Thermal Power Plant

ME 403
Power Plant
Engineering
Capt Najmus Saquib Sifat
Military Institute of Science &
Technology
Thermal Power Plants
• Fuels
• Combustion equipment
• Boilers
Coal Analysis
• General coal analysis and testing include the following:
• 1.Proximate analysis: moisture content, ash content, volatile
matter, fixed carbon; FC+M+VM+A=100
• 2.Ultimate analysis: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur;
• 3.Ash analysis: major and minor elements in coal and coal ash;
• 4.Calorific value (also known as heating value or specific energy).

Coal Power Plant
• Working Procedure of a Coal power plant
Coal Handling and
Storage
Power Plant Engineering (ME 403) 18

Coal handling and storage
• The main purpose of storage of coal is:
• To store the coal for a period of 30 to 90 days,
therefore the plant is not required to be shut down
due to failure of normal supply of coal.
• To permit the choice of the date of purchase
allowing the management to take advantage of
seasonal market conditions in prices of coal.
Dead storage or outdoor storage
• In this storage the coal received at the power plant
is stored in dead storage in the form of piles laid
directly on the ground. The coal stored has the
tendency to combine with oxygen of air and during
this process coal loss some of its heating value and
ignition quality.
• Due to oxidation the coal may ignite spontaneously.

This can be avoided by storing coal in following
ways.
• Generally concrete floored area is used to
prevent the flow of air from the bottom for
stocking the coal.
• Coal is stored in the form of heaps or piles up

to a height of 10 to 12 m directly on concrete
ground, the coal should be compacted in layer
of 15 to 30 cm in thickness.
• This effectively prevents the air circulation in
the interior of the pile. The pile top should be
given a gentle slope in which the rain may be
drained off.
• Sealing of stored pile is desirable in order to

avoid the oxidation of coal after packing an
air tight layer of coal. Asphalt, fine coal dust,
and bituminous coating are the materials
commonly used for this purpose.
• Under water storage:
• The possibility of slow oxidation and
spontaneous combustion can be completely
eliminated by storing the coal under water.
Live storage or active storage
• Coal from a live coal storage pile is usually
supplied to combustion equipment
• The coal is usually stored in vertical cylinder
bunkers or coal bins or silo. Coal from silos is
transferred to the boiler grate.
• Live coal storage bunkers are normally
constructed with a diamond-shaped cross section
storage area.
• The storage bunkers are made of steel or
reinforced concrete to store the live coal.
Requirement of good coal handling
plants at site
• It should have minimum maintenance.
• It should be simple
• It should be reliable
• It should supply coal continuously as per the
demand of power plant.
• It should have minimum wear in running the
equipment.
Coal handling
Coal Firing

Firing systems
• Fuel is burnt in a confined space known as
furnace. The furnace provides supports and
enclosures for burning equipment.
• Solid fuels such as coal, coke,wood are burnt
by means of stockers whereas burners are
used to burn pulverized coal and liquid fuels.
• Solid fuels require a grate in the furnace to
hold the bed of fuel.
Selection of firing methods
• The characteristics of the available coal
• Capacity of the plant
• Efficiency and reliability of the combustion
equipments.
• The power plant load factor
• Nature of load fluctuation.
Solid fuel firing
• Hand firing system: it is simple and suitable for
small power plant. Since it is difficult to achieve
the uniform combustion and it gives low
combustion efficiency.
• Stoker firing: stoker is a power operated fuel

feeding mechanism and grate. With stoker firing ,
it allows to burn large quantities of fuel, with
easy in controlling the combustion with higher
efficiency, less labour of handling ash and are self
cleaning.
Advantages of stoker firing
• Easy of control of combustion
• High combustion efficiency
• Cheaper grade of fuel can be used
• Smokeless combustion
• Less labour required
• System is realiable
Disadvantages of stoker firing
• Capital cost is high
• Loss of coal through the grates
• Steam demand due to load fluctuations on
plant can not be met efficiently
• Complicated construction and arrangement
• Excessive wear of parts.
Types of stoker their working
• A grate is used at furnace bottom to hold a
bed of fuel. There are two ways of feeding
coal on to the grate
• Over feeding
• Under feeding
Therefore automatic stockers may be classified
as overfeed and under feed stockers.
Principles of overfeed stokers
• It receives the coal on its top surface and is
characterized by the following five zones from top to
the bottom.
• A layer of fresh or green coal-fresh coal zone
• A layer of coal losing moisture-drying zone
• A cooking layer of coal losing its volatile content-
distillation zone.
• A layer of incandescent coke where the fixed carbon is
consumed-combustion zone
• A layer of ash progressively getting cooler-ash zone.
• Pressurized air--- FD Fan--- enters--- bottom of
the grate----- heated by absorbing heat from ash
and grate-----ash and grate are cooled------ hot
air----- incandescent coke----- O2 reacts with C-----
-CO2-----hot gases----- distillation zone-----volatile
matter added-------drying zone-----moisture is
picked up-----finally come out from the bed
containing N2,CO2,CO,H2-----secondary air
supplied-----high speed----turbulence---for
complete combustion
38
Chain Grate Stocker

Travelling grate stoker
• It may be chain grate type or bar grate type.
These two are different only in the details of
grate construction.
• The travelling grate stoker is also known as
conveyer grate stoker.
• In the chain grate stoker the grate is made of a
series of cast iron links connected by bars or
pins to form an endless chain.
• In the bar grate stoker the grate surface consists
of series of cast iron bars joined together by links
to form an endless belt running over two sets of
sprocket wheels with a wide surface as per need.
• The chain grate stoker consists of an endless
chain which forms a support for the fuel bed. The
chain travels over two sprocket wheels one at the
front and other at the rear of furnace. The front
sprocket is connected to a variable speed drive
mechanism.
• The travelling chain receives coal by gravity at
its front end through a hopper and carries it
into the furnace. The depth of the coal on the
grate is regulated by adjustable gate. The
speed of the grate varies at the rate at which
the coal is fed to the furnace. The ash is tipped
from the rear end of chain. The air required
for combustion enters through the air inlets
situated below the grate.
• The secondary air is supplied through the
openings provided in the furnace wall above
the grate. The combination of primary air and
secondary air provide turbulence required for
rapid combustion.
• These grate are suitable for low grade coal
because the fuel must be burnt before it
reaches the rear end of the furnace.
• Advantages:
• Simple in construction
• Maintenance cost is low
• Initial cost is low.
• Self cleaning stoker
• Heat release rate can be controlled just by
controlling the speed of chain.
• Disadvantages:
• Always some loss of coal in the form of fine
particles carried with the ashes.
• Temperature of preheated air is limited to
180°C.
• Not suitable for high capacity boiler
• Clinker trouble are very common.
• In Travelling Grate boiler coal is fed at one end
of a moving steel chain grate. As grate moves
along the length of the boiler furnace, the coal
burns before dropping off at the end as ash.
• Some degree of skill is required, particularly
when setting up the grate, air dampers and
baffles, to ensure clean combustion leaving
minimum of unburnt carbon in the ash.
Spreader stoker
Spreader stoker
• In this stoker the coal from the hooper is fed on
to a feeder which measures the coal in
accordance to the requirement. Feeder is a
rotating drum fitted with blades. Feeder can be
reciprocating rams, endless belts, spiral worms
etc.
Spreader stoker
• From the feeder the coal drops on to spreader
distributor which spread the coal over the
furnace. The spreader system projects the coal
particles in a continuous stream on to the
grate holding an ignited fuel bed. the fine
particles of coal burn in suspension where
corse particles burn on the grate. The
secondary air is admitted above the fuel bed
to promote the turbulence and to complete
combustion.
Spreader stoker
• The grate made of CI bars is connected to a
lever through links underneath the grate.
• In order to allow the ash to fall below the ash
pit, the lever is moved back and forth which
makes the bar rock about the pivot. Spreader
stoker is applied to a wide range of boiler sizes
155 MW to 265 MW.
Spreader stoker
• Advantages:
• A wide variety of coal can be burnt easily
• A thin fuel bed on the grate is helpful in
meeting the fluctuating loads.
• Operation cost is low
• Use of high temperature preheated air is
possible.
• Clinkering difficulties are reduced.
Spreader stoker
• Disadvantages:
• Spreader does not work satisfactory with
varying size of coal.
• Possibility of some fuel loss
• Fly ash is much more due to suspension
burning of fine fuel particles.
• Clinker problem can not be avoided.
Principle of underfeed stokers
Principle of underfeed stokers
• In this type of stoker the fuel and air move in the
same direction. The coal is fed from below the
grate by a screw-conveyer or ram.
• Air mixes with coal and form volatile matter then
passes ignition zone. After that enters the region
of incandescent coke.
• When gas stream passes incandescent coke
region, volatile matter breaks up and readily
burns with secondary air fed at the top.
Single retort stoker
Single retort stoker
• The coal from large hopper is fed by
reciprocating ram or screw conveyer into the
bottom of the horizontal trough. the air is
supplied through the tuyeres provided along
the upper edge of the grate shown in figure.
the ash from the grate falls and it is collected
in the ash pit. Some of the unburned coal may
also pass through the grate. The coal feeding
capacity of single retort stoker varies from 100
to 2000 kg per hour.
Advantages of pulverized coal firing
• Large surface area per unit mass allows faster and efficient combustion.
• Less excess air is required for complete combustion
• Any type of coal can be used
• Better response to variation in load
• Large amount of heat release makes it suitable for super thermal power
station
• Clinkering and slagging problems are low
• Carryover of unburnt fuel to ash is nill
• Low ash handling problem
• Operate successfully with gas and oil fired system
• Less furnace volume required
• Smokeless operation
• Use of highely preheated air helps for rapid flame propagation
• No moving parts in furnace so life of the system is more.
Disadvantages of pulverized coal firing
• Capital cost is high (Added equipment)
• Operation cost is high (Added power)
• Lots of fly ash in the exhaust which makes the
removing of fine dust uneconomical.
• Since coal will burn so it wiil be danger of explosions
• Maintenance of furnace is costly
• Skilled operators are required
• High air pollution due to emission of fine particles of
dirt and grit.
Process of coal pulverization
• Stage 1: raw and lump coal is crushed to a
particle size not more than 15-25 mm in the
crusher.
• Stage 2: crushed coal is delivered into raw
bunkers and from here it is transferred to
grinding mills that grind the feed into the final
particles of 200-300 mesh size. During
grinding hot air is blown through the fuel to
dry it to impart good fluidity of the coal dust.
Ball & Tube mill
Ball & Tube mill
Ball mill
• Raw coal from feeders is supplied to the classifiers
from where it moves to the rotating drum by means of
a screw conveyer. As the drum rotates the coal gets
pulverized due to combined impact between coal and
steel balls. Hot air is introduced into the drum. The
powdered coal is picked up by the air and coal air
mixture enters the classifiers, where sharp changes in
the direction of the mixture throw out the over sized
coal particles. The oversized particles are returned to
the drum. The coal air mixture from the classifier
moves to the exhaust fan and then it is supplied to the
burners.
Ball mill
• Advantages:
• System is simple & low initial cost
• Grinding elements are not seriously affected
by metal scrap and other foreign materials
• Suitable for a wide range of fuels
• Low maintenance cost.
Ball mill
• Disadvantages:
• Larger and heavier in construction
• Consumes more power
• Due to poor air circulation works less
efficiently
• Operation cost is high.
Ball & race mill
Ball & race mill
• A ball and race mill also called contact mill .
• It consists of two elements which have a rolling
action with respect to each other. The rolling
elements may be balls or ring shaped rolls that
roll between two races, in the manner of a ball
bearing. The balls are between a top stationary
race or ring and a rotating bottom Ring, which
is driven by the vertical shaft of the pulverizer.
Ball & race mill
• The coal is supplied through the rotating table
feeder at the upper right to fall on the inner
side of the races. The moving balls and races
catch coal between them to crush it to a
powder.
Ball and race mill
• Spring hold down the upper stationary race and adjust
the force needed for crushing.
• Hot air is supplied to the mill through the annular
space surrounding the races by a forced draft fan. The
powdered coal is is picked up by the air and the coal air
mixture enters the classifiers, where sharp changes in
the direction of the mixture throw out the over sixzed
coal particles. The over sized particles are returned for
further grinding in the mill. The coal air mixture from
the classifier moves to the exhuster fan and then it is
supplied to the burners.
Ball and race mill
Advantages:
• Lower power consumption
• Lower in weight
• Lower in operation cost
• Suitable for variable load conditions
• Can handle coal containing as much as 20%
moisture.
Disadvantages:
• Greater wear
• Leakage of fine coal through the mill
Power Plant Engineering (ME 403)
93
In simple words, A bed of solid particles is said
to be fluidized when the pressurized fluid (liquid
or gas) is passed through the medium and causes
the solid particles to behave like a fluid under
certain conditions. Fluidization causes the
transformation of the state of solid particles
from static to dynamic.
The major advantages of Bubbling Fluidized Bed
Combustion are the enhanced thermal efficiency, easy ash
removal.
The fluidizing velocity of Air in CFBC is comparatively higher than

that of BFBC. One of the major drawbacks in CFBC is the power
consumption.

STEAM GENERATOR

High Pressure Boilers
I . The efficiency and the capacity of the plant can be increased as reduced
quantity of steam is required for the same power generation if high
pressure steam is used.
2. The forced circulation of water through boiler tubes provides freedom in
the arrangement of furnace and water walls, in addition to the reduction in
the heat exchange area.
3. The tendency of scale formation is reduced due to high velocity of water.
4. The danger of overheating is reduced as all the parts are uniformly
heated.
5. The differential expansion is reduced due to uniform temperature and
this reduces the possibility of gas and air leakages.

LA MONT BOILER
• The feed water from hot well is supplied to a
storage and separating drum (boiler) through the
economizer.
• Most of the sensible heat is supplied to the feed
water passing through the economizer. A pump
circulates the water at a rate 8 to 10 times the mass
of steam evaporated. This water is circulated
through the evaporator tubes and the part of the
vapor is separated in the separator drum.
• The large quantity of water circulated (10 times
that of evaporation) prevents the tubes from being
overheated.
• These boilers have been built to generate 45 to 50
tonnes of superheated steam at a pressure of 120
bar and temperature of 500°C.

Benson boiler
BENSON BOILER
The main difficulty experienced in the La Mont boiler is the formation and attachment
of bubbles on the inner surfaces of the heating tubes. The attached bubbles reduce the
heat flow and steam generation as it offers higher thermal resistance compared to water
film.
1. Natural circulation boilers require expansion joints but these are not required for
Benson as the pipes are welded.
2. The erection of Benson boiler is easier and quicker as all the parts are welded at site
and workshop job of tube expansion is altogether avoided.
3. The transport of Benson boiler parts is easy as no drums are required and majority of
the parts are carried to the site without pre-assembly.
4. The Benson boiler can be erected in a comparatively smaller floor area. The space
problem does not control the size of Benson boiler used.
BENSON BOILER
5. The furnace walls of the boiler can be more efficiently protected by using
small diameter and close pitched tubes.
6. The Benson boiler can be started very quickly because of welded joints.
7. The Benson boiler can be operated most economically by varying the
temperature and pressure at partial loads and overloads. The desired
temperature can also be maintained constant at any pressure.
8. Sudden fall of demand creates circulation problems due to bubble formation
in the natural circulation boiler which never occurs in Benson boiler. This
feature of insensitiveness to load fluctuations makes it more suitable for grid
power station as it has better adaptive capacity to meet sudden load
fluctuations.
9. The blow-down losses of Benson boiler are hardly 4% of natural circulation
boilers of same capacity.
Try this link: https://learnmechanical.com/benson-boiler/
LOEFFLER BOILER
The major difficulty experienced in Benson boiler is the deposition of salt and sediment
on the inner surfaces of the water tubes. The deposition reduced the heat transfer and
ultimately the generating capacity. This further increased the danger of overheating the
tubes due to salt deposition as it has high thermal resistance.
The difficulty was solved in Loeffler boiler by preventing the flow of water into the
boiler tubes. Most of the steam is generated outside from the feedwater using part of the
superheated steam coming out from the boiler.
The pressure feed pump draws the water through the economiser and delivers it into the
evaporator drum. About 65% of the steam coming out of superheater is passed through
the evaporator drum in order to evaporate the feed water coming from economiser. The
steam circulating pump draws the saturated steam from the evaporator drum and is
passed through the radiant superheater and then connective superheater. About 35% of
the steam coming out from the superheater is supplied to the H.P. steam turbine. The
steam coming out from H.P. turbine is passed through reheater before supplying to L.P.
turbine. The nozzles which distribute the superheated steam through the water into the
evaporator drum are of special design.
Loeffler Boiler

Thermal Power Plant

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ME 403

• 2.Ultimate analysis: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur;

• 4.Calorific value (also known as heating value or specific energy).

Power Plant Engineering (ME 403) 18

• Due to oxidation the coal may ignite spontaneously.

• Coal is stored in the form of heaps or piles up

• Sealing of stored pile is desirable in order to

Power Plant Engineering (ME 403) 27

• Stoker firing: stoker is a power operated fuel

Power Plant Engineering (ME 403) 39

The fluidizing velocity of Air in CFBC is comparatively higher than

Power Plant Engineering (ME 403) 105

Power Plant Engineering (ME 403) 113

Power Plant Engineering (ME 403) 125

Power Plant Engineering (ME 403) 126

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