Power Generation-Steam Power

Part 2: Steam Power station → Schematic arrangement

Typical diagram of a coal-fired thermal power station

1. Cooling tower
2. Cooling water pump
3. transmission line (3-
phase)
4. Step-up transformer (3-
phase)
5. Electrical generator (3-
phase)
6. Low pressure steam
turbine
7. Condensate pump
8. Surface condenser
9. Intermediate pressure
steam turbine
10. Steam Control valve 19. Superheater
11. High pressure steam 20. Forced draught
turbine (draft) fan
12. Deaerator 21. Reheater
22. Combustion air
13. Feedwater heater
intake
14. Coal conveyor 23. Economizer
15. Coal hopper 24. Air preheater
16. Coal pulverizer 25. Precipitator
26. Induced draught
17. Boiler steam drum
(draft) fan
18. Bottom ash hopper 27. Flue gas stack
 Almost all coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal electric, and waste incineration plants, as well
as many natural gas power plants are thermal. Power plants burning coal, oil, or natural gas are often
referred to collectively as fossil-fuel power plants. In fossil-fueled power plants, steam generator refers
to a furnace that burns the fossil fuel to boil water to generate steam.

A fossil fuel steam generator includes an economizer, a steam drum, and the furnace with its steam
generating tubes and superheater coils. Necessary safety valves are located at suitable points to avoid
excessive boiler pressure. The air and flue gas path equipment include: forced draft (FD) fan, air
preheater (APH), boiler furnace, induced draft (ID) fan, fly ash collectors (electrostatic precipitator or
baghouse) and the flue gas stack.[1][2][3]

There are four main circuits in any thermal power plant and these are

Coal & Ash handling

This circuit deals mainly with feeding the boiler with coal for combustion purposes and taking care of
the ash that is generated during the combustion process and includes equipment and paraphernalia that is
used to handle the transfer and storage of coal and ash.
Air & Gas Circuit – we know that air is one of the main components of the fire triangle and hence
necessary for combustion. Since lots of coal is burnt inside the boiler it needs a sufficient quantity of air
which is supplied using either forced draught or induced draught fans. The exhaust gases from the
combustion are in turn used to heat the ingoing air through a heat exchanger before being let off in the
atmosphere. The equipment which handles all these processes fall under this circuit.
Feed Water & Steam Circuit – this section deals with supplying of steam generated from the boiler to
the turbines and to handle the outgoing steam from the turbine by cooling it to form water in the
condenser so that it can be reused in the boiler plus making good any losses due to evaporation etc.
Cooling Water Circuit – this part of the thermal power plant deals with handling of the cooling water
required in the system. Since the amount of water required to cool the outgoing steam from the boiler is
substantial, it is either taken from a nearby water source such as a river, or it is done through evaporation
if the quantity of cooling water available is limited.

Stage 1 Coal & Ash Handling (key from figure 2)

*Coal hopper
*Coal conveyor (14) *Pulveriser Mill (16) *Ash hopper (18)
(15)
Stage 2: Steam Generating

*Boiler drum (17) *Superheater (19) *Reheater (21) *Economizer (23)

*preheater(24) *Forced d-fan(20) *Induced d-fan(26) *Chimney(27)
Stage 3 & 4: Steam turbine & Alternator/Generator

*Pressure turbines (6; 9 &

*Steam governor (10) *Boiler feed pump (7)
11)
*Transformer
*Generator (5) *Pylon (3)
(4)
Stage 5: Feed water & Cooling

Feed water & Cooling (key from figure 2)

*Cooling tower *Water pump *Condenser
*Precipitator (25)
(1) (2) (8)

This schematic diagram must be properly understood. It is the basis upon which Steam power station
designs are done. The individual power station complexity may differ slightly to the schematic and yet
over and above that will use the same principle.

Part 3: Wet cooling

This is the conventional Cooling method used in most Steam power stations. Steam is
cooled inside the condenser and is returned to the boiler (Rankine cycle).

The condenser itself uses cold water and employs the principle of heat exchange. As the cool water
is returned to the boiler, the hot water in the condenser is pumped to the cooling tower. Here water is
sprayed and thus fall down to the water pond under the cooling tower. As the water falls it is cooled by
the natural cold air. The cooled water is pumped back to the condenser, and the cycle is repeated. This
method wastes a lot of water through evaporation.

Part 4: Dry cooling

This is the more preffered Cooling method which is now being implemented in most new Steam
power stations. Steam is circulated inside a radiator-like heat exchanger and is cooled by the natural cold
air blown (naturally or using draught fans) between pipes of the heat exchanger. The cooled/condensed
steam is returned to the boiler (Rankine cycle).

This method greatly decreases water wastages through evaporation by almost 84% of the wet cooling
method. It is called Direct dry cooling since the condenser has been eliminated completely. This method
is favored where water is scarce.

Part 4A: Indirect Dry Cooling A

The first Indirect Dry cooling method is called Wet cooled condenser.

Here the condenser is still used to cool steam that is pumped back to the boiler. The hot water from
the condenser is then pumped to Heat exchangers in the cooling tower and natural ventilation is used to
cool the water which can then be pumped back to the condenser. Notice that water consumption here is
double that consumed in the direct dry cooling method.

Part 4B: Indirect Dry Cooling B

The second Indirect Dry cooling method is called Jet cooled condenser.
 Here the exhaust steam leaving the low-pressure turbine condensed by a jet spray of cold water. The
resulting hot water collected is through heat exchangers in the cooling tower. The cooled water is sent
back to the boiler. Notice that water consumption is equal to the previous cooling method.
Water consumption ≈0.8lt / 1kWh

Part 5: Location
1. Supply of fuel:The station must be located close to coal mines to reduce transportation cost of
fuel.

2. water Availability:The station must be located near a river or canal for continuous water supply.

3. Transport facilities:The station must be well connected to major transport routes eg Rail or Road.

4. Cost & type of land:The land must have a good bearing capacity for heavy equipment.

Distance from populated areas:The station must be located far away from populated areas due to
air pollution.
A power station (also referred to as a generating station, power plant, or powerhouse) is an industrial
facility for the generation of electric power.

Power plant is also used to refer to the engine in ships, aircraft and other large vehicles. Some prefer to
use the term energy center because it more accurately describes what the plants do, which is the
conversion of other forms of energy, like chemical energy, gravitational potential energy or heat energy
into electrical energy.At the center of nearly all power stations is a generator, a rotating machine that
converts mechanical energy into electrical energy by creating relative motion between a magnetic field
and a conductor.

1. Fuel preparation system

In coal-fired power stations, the raw feed coal from the coal storage area is first crushed into small
pieces and then conveyed to the coal feed hoppers at the boilers. The coal is next pulverized into a very
fine powder.

Coal Delivery. The coal from supply points is delivered by ships or boats to power stations situated near
to sea or river whereas coal is supplied by rail or trucks to the power stations which are situated away
from sea or river. The transportation of coal by trucks is used if the railway facilities are not available.

(ii) Unloading. The type of equipment to be used for unloading the coal received at the power station
depends on how coal is received at the power station. If coal is delivered by trucks, there is no
(iii) Preparation. When the coal delivered is in the form of big lumps and it is not of proper size,the
preparation (sizing) of coal can be achieved by crushers, breakers, sizers driers and magnetic separators.

(iv) Transfer. After preparation coal is transferred to the dead storage by means of the following
systems :1. Belt conveyors. 2. Screw conveyors.3. Bucket elevators. 4. Grab bucket elevators.
5. Skip hoists. 6. Flight conveyor.

Some power stations burn oil rather than coal. The oil must kept warm (above its pour point) in the fuel
oil storage tanks to prevent the oil from congealing and becoming unpumpable.

Boilers in some power stations use processed natural gas as their main fuel. Other power stations may
use processed natural gas as auxiliary fuel in the event that their main fuel supply (coal or oil) is
interrupted. In such cases, separate gas burners are provided on the boiler furnaces.

2. Steam generator

In fossil-fueled power plants, steam generator refers to a furnace that burns the fossil fuel to boil water
to generate steam. In some industrial settings, there can also be steam-producing heat exchangers called
heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) which utilize heat from some industrial process. The steam
generating boiler has to produce steam at the high purity, pressure and temperature required for the
steam turbine that drives the electrical generator. A fossil fuel steam generator includes an economizer, a
steam drum, and the furnace with its steam generating tubes and superheater coils. Necessary safety
valves are located at suitable points to avoid excessive boiler pressure. The air and flue gas path
equipment include: forced draft (FD) fan, air preheater (APH), boiler furnace, induced draft (ID) fan, fly
ash collectors (electrostatic precipitator or baghouse) and the flue gas stack.[1][2][3]
3. Boiler furnace and steam drum

Once water inside the boiler or steam generator, the process of adding the latent heat of vaporization or
enthalpy is underway. The boiler transfers energy to the water by the chemical reaction of burning some
type of fuel.

The water enters the boiler through a section in the convection pass called the economizer. From the
economizer it passes to the steam drum. The water rises through the waterwalls and is eventually turned
into steam due to the heat being generated by the burners located on the front and rear waterwalls
(typically). As the water is turned into steam/vapor in the waterwalls, the steam/vapor once again enters
the steam drum. The steam/vapor is passed through a series of steam and water separators and then
dryers inside the steam drum. The steam separators and dryers remove water droplets from the steam
and the cycle through the waterwalls is repeated. This process is known as natural circulation.

The steam drum (as well as the superheater coils and headers) have air vents and drains needed for
initial startup. The steam drum has internal devices that removes moisture from the wet steam entering
the drum from the steam generating tubes. The dry steam then flows into the superheater coils.

4. Superheater

Fossil fuel power plants can have a superheater and/or reheater section in the steam generating furnace.
Nuclear-powered steam plants do not have such sections but produce steam at essentially saturated
conditions. In a fossil fuel plant, after the steam is conditioned by the drying equipment inside the steam
drum, it is piped from the upper drum area into tubes inside an area of the furnace known as the
superheater, which has an elaborate set up of tubing where the steam vapor picks up more energy from hot
flue gases outside the tubing and its temperature is now superheated above the saturation temperature.

5. Air path

External fans are provided to give sufficient air for combustion. The forced draft fan takes air from the
atmosphere and, first warming it in the air preheater for better combustion, injects it via the air nozzles on
the furnace wall.The induced draft fan assists the FD fan by drawing out combustible gases from the
furnace, maintaining a slightly negative pressure in the furnace to avoid backfiring through any opening

6. Fly ash collection

Fly ash is captured and removed from the flue gas by electrostatic precipitators or fabric bag filters (or
sometimes both) located at the outlet of the furnace and before the induced draft fan. The fly ash is
periodically removed from the collection hoppers below the precipitators or bag filters.

7. Bottom ash collection and disposal

At the bottom of the furnace, there is a hopper for collection of bottom ash. This hopper is always filled
with water to quench the ash and clinkers falling down from the furnace. Some arrangement is included
to crush the clinkers and for conveying the crushed clinkers and bottom ash to a storage site.
8. Steam turbine-driven electric generator
The steam turbine-driven generators have auxiliary systems enabling them to work satisfactorily and
safely. The steam turbine generator being rotating equipment generally has a heavy, large diameter
shaft. The shaft therefore requires not only supports but also has to be kept in position while running. To
minimise the frictional resistance to the rotation, the shaft has a number of bearings. Oil lubrication is
provided to further reduce the friction between shaft and bearing surface and to limit the heat generated.

Efficiency
Power is energy per unit time. The power output or capacity of an electric plant can be expressed in
units of megawatts electric (MWe). The electric efficiency of a conventional thermal power station,
considered as saleable energy (in MWe) produced at the plant busbars as a percent of the heating value
of the fuel consumed, is typically 33% to 48% efficient. This efficiency is limited as all heat engines are
governed by the laws of thermodynamics (Carnot cycle). The rest of the energy must leave the plant in
the form of heat. This waste heat can go through a condenser and be disposed of with cooling water or in
cooling towers. If the waste heat is instead utilized for district heating, it is called cogeneration. Since
the efficiency of the plant is fundamentally limited by the ratio of the absolute temperatures of the steam
at turbine input and output, efficiency improvements require use of higher temperature, and therefore
higher pressure, steam.

Thermal power plant or Steam power plant:

Advantages

1. The fuel used is quite cheap.

2. Less initial cost as compared to other generating plants.
3. It can be installed at any place irrespective of the existence of coal. The coal can be transported
to the site of the plant by rail or road.
4. It requires less space as compared to Hydro power plants.
5. Cost of generation is less than that of diesel power plants.
Disadvantages

1. It pollutes the atmosphere due to production of large amount of smoke and fumes.
2. It is costlier in running cost as compared.
A power plant consists of a boiler, turbine, condenser and a pump. Fuel, burned in the boiler and
superheater, heats the water to generate steam. The steam is then heated to a superheated state in the
superheater. This steam is used to rotate the turbine which powers the generator. Electrical energy is
generated when the generator windings rotate in a strong magnetic field. After the steam leaves the
turbine it is cooled to its liquid state in the condenser. The liquid is pressurized by the pump prior to
going back to the boiler A simple power plant is described by a Rankine Cycle.

1. RANKINE CYCLE
Saturated or superheated steam enters the turbine at state 1, where it expands isentropically to the exit pressure at
state 2. The steam is then condensed at constant pressure and temperature to a saturated liquid, state 3. The heat
removed from the steam in the condenser is typically transferred to the cooling water. The saturated liquid then
flows through the pump which increases the pressure to the boiler pressure (state 4), where the water is first
heated to the saturation temperature, boiled and typically superheated to state 1. Then the whole cycle is repeated.

2. REHEAT
When steam leaves the turbine, it is typically wet. The presense of water causes erosion of the turbine blades. To
prevent this, steam is extracted from high pressure turbine (state 2), and then it is reheated in the boiler (state 2')
and sent back to the low pressure turbine.

3. REGENERATION
Regeneration helps improve the Rankine cycle efficiency by preheating the feedwater into the boiler.
Regeneration can be achieved by open feedwater heaters or closed feedwater heaters. In open feedwater heaters, a
fraction of the steam exiting a high pressure turbine is mixed with the feedwater at the same pressure. In closed
system, the steam bled from the turbine is not directly mixed with the feedwater, and therefore, the two streams
can be at different pressures.