Power Generation Methods

Chapter 1: Layout
1.1. Energy Sources
1.2 Energy conversion by steam (Coal, Nuclear,
Solar...)
1.3. Energy conversion by water (Hydro)

1.4. Gas turbine

1.5. Magnetohydronamic (MHG) generation

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 Coal
Chimney

Induced draught

Air pre-
heater
Bus bars
Flue gases Forced draught air
Coal Coal econo
storage storage miser

Flue gases
Turbine
Boiler Super-
Exciter
Ash heater
Ash handling
storage plant Flue gases

Condenser

Circulating water pump

Fig 2: Layout of a coal fired power station
Cooling
tower

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Water source
 Basic Operation
 Steam is obtained in very high pressure inside the boiler by burning
the pulverized coal.
 This steam is then super heated in the super heater to extreme high
temperature.
 The super heated steam goes into the turbine, as the turbine blades
are rotated by the pressure of the steam.
 The turbine is mechanically coupled with alternator in a way that
its rotor will rotate with the speed of the turbine.
 In the turbine, the steam pressure suddenly falls leading to
corresponding increase in the steam volume.
 After having imparted energy into the turbine rotors, the steam is
made to pass to the steam condenser.
 In the condenser, cold water at ambient temperature is circulated
with the help of pump which leads to the condensation of the low
pressure wet steam.
 Then this condensed water is further supplied to low pressure water
heater where the low pressure steam increases the temperature of
this feed water, it is again heated in high pressure.
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 Adv & Disadvs
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
 Fuel used is relatively cheaper.
 Initial cost is less as compared to other generating plants.
 It can be installed at any place irrespective of the existence of
coal.
 It requires less space as compared to hydro-electric power
stations.
 Cost of generation is less than that of diesel power plants.

Disadvantages
 Air pollution due to production of smoke & fumes.
 Running cost of the power plant is more than hydro electric
plant.
 Relatively low efficiency
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 Selection of site

 Fuel supply: Should be located as close as possible to the coal mine &
power transmitted to the load centres. Hence a problem of economics to
and a suitable location so that the cost per unit of received energy is
minimum taking both transmission and fuel transportation charges into
account.
 Availability of water: large amount of water is required for condenser, ash
disposal and as feed water to the boiler & usage by staff. It is therefore
desirable to locate the plant where water is available for continuous
supply.
 Transport facilities: Pithead for super thermal plants to avoid
transportation of huge quantities of coal used everyday. However, if plant
is to be located away from pithead, all rail & road transport facilities
should be available. Also transportation of staff.
 Land requirement: Average land required 3-4Acres/MW. Cost of land adds
to the total cost of plant. The land must be have good bearing capacity to
carry dead load and forces transmitted to foundation during operation
 Ash disposal facility: Ash content should be as low as possible 20-40%.
Creates disposal problems, pollution and non-effective operation of boilers,
𝜂 ↓. Large space for ash disposal.

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 Sub-plants

1. Coal plant
2. Boiler plant
3. Ash plant
4. Cooling plant
5. Water handling/treatment plant

1.1.1 Coal plant

 It is the initial process in power generation
 Different mode of transportation can be used to carry coal to the
plant; trucks, railway, conveyor belts (Case of Morupule from the
Colliery)
 From the mine, some is deposited in coal storage yard/stock pile
for storage while some go through processing.
 Processing plant: coal is transported by the conveyor belt into coal
bunkers to be crushed into pulverised coal before being fed into the
boiler.
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 Sub-plants (Coal)
1.1.1 Coal plant-Main Equipment

1. Vibrating feeder: From storage, coal is collected on the belt through

vibrations created by the vibrating feeder. The purpose is to separate the sample
into different sizes. Very big particles may be broken down before being re-fed.
2. Flap gates: Used as stand-by or by-pass belt to the main one in case it is
broken or unhealthy.
3. Magnetic separator: Used to separate the ferrous impurities from the coal.
4. Metal detector: It detects the presence of ferrous and non-ferrous metal in
the coal. It then sends a signal to a relay which closes to stop the movement of
the conveyor belt until the metal is removed. Basically it consists of a transmitter
and a receiver. The transmitter consists of a high frequency oscillator, which
produces oscillations of 1500 Hz at 15V. The receiver receives this frequency
signal. If there is any presence of metal in the coal, this frequency is disturbed
and a tripping signal is send to relay to stop the conveyor belt1.
5. Belt weightier: Used to continuously measure the tension on the conveyor belt
carrying coal.
6. Reclaim hopper: Reclamation is a process of taking coal from the dead storage
for preparation or further feeding to reclaim hoppers. This is accomplished by
belt conveyors.

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 Fig 3: Coal Processing plant2

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 Status of Coal in Bots
Status
 Botswana coal resources is estimated at 212 billion tonnes of
over 170km.
 Only 45 billion tonnes classified as reserves.
 Only two measured (proven) coal reserves; Morupule &
Mmamabula coal basins with a capacity of 7.2 billion tonnes2.

Properties
 Relatively good quality, low sulphur and low phosphorus semi-
bituminous coal3
 It has a heat value of 22 to 26 MJ/Kg.
 Botswana Coal ash content varies from field to field; typical
18-22%2.
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 Sub-plants (Boiler)

1.1.2 Boiler plant-Auxiliary Equipment

1. Boiler
2. Economiser
3. Air pre-heaters
4. Super-heaters
5. Flue gas flow diagram
***********************************************
Steam temperature control technique
Super-heater 1: In at 3360C, out at 4000C
De-super-heater 1: In at 4000C, out at 3540C
Super-heater 2: In at 3540C, out at 4900C
De-super-heater 2: In at 4900C, out at 4590C
Super-heater 3: In at 4590C, out at 5130C- Final steam temp.
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 Sub-plants (Boiler)

1.1.2 Boiler plant

Main aim of de-superheater: To provide the boiler operator
with a stage-by-stage control over the rate @ which the steam
is superheated by cooling down the steam. Furnace flame
temperature: 16000C - 18000C

Combustion air
After combustion, the flue gases transfer heat to the following
areas of the boiler; Super-heater, economiser and air pre-
heaters as shown in Fig 4.

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 Sub-plants (Boiler)

Induced draught

Air pre-heater

Flue gases

economiser

Flue gases

Boiler
Super-heater

Flue gases

Fig 4: Flue gas flow diagram

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 Sub-plants (Boiler)
1.1.2 Boiler plant_Auxiliary Equipment

a) Boiler drum: Saturated steam at pH level 9 to avoid corrosion of metallic parts. Two types of
boilers: “fire-tube“ and "water-tube"
b) Economiser: Are located at the end of the second flue gases. Water draws heat from the flue
gases raising temp from 2000C to outlet temp 2240C
c) Burners; 2 burners in each combustion chamber – Firing pulverized coal & heavy fuel oil (HFO)

Turbine & generator

Turbines: 3 Single cylinder, impulse/reaction type turbines- 3000rpm with steam supplied at 90bars
and 5130C.
Generator: 12kV, 33MW, 1985A. Generator & exciter are air cooled.

By-products of pulverized coal: after combustion there are ash and flue gases.
 Flue gases are disposed through chimneys as smoke
 Ash is handled in stages: Ash is classified into two depending on the size of particles: (i) Coarse
ash (Bottom ash) Drops directly underneath the combustion chamber into the submerged chain
conveyor of each boiler unit. Water extinguishes the flame and drops temperatures before
disposal then to the Ash pan pile.
(ii) Fly ash (light size particles) Transferred: electrostatically/pneumatically from boilers where
its mixed with water to form slurry which is pumped into the lagoons.

An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a filtration device that removes fine particles, like dust and
smoke, from a flowing gas using the force of an induced electrostatic charge.
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 Sub-plants (Ash)
1.1.3 Ash plant_Components
An electrostatic precipitator (ESP)

Fig 5: Typical ESP1

Operation
Electrodes at HV ionises the air surrounding them. This charges the
particles. Once charged, particles are subject to a transverse electrostatic
force that pulls them toward the collecting plates.
Plates are periodically rapped (vibrated) to make the collected particles
fall down into a receiver basket in the bottom of the ESP.
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 Sub-plants (Ash)

1.1.3 Ash plant_Components

ESP

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Fig 6: Typical ESP, details2
 Sub-plants (Ash)

* The dust is handled in its dry & wet state throughout

the plant by pneumatic air slides which remove dust
from the economiser hoppers and precipitator hoppers.

* The dust handling plant is entirely automatic requiring

no manual intervention except in cases of failure and
hence operates on a 24 hour basis.

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 Sub-plants (Water)

Water treatment plant

Water from Paje wells 50km is pumped to the reservoir at the
station. Plant consumption of water is 95m3/hr (Full functional
Morupule A).

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 Sub-plants (Cooling)

1.1.2 Cooling Plant plant_(Exclusive to BPC)

 Dry cooling tech. by forced draught fans (unique in all SADC countries)
 Construction and operation of a dry cooling station is expensive
compared to wet cooling technology consuming 0.4l/kWh and
2.5l/kWh respectively.
 Steam from the low pressure turbine goes to the steam exchanger
bundles in the cooling tower where it is condensed by forced air. Heat
is conducted from the steam to the metal of the heat exchangers then
removed by passing air.
 Limitations of water resources overrides the economic considerations in
making choice between the two but these are offset by the availability of
water.

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 Sub-plants (Cooling)

1.1.2 Cooling Plant plant_(Exclusive to BPC)

Fig 7: Popular Cooling Tower3

Fig 8: Typical Heat Exchanger4

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 Sub-plants (Cooling)

1.1.2 Cooling Tower

Disadvantages of dry cooling

 Expensive but offset by availability of cheap coal and the significant conservation
of the already limited water
 Performance depends on varying ambient air temperature giving rise to a varying
rate of heat drawn from the exchanger.
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1.2.1 Nuclear Power Plant: Operation
BASICS
Nuclear power comes from nuclear
fission.

In nuclear fission, atoms are split

apart to form smaller atoms,
releasing energy. Fission takes
place inside the reactor of a
nuclear power plant. At the center
of the reactor is the core, which
contains uranium fuel.

It is easy to control fission

reaction.
Fig 9: Nuclear Power Plant5
The heat produced in the reactor
core is used to boil water into
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 Nuclear Reactors
Fuel:
* 238U.
* Natural uranium
* Limited world resource (about 2x106 tons).

Reactors:
* Basic reactor consists of
* Fuel in the form of pellets situated in an environment (moderator) which will slow
down the neutrons and fission products and in which the heat is evolved.
* The moderator can be light or heavy water or graphite.
* Also situated in the moderator are movable rods which absorb neutrons and hence
exert control over fission process & hence controls the heat output of the reactor.
* The energy breakdown in the fission process is as follows (in MeV):Kinetic energy of
fission fragments 168, kinetic energy of neutrons 5, gamma radiations 5, beta and
gammas emitted by fission products 7 and 6, respectively, and neutrinos 11.

* Power generation in all nuclear reactors is based on nuclear fission but the design
of reactors may be different. Commonly used reactor types:
* Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR)
* Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
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 PWR
1.2.1.1 Nuclear Power Plant: Types of Nuclear Reactors
Boiling-water reactor (BWR) or pressurized-water reactor (PWR).
Pressurised water Reactor (PWR)6
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OPEARATION
 The core inside the reactor vessel
creates heat.
 Pressurized H20 in the primary coolant
loop carries the heat to the steam
generator.
 Inside the steam gen., heat from the
primary coolant loop vaporizes the water
in a secondary loop, producing steam.
 The steamline directs the steam to the
main turbine, causing it to turn the
turbine-gen set.
 The unused steam is exhausted to the
condenser, where it is condensed into
water. The resulting water is pumped out
of the condenser, reheated, and pumped
back to the steam generator.
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 PWR
Pressurised water Reactor (PWR)6
Advantages
 It is easy to operate because less power is being produced as the heat increases.
 In addition, the core of the reactor contains less fissile material, decreasing the chances
of additional fission events to occur, making the reactor safer and more controllable
 The most advantageous element of the PWR is the turbine cycle. Since the primary and
secondary loops are separate, water can never be contaminated by radioactive material
in the main system loop.

Disadvantages
 The reactor requires very strong piping and a heavy pressure vessel in order to ensure
that the highly pressurized water remains at a liquid state when sustaining high
temperatures, making the construction of the PWR costly.
 Meanwhile, most reactors need to be refuelled after about 18 months, and cannot be
refuelled while the reactor is running. Since the refuelling process takes a few weeks, the
reactors must go offline for this time.
 Lastly, although no water contamination in the main cycle exists, boric acid, which is
corrosive to carbon steel, can get melted into the coolant causing radioactive products to
circulate throughout the loop.
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 BWR

Boiling water Reactor (BWR)7

1. Reactor pressure vessel

2. Nuclear fuel element
3. Control rods
4. Recirculation pumps
5. Control rod drives
6. Steam
7. Feed-water
8. High-pressure turbine
9. Low-pressure turbine
10. Generator
11. Exciter
12. Condenser
13. Coolant
14. Pre-heater
15. Feed-water pump
16. Cold-water pump
17. Concrete enclosure
18. Connection to electricity grid

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 BWR_Opretation
* Was developed later than the PWR & is now used extensively.
* Also employs water as the coolant and moderator as PWR. The heat
released during nuclear fission is absorbed by the water and the steam is
generated inside the reactor, heat is transferred to boiling water.

Advantages of BWR
* Since the pressure inside the vessel is less compared to the PWR, the cost
of the vessel is relatively lower.
* No boiler, pressurizer and circulating pumps, the cost ↓↓
* The thermal 𝜂 of this plant is (≈30%) higher than that of PWR

Disadvantages of BWR
* The steam from the reactor is radioactive and hence shielding of turbine
and piping circuitry is essential.
* The power density of this reactor is nearly 50% of PWR and hence the size
of the vessel for the same capacity of plant is more.

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 Safety & Environmental conditions
* In the water-cooled cores the fission and activation products are
present in the coolant.
* The wastes are concentrated in liquid form and stored in stainless
steel containers. The storage of such wastes create great controversy,
the material being active after centuries.
* Most wastes are converted to solid form (e.g. glass) and stored
underground in stable geological situations.
* Any accident involving substantial heating and rupture of the
structure involves the release of toxic fission fragments held in the
fuel rods into the atmosphere.
* Any mistakes made would create serious problems for future
generations.
* In the design and construction of reactors, great care is taken to
cover every contingency. Many facilities, e.g. control systems, are at
least duplicated and have alternative electrical supplies.
* The health controls in the atomic power industry have been much
more rigorous than in any other industry.

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 Location

Proximity to the load centres

The plant should be close to the load centres so that the transmission
losses could be minimized. At the same time it should not be very close
to the densely populated areas as the radiations, if not controlled,
would cause health hazards to people living near the plant.

Availability of cooling water

The plant should be located near a good water source for condenser
cooling, make-up water & staff usage.

Radioactive waste disposal

Sufficient space should be available for short time storage as well as
long-term burial of the wastes.

Accessibility
Sufficient infrastructure should be available to facilitate accessibility
for plant personnel, dispatch and receipt of radioactive material and
heavy machinery.
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1.3.1 HPP: Layout & Operation

Fig 9: Hydro Power Plant8

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Power Computations

* HPP output is entirely dependent on how much head and flow is available at the
site;

𝑷 = 𝒎 ∗ 𝒈 ∗ 𝑯𝒏𝒆𝒕 ∗ 𝜼
Where:
P power in Watts (W); m: mass flow rate in kg/s (same as the flow rate in L/s); g: the gravitational constant,
which is 9.81m/s2; Hnet the net head (gross head physically measured at the site, less any head losses). Head
losses can be assumed to be 10%; η the product of all of the component efficiencies (turbine, drive system &
generator)

e.g. small hydro system the turbine efficiency would be 85%, drive efficiency 95% and generator efficiency 93%,
so 𝜂 = 0.85 𝑥 0.95 𝑥 0.93 = 0.751
 For Hgross= 2.5 metres, a max. flow rate of 3 m3/s, the max. power output of the system:

Hnet = Hgross x 0.9 = 2.5 x 0.9 = 2.25 m

Convert m from m3/s into L/s: 3 m3/s = 3,000 L/s

Then: 𝑷 = 𝒎 ∗ 𝒈 ∗ 𝑯𝒏𝒆𝒕 ∗ 𝜼 = 𝟑𝟎𝟎𝟎 ∗ 𝟗. 𝟖𝟏 ∗ 𝟐. 𝟐𝟓 ∗ 𝟎. 𝟕𝟓𝟏 = 𝟒𝟗. 𝟕𝒌𝑾

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Power Computations

 For a high-head hydropower site where the gross head is 50 metres and max.
flow rate through the turbine is 150 L/s.

Hnet = 50 x 0.9 = 45 m and the flow rate in litres/second is

150, hence:
𝑷 = 𝒎 ∗ 𝒈 ∗ 𝑯𝒏𝒆𝒕 ∗ 𝜼 = 𝟏𝟓𝟎 ∗ 𝟗. 𝟖𝟏 ∗ 𝟒𝟓 ∗ 𝟎. 𝟕𝟓𝟏 = 𝟒𝟗. 𝟕𝒌𝑾

* Main variables: The head and the flow.

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Advantages of Hydroelectric Energy
1. Renewable:
2. Green: No pollution. The only pollution occurs during the construction of these massive power plants.
3. Reliable: Very reliable energy. Countries that have large resources of hydropower use hydroelectricity
as a base load energy source.
4. Flexible: Adjusting water flow and output of electricity is easy. At times where power consumption is
low, water flow is reduced and the magazine levels are being conserved for times when the power
consumption is high.
5. Safe: Compared to others fossil fuels and nuclear energy, hydroelectricity is much safer. There is no
fuel involved (other than water that is).
Disadvantages of Hydroelectric Energy
1. Environmental Consequences: Related to interventions in nature due to damming of water, changed
water flow and the construction of roads and power lines. HPP may affect fish. Complex interaction
between numerous physical and biological factors.
2. Expensive: Building power plants in general is expensive including HPP. HPP do not require a lot of
workers and maintenance costs are usually low.
3. Droughts: Electricity generation and energy prices are directly related to how much water is
available, drought could potentially affect this.
4. Limited Reservoirs:

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1. Availability of water:
2. Storage of water: To account for seasonal water variation
3. Cost and type of land: For the dam & spillways, & plant
machinery
4. Transportation facilities: The site must be accessible for
heavy machinery.

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 * A configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations that can generate power
(discharge) as water moves down through a turbine; this draws power as it pumps water
(recharge) to the upper reservoir.
* PSH capabilities can be characterized as open loop—where there is an ongoing hydrologic
connection to a natural body of water—or closed loop, where the reservoirs are not connected
to an outside body of water.

* .

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 * Pumped storage facilities store excess energy as
gravitational potential energy of water.
* The reservoirs hold large volumes of water, PSH is a common
large scale energy storage system.
* Round-trip efficiency of about 65-70%.
* The amount of energy stored depends on the mass of water
pumped and the height difference between the reservoirs.
* PSH is an easily dispatchable source of energy since it can
be deployed whenever demand is needed.
* It is often used to meet demand when intermittent, non-
dispatchable sources, such as wind and solar power, cannot
do so.

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Operation
* Low demand (off-peak): water is pumped into the upper reservoir, using reversible
turbine/pump. Excess electricity from the grid is used to pump the water up.
* High demand (Peak): power is generated by releasing the water stored in the
reservoir. This water flows down a slope through to the turbines.

⇒ PSH bring efficient energy storage, offer a long-term solution and facilitate the
integration of RES into the system and bring high returns.

Challenges
* Facilities can only exist in areas with a very specific topography.
* The area must be able to store massive amounts of water at a high elevation,
while having another body of water significantly lower than the upper reservoir.
* PSH construction is very expensive and can take a long time to finish.
* Significant amounts of capital cost and labour are required to construct the facility.
(Large scale PSH facilities can have a capital cost: $1.3-3.3 billion)

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* The reservoir is located at a certain height above the turbine-gen set (the
head height) to generate potential energy. The flow rate is the amount of
water (meters cubed per second) that flows in or out. To calculate the
energy storage capacity of a pumped hydro system:

𝑬 𝑱 = 𝒈 ∗ 𝝆𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 ∗ 𝑽𝒓𝒆𝒔 ∗ 𝒉𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 ∗ 𝜼

𝑬 𝑱 : energy stored (J) (divide by 3.6 x 106 to convert to kWh); ); g: the

gravitational constant 𝝆𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 : density of water (kg/m3); 𝑽𝒓𝒆𝒔 : volume of the
reservoir(𝑚3 ); 𝒉𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 ∶head height (m); 𝜼: efficiency of the energy conversion,
must consider losses (turbine efficiency, generator efficiency, and
hydrodynamic losses)

Convert from flow rate in 𝑚3 /𝑠 to kW:

𝑃 𝑘𝑊 = 9.81 ∗ 𝝆𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 ∗ 𝒉𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 ∗ 𝜼 ∗ 𝑭/𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎

F: Flow rate in cubic 𝑚3 /𝑠 .

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 End of EEB 453 Chapter 1:

Power Generation Methods

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