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Water use efficiency in Indian Thermal Power Plants: A scope for

improvement

Technical Report · July 2016

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Vaishali Vasudeva Rudresh Kumar Sugam

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 Water use efficiency in thermal power plants: A scope for improvement

Introduction

Energy is one of the pillars supporting rapidly growing industrial sectors and urban centres
in India. As people move towards towns and cities their lifestyle changes and hence, there
is more demand of energy, water and material commodities. Coal is a key commodity in
ensuring India’s energy security because it is the most abundant non-renewable energy
source in India. India has the world’s fifth largest proved recoverable reserves of coal (60.6
billion tonnes) after the United States (237.3 billion tonnes), Russia (157.0 billion tonnes),
China (114.5 billion tonnes) and Australia (76.4 billion tonnes) (WEC 2013). 61% of the
current installed capacity in India is coal based. (Central Electricity Authority 2016) India
is on track to have the fastest growing coal fleet from 2020 onwards with coal-sourced
electricity demand projected to more than double by 2040. (Ian Barnes, 2014) Of the total
installed capacity almost 81% is based on subcritical technology, while only 19% is
supercritical. (CEA 2016) Thus average efficiency of Indian thermal power plants comes to
only 32.8% (CSE Green Rating Project) India’s domestically produced coal typically has a
low to medium energy content, ranging from 2500 kilocalories per kilogram to 5000
kilocalories per kilogram (Australia’s exports typically have an energy content greater than
5500 kilocalories per kilogram). (Kate Penney, 2015)
Therefore, a huge amount of water is required in coal processing & handling, cooling
purposes, and ash handling in thermal power plants, making them water guzzlers.

Majority of plants consume freshwater from dam reservoirs, rivers and canals. Some of
plants that are located in coastal regions rely on sea water. The consumptive water
requirement for coal based plants with cooling tower used to be about 7 m3/h per MW
without ash water recirculation and 5 m3/h per MW with ash water recirculation. In recent
past, plants have been designed with consumptive water requirement in the range 3.5 - 4
m3/h per MW. (CEA 2012) The latest notification issued by Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change (December 2015) mandates the existing thermal power plants to limit
their specific water consumption to 3.5 m3/h per MW by December 2017. While the plants
commissioned after January 2017 should have maximum water consumption of 2.5 m3/h
per MW. These water use benchmarks shall be instrumental in achieving water
conservation as large parts of the country face water shortages. Nearly 7 billion units (kWh)
of coal power, with an estimated potential revenue of 2400 crore rupees, lost in the first
five months of 2016 due to lack of water for cooling. (Jai Krishna 2016)

This necessitates immediate action for conserving water. For the same, a number of water
saving measures have been or can be implemented by the plants. But some of these
measures have associated limitations as well e.g. in dry cooling systems. This study looks
at role of water in a thermal power plant and gives an overview of water saving measures
and related challenges which can impact water use efficiency. It mainly focuses on
pulverised coal based plants which are the most common in India.

Water as an important input in thermal power plants

Water is used for various purposes like coal and ash handling, dust suppression, cooling, power
cycle makeup, fire-fighting, maintenance of green belt, floor cleaning and for domestic purposes.
Cooling water requirement is the major requirement (for wet cooling tower based plants). For a
typical 2x500 MW plant with wet ash handling system and the water consumption is 4000 m3/h
per MW. (CEA 2012) The break up for various needs is shown in figure below.
 Water requirement (m3/h)
4500 4000
110 70
4000 3450 250
120
3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
Cooling tower DM water make Potable & service Clarifier sludge Coal dust Total
make up up water etc suppression

Series1 Series2

Note: Water required for ash handling is 1300 m3/h and is met through blowdown water; therefore not considered as
consumptive water.

The quality of water required is different for each purpose:

1. Demineralised water- boiler makeup
2. Soft water- cooling and general service
3. Drinking water- domestic purpose
4. Raw/untreated water
• Ash handling
• Fire-fighting
• Coal handling

Factors affecting water consumption

Water consumption in each plant will vary depending upon a number of factors:

1. Type of technology: The supercritical and ultra supercritical technology have higher
efficiencies (see table) and thus lesser coal requirement. This implies that less
waste heat and ash will be generated and therefore less water will be required for
cooling and ash handling purposes.
 Technology Steam Pressure (MPa) and Capital Efficiency Coal
temperature (oC) Cost Consumption *
Subcritical <22.1 up to 565 Low 30% 5.39 MT

Supercritical 22.1-25 540-580 Higher 40% 4.70 MT

Ultra supercritical >25 >580 Highest 40-45% 4.35 MT

*800 megawatt power station operating at a capacity factor (actual output relative to potential output) of 80 per cent and generating 6 TWh a year
(IEA Clean Coal Centre 2014).

2. Type of cooling system: Dry cooling system requires 80% less water than a
wet/evaporative cooling system.

Raw water requirement (m3/h)

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
Input (dry) Input (wet) Reuse (dry) Reuse (wet)

Sludge water recovery Filter back wash water Boiler blowdown as CT makeup
Cooling tower make up Bottom ash handling system DM Plant Input
Service Water Potable water system input Reservoir evaporation
Side stream filter back wash Clarifier Sludge

3. Quality of coal: Coal with high ash content (30-50%) and high volatile matter will
require more water for ash handling and to supress fugitive emissions respectively,
than with coal having low ash content (10-25%).
4. Type of Desulphurization system: If plant uses wet Flue Gas Desulphurization
System (FGDS) rather than dry, the water consumption shall be more.
 5. Cycle of Concentration: It depends on quality of raw water. Higher the quality of raw
water higher the COC and lesser the cooling tower blow down (lesser make up
water). Make up water requirement for a 500 MW plant according to the COC is
given below.

S. COC Evaporation* Blowdown Make up water

No. (Tons/h) (Tons/h) (Tons/h)
= Evap. + blowdown
1. 2 1050 1050 2100
2. 2.5 1050 700 1750
3. 3 1050 525 1575
4. 3.5 1050 420 1470
5. 4 1050 350 1400
6. 4.5 1050 300 1350
7. 5 1050 263 1313
*Evaporation loss = 1.75 % of CW flow (60000 T/hr)

6. Type of ash handling system: Bottom ash from boiler requires water during handling
and disposal due to presence of clinkers. While fly ash from electrostatic
precipitators can be disposed in dry form completely. But wet disposal (slurry of
1020% ash by weight with water) is more common due to economic reasons. High
Concentration Slurry Disposal (HCSD) system uses lesser water than wet system
(concentration of ash 50-60% by weight).

Scope for water conservation

System wise water saving methods which are being used in several plants in India are summarised
below. These measures cannot all be implemented in a single unit as there are a number of
limitations; nonetheless water consumption can be brought down through these.

1. Cooling tower
• Improving raw water quality- chemical dosing
• Removing blow down from hot water side
• Using blow down water for ash handling and dust suppression
• Increasing cycle of concentration
• Installing dry cooling system

2. Ash disposal
• 100% dry disposal of fly ash
• Recovering water from ash ponds
• HCSD system
 3. Raw water
• Using sea water – desalination
• Using treated sewage water

4. Water treatment plants

• ETPs, STPs, RO, Ultrafiltration and Membrane Bioreactors

5. Miscellaneous
• Rain water harvesting
• Water Audits- Fixing leakages
• Awareness among employees/workers
• Dry flue gas desulphurization system instead of wet

S. System/Process Problem Solution/Alternative Limitation

No
1 Cooling system Evaporative losses Use of Dry cooling • Cannot be
system used in all
locations
• Higher cost
and decreased
efficiency
Removing blowdown Slight change in
from hot water side pipes and valves

High blowdown Increase in COC High cost of

chemical
treatment for COC
beyond 5
2 Ash Handling Use of water for ash disposal Replacing wet disposal Additional cost
system by HCSD or dry system input

Dewatering bottom ash

water
3 Coal Handling Water required for dust Using recycled water None
system suppression from cooling tower
blowdown
4 Raw water High TDS Using Reverse Additional cost
Osmosis to remove
dissolved solids
What can be done?

• Water as a key factor in siting guidelines: A thermal power plant located in a water stressed
region is likely to face frequent power outages due to irregular supply of water. This will not
only result in financial losses for the owners but will also affect the water supply to domestic
and agriculture sector. (Greenpeace India) Water availability thus becomes a key factor for
deciding the location of a plant. According to the guidelines set by Ministry of Environment
& Forests in 1987 for site selection, water stress of the region is not included as a major
factor in deciding the location. (Shripad Dharmadhikary) These guidelines were issued
when water shortage was not a problem. But the present scenario demands that the
guidelines must be amended keeping in mind the intensity of water stress of the area.

• Mandatory reporting of water use: Water use benchmarks issued by MOEFCC in December
2015, will contribute significantly in saving water in future. But, to make it effective there
must be mandatory reporting of water use by the thermal power plants periodically.
(Shripad Dharmadhikary) Water audits must be made compulsory to bring down water
consumption. (Anshuman, TERI)

Conclusion
Water consumption in power plants varies for each plant but the specific water consumption has
decreased over time with new supercritical units coming into operation, old units being phased out
and with increasing concern for water conservation. Still, thermal power plants remain water
guzzlers. Water consumption can be substantially lowered with stronger compliance to the existing
standards of water use, ash disposal and other regulations. Zero liquid discharge system must be
adopted to make sure that the water is being used sustainably.

References

Alan Smart, and Adam Aspinall (2009) “Water and the electricity generation industry
Implications of use” (Waterlines Report Series No. 18)
Anshuman (2016) “Enhancing water use efficiency- Case of thermal power plants in India”
TERI
Ashok Jaitley, and Anshuman (2012) “Enhancing water-use efficiency of thermal power
plants in India: need for mandatory water audits” TERI Policy Brief
Central Electricity Authority (2016) Executive summary April 2016
 Central Electricity Authority (2012) “Report on minimisation of water requirement in coal
based Thermal Power Stations”
Central Water Commission (2014) “Guidelines for improving water use efficiency in
irrigation, domestic and industrial sector”.
Centre for Science and Environment (2015) “Green rating: what we do and why?”
http://www.cseindia.org/userfiles/presentation-in-kolkata-28th-Aug-2015.pdf
accessed 4 July 2016 Accessed 4 July 2016
G. C. Chattopadhyay (2015) “Issues in utilization of ash by Thermal Power Plants in the
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Grace Boyle, Jai Krishna R, Lauri Myllyvirta, Owen Pascoe (2012) Endangered Waters-
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emissions” IEA Clean Coal Centre, July
Jai Krishna (2016) “Water shortages threaten coal company revenues” (Investor Brief)
Greenpeace
Kalyan Bhattacharya, “Water Efficiency in Thermal power Sector: An Outline of Cooling
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Kate Penney, and Ian Cronshaw (2015) “Coal in India” Department of Industry and
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Md.Ghazali, and Prof. O.P Kaushal (2015) “Characteristics of Fly Ash from Thermal Power
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Shripad (2016) Water guzzlers in water-stressed areas http://indiatogether.org/water-
guzzlers-in-water-stressed-areas-environment Accessed 1 August 2016
India Energy Security Scenario 2047 http://indiaenergy.gov.in/supply_coalpower.php
Last accessed 3 August 2016

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