Diesel Engine Power plant

filter

Compressor
Silencer

Fuel tank
Startup motor
filter

Air Smoke
pump

fuel
Engine
injector

Generator

Heat Exchanger

Oil pump Cooling Tower

filter

Water Tank

Introduction:
Diesel plants are more efficient than any other heat engine of comparable size. Diesel power plant is suitable for
small and medium outputs (2-50 MW). These power plants are suitable for peak load power requirements, fuel
cost are favour and where the water scarcity present. It can be started very quickly and immediately generate the
electric power.
Description:
The essential components of a Diesel Electric Power Plant are:
(1) Engine
Diesel operated multi cylinder engine- 4 stroke, number of cylinder increased based on power requirement
(2) Engine air intake system
Air compressor and filter assembly to supply high pressure air
(3) Engine fuel system
Fuel tank, filter, pump and injector assembly
(4) Engine exhausts system
Exhaust as smoke removed from engine cylinder- noise minimized by the silencer
(5) Engine cooling system -Air and water are used as coolant tool cool the engine- coolant water storage,
pump heat exchanger and cooling tower.
 (6) Engine lubrication system – lubricating oil is stored and re-circulated up to decay of the oil life. Oil tank,
filter and pump assembly.
(7) Engine starting system – 12-36 Volts battery operated start up motor is used to start the engine
Working of Diesel Engine Power plant:
Multi cylinder diesel engine is started by using the startup motor. To run the engine, fuel and air are continuously
supplied, the compressed clean air is passed to the engine cylinder and remaining part of the air is used to cool the
engine. The high pressure fuel pump is used to supply the fuel through distributed injector. Cooling water is
continuously supplied to remove the heat from the engine cylinder and it is recalculated. The life of the engine and
the efficiency depend largely on the lubrication system. During the power transmission the engine moving internal
parts wear out due to the friction so lubrication oil is pumped on the required points. Large amount smoke and
noise is created during the combustion period which can be channelized and removed by the silencer system. The
engine output shaft is coupled with the generator which produces the electricity.
Merits:
1. Plant is compact and light.
2. Very simple design also simple installation..
3. Diesel power plants maintain their high operating efficiency irrespective of load.
4. No standby loses.
5. Less supervision required.
6. Quickly started and put on load.
Demerits:
1. High Maintenance and operating cost.
2. Fuel cost is more, since in India diesel is costly.
3. The plant cost per kW is comparatively more.
4. The life of diesel power plant is small due to high maintenance.
5. Noise is a serious problem in diesel power plant.
Applications:
 Diesel power plants are suitable for mobile power generation and are widely used in transportation
systems consisting of railroads, ships, automobiles and aero-planes.
 It can be used for electrical power generation in capacities from 2 to 50MW.
 It can be used as standby power plants.
 It can be used as peak load plants for some other types of power plants.