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Emerging Trends in

Thermal Power Stations


K Sreerama Murthy
Former Member & Actg. Chairman
A.P.Electricity Regulatory Commission
Emerging Trends Thermal Power Stations
Due to availability of coal world over, lions share of
power generation still is carried out in the coal fired
thermal power stations (TPS). However, in view of the
environmental pollution in TPS and stringent provision of
the clean air and Water Acts of different countries, the
cost of generation is ever increasing in these stations.

Many countries are focusing their attention on nuclear
fuels and other sources of energy.

France derives more than 70% of their power
requirement from nuclear stations followed by Japan
which is about 50%.

Nordic countries like Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland
etc. heavily lean on Hydro Power.

Emerging Trends Thermal Power Stations
Those who have natural gas resources have switched to
gas fired combined cycle power plants. Those who do
not have such resource are importing Liquefied Natural
Gas (LNG) since it is comparatively non-polluting and
also cycle (conversion) efficiency is very high.

In view finite availability of fossil fuels which may last
only for few decades, every one is frantically trying to
develop renewable resources of energy.
Emerging Trends Thermal Power Stations
In TPS, as most of us are aware, conversion of energy
takes place from one form to another, finally electrical
energy as it is the most usable form.

Chemical energy in the fuel is converted into heat energy
which is packed into steam in steam generator and then
made to flow through the turbine.

Heat energy is converted to mechanical energy by way
of rotation of the shaft which is connected to the rotor of
the alternator.

Mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy
passed on to step-up transformer. Electricity at high
voltage is transmitted to load centres & consumers
through busbars , transmission network & distribution
network.
Emerging Trends Thermal Power Stations
Equipment employed in TPS

As the process of conversion of energy is quite complex the
equipment in TPS are vast marking them capital intensive.

1. F.D Fans, P.A. Fans & I.D. Fans
2. Coal pulverisers & coal feeders
3. Coal and oil burners
4. Furnace & wind box
5. Economiser & Water Walls & Drum
6. Superheaters and attemperators
7. Air Heaters
8. Electro-static precipitators
9. Chimney





Emerging Trends Thermal Power Stations
TURBINE & AUXILIARIES

1. H.P. Turbine, I.P. & L.P. Turbines
a) Nozzles & stationery diaphragms
b) Rotating blades & discs
c) Shaft seals & couplings
d) Journal & Thrust bearings
e) Oil pumps
f) Governing & Protection devices
g) Condenser
2. Condensate system
a) C.E.P.
b) Ejectors
c) L.P. Heaters & Dearator
3. Feed water system
a) Boilder Feed Pumps
b) H.P. Heaters
c) Feed Regulators


Emerging Trends Thermal Power Stations
COMPONENTS OF COAL HANDLING PLANT

1. Track Hopper/Tippler Hopper (Wagon Tiuppler or MGR)
2. Vibratory Feeder
3. Belt Conveyor System
4. Magnetic Separator
5. Crusher and Screen
6. Stacker reclaimer
7. Reclaiming Hopper
8. Mobile Coal Plant Bull Dozers, Front End Loaders
9. Boiler Bunkers
10. Trippers
11. Safety Devices
a) Pull chord over entire length of the conveyor both sides
b) Belt sway switch
c) Slow speed switch
12. Central Control Room

Emerging Trends Thermal Power Stations

COMPONENTS OF ASH HANDLING PLANT
1. Bottom Ash Hopper
2. Scrapper Conveyor/higher Pressure Jets
3. Clinker Grinder
4. Flyash Hopper
5. Ash silos
6. Ash slurry sump
7. Ash slurry pumps
8. Ash dyke
9. High Pressure pumps
10. Low pressure pumps

Emerging Trends Thermal Power Stations
- This layout was causing the pulverised coal (PC) leaked from
the mills & coal pipes to enter into turbine hall and affecting the
rotating equipment and instrument panels. This increase the
maintenance attention and unscheduled break-down

_ This problem was solved by rotating the equipment inside the
dotted line by 180 degrees. Coal bunkers, mills & P.C. pipes were
taken away from the turbine house.
From double pass to single pass
To decrease the velocity of the flue gas by reducing the
number of changes of direction in the flue gas path.

This avoids erosion and also facilitates separation of
clinker erosion from gas to avoid blockage of horizontal
elements.
Emerging Trends Thermal Power Stations
Boiler Water Circulation
_ In low pressure boilers natural circulation is adopted
taking advantage of the density difference between the
saturated water and saturated steam.

_ Assisted on controlled circulation for high but sub-critical
pressure boilers taking advantage of the marginal
difference in the density using circulating water pumps.

_ Forced circulation for super critical pressure boilers as
there is no density difference between water & steam


Coal Mills
Slow speed tube mills to avoid pyrites removal.

Medium speed bowl / ball mills and also blocking air
passages.

Grinding loading from springs to gas to hydraulic
with accumulators for uniform grinding over time.

High speed hammer / shear ring mills

Burners
Front wall, corner, down shot igniters - P.C.
Fuel rich burners.

Water wall construction
1. Tangent tube
2. Membrane Wall

Precipitators
1. Electro-static precipitators
2. Bag filters / fabric filters
Variable speed I.D. Fans : These will reduce the
consumption of power and also the wear and tear of
the impeller
Boiler Structure
Instead of steel columns, concrete pylons are used to
save steel. Also multipurpose pylons which double upon
shafts for lifts & stair cases, cable ways and trenches.

Two stage attemperation: for improved temperation
control and also avoid overheating of S.H. elements.
Turbines
1. Governing System
a. Throttle Governing : simple for base load

b. Nozzle Governing : Complicated but reduces throttling losses

2. Turbine Cylinder Arrangement
a. Cross compounding to reduce the size of alternator
with more than one alternator taking advantage of
multiple shafts.

b. Tandom Compounding facilitates use of one
alternator

3. Multiple cylinders and multiple exhaust.

4. Double casing and barrel cylinder without
flanges.

5. Reversal of C.W. & on line clearing system for
condenser.

6. Turbine driven B.F.P. as cogeneration and
improves efficiency.
Alternators
1. Excitation
a. Static excitation
b. Brushless excitation

2. Cooling
a. Air cooling
b. H2 cooling
c. H2 &D .M. water cooling
d. D.M water cooling
Advancement in Control and Instrumentation
There has been large scale advancement in C&I of TPS
than in any other systems

1. Penumatic controllers and relay based protection
interlocks.

2. In 1970s, solid state electronic controls. Their
performance improved with ICs.

3. Microprocessor based controllers. PICs were
introduced for binary controls.
4. There after powerful micro processors came into perform
floating point operations, thereby bringing in floating
point operations programmal controllers for analog
controls.

5. Data Acquisition System (DAS) paved their way to power
plant monitoring.

6. Advancement in computers and data communications
led to development of present generation of controls i.e.
Distributed Digital Control Monitoring & Information
Systems (DDCMIS)
7. Human M/c Interface (HMI) From
consumption panel operations to CRT
Based operations.

8.Performance Analysis Diagnosis &
Optimisation System (PADO)
a. Artificial neural networks
b. Fuzzy logic control (FLC)
c. Expert Systems

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