FOREIGN TRANING REPORT

ON
FGD PLANT VISIT AND MANUFACTURING WORKS
UNDER CONTRACTUAL TRANING OF VSTPS FGD (1X500 MW)
BY
M/S GENERAL ELECTRICALS(GE) POWER
AT
VAXJO, POLAND & MILAN

PARTICIPANT NAME: SUDESH KUMAR CHOUDHARY

DESIGNATION: MANAGER
EMP NO: 100255
DEPARTMENT: OPERATION & MAINTENANCE (FGD)
PLACE OF POSTING: NTPC VINDHYACHAL

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1. Program Details
1.1 Name of the Program
Contractual Training for Flue Gas Desulphurization system under Vindhyachal Stage V Package
1.2 Duration 12 June to 21 June, 2017
1.3 Country Visited – Sweden, Poland and Italy
1.4 Organizer – GE Power
1.5 Names of the Industry/ Company visited as part of the training -
Vaxjo R&D centre of GE Power at Vaxjo, Sweden
EDF Power Plant Rybnik Poland,
GE Power Learning Centre, Milan, Italy.

A) Detailed learning report for FGD foreign training.

First destination (from 12.06.17 to 13.06.17)- Visit to Sweden (Växjö) GE Technical
Center:
Session 1(12.06.17): Overview of environment pollution control solution was discussed and various
technology offer by GE in this regard was discuss. Discussion also cover Esp bag filters used with dry type
FGD.
Some of the technology developed by GE with respect to Dry Flue Gas Desulfurization (DFGD) for SOx and
multi-pollutant Control are: -
A. Spray Dry Absorber (SDA)
 Two main types of spray dryers developed
 Nozzles using compressed air for injection
 Rotary atomizers using a spinning disk
 Support systems in form of lime slaking and slurry preparation.
 Removal of produced dust (CaSO3) with either fabric filters or electrostatic precipitators.
 Systems developed both with and without pre collector for fly ash

B. Novel Integrated Desulphurization (NID)

 Integrated and compact design with in-situ lime hydration and
reactor

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  Removal of produced by-product (CaSO3) with either fabric filters or
electrostatic precipitators
 By-product recycled to the mixer and reactor to further remove
acidic gases
 Systems developed both with and without pre-collector for fly ash

Both the above technology suits with the coal with high calorific value and low ash
content moreover the end product formed is mixed with ash and mostly require
fabric filter which will create huge O&M cost and also unit overhaul schedule may
increase on account of fabric filter cleaning.

Comparison of wet and dry FGD

Parameter Wet limestone FGD Dry FGD

So2 removal efficiency 95-99 % 98-99 % for CDS(circulating dry
scrubber) 85-99 % for SDA(spray
90-98 % (SEA WATER)
dryer absorber)
So3 removal efficiency 40-50 % 99-100 %
Installation Cost (ZLD and Higher Lower
chimney lining included)
O&M costs Moderate High ( when sulphur content in
coal is high(2000 mg/Nm3) or less
sulphur content cost is
comparable)
Reagent Limestone(caco3) Lime(CaO/ca(OH)2)

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APC High with GGH, moderate Moderate (0.6% of plant output)
without GGH ( 1.0 to 1.5 %
of plant output)

FGD required 1.1 % (Approx.) of Auxiliary power consumption (APC) depending upon the
design. Major equipment which can be controlled for optimising the APC of the FGD &
Gypsum quality control is oxidation blower. GE has developed a technology for continuous
and reliable sulphite measurement in a WFGD system. The object is to install the sulphite
sensor and control the oxidation air amount using the signal from the sensor. This enables
the optimization of the power consumption of the oxidation blowers.

Session-2:
The Vaxjo facility of GE power are mainly dedicated to research and development of emission
control technologies. We found that many prototypes were made to test the various parameters
of systems like NID -type dry FGD system, De-NOx system etc. To minimize the iteration involved
in actual prototype test, they are using computational fluid dynamics extensively.

Mainly two software are used based on the application:

1. Ansys CFX- Effective for low concentration particle flow.
2. Barracuda VR- Can handle high solids concentration flow effectively. Interaction of
solid particle, gas flow and particle distribution, temperature stratification can
easily be managed with this software.

Session -3:
This session was dedicated to ESP, basics of ESP operations were discussed. There are mainly
two modes of particle charging inside ESP, Field charging – As particles enter the electric field,
they cause a local dislocation of the field. Negative gas ions traveling along the electric field
lines collide with the suspended particles and impart a charge to them. The ions will continue
to bombard a particle until the charge on that particle is sufficient to divert the electric lines
away from it. This prevents new ions from colliding with the charged dust particle. When a
particle no longer receives an ion charge, it is said to be saturated. Saturated charged particles
then migrate to the collection electrode and are collected. This happens with particles of
relatively higher in size (1-10 micron). The collection of higher size particles in ESP, is therefore
relatively easy.

Diffusion Charging- Diffusion charging is associated with the random Brownian motion of the
negative gas ions. The random motion is related to the velocity of the gas ions due to thermal
effects: the higher the temperature, the more movement. Negative gas ions collide with the
particles because of their random thermal motion and impart a charge on the particles. Because

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the particles are very small (sub-micrometre), they do not cause the electric field to be
dislocated, as in field charging. Thus, diffusion charging is the only mechanism by which these
very small particles become charged. The charged particles then migrate to the collection
electrode. It is much difficult than Field charging, the smaller size particles (less than 1 micron)
are captured after being charged through diffusion charging process and hence difficult to
collect in ESP.For max. efficiency, the ESP shall be operated near spark voltage. However, sparks
shall be avoided for effective dust collection.

Session-4:
This session was focused on the recently developed Sulphite Sensor. This equipment will
be helpful in optimization of air blower fan power consumption in wet FGD system by
optimizing the oxidation air flow as per sulphite concentration in the absorber.
Chemistry involve in the WFGD process is shown below:

CaCO3(s) + SO2 (g) → CaSO3(s) + CO2 (g)

CaSO3 (aq) + 2H2O (l) + ½O2 (g) → CaSO4 · 2H2O(s)

Chemistry involve in the WFGD process is shown below.

Sulphite so formed in the process need to converted into sulphate with oxidation
and the degree of conservation depends upon the oxidation air flow to the
absorber from oxidation blower.
The WFGD process uses the oxidation of sulphite to sulphate to assure:
• High SO2 removal efficiency.
• Scale-free operation.
• Production of good quality gypsum.

Traditionally - sizing of oxidation air system is for worst case conditions.

• 100% MCR and max. coal rate.

• Highest sulphur content of coal.
• Highest SO2 removal.
• Minimum natural oxidation in the absorber.

• Minimal sulphur capture in the boiler & ash.

Benefits of Operating with Sulphite Sensor.

• Oxidation air flow is optimized and the power consumption is reduced.

• ORP (Oxidation Reduction potential) is lowered with the following benefits:
Reduced corrosion potential.
Reduction of the precipitation of manganese and iron which contributes to
an improved gypsum colour.
Mercury re-emissions can potentially be reduced and controlled.
Selenium speciation may be more favourable for treatment in WWT system
(Se4+/Se6+).

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 Mercury is precipitated and easily removed in WWT.

Fig .1 Sulphite Analyser

Experience from Rybnik plant: - Sulphite analyser was installed at site but was not
in working condition as per commissioning engineer equipment require frequent
flushing and its response was not consistent. Moreover, it is required only for those
oxidation blower where air flow control is possible.

NTPC should specify the rating of oxidation blower accordingly and overrating of
the equipment to be avoided. More over NTPC could go for purchasing overall
Gypsum parameter analyser for determining all the component like Magnesium,
iron, calcium, sulphite, sulphate etc. which can give result within a min. by taking
sample from absorber sampling point.

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Second Destination (from 15.06.17 to 16.06.17)- Visit to Poland (Rybnik) EDF plant:

FIG. Rybnik Plant (Poland)

Rybnik plant is operated by EDF (Électricité de France ) and consist of 8 units of 225 MW of power
each operates based on coal. ID fan discharge duct of five units were club together to form a
common header and was feed to two booster fans with inlet damper at each booster fan suction
side. Flue gas discharge of each booster fans goes to the independent absorber for
desulphurisation of flue gas.

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System was well designed to handled flue gas from all the five units, scheme is attached for
reference.

Note: - NTPC should adopt for retrofitting of FGD by clubbing at least two to three of 500 mw units
which feed common absorber as it requires less space than to go for individual installation and
numbers of booster fan requirement is also reduces considerably which help to cope with the
capex and opex in long run.

Fig. Rybnik plant uses centrifuge for gypsum recovery from primary hydro cyclone.

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Note: - Centrifuge generate higher procurement cost but lower running cost over vacuum belt filter
system. After 4-5 years’ operation the centrifuge generate lower total cost as compared to vacuum
belt filter system. Centrifuge provide lower residual moisture (5-10%) as compared to VBF (8-10 %).
Centrifuge require lower building cost as compared to VBF (Approx. 2/3 lower space requirement
than VBF). It also reduced wash liquid costs on account of low washing required after every cycle of
operation.

Material Handling System at Rybnik plant

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Compressed air pipe for
limestone powder

Space for material handling (common for gypsum & limestone)

Material handling of rybink plant was done with rail structure which was common for handling
limestone powder and gypsum disposal. Lime stone powder was made available to the plant in train
where compressed air system was used to transfer the lime powder from train to silos. Compressed
air was made available from plant existing compressor as it was used only during unloading of
limestone powder.

Gypsum
disposal pipe

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Gypsum so formed was transferred from centrifuge to gypsum storage area by conveyor belt and
was stored in closed area having proper ventilation system. Travelling screw reclaimer was used for
shift gypsum from storage area to the unloading belts and from belts gypsum was diverted to the
unloading chute and finally gypsum was unloaded into train wagons.

Note: - Gypsum storage shed should be designed for 30 days’ storage capacity to avoid any
uncertainty in gypsum transportation and to protect it from moisture absorption shed should be
well covered with all ventilation system.

Fig. New chimney (stack) used for FGD plant

Chimney flue cans of

GRP
11material
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In European union it is forbidden to start the unit without FGD in service, Separate stack is
constructed which is made up of GRP (glass reinforced plastic material), bottom of stack is utilised
by accommodate make up water tank, pipe and pump system).

Note: - Chimney flue cans with GRP material should be constructed in new plants which are
coming with FGD system.

GAS TO GAS HEATER (GGH) – SOME IMPORTANT FACTS.

 GGH requires considerable space for installation

 GGH entails additional auxiliary power consumption
 Prone to leakage from untreated gas side to treated gas side. To avoid this, we require
additional purge air and seal air fan which add to APC.
 GGH entails high O&M cost due to choking problem requiring frequent basket cleaning.
Basket cleaning will be done by HP wash pump set and regular soot blowing is carried out
with steam or air which increases the OPEX.
 Most of the new power plant with WET FGD systems are without ggh and are being
preferred now a day. however, without ggh clean gas temperature would be about 45O–
60OC. at outlet of absorber instead of 90 – 1050c with ggh. Even with GGH we are operating
close to dew point of sulphur (sulphite ions in flue gases) which ultimately can create
problem in existing chimney of retrofit plants.
 low temperature clean gas makes systems downstream of absorber prone to acid corrosion.

To avoid / minimise corrosion, suitably designed wet stack / chimney with liners would be required.
Suitable acid resistant material / liner for the clean gas duct from absorber to ggh and to chimney
also would be required. common chimney liners being considered are borosilicate glass, flake glass
reinforced vinyl ester, frp etc. In Europe most of the chimney is constructed with GRP material.

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Third Destination (from 15.06.17 to 16.06.17)- Visit to Milan, GE Engineering office
Milan is GE engineering division were mass flow study based on CFD modelling is done. Topic of
discussion covers mainly mass flow study of FGD, operation & maintenance of Litoral CFPP &
Megalopolis WFGD.

Table. Design data of Litoral plant.

Litoral project was originally design only to treat part of the flue gas for < 700 mg/Nm3 dry 6% O2
emissions at the stack.
Original design to operate at full load with 35% by-pass in operation with worst S fuel.
Revamping project now requiring treatment of flue gas to emit SO2 concentration of less than 160
mg/Nm3 dry 6% O2 SO2 at Stack.
Full treatment of flue gas required (no bypass) to meet stack emissions.

To meet the new norms Litoral plant done some modification which can be compared as follow

Existing Absorber configuration New Absorber configuration

A. 5 spray banks with spacing for an 6 new spray banks; new PEPs at any
intermediate spray level. level.

B. 2 recycle pumps feeding the 2 existing recycle pumps feeding the

bottom 4 levels + 1 recycle pump bottom 4 levels + 2 new recycle pumps
feeding the highest level. feeding the highest 2 levels.
Two stages mist eliminator (mixed New 2 stages mist eliminator roof type.
flat + roof type).

C. Reaction tank equipped with 4 Reaction tank equipped with new

agitators and oxidation air

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 distribution grid. Segregation
between the oxidation area (top) and
limestone injection / recycle area
(bottom).
replaced agitators, oxidation air lances.
Removed the existing segregation inside
the reaction tank. New inlet duct (moved 180°
from existing
position) equipped with new emergency
quenching lances.

Learning note: Norms are more likely to be changed over time and the So2 emission limit is likely to
be changed in future So, NTPC should adopt such design which can easily meet new norm for
environments protection.

Megalopolis plant is unique plant w.r.t to WFGD which uses lignite for power generation, four
lignite–fired steam-electric Units:
• Units I and II, 125 MWe each
• Units III and IV, 300 MWe each

Project Experience: major challenges were:

• Very high SO2 content at absorber inlet (16500 mg/Nm3 dry, 6% O2)
• Very high SO2 removal efficiency (greater than 98%) with > 6 + 1 recirculation levels
• Very high flue gas flowrate for a 300 MWe boiler due to lignite poor quality
• Very high capacity booster fan (9.7 MW, 6.5 mtr Dia.) was required to divert the whole flue gas
to the absorber.

SO2 emission 330 mg/NM3 dry at 6% of O2 corresponding to 98 % removal efficiency.

Table. Design data of Megalopolis plant.

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1. Absorption area optimization needed due to the challenging design conditions (high SO2
inlet and high removal efficiency).
2. CFD modelling with fluid dynamic optimisation of the nozzles arrangement and wall ring
(Alstom patent) location, at each spray level.
3. Development of a multi-phase approach in the CFD model for the absorber.

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 Recommendation from Training.

1) Bypass damper is required in all retrofit plants with GGH for utilising existing stack.
2) Outlet of Absorber may be feed directly to the cooling tower with natural draft system. Eg. in
Dadri plant etc. No separate chimney or GGH in FGD system is required, provided these plant
go for NOx removal also and have to control Particulate matter within the prescribed limits.
3) Powdered limestone to be used where ever availability is possible with train facilities, as it
helps in reducing auxiliary power consumption and space requirement is also reduced
considerably.
4) For all new plant where chimney is not constructed or which are to be build up with FGD
system small chimney can be used and it can be of GRP material.
5) Gypsum utilisation scope to be defined earlier as per the location of project and gypsum
extraction system to be awarded according. For example, market near Dadri plant is of
Gypsum wall board then it is better to go for centrifuge system for removing gypsum from
primary hydrocodone as Gypsum wall board require less moisture in by-product gypsum
which is possible by using centrifuge (5-6 % moisture) in spite of using Vacuum Belt Filter (9-
10 % moisture).
6) All the pipe line in FGD system which handle limestone as well as gypsum slurry should be GRP
or FRP in spite of using CSRL pipe as it can be erected easily and failure of pipe lines are very
less, bend can be easily provided with no provision of physical flange joints.
7) Drain near the u bend of chimney is must as formation of acid rain in chimney flue cans is
prominent as the operating temperature is far below the dew point of sulphur which is 130
deg. centigrade even after using GGH we will get temperature in the range of 100 to 110 deg.
centigrade only.
8) If chimney is constructed with special alloy like s-ten-1 material or special alloy then GGH is
not required as it only increase temperature of flue gas to 105 deg. Centigrade, though the
dispersion of flue gas at the outlet of stack will increase.
9) NTPC can go for more compact design where dewatering building, absorber, recycle pump,
oxidation blower can be kept in one location in closed building as in Rybnik plant of Poland.
This will be help to reduce the space requirement in retrofitting plant.
10) In case of Vindhyachal Stage-V FGD can be clubbed with the 2 units of stage-iii as only one
more absorber and few more equipment is required to be accommodated in existing FGD
space. Most of the system like limestone handling, slurry preparation can be made common.
11) Primary Hydrocodone should always be kept in service by providing return line to absorber
from underflow as well, currently in vindhyachal plant underflow goes to the vaccum belt filter
and overflow goes to the absorber. This will help in saving water on account of flushing which
is required every time after keeping primary hydrocylone in service.
12) Floor of absorber bottom surface to be brick lined in addition to the rubber lining for ease of
maintenance.
13) Suction of recirculation pump to be provided with strainer in order to avoid carryover of
rubber pieces to pump discharge thus choking spray nozzles.

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