MAIN CONDENSATE SYSTEM

at
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

Presented by
VARCHAS MITTAL
DEE/MECH, NNTPS
CPF No - 47757
AN OVERVIEW OF THERMAL POWER PLANT
PRESENTATION OUTLINE

 CONDENSER
 HOTWELL
 CONDENSATE EXTRACTION PUMPS
 GLAND STEAM CONDENSER
 DRAIN COOLER
 LOW PRESSURE HEATER
 DRIP SYSTEM
 DEAERATOR
CONDENSATE CIRCUIT

 As steam passes through LP Turbine, expansion takes place. A drop in pressure,

temperature and velocity is observed.
 This steam gets condensed in condenser and is collected as water called condensate in
Hotwell.
 Condensate is pumped from Hotwell to Deaerator with the help of CEPs via a series of
HEXs like GSC, DC and LP Heaters.
 Throughout the process the Pressure and Temperature of Condensate gets raised in steps.
Thus increasing Thermal Efficiency and Reducing Total Heat Rate.
 CONDENSER

What is the need of condensing steam?

CONDENSER

 The main purpose of the condenser is to condense the exhaust steam from the turbine for
reuse in thermal cycle to maximize turbine efficiency by maintaining proper vacuum.
 It also helps in removing dissolved non condensable gases from condensate
 As operating pressure is lowered, the enthalpy drop increases thus increasing available
work (Electrical Output)
 The better the vacuum, the better:
 Turbine output
 Plant efficiency
 Heat rate
CONDENSER OPERATION

 The incoming cold circulating water, on the tube side, exchanges heat with exhaust
steam, thus condensing it.
 In turn the circulating water gets heated up as it flows out.
 The non condensable gases (consisting mostly air) must be vented out from the
condenser via ejector or vacuum pumps.
 If the gases are not removed they form a thermal blanket over tubes thus reducing net
heat transfer thus directly affecting vacuum and efficiency.
SOURCES OF AIR LEAK IN CONDENSER

 Vacuum breaker
 Rupture disk
 Turbine Seals
 Condenser Expansion Joint
 Valves, Joints, Flanges, Manholes, Vents, etc.
 Pump seals
CONDENSER TUBE MATERIALS

 Copper based alloy

 Stainless Steel
 Titanium
 Carbon Steel
HOTWELL

 Serves as a reservoir for turbine cycle

 Optimum hw level to be maintained by HW makeup station
 Provision for boiler drain to hw in once through units
 Provide suction to Condensate Extraction Pumps
HOTWELL

 Measuring instruments
 Local monitoring: level guages
 Remote monitoring: level transmitters
 Connections to hotwell: Drains of
 Flash boxes
 LP and HP Flash Tanks
 Steam Drain Flash Tanks
CONDENSATE PUMPS

 The function of these pumps is to transfer water from Hotwell to Deareator

 Since the pumps suck water from vacuum they are multistage in construction.
 Special arrangements for providing sealing to pumps is there:
 Initial sealing
 Normal sealing/ Self sealing
CONDENSATE PUMPS

 Water made up of:

 Steam condensed
 Make up water
 All drains except Unit F/T
 Recirculation:
 Short Recirculation
 Minimum Long Recirculation
CEPs: Constructional Features

 Vertical, Multi Stage, Multi-Shaft

 Can type construction with suction nozzle integral with Canister
 Double Suction first stage Impeller for minimum NPSH
 Bearing as per requirement/ Oil cooled Thrust pad JNL Bearing
 Shaft sealing by PTFE rope packing / Mechanical Seals
 Compatible materials for stationary and rotating parts
USES OF CEP DISCHARGE

 Deaerator Makeup
 LP BYPASS SPRAY
 Exhaust Hood Spray
 Valve Gland Sealing
 Flash Tank Spray
 APRDS
 Chemical Feeding
 Dumping(to attain water chemistry before polishing unit)
CONDENSATE PUMPS

CHECKLIST AND TRIPPING

GLAND STEAM CONDENSER (GSC)

 Gland steam condensers are essential for improving efficiency in Steam Turbine systems.
 A Gland Steam Condenser package pulls a slight vacuum on the turbine shaft seals by
means of vacuum pumps, centrifugal blowers, or steam ejectors. This captures the leaked
steam and air mixture. Once collected, the steam is separated from the air and condensed
in a shell and tube condenser.
 During this, the condensate on tube side gets heated up.
 The condensed steam goes out of the bottom to LP Flash tank while the air is pulled out
of the top and sent to atmosphere.
DRAIN COOLER

 The condensed steam from Low Pressure Heater 1 collects in the Drain Cooler .
 The Drain Cooler is a water-to-water heat exchanger.
 It is essentially a waste heat recovery device.
 Minimal Heat Pickup.
RE-GENERATIVE HEATERS

 A series of Water Heaters is used in a conventional power plant to preheat boiler feed
water.
 The source of heat is steam bled from the Turbines, and the objective is to improve the
thermodynamic efficiency of the cycle. The most common configuration of water heater
is a shell and tube heat exchanger with the water flowing inside the tubes and steam
condensing outside.
 Depending upon pressure handled by heater they can be
 Low Pressure Heaters
 High Pressure Heaters
CONSTRUCTION OF WATER HEATER IN TPS
VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF HEATERS IN TPS
FWH EFFICIENCY

 TTD : Defined as the saturation temperature of the extraction steam minus the Water
outlet temperature.

0.56 degC increase in TTD

leads to
0.010 % increase in Heat Rate
FWH EFFICIENCY

 DCA:  Calculated by subtracting the temperature of the Water entering the heater from
the shell condensate drain temperature.

0.56 degC increase in DCA

leads to
0.005 % increase in Heat Rate
TUBE PLUGGING

 Effects:
 Heater Performance starts declining
 Pumping power requirement increases
 If extra power not available; max generation may get compromised.
 Root cause analysis of tube failure to be carried out.
 If Unit having TDBFPs more steam will be dumped to Condenser thus increasing TG Heat
Rate.
 In case of MDBFP total aux power consumption may go off limit.
HEATER TUBE FAILURE CAUSES

 Tube Outside Diameter Erosion

 Tube Vibration
 Tube Pitting
 Tube Cracking
 Drain Cooler Zone Erosion
 Shell Corrosion
 Impingement Plate Erosion
 Inlet Tube Erosion
LOW PRESSURE HEATERS

 Normally 3 LPHs (LPH 1, LPH 2 & LPH3)

 Condensate travels on tube side.
 Extraction Steam Bled from Turbine, around the tubes.
 Temperature of condensate rises upto 120 degc.
START UP AND PROTECTION DEVICES

 START UP VENT
 CONTINOUS OPERATING VENT
 BYPASS VALVES
 SAFETY RELIEF VALVES
 EMERGENCY DRAINS
DRIP SYSTEM

 The drains from the low pressure heaters are cascaded. The Third-stage heaters drain to
the second-stage heaters and the second-stage heaters drain to the first-stage heaters, and
the first-stage heaters drain to the main condenser hotwell via Drain cooler and LP Flash
tank.
 The cascading of heater drains improves secondary plant efficiency by allowing the
repeated use of relatively hot water for condensate heating
 If each heater were to drain directly to the condenser, a great deal of energy would be lost
from the system. Preheating of the condensate by extraction steam and heater drains
means that nearly all of the energy transferred to the feedwater in the steam generators is
utilised wisely and economically.
DISSOLVED GASES and THEIR EFFECT

 Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide are the gases that remain in dissolved state in Water.
 If the water, which is being admitted to Boiler, contains abnormal amount of above gases,
Corrosion may take place.
 Presence of carbon dioxide results in low pH thus enhancing corrosion. Thus directly
affecting Boiler tube life.
 Though initial treatment is done to remove dissolved gases, still due to air ingress in
condensate ckt at valves, flanges, condenser, etc. dissolved gases may increase.
DEAERATION and DEAERATOR

 As the temperature increases, the solubility of gases reduces.

 It may also be referred as Degasification.
 Deaerator forms the site for this removal. Since steam is admitted in deaerator for
effective removal of gases, thus it serves dual purpose of pre-heating the Feed Water as
well as removal of gases, called THERMAL DEAERATION.
 Depending upon pressure, can be classified as:
 Vacuum Pressure Deaerator
 Atmospheric Pressure Deaerator
 High Pressure Deaerator
CAUTIONS FOR DEAERATOR

 Must be operated at Saturation Temperature

 Sufficient steam to be provided for continuous Boiling.
 Proper disintegration of water through trays.
 Proper venting for letting gases out of system.
 If 2 or more Deaerators in parallel, must be operated at same pressure.
DEAERATOR
DEAERATOR MISC

 MOUNTINGS/CONNECTIONS
 ELEVATION
 CAPACITY: RESIDENCE TIME
 PROTECTIONS/INTERLOCKS
 NET FLOW CALCULATION
 DEAERATOR LEVEL CONTROL/ GSC Minimum RC.
THANK YOU