A Presentation on

MILLS
By
CH.NAGESWARA RAO
DE, CAM division , Stage III,
VTPS.

PULVERISERS OR MILLS
The most efficient way of utilising coal for

steam generation is to burn it in pulverised

form
The purpose of mills is to pulverise crushed
coal to a fineness such that 70-80 % passes
through a 200 mesh(74 micron) sieve and to
facilitate supply the same either to boiler by
air at required temperature or to storage bins

ADVANTAGES OF
PULVERISATION
Efficient utilisation of cheaper low grade coals
Flexibility in firing with ability to meet

fluctuating loads
Ability to design and build high unit capacity
steam generators
Better reaction to automatic controls

 Ability to use high combustion air temps and

increasing the overall efficiency of Blr.

High availability
DISADVANTAGE:

The main disadvantage is that initial cost

of the equipments for preparation of the PF
will be high

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE

PERFORMANCE OF MILLS
Grindability of coal
Moisture content
Fineness of output required

Size of coal input

Mill wear

COAL GRINDABILITY

The Grindability index ibdicates the ease

with which the coal can be pullverised
The HGI of Indian coals of bituminous type
varies between 45 to 60.
Normally mill rated capacity expressed is
with ref. to a particular grindability index.
If the coal used is of low grindability, the mill
output also reduce correspondingly.
The variation of output with HGI is shown in
the figure no.1.

FIG NO 1 : MILL OUTPUT

VARIATION GRINDABILITY AND
FINENESS

MOISTURE CONTENT
The total moisture content of raw coal

consists of inherent and free or surface

moisture.
System is designed to remove completely the
free moisture and part of the inherent
moisture.
Lignite normally has very high moisture
content of 30 to 50 %.

 The drying ability of mill varies widely

between mills .
Since the drying capacity of mill reduces with
higher moisture content in coal , this will limit
the output capacity of mill when high moisture
coal is used.
MILL capacity variation is shown in the next
figure.

FINENESS OF COAL
The classifier of mill control the fineness of the

pulverised fuel by returning back higher particles

back to the mill for regrinding .
As the fineness of the coal changes the combustion
condition and efficiency, this has to be kept at
optimum value.
70 to75% of product passing through 200 mesh is
normally found suitable for most the coals

 However 80 to 85% through 200 mesh may

be required for low valatile coal.

Excessive fineness only wastes mill power.
MILL OUTPUT varies inversely with fineness.
VARIATION in MILL output is shown in the
adjacent fig.

SIZE OF RAW COAL

Larger the size of raw coal fed to mill, amout

of the work per unit mass is increased to get

fine coal of same fineness.
Hence the mill capacity varies inversely with
size of the coal.
Coal passing through 20mm mesh is found
suitable for Indian conditions.

MILL WEAR
Due to grinding action and abrasive nature of coal,

mill and exhausted partswear which depends upon

the period of service, type of coal , wearing property
of the material etc.
Wear increases with increase in ash content of coal.
With advancement in material technology high wear
resistant materials are used for these parts to reduce
wear & consequent affects.
In case of Ball mills, the grinding media is
replaceable during mill operation.

CALORIFIC VALUE OF COAL

CV of coal does not affect the performance of

mills
Variation of CV decides the no of mills
required to be kept in service
The CV decides the no of mills required per
Boiler and also the size of Boiler

PULVERISED COAL
PREPARATION SYSTEMS
Indirect firing system (Intermediate storage

sysem or Bin firing system).

Direct firing system.
Indirect firing system(intermediate storage
bins are used)

INDIRECT FIRING SYSTEM

ESSENTIALLY CONSISTS OF
Raw coal bunker
Raw coal feeder
Mill and Classifier
Cyclone separator
Rotary transport valve
Pulverised fuel bunker
PF worm conveyor and a

Mill fan alongwith various interconnecting piping.

DIRECT FIRING
There will be no storage bins to store

Pulverised Fuel (PF) and the PF is directly

discharged into the combustion chamber of
the Boiler where the PF ignites and burns in
suspension

TYPES OF MILLS
The mills are classified based upon their

speeds
SLOW SPEED MILLS: The mills usually
rotating between 15 to 25 rpm are called slow
speed mills. Eg. Ball tube mills. These are
also called Horizontal mills (these are in
service at VTPS STG II ,III)

 MEDIUM SPEED MILLS: These will be operating at

50 to 100 rpm. Eg. Bowl mills and Ball and Race mills
. These are also called vertical mills as their axis of
rotation is vertical.( Bowl mills are at VTPS STAGE
I,IV).
HIGH SPEED MILLS: These are directly coupled to
the driving motor and run at 750 to 1000 rpm. (
Beater wheel mills are High speed mills and are in
service at Neyveli Project. )

PARTS OF BALL TUBE MILLS

MILL BODY consisting of

shell,trunnions,liners(520 nos) , Grinding

media etc.
CONVEYOR BODY/ ASSEMBLY : This
consists of Conveyor body, Hot air box ,
Trunnion tube, Screw conveyor , PF duct
etc.This facilitates conveying of raw coal and
hot air into mill and to convey the PF and air
mixture to the Boiler.

THE PURPOSE OF THE SCREW

CONVEYOR
To convey raw coal and ball into the mill and

to Primary air through the center of the

conveyor .

DRIVING SYSTEM
DRIVING SYSTEM consists of main

motor,aux motor,main & auxiliary gear boxes ,

driving shaft , Girth gear etc
The mill runs at 15 rpm with Main Motor in
service.
The mill runs at 0.2 rpm with aux motor in
service and now the mill said to be on barring
gear like Turbine.

BARRING IS NECESSORY
When the mill is stopped with coal inside in order to

prevent coal gasification , burning or formation of a

thick and strong layer on the surface.
When mill is stopped for a very long time (more than
one month ) in order to make sure that all the
lubricated parts are covered by oil to prevent
oxidation.
When the mill is going to be taken into service the
mill has to be kept in on barring to ensure that it is
ready for service in all respects.

 CLASSIFIER : This classifies the PF and

returns back the rough coal to the Mill back

for further grinding.
MILL LUBRICATION SYSTEM :
Mill main bearing lub system.
Mill Main reducer lub system.
Mill Girth gear lubrication system

MILL SUPPORT BEARINGS OR

MAIN BEARINGS
THERE ARE TWO SEGMENTED BUSH BEARINGS

PROVIDING 120 DEGREE CONTACT ANGLE AND

LOCATED AT EACH END OF THE MILL
SUPPORTING THE MILL.
THEY ARE LOCATED INSIDE THE MAIN
BEATRING HOUSINGS.
THE BUSH BEARINGS ARE MADE OF BRONZE
AND SO MAKING HIGHLY VULNURABLE
AGAINNST ANY METAL TO METAL CONTACT.

MILL SEAL AIR SYSTEM AND

GIRTH GEAR SEAL AIR SYSTEM
Mill seal air system ensures tightness

between the rotating part of the mill and the

fixed part.
This is composed of a filter, Trunnion seal air
fans ( 2 nos),seal air box etc.
The Girth gear seal air system ensures
tightness of the protection box of the girth
gear wheel and consists of a girthgear seal
air fan, filter and girthgear housing.

MILL AIR AND RAW COAL

FEEDING SYSTEM
This consists of various control dampers, raw coal

feed piping etc..

The raw coal is fed into the mill through the raw coal
pipe where it is pre- dried by bypass air to reduce
moisture content for effective grinding.
Also the PA ie the air through mill dries the PF almost
completely and transports it to the Boiler after lifting
from the mill.
The Bypass air helps the PA in transporting the PF
lifted by PA as it will not be able to transport the PF
on its own.

BALL FEEDING SYSTEM

This facilitates feeding of Grinding media ie

50 mm dia. Balls into the mill online to

maintain the capacity of the mill normal by
compensating the worn out grinding media.

MILL COAL LEVEL CONTROL

SYSTEM

MILL FIRE-FIGHTING SYSTEM

MILL SOUNDHOOD SYSTEM

This is nothing but an enclosure o f the mill to

reduce mainly the noise level in mill

surroundings and also to reduce thermal loss
from the mills by providing insulation as well
as acoustic panels to take care of them

BOWL MILL WORKING

The Bowl mill consists of revolving Bowl and

Grinding Rolls (3 nos) and the bowl will be

rotating at 55 rpm
The coal fed to the centre of revolving bowl is
forced between the grinding rolls and the
bowl for getting pulverised
The coal is crushed by the impact against the
liners and by attrition

BEATER WHEEL MILL WORKING

The mill mainly consists of : Mill casing,Rotor

assy with beater arms fitted with

beatersL(hammers),HT motor and Coupling
The coal is crushed by the impact due to
beating by hammers against liners and by
attrition

BALL MILL WORKING

PRINCIPLE
The ball charge and coal fed into mill are

carried to a certain height and allowed to fall

The coal is crushed due to (i)impact of the
balls on coal particles,(ii)attrition as the
particles slide over each other and also over
liners

MILL DRIVE SYSTEM

The drive system consists of a HT Motor

(6.6kv,2100kw,980rpm) and reduction gear box,

Pinion and a Girth Gear mounted on mill body
The mill speed with main motor is 15rpm
The mill speed with aux motor is 0.2rpm ie. at barring
The main reducer is provided with a separate lub.
System consisting of pump, cooler etc.
Aux.reducer is provided to keep mill on barring,and to
rotate the mill to required position for maitenance
works

MILL BODY
Mill body is fabricated with thick alloy steel plates of

thickness of 32mm
The entire internal surface is covered with liners to
avoid erosion of body
Grinding media of about 60 to 90 MT of sizes
30,40,50mm dia will be loaded
The entire mill is supported on specially desighed anti
friction bearings.
One of the bearing is free and the other is fixed.The
free bearing is designed to take care of axial and
angular displacement occurring during operation .

ADVANTAGES OF BOWL MILLS

OVER BALL MILLS
Low power consumption

High power consumption

Minimum maintenance

More maintenance

Wide capacity (1.7 to 100

Wide capacity

TPH)
Quiet ,vibrationless operation
Ability to handle wide range
of coals(HGI 35 to 100 and
moisture 2 to 26%)
Coal rejects are to be
handled

No rejects
Better reaction to auto

controls
Faster loading of boiler
More fineness and less
Boiler erosion
Low unburnt carbon

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

The output of pc from mills is governed by the

boiler requirements
The mill outlet temp is to be maintained as
per design to ensure proper combustion of
coal
The airflow through the mill is to be
maintained at required to ensure proper
drying and transportation of pc to Boiler

CONCLUSION
The milling plant is to be kept always in trim

condition to get the full output of the Boiler

They need careful operation, periodic
inspection, maintenance to get the full
benefits.