Energy Science and Technology

Code: ME 217
Sem: 4th Sem, Jan-May session, 2021
L-T-P-C: 3-0-0-3

Course Coordinator: Dr. A. Biswas

 Pictures (Source: Google image)

Electrified transmission
Light energy Electrified earth
lines

Combined Power Plant Electric bulb Wind mill

 What is Energy?
• Scientists define energy as the ability or capacity to do work. Modern civilization is possible because
people have learned how to change energy from one form to another and then use it to do work.
• In physics, energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to an object in order to
perform work on, or to heat an object.
• Major uses of Energy in- consumer market, agriculture, irrigation, water lifting, transportation, space
heating, construction works, lighting, communication, etc.
• Energy is a scarce resource, which requires a rational use for economic and environmental reasons.

Unit of Energy- SI unit of energy is the joule, which is the energy transferred to an object by the work of
moving it a distance of 1 metre against a force of 1 newton.

Other units- kWh, BTU, eV, erg (in CGS unit), etc.
1 BTU (British Thermal Unit) = 1.055 x 103 J
1 erg = 10^-7 Joule
1 eV = 1.6 x 10^-19 Joule (used in high energy physics as a unit of momentum)

Energy and Power- Power = Energy/ Time, i.e. energy specify the time period during which the power is
delivered, and power specify the time period during which the energy quantity is being
converted.
 Different Forms of Energy
Radiation energy: the radiation from the sun contains energy, and also the radiation from a light or a
fire. More solar energy is available when the radiation is more intense and when it is collected over
a larger area. Light is the visible part of radiation.

Chemical energy: wood and oil contain energy in a chemical form. The same is true for all other
material that can burn. The content of chemical energy is larger the larger the heating value
(calorific value) of the material is and, of course, the more material we have. Also animate energy
(delivered by bodies of human beings and animals) is, in essence, chemical energy. Furthermore,
batteries contain chemical energy.

Potential energy: this is, for example, the energy of a water reservoir at a certain height. The water
has the potential to fall, and therefore contains a certain amount of energy. More potential energy
is available when there is more water and when it is at a higher height.

Kinetic energy: this is energy of movement, as in wind or in a water stream. The faster the stream
flows and the more water it has, the more energy it can deliver. Similarly, more wind energy is
available at higher wind speeds, and more of it can be tapped by bigger windmill rotors.

Thermal energy or heat: this is indicated by temperature. The higher the temperature, the more
energy is present in the form of heat. Also, a larger body contains more heat.

Mechanical energy, or rotational energy, also called shaft power: this is the energy of a rotating
shaft. The amount of energy available depends on the flywheel of the shaft, i.e.:. on the power
which makes the shaft rotate.
 Contd/-

Electrical energy: a dynamo or generator and a battery can deliver electrical energy. The higher
the voltage and the current, the more electrical energy is made available.

Energy Conversion
• Utilizing energy means converting energy from one form into another. For e.g. in water lifting, a diesel
engine converts chemical energy of oil into mechanical energy for powering the shaft of a pump which,
in its turn, converts shaft power into potential energy of water (i.e. bringing the water to a higher
height). Also, a wind turbine generates energy, which means it converts kinetic energy from wind into
mechanical energy. And a solar photovoltaic cell generates energy by converting radiation energy into
electricity.
• Energy conversion cannot be done in a cent-percent efficient manner, i.e. why all converters will have
an operational efficiency, which is given by-

Efficiency = Output Energy/ Input Energy

Energy in Converter Energy out + Losses

• In some of these converters, intermediate forms of energy occur between the form of the input energy
and the form of the output energy. For instance, with diesel engines, the intermediate form is thermal
energy. The overall efficiency equals the product of the efficiencies of the various components of the
system or the various sub-processes of the main conversion process.
 Typical examples of energy converters with efficiencies of the converters

Name of the Form of input energy Form of output Efficiency %

Converter energy
petrol engine chemical mechanical 20 - 25
diesel engine chemical mechanical 30 - 45
electric motor electrical mechanical 80 - 95
boiler & turbine thermal mechanical 7-40
hydraulic pump mechanical potential 40 - 80
hydro turbine potential mechanical 70 - 99
hydro turbine kinetic mechanical 30 - 70
generator mechanical electrical 80 - 95
battery chemical electrical 80 - 90
solar cell radiation electrical 8-15
solar collector radiation thermal 25 - 65
electric lamp electrical light 10-90
water pump mechanical potential 70-90
water heater electrical thermal 90 - 92
gas stove chemical thermal 24 - 30
 Indirect and direct energy conversions

• Energy conversion is the process of changing one form of energy to another.

• There are two methods of energy conversion- direct energy conversion and indirect energy
conversion.

Direct energy conversion

• Transformation of one type of energy (say light or heat energy) to another (say electricity)
without passing through an intermediate stage.
• The principle of conversion is thermoelectric effect that include Seebeck effect, Peltier
effect, Thomson effect, etc.
• One classical example is a steam turbine.
• Other examples are fuel cell, thermoelectric generator, solar photovoltaic cell, etc.

Need for direct energy conversions

• No conversion of energy into mechanical energy and then to electrical energy.

• Less losses in conversion process.
• More efficient process.
• Cost is also reduced.
 Contd/-
Indirect energy conversion
 Indirect energy conversion is when heat energy is converted into mechanical energy first
and afterwards into electricity.
 The principle is gas compression or expansion due to temperature change in a steam
engine, Stirling heat engine, etc.
 The next step is to convert mechanical energy to electricity. The principle is
electromagnetic induction in an electric generator.

Sun, the supreme source of energy

(Source: Google image)

• Sun has a temperature of 5762 K in its convective zone and emits radiant flux of 1362 W/m ^2
• Sun is the source of energy for photosynthesis process of plants, i.e. converting light energy
into chemical energy.
• Another example is conversion of light energy into photo-electric current by using
photovoltaic cells.
• Then conversion of light energy into heat energy for domestic and industrial use.
Different energy sources

Source: Google image

 Classification of Energy Sources
Non-Renewable Energies (Fuel energies)
• Nuclear energy
• Coal
• Petroleum
• National gas
Renewable Energies
• Solar energy
• Wind energy
• Biomass energy
• Tidal or wave energy
• Water power Global Renewable energy scenario
• Geothermal energy
• Ocean thermal energy

Source- http://www.bp.com/statisticalreview
 Estimated share of total energy consumption

Source: Renewables 2020, Global Status Report, Renewable Energy policy

network for the 21st century
 Fuels
• Fuel can be chemical or nuclear .
• A chemical fuel is a substance that releases heat energy on combustion. The
principal combustible elements of chemical fuel are carbon and hydrogen. Sulphur
is a combustible element too, but its presence in the fuel is considered to be
undesirable.
Classification of Fuels
• Primary fuels (those occur in nature) and secondary fuels (prepared fuels).
• Solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels.
Type of Natural Secondary (prepared)
fuel (Primary)
Solid Wood Coke
Peat Charcoal
Lignite coal Briquettes
Liquid Petroleum Gasoline
Kerosene
Fuel oil
Alcohol
Benzol
Shale oil
 Contd/-
Type of fuel Natural (Primary) Secondary (prepared)
Gaseous Natural gas Petroleum gas
Producer gas
Coal gas
Coke-oven gas
Blast furnace gas
Carburetted gas
Sewer gas

Solid Fuels
• Coal: The main constituents are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, moisture,
and ash. Coal passes through different stages during its formation from vegetation.

Stages of coal
Plant debris Peat Lignite Brown coal Bituminous coal

Graphite coal Anthracite coal

Note- Moisture content and ash contents decrease, whereas heat contents increase in the
direction from left to right. Hardness also increases from left to right (excluding graphite coal).
 Wood Charcoal
• It is obtained by destructive distillation of wood. During the process, the volatile matter
and water are expelled.

Coke
• It consists of carbon, mineral matter with about 2% sulphur and small quantities of hydrogen,
nitrogen, and phosphorus. It is obtained by the destructive distillation of coal.
• It is smokeless and mainly used in blast furnace to produce heat and at the same time to reduce the
iron ore

Briquettes
• These are prepared from fine coal or coke by compressing the matter under high
pressure.

Analysis of coal
• Proximity analysis: percentage of moisture, volatile matters, fixed carbon and ash are
determined without determining individual elements.
• Ultimate analysis: percentage of various elements are determined, for e.g. C, H2, O2,
N2, S, and ash.
 Liquid Fuels
• The chief source of liquid fuel is petroleum, which is proved to be more advantageous than solid fuels.
• Petroleum: It has originated from organic matter like fish and plant life by bacterial action or by their
distillation under pressure and heat. It consists of a mixture of gases, liquids, and hydrocarbons with
small amount of nitrogen and sulphur compounds. The refining of crude oil or heavy fuel oil supplies
the most important product called Petrol. Petrol can also be made by polymerization of refinery gases.
• Other liquid fuels are kerosene, fuel oils, colloidal fuels and alcohol.

Composition of some Liquid Fuels

Liquid fuel Carbon (%) Hydrogen (%) Sulphur (%) Ash (%)
Petrol 85.5 14.4 0.1 -
Benzene 91.7 8.0 0.3 -
Kerosene 86.3 13.6 0.1 -
Diesel oil 86.3 12.8 0.9 -
Light fuel oil 86.2 12.4 1.4 -
Heavy fuel oil 88.3 9.5 1.2 1.0

Important properties of Liquid Fuels

• Specific gravity. (ratio of fuel density to water density; higher the sp. Gravity, higher its C/H)
• Flash point (lowest temperature at which chemical can vapourize to form an ignitable mixture in air)
• Fire point (higher temperature at which the oil vapours will continue to burn when ignited, i.e. observed
temperature when burning becomes continuous)
• Volatility (it refers how easily a fuel can vapourize)
 Contd/-
• Pour point (it’s a temperature below which liquid loses flow characteristics. Its low value is required)
• Viscosity (it should be low in the range 0-10 Centi-stokes, else affect the fuel atomization)
• Carbon residue (it’s an indication of fuel to form carbonaceous material at high temperature in an inert
atmosphere, after oil’s evaporation; it should not be high)
• Octane no. (higher this number, higher can be the compression ratio and the thermal efficiency)
• Cetane no. (higher value is required of diesel oil to shorten the ignition delay, i.e. speed of self-ignition
of diesel oil)
• Corrosive property (low corrosive tendency is required)
• Ash content (should be low)
• Gum content (should be low)
• Heating value (calorific value and it should be high)
• Sulphur content (should be low)

Gaseous Fuels
• Natural gas: The main constituents are methane and ethane; has a calorific value (CV) about
21000kg/m^3 .
• Coal gas: consists of hydrogen, CO and HCs; prepared by carbonization of coal; finds use in boiler.
• Coke-oven or Coke gas: obtained during production of coke from bituminous coal; it’s volatile coal
matter; used in gas engines and heating the ovens.
• Blast furnace gas: obtained when air is forced through coke layers and iron ore layers in pig iron
manufacturing.
• Producer gas: results from partial oxidation of coal, coke, or peat when burnt with an insufficient
quantity of air; used in steel industry for firing open hearth furnace
 Contd/-
• Water gas: produced by blowing steam into white hot coke or coal having free carbon particles;
liberates hydrogen and CO
• Sewer gas: obtained from sewage disposal through fermentation and decay.
Note: majority of these gases have low heating or calorific value, but can be used in gas engines
(after filtration) to drive the plant pumps and agitators

Important properties of Gaseous Fuels

• Heating value or calorific value
• Specific gravity
• Viscosity
• Density
• Diffusibility

Calorific or Heating values of fuels

• It is defined as the energy released by the complete oxidation of a unit mass or volume of a fuel.
• It is expressed in kJ/kg for solid and liquid fuels and kJ/m^3 for gases.
• Lower or net calorific value is the heat liberated per kg of fuel after deducting the heat necessary to
vapourize the steam, formed from hydrogen.
• Higher or gross calorific value of the fuel is the one indicated by a constant volume calorimeter in
which the steam is condensed and the heat of vapour is recovered.
• L.C.V is obtained by subtracting latent heat of water vapour from H.C.V.
• L.C.V = H.C.V – 2465 mw
where ‘mw’ is the mass of water vapour by combusting of 1 kg of fuel and 2465 kJ/kg is the latent heat
corresponding to standard saturation temperature of 15 deg C
 Nuclear fuel and energy
• One outstanding fact of nuclear energy is the large amount of this energy that can be released from a
small mass of active material.
• Complete fission of 1 kg of uranium contains the energy equivalent of 4500 tonnes of coal or 2000
tonnes of fuel oil.
• Nuclear power is not only available in abundance, but also cheaper than the power generated by
conventional sources.
• It’s a clean source of power which does not contribute to air pollution.
• The economic benefit of nuclear power can be realized if one can ensure base load of 75% at any point
of time.
• U-235 and U-236 are fissile isotopes but U-238 is not a fissile isotope.

235 1 236 144 89 1

𝑈 +𝑛 →𝑈 →𝐵𝑎 +𝐾𝑟 +𝑛 +𝛾
92 0 92 56 36 0
Source- Google image
 Current Energy Scenarios

(Source: Google , 2017)

 Power Plants
• A power plant is a unit built for production and delivery of a flow of mechanical or electrical energy, i.e. a
machine or assemblage of equipment, that produces and delivers a flow of mechanical or electrical
energy, is a power plant.
• Power plants are of different types- stationary power plants and mobile power plants; captive power plant
and central power plants; base load power plant and peak load power plant, etc.
Various methods of power generation
• Using coal as a fuel in a steam power plant. The turbine used is an impulse or a reaction steam turbine
• Using water as a fuel in a hydroelectric power plant. The turbine used is an impulse or a reaction turbine,
hydrokinetic turbine, etc.
• Using diesel oil to convert its heat energy into mechanical energy then into electrical energy in a diesel plant
• Using natural gas or gaseous mixture as a fuel in a Gas turbine power plant. The turbine used is a gas turbine
• Using Uranium, Plutonium or any nuclear fuel in a nuclear power plant. 1 kg uranium is equivalent to energy
obtained from burning of 4500 tonnes of high grade coal
• Using air in a aero-turbine or wind mill based wind power plant.

Site selection criteria for any power plant

• Nearness to the load center

• Availability of cheap labour and
• Availability of land
transportation
• Availability of water
• Availability of ancillary industries
• Availability of fuel
• Access to the site
• Availability of waste disposal
 Principal types of Power Plants
• Steam power plants using coal, oil, natural gas or nuclear fuel
• Internal combustion (Diesel) engine plant
• Gas turbine power plant
• Hydroelectric power plant

Basic steam power cycle and Steam Power Plant

Fig- Simple Rankine Cycle implemented in a basic steam power plant

 In the steam generator or boiler, the combustion in air, of a fossil fuel such as oil, natural gas, or coal
produces hot combustion gases that transfer heat to the feed water passing through tubes in the boiler.
The heat transfer first increases its temperature until it becomes a saturated liquid, then evaporates it to
form saturated vapour, and usually then further raises its temperature to create superheated steam.

 Then steam flows to a steam turbine, where part of its energy is converted to mechanical energy that is
transmitted by rotating shaft to drive an electrical generator. The reduced-energy steam flowing out of
the turbine condenses to liquid water in the condenser. A feed water pump returns the condensed
liquid (condensate) to the steam generator.
Fig- Schematic of modern coal-fired steam power plant
 Salient features of a modern coal-fired steam power plant

• Boiler- tall chimney like structure of about 40 m height, lined with tubes inside; fire tube or water tube.
• Super heater- used to raise steam temperature above saturation temperature to say 540 deg C.
• Re-heater- to raise steam temperature to initial temp after partial expansion in the high pressure turbine.
• Economiser- to absorb heat from flue gases to raise temperature of feed water from the condenser.
• Air heater- to raise temperature of air using flue gases before air is led to the furnace for fuel combustion.
• Steam turbine- to convert heat energy of steam into shaft power; it’s a 3-cyl tandem compound machine.
• Generator-to convert mechanical into electrical energy; produces electricity at 11kV.
• Condenser- to condense steam discharged from low-pressure turbine; type of cross-flow heat exchanger.
• Cooling Towers- to cool hot cooling water coming out of condenser; tall ferro-concrete structure.
• Circulating water pump- to circulate cooling water in a closed system of turbine, condenser, & cooling
tower.
• Boiler feed pump- supply feed water coming from condenser to boiler at high pressure.
• Wagon tippler- coal unloaded from wagon at the site by means of wagon tipplers.
• Crusher house- coal is crushed to a size of 10 mm in crusher house.
• Coal mill- to pulverize coal into a fine powder before it is burnt in the boiler furnace.
• Induced Draught (I.D.) fans- to exhaust ash laden flue gas through boiler interior, then dust extracting
equipment and then to the chimney.
• Ash Precipitators- to avoid air pollution, outgoing flue gases are freed from dust particles before
escaping to atmosphere through chimney; mechanical and electrostatic types.
• Boiler chimney- to let off the flue gases to the atmosphere through it after removing fly ash in precipitator.

• Forced Draught (F.D.) fans- to draw air from top of boiler house, then to pass to air preheater.
 Contd/-
• Water treatment plant- to avoid any scale formation in boiler tubes & avoid foaming problems;
chemical treatment of cooling water
• Switch yard- electricity at 11 kV is stepped up by transformer to 132/220 kV for transmission through
lines in a switch yard
• Control room- operational nerve centre of a thermal power plant; has sophisticated instrumentation
& controllers
Internal combustion (Diesel) engine power plant
• In a diesel engine power plant, diesel engine is used as the prime mover. The products of diesel engine
combustion are used to produce mechanical energy.
• Diesel power stations find application in places with less demand of power. As generation cost is
considerably high, such power stations are used to produce small power.

Principal components of a diesel engine power plant

• Diesel engine
• Engine fuel supply system
• Engine air intake system
• Engine exhaust system
• Engine cooling system
• Engine lubrication system
• Engine starting system
• AC or DC generators
 Diesel power plant

Fig- Schematic of a diesel engine power plant (Source: Google image)

 Advantages of diesel engine power plant
• Design and installation are very simple
• Can respond to varying loads without any difficulty
• Efficiency at part load does not fall off quickly
• Occupy less space & no ash handling problem
• Can burn fairly wide ranges of fuel
• Can be started and put on load quickly
• Can be located very near to load center
• Require less quantity of water for cooling purpose • Lubrication system more economical
• Capital cost less than steam plant
• Less supervising requirement than steam plant

Limitations of diesel power plant

• High operating cost
• High maintenance and lubrication cost
• Unit capacity is limited, say upto maximum 20 MW
• Noise is a serious problem
• Cannot supply overloads constantly

Uses of diesel engine power plant

• Central station
• Standby plant
• Peak load plant
• Emergency plant
• Mobile plant
• Nursery plant
• Supply units for Cinemas, hospitals, etc.
 Gas Turbine power plant
Basic Details
• In a gas turbine power plant, gases are directly expanded in the turbine
• Gas turbine is different from Diesel engine in that the combustion region is external to the prime mover.
• In a gas turbine, the working fuel is either a mixture of combustion products and air or heated air at a
certain pressure and at a higher inlet temperature.
• With respect to design, a gas turbine is similar to a steam turbine.
• In the turbine blading expansion of gas takes place. The enthalpy released is first converted into kinetic
energy and then to the work for the turbine rotational shaft rotation.
• The overall efficiency of gas turbine as a prime mover is limited because a large portion of the turbine
power is used to drive the compressor.
• At present thermal efficiency of 40% and above is practicable with turbine inlet gas temperature of
about 1000 deg C and unit size of 30-40 MW.
• Gas turbine plants are likely to be used for electric power generation where oil or gas fuel is cheap,
water is scarce, and load factor is low.
Advantages of gas turbine power plant
• Gas turbines are compact in design, have high speed and capable of producing high power.
• They require les space than steam turbine or I.C. engine.
• Compared to steam turbine, they have lower initial cost per unit output.
• Gas turbines have higher power to weight ratio, thereby making them useful for marine power plants.
• It requires little or no water for cooling.
• It can go from a cold start to full load in ten minutes or less, making them useful as a standby unit for
steam plants to meet overloads. It can be used as a peak load power plant.
 Limitations of gas turbine power plant
• The inability to of gas turbine to use coal as a fuel
• Its overall efficiency is low as 3/4th of turbine power is utilized to drive the compressor.
• Higher thermal efficiency demands higher initial temperature of the working fluid, which is limited by
the high temperature problem of gas turbine blade material.
• High specific fuel consumption.
• Unit capacity is limited, so it can not be used as a base-load prime mover.
• In summer, some pre-cooling of air at compressor inlet may be required.
• Unless controlled, noise is a blemish in the running of the gas turbine plant.
Working principle of a gas turbine power plant
• A gas turbine consists of a compressor in which the working medium is raised to a high pressure.
• From the compressor, the working medium is taken to a combustor where its temperature is
raised at almost constant pressure.
• The high pressure and high temperature working medium is then expanded in the gas turbine to
which the electrical load is coupled.

Applications of gas turbine power plant

• Used for Peak load service
• Stand by power plant in hydroelectric power plant, steam power plant, etc.
• Can be used in locations where water is a scarce and where oil or natural gas are cheap.
 Gas Turbine Cycle

• A gas turbine can operate either on an open cycle or on a closed cycle.

• In the open cycle, air entering the turbine is continuously taken from the atmosphere and
exhaust gases from the turbine are continuously discharged to the atmosphere.
• In the closed cycle, the working medium is continuously circulated through the system. It is
neither taken from the atmosphere nor discharged to the atmosphere.
Open cycle Gas Turbine plant

• Its essential components are- an air compressor (C), combustion chamber (CC), and a gas
turbine. In addition, a regenerative heat exchanger (H.E) can also be installed ahead of the CC
to improve the thermal efficiency of the cycle by lowering the heat addition in the CC. A high
pressure turbine (HPT) is used to run the compressor by spending about 3/4 th of the total
turbine power, and the remaining 1/4th is produced by the low pressure turbine (LPT), which
drives an alternator to produce electrical power.

Fig- Open cycle GT plant with & without regenerator (H.E), source- google image
 Cycle Diagram & efficiency

Fig- Thermodynamic cycle diagrams (actual)

Fig- Thermodynamic cycle diagrams (ideal)

Source: google image

 Contd/-

Fig- Open cycle GT plant with intercooler and reheater

• In this above configuration, an intercooler is introduced between the low pressure compressor
(LPC) and the high pressure compressor (HPC). Its role is to reduce the overall compression
work, thereby improve the net work output of the plant and its efficiency.
• The role of the reheater is to increase the turbine work and the overall efficiency of the plant.
 Closed cycle Gas Turbine plant

• The major problem with an open cycle GT, i.e. the erosion of turbine blades due to the
combustion gases coming in contact with the blades, is overcome in a closed cycle GT. This
happens as the fuel is directly mixed with the working medium, which can be air or any gas.
• In the closed cycle GT, the working medium is heated externally and is continuously
circulated through compressors, heat exchangers, intercoolers, heaters, reheaters, and gas
coolers.
• In closed cycle GT, any fuel can be used, for e.g., gasoline fuel, kerosene, residual oils, blast
furnace gas, etc. as the heating is done externally.
• As the working pressure in the circuit is more, the specific volume of working medium is less,
so component dimensions can be reduced and the maximum unit capacity can be raised.
• Working medium superior to air, for e.g. helium, argon, hydrogen, neon, etc. an be used.
• The plant can be operated with highest efficiency than open cycle GT plant at initial working
temperature of the working fluid.
• The part-load efficiency is more compared to open cycle GT.
• The drawback is the requirement of cooling water and gas to cool the working medium.
• The size is bulky and hence this plant cannot be used in aviation and aeronautical industries.
Fig- Closed cycle GT plant

Fig- Thermodynamic cycle for closed cycle GT plant

 Nuclear Power Plant

• Uranium as a nuclear fuel has 2 million times the energy of the coal.
• It is estimated that the world’s reserves of uranium is 25 million tonnes.
• A nuclear power plant is similar to a coal based steam power plant; only the boiler is
replaced with a nuclear reactor.
• The basic nuclear power plant may be either single fluid plant or dual fluid plant.
• A nuclear reactors are primarily classified according to the cooling done in the reactor-
water cooled, gas cooled, organic substance cooled, and liquid metal cooled reactors.

Fig- Single fluid nuclear power plant Fig- Dual fluid nuclear power plant
 Light water cooled reactor based nuclear Power Plant

Fig- Pressurized water reactor based nuclear Power Plant

Fig- Boiling water reactor based nuclear Power Plant

• In the first design, bulk boiling of water is prevented as the water is pressured to about 150
atm.
• In the second design, the feed water coming from the condenser is circulated through the
reactor. The steam generated leaves at the top and is led to the steam turbine.
 Liquid metal cooled reactor based nuclear Power Plant

Fig- Liquid metal cooled reactor based nuclear Power Plant

• Sodium is circulated through the reactor core and the intermediate heat exchanger (IHE).
• This is done to prevent steam becoming radioactive. This design is a dual fluid plant design.
• Heat from the sodium is transferred to NaK liquid metal and then to the feed water or the
condensate circulated in the next heat exchanger.
• The system should be leak tight to avoid violent reaction of Na with air or water.
• High boiling point of liquid metal eliminates pressure on the reactor.
• It permits high reactor temperature and steam is also generated at high pressure &
temperature.
 Advantages of Nuclear Power Plant

• Since the requirement of fuel is very small, so the cost of fuel transportation, storage etc. is
small.
• Nuclear power plant needs less space as compared to any other power station of the same
size. Example: A 100 MW nuclear power station needs 38 - 40 acres of land whereas the
same capacity coal based thermal power plant needs 120-130 acres of land.
• This type of power plant is very economical to produce large electric power, i.e. using a
small amount of fuel, this plant produces large electrical energy..
• Since, the large number of nuclear fuel is available in this world. So, a nuclear power plant
can generate electrical energy thousands of years continuously.

Drawbacks of Nuclear Power Plant

• Initial installation cost is very high as compared to other power stations.
• Capital cost is higher in respect of other power stations.
• There is a chance to spread of radioactive pollution from this type of plant.
• Cooling water requirement is twice than a coal based steam power plant.
• Nuclear Reactor does not response efficiently with the fluctuating load demand. So, it is not
suited for varying the load.
 Hydroelectric Power Plant

• It uses a dam to store river water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows
through a turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity.
• Thus, a mass of water moving down a height difference contains energy which can be
harvested using some waterwheel or turbine. The moving water drives the waterwheel and
this rotation either drives machinery directly (e.g. mill, pump, hammer, etc.) or is coupled
with a generator which produces electric power.
• Next to thermal power hydro power is important in regard to power generation. It can fulfill
the base load requirement for power.
• Modern trend is to use hydro power plant in an interconnected system with thermal stations.

Advantages of Hydroelectric Power Plant Drawbacks of Hydroelectric Power Plant

• No fuel charges • High initial cost

• Maintenance & operation charges are very low • Long gestation period (40-70 yrs)
• Plant efficiency does not change with age. • Increased cost of power transmission
• No fuel transportation problem
• No ash problem and resultant environment issues.
• Long life of such plant (100-125 years) compared
to steam plant (20-45 yrs)
• No issue of land cost.
• also used for flood control and irrigation purposes
 Essential features of Hydroelectric Power Plant

• Catchment area- area behind the dam draining into stream or river across the
dam
• Reservoir- natural or artificial reservoir, used for storage of water
• Dam- built of concrete or stone masonry for creating the head.
• Spillways- to relieve reservoir of excess water; it’s a safe guarding structure
• Conduits- canals, flumes, tunnels, pipelines, & penstocks for carrying water from
reservoir to turbine
• Surge Tanks- small reservoir or tank in which water level rises or falls to reduce
pressure swings
• Prime movers- hydro turbine and the turbo-generator
• Draft tubes- to convert kinetic head at exit of turbine into pressure head, i.e. to
release water to the tailrace
• Power house and equipment- houses the prime movers and other electrical
equipment.
• Tailrace- here water is finally discharged from the power house
Fig- Essential features of hydroelectric power plant
 Classifications of Hydroelectric Power Plant

• Storage plant (base load plant)

- High head plants: about 100 m & above; turbine used is an impulse turbine
- Medium head plants: about 30 to 500 m; turbine used is a reaction turbine
- Low head plants: upto about 50 m; turbine used is a reaction turbine

• Run-of-river power plant

- With pondage: can supply base load as well as peak load power; small pondage
can meet fluctuating load demand.
-Without pondage: can supply base load power; has no control over river flow and
uses the water as it comes

• Pumped storage power plant- it can supply peak load power for base load power plants;
uses extra power not supplied to the grid (during night or
off-peak hours) to raise water from the tailrace to the
headrace to obtain a potential head, which during peak
hours is released from the headrace level and passed
through the turbine to produce excess power for meeting
peak load demand.
Fig- High head hydroelectric power plant

Fig- Medium head hydroelectric power plant

Fig- Low head hydroelectric power plant

Fig- Pumped storage power plant

 Mini, Micro and Pico hydro Plant
• Mini/Small hydro plant is the plant, which is able to generate from 1-20 MW of power
• Micro hydro plant is the plant, which is able to generate power up to maximum 100 kW.
• Pico hydro is the plant, which is able to generate less than 5 kW.
• These power plants are used as run-of-river power plant without pondage
• Pico power plants have become very popular is rural areas for meeting load demand of
small families. With each house requiring 200- 300 W of electric power, such pico plants
can suffice the requirements of 16-25 nuclear families.

Ultra-low or zero head run-of river power Plant

• Turbines in such a plant are able to work with less than 1m or even without head, called
zero head.
• These turbines can generate power at pico- power level.
• The zero-head hydro power plant utilizes the free-stream kinetic energy of the river current
to convert into rotational power. They have specialized design of hydro turbines, which are
able to harness the kinetic energy of the free-flowing water.
• In such zero head turbines, the requirements of storage reservoir, or pond, or complicated
head works, tunnels, pipelines, etc. are not required. Therefore, the losses are also less.
Some photographs of Micro-hydro and Pico-hydro turbine