Unit 1-Thermal Power Plants

Steam power plant Layout Boilers Pulverized coal burners Fluidized bed combustion

Power generating units are mega projects Require huge capital investment Require natural resources like, fossil fuels Large amount of water Changes the local eco system Huge Impacts on the Environment and Health

Coal Mining

Surface Mining

Strip Mining

Underground Mining

Air Quality

Around the coal based plants the ambient concentrations of Sulphur Dioxide, Oxides of Nitrogen and SPM are high. Epidemiological Studies have shown that of the area surrounding coal based thermal plants, population living within a 2 -5 km radius of the plant suffers from respiratory disorders . Two other gases, carbon dioxide and ozone are emitted. The high amount of carbon dioxide emission from thermal power plants contribute to global warming leading to climate change is significant Ground level ozone, which is formed due to photolytic reactions of NOx and its impacts are under study

Fly ash contains a toxic brew of dangerous chemicals and is the largest contributor to mercury pollution

Composition of Fly ash It contains as main chemical components SiO2 (51.4 wt%), Al2O3 (22.1 wt%) and Fe2O3 (17.2 wt%; ignited weight basis). As commonly observed, many toxic elements and heavy metals are highly enriched in the fly ash relative to the original coal. For example, considerable amounts of Be (16.4 ppm), Cu (106 ppm), Zn (578 ppm), As (40.4 ppm), Cd (2.6 ppm), Hg (18 ppm), Pb (71 ppm), and U (21.8 ppm) is found in Fly ash.

Water slurry is used to take the ash from the power plant to the ash pond for disposal. Water slowly seeps into the ground while carrying with it the ash leach ate. Water may contain harmful heavy metals like boron, which have a tendency to leach out over a period of time. When fly ash comes into contact with water, leaches into groundwater supplies which get polluted and unsuitable for domestic use. The release of ash pond decant into the local water bodies- water dries up, dust nuisance, increases turbidity, decreases primary productivity, affects fishes and other aquatic biota

Coal Power Plant

Operation

Steam Turbine Generator

Is a series of steam turbines interconnected to each other and then a generator

Steam Condenser
Steam enters from the turbine generator and is pumped into the bottom of the condenser, where pumps recycle the condensed steam from the feedwater

Stack
Releases process emissions.

Introduction

What is a Boiler?
Vessel that heats water to become hot water or steam At atmospheric pressure water volume increases 1,600 times

Hot water or steam used to transfer heat to a process

Introduction
STEAM TO PROCESS
EXHAUST GAS VENT

STACK

DEAERATOR

PUMPS
ECONOMIZER

VENT

BOILER
BURNER WATER SOURCE

BLOW DOWN SEPARATOR

FUEL
BRINE CHEMICAL FEED SOFTENERS

Figure: Schematic overview of a boiler room

Types of Boilers

1. Fire Tube Boiler

2. Water Tube Boiler 3. Packaged Boiler 4. Fluidized Bed (FBC) Boiler 5. Stoker Fired Boiler 6. Pulverized Fuel Boiler 7. Waste Heat Boiler

8. Thermic Fluid Heater (not a boiler!)

Type of Boilers

1. Fire Tube Boiler

Relatively small steam capacities (12,000 kg/hour) Low to medium steam pressures (18 kg/cm2) Operates with oil, gas or solid fuels

Type of Boilers 2. Water Tube Boiler

Used for high steam demand and pressure requirements Capacity range of 4,500 120,000 kg/hour Combustion efficiency enhanced by induced draft provisions Lower tolerance for water quality and needs water treatment plant

Type of Boilers 3. Packaged Boiler

To Chimney

Comes in complete package

Oil Burner

Features High heat transfer Faster evaporation Good convective heat transfer Good combustion efficiency High thermal efficiency
Classified based on number of passes

Type of Boilers 4. Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC) Boiler

Particles (e.g. sand) are suspended in high velocity air stream: bubbling fluidized bed
Combustion at 840 950 C Capacity range 0,5 T/hr to 100 T/hr Fuels: coal, washery rejects, rice husk, bagasse and agricultural wastes Benefits: compactness, fuel flexibility, higher combustion efficiency, reduced SOx & NOx

Type of Boilers

4a. Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Combustion (AFBC) Boiler

Most common FBC boiler that uses preheated atmospheric air as fluidization and combustion air

4b. Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion (PFBC) Boiler

Compressor supplies the forced draft and combustor is a pressure vessel
Used for cogeneration or combined cycle power generation

Type of Boilers

4c. Atmospheric Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC) Boiler

Solids lifted from bed, rise, return to bed

Steam generation in convection section

Benefits: more economical, better space utilization and efficient combustion

Type of Boilers

5. Stoke Fired Boilers

a) Spreader stokers
Coal is first burnt in suspension then in coal bed Flexibility to meet load fluctuations Favored in many industrial applications

Type of Boilers 5. Stoke Fired Boilers

b) Chain-grate or traveling-grate stoker
Coal is burnt on moving steel grate
Coal gate controls coal feeding rate

Uniform coal size for complete combustion

Type of Boilers 6. Pulverized Fuel Boiler

Pulverized coal powder blown with combustion air into boiler through burner nozzles Combustion temperature at 1300 1700 C
Benefits: varying coal quality coal, quick response to load changes and high preheat air temperatures

Tangential firing

Type of Boilers
8. Thermic Fluid Heater
2. Circulated to user equipment
Control panel Insulated outer wall

3. Heat transfer through heat exchanged

User equipment
4. Fluid returned to heater

1. Thermic fluid heated in the heater

Blower motor unit Fuel oil filter

Exhaust

(Energy Machine India)