A PRESENTATION

ON THERMAL
POWER PLANTS
SOUNAK SASMAL
11/ME/98
Department of Mechanical Engineering
SEMINAR - II
CONTENTS:

1.Introduction
2.Power plant layout
3.Main and Auxiliary Equipments
4.Thermal power plants in West Bengal
5.References
 INTRODUCTION

A Thermal Power Plant converts the heat energy of coal (or

any other fuel) into electrical energy.
Coal is burnt in a boiler which converts water into steam.
The expansion of steam in turbine produces mechanical power
which drives the alternator coupled to the turbine.
Thermal Power Plants contribute maximum to the generation
of Power for any country.
Thermal Power Plants constitute 75.43% of the total installed
captive and non-captive power generation in India.
In thermal generating stations coal, oil, natural gas etc. are
employed as primary sources of energy.
THERMAL POWER PLANT
LAYOUT
3-D REPRESENTATION
WORKING OF THERMAL
POWER PLANT
 Main and Auxiliary
equipments
1. Coal handling plant
2. Pulverizing plant
3. Draft fans
4. Boiler
5. Ash handling plant
6. Turbine
7. Condenser
8. Cooling towers and ponds
9. Feed water heater
10. Economiser
11. Superheater and Reheater
12. Air preheater
COAL HANDLING PLANT
(CHP)
PULVERIZING PLANT
DRAFT SYSTEM
The circulation of air
is caused by a
difference in
pressure, known as
Draft.
Draft is a differential
pressure b/w
atmosphere and
inside the boiler.
It is necessary to
cause the flow of
gases through boiler
setting
 BOILER

A boiler or steam generator is a closed vessel

in which water under pressure, is converted
into steam.
It is one of the major components of a
thermal power plant
Always designed to absorb maximum
amount of heat released in the process of
combustion
Boilers are of two types-
1. Fire tube boiler
2. Water tube boiler (Usually used)
WATER TUBE BOILER
SUPERHEATER AND
REHEATER
 REHEATER
Some of the heat of superheated steam is used to
rotate the turbine where it loses some of its energy.
Reheater is also steam boiler component in which
heat is added to this intermediate-pressure steam,
which has given up some of its energy in expansion
through the high-pressure turbine.
The steam after reheating is used to rotate the second
steam turbine where the heat is converted to
mechanical energy.
This mechanical energy is used to run the alternator,
which is coupled to turbine , there by generating
electrical energy.
 SUPERHEATER
Super heater is a component of a steam-generating unit in
which steam, after it has left the boiler drum, is heated
above its saturation temperature.
The amount of superheat added to the steam is influenced
by the location, arrangement, and amount of super heater
surface installed, as well as the rating of the boiler.
The super heater may consist of one or more stages of
tube banks arranged to effectively transfer heat from the
products of combustion.
Super heaters are classified as convection, radiant or
combination of these.
 TURBINE SYSTEM
A steam turbine converts heat energy of steam into
mechanical energy and drives the generator. It uses the
principle that steam when issuing from a small opening attains
a high velocity. This velocity attained during expansion
depends on the initial and final heat content of the steam.
This difference b/w initial and final heat content represents
the heat energy converted into kinetic energy.
 CONDENSER
Steam after rotating steam turbine comes to condenser. Condenser refers
here to the shell and tube heat exchanger (or surface condenser) installed
at the outlet of every steam turbine in Thermal power stations of utility
companies generally.
These condensers are heat exchangers which convert steam from its
gaseous to its liquid state, also known as phase transition.
In so doing, the latent heat of steam is given out inside the condenser.
Where water is in short supply an air cooled condenser is often used.
An air cooled condenser is however significantly more expensive and
cannot achieve as low a steam turbine backpressure (and therefore less
efficient) as a surface condenser.
The purpose is to condense the outlet (or exhaust) steam from steam
turbine to obtain maximum efficiency and also to get the condensed steam
in the form of pure water, otherwise known as condensate, back to steam
generator or (boiler) as boiler feed water.
 WATER COOLED
SURFACE CONDENSER
 ASH HANDLING PLANT
(AHP)
Ash handling refers to the method of collection, conveying, interim storage
and load out of various types of ash residue left over from solid fuel
combustion processes. The most common types of ash include bottom ash,
bed ash, fly ash and ash clinkers resulting from the combustion of coal,
wood and other solid fuels. Ash handling systems may employ pneumatic
ash conveying or mechanical ash conveyors. A typical pneumatic ash
handling system will employ vacuum pneumatic ash collection and ash
conveying from several ash pick up stations-with delivery to an ash storage
silo for interim holding prior to load out and transport. Pressurized
pneumatic ash conveying may also be employed.
DENSE PHASE A.H.S
 ELECTROSTATIC
PRECIPITATORS
Precipitators function
byelectrostatically charging thedust
particles in the gasstream. The
chargedparticles are then attractedto
and deposited on plates orother
collection devices.When enough dust
hasaccumulated, the collectorsare
shaken to dislodge thedust, causing it
to fall withthe force of gravity
tohoppers below. The dust isthen
removed by a conveyorsystem for
disposal orrecycling
 TYPES OF ASH
The ash produced on the combustion of coal is collected by ESP. This ash is now
required to be disposed off. This purpose of ash disposal is solved by Ash Handling
Plant(AHP). There are basically 3 types of ash handling processes undertaken by AHP:
Dry ash system
Ash slurry system
Fly ash system
Ash slurry system
Ash from boiler is transported to ash dump areas bymeans of sluicing type hydraulic
system which consists of two types of systems:
Bottom ash system
Ash water system

Bottom ash system

In this system, the ash slag discharged from the furnace is collected in water
impounded scraper installed below bottom ash hopper. The ash collected is
transported to clinkers by chain conveyors. The clinker grinders churn ash which is
then mixed with water to form slurry.
Ash water system
In this system, the ash collected in ESP hopper is passed to flushing system. Here low
pressure water is applied through nozzle directing tangentially to the section of pipe to
create turbulence and proper mixing of ash with water to form slurry. Slurry formed in
above processes is transported to ash slurry sump. Here extra water is added to slurry
if required and then is pumped to the dump area.
 COOLING TOWER AND
PONDS
A condenser needs huge quantity of water to condense
the steam .
Typically a 2000MW plant needs about 1500MGallon of
water.
Most plants use a closed cooling system where warm
water coming from condenser is cooled and reused
Small plants use spray ponds and medium and large
plants use cooling towers.
Cooling tower is a steel or concrete hyperbolic structure
having a reservoir at the base for storage of cooled water
Height of the cooling tower may be 150 m or so and
diameter at the base is 150 m
 TYPES OF COOLING
TOWERS
COUNTER FLOW TYPE
The air is vertically upwards, counter
current with the hot water falling downwards.
The coldest water comes in contact
with the coolest and most dry air,
optimizing the heat transfer and obtaining
the maximum performance
The tower area required is comparatively
much smaller. The air water contact
is more due to the efficiency and
arrangement of the fill pack. The plenum
chamber area for hot air in this
tower is smaller
Since the air-water contact time is
higher, the quantity of air required is
lesser
The distribution is done through channel
with lateral pipes, fitted with splash
cum spray nozzles. Growth of algae is
highly restricted as the lateral pipes are
a closed unit and not located in direct
sunlight
CROSS FLOW TYPE
The air flows horizontally and the water
falling downwards meets the air at different
temperatures. Therefore the heat
transfer is not always optimized
The area required is larger due to its
constructional features like larger plenum
chamber. Also the arrangement
and material of the pack is different and
requires a higher area
Since the air-water contact time is
lesser, more air is required to effect
heat transfer
Since the air intake area extends from
the bottom to the deck level, the flume
discharge is very close to the air intake
area at the top. This creates the effect
of recirculation wherein the discharged
air re-enters the tower through the air
intake at the top. This creates a significant
reduction in performance
CROSS FLOW TYPE
COOLING TOWER
AIR PREHEATER

After flue gases leave economiser, some

further heat can be extracted from them and
used to heat incoming heat. Cooling of flue
gases by 20 degree centigrade increases the
plant efficiency by 1%.
Air preheaters may be of three types
Plate type
Tubular type
Regenerative type
 STATIONARY TYPE

The heating plate elements in this type of

regenerative air preheater are also installed in
a casing, but the heating plate elements are
stationary rather than rotating. Instead the air
ducts in the preheater are rotated so as to
alternatively expose sections of the heating
plate elements to the upflowing cool air.
As indicated in the adjacent drawing, there are
rotating inlet air ducts at the bottom of the
stationary plates similar to the rotating outlet
air ducts at the top of the stationary plates.
 ROTATING PLATE
REGENERATIVE TYPE
It consists of a central rotating-plate element installed within a casing
that is divided into bi-sector type, tri-sector type or quad-sector type
sectors containing seals around the element. The seals allow the
element to rotate through all the sectors, but keep gas leakage
between sectors to a minimum while providing separate gas air and
flue gas paths through each sector.
Tri-sector types are the most common in modern power generation
facilities. Here, the largest sector is connected to the boiler hot gas
outlet. The hot exhaust gas flows over the central element, transferring
some of its heat to the element, and is then ducted away for further
treatment in dust collectors and other equipment before being
expelled from the flue gas stack.
The second, smaller sector, is fed with ambient air by a fan, which
passes over the heated element as it rotates into the sector, and is
heated before being carried to the boiler furnace for combustion.
The third sector is the smallest one and it heats air which is routed into
the pulverizers and used to carry the coal-air mixture to coal boiler
burners. Thus, the total air heated in the RAPH provides: heating air to
remove the moisture from the pulverised coal dust, carrier air for
transporting the pulverised coal to the boiler burners and the primary
air for combustion.
The rotor itself is the medium of heat transfer in this system, and is
usually composed of some form of steel or ceramic structure. It rotates
quite slowly to allow optimum heat transfer first from the hot exhaust
gases to the element, then as it rotates, from the element to the cooler
air in the other sectors.
Economiser
Flue gases coming out of the boiler carry lot of heat. An economiser extracts a part
of this heat from flue gases and uses it for heating feed water. This use of
economiser results in saving coal consumption and higher boiler efficiency
 References

Generation of electrical power- B.R.GUPTA

www.google.com
www.fujielectric.com/company/tech/pdf/r51-
3/r51-3
www.indianpowersector.com/home/power-
station/thermal-power-plant/