DAMODAR VALLEY CORPORATION

MEJIA THERMAL POWER STATION

 VOCATIONAL TRAINING
REPORT
AT
DAMODER VALLEY CORPORATION
MEJIA THERMAL POWER STATION

DURATION:1 June 2016 to 21 June 2016

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

MR. P. K. DUBEY
MR. SWAPAN PAL

SUBMITTED BY
ADITYA PRAKASH
SAYAN SANYAL
ROUNAK AKHTER
ABEETATH GHOSH
SHUBHANKAR BANERJEE
ANURAN MAJUMDAR
ANMOL KHAWAS
RAJESH SAHA
SANNY KUMAR CHOUBEY
BHASKAR SAHA
KUNAL CHAKRABORTY
SAYAN DASGUPTA

JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY
KOLKATA - 700032
IMPORTANCE OF THIS TRAINING
The training at MTPS was very much useful and helpful. In college, we have just
gained the theoretical knowledge of various equipments, devices and machines,
but the working of these are not clear.
During the training session at MTPS, I got the understanding of basic concept of
their working. This training have been productive for me as I came to know the
inside working of generator, transformer, switch yard, coal handling plant,
electrostatic precipitator , cooling tower and their related accessories. I have
realized the role of different engineering streams in a power station and their
correlation.
I am very thankful to the guidance and support of engineers, technicians and
workers of MTPS who have provided their precious time to train me.
CONTENTS
• INTODUCTION

• BOILER
WORKING PRINCIPLE
IMPORTANT PARTS
ECONOMIZER
SUPERHEATER
AIR PRE-HEATER
FURNACE

• WATER TREATMENT PLANT

• ASH HANDLING PLANT

BOTTOM ASH HOPPER
ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATOR
• CONDENSER COOLING SYSTEM
CONDENSER
COOLING TOWER
• ENERGY CONSERVATION
INTRODUCTION
In a Thermal Power generating unit, combustion of fossil fuel (coal, oil or natural
gas) in Boiler or fissile element (uranium - 92U235 or 92U233, plutonium- 94Pu239) in
Nuclear Reactor generates heat energy. This heat energy transforms water into
steam at high pressure and temperature. This steam is utilised to generate
mechanical energy in a Turbine. This mechanical energy, in turn is converted into
electrical energy with the help of an Alternator coupled with the Turbine. The
production of electric energy utilising heat energy is known as thermal power
generation.
The heat energy changes into mechanical energy following the principle of Rankine
reheat-regenerative cycle and this mechanical energy transforms into electrical
energy based on Faraday’s laws of electromagnetic induction. The generated
output of Alternator is electrical power of three-phase alternating current (A.C.).
A.C. supply has several advantages over direct current (D.C.) system and hence, it
is preferred in modern days. The voltage generated is of low magnitude (14 to 21
KV for different generator rating) and is stepped up suitably with the help of
transformer for efficient and economical transmission of electric power from
generating stations to different load centres at distant locations.
The water used in a power plant is generally sea water or river water. This water
undergoes several chemical treatment processes to attain suitability of using in
Boiler. Plant water chemistry for maintaining the quality of water is an area of
utmost importance since it determines the condition of Boiler tube material to
sustain high pressure and temperature. Improved water quality gives better life of
Boiler tube material, besides its failure due to external effect like erosion, flame
impingement etc. This reduces the outage of Boiler and thus, saves generation.
The waste water from different system, as for example: Boiler blow down, Cooling
Tower basin blow down, acidic / alkaline waste water out of De-Mineralization
plant (DM plant), water mixed with oil etc., is discharged into sea or river
maintaining the concentration of harmful ingredients within specified limits
through waste water treatment to keep Ecological balance.
Fuel especially coal after combustion generates huge quantity of ash – a small part
of it gets deposited at the bottom of the Boiler in fused clinker form (Bottom Ash)
while the major part is carried with Boiler exhaust gases as fine ash particles (Fly
Ash). The waste of Nuclear Reactor is highly radioactive in nature and as such, its
disposal requires special attention. The ash particles present in Boiler exhaust are
separated to the extent possible to keep its concentration within specified limits
before releasing Boiler exhaust gases into atmosphere. It is always necessary to
keep the harmful Green House Gases (CO2, SOX, NOX), generated during
combustion of fossil fuel, within prescribed limit to maintain the environment
ecologically friendly. Boiler bottom ash and separated fly ash are dumped in slurry
form at a location away from the locality (Ash ponds), from where it is disposed off
periodically. In dry Fly Ash Collection System, it is collected in silos for use in the
manufacturing of cement, brick, tiles etc.
The overall performance of a thermal power unit is dependent on the performance
of each and every system. The output power of a unit is the power generated
minus power required for running its auxiliaries. As such, the auxiliary power
consumption (APC) plays a predominant role in dictating the overall performance
of a unit generating electric power.
The energy sources like fossil fuel or fissile element for generating electricity is
called non-renewable energy sources i.e. they are exhaustible and are not
replenished by the nature. Attempt should, therefore, be made to explore
electricity generation as much as possible from renewable energy resources like
hydro, solar, tidal, wind etc.
In Damodar Valley Corporation, there are Thermal as well as Hydro-Electric power
generating units, although thermal capacity is predominant. Coal is used as
principal fuel in all thermal power generating units. In subsequent stages of this
write-up, different systems of a thermal power unit and the salient operational &
maintenance guidelines have been discussed for imparting the basic knowledge.
One has to know the detailed layout of each and every system and minutely go
through the operation & maintenance instructions of the equipment /system
provided by the manufacturers, including the operating limits to gain enough self-
confidence in operating and maintaining all systems of a power generating unit
safely, efficiently and reliably. It must be kept in mind that the operation &
maintenance engineers require to handle very costly power plant equipments. Any
mal-operation or improper / ineffective maintenance of these costly equipments
may cause huge financial loss to the organization due to loss of power generation,
besides loss due to damage of the costly equipment.
BOILER & AUXILIARIES:

Working principle of Boiler (Steam Generator):

In Boiler, steam is generated from de-mineralized water by the addition of heat.
The heat added has two parts: sensible heat and latent heat. The sensible heat
raises the temperature and pressure of water as well as steam. The latent heat
converts water into steam.
The steam, thus formed is dry & saturated. Further, addition of heat raises the
temperature and pressure of steam, which is known as superheated steam. The
differential specific weight between steam and water provides the driving force for
natural circulation during the steam generation process. This driving force
considerably reduces at pressure around 175 Kg/cm2 and is not able to overcome
the frictional resistance of its flow path. For this, forced or assisted circulation is
employed at higher sub-critical pressure range due to the reason of economy. But,
at supercritical pressures and above, circulation is forced one (such boiler is called
once through boiler).
In boiler drum, steam is separated out from steam-water mixture, completely
eliminating water particles and also the detrimental salts. The increased
concentration of contaminants of drum water is removed by blow down of water.
The blow down water is passed to waste channel through a flash tank. The Steam
is also contaminated due to ‘priming’ & ‘foaming’ phenomenon.
The carrying over of water droplets with steam during higher drum water level, i.e.
when the separators or scrubbers (drum internals) get ineffective, is called
priming. Sudden release of steam pressure due to swelling of water level and
abrupt change in firing rate may lead to this phenomenon. Foaming is caused due
to concentration of oil, soap, organic matter, suspended particles or other foreign
matter in drum water. Excessive foaming may result in carrying over of foam with
the steam.
Important parts of Boiler & their functions:

~ Economizer:
Feed water enters into the boiler through economizer. Its function is to recover
residual heat of flue gas before leaving boiler to preheat feed water prior to its
entry into boiler drum. The drum water is passed through down-comers for
circulation through the water wall for absorbing heat from furnace. The
economizer recirculation line connects down-comer with the economizer inlet
header through an isolating valve and a non-return valve to protect economizer
tubes from overheating caused by steam entrapment and starvation. This is done
to ensure circulation of water through the tubes during initial lighting up of boiler,
when there is no feed water flow through economizer.
Superheater:

Superheaters (SH) are meant for elevating the steam temperature above the
saturation temperature in phases; so that maximum work can be extracted from
high energy (enthalpy) steam and after expansion in Turbine, the dryness fraction
does not reach below 80%, for avoiding Turbine blade erosion/damage and
attaining maximum Turbine internal efficiency. Steam from Boiler Drum passes
through primary superheater placed in the convective zone of the furnace, then
through platen superheater placed in the radiant zone of furnace and thereafter,
through final superheater placed in the convective zone. The superheated steam at
requisite pressure and temperature is taken out of boiler to rotate turbo-generator.

Air pre-heater:
The air pre-heater absorbs waste heat from flue gas and then transfers this heat to
incoming cold air by means of continuously rotating heat transfer elements of
specially formed metal plates known as Basket (rotary re-generative air pre-heater)
or through stationery tubes (recuperative or tubular air pre-heater).
In re-generative type, thousands of high efficiency elements are spaced and
compactly arranged with sectors shaped compartments of a radially divided
cylindrical shell called the rotor. The housing surrounding the rotor is provided
with duct connections at both ends and is adequately sealed by radial and
circumferential sealing members forming an air passage through one or two
sectors of the pre-heater and a gas passage through the other sector. As the rotor
slowly revolves the mass of elements through the gas and air passages, heat is
absorbed by the element surfaces passing through the hot gas stream; then as
these same surfaces are carried through the air stream they release the stored up
heat – thus greatly increasing the temperature of the incoming air.

Furnace & combustion:

Furnace is that part of boiler where the chemical energy available in fuel is
converted into thermal energy during its combustion. Maximum heat transfer
takes place in furnace. Furnace pressure is maintained at zero or below
atmospheric pressure (balanced draft condition).
Coal Handling plant

Bituminous and subbituminous coal is transferred through BOBR (Bottom Open

Bottom Release) and wagon tippler to the track hopper part. From there coal is
collected by the track hopper and transferred to the 2 conveyor belts. For extra
coal feeding reclaim hopper is used. There are 2 flap gates to set the path of coal
transfer. By these conveyor belts coal is transferred to the breaker house, where
after treatment coal particles’ size is reduced to 50 mm in diameter. Then it is
transferred to the 2 parts, one to the reject bin house and the other to the crusher
house through a transfer point. There the size of the coal particles is further
reduced to 20 mm in diameter. After that it is sent to the bowl mill where the main
purpose is pulverization so that the increased surface area can aid to the complete
combustion purpose. After the total treatment process in the coal handling plant
the coal which will be used for the burning purpose in the furnace is sent to the
coal mill.
PLANT WATER CHEMISTRY

Electricity is produced in all thermal power generating units by converting water

into steam in steam generator (boiler) and then by utilising the heat of the
generated steam for driving the turbogenerator. In Damodar Valley Corporation,
the source of water is river water - from Konar River for Bokaro TPS, from Barakar
River for Koderma TPS and from Damodar River for the rest of the thermal power
stations. This river water, generally termed as raw water, contains soluble and
insoluble inorganic and organic matters which are harmful for the system. These
soluble and insoluble inorganic and organic matters present in river water are
completely separated and removed in different stages to improve its quality
suitable for using in the system. The harmful ingredients present in water
generally affect the system are listed below with their brief characteristics:

Calcium and Magnesium:

Calcium and magnesium ions, when associate with anions, form generally their
sulphate, bicarbonate, carbonate, chloride and nitrate compounds. At higher
temperature, these compounds get separated and adhere to the wall of tubes
forming scale. Formation of such scale increases with increase in temperature.
These scales, being very poor conductor of heat, badly affect heat transfer through
the tube wall resulting in tube failure due to excessive high tube wall temperature.

Silica:

Silica, if carried over with water in colloidal form, remains suspended at normal
pressure and temperature. At higher boiler pressure and temperature, it gets
converted in reactive form and is carried over with steam from boiler drum and
forms very hard deposit / scale at low temperature region of turbine blades and
diaphragms, which reduces the turbine efficiency.

Chloride:

Chlorides of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and other cations are normally found
in natural water supplies. All of these chlorides are very soluble in water and take
path in pure condensate water from condenser circulating water system during
leakage of condenser cooling water tube or seepage of water through the wall /
parting plane of condenser water box and also through flaring joint of condenser
tube. The chloride, if carried over with steam from boiler drum, causes damage of
boiler tube and sometimes turbine material due to formation of highly reactive
nascent hydrogen.
Oxygen:

Ingress of oxygen in condensate water takes place either through make-up water
in dissolved form or through LP turbine labyrinth glands and also during
condenser air leakage. Oxygen causes iron pick up as well as promotes copper
pick up in presence of ammonia. The rate of copper pick up from condenser copper
tubes or low pressure heater tubes of material Admiralty Brass or Cupro Nickel
containing some percentage of copper, increases in presence of ammonia and
dissolved oxygen due to the formation of copper complex, which not only affects
heat transfer of the deposited surface but also helps galvanic corrosion to damage
boiler tubes.

Iron:

Corrosion of metal is guided by its reduction potential value. Both Fe+3/Fe and
Fe+2/Fe couple have lower reduction potential than that of H+/H2. So iron has
the ability to produce hydrogen in acidic medium. As such, it is easily picked up
from the parent material in acidic media or in presence of dissolved oxygen and
gets deposited on water wall tubes in high heat flux zone of boiler.

Carbon Dioxide:

Carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid (H2CO3) with water and causes corrosion in
steam and return lines. Ingress of carbon dioxide takes place due to condenser air
leakage or bicarbonate (HCO3-) alkalinity of condensate water during condenser
tube leakage or in absence / malfunctioning of air breather in DM storage tank.

pH:

The pH value of water is a measure of its alkalinity or acidity and has a direct
relation on the corrosive properties. pH value of water below 7 indicates acidity
and over 7 designates an alkaline condition. Acidic condition of water i.e. low pH
in local areas can destroy the protective magnetite layer of boiler tubes due to
corrosion. Therefore, boiler water is maintained in the alkaline range of a pH of 8.8
to 9.6.

Foaming:

Foaming is the formation of bubbles or froth on the water surface in presence of

high amount of total and suspended solids in water. Foam promotes serious
carryover of impurities from boiler drum water into steam.
The processes involved in Water Treatment Plant are as follows:

In this process, the raw water is sprayed over cascade aerator in which water
flows downwards over many steps in the form of thin waterfalls. Cascading
increases surface area of water to facilitate easy separation of dissolved
undesirable gases (like hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, volatile organic compound
etc.) or to help in oxygenation of mainly ferrous ions in presence of atmospheric
oxygen to ferric ions. These ferric ions promote to some extent in coagulation
process. Removal of gases can be improved by increasing the temperature, time of
aeration and surface area of water.
Coagulation takes place in clariflocculator. Coagulant destabilises suspended
solids and agglomerates them into heavier floc, which is separated out through
sedimentation. Prime chemicals used for coagulation are alum, poly-
aluminiumchloride (PAC).
Filters remove coarse suspended matter and remaining sludge after coagulation
and also reduce the chlorine demand of the water. Filter beds are developed by
placing gravel or coarse anthracite and sand in layers. These filter beds are
regenerated by backwashing and air blowing through it.
Neutral organic matter is very heterogeneous i.e. it contains many classes of high
molecular weight organic compounds. Humic substances constitute a major
portion of the dissolved organic carbon from surface waters. They are complex
mixtures of organic compounds with relatively unknown structures and chemical
composition. Chlorine-water or sodium hypochloride solution is used as oxidative
biocides to reduce this organic load.
The processes involved in De-mineralized Plant are as follows:

Filtration:

In De-mineralized Plant, the filter water of Water Treatment Plant is passed

through the pressure sand filter (PSF) to reduce turbidity and then through
activated charcoal filter (ACF) to adsorb the residual chlorine and iron in filter
water. The role of ACF is to protect the polymeric chain length of the resin since
the residual chlorine has a tendency to oxidise the resin bed and thereby reducing
its life span.

Cation removal:

The water from ACF is passed through the cation exchange resin column. The
sulphonic, carboxylic groups in resin of cation exchange column traps all cations
(i.e. calcium, magnesium, sodium etc.) of filter water keeping anions unchanged
and liberates equivalent amount of hydrogen ions at the cost of cations, resulting
in formation of acidic solution. The acidic solution contains mainly carbonic acid
(water solution of carbon-dioxide) and partly frees mineral acid.

Anion removal:

In anion exchange column, the quaternary amine group of resin forms ionic bond
with anions like chlorides, sulphates etc., present in the degasified water. The
liberated OH- ions combine with the H+ to form water.
Final washing (Mixed Bed):

Finally, the anion exchange outlet water is passed through cation & anion mixed
resin bed to arrest those ions which may come from any slippage from cation or
anion resin bed. The outlet water from mixed bed is stored in a tank, commonly
called DM storage tank from where the water is used for the system, as and when
required. This water is completely de-mineralised i.e. free from all dissolved
mineral matter.

Regeneration of resins:

The cation and anion exchange resins are regenerated with the help of
concentrated HCl or H2SO4 and NaOH respectively. The quality of water at DM
plant outlet is: pH- 6.8 to 7.0, conductivity < 0.2 μS/cm. and soluble silica < 0.02
ppm. This water requires further chemical conditioning during its circulation
through the system. These chemicals are applied at different
stages with the help of pumps.
a. Ammonia:

pH of fresh / make up water is 6.8 to 7.0. The pH of water gets reduced at elevated
temperature of water. The reduction in pH causes corrosion of metal surface. In
order to maintain the pH of water throughout the cycle, ammonia is added to
condensate pump discharge water by ammonia chemical feed pump. Since copper
pick up by oxygen is aggravated in presence of ammonia, the present practice is to
introduce ammonia at de-aerator outlet.

b. Hydrazine:
At atmospheric temperature and pressure, the solubility of oxygen in water is
approximately 8 ppm. Efficient mechanical de-aeration at De-aerator reduces
dissolved oxygen to 7 ppb or less. For complete protection from corrosion due to
residual oxygen after mechanical de-aeration, hydrazine is added as chemical
scavenger to De-aerator outlet through hydrazine chemical feed pump.

c. Phosphate:
At higher temperature and pressure, silica present in water becomes reactive and
has a tendency of carrying over with boiler drum outlet steam. This carrying
tendency of silica gets reduced with increase in boiler drum water pH. To facilitate
this, drum water pH is maintained at higher level (around 9.0 to 9.5) by feeding
tri-sodium phosphate at boiler drum with the help of phosphate chemical feed
pump. Phosphate also reacts with the chlorides of Ca, Mg etc., if present in water,
to neutralise their harmful action on boiler tubes and Ca, Mg get arrested in the
form of sludge, which is removed from the system through blowdown of boiler
drum water. Further increase in boiler water pH (above 10.5) may cause caustic
attack on boiler water wall tubes.

ASH HANDLING SYSTEM

Ash is generated in Boiler due to combustion of pulverized coal. One ton of coal
generates 0.35 to 0.45 ton of ash after combustion. A part around 20% of
generated ash gets deposited in Boiler Bottom Hopper and major part around 80%
goes out as fly ash with Boiler exhaust gases.

Bottom ash hopper (BAH):

It is a water filled hopper placed below the furnace water wall ring headers to
receive bottom ash generated out of combustion of coal.
BAH is generally of two types – Dry Bottom and Wet Bottom. In Dry Bottom type,
the BAH is kept empty (i.e. not water filled) prior to receiving Bottom Ash and
quenched by separate spray arrangement from inside. In this system continuous
ash evacuation and disposal take place through ash handling devices like
Scrapper Conveyor (Ex. DTPS unit # 4) or Pneumatic Dry Ash conveying system. In
the Wet Bottom type, the BAH is filled with water for quenching, disintegrating and
collecting the Bottom Ash in water mixed condition. There is a water seal, called
Trough Seal placed in-between furnace bottom ring header and the BAH. The
water seal allows the Boiler to expand downwards. A level of water is maintained in
the Trough Seal for proper sealing of Boiler against air infiltration.
The Bottom ash hopper is generally filled with water, which reduces the
temperature of deposited hot ash and clinkers. Sudden quenching also helps in
disintegration of clinkers. The deposited ash in the form of granules & clinkers is
taken out periodically with the help of either a moving chain grate scrapper or by
gravity to the clinker grinder chamber. The clinker grinder breaks huge lumps of
ash / clinkers into small sizes which are easily carried out with the help of
hydroejector to a slurry sump. The hydro-ejector is a water jet pump designed to
provide the power to transport slurry i.e. a mixture of small sized solid lump of ash
/ clinker and water to slurry sump through pipeline. The total mixture then
passes through the divergent part of the nozzle, which converts the energy of
motion (velocity head) back into pressure energy to facilitate movement of the
mixture to the slurry sump.

Electrostatic precipitator (ESP):

A small part of fly ash gets deposited in Economizer hoppers, Air pre-heater ash
hoppers and duct hoppers before it takes entry to the Electrostatic Precipitator,
where majority of fly ash is separated out.
In Electrostatic Precipitator, there are two sets of electrodes viz. Collecting
electrodes and Emitting (discharge) electrodes. The Collecting electrode is made up
of steel sheets pressed or rolled to a special profile. The Emitting electrode is a thin
wire, in helical (or spiral) form. These two electrodes are arranged in alternate
rows. A unidirectional high voltage from a rectifier is applied between these two
electrodes connecting its negative polarity to the emitting electrodes and positive
polarity to the collecting electrodes which are earthed.
Because of the physical configuration, the electric field in the neighborhood of the
emitting electrode is very high. The dust laden flue gas from boiler passes between
rows of collecting and discharge electrodes. The gas molecules, which are normally
neutral, are ionized in presence of high electric field. The ionized positive charges
travel towards the discharge electrodes and the negative charges (ions and
electrons) towards the collecting electrodes. On the way to the collecting
electrodes, the negative charges get attached to the dust particles. Thus, the dust
particles are electrically charged negatively. In presence of highly negative voltage
between the emitting and collecting electrodes, the charged dust particles
experience a force which causes the particles to move towards the collecting
electrodes and finally get deposited on them. A minor portion of dust particles,
which have acquired positive charge, get deposited on the emitting electrodes also.
Periodically these particles are dislodged from the electrodes by rapping system.
The particles then fall into the hopper at the bottom from where evacuation takes
place through ash disposal system.
Disposal of fly ash:
The fly ash collected in each of the electrostatic precipitator hopper, economizer
hopper, air pre-heater hoppers and the duct hopers drops continuously to a feeder
ejector/flushing apparatus provided under each hopper where fly ash gets mixed
with water and the resultant slurry drops into the ash sluice trench provided
below the feeder ejectors/flushing apparatus in case of wet disposal system. The
ash slurry is then transported to the ash slurry sump by gravity aided by high
pressure jetting nozzles provided at intervals in the sluice trench. Slurry at the
sump is pumped to far off disposal area (ash pond) through cast iron or basalt
lined disposal pipe lines. The pond ash is evacuated periodically to retain its
capacity for further disposal.

Waste water recovery:

Huge amount of water is added to ash for easy transporting it from slurry sump to
the distant disposal area. A part of this added water is decanted at the ash pond
and is recycled back into ash water system for reuse in order to reduce the
consumption of water.
CONDENSER COOLING SYSTEM

Condenser:
Condenser is a huge heat exchanger and is located at the exhaust of LP turbine.
The steam after driving turbine is dumped into condenser for recycling. The
dumped steam is cooled by circulating water flowing through the tubes of
condenser. The cooling takes place where the steam comes into contact with
condenser cold water tubes through which cooling water is circulated with the
help of Circulating Water (CW) pumps. The steam is thus condensed into water
and is taken into the system for reuse. The hot circulating water on absorption of
heat in condenser is either discharged into disposal canal (as in Durgapur TPS
unit no. 3) or taken to the top of cooling towers where it is allowed to fall under
gravity for lowering its temperature for recycling. Generally about 8-10 oC
temperature difference is observed between CW inlet and outlet of the condenser.

Cooling tower:
Each cooling tower consists of independent cells, each with its own induced draft
fan, water supply and distribution grid. Each cell is fitted with closely spaced PVC
fins to promote the formation of a massive water film. Beneath the cells are a
common collection basin and a single outlet for cooled water. The constant speed
fan discharges warm saturated air through a kinetic
energy recovery stack from each cell and the hot circulating water is cooled by
upward draft of air generated by cooling tower fans. The hot circulating water from
condenser rises at the top of the tower through two numbers mild steel
distribution pipe and flows out into a horizontal concrete trough on the top floor of
the tower through flow control valves. The trough is perforated with small holes
into which plastic nozzles are inserted to break the streams into umbrella shaped
sprays. The tower is provided with drift eliminator to minimize drift losses (escape
of water particles).
The cold water is collected in the basin of cooling tower and flows to CW pump
sump through a trapezoidal section canal for further circulation through
condenser. The tower basin is provided with sluice gate valves which are operated
periodically to flush the basin water to reduce turbidity. The flushed water is
drained to waste.
Cooling tower efficiency increases with decrease in humidity. Dry bulb & wet bulb
temperatures are to be noted to observe the performance of cooling tower.

Cycle of concentration:
About 2% of the cooling water is lost due to continuous evaporation and drift at
cooling tower. Only water, free from salt is lost during evaporation. Thus,
evaporation loss increases the concentration of undesired soluble impurities in
recirculating water. Cycle of Concentration (COC) is the ratio of soluble ion
(preferably magnesium or reactive silica) concentration in circulating water to that
in makeup water. With the increase in COC, some of the dissolved solids in the
recirculating water exceed their limit of solubility in water and get deposited on
surface of the tube.
In natural water, calcium bicarbonate salt exists in abundance. With the increase
in temperature of circulating water in the condenser, this calcium bicarbonate
[Ca(HCO3)2] is dissociated to form calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The solubility of
CaCO3 formed decreases with increase in temperature. Also, the rate of
dissociation of calcium bicarbonate increases with rise in temperature. This
results in deposition of hard scale of CaCO3 inside the tubes through which
maximum heat transfer take place. Due to this, deposition in the hotter outlet
cooling water tubes of condenser is more than that of colder inlet cooling water
tubes. The rate of deposition is governed by the LSI (Langelier Saturation index)
and SI (Stability Index). The scaling potential of water increases with LSI higher
than + 0.5 and SI less than 6. SI / SI should be controlled by maintaining low
COC with the help of circulating hot water blow down and subsequent make-up, if
sufficient water is available. The loss of water due to evaporation and blow down is
replaced
by makeup water. Chlorination of cooling tower basin water is done to restrict
microbiologically influenced growth and corrosion.

ENERGY CONSERVATION AND ENERGY AUDIT

Energy Conservation:
Efficient use of energy is called energy conservation. A large amount of energy is
wasted due to unawareness of energy conservation system. If one unit is saved in
the end user, it is equivalent to two units generated in the power plant. It is,
therefore, necessary to develop awareness towards energy conservation.

Need of Energy Conservation:

Conservation of energy is as good as energy generation.
It has no adverse environmental impact for additional energy since does not
require fresh fuel.
It helps to bring down ever widening gap between supply and demand without
additional cost of fresh capacity addition.

Energy Audit
Energy Audit is verification, monitoring and analysis of energy use including
submission of technical report containing recommendations for improving energy
efficiency with cost benefit analysis and an action plan to reduce energy
consumption.
Need for Energy Audit
It helps to identify the possible areas having scope for improvement.
It provides a bench-mark (reference point) for managing energy.
It gives a positive orientation to reduce cost of energy through preventive
maintenance and quality control program.

Types of Energy Audit:

Walk through energy audit: This helps to identify simple energy saving area only
by visual inspection and to take measures that can be implemented quickly.

Preliminary energy audit: It is a relatively quick exercise to estimate the scope for
saving by identification of most likely and the easiest areas
requiring immediate (especially no / low-cost) improvements / savings against a
reference point. It uses existing or easily obtained data for study.

Detailed energy audit: It considers the interactive effects of all projects, accounts
for the energy use of all major equipment and includes detailed energy cost saving
calculations and project cost. It is the most accurate method of estimating savings
of energy as well as cost. It requires regular up-grading of energy reporting system
and continuous review for energy cost control through a suitable energy
consumption norm with the help of a dedicated team.

Broad areas for Energy Audit in a thermal power plant:

Boiler and its associated parts.
Turbine and its associated parts.
Insulation applied to equipment or system.
Draft / air flow system (Induced Draft (I.D.) fan, Forced Draft (F.D.) fan, Primary
Air (P.A.) fan etc).
Cooling system (condenser, cooling tower and circulating water pumps).
Water flow system including pumps (feed system, condensate system, drip system.
DM water system, make up water system, service water system, raw water system,
etc.).
Fuel handling system right from unloading of fuel to firing at boiler furnace.
Ash handling system.
Compressed air system.
Air conditioning system.
Electrical power supply system (switch gear) to different equipments.
Electric drives and motors.
Generator and transformer with its associated parts.
Electrical power transmission and distribution system including switchyard.
Lighting system.

Typical losses in thermal process / boiler:

Thermal process losses
Boiler losses

Some technological options for targeting Power Plant loss reduction:

Boiler - Maintaining optimum excess air, improving economiser inlet water

temperature, optimising blow down, increasing flash steam & waste heat recovery,
improving performance of heat recovery system, improving boiler insulation.

Steam network – Regulating flow to heaters, removing deposits / leakage in

condenser, improving steam pipe insulation, increasing condensate & flash steam
recovery, selecting and maintaining proper steam trap.

Condenser & cooling tower - Maintaining optimum vacuum levels, increasing

water flow rate in condenser, installing temperature controller in cooling tower and
using Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) / Fibre-glass Reinforced Plastic (FRP)
blades in cooling tower blades.

Compressed air system – Evaluating operating efficiency of compressor by (a)

Free Air Delivery (FAD) test for reciprocating / screw compressor, (b) flow vs head
at operating condition, (c) part load & their frequency/ duration for centrifugal
compressor, (d) overall leakage test and taking corrective action for each case.
Motor - Using energy efficient motor, replacing under-loaded motor with optimum
one, using of variable frequency drive (VFD) for controlling pump speed.
Transmission of power - Standardizing voltage to reduce multiple transformation stages, designing
network elements based on thermal rating, keeping power factor close to unity by installing
capacitors at optimal location, avoiding overloading of High Tension (H.T.)/Low Tension (L.T.)
feeders & transformers by periodic load management and balancing three phase loads on
distribution transformer.