MAHARASHRA STATE POWER GENERATION CO. LTD.

WELCOME TO ALL FOR

International Conference
ON

Environmental Issues, Challenges and

Innovations for Thermal Power Plants
R. A. Deshpande, Exe. Engineer (P&P)
 MoEF Norms
MoEF & CC, on date 7thDecember 2015, published new
environmental norms for coal-based power plants. The
regulations aim to drastically cut down emissions of particulate
matter (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen
(NOx), and bring them closer to international standards.
Existing TPPs installed TPPs to be
(prior) TPPs installed till between installed
Standards Dec 31, 2003 Jan 1, 2004 from January 1,
and D ec 31,
2016 2017

Sulphur No standard 600 mg/Nm3 (for 600 mg/Nm3 (for 100 mg/Nm3
Dioxide units < 500 MW) units < 500 MW)
200 mg/Nm3 (for 200 mg/Nm3 (for
units >= 500 units >= 500
MW) MW)
Oxides of No standard 600 mg/Nm3 300 mg/Nm3 100 mg/Nm 3
Nitrogen
(NOx)
Mercury No standard 0.03 mg/Nm3 (for 0.03 mg/Nm3 (for 0.03 mg/Nm3
units >= 500 units >= 500
MW) MW)

Particulate 150-350 100 mg/Nm3 50 mg/Nm3 30 mg/Nm3

M a tte r
(PM ) mg / NM3
Water not available 3.5 m3 /MWh 3.5 m3 /MWh 2.5 m 3 /MWh
Consumption
 MoEF Norms
• While the norms have been welcomed by most
environmentalists, gaps remain in their viability and
implementation.
• Now we will elaborate on the various issues and challenges
related to environmental Compliance. We have broadly
classified these issues & challenges in two categories, after
extensive discussion and collecting feedback from various
meetings.

Table-2: New Environmental norms – Issues and Challenges

Issues Challenges
Maintaining power supply during Time Frame
retrofits
Technological Options Finances
Limestone availability Tariffs
Disposal of bi-products Space availability for FGD &
SCR
ENV. NORMS - CHALLENGES : TIME- FRAME:

• Physically implementing the new environmental control norms includes

the following steps:
i) Selection of suitable Technology
ii) Tendering and procurement
iii) Arrangement of Funds
iv) Shut-down for installation (60-90 days each)

• It is extremely unlikely this can be done by December 2017. While

Central Public sector undertaking NTPC Ltd and MSPGCL, GSPGCL have
been proactive in such efforts, but the other power generators have,
on average, seems lagging.

• In principle, the norms are technologically achievable, for the

most part, as power plants use the technology that is decades
old. However, the time frame for implementation—announced
in December 2015, to go into force in December 2017—appears
too aggressive.
ENV. NORMS - CHALLENGES : FINANCES

• The Capex cost for FGD equipment is practically @ 0.55 to 0.60 INR Crores / MW.
Increase in capex cost due to consumption SCR catalyst etc. is @ 0.40 to 0.45 INR
Crores / MW. The expenditure of additional funds has a major impact on affordability
country’s economy in general. The older units of MSPGCL have already outlived the
useful life of @ 16 to 35 years. In stunted words, it would not be possible to meet
the new environmental norms without a steep rise in power tariff.
• A lot of cost numbers depend not only on applicable interest rates but also on the
proposed solutions. The fact should be accepted that most of these solutions are
imported only.
• It is very clear if this is a reality, an excuse/bargaining point, or something
that can be overcome but with additional cost. The total funding required by
power stations for FGD & SCR for majority of fund starved power utilities @
0.95 to 1.05 Cr/MW. Increase in O&M cost shall be due to lime stone/
ammonia. Power Consumption will be another concern to the power
operators. For units getting low dispatch, recovery of the investment made
in their remaining life span shall be a bigger challenge.
ENV. NORMS - CHALLENGES : FINANCES

• The impact of capex cost for FGD & SCR is @ 0.95 to 1.05 Cr/MW which comes to @30
to 25 paise/kWh spread over the span of 13 years. Doing a back calculation, assuming
even Rs. 4 per kWh cost of coal-based power plant (pre-standards), the additional costs
would be a little over 8% per cent of generation costs for plants with all equipment
installed. The increase in Auxiliary consumption in the range of @ 1.2% ~ 1.5% is due to
higher operations and maintenance. Ultimately there shall be increase in O&M cost due to
expenditure required for lime stone, ammonia, Power Consumption.
• The challenge in Tariff Hike is that- “As this additional expenditure requirement
shall be necessitated due to change in law, the increase in consumer tariff shall
require to be ratified by the regulators and the existing PPAs required to be
revised. Change in APC (Auxiliary Power Consumption) norms shall also be done
by regulators.”
• The additional Cost of FGD System is expected to raise the Cost of Generation of
the unit so that it will be difficult for Power Utilities to keep the unit within MOD
preference. Special MOD list – Separate category for compliant units shall be
prepared for Green Energy Units (FGD/SCR installed Units). Gencos require
regulatory clarity on the recoverability of such costs from the Discoms.
ENV. NORMS - CHALLENGES : SPACE AVAILABILITY

• One of the challenges the Power utilities are facing or Power Utilities has highlighted is lac
k of space for FGD /SCR equipment, especially for 74000MW of coal plants predominantly
under 500MW in size. It is unclear if this is a reality, an excuse/bargaining point, or
something that can be overcome but with additional cost.

UNITWISE BREAKUP OF INSTALLED CAPACITY (MW)

Unit Capacity Before No. of After No. of Total MW

in MW 31.03.2003 Units 31.03.2003 Units
(MW) (MW)
60 MW or Less 1996 47 765 18 2761
61-110 MW 4875 50 138 2 5013
111-499 MW 39277 198 39421 144 74198
500 MW or 13000 26 92760 157 105760
Higher
TOTAL 59148 321 128584 321 187732
Source- ICRA & CEA
ENV. NORMS - CHALLENGES : SPACE AVAILABILITY

• Further, it is to worth-mention that more than 50,000MW coal based capacity is

under construction which is at various stages of completion. Modifications in the
plants under construction stage require changes in design and lay-out. The
Change in Layout or carrying out modification may result in delays in project
commissioning, increase in project cost, re-working of PPA’s, increase in IDC,
financing issues. Contractual issues shall arise due to post award changes in
scope of work and demonstration for guarantees by the contractors.
 
• The challenge in space availability for older plants is that- “Most of the
Thermal Power Station has more number of Units at one place and the
available space is critically utilized for accommodating the new units.
Modification in the existing schemes is also carried out by many Power
Stations. Though the Technological Option of the multi-boiler FGD can
be utilized for lower capacity units of 210MW & below can be explored
but the issue of space for 500MW units still remain unresolved.
ENV. NORMS – ISSUES :
MAINTANING POWER SUPPLY DURING RETROFIT:

• Large scale retrofitting is required in the existing plants (187GW) to meet the

revised environmental norms. Proper Shutdown schedule of Thermal Power

Units needs to be planned before the retrofits by the CEA, otherwise there may

be a possibility of power shortfall / grid disturbance, which will disturb the

power supply to the complete nation. It is therefore necessary to take utmost

care for maintaining the power supply during the retrofit of FGD/SCR System.

• Complete shut downs between 4-6 months (including stack lining) for

each unit is essential and therefore, only limited capacity can be taken

under shut down at any given time. The issue can be resolved if the

implementation plan is kept staggered for thermal plant units to

ensure uninterrupted power supply.

 TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS
• Various technological options to meet the revised
environmental norms are tabulated below.
Table-3: TECHNOLOGICAL OPTION TO MEET ENVIRONMENTAL NORMS
SO2 Control NOx Control Mercury Control PM Control
Technology Technology Technology Technology
Options Options Options Options
Dry Sorbent Combustion Activated Carbon Pulse-Jet Fabric
Injection (DSI) – Controls Injection (ACI) Filter (FF)
Dry FGD System
Lime Spray Dryer Selective SO2 & NOx Control Electrostatic Prec.
(LSD) Scrubber Catalytic Tech. Removal (ESP) Upgrade
Dry FGD Reduction (SCR) Co-benefits Adjustment
Quick Lime based Selective Non
Semi Dry Scrubber Catalytic
--- ---
Semi-Dry FGD Reduction
(SNCR) System
Sea Water FGD for
Plants near Sea --- --- ---
Shore – Wet FGD
Limestone Forced
Oxidation (LSFO) --- --- ---
Wet FGD
Ammonia Based
Oxidation (NH3FO) --- --- ---
Wet FGD
 TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS
• Many technologies have during the years been developed for
FGD. DFGD, WLFGD and SWFGD are the preferred, most
widely spread technologies. All established technologies can
meet the demands for SO2 removal for the Indian market. All
technologies have different consideration and often related to
operation and capital cost transferred to NPV. Specifically for
low to medium range sulphur content, the DFGD and SWFGD
will most probably be the preferred total evaluated
technologies. The schematic diagram of the various available
technological option of FGD is show below-
 TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS
FGD

WET SCRUBBING DRY SCRUBBING

LIMESTONE
AMMONIA SEAWATER SEMI DRY CIRCULATING
BASED
FORCED SCRUBBIN DRY
OXIDATION OXIDATIO
G SCRUBBING SCRUBBER
N

AMMONI
GYPS AM NON
SULPHATE SULPHITE SULPHITE
UM Fertilizer E
Product
 Chemical Reactions
A) Chemical Reaction in Limestone Based FGD
As the flue gas ascends through the scrubber, SO 2 reacts with
limestone slurry to form calcium sulphite, as detailed below.
CaCO3 + SO2  CaSO3 + CO2.↑ (1)
 Then Oxidation of sulphite to sulphate takes place as below—
 
CaSO3 + ½ O2 =2H2O CaSO4. 2H2O.↓ (2)

B) Chemical Reaction in Efficient Ammonia (NH3)Based FGD :

 
 TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS
NOx REMOVAL TECHNOLOGIES
• SCR : Oil/gas steam units are eligible for SCR only. NOx reduction in
a SCR system takes place by injecting ammonia (NH3) vapor into the
flue gas stream where the NOx is reduced to nitrogen (N2) and water
(H2O) abetted by passing over a catalyst bed typically containing
titanium, vanadium oxides, molybdenum, and/or tungsten.

• SNCR: As its name implies, SNCR operates without a catalyst. In

SNCR a nitrogenous reducing agent (reagent), typically urea or
ammonia, is injected into, and mixed with, hot flue gas where it
reacts with the NOx in the gas stream reducing it to nitrogen gas and
water vapour.
 TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS
ESP UPGRADATION TECHNOLOGIES:
For ESPs that were designed for higher emission levels and require up-gradation,
the following techniques can be considered, on a case-to-case basis, depending on
space and technical parameters.

Preferred solutions:
Increase in specific collection area has been tried in several retrofit installations and
has led to dramatic increase in collection efficiency. Any of the following can be
done to increase the specific collection area of an ESP.
1) Adding fields in series to an existing ESP:
2) Placing additional ESPs parallel to an existing ESP:
3) Adding new internals by increasing the casing height:
4) Replacing old ESPs with new ones:
5) Filling the dummy fields of ESPs:
 LIMESTONE AVAILABILITY

• The water requirement for Wet FGD is around @100m3/Hr while the limestone
consumption is 6 to 9 MT/Hr depending upon the quality of Limestone and Inlet
sulphur loading on the FGD absorber. The cost of the Limestone is @ INR 2000
~ 2500/MT of 80~85% purity (CaCO3) and the transportation cost required 200
Km distance is also INR 2000 ~ 2500/MT.

• Limestone requirement of power utilities shall be high and the Limestone

availability of required quality is not fundamentally available in India. Limestone
cost is expected to rise and the power utilities will eventually face the problem of
generation cost rise.

• The issue of Limestone availability can be resolved by early Long Term

contract with Limestone suppliers. Alternatively power utilities can
lease the limestone mines for long span of 25 years and fulfill their
limestone requirement.
 DISPOSAL OF BI-PRODUCT

• The bi-product of the FGD System (Wet Lime Stone) is Gypsum. The FGD
System for 500MW Unit will produce the Gypsum @ 85000 Tonnes/Annum. The
disposal of such large quantity of Gypsum is a matter of concern. Necessary tie
ups with the nearest cement plant shall also be confirmed by the TPP. MSPGCL
explored the requirement of gypsum in the cement plants near Nagpur/
Chandrapur region which is in the range of approx. 0.30 Million TPA as compared
to @ 0.15 Million TPA generation of gypsum at Koradi, Unit 10 only. After
holding discussions with the officials of the above cement plants, MSPGCL team
is of the opinion that:
• Presently, most of the cement plants procure natural gypsum from either
Thailand or Iran.
• Indigenous gypsum procured is mostly chemical gypsum, which is produced by
using quality limestone. Requirement of Chemical gypsum is 2~3% only.
• There is other alternative of FGD which is Ammonia Based FGD System.
However, the bi-product of this FGD System (Ammonia Based) is Fertilizer.
 Capex & Operating Cost
• The FGD systems are also one of the most expensive retrofits for pollution
control. As per the latest estimates, the installation cost of wet limestone-based
FGD is estimated at Rs 5 to 6 million per MW.
 
• The additional costs are expected to impact tariffs. Further, according to
developers, the cost implications could be higher considering the losses on
account of plant shutdown. Most of the suppliers demand 30 to 36 months
period for installation & commissioning of FGD System. Actual 45 days plant shut
down is required for joining the ducting with FGD installation.

• FOR 500MW Unit - The auxiliary consumption of the Unit will increase by 1.2%
to 1.5% due to auxiliaries associated with FGD system. The water requirement
for Wet FGD is around @100m3/Hr while the limestone consumption is 6 to 9
MT/Hr depending upon the quality of Limestone and Inlet sulphur loading on the
FGD absorber.

• The cost of the Limestone is @ INR 2000 ~ 2500/MT of 80~85% purity (CaCO3)
and the transportation cost required 200 Km distance is also INR 2000 ~
2500/MT.
 Capex & Operating Cost
• The investment needed by a Thermal Power Plant would depend on the
combination of up-gradation and new installation required in order to achieve the
new MoEF norms. It is essential to understand the costs of compliance for power
plants. Though this market related to FGD/ SCR is very fragile and competitive
market, this market is still nascent in India. The capex cost for FGD equipment is
practically @ 0.55 to 0.60 INR Crores / MW. Increase in capex cost due to
consumption SCR catalyst etc. is @ 0.40 to 0.45 INR Crores / MW. The
expenditure of additional funds has a major impact on affordability country’s
economy in general. The total funding required by power stations for FGD
& SCR for majority of fund starved power utilities @ 0.95 to 1.05 Cr/MW.

• The impact of Capex cost for FGD & SCR is @ 0.95 to 1.05 Cr/MW which comes
to @30 to 25 paise/kWh spread over the span of 13 years. Doing a back
calculation, assuming even Rs. 4 per kWh cost of coal-based power plant (pre-
standards), the additional costs would be a little over 8% per cent of generation
costs for plants with all equipment installed.

• The increase in Auxiliary consumption in the range of @ 1.2% ~ 1.5% is due to

higher operations and maintenance.
 Expectations from the Supplier:

• Gencos will largely expect from suppliers to cut down the period required
for shut down.
• To minimize the total installation period @ 3years required for
Installation & commissioning of FGD System.
• The cost of the FGD System should also to be curtailed by the supplier.

• The supplier should come forward with the financing options like BOT,
BOO and other financing options for FGD Projects.
• The other option available for WET FGD is Ammonia Based FGD but the
Cost of the Ammonia (Raw Material) will be the high and the recovery of
this cost will be again questionable. The ammonia based FGD system
involves various hazards such as storage of ammonia, transportation of
ammonia, slippage of the ammonia etc. The ammonia will also being
corrosive will affect the ducting and other nearby structures.
 Biggest Issues & Concern:
•The additional Cost of FGD System is expected to rise of the Cost of
Generation of the unit so that it will be difficult for Power Utilities to keep
the unit within MOD preference. Special MOD list shall be prepared for
Green Energy Units (FGD installed Units). Gencos require regulatory clarity
on the recoverability of such costs from the Discoms.

•GoI, GoM shall make special provision of funding for FGD projects.

• Limestone requirement shall be high and the Limestone availability of

required is not fundamentally available in India.

•Power utilities will face problem for disposal of the gypsum. The
requirement of Chemical Gypsum of Cement Industries is by enlarge only
2 ~ 3%, so this gypsum shall have to be dumped.
 Biggest Issues & Concern:
• Complete shut downs between 4-6 months (including stack lining) for
each unit is essential and therefore, only limited capacity can be taken
under shut down at any given time. GoI, GoM shall make special
provision of funding for FGD projects.

•  CEA should take a leading role to ask the regulators to prepare Special
category within MOD list for Green Energy Units (FGD/SCR installed
Units). Regulator should give regulatory clarity to Gencos for the
recoverability of such costs from the Discoms. The tariff petitions shall
be made simpler to pass through the costs for such technologies which
could be done by preparing standardized costing for these technologies.

• Exemption should be given for older units which have outlived the useful
life of more than 20 years.

• Phase out plan should be prepared to retire old units and financial
assistance / incentives should be provided for replacing the old units with
Super-critical/ Ultra Super-critical units.
 Way Forward  
• The upcoming environmental norms for thermal power plants are a
welcome step in reducing emissions in line with global standards making
clean energy available. Regulatory support & financial assistance to the
power utilities is essential to ensure timely implementation including
tariff increase approvals.
• Generally the Sulphur Content in Indian Coal is 0.4% to 0.60%. Existing
smaller capacity units (installed before 2013) with this coal can achieve
the required emission level of less than 600mg/Nm3.
• However, the Coal Mines having high Sulphur Content should be
identified and such coal shall specifically be used for higher capacity
units having provision of FGD.
• Encouragement should be given to the Gypsum Board Industries for
utilization of the gypsum. (The bi-product generated.)
Thank You
Q&A
Please