REPORT ON NEW 25 MW BAGASSE BASED HIGH PRESSURE COGENERATION POWER PLANT OF M/S RAMGARH CHINI MILLS (PROP. DALMIA CEMENT (B) LIMITED) Prepared by . S, Sharma, B.E., M. 62 — Kailash Apartments Lala Lajpat Rai Road1. Introduction M/s Ramgath Chini Mills (A unit of M/s Dalmia Cement (B) Limited) is setting up a 25 MW bagasse-based power plant at its existing sugar factory in Village Ramgerh, Tehsil Misrikh, Dist. Sitapur, U.P. to meet its captive requirement as well as export surplus power to the grid. “The sugar factory has an existing power plant made up of two boilers of 45 TPH each operating at a steam pressure & temperature of 33 kg/on* and 410°C and one boiler of 40 TPH operating at a steam pressure & temperature of 46 kg/cm’ and 450°C. The power generation is through three back-pressure 3 MW turbine generators. The existing power plant meets only captive requirement & does not export power to the grid. In the new power plant, a high pressure boiler of 120 TPH operating at a steam pressure & temperature of 86 kg/am? and 515°C is being installed which is being supplied by M/s ISGEC John Thompson. The turbo-generator being installed is of extraction back-pressure type being supplied by M/s Hangzhou Turbine Company of China through its Indian agency M/s Greenesol Power Systems Put. Ltd., Bangalore, The rated capacity of the TG set is 25 MW. Based on the process steam demand, the generation will be 22 MW. The alternator is also being imported from M/s JPEF of China, The generation voltage is 1 KV. The plant will be connected to the grid through a 132 KV dedicated transmission line from the plant to 132 KV Sidhaull sub-station of M/s U.P. Power Corporation Limited. “The following balance of the plant equipment is under ordering, fi Bagasse & Bottom Ash Handling System [2 —|Bense Phase Ash Handling System 7 HP Feed Water Heater ees crate: cin | a Certified to be true coor. , [pti if 2 2? NEW Decay © ace & < #Water Treatment Plant 3 & | Piping, Pumps, Valves, Supports, Bellows 7 | Air Compressor & Dryer 8 9 AIC & Ventilation Fire fighting System 10 | 132 KV Transmission Line & Bay Ti | 11/132 WV Switchyard T2 | Transformers ~ Generator Transformer & Distribution Transformers 13 [Lr Panels 14 | VED Panels 5 | Power Cables 16) 0cs 17 | BOP instrumentation 18 [Pumps 19] Gooling Tower 20 | RCC Chimney 2 | Other Gull Works The project is expected to be commissioned during March 2007. 2. Objective M/s Ramgath Chini Mills is setting up a high pressure bagasse-based cogeneration plant for the first time. In view of this, management of M/s Ramgarh Chini Mills has commissioned this report to understand the major operational problems likely to be faced by such plants and the steps that can be taken to avoid such problems and/or mitigate the impact of these.3. Details of Boiler & Auxiliaries “The boiler and its auxiliaries are suitable for outdoor installation. The fuel firing system is with spreader stoker with travelling grate. Other main features are as following ‘The draft system of the boiler is balanced, ‘The boiler is designed with natural circulation and with Bi-Drums. ‘The furnace is with water cooled membrane walls. The boiler has two-stage superheater with an inter-stage attemperator. Economizer & air heater are provided as the heat recovery systems. 3 x 50 % Motor driven Boiler feed pumps Deaerator and Deaerated water storage tank are provided ESP is provided as the air pollution control system euawswn The main operating parameters are as under. Net capacity of boiler to meet the steam demand at = MT/hr_ 120 MCR operation of the Plant exclusive of all the internal steam requirements of the boiler, (e.g. Soot blower) Peak Generation capacity as Percentage of MCR % 110 Steam pressure at the Main Steam stop valve outlet —Kg/cm’ 86.0 from minimum load up to MCR, Steam temperature at the Main Steam stop valve outlet °C 51545 from minimum load up to MCR. Turn down ratio %-MCR 60-100 Minimum continuous load MCR 30 3 Cantified to be true copySteam quality at the main steam stop valve inlet = Specific conductivity measured at 25 °C pSfom Max 0.200 + Sila (Si02) ppm Max 0.020 Startup Vent Capacity %MCR 30 Feed water temperature at Economiser inlet °c 170 Mjs ISGEC John Thompson has a wide experience of supplying travelling grate bagasse fired boilers and the operating performance of these is reported to be satisfactory. A similar boiler has recently been supplied to M/s Triveni for their Deoband sugar plant and Is working satisfactorily, M/s Ramgarh Chini Mills have themselves been operating 3 of their boilers. 4, Details of Turbo-generator & Auxiliaries The turbo-generator (TG) is an extraction, back-pressure type. The turbine RPM is 3000 and the alternator Is directly coupled to the TG. 1 Inlet Steam Parameters = Pressure (Ata) 84 - Temperature (°C) 510 - Flow (Kg/Hr) 120000 3 Turbine Bleed Parameters ( at the terminal point) - Pressure (Ata) 9 ~ Temperature (°C) 190 Quantity Requirements: = Minimum (Kg/Hr) 0it 12, 15. 16. = Normal (Kg/Hr) = Maximum (Kg/Hr) 19370 22000 ‘Turbine Exhaust Steam Parameters (at the terminal point) ~ Pressure (Ata) - Temperature (°C) Quantity Requirements = Minimum (Kg/Hr) ~ Normal (Kg/Hr} = Maximum (Kg/Hr) The economical steam rate at percentage load Power at the generator terminals (MW) Power Factor (lagging) Generation Voltage (KV) Grid Voltage (kv) Duty Requirements The minimum continuous load as a percentage of the MCR load (%) System Frequency (Hz) 3 135 101,000 120,000 80-100 22 08. 114 10% 132 8000 Hours: 15 50 + 5% M/s HTC are reputed to be one of the largest turbine manufacturers of China. However, their track record in India is yet to be fully established. M/s Orissa CementLimited, a group company of M/s Daimia Cement is operating a turbine supplied by M/s HTC. Though no major problems have been reported, itis too early to comment on the long term performance. The alternator from JPEF is being supplied for the first time in India, The inadequate Indian track record of M/s HTC & M/s JPEF can present a technological risk for the project. In view of concern on timely availability of spares from China, M/s Ramgarh Chini Mills should exercise particular care in adequate stocking of spare parts for turbine & its auxiliaries.5, Following sections of the report discuss major issues facing bagasse based power plants & suggestions/recommendations to overcome these or to minimize the impact thereof. 5.1 Fuel The fuel being handled is bagasse generated as a by-product of sugarcane crushing. The bagasse has following ultimate analysis, Carbon E 23.5% Hydrogen : 3.25% Oxygen 21.75 % Moisture : 50% Ash : 1.5% ‘The ash content in the bagasse is tow which generally results in lower erosion of parts in the flue gas path as well as low particulate emissions, However, inherent moisture of around 50% in bagasse results in accelerated corrosion of components of the fuel handling system such as chains, rakes, troughs, structure columns (which are enveloped in bagasse stock pile), The chains & rakes usually require a replacement every 2-3 years. Other parts of the bagasse handling system also have to be replaced after about 10-12 years. During slow crushing rate of the sugar mills, the incoming bagasse has even higher moisture (up to 60-65%) which creates jamming in the fuel feeding system. In case of high moisture bagasse coming from the sugar mills, the relatively drier bagasse from the stockpile should be used. Possibility of installing a bagasse dryer can also be considered.Another problem associated with bagasse is the presence of very fine & light particles called bagacillo. These particles can be observed almost everywhere in the plant as these are easily carried, Being highly combustible, presence of bagacillo is a fire hazard. Due to ingress of bagacillo, the life of rotating machinery and other movable machinery in the plant such as motors, gearboxes, planetary drives, chain drives, conveyors etc can be considerably shortened. Presence of bagacillo can also affect life of electrical switchgear and instrumentation such as DCS etc, To minimize spillage of bagacilio, the bagasse carrying conveyors: should have weather hoods installed. These will also prevent rain water ingress into bagasse. The junction towers of the bagasse handling system should be properly covered. Frequent cleaning should be carried out to avoid accumulation of bagacillo and prevent fire hazard, 5.2 Seasonal Operations “The sugar factory crushes cane for only 5 ~ 6 months every year. During the rest of the period, power plant also does not work since there is no process steam demand, The crushing operations are normally from November to April, Hence the power plant will typically be mothballed every year from May to October which includes monsoon rain months of July ~ September. ‘Some of the biggest problems arise from the seasonal nature of power plant operations. The boilers often deteriorate much more during the off- season than during the crushing season. Most of the damage to the boiler & ESP takes place during the idle condition in monsoon season when rain water gets inside and damages the insulation and causes corrosion of boiler bank tubes, super heater colls, economiser tubes, air heater tubes, ESP internals etc.To minimize the impact, itis necessary, at the end of the season, to empty the boiler carefully, check that no pockets of water remain and carry out dry or wet preservation. The interior should also be painted with a rust-preventive paint. Hygroscopic material such as quicklime or calcium carbide should be left inside the boiler & ESP to absorb water. Proper dry-out should be carried out while re-starting the boiler in the next crushing season, The thicknesses of pressure parts should be checked every off-season & necessary replacements should be carried out to prevent failures during season. ‘The heavy rotor shaft of the turbine is prone to bending in stopped condition. The bearings can also fuse with the shaft. To prevent this, rotation should be carried out through barring gear once every week during the off-season. ‘The other rotating & moving items ate also prone to corrosion & mechanical damage in stopped condition & should preferably be periodically operated in no-load condition during the off-season. ‘Accumulation of dust in electrical & instrumentation installations can also cause damage to these systems & shorten their life, Frequent cleaning of these installations should be carried out during the off-season. 5.3 Foreign Material ‘The experience with bagasse based power plants shows that during the time of project erection & commissioning activities, bagasse storage space is generally used 2s the fabrication yard. A lot of metallic/non-metallic scrap & debris which is not disposed properly from there gets mixed up with the bagasse. Foreign material also ‘comes from the sugarcane crushing mills during the crushing operations. These foreign matters mixed up with bagasse get fed to the boiler through the bagasse handling system which results in damage to rubber belts and rakes of the conveyors, damage / jamming of the fuel feeders, damage / jamming of thetravelling grate. Larger size foreign material can result in breakdown of any of these components. Tomi these effects it is recommended that proper scrap disposal is done form the bagasse yard during project activities. Lighter metallic scrap can also be removed by installing magnetic separators on the belt conveyors. 5.4 Water Quality For high pressure cogeneration boilers, water quality Is of paramount importance. Boiler corrosion fatigue is a common problem due to lack of control of the water chemistry. Poor steam quality has an adverse impact on the life of turbine blading apart from the drop in generation efficiency experienced from scaling of turbine blades, Condensate from sugar process also contains traces of sugarcane juice & other ‘organic matter which can be detrimental to life of boller pressure parts and turbine internals. Efforts have to be made to minimize the effect of these. Strict contro! has to be exercised in maintaining water quality from the Water ‘Treatment Plant & quality of return condensate from the sugar plant. On-line monitoring of the condensate should be carried out with provision for rejecting the condensate in the event of deterioration in water chemistry. In case of sustained deterioration in condensate quality, the leakages in the evaporator set in the sugar plant should be checked and attended to. 5.5 Electrical & Instrumentation System The life of electrical & instrumentation systems depends on service conditions such as frequency of operations, tripping on fault, relative humidity, presence of dust, reactive gases etc. -10‘The environment in a typical sugar factory located in remote area is highly dusty anc as described earlier, more so with presence of bagacillo. The DCS system is highly prone to damage from presence of dust, Utmost care must be exercised to minimize dust ingress in the control room. Regular cleaning of other systems such as switchgear panels, drive panels, transformers etc must be carried out. The northem grid suffers from frequent voltage/frequency variations. Due to this, COLTC of Generator-Transformer is expected to operate very frequently and may need early replacement. Spare OLTC should be maintained and number of operations of the same should be tracked closely to enable timely replacement. Proper cleaning & preservation of all electrical & instrumentation systems should be carried out during the season & off-season. 5.6 Other Points In the sugar factories, itis very difficult to stop the plant during the crushing season due to deterioration in harvested cane & potential law & order problems due to presence of a large number of the growers in the cane yard. Owing to this, sugar factory boilers operate even with known tube leakages. Operating the boiler with tube leakages especially in the boiler bank area is detrimental to the life of adjacent tubes. High speed steam/water leaking from the tube will rapidly damage adjacent tubes. In higher pressure bollers, feed water to economizer region causes flow-accelerated corrosion resulting in wall-thinning. If not checked, it can be extensive and may result in catastrophic failure. To prevent this, thickness measurements should be carried out in every off-season. ouBased on the equipments, discussions with manufacturers, operating conditions & experience of similar plants, itis estimated that the plant can continue to operate for about 10-12 years without requiring any major capital expenditure provided due care is taken in off-season preservation of the plant to ensure minimum damage to boiler, TG and other plant & machinery and other suggestions in the report are also implemented, After this, fresh capital expenditure will be required mainly for mechanical items such ‘as replacement of boiler tubes (boiler bank tubes, super heater coils, economizer ‘tubes and air heater tubes), boller & ESP insulation & aluminum cladding, induced draft fans, RO membranes of the water treatment plant, cooling tower fils, bagasse handling system, ash handling system etc. Other mechanical systems such as pumps, fans, gearboxes may also require fresh expenditure to contain drop in efficiencies & arrest increase in auxiliary power consumption Fresh investment may also be required in upgrade of DCS system. Other electrical & instrumentation system may also require an upgrade to maintain system efficiencies. Typical O&M expenditure for such plants is expected to be in the range of Lacs to Rs 400 Lacs which is approximately 4.25 - 5% of the capital cost. Further the cost of spares for imported turbine and alternator are also expected to be high. Due to accelerated wear & tear in the later years i.e. towards the 8°/9" year onwards the ORM expenditure is likely to escalate further. Tn view consider awarding full O&M contract to an experienced third-party operator for initial 2-3 years till sufficient in-house expertise is acquired & developed, “1s7. Acknowledgements ‘The author is thankful to the management of M/s Ramgarh Chini Mills for having given this opportunity to study & suggest measures for proper operation & maintenance of the upcoming power plant. Thanks are also due to the officers & staff of the company for their excellent co-operation & support during the study. also wish to acknowledge the support & co-operation received from M/s ISGEC & M/s Greenesol and M/s Avant Garde Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd, C, S’SHARMA M.LE—M035949 CS. Sharma M.LE. ~ M038949 Place : New Delhi Date : March 6, 2006 “13