicker level as said above, look at the Platen / Panel / Final SH which is provided

Watch for deposit on these. Large volume deposit seen indicate lower frequency of soot blower operation or high deposition levels You may also see a swing in super heater panel / platen / final in this region. This is not uncommon and not to worry. Look through the peep hole in the side walls near the reheater region. If flame seen licking this area indicate the burning is getting completed at much higher elevation than envisaged. This can be due to low reactive coal or improper air distribution or very high primary air Watching carefully the flame / bright spots coming into this region with respect to width and intensity can give an indication on the elevation of combustion completion

Checking the bottom ash and fly ash

o

Bottom ash Look at bottom ash, if you find glazed lumps then suspect clinkers The higher the size and quantity, the higher the intensity of clinkering A large amount of loading black particles indicates higher unburned in bottom ash A higher quantity of friable ash along with coal particles indicates a higher plus 50 size % in PC or wall deposits shedding at frequent intervals Fly ash While collecting flyash from ESP field hopper, allow it to flow freely for some time so that locked up ash falls off Look at the fly ash from the first working field of ESP - not to worry about the dummy field If fly ash has higher blackish colour, this indicate higher unburneds If higher black particles are seen, this indicate very low reactive constituents in coal

Advantages and Disadvantages of Coal for Power Plants

written by: jaychris edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 4/27/2011 Fossil fuels are indeed the top fuels used all over the world for generating power and electricity. Among the fossil fuels, coal is the most widely used fuel in power plants. Coal fired plants use different kinds of machinery that convert heat energy produced from combustion into mechanical energy.

Coal, gas, and oil are the fossil fuels responsible for most of the world's electricity and energy demands. Coal, which is readily available in most of the developing and developed world, has been used as a major source of fuel even in ancient human civilizations. It also found its use in historic steam engines at the dawn of the industrial revolution.

Advantages of Coal as Power Plant Fuel

Today, advances in technology have allowed coal to improve living conditions with its current role in meeting mans fuel needs. Coal has been used extensively in power generation where better technology is employed to ensure that there is a balance between ecology and economics in producing sustainable and affordable energy. But, is coal really the answer to affordable and sustainable energy? To find answers for this question, it is best to learn about the advantagesand disadvantages- of coal fired plants. Some of its advantages include reliability, affordability, abundance, known technologies, safety, and efficiency. Reliability. One of the greatest advantages of coal fired plants is reliability. Coals ability to supply power during peak power demand either as base power or as off-peak power is greatly valued as a power plant fuel. It is with this fact that advanced pulverized coal fired power plants are designed to support the grid system in avoiding blackouts. Affordability. Energy produced from coal fired plants is cheaper and more affordable than other energy sources. Since coal is abundant, it is definitely cheap to produce power using this fuel. Moreover, it is not expensive to extract and mine from coal deposits. Consequently, its price remains low compared to other fuel and energy sources.

Abundance. There are approximately over 300 years of economic coal deposits still accessible. With this great amount of coal available for use, coal fired plants can be continuously fueled in many years to come. Known technologies. The production and use of coal as a fuel are well understood, and the technology required in producing it is constantly advancing. Moreover, coal-mining techniques are continuously enhanced to ensure that there is a constant supply of coal for the production of power and energy. Safety. Generally, coal fired plants are considered safer than nuclear power plants. A coal power plant's failure is certainly not likely to cause catastrophic events such as a nuclear meltdown

would. Additionally, the welfare and productivity of coal industry employees has greatly improved over the years. In fact, injuries, time lost, and fatalities have decreased significantly in the past years.

Fig.1. 2009 US Electricity Source Generation

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_power_station

Disadvantages of Coal-Fired Power Plants

On the other hand, there are also some significant disadvantages of coal fired plants including Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions, mining destruction, generation of millions of tons of waste, and emission of harmful substances. Greenhouse gas emissions. It cannot be denied that coal leaves behind harmful byproducts upon combustion. These byproducts cause a lot of pollution and contribute to global warming. The increased carbon emissions brought about by coal fired plants has led to further global warming which results in climate changes. Mining destruction. Mining of coal not only results in the destruction of habitat and scenery, but it also displaces humans as well. In many countries where coal is actively mined, many people are displaced in huge numbers due to the pitting of the earth brought about by underground mining. Places near coal mines are unsafe for human habitation as the land could cave in at anytime. Generation of millions of tons of waste. Millions of tons of waste products which can no longer be reused are generated from coal fired plants. Aside from the fact that these waste products contribute to waste disposal problems, these also contain harmful substances. Emission of harmful substances. Thermal plants like coal fired plants emit harmful substances to the environment. These include mercury, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, mercury, selenium, and arsenic. These harmful substances not only cause acid rain but also are very harmful to humans as well.

Economizer and Air Pre-Heaters are Provided for Heat Recovery

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 11/16/2010 Boilers are provided with economizer and air pre-heaters to recover heat from the flue gases. An increase of about 20% in boiler efficiency is achieved by providing both economizer and air preheaters. Providing economizer alone gives only 8% efficiency increase and so designers provide both.

Most of the high capacity boilers firing coal operate with an efficiency of around 86% on the Higher Heat Value basis. Loss of around 14% can be attributed to various losses of which the dry gas loss is about 35% of the total. When both economizers and air pre-heaters are not provided the boiler efficiency drops to around 66% from 86%. When air pre-heater is not provided the boiler efficiency will be around 74 % only. Thus we can conserve about 20% extra fuel when we provide both economizers and air pre-heaters in boilers. Economizer The feed water from the high pressure heaters enters the economizer and picks up heat from the flue gases after the low temperature superheater. Many types of economizer are designed for picking up heat from the flue gas. These can be classified as an inline or staggered arrangement based on the type of tube arrangement. The staggered arrangement is compact and occupies less volume for the same amount of heat transfer when compared to the inline arrangement. Economizers are also designed with plain tube and fined tubes. The fins can be longitudinal or spiral. All these types are suitable for clean fuels like gas, oil, and low ash coals. For high ash coals, only the plain tube inline arrangement is used. This is mainly to reduce ash erosion and thus reduce erosion failures. These economizers pick up about 50 to 55 degrees centigrade in a large capacity boiler, which will reduce the flue gas temperature by about 150 to 170 degree centigrade. The boiler designers always keep the economizer water outlet temperature to about 25 to 35 degrees below the drum saturation temperature. This is done to mainly avoid steaming in the economizer. A steaming economizer generally is less reliable. As a rule of thumb, for every one degree pick up of economizer water temperature, there will be a drop of about 3 to 3.5 degrees. Air pre heaters Air pre-heaters are provided in boilers to preheat the combustion air. There are two main types: recuperative and regenerative air heaters. Tubular or recuperative air pre-heaters are provided in boilers of medium and small range of steam generation. This type of air pre-heater becomes very large in size if they have to be used in very high capacity boilers like 600 tons/hr of steam production and above. In these cases regenerative air pre-heaters are used. The arrangement of all these air pre-heaters differ with the design and, in large, the way they are combined for very high capacity boilers. Regenerative air

per-heaters are compact and can have a stationary or rotating hood. A combination of tubular and regenerative type of air pre-heaters is used in very high capacity boilers. The tubular being used for primary air heating and the regenerative used for the secondary air heating. In case the boiler designers do not want to go for a combination of tubular and regenerative air pre-heater, then they have a choice of tri-sector regenerative air heater. Normally the ambient air is heated to about 300 to 350 degree centigrade. This results in a flue gas temperature drop of around 230 to 250 degree centigrade. So for each degree pick up in air temperature, roughly 0.8 degree drop in flue gas temperature is achieved. Steam coil air pre-heaters are another type. These are used only during start up of the boiler to prevent low temperature corrosion. This air heater does not contribute to improving the efficiency of boilers, but are provided to improve availability. It is seen that during start up the chances of low temperature corrosion is high, and hence the need to provide the steam coil air heaters is evident. Both economizer and air pre-heaters are called heat recovery systems in a boiler. Were it not for these heat recovery systems, present day boilers would be operating at much lower efficiency levels.

Low Furnace Pressure and Boiler Operation

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 11/16/2010 Low furnace pressure can cause equal damage like furnace pressurization or a explosion. Low furnace pressure leads to a situation called furnace implosion if not corrected at the right time. To correct a imploded boiler requires a very long outage and work to be carried out.

Balanced draft boilers are prone to a very low pressure condition inside the furnace. This condition creates a large amount of force on the waterwalls of the furnace. The buckstays which are provided in the boiler furnace are designed to handle both high and low pressure conditions that can damage the furnace. However if the low pressure continues, and if it exceeds the limit the buckstays can withstand, then the furnace is subject to implosion. Implosion happens when a large pressure acting on the walls of the furnace from outside overcomes the very low pressure prevailing inside the furnace. This leads to a high differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure outside and the pressure inside the furnace. Some of the furnace implosions have led to replacements of the furnace walls and have caused large financial losses to the owners. It is also possible to get into a furnace implosion condition in positive pressure boilers. In fact, in balanced draft furnaces the availability of openings softens the effect to some extent when they are near breakeven points. The damage to the furnace is nearly the same if implosion happens. The reasons of furnace implosion are many.
o o o o o

Induced draft fan control failure is one of the common causes in a balanced draft boiler Induced draft fan vane control failure also leads to furnace low pressure condition in balanced draft furnace. Sudden load throw off leading to a large fuel cutting is another common cause of low furnace pressure in both positive and balanced draft boilers Sudden reduction in air flow Sudden tripping of one forced draft fan, leading to a large reduction in air flow

The plant responds to these conditions by a large reduction in furnace pressure and leads to unstable furnace flame conditions. Depending on the indication and the reason for the cause of the problem the boiler operator will have to respond.
o

o o

Switch to induced draft fan control from auto mode to manual mode if the control system is the reason leading to low furnace pressure and take corrective action. Ask the controls engineer to rectify the fault before again turning on to the auto mode. Check the induced draft fan vane control system for proper functioning by changing the set point and finding the response. Rectify if required. Check the air flow condition and ensure the correct air flow to the boiler as per the load condition

If one of the forced draft fan has tripped then after establishing the reason for trip and correcting the same, restart the forced draft fan.

The local operator in the field invariably has to check the induced draft fan vane control if this was the reason causing the low furnace pressure. If one of the forced draft fan has tripped, then he has to make ready the fan for restart after ascertaining the reason for the trip.

Low Furnace Pressure Flowsheet

High Furnace Pressure Problems in Boilers

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 8/15/2010 High furnace pressure is a direct indication of a disturbance in combustion performance. The rate of change in the furnace pressure can vary very much, that is from a simple sudden surge due to fuel variations to a huge furnace explosion.

Combustion in a boiler furnace is normally considered a controlled explosion, as all boilers operate at a regime where explosion pressure is the maximum. This is mainly due to the fact that it is at this regime we get the maximum efficiency of the boiler. Furnace pressure in boilers is one of the most critical and important parameter to be maintained and monitored. Furnace pressure in a balanced draft furnace is always kept negative, and in pressurized furnace it is positive. Present days designers adopt balanced draft furnace for all solid fuel fired boiler, however there are installations of pressurized furnace even in the case of solid fuel fired boilers. In the case of gas and liquid fuel, generally designers adopt pressurized furnaces. It should be understood that the selection of pressurized or balanced draft furnace depends upon many other factors. Present day boilers have online monitoring of furnace pressure and are controlled on auto. There are also alarms and trips provided for furnace pressure to alert the operator and also to protect the boiler from very high pressure surges. In the case of furnace explosion, if the explosion process is triggered then the boiler cannot be protected by any of these devices. Only the good and safe operating procedures can prevent explosions. There are many reasons why furnace pressure goes high, and the plant responds to these changes in furnace pressure like any other boiler parameter. Specific causes
o o o

o o o o o

Tripping of induced draft fan Mal-operation of regulating vanes of the fans Unstable flame Low wind box pressure Improper burner operation Sudden starting of mills with fuel in the mill Sudden fuel input in to the furnace Loss of ignition energy Gradual buildup of fouling in air pre-heaters Tripping of air pre-heater Furnace water seal broken High excess air levels Large amount of air ingress in the second pass of boiler

The causes given are all applicable for balanced draft furnace, but in the case of forced draft furnace some of the causes are not applicable.

Plant response
o o o o

Furnace pressure high alarm appears for corrective action by operator Furnace trip activates if pressure goes above trip limit Boiler furnace pressure surge Can lead to explosion

Immediate operator action

o o o o o o o

Check draft reading for any damper closure Check vane control mechanism of fans for any mal-operation If induced draft fan tripped, reduce load and stabilize boiler parameters Stabilize combustion if combustion is unstable Restart air pre-heater if tripped Check furnace seal and establish if broken Check induced draft fan for any mal-operation

Immediate local operator action

o o o o o o

Check for any opening of man holes in second pass Check air pre-heater rotation Check dampers in flue gas path for proper position Check induced draft fan fully to ensure it is in proper operating condition Check and ensure furnace bottom seal water flow Check combustion condition and inform control room of any disturbance

It is a good practice for the local operator to get clearance from the control room before making any change (unless it is a standard procedure to take corrective action by the local operator). As furnace pressure increase is one of the indications for boiler explosion boiler operating engineers and all concerned must view increase in furnace pressure very critical and take corrective action and ensure safety.

High Furnace Pressure in Boiler

Effect of Low Fuel Oil Temperature on Boiler Operation

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 10/20/2010 Low fuel temperature can lead to a large amount of unburned fuel accumulation in the furnace. This can result in a very high probability for furnace explosion and air pre-heater fires. Maintaining correct fuel oil temperature ensures good combustion of fuel and boiler efficiency.

Fuel Oil Temperature and Boiler Operation

Fuel oil is one of the fossil fuesl used in boilers to generate steam. The hydrocarbons in fuel oil need heating for reducing the viscosity to a favorable level for handling and firing. Depending upon the composition of the oil, the effect on performance of boiler can be judged. All oils should have a viscosity of 80 Redwood No 1 at the burner inlet to result in an effective combustion. The temperature required can be determined by doing a simple viscosity test in a laboratory. It is a good practice to check the temperature required to get 80 Redwood No 1 viscosity for each consignment of fuel oil received. The fuel oil is heated in a fuel oil heater using a condensing type heater. The heated oil is then transported though pipe line to the boiler front and distributed to each burner through a set of control, trip, and isolation valves. These pipe lines are generally insulated and heat traced using electrical heating or steam heating. The temperature of the fuel oil at the outlet of the heater is maintained in such a way to take care of the loss of heat in the piping and system so that the viscosity at the gun tip or gun inlet will be 80 Redwood No 1 and below. When the fuel oil temperature goes down the operator will have to understand the specific causes, how the plant will respond, what he has to take as an immediate action and how the local operator must respond.

Specific causes
o o o o o o o

Insufficient steam flow to fuel oil heater Temperature controller of the heater system faulty Excessive condensate in the fuel oil heater lowering heat transfer Faulty steam trap not evacuating the condensate as required Fuel oil heater can be dirty thus reducing heat transfer Too high recirculation of fuel oil from heater outlet to the tank Higher firing rate than design

Plant response
o o o

The drop in temperature of fuel oil increases the viscosity leading to poor combustion Black smoke from chimney due to unburned carbon soot carryover Oil particles carryover to air pre-heater and threat of air pre-heater fire

Immediate operator action

o o o o o o o o

Check the pressure and temperature of steam at the inlet of fuel oil heater Restore the steam parameter if required Open steam trap by-pass valve to check for excessive condensate Remove excessive condensate from the heater Reduce the oil recirculation if required Reduce firing rate if needed Bring online additional fuel oil heater to ensure fuel oil temperature with the oil consumption Discontinue oil firing if fuel oil temperature does not come to the required level

Immediate local operator action

o o o o

Check the fuel oil heater for all its controls and parameters Check steam pressure and temperature to the heater Check the steam trap drains and ensure proper condensate level Inform boiler control room all local findings.

Irrespective of whether fuel oil is used for load carrying or as support for fuel in a boiler, it is very important to maintain the fuel oil temperature as the amount of unburned fuel collection over a period of time can explode the boiler or lead to air pre-heater fires. Both of this lead to a long outage of the boiler and a loss of production.

Poor Oil Gun Performance in Boilers

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 9/24/2010 Oil gun performance can be affected by factors like design, fuel, air distribution, etc. Coal fired boilers have oil guns for start-up and warm-up requirements. Oil fired boilers use them for startup, warm-up, and load carrying.

Oil guns are in coal and oil fired boilers. In coal fired boilers the oil guns are used for start-up and warm-up purpose. These oil guns are designed with a capacity of around thirty percent of boiler maximum continuous rating. They are used for starting coal mills and as coal flame stabilization fuel. In oil fired boilers, with the main fuel being oil, they do all the functions of start-up, warm-up and load carrying. The oil gun performance can be poor due to oil quality, combustion, mechanical parts of the oil gun, and air distribution for the oil guns. Causes for improper combustion
o

Burner design Type of burner Axial Velocity Swirl Swirl number Velocity

Flame retainer Bluff body Vane diffuser Others Proportioning of air Primary Secondary Tertiary Type of atomizer Pressure atomization Air atomization Steam atomization Air distribution Multiple burner ducts Distribution between burners Windbox design Distribution between sides Distribution between elevation Fuel preparation Distribution High differential pressure Low differential pressure

o o o

Viscosity Asphalt content Burner disposition Tangential firing system Wall fired system Front wall fired Side wall fired Opposed wall fired Fuel property Chemical composition Percentage residue Viscosity Flash point temperature Fire point temperature

There are many types of problems that can happen in oil gun performance which can be due to the influence of one of the factors above or a combination of the above. Normally experienced problems in oil guns in a boiler are (a) Flame fluctuation, (b) Fire puffs on starting, (c) Smoky flame and smoky stack, (d) Improper flame condition like flame smoky, flame front unstable, high flame noise etc. Flame Fluctuations can be caused by problems on the air side, fuel side, and atomizer side. Air side
o

Low air Inadequate air Inadequate mixing Fluctuation in air flow Forced air fan damper flap problem Air flow control mal function Burner air distribution Poor draft

Fuel side
o o o o

Too high a firing viscosity Water in oil Fluctuation in oil pressure Atomizing steam pressure variation

Atomizer side
o o o

Improper location Improper alignment Worm out atomizer

Fire puffs on starting can happen when the condition for starting is not as per requirement. Water in oil, low oil pressure, pilot flame not stable or adequate, incorrect windbox pressure, low air flow, and a worn-out atomizer are some the reasons for this. Smoky flame and smoky stack is experienced by many while operating the boiler or during starting. The burner, fuel, and air can contribute to this problem. Burner
o

Atomizer Damaged oil gum tip Carbon deposit on tip Different tip in oil burner Dirty oil gun Oil gun position Damaged diffuser Improper alignment of oil gun Burner swirler Air register swirler

Air side
o o

Low excess air level Improper air distribution Inter burner Intra burner

Fuel side
o o o o

Low oil temperature High atomizing viscosity inlet to oil gun Low oil pressure Oil pressure fluctuation

Causes for Improper Oil Combustion

Handle Both Forced Draft Fans Trip in Running Boiler

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 5/3/2010 All forced draft fan trip in a boiler will cause a boiler trip. Putting the boiler back in operation and giving steam at the required parameter to the consumer is very important. Delay in this can cause a very high loss to the plant.

Boilers have forced draft (FD) fans to supply air for the combustion of fuel. In addition to this fan, there can be many other fans such as induced draft (ID), primary air fans (PA), seal air fans, scanner air fans, etc. In these the FD, ID, and PA fans are large capacity fans, while the others are smaller fans. In the case of a pressurized boiler, only an FD fan is present. Here the FD fan handles the full pressure drop of the whole boiler air and flue gas system. In the case of a balanced draft system, the ID fan evacuates the flue gas from the furnace and handles the pressure drop in the flue gas section. The PA fan is used in the case of solid fuels to carry the fuel to the furnace and give the primary air requirement to the fuel. Trip in a running boiler Any trip of major equipment in the boiler causes the boiler parameters to vary widely before it stabilizes depending upon the action taken by the operator. Boiler tripping can also be caused if some vital equipment trips or if some unsafe condition appears. The important factors to be understood in a trip of equipment in a boiler are mainly four. 1. 2. 3. 4. The specific cause of trip The plant response to the trip The immediate operator action required The immediate local operator action requirement

In the case of both FD fans tripping, the boiler will go for trip as the air supply to the fuel is cut off in full or excluding the primary air depending upon the system design. The PA fan also trip as soon as all the FD fans trip. Depending upon whether the boiler is for a process unit or power station, the action on the steam consumer end will vary. The specific cause of the trip For both FD fans to trip the main reasons can be as below.
o o o

6.6 KV supply failure 0.4 KV supply failure Cooling water to motors failure

Plant response to the trip

The immediate plant response when both the FD fans trip will be boiler trip. The PA fans and mills also trip. Immediate operator action required The boiler will have to be prepared for light up immediately. Any delay in this action within a very short period can cause lot of problems and loss for the plant. The following will help any boiler operator to speed up his action to bring back the boiler on line.
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Check feed pump, maintain drum level Get clearance from connected group to start equipment in boiler Start one ID fan, as soon as possible Start FD fan Maintain purge conditions Complete purge Introduce furnace probe Light up boiler Open start-up vent valve or bring to service LP / HP bypass depending upon the consumer Quickly start PA fan / milling system and give steam to the consumer maintaining the required steam parameters Maintain steam parameters and load the boiler as consumption of steam increases Control the water level in drum Maintain furnace conditions Load to maximum load as required once all parameters stabilize

Local operator action requirement The local operator of the boiler will have to perform a quick task of restoring things in the locale and communicate to the boiler control room. This set of activity is carried out by the respective groups in each area like boiler operating floor, mill area, etc. The actions required are:
o o o o o o o o

See all fuel trip valves are closed Check furnace has no flame Check if air heaters are rotating only for regenerative air heaters Check fans for starting conditions and confirm to control room Make ready the fuel oil system for light up of unit and inform control room Check local boiler drum level and make sure Check and make ready feeders and mills for coal firing Make all electrical check and clear for starting the boiler

All the said actions are broad and for general understanding only. It is required to train and educate the operators for each design of the units. There are lot of changes taking place on the controls side and equipment design side. This brings in a need to understand the specifics of the system that is being handled.

Once Through and Drum Type Boiler Designs Compared

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 10/20/2010 As carbon emission is a major concern today, more super critical pressure units are bound to be preferred due to the increase in plant cycle efficiency. This will make once through type boilers take over from drum type boilers. Fuel conservation is an important factor for energy security presently.

Drum Type and Once-through Boilers

The major proportion of boilers operating in the world today are drum type boilers. These boilers have certain restrictions during start-up due to the presence of a high thickness component- the drum. The once through design mainly avoids this, along with a few more advantages. The concept of once through boilers dates back to 1824, referenced through patents in the United States. It was in 1923 that the first commercial 4 tons/hr once-through boiler was made by Mark Benson, a Czechoslovakian, and supplied to English Electric Company Ltd at Rugby, England. When we try to analyze two types of boiler design which can cater to the same requirement, it is necessary to look at certain specific factors. These key factors generally include: 1. How the boiler will respond to load changes 2. How the efficiency will change 3. How the auxiliary power consumption will vary in each design 4. The availability of additional systems or equipment 5. How the control system for each will vary 6. What are the water chemistry requirements? 7. Suitability for cyclic and two shift operation 8. The operation and maintenance aspects of these designs 9. The cycle time needed for each design, and 10. The overall economics of each

Once-through Boiler Characteristics

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The once through boiler has high load response characteristics due to the fact that it does not have a drum and has a much lower water inventory. In the once through boiler, many times the load change response is dictated by the firing system and its controls rather than the boiler, per-say. Once through boilers of super-critical pressure boilers have higher efficiency. However in the sub-critical range there is no difference in efficiency when compared to the drum type design. Generally the power consumption is higher by 5 to 8 % for the same capacity boilers of drum type. Once through boilers have a separate start-up loop along with all its controls.

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As the load demand is met by varying both fuel and feed water flow simultaneously, the controls are more sophisticated and have to be more reliable. More redundancies are built in. The water quality level is much more stringent than drum type boilers. Normally a condensate polishing unit is employed in once through units. In once through boilers the superheater headers are subjected to both fatigue and creep when cyclic or two shift operation is resorted to. Hence these boilers are more preferred for base load operation. However, the load change rate that theses boilers can take is higher due to the absence of the drum. A closer regime of operation is expected in once through boilers. The absence of the drum makes it possible to reduce the overall cycle time for the once through boiler. However, the overall plant cycle time may not vary only marginally. Once through boilers life time cost is expected to be more than the drum type units.

Drum Type Boiler Characteristics

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Cold start-up takes much more time in drum type units as the metal temperature difference across the thickness dictates this. Drum type units do not find application in super-critical pressure power plants. The drum type boiler is more adaptable to cyclic and two shifting operation. The water chemistry is maintained within a band and can accommodate some variations when compared to once through type boilers. The control system is more simplified when compared to the once through type as load variations are done by fuel control and feed water is controlled by drum level.

Low Steam Pressure in Boiler

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 9/25/2010

Operation of boiler with low steam pressure makes power generation less competitive. Steam enthalpy depends on both pressure and temperature. It is the heat energy which is converted to mechanical energy in the turbine, so low pressure of steam reduces the work done by the turbine and load.

Steam pressure and temperature are the key parameters of power generation for thermal power plants and also for process application. Steam pressure and temperature decide the amount of heat available, in the form of enthalpy, to do work in turbine. A drop in both will reduce the plant heat rate in different magnitude. Many boiler operators prefer to operate the boiler at slightly lower pressure, when they have load variation, fuel quality variations, etc, as they get more margins between the safety valve set pressure and the operating pressure. Main steam pressure is used as the input to master pressure controller to change the fuel input to the boiler. The main reasons for variation in steam pressure when the boiler operates with steady conditions are:
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Sudden increase o !enerator "oad #a"$operation o steam pressure contro""er %oa" han! up in mi""s Disturbed combustion condition in urnace Trippin! o one or more mi""s

Sudden increase in load can be due to grid demand or due to process requirement in the plant. Coal hang up in coal mills is is not uncommon due to the presence of foreign material in coal or even due to high moisture coal. Disturbed furnace condition can be due to many reasons. The plant responses due to these conditions give indication to the boiler desk operator and local operator to take immediate action. Normally the turbine will slow down due to the braking effect of the generator. During this time the steam demand signal will go up reducing the pressure further if the fuel input does not increase. As the main steam pressure drops, there is a good reason for the auxiliary steam pressure to drop. This will depend on many other operating conditions from the turbine and the boiler side. Immediate operator action will depend upon the cause that resulted in the reduction of steam pressure. The first action of the operator will be to check and reduce the turbine generator load so that the steam pressure does not drop to a very low level. The operator will switch to manual mode for pressure control if he suspects the pressure controller is misbehaving. This he can infer from the erratic way in which the pressure control is behaving even before the main steam pressure drops continuously or otherwise. Starting of the spare mill will be required if any of the operating mills have tripped. He first will reduce the load if possible and bring in the new mill

immediately. During this disturbance the boiler opreator will have to keep vigil on the water level in the boiler drum. If this level drops more and reaches the trip level, then he will lose the unit and will have to line-up for start-up again. The local operator will have to quickly check if the coal mill feeder is delivering the coal in all the operating mills. Check for any coal hang up in any of the operating mills. He has to also check the furnace conditions and inform the desk operator. If he has to line up another mill to start, he has to inform the boiler control room and prepare the mill for starting.

Low Steam Pressure in Boiler

What are the types of HRSG's?

written by: johnzactruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 9/20/2010 Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG's) are a critical part of a Combined Cycle Power Plant. As with any other product or process, there are different types. Here we take a look at the different types.

The main application of the (Heat Recovery Steam Generators) HRSG is in Combined Cycle power plants. In these plants the power generation from the Rankine cycle part, ie. the steam turbine, is around one third of the total power generated . HRSG's produce the steam for this. Classification of HRSGs is on application, design, or operation. Some of the types are described below.

Fired and Unfired

One way is to classify it based on the heat input. Normally HRSG's do not have any additional heat input. The performance and output of the HRSG is dependent on the exhaust heat of the gas turbine. At part loads, this leads to reduced output from the HRSG's. In addition, ambient conditions also affect the Gas Turbine performance. This could affect the downstream process were the steam is used. To avoid such situations supplemental firing of oil or gas takes place. Even though this may not be an efficient process, it avoids costly production disturbances. Supplemental Firing takes place in burners in the gas duct at HRSG inlet. Oil or gas is the supplementary fuel. Since the flue gas at exhaust of a Gas Turbine is high in Oxygen content, additional air is not required for combustion. This eliminates the need of Forced draft or Induced Draft fans.

Vertical and Horizontal Types

Another classification is on the construction or design of the HRSG. Based on the gas flow it can be vertical or horizontal.
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Vertical types have gas flow vertically upward with coils placed horizontally. Horizontal types have gas flows horizontal with coils placed vertically.

From the performance and cost point of view both are the same. More than the technical issues it is a proprietary design of individual manufacturers or client preferences. Some of the differences are :
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Horizontal types require a 30 % larger footprint area. More expansion joints are required in horizontal units. Structural requirements are higher in vertical types. Horizontal types are more difficult for maintenance and inspections. Overall cost may be same in both types.

Multiple Pressure Operation.

Yet another classification is on the operation pressure.
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Smaller HRSG units operate on single pressure. The water to steam conversion takes place in one single pressure circuit. This is similar to conventional combustion boilers. In larger units, for optimizing the performance of the HRSG, steam generation takes place in multi pressure circuits. The current optimum is to use three pressure levels. (Details in the next article)

How is the HRSG different from a fossil fuel fired boiler?

written by: johnzactruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 7/13/2009 Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG's) absorb heat from the exhaust of gas turbines to produce steam. Functionally they produce steam like any other boiler but with some differences.

What is an HRSG?
Heat Recovery Steam Generator's (HRSG's) are waste heat boilers. The steam turbine or a downstream process uses the steam. The term HRSG refers to the waste heat boiler in a Combined Cycle Power Plant. In its basic form these are bundles of water or steam carrying tubes paced in the hot gas flow path. These recover the heat from the gas to generate superheated steam, hence the name Heat Recovery Steam Generator. The water steam circuit of an HRSG consists of an economizer, an evaporator, and a Superheater placed in the flue gas duct. The evaporator section consists of a drum to which the coils are connected to create the circulation.

The Differences
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HRSG is only a heat transfer area. There is no furnace even though the sections like economizer, evaporator, and super heaters are present. An exception is the supplementary-fired HRSG .

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The exhaust gas temperature from a Gas Turbine is about 580 C. Higher exhaust temperatures will reduce the efficiency of the gas turbine. This temperature head available for heat transfer is very low compared to a conventional boiler. In a conventional boiler where fuel burning takes place, the temperature head available for heat transfer is in the range of 1300 C. Because of this low temperature head, proper positioning and apportioning of the heat transfer surfaces is very important. Two parameters are very critical in the design of the HRSG. They are the Approach point and Pinch Point. The approach point is the difference between saturation and the water temperature leaving the economizer. The pinch point is the difference between the gas temperature leaving the evaporator section and the saturation temperature. These are not applicable in conventional boilers. In conventional boilers the evaporation and super-heating takes place in a single pressure level. To get the optimum heat transfer HRSG's in large Combined Cycle plants operate on a triple pressure format. Water-steam conversion takes place in three different pressure levels in three independent circuits. Unlike the power plant boilers, there are no air or gas handling fans. The flow of gases is due to the exhaust gas pressure from the Gas turbine. Pressure drops in the gas path of a HRSG is at a minimum to avoid higher exhaust gas pressure, which will affect the performance of the GT. This also eliminates the need of air preheaters. The output of the HRSG is solely dependent on the performance and load of the gas turbine. Steam temperature control is limited to the use of de-superheaters. Performance at part loads depends on the design of heat transfer surfaces. Most of the HRSG's are internally insulated so that expansion does not affect the external surfaces and the structures. Conventional boilers on the other hand are top supported and free to expand so the insulation is on the outside.

Determining Boiler Efficiency

written by: johnzactruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 8/3/2010 Determining and adjusting the efficiency of a boiler in a power plant or a process industry is essential for energy savings. The main requirements for determining the boiler efficiency is detailed in this article.

The boiler is the first stage in which energy conversion from fuel - coal, oil, gas or any other- to steam takes place. The steam is used further for power production in a turbine, for a process reaction, or for heating another fluid or gas, or simply for heating the air in the house. What we mean by boiler efficiency is the efficiency of conversion from the chemical energy in the fuel to the heat energy in steam. This is shown as a percentage of the fuel energy. Modern boilers of large capacity used in power plants have an efficiency ranging from 80 to 90 %. Here we look at simple methods to calculate boiler efficiency. Those interested in an elaborate calculation method should follow ASME PTC 4, which is the performance test code for boilers.

Input-Output Method
The simple method is to measure quantity of fuel input and the steam energy output. This method is the input output method. Efficiency %= Output / Input X100 =[Steam Flow kg/s x Steam Enthalpy kj/kg] - [Water Flow kg/sWater Enthalpy kj/kg] / [Coal Flow kg/s x HHV of Coal kj/kg] 100 In case of reheat units the reheater inlet and outlet enthalpy also has to be considered. Enthalpy of steam and water is available in steam tables if we know the pressure and temperature. Pressure and temperatures are available online in all the boilers. Steam Flow and water Flow also is normally available online. However the accuracies are to be verified before using them. One can determine the higher heating value by taking a sample of coal as it enters the boiler and analyzing it in the laboratory. These are normally done on a daily basis in most power plants. Fuel flow is more complicated. Gravimetric feeders used in modern power plants can give the coal flows to a certain degree of accuracy. Otherwise this will have to be computed from volumetric flows and bulk density of the fuels.

This method, although it looks simple on paper, is not the industry preferred method because
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Flow measurements are not accurate nor steady Good quality flow instruments are costly. Flow measurements always involve a co-efficient, which can very much alter the results. Trouble shooting problems for determining the reasons for a lower efficiency is difficult.

However, this method finds use for quick calculation if the flow measurements are reliable and steady.

Losses Method
Another method and a more practical approach is to measure the losses and then calculate the efficiency. Efficiency % = 100 Losses %. The big advantage is that the calculation is on unit basis i.e.: for 1 kg of coal. This eliminates any inaccuracies in flow measurements. Air and gas quantities are determined on theoretical basis and from laboratory analysis of the fuel. This is more accurate than the field flowmeters. Since each loss is separately calculated it is easy to identify problem areas.

Quick Facts
The most important factor that affects the Boiler efficiency is the Gas temperature leaving the boiler. In a coal fired boiler of a 500 MW power plant if the temperature increases by ten degree centigrade the efficiency reduces by about 0.5 %. Another main factor is the unburnt coal in the in the ash. One % increase in unburnts is around 0.5 % reduced efficiency. These two are controllable by the proper maintenance and operational adjustments. The operator has to find out reasons why these two parameters are high and take necessary corrective action.

Reheater Temperature Control in Boilers

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 7/23/2010 Reheater temperature variation will have an impact on the cycle efficiency of the plant. Boiler designers adopt methods like divided second pass, burner tilting, water injection, gas recirculation, etc. to control reheater steam outlet temperature.

Power plant cycles have the steam from the high pressure turbine reheated before it goes to the medium pressure and then to the low pressure turbine. This increases the cycle efficiency of the plant. Designers sometimes use double-reheat turbines to increase cycle efficiency. As the steam from the high pressure turbine has done work, the pressure and temperature are low. Hence the steam around 40 bar is heated to even above the main steam temperature. The temperature at the outlet of reheater will have to be maintained within a narrow band. Designers adopt many methods to achieve this depending upon the type of furnace and burner. In designs where the reheater surface is kept in a more convective region, it is possible to control the reheater temperature by simple mechanisms like increasing or reducing the flue gases flowing over the sections. As the convective heat transfer coefficient depend more on the mass flow, and in turn the velocity, this method has been adopted by designers successfully. This method is most often used in wall fired units. Here the second pass of the boiler is divided in to two parallel paths up to the economizer. The two parallel paths are so designed to have a normal one third and two third ratio of flow area. The two third ratios of area being adopted for low temperature superheater surface and the one third flow area for the reheater surface. Dampers at the bottom of this flue gas passage are used to control the flow. A set of dampers is kept in the bigger area so that closing of these dampers will divert flue gas to the smaller area side where the reheater surface is. This increases the pickup in the reheater steam and thus the outlet temperature of the reheater is increased. Reducing the flow by opening the damper in the other parallel path will reduce the flue gas flow through the reheater section and thus reduce the reheater steam outlet temperature. Even though the logic of this design is simple, the construction and maintenance aspect suffer considerably when coal and low grade fuels are used.
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In models where the designer has opted to keep more of the radiant surface in the reheater heat transfer area, the method of shifting the flame is used. Such is the case for tangential fired boilers. Here the burners in the corners are tilted up or down in unison to increase the radiant heat going to the reheater surface. This also affects the superheater heat absorption. The burner tilting mechanism is so designed that all the burners in all corners tilt up or down based on the signal from the reheater outlet steam temperature. It has been the experience when low grade coal is being used for power generation keeping the burner tilt in one position for a long duration can lead to seizure of the tilting mechanism. Hence designers generally advise putting the tilt on manual and move from the maximum to minimum position once a day before bringing it back to the original required position and putting it back on auto.

The third alternative is to use injection of water to de-superheat the reheater steam. This method affects the cycle efficiency of power plant. Hence this method is generally used only as an emergency system to control the reheater steam temperature during upset operation. However it is one of the simple methods and results in a good economy over the life period mainly for sliding pressure operation designs. There are other methods like Gas Recirculation, Excess Air Control, Selective Burner Operation, etc. In the case of the gas recirculation method, the flue gas is tapped from the second pass at a convenient location and re-circulated into the furnace. This changes the convective heat transfer coefficient in the boiler thus changing the absorption in the convective heat transfer surface. The amount re-circulated is sized in such a way the temperature control is achieved. Excess air control to vary steam temperature is currently not in practice as it brings down the boiler efficiency and performance. However in fractional loads this method can be useful. Selective burner operation is adopted by some designers and operating groups depending upon the furnace outlet temperature requirement. This further controls the steam temperature in reheaters. In all these methods it has to be remembered that whatever is done for reheater temperature control will also affect the superheater temperature, the effect of which the designers take care while designing the total process.

Superheater Temperature Control in Boilers

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 5/3/2010 Steam temperature control is carried out in all boilers to get a constant temperature within a range. Methods like desuperheating by water injection, flue gas flow diverting, burner tilting are few systems adopted. Main steam and reheat outlet temperature are controlled by these methods in boiler.

All boilers used for both process and power generation plants have to maintain steam parameters within a particular range. The pressure and temperature of steam at superheater and reheater outlets are to be maintained to achieve an optimum plant efficiency. In large capacity boilers, injection type desuperheating is more popular. Reheaters in power boilers can also be technically classified as superheaters, however the type of control adopted is mainly varying the heat available from the flue gas side by bypassing the flue gas to the superheater side and the burner tilt to vary the radiant heat availability. Superheating system Superheaters in large capacity boilers are of both convective and radiant type. The convective type superheaters are placed in the second pass of the boiler, and these are also called low temperature super heaters. Generally about a 40 to 60 degree centigrade temperature pick up takes place on the steam side in this superheater. The steam from this moves to a radiant type superheater called the panel or platen superheater, and about a 70 to 100 degree centigrade pickup take place there. This is followed by the final superheater, and the remaining required temperature is picked up here. One has to understand that the designer can vary the pickup pattern depending upon his way of practice or requirement. But in all the methods adopted, the final temperature must be within a narrow range generally plus / minus five degrees centigrade. The superheaters are so surfaced that, for the design fuel of the boiler, there will not be any desuperheating requirement.

Desuperheating system Three major systems are adopted the world over: the injection type, the flue gas flow diverting type, and the burner tilt. The last two are adopted for reheater steam temperature control. The first one is adopted for superheater temperature control. It also used in reheaters during emergencies when there is a need to quench the temperature even after reaching the maximum of control on the normal system adopted. The material selection for the superheater before the injection will be greatly influenced by the quantity of injection. Injection type desuperheating

In almost all large capacity boilers there are two injection points provided. The first desuperheater is placed between the low temperature superheater and the platen/panel superheater. The second one is placed between the platen/panel and the final superheater. The control is done mostly by the desuperheater, and the second one is more for fine tuning, as the response time for the first is long. In both the cases the feed water is tapped at an appropriate point and injected as fine spray through nozzles in the steam pipe of the desuperheater. The mechanical design aspect includes liners so that the temperature differential is not directly felt on the pressure part side of the desuperheater. Flue gas diverting design Here the flue gas path in the second pass of the boiler is divided in two. One houses the superheater and part of economizer; the other houses the reheater and part of the economizer. The superheater here is the low temperature (also called primary) superheater. The reheater here is called the horizontal reheater and forms a considerable portion of the total reheater surface. There are dampers provided in the bottom of each pass which can vary the flow in the section including a bypass flow area in between the two flow paths. By varying the flue gas flow in the reheater section, the pickup can be varied to control the final reheat steam temperature. Here also the superheater temperature control is done by injection, however there will be an effect on the heat transferred in the superheater section. Burner tilt method This method of reheater steam temperature control is applicable to only tilting tangential firing system boilers. Here the burners arranged in the corner are tilted up or lowered down so that the flame envelope in the furnace can move up or down causing a good variation in the amount of radiation heat the reheater receives. Many designers provide an emergency injection system for reheater temperature control. Feed water is injected in the cold reheat steam side to control the final temperature. There are other methods like gas recirculation, non-contact type desuperheating, etc., which are adopted in cases of combination fuel firing, lower capacity units, etc.

What is a Supercritical Power Plant?

written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: (/)/2010

Modern thermal power plants operate at very high pressures greater than the Critical pressure of steam. This article explains the concept of Supercritical power plants.

"Steam is no stronger now than it was a hundred years ago, but it is put to better use. - Ralph Waldo Emerson To increase the efficiency of steam power plants the basic method is to improve the thermal efficiency by increasing the operating pressure. To understand what a Supercritical power plant is you have to understand the basics of steam generation.

What happens when you heat water at normal atmospheric pressure?

There are three stages.

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*s you !o on heatin! the water+ the temperature o water increases ti"" it reaches 100 de! %, This is the Sensib"e -eat addition, .urther heatin! does not increase the temperature/ instead sma"" bubb"es o steam start to orm, The temperature remains constant at 100 de! % ti"" a"" the water becomes steam, The water absorbs the heat without temperature chan!e or con0ersion to steam, *t atmospheric pressure the Latent -eat o 0apourisation is 2251 23/2!, .urther heatin! ca""ed superheatin! wi"" increase the temperature o the steam, -ow hi!h one can !o depends on the withstandin! capacity o the 0esse",

What happens when the water is at a higher pressure, say, at 100 bar? Then the boiling takes place at 311 deg C and the latent heat of vaporisation is 1318 kJ/kg.

If the water pressure is 200 bar then the boiling takes place at 366 deg C and the latent heat of vaporisation is 584 kJ/kg. As the pressure increases the boiling temperature increases and the latent heat of vaporisation decreases. A further increase in pressure and temperature leads us to a point at which the latent heat of vaporisation is zero, or there is no boiling. Water directly becomes steam. This is the Critical Pressure and the Critical Temperature. For steam this occurs at 374 deg C and 220.6 bar.

Conventional steam power plants operate at a steam pressures in the range of 170 bar. These are Subcritical power plants. The new generation of power plants operate at pressures higher than

the critical pressure. These are Supercritical power plants. The operating pressures are in the range of 230 to 265 bar. The efficiency of the Rankine cycle depends on the pressure at which it operates. Higher pressure and temperature increase the efficiency of the thermal cycle and power plant. This is the reason for operating at higher steam pressures.

Ultra Supercritical Power Plants

In the quest for higher efficiency the trend is to go for still higher operating pressures. The next generation of power plants will operate with steam Pressures in the range of 300 bar. These are the Ultra Super Critical Power plants. Ultra Supercritical Units operate at temperatures of 615 to 630 deg C.

How Coal Power Plants Work

written by: -ar"an 4en!tson edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 1/11/2010

The question, 'How does a coal power plant work?' can be answered at many levels. Fundamentally a coal fired power plant converts the chemical energy in coal to heat, converts the heat to mechanical energy, and uses the mechanical energy to rotate a generator and convert it to electrical energy.

Introduction - Coal Fired Plants Convert Heat to lectrical ner!y

"How does a coal power plant work?' you may ask. Well, a coal fired power plant converts heat to electrical energy in much the same way that it's done in a gas fired power plant, a nuclear power plant, or even a solar thermoelectric power plant. The only thing that differs among these different types of power plants is the way that the heat is generated. Coal power plants and gas or oil fired power plants burn a fuel to generate heat. A nuclear power plant carries out a controlled nuclear reaction that generates heat and a solar thermoelectric power plant uses solar radiation to heat a fluid. In all of these thermoelectric power plants, the heat is used to heat water and generate steam that is then passed through a steam turbine, making it rotate and drive an electrical generator. Thus a thermoelectric power plant converts the energy in coal, gas, oil, nuclear fuel, or the suns rays into electrical energy.

"he #an$ine Cycle - the Heart o% any "hermoelectric Power Plant

The Rankine cycle is the name for the sequence of processes briefly identified above that are used to convert heat to electricity in a continuous process. The heat can be generated by burning coal, as in a coal fired power plant, or by burning a different fuel, carrying out a nuclear reaction, or collecting solar energy. As shown in the schematic diagram at the left, the heat from the burning coal is used to generate high pressure steam in a boiler. The high pressure steam is sent through a steam turbine, thus making it rotate, and comes out of the turbine as low pressure steam. In order to keep all of this going as a continuous process, water must be continuously pumped into the boiler, since steam is continuously leaving the boiler to go into the turbine. Thus the low pressure steam must be condensed back into the liquid state, so it can be pumped into the boiler under pressure. The useful output of the Rankine cycle is the mechanical power of the rotating turbine. The turbine is used to drive a generator, which produces the electrical power output that comes from the coal fired power plant.

Coal as the Source o% Power %or Coal Fired Plants

The unique feature of coal power plants in comparison with other thermoelectric power plants is

the use of coal as fuel for the boiler that produces steam to drive the turbine. An advantage of coal as a fuel for electric power production is that it is the most abundant fossil fuel in the United States. About half of U.S. electric power is generated by coal fired plants. A disadvantage of coal is that it is a rather dirty fuel. That is, it produces significant amounts of air pollution if burned unchecked. A modern coal fired power plant uses a lot of air pollution control to keep the emissions under control. Also there is a need to mine the coal to get it out of the ground, transport it to where it is needed, and process it to make it usable as a power plant fuel. In a typical coal fired power plant, coal is pulverized to a powder before being burned in the boiler. More details about the pros and cons of coal as a power plant fuel are available in other articles.

%%iciency o% a Coal Fired Power Plant

Even without knowing anything about the second law of thermodynamics, one can see that some of the heat energy generated by burning coal in a coal fired power plant must be discarded to the environment as waste heat. As shown in the schematic diagram above, it's necessary to remove heat from the low pressure steam in order to condense it to a liquid that can be pumped as feed water into the boiler.

Higher temperature for the steam leaving the boiler and lower temperature for the condenser cooling medium, lead to a higher maximum possible efficiency for a thermoelectric power plant. Many physical limitations make actual power plant efficiencies much lower than the maximum possible. Most coal power plants (and other thermoelectric power plants) have an overall efficiency less than 35% for conversion of the energy in coal (or other fuel) into electrical energy. Much more information about coal fired power plant efficiency is available.

Summary

Some aspects of an answer to the question, 'How Does a Coal Power Plant Work?' are given here. The basic processes are conversion of the chemical energy in coal to heat, then to mechanical energy, and finally to electrical energy. Most of the steps in a coal fired power plant are common to all other thermoelectric power plants. The use of coal as a fuel in coal power plants presents some challenges, however, because of the need to mine, transport, and process coal to make it a suitable fuel for coal fired plants. Also coal burning is dirty by nature and produces a lot of air pollution when burned.

Causes of High Temperature Corrosion in Boilers

written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 6/25/2010 High temperature corrosion occur in boilers occurs mainly in two areas- waterwalls and superheaters. The inorganic impurities in fuel like vanadium, sodium, sulphur, etc., are responsible. Read on to learn more about how this happens.

Fuels used for steam generation contain a large variety of impurities in the form of inorganic material apart from the organic material that provides the heat energy. During combustion these impurities undergo changes in their chemical form by combining with other constituents in the combustion regime. The effect of such combined materials being formed will be different at different sections of boiler starting from the furnace to the air pre-heaters. The various effects can be listed in general as a few given below o Furnace wall corrosion o Furnace wall deposition o Furnace slagging o High temperature deposition in superheaters o High temperature corrosion in superheaters o Fouling in the low temperature superheater and economizer area o Air pre-heater plugging o Low temperature corrosion o Metal wastage due to erosion High temperature corrosion in a boiler firing coal is mainly caused due to the presence of impurities like sulphur, alkali metals and chlorine. In fuel oil fired boilers, the main impurities are vanadium, sulphur, sodium, and chlorine. During combustion, these elements combine to form various types of vapors and condensed phases. The chemistry of these reactions taking place during combustion is complex and is widely varying. However, all the reactions undergo certain changes that are simple to understand. The sulphur in the fuel combines with oxygen to form sulphur dioxide and trioxide, depending upon the availability and temperature. Vanadium combines with oxygen and vanadium oxides. These oxides act as catalysts to help the sulphur dioxide conversion to sulphur trioxide. The sulphur trioxide acts as catalyst for the conversion of vanadium oxides to vanadium pentoxide. The vanadium pentoxides combine with sodium in the fuel to form sodium meta venadate, which is a low melting point inorganic. Vanadium sulphates are also formed during combustion depending on the environment and the amount available in that environment. These alkali vanadates and vanadium sulphates will condense along the flue gas path in superheaters and reheaters where metal temperatures are in a range for condensation of these types. These vanadium deposits are very hard and difficult to remove by soot blowing. Depending on the level of metal temperatures of the tubes the vanadates remain as hard deposits that are difficult to remove by even mechanical means- or corrode the tube. Different corrosion mechanisms are believed to operate on tube surfaces, as dictated by the local chemistry of combustion gases and deposits, the tube material compositions, the flue gas temperature, and the

tube metal temperatures. The melting points of these deposits have been measured to be approximately 550C to 620C. So, it is expected that regions of tubing, both ferritic and austenitic, operating above 540C are prone to this type of attack. Corrective actions will depend on the severity of the high temperature ash corrosion problem. Measuring the melting temperatures of the fireside scale/ash constituents would provide a measure of ash corrosivity. Long-term solutions to fireside corrosion problems are mainly:
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Fuel blending Use of additives Lowering the tube crown temperatures by Burner tuning Steam flow redistribution Replacing tubes using more corrosion resistant materials Thicker tube walls Maintaining sufficient and proper air distribution in secondary, and tertiary Avoid excessive oxygen in furnace

While firing fuel oil, lowering flue gas oxygen contents to around 0.25% will result in a drop in liquid ash corrosion rates, especially when the fuel contains high vanadium and sodium levels. The main reason is for fuel oils with high vanadium to sodium ratios, low excess air operation produce lower oxides of vanadium than V2O5 in the ash deposits. Hence the formation of low melting point compounds of V2O5 and sodium oxide is reduced to a much lower level. Magnesium or calcium oxide based additives are used to control the corrosiveness of oil fuels. An EPRI study has concluded that the use of additives as a corrective action has had a successful effect and has proven to be economically feasible. The addition of MgO results in the formation of Magnesium Vanadate complex (3MgO V2O5), which has a higher melting temperature. It has been seen that designing and operating the units at lower excess air levels can also reduce the corrosion.

Coal Fired Thermal Power Plant: The Basic Steps and Facts
written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 9/5/2011

This article explains the basics of the working of a coal fired thermal power plant.

More than half of the electricity generated in the world is by using coal as the primary fuel. The function of the coal fired thermal power plant is to convert the energy available in the coal to Electricity. Coal power plants work by using several steps to convert stored energy in coal to usable electricity that we find in our home that powers our lights, computers, and sometimes, back into heat for our homes. image provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority

How Coal Power Plants Produce lectricity

The conversion from coal to electricity takes place in three stages. Stage 1 The first conversion of energy takes place in the boiler. Coal is burnt in the boiler furnace to produce heat. Carbon in the coal and Oxygen in the air combine to produce Carbon Dioxide and heat. Stage 2 The second stage is the thermodynamic process.
1, The heat rom combustion o the coa" boi"s water in the boi"er to produce steam, 6n modern power p"ant+ boi"ers produce steam at a hi!h pressure and temperature, 2, The steam is then piped to a turbine, ), The hi!h pressure steam impin!es and e7pands across a number o sets o b"ades in the turbine,

8, The impu"se and the thrust created rotates the turbine, 5, The steam is then condensed and pumped bac2 into the boi"er to repeat the cyc"e,

Stage 3 In the third stage, rotation of the turbine rotates the generator rotor to produce electricity based of Faradays Principle of electromagnetic induction. Check out this series describing the layout of thermal power plants.

&ey Facts '(out Coal-Fired lectricity Production

In practice to effect these three stages of conversion, many systems and sub systems have to be in service. Also involved are different technologies, like combustion, aerodynamics, heat transfer, thermodynamics, pollution control, and logistics. As an example consider these facts for typical coal fired power plant of capacity 500 MW.
o o o o

*round 2 mi""ion tons o coa" wi"" be re9uired each year to produce the continuous power, %oa" combustion in the boi"er re9uires air, *round 1,1 mi""ion cubic meter o air in an hour is de"i0ered by air ans into the urnace,

The ash produced rom this combustion is around 200+000 tons per year, :"ectrostatic precipitators capture a"most a"" o this ash without dispersin! this to the atmosphere, ;o""utants rom coa" power p"ants "i2e carbon dio7ide+ su"phur dio7ide+ and nitro!en o7ide can a"so a ect the en0ironment, Therma" power p"ants are the bi!!est producers o %arbon Dio7ide, o The boi"er or typica" 500 #< units produces around 1100 tons per hour o steam at a temperature o 580 to 100 de!rees %enti!rade, The steam pressures is in the ran!e o 200 bar, The boi"er materia"s are desi!ned to withstand these conditions with specia" consideration or operationa" sa ety, o -eat trans er rom the hot combustion !ases to the water in the boi"er ta2es p"ace due to =adiation and con0ection, o The :"ectrica" !enerators carry 0ery "ar!e e"ectric currents that produce heat and are be coo"ed by -ydro!en and water, o The steam "ea0in! the turbine is condensed and the water is pumped bac2 or reuse in the boi"er, To condense a"" the steam it wi"" re9uire around 50+000 cubic meter per hour o coo"in! water to be circu"ated rom "a2es+ ri0ers or the sea, The water is returned to the source with on"y an increase o ) to 8 de!rees centi!rade to pre0ent any e ect to the en0ironment, o *part rom the coo"in! water the power p"ant a"so re9uires around 800 cubic meter per day o resh water or ma2in! up the "osses in the water steam cyc"e, )etails o% *eneratin! lectricity %rom Coal

These are some of the facts to highlight the complexities of the working of a Coal Fired Power Plant generating Electricity

For more details, discover how coal is blended to the right mix to maximize energy production or learn about the specific caloric energies of coal and how moisture in the coal can affect a power plant's efficiency. Also learn how the coal is prepared to be fired in the boiler. You may also learn about the parts of a thermal power plant and site selection

Differences in a Nuclear and Coal Fired Power Plant Steam Cycle

written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 8/8/2010

Both plants use the Rankine steam cycle for the power circuit with certain differences. What are these differences in the secondary steam cycle of a Nuclear plant? Read on..

The nuclear power plant and the fossil thermal power plant both use steam to convert the heat or thermal energy to mechanical rotation to rotate the generator to produce electricity. Only the heat source is different. In a nuclear plant, the heat source is from the nuclear reaction whereas in a thermal power plant it is from the combustion of coal. The difference is in the inlet steam parameters to the turbine in a nuclear plant. Thermal power plants use steam at superheated conditions. In nuclear plants, the steam is at saturated conditions and at a lower pressure. This is due to the inherent design limitations in the nuclear reactors.

In fossil power plants the inlet steam parameters are typically temperatures of 540 C to 580 C and pressures of 170 bar or even higher. In addition, there is additional heating in the form of reheating. In a nuclear plant, the ratings are typically saturated steam at 78 bar, which is steam temperature of 298 C. The nuclear plant uses a 'wet steam turbine'.
Increased Steam Flow+

The reduced inlet steam parameters in the nuclear plant results in lower thermal efficiencies. Nuclear plants operate at lower thermal efficiencies , lower by more than 10 %. The energy of steam per unit mass entering the turbine is also less. This results in a very high steam flow for the same MW output, almost double that of fossil power plants. The configurations of the turbines change due to this. The economics of scale requires the nuclear plants to be in the range of 600 MW to 1000 MW resulting in very big Turbines. Fossil plants turbines normally have one High Pressure one Intermediate Pressure and a double flow Low Pressure (LP) cylinder.

The LP turbine exhausts to very low pressure. The volume of steam leaving the LP turbine is very high. The higher flows require very long last stage blades to keep the exit velocities and exit loss very low. This results in very high stresses in the blades. The sizing of the LP turbine is limited due to the size of the Last Stage Blades. Therefore, each LP turbine has a flow limitation.

One way to overcome this limitation is to increase the number of LP turbines. Large Nuclear plants have apart from an HP /IP stage two or three double flow LP turbines connected in tandem. Another way is to reduce the speed. Since the stress on the Last Stage Blades is speed dependent reducing the turbine speed by half reduces the stress resulting in bigger sized LP turbines. In such cases the turbine runs at 1500 or 1800 rpm. This requires specially designed four pole generator rotors. This results in a lower number of LP turbines. This is more helpful in 60 Hz countries.

Wet Steam

Nuclear steam turbines are 'wet steam turbines'. Since the steam is at saturated conditions, after each stage expansion the steam gets wetter. The water particles result in lower efficiency of the turbine. This results in erosion damage to the blades. In addition, this results in vibrations and stress in the last stage. To overcome this nuclear steam turbines use special design of blades and flow paths. Moisture separators located in the steam path at exit of HP / IP and in the cross under pipes reduce the undesirable effects of the moisture in the steam. Moisture Separator Reheaters also are used. These use extracted steam to aid in moisture removal.

,o #eheatin!

Nuclear steam cycles do not have Reheating as in fossil units. This also reduces the cycle efficiency.

Even with the much lower thermal efficiency, Nuclear power is feasible due to low unit cost of fuel

How are Supercritical Boilers different from Subcritical Boilers?

written by: johnzactruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 3/5/2010 Modern thermal power plants operate at very high pressures greater than the Critical pressure of steam. This article explains how Super Critical power plants are different from the normal power plants.

Supercritical power plants were in service from the late fifties. But the technology did not really take off due to problems of reliability especially from the metallurgical aspect. The single most important factor that determines the use of higher and higher pressure and temperatures are the availability of materials to withstand these conditions. Increases in operating pressure and temperatures have to go hand in hand with developments in metallurgy. With more than 600 units in service the reliability issue seems to be resolved. Supercritical units are the standard for future power plants in many countries including China. What are the key differences between the subcritical units and the Supercritical units?

Efficiency
The main advantage and the reason for a higher pressure operation is the increase in the thermodynamic efficiency of the Rankine cycle. Large Subcritical thermal power plants with 170 bar and 540 / 540 C (SH / RH) operate at an efficiency of 38 %. Supercritical units operating at 250 bar and 600/615 C can have efficiencies in the range of 42 %.

Ultra supercritical units at 300 bar and 615 / 630 C will still increase the efficiency up to 44 %. Increase in efficiency directly lead to reductions in unit cost of power and CO2 emissions.

Operational Flexibility
Most of the Supercritical units use the once through technology. This is ideal for sliding pressure operation which has much more flexibility in load changes and controlling the power grid. However this also requires more sensitive and quick responding control systems.

Evaporation End Point

In subcritical units the drum acts as a fixed evaporation end point. The furnace water walls act as the evaporator. Not so in the case of a supercritical unit. The evaporation end point can occur in various levels of the furnace depending on the boiler load. The percentage of Superheat in supercritical units is higher than subcritical units. Because of this the furnace tubes act more as superheaters than waterwalls. This necessitates the use of higher grade of materials like alloy steels in the furnace.

Heat transfer Area

Higher steam temperatures in supercritical units results in a lesser differential temperature for heat transfer. Because of this heat transfer areas required are higher than subcritical units. Higher Superheat steam temperatures entering the HP turbine also mean higher reheater inlet temperatures which again results in a higher heat transfer areas.

Water chemistry
In supercritical units the water entering the boiler has to be of extremely high levels of purity. Supercritical boilers do not have a steam drum that separates the steam and the water. If the entering water quality is not good, carry over of impurities can result in turbine blade deposits.

Materials
Supercritical power plants use special high grade materials for the boiler tubes. The turbine blades are also of improved design and materials. In fact, the very increase in higher pressure and temperature designs are dependendent on the development of newer and newer alloys and tube materials.

The aim of the industry is to achieve power plant efficiencies in the range of 50 %.

Cooling Tower Design in Thermal Power Plants

written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 12/22/2009

Thermal power plants use cooling towers to cool the circulating water used for condenser cooling. Since water resources are limited, power plants have no other option but to adopt the closed cooling system with cooling towers. Read about the different types of cooling towers and their performance.

After air, water is the most important requirement for life on this planet. With fresh water resources depleting and increased population pressure, water sources have become very precious. The primary priority for fresh water is for human consumption and agriculture. Power plant requirements are only secondary. This necessitates the need for thermal power plants that require less water. Cooling Towers help by reusing the cooling water, making power plants economical and more environmentally friendly. Environmental regulations in most countries require that fresh water sources like lakes or rivers cannot be used anymore for an open cycle system. This makes using cooling towers the only option. Open cycle systems can only use seawater.

Cooling towers can be of two types.

o

.irst is the natura" dra t$coo"in! tower with a "ar!e hyperbo"ic tower+ which pu""s in air due to the stac2 e ect, :0en thou!h the capita" costs are hi!h+ operatin! costs are "ess,This is because there is no an to create the air "ow, -owe0er+ most common"y used is the #echanica" or orced coo"in! tower, * an orces or suc2s air throu!h the coo"in! tower where the water a""s throu!h a pac2ed heat trans er media, >peratin! costs are hi!h or operatin! this+ but they are simp"e and 9uic2 or construction, The ans can be induced an or orced drau!ht an, The air "ow can be para""e" or cross "ow to the water "ow,

Cooling towers work on the principle of psychometric properties of air. A part of the cooling water evaporates taking in Latent Heat from the water reducing its temeprature. A properly sized Cooling tower can cool the incoming water to temperatures up to 3 C more than the ambient wet bulb temperature. The relative humidity of the ambient air is an important deciding factor. This makes it very important that the location and direction of the towers is such as to prevent reentrainment of the plume exiting the tower and interference from the adjacent towers. Wet air if it reenters the tower reduces the cooling capacity of the towers.

Losses in coolin! "owers+

The loss of water in a cooling tower is due to three different reasons and has to be made up during the operation. The makeup percentage in modern towers is around 1 %.

:0aporation "oss, * part o the water e0aporates+ this is what creates the coo"in! e ect, This depends on the ambient temperature and =e"ati0e humidity or the ambient wet bu"b temperature, Dri t "oss, The water partic"es carried away throu!h the "owin! air, Dri t e"iminators and detai" desi!n ha0e reduced this "ar!e"y, 6n modern towers+ this cou"d be in the ran!e o 0,02 ? o the water "ow, 4"owdown "osses, The e0aporated water "ea0es behind the sa"ts+ which o0er time accumu"ates increasin! the TDS "e0e"s, This re9uires to be b"owdown occasiona""y, This constitutes a "oss which has to be made up,

Biocides and chemical controls are required to eliminate bacterial growth and eliminate scales that are harmful and at the same time a performance reduction factor.

What is Circulating Water in a Thermal Power Plant?

written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 12/22/2009

A Thermal Power Plant requires enormous quantity of water for cooling the steam in the condenser. Availability of this large amount of condenser cooling water known as Circulating Water is a key factor in deciding the investment and location of a Thermal Power Plant.

Thermal power plants utilize water as the medium of converting heat energy from coal or other fuels to mechanical rotational energy in the turbine to produce electricity. Water on heating in a boiler forms steam at high pressure and temperature. The steam then expands in a turbine to rotate it. After the steam leaves the turbine, it is then condensed and reused again. The condensation takes place in the condenser. The process removes the Latent heat and changes water in the vapour form to liquid form. This requires a medium to cool the steam. Water is the cooling medium in the condenser. This cooling water is termed Circulating Water or Condenser cooling water. As the steam condenses to water, the volume reduces drastically, to one by ten thousandth of the steam volume. This creates a vacuum in the condenser. The water then collects in the bottom part of the condenser called the hot well. The vacuum enables the steam to expand more to get higher work output from the turbine. The continuous condensing and removal of the water helps maintain the vacuum. Power plants operate with condenser vacuum in the range of 0.1 to 0.15 bar absolute. This is the maximum vacuum practically possible. The heat rejected in the condenser is almost 25 % of the heat input to a power plant. This constitutes the biggest loss in a thermal power plant.

This makes the Vacuum in the condenser one of the most critical operating parameters that affects the efficiency of a thermal power plant. All power plants critically monitor the condenser vacuum continuously. The quantity and temperature of the Circulating Water is the main factor that affects the condenser vacuum and consequently the power output.

How much Circulatin! Water?

The quantity of Circulating Water required is very high. Based on a simple heat balance, the requirement will be almost 65 to 70 times the steam flow entering the Turbine. A 600 MW thermal power plant uses around 1800 tons per hour of steam from the boiler. This means the circulating water requirement in tropical areas will be almost 120,000 cubic metre per hour. With a 15 Meter head, this requires a pumping power of around 4 MW. This huge quantity of water, the second biggest input in a power plant after fuel, decides the location of a thermal power plant, including nuclear power plants.

Circulating Water Systems in Thermal Power Plants.

written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 12/22/2009

Circulating Water is one of the important systems that affects the availability and operational efficiency of a thermal power plant. It also decides the siting of a power plant. The different CW systems used in thermal power plants and their pros and cons are discussed here.

All thermal power plants, be they coal fired or nuclear, use the modified Rankine steam cycle. The steam exiting from the steam turbine condenses in a condenser and then is reused in the steam cycle. Almost all thermal power plants use a surface condenser for cooling the steam. The only exception is in a geothermal plant where a direct contact condenser is used. In a surface condenser, the steam flows over a tube bundle. The condenser cooling water flows through the inside of these tubes. In a large power plant, the condenser will have about 15,000 tubes.The heat transfer takes place through the surface of these tubes. In a direct contact condenser, cooling water mixes with the steam. The evaporation of the water cools and condenses the steam.

The circulating water system consists of an intake canal, the pumps, piping, cooling towers and an outfall system. There are two different systems based on how the water is sourced and recycled.

-pen Coolin! system+

In an open circulating water system, water from a large water body like the sea, or a river or a lake is pumped to the condenser and is returned back to the same source. Since the sea is a free and large open source of water, we see many power plants located on the seacoast. The advantages of an open system are:
o o

Lar!e 9uantity water is ree"y a0ai"ab"e, The water temperature is a"most constant, *mbient temperatures do not a ect the coo"in! capacity,

The disadvantages are :

That p"ants can be "ocated on"y near the sea, >r!anic and a9uatic !rowth can p"u! the condenser tubes reducin! the e iciency, This re9uires the use o chemica"s "i2e Sodium -ypoch"orite to 2i"" the or!anisms, This a"so re9uires methods to c"ean the tubes mechanica""y, o The "ar!e 9uantity o water used can destroy a9uatic "i e suc2ed into the system, -i!her temperature water dischar!e a"so destroys many sma""er species and ish e!!s, Since the natura" ecosystem is interdependent+ destruction o one species can "ead to e0entua" destruction o the entire ecosystem, o Seawater is corrosi0e, This re9uires specia" materia"s "i2e Titanium tubes in the condenser+ rubber "inin! or the pipin!+ and corrosion resistant impe""ers or the pumps, o 6t re9uires a proper"y desi!ned inta2e and an out a"" to e"iminate en0ironmenta" impact, Closed Coolin! System+
o o

The second is the closed cooling system where Circulating water is in a closed circuit. The Circulating water removes the heat from the condenser and flows to cooling towers. In the cooling towers an airflow, natural or forced, cools the water and the water returns to the condenser. Power plants located away from large sources of water utilise this type. The large concrete hyperbolic towers that you see near thermal power plants are used for cooling the circulating water. The advantages are :
o

The raw water re9uirement is considerab"y "ess, 6t re9uires on"y about 5? o the water re9uirement o the open cyc"e system, This is to ma2e up or "osses due to e0aporation and b"owdown,

The disadvantages are :

o o

The system re9uires hi!her capita" in0estment+ increased operatin! costs or the coo"in! towers+ and more maintenance re9uirements and spares, Since air is the secondary coo"in! medium+ ambient wet bu"b temperature is a "imitin! actor in achie0in! the coo"in! water temperature, This wi"" a ect the per ormance o the power p"ants

Different Types of Steam Turbines

written by: <i""ie Scott edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 12/1/2009

Impulse and reaction turbines, being dependent on the shape of the rotor blades and the method of steam entry and exit, are the two main types. Impulse turbines are usually of the intermediate and high pressure types and reaction turbines low pressure, but some are a combination of both.

"he "wo "ypes o% Steam "ur(ines

The modern steam turbine can be divided into two types, impulse and reaction turbines.
o

6mpu"se Turbines

In this type of turbine the superheated steam is projected at high velocity from fixed nozzles in the casing. When the steam strikes the blades (sometimes called buckets), it causes the turbine shaft to rotate. The high pressure and intermediate pressure stages of a steam turbine are usually impulse turbines.
o

=eaction turbines

In this type of steam turbine the steam passes from fixed blades of the stator through the shaped rotor blades nozzles causing a reaction and rotating the turbine shaft. The low pressure stage of a steam turbine is usually a reaction type turbine. This steam having already expanded through the high and intermediate stages of the turbine is now of low pressure and temperature, ideally suited to a reaction turbine. Although there only two types of steam turbine there are numerous mechanical arrangements of these, which include reheat steam turbines, cross compound steam turbines, single casing turbines, tandem steam turbines, condensing and exhaust steam turbines and, axial and radial flow steam turbines.
Steam Turbine

.echanical 'rran!ements o% Steam "ur(ines 6n this artic"e we sha"" e7amine the o""owin! mechanica" arran!ements o steam turbines+ @ Sin!"e casin! steam turbine @ Tandem reheat steam turbine @ %ompound steam turbine

Sin!le Casin! Steam "ur(ine This is one o the simp"est steam turbines and as the name imp"ies has a"" its sta!es o steam turbines under the one casin!, They are a"so a"" connected to a common dri0e sha t, The superheated steam is supp"ied to the hi!h pressure turbine+ enterin! it at the sma""est diameter end and e7pandin! throu!h

the turbine as the rotor b"ades !et bi!!er unti" ina""y e7itin! and passin! onto the intermediate sta!e, -ere it a"so e7pands throu!h the b"ades which are becomin! "ar!er towards the e7it, These two sta!es are usua""y impu"se turbines, .rom here the steam which is a"most u""y e7panded enters the dua" "ow pressure sta!e where it e7pands throu!h the e0er increasin! in si'e rotor b"ades unti" at a"most the "ast sta!e it is drawn into the condenser, This "ast sta!e is norma""y a reaction turbine,

"andem #eheat Steam "ur(ine This assemb"y consists o our sta!es a"" in "ine on the same sha t but can ha0e se0era" casin!s, The superheated steam enters the -i!h ;ressure sta!e A-;B where it e7pands throu!h the sma"" diameter rotor b"ades be ore e7itin! and bein! returned to the boi"er, 6n the boi"er the steam is superheated a!ain and is directed to the 6ntermediate ;ressure sta!e A6;B, -ere it e7pands throu!h "ar!er diameter rotor b"ades e7itin! to the Low ;ressure turbines 6n the ina" sta!e there are two identica" sets o Low ;ressure turbines ADua" L;B, The e7itin! steam rom the 6; turbine is di0ided e9ua""y between the two turbines passin! throu!h 9uite "ar!e diameter rotors and b"ades, The steam e7pands throu!h both o the L; turbines by bein! drawn into the 0acuum condenser,

Cross Compound Steam "ur(ine

An arrangement of these were popular marine turbines used for propelling ships, until being replaced by the more economical large two-stroke diesel engines. The marine turbines used a double reduction gearbox to reduce the normal high revolutions from the turbines to a propeller shaft rotation of around 100 revs. However, cross compound steam turbines used in power stations do not require a gearbox, having two separate direct drive-shafts to the two generators. In a cross compound steam turbine the superheated steam enters the High Pressure stage, expanding through the rotor blades before exiting to the Intermediate Pressure stage, both turbine rotors being on the same drive shaft. This HP/IP turbine rotates at 3600rpm driving a 2 pole generator. The exiting steam now crosses over from the IP stage into the Low Pressure turbine, where it expands through the rotor blades, driving its own shaft and giving up the last of its energy before being drawn into the vacuum condenser. This LP turbine rotates at 1800 rpm driving a 4-pole generator.

S$etches Showin! )i%%erent .echanical 'rran!ements o% Steam "ur(ines

How does a Gas Turbine Power Plant Work? The Auxiliary Systems.
written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 11/15/2009

Gas Turbines are one of the most efficient equipment for converting fuel energy to mechanical energy. How does a Gas Turbine work? What are the auxiliary systems for the Gas Turbine? This article explains in simple terms the working of the Auxiliary Systems in the Gas Turbine Power Plant.

The three main sections of a Gas Turbine are the Compressor, Combustor and Turbine. The gas turbine power plant has to work continuously for long period of time without output and performance decline. Apart from the main sections there are other important Auxiliaries systems which are required for operating a Gas Turbine Power Plant on a long term basis.
'ir Inta$e System

Air Intake System provides clean air into the compressor. During continuous operation the impurities and dust in the air deposits on the compressor blades. This reduces the efficiency and output of the plant . The Air Filter in the Air Intake system prevents this. A blade cleaning system comprising of a high pressure pump provides on line cleaning facility for the compressor blades. The flow of the large amount of air into the compressor creates high noise levels. A Silencer in the intake duct reduces the noise to acceptable levels.

/haust System

Exhaust system discharges the hot gases to a level which is safe for the people and the environment. The exhaust gas that leaves the turbine is around 550 C. This includes an outlet stack high enough for the safe discharge of the gases. In Combined Cycle power plants the exhaust system has a diverter damper to change the flow of gases to the Heat Recovery Boilers instead of the outlet stack.

Startin! System

Starting system provides the initial momentum for the Gas Turbine to reach the operating speed. This is similar to the starter motor of your car. The gas turbine in a power plant runs at 3000 RPM (for the 50 Hz grid - 3600 RPM for the 60 Hz grid). During starting the speed has to reach at least 60 % for the turbine to work on its on inertia. The simple method is to have a starter motor with a torque converter to bring the heavy mass of the turbine to the required speed. For large turbines this means a big capacity motor. The latest trend is to use the generator itself as the starter motor with suitable electrics. In situations where there is no other start up power

available, like a ship or an off-shore platform or a remote location, a small diesel or gas engine is used.

Fuel System

The Fuel system prepares a clean fuel for burning in the combustor. Gas Turbines normally burn Natural gas but can also fire diesel or distillate fuels. Many Gas Turbines have dual firing capabilities. A burner system and ignition system with the necessary safety interlocks are the most important items. A control valve regulates the amount of fuel burned . A filter prevents entry of any particles that may clog the burners. Natural gas directly from the wells is scrubbed and cleaned prior to admission into the turbine. External heaters heat the gas for better combustion. For liquid fuels high pressure pumps pump fuel to the pressure required for fine atomisation of the fuel for burning.

These are the main Aiuxiliary systems in a Gas Turbine Power Plant. Many other systems and subsystems also form part of the complex system required for the operation of the Gas Turbine Power Plant

How does a Gas Turbine Power Plant Work? The Main Equipment.
written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 11/11/2009

Gas Turbines are one of the most efficient equipment for converting fuel energy to mechanical energy. How does a Gas Turbine work? What are auxiliary systems ? This article explains in simple terms the working of the main parts of the Gas Turbine.

Gas turbine functions in the same way as the Internal Combustion engine. It sucks in air from the atmosphere, compresses it. The fuel is injected and ignited. The gases expand doing work and finally exhausts outside. The only difference is instead of the reciprocating motion, gas turbine uses a rotary motion throughout. This article details the three main sections of the Gas Turbine.

0+ Compressor+

The compressor sucks in air form the atmosphere and compresses it to pressures in the range of 15 to 20 bar. The compressor consists of a number of rows of blades mounted on a shaft. This is something like a series of fans placed one after the other. The pressurized air from the first row is further pressurised in the second row and so on. Stationary vanes between each of the blade rows guide the air flow from one section to the next section. The shaft is connected and rotates along with the main gas turbine.

1+ Com(ustor+

This is an annular chamber where the fuel burns and is similar to the furnace in a boiler. The air from the compressor is the Combustion air. Burners arranged circumferentially on the annular chamber control the fuel entry to the chamber. The hot gases in the range of 1400 to 1500 C leave the chamber with high energy levels. The chamber and the subsequent sections are made of special alloys and designs that can withstand this high temperature.

2+ "ur(ine

The turbine does the main work of energy conversion. The turbine portion also consists of rows of blades fixed to the shaft. Stationary guide vanes direct the gases to the next set of blades. The kinetic energy of the hot gases impacting on the blades rotates the blades and the shaft. The blades and vanes are made of special alloys and designs that can withstand the very high temperature gas. The exhaust gases then exit to exhaust system through the diffuser. The gas temperature leaving the Turbine is in the range of 500 to 550 C.

The gas turbine shaft connects to the generator to produce electric power. This is similar to generators used in conventional thermal power plants.

Per%ormance

More than Fifty percent of the energy converted is used by the compressor. Only around 35 % of the energy input is available for electric power generation in the generator. The rest of the energy is lost as heat of the exhaust gases to the atmosphere. Three parameters that affect the performance of a of gas turbine are
o o o

The pressure o the air "ea0in! the compressor, The hot !as temperature "ea0in! the %ombustion chamber, The !as temperature o the e7haust !ases "ea0in! the turbine,

The above is a simple description of the Gas Turbine. Actually it is a very sophisticated and complex equipment which over the years have become one of the most reliable mechanical equipment. Used in Combined Cycle mode gives us the most efficient power plant.
Gas Turbine Power Plants. Cas Turbines ha0e in the recent times become one o the most e icient and re"iab"e ener!y con0ersion de0ices, Dsed in %ombined %yc"e ;ower p"ants they !i0e the hi!hest e iciency or con0ertin! .ossi" ener!y to e"ectric power, Dsed in Simp"e cyc"e mode they ha0e the shortest !estation time and the

Soot Blowers in Thermal Power Plants

written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 11/1(/2009

Soot blowers keep the heat transfer surfaces in a boiler clean. A brief description of the working of soot blowers is given in this article.

Chimney Sweeps have been legendary characters in English literature from Hans Christian Anderson to Charles Dickens. In the earlier days when houses had fireplaces, the Chimney Sweep did the function of cleaning the soot from the chimney. In the modern day boiler, the soot blower does the same function. In oil fired boilers, over a period of time the heat transfer tubes get covered by a layer of soot or fine carbon deposit. This reduces the heat transfer from the hot gases to the water and reduces the efficiency of the boiler. In coal fired boilers, the furnace area gets covered by slag which is molten ash. The ash also sticks to the heat transfer surface in the other heat transfer areas. These ash accumulations reduce heat transfer and increase the tube metal temperatures leading to failure of the tubes. .

Tube cleaning is done periodically to remove the ash or soot deposits. Steam is the medium used for cleaning. The steam is taken from the boiler itself. The soot blower consists of a lance tube with a nozzle at the end. When it is operated, the lance is extended into the boiler and steam is admitted through the lance. The steam comes out as a high velocity jet through the nozzles, which cleans the ash deposited on the surface. When the lance moves into the boiler it is also rotating so that it cleans the sweeping area covered by the circular travel of the nozzle. The lance is then retracted back.

There are two types of soot blowers.

o o

>ne with a 0ery "on! "ance ca""ed the E"on! retractab"e soot b"owers,F This is norma""y used to c"ean the ash deposit rom between the coi"s o superheaters and economisers, The other type is the shorter "ance type ca""ed the Ewa"" b"owers,F These are used to c"ean the urnace wa""s, The "ance e7tends a short distance around 200 mm rom the urnace wa"", The no''"e direction is such that the steam impin!es on the wa""s c"eanin! the sur ace, Durin! operation+ the "ance rotates c"eanin! the radia" area co0ered by the steam rom the no''"e,

The deposits on the walls are due to the chemical constituents of ash, and the amount of combustion air. If the ash contains more of Ferrous Sulphide, then the melting temperature of the ash is low which makes the ash melt and stick to the walls. A large coal fired Thermal power plant will have around two hundred soot blowers of both types arranged to cover all the area of the boiler. This will be programmed to automatically operate to a required sequence. Intelligent soot blower systems calculate the trends in the temperature increase in different sections of a boiler. The program then decides which soot blowers have to be operated and at what frequency. High-pressure water lances are also used in some units where the slagging is very heavy

The Chimney or Stack Effect Explained

written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 10/15/201)

The chimney effect is the natural phenomena that occurs when the density difference between a hot and a cold air column creates a natural flow through a chimney. Learn more about why this works.

You can see the tall flue gas stacks in all the power plants. The function of the stack is to disperse at a great height the hot gases, emissions and particulates that leave the boiler. At these heights the pollutants disperse in a very large area so that ground level concentrations are within permissible levels not harmful for humans or vegetation. Chimneys were in use from the times of the Roman Empire. Chimneys and fireplaces are a common household item in countries with a cold climate. It serves the dual function of removing the hot gases out of the house at the same time bringing in fresh air to the fireplace for combustion.

Flue gas stacks higher than 250 meters are common nowadays for larger power plants. The tallest stack currently is 420 meters in Kazakhstan. Many factors like terrain, dispersion pattern, plume heights, adjacent tall structures, and population density determine the height of the stack. There is a natural phenomena associated with the chimney or the flue gas stack. This is the natural flow of air up the chimney. This is called the chimney or the stack effect. This effect is found not only in chimneys but also in tall buildings.

What is the Chimney 3or Stoc$4 %%ect?

The gas temperature inside the flue gas stack is around 140 C. The outside ambient air temperature is around say 30 C. Consider this as two air columns connect at the bottom. The high density and heavier cold air will be always pushing the low density and lighter hot gases up. This causes the natural flow of gases up the flue gas stack. This pressure difference that pushes the hot gas up the flue gas stack or the chimney is the 'chimney or stack effect'. You can feel the effect if you stand near the doors or openings at the bottom of a stack or at open door of an elevator shaft. Depending on the height it can be gentle draught or heavy suction. This is the chimney or stack effect.

In numerical terms this can be represented as Chimney effect = 353 x Chimney Height x [1/ Stack gas temperature 1/ Ambient Temperature] Where Chimney effect is in mm of water column. Chimney height is in mteres. Temperatures are in Kelvin.

For a thermal power plant with a stack height of 250 meters the effect could be around 77 mm of water column. In thermal power plants the stack effect aids the Induced draft fans in removing the hot flue gases from the furnace and dispersing them at the top of the stack. In tall buildings this effect could create problems for the airconditioning system. In deserts where the outside temperatures are higher than the cool interior of the buildings the effect will be in the reverse.

How does a Power Plant Boiler work? - Water and Steam System.
written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 10/)1/2009

The boiler generates high pressure steam by transfering the heat of Combustion in various heat transfer sections. This part of the article series briefly describes the flow and arrangement of the heat transfer sections in a boiler. In line diagrams help make the concept clear.

"he Basics+

Volume of one unit mass of steam is thousand times that of water, When water is converted to steam in a closed vessel the pressure will increase. Boiler uses this principle to produce high pressure steam. Conversion of Water to Steam evolves in three stages.
-eatin! the water rom co"d condition to boi"in! point or saturation temperature G sensib"e heat addition, o <ater boi"s at saturation temperature to produce steam $ Latent heat,addition, o -eatin! steam rom saturation temperature to hi!her temperature ca""ed Superheatin! to increase the power p"ant output and e iciency, Sensi(le Heat 'ddition
o

Feed Water Pump. The first step is to get a constant supply of water at high pressure into the boiler. Since the boiler is always at a high pressure. Boiler feed water pump pumps the water at high pressure into the boiler from the feed water tank. The pump is akin to the heart in the human body. Pre-Heating 'Feed water heaters, using extracted steam from the turbine, adds a part of the sensible heat even before the water enters the boiler. Economiser. Most of the sensible heat is absorbed in the Economiser. These are a set of coils made from steel tubes located in the tail end of a boiler. The hot gases leaving the boiler furnace heat the water in the coils. The water temperature is slightly less than the saturation temperature. From the economiser the water is fed to the 'drum'.

Pre-Heatin! 5 conomiser

Latent Heat 'ddition

Drum. The drum itself a large cylindrical vessel that functions as the storage and feeding point for water and the collection point for water and steam mixture. This is the largest and most important pressure part in the boiler and weighs in the range 250 Tons for 600 MW power plant. Water Walls Boiling takes place in the Water Walls which are water filled tubes that form the walls of the furnace. Water Walls get the water from the downcomers which are large pipes connected to the drum. The downcomers and the water wall tubes form the two legs of a water column. As the water heats up in the furnace a part of the water in the water-wall tubes becomes steam. This water steam mixture has a lower density than the water in the downcomers. This density difference creates a circulation of water from the drum, through the downcomers, water walls and back to the drum. Steam collects at the upper half of the drum. The steam is then sent to the next sections. The temperature in the drum, downcomers and water wall is at the saturation temperature.

WaterWalls

SuperHeat 6 #eHeat

SuperHeater Steam from the drum passes to the SuperHeater coils placed in the Flue gas path.. The steam temperature increases from the saturation temperature till the maximum required for operation. The superheated steam then finally goes to the turbine.Final Superheater temperatures are in the Range of 540 to 570 C for large power plants and SuperHeated steam pressures are around 175 bar. Reheater Steam from the exhaust of the first stage turbine goes back to the boiler for reheating and is returned to the second stage. Reheater coils in the flue gas path does the reheating of the returned steam. The reheat steam is at a much lower pressure than the super heated steam but the final reheater temperature is the same as the superheated steam temperature. Reheating to high temperatures improves the output and efficiency of the Power Plant. Final Reheater temperatures are normally in the range of 560 to 600 C. Reheat steam pressures are normally around 45 bar.

SuperHeater 6 #eHeater

The above are the major water and steam circuit items in a boiler and are collectively called the pressure parts.
Working Of A Power Plant Boiler 4oi"er in a power p"ant has two unctions, The %ombustion system con0erts ener!y in coa" to -eat, <ater and steam system con0erts the heat to steam at hi!h pressures and temperatures, This series e7p"ains the wor2in! o the boi"er in modern power p"ant,

How does a Power Plant Boiler work? - Combustion System

written by: &ohn'actruba edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 10/)1/2009

Boilers burn coal to produce steam. Burning coal involves fuel preparation, providing the necessary combustion air and removal of the flue gases and ash. What are the main elements of the Combustion system in a large power plant boiler? Read this article to find the answers.

Coal System

Coal received from the mines is stored in the coal yard adjacent to the power plant. It is then conveyed on a daily basis to the boiler and stored in a Coal Silo. Coal feeders continuously feed the required amount of coal to the Coal Pulverisers. Coal Pulverisers grind the coal to a very fine powder to make it burn easily. Pulverisers have steel rollers or steel balls which crush the coal between them into a fine powder. This powder is easy to burn. Coal contains moisture. Hot air form the Primary Air Fans dry the coal in the pulverisers. This makes the burning easy and efficient. This air also carries the dry coal powder from the pulverisers to the burners in the boiler furnace.In the burners the coal powder is mixed with the required amount of Combustion air and burned in the furnace. .

Coal Flow In a Boiler

'ir system

Correct amount of air is the most essential ingredient for Combustion. More air or less air both makes the combustion process inefficient.

Forced Draft Fan supplies most of the Combustion air. This fan takes air from the atmosphere and blows it into the furnace through air ducts. The Air Heater heats the air before it enters the Furnace. Air Heater utilises the heat of the hot flue gases that leave the boiler to heat the combustion air. Hot air improves the efficiency of combustion. The Air Heater works on the regenerative principle. Steel plates alternatively placed in the hot flue gas path and then in the air path heats the cold air entering the Air Heater. Primary Air Fan supplies the air to the pulverisers for drying and transporting coal. This air called the Primary air also is heated in the Air Heater.

Flue !as system+

Coal burns in the furnace giving out heat and forming flue gases. Induced Draft Fan. The hot flue gases from the furnace is drawn out by the Induced draft fan. The gases passes through the various heating surfaces of the boiler, the Electrostatic Precipitator and discharges to the atmosphere at the top of the stack. Induced Draft Fan provides the energy for this flow of flue gases. The Induced Draft Fan is normally located adjacent to the Stack.

Electrostatic Precipitators capture the fly ash in the flue gases without letting them out into the atmosphere. High voltage electrodes placed in the gas path ionise the ash particles which collects on collecting electrodes and falls into ash hoppers. Stack or the Chimney disperses the hot gases and any other particles at a great height. The height enables a very large dispersion area and regulates emission concentrations at ground levels to the level acceptable to humans and vegetation. Stack heights for large power plants are around 250 to 280 meters. Balanced Draft. The Forced Draft fan and the Induced Draft fan operate in such a way that the air pressure in the furnace is at zero pressure ie: at atmospheric pressure. This is called the Balanced Draft system.

'ir and Flue *as System In a Boiler

'sh System+

Ash is the inert matter in coal and is the residue after combustion. This has to be collected and disposed off without letting it out into the atmosphere. A part of the ash, around 15 % collects as Bottom ash at the bottom of the furnace. The other part collects as Fly ash in the Electrostatic Precipitators. The collected ash is then transported to disposal yards or storage silos.

The above are the brief of the main equipment required for the proper combustion of coal in a large power plant boiler.

Know about Boiler Feed Pumps

written by: en!ineerbi' edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 12/21/2005

Boiler Feed Pump as the name suggests, finds application in boiler or reactor vessels to feed water and also control the amount of water fed to the boiler. It has got significant role in the operation of boilers.

Selection o% Boiler Feed Pumps

Boiler Feed Pump is selected depending on the capacity of the boiler. The operation of the pump may be continuous or intermittent and depends on the liquid level control of the boiler. A float type switch is provided in boilers with capacity 10,000 lbs/hr or lesser which ensure the programmed level of water in the boiler and this is a classic intermittent operation. The boilers having capacity higher than 10,000 lbs/hr will have modulating feed water regulator to feed the water continuously at diverse flow rates to satisfy the need of maintaining designed water level in the boiler and this is a continuous operation. Now when we discuss about the capacity of the boiler feed pump which is nothing but the quantity of water to be pumped, it is designed taking into account the evaporation rate of the boiler. The on-off operation would be 2 times of the evaporation rate of the boiler considering the safe factor whereas with modulating level control, a factor of 1.3 times of the evaporation rate of the boiler plus recirculation is suggested. Boiler Feed Pumps can handle temperature upto 220F but higher temperature is made possible with the help of external water cooling. The deaerator pump used in power plants is also designed for higher temperatures.

Boiler Feed Pumps in Power *eneration

Most common pump is a multistage centrifugal in power plants for feeding water to boilers. The main parts of this pump are impeller, stainless steel 2-piece twin volute and stage pieces, combination of balancing drum & disc, shaft and gland packing. A heavy cylindrical forged steel barrel is an integral part for the stages to be stacked and closed at one end by a bolt on the head. The stages inside barrel casing are split radially. In few pumps, the stages are also split axially.

The advantage of barrel type feed pump is it has smaller number of joints to be sealed against the high pressure action and this minimise leaking of pumps which is an added feature for power plants. As the stages multiply, the boiler feed pump has an increased length and to attain radial rigidity, bigger shaft is designed and installed for reliability. Although, in these pumps where the stages are less, the reliability is high but efficiency is affected the reason being increase in diameter of the shaft. In view of reliability, the bearing used in these boiler feed pumps is Kingsbury Thrust or Journal type bearing because roller contact bearings are not believed to be of substantially dependable. Categorically, In low pressure installations, horizontal single stage volute type centrifugal pumps are more in use. For medium pressure below 100 bars, split case multistage twin volute diffuser pumps are common because of the difficulties found in sealing the case joint surfaces. The seals used in boiler feed pumps are generally stuffing box type and injected condensate to avoid leakage of feed water. Asbestos gland packing is out dated due to health hazards and off late are replaced by non-asbestos braided gland packings which include Graphite, PTFE, GFO, Aramid or in combination due to their self lubricating properties. Hence the scoring of shaft is avoided, leakages are reduced and the life of shaft is also enhanced. The selection of gland packing depends on the temperature, flow rate etc. In power plants, especially in nuclear, mechanical seals are also used but rubbing speed is always a problem due to the large diameter and high speed shafts. The required spares whose inventory should always be maintained for boiler feed pumps are set of casing wearing rings, balancing device which is usually made of stationary and rotating parts, set of diffuser bushings, 2-4 sets of shaft sleeves, gland packing rings in several sets and thrust bearings.

Function of feed pump in a boiler feed system / steam turbines

The feed pump raises the feedwater The feed pump raises the feedwater to a pressure high enough for it to enter the boiler. For auxiliary boilers, where small amounts of feedwater are pumped, a steam-driven reciprocating positive displacement pump may be used. Another type of feed pump often used on package boiler installations is known as an 'electro feeder'. This is a multi-stage centrifugal pump driven by a constant speed electric motor. The number of stages is determined by the feed quantity and discharge pressure. Steam turbine-driven feed pumps are usual with high-pressure watertube boiler installations. A typical turbo-feed pump is shown in Figure above. The two-stage horizontal centrifugal pump is driven by an impulse turbine, the complete assembly being fitted into a common casing.

The turbine is supplied with steam directly from the boiler and exhausts into a back-pressure line which can be used for feed heating. The pump bearings are lubricated by filtered water which is tapped off from the first-stage impeller. The feed discharge pressure is maintained by a governor, and overspeed protection trips are also provided.

Fig:Boiler feed pump

How an air ejector works in a boiler feed system

Air ejector The air ejector draws out the air and vapours which are released from the condensing steam in the condenser. If the air were not removed from the system it could cause corrosion problems in the boiler. Also, air present in the condenser would affect the condensing process and cause a back pressure in the condenser. The back pressure would increase the exhaust steam pressure and reduce the thermal efficiency of the plant. A two-stage twin-element air ejector is shown in Figure . In the first stage a steam-operated air ejector acts as a pump to draw in the air and vapours from the condenser. The mixture then passes into a condensing unit which is circulated by feedwater. The feedwater is heated and the steam and gases are mostly condensed.

The condensed vapours and steam are returned to the main condenser via a drain and the remaining air and gases pass to the second stage where the process is repeated. Any remaining air and gases are released to the atmosphere via a vacuum-retaining valve. The feed water is circulated through U-tubes in each of the two stages. A pair of ejectors are fitted to each stage, although only one of each is required for satisfactory operation of the unit.

Fig:Feed system air ejector

Boiler %eed pump

What is Boiler Feed Pump? Boiler feed pump is used to feed water to steam generator boiler drum at desired pressure and temperature. Need of boiler feed pump? As the water is fed to the steam generator it has to be at the temperature & Press ure that of the steam generator.

Process of water flow? Boiler feed pump extract water from de-aerator and feed it to the boiler drum via H.P heaters and economizer. General configuration of Boiler feed pump? Generally 2 Turbine driven boiler feed pumps (1 Working & 1 Standby) & 1 Motor driven boiler feed pump is used for 1 unit. Turbine driven boiler feed pump: It works with the steam extraction from Intermediate Pressure (I.P.) turbine exhaust. Motor driven boiler feed pump: It works with a motor as the name specifies.