9 Upgrading Ccc221

Profiles
Upgrading and efficiency improvement in

coal-fired power plants
Improving the efficiencies of the large number of older
coal-fired power plants operating around the world would
give major savings in CO2 emissions together with
significant other benefits. This could be achieved by
improvements to operating and maintenance practices and
through more major activities (retrofits). Earlier IEA Clean
Coal Centre reports have described the issues and
principles associated with efficiency losses and means that
are available for correcting them at coal power plants. This
report focuses more on example projects, especially
retrofits.
The efficiencies of coal-fired plants decrease over time
as components suffer deterioration with age and use. The
losses that develop in the earlier part of the life of a plant
are generally containable by employing good operating
and maintenance practices. However, after about 2530
years of operation, performance and reliability will usually
have decreased to the extent that substantial works may be
merited, in order that the unit may be restored to operating
efficiently and economically. The lower performance of
older plants also stems from the limitations of the
prevailing technology at the time of plant design.
Retrofitting offers the opportunity to incorporate
technology advances made in the period since the unit was
built.
Retrofits will increase efficiency significantly, by up to
as much as 23 percentage points, and may compensate
completely for loss of performance from addition of
environmental control equipment after a plant was first
commissioned. As an example of the latter, the annual
average efficiency in 1982-83 of the first three units of
Drax power station in the UK with no FGD was 39% LHV.
Recent turbine retrofit work has now increased the
efficiency to almost 40% LHV even with FGD. Major
plant upgrading involving conversion of subcritical to
supercritical or ultra-supercritical (USC) could raise
efficiencies more substantially, but has seldom progressed
beyond studies because of the high cost.
The impact of plant ageing on efficiency tends to be
most significant in countries where financial resources for
maintenance are limited, such as in the non-OECD
countries of southeast Asia. Unfortunately, a warmer
climate and, sometimes, higher ash coals also restrict the
No 13/9
August 2013
efficiencies of coal-fired units in parts of the latter region

(even for new plants). These influences combine to make it
particularly important to maximise efficiency of old units
as much as possible by carrying out retrofitting works.
This often needs to be conducted on all main areas of the
plant, not just the turbine area, as will frequently largely
suffice on many units in OECD countries.
Major boiler and turbine retrofits are the main subject of
this report, but optimisation of the combustion process can
give valuable benefits in efficiency and costs. The gain
may typically be about 0.10.15% in fuel cost saving,
efficiency and CO2 emissions. Improvements in
combustion efficiency can be achieved in parallel with
other improvements, for example, reductions in primary
NOx production from replacement burners and new air
supply arrangements. Intelligent sootblowing systems can
improve boiler efficiency by 1% or more and reduce the
incidence of outages from fouling.
Lignites with inherent moisture contents as high as
5065% are used for power generation in some countries.
The conventional systems that use these coals restrict
generation efficiency. Lignite pre-drying would give a
potential efficiency advantage of about four percentage
points if a boiler designed for the dryer feed were used.
Retrofitting a pre-dryer to treat a maximum of about
2530% of the fuel feed to an existing boiler would be
possible, and would give a worthwhile one percentage
point efficiency gain. Such dryers are at the point of
commercial availability.
Programmes to drive efficiency improvements of coal
fleets are important and some are described in the report
(for example, Australias Energy efficiency Opportunities
Program and the USAID CenPEEP programme in India
and Indias Partnership in Excellence (PIE) Programme).
Notably, China has recently set up a major programme
providing incentives for plant owners to carry out
upgrading and efficiency improvements through retrofits,
with a total capacity of over 350 GW expected to have
been improved or to be undergoing improvements by 2015.
Many companies provide efficiency improvement and
upgrading services. A substantial chapter of the report
contains a number of case studies in various countries.
Most are major retrofits, but the last case study, from
IEA Clean Coal Centre is a collaborative project of member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA)
to provide information about and analysis of coal technology, supply and use. IEA Clean Coal Centre has contracting
parties and sponsors from: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Commission, Germany
India, Italy, Japan, Republic of South Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, the UK
and the USA.
Potential efficiencies from plant improvements in APEC countries

Category
Area of improvement
Net efficiency gain (percentage points)
Pulveriser and feeder upgrades
0.3
Air heater repair or upgrade
0.25
Sootblower improvements
0.35
Combustion system
Steam cycle
Excess air instrumentation and control
0.2
Feedwater heater repairs
0.4
Heat transfer tube upgrades
0.6
Steam turbine blades
0.5
Cycle isolation
0.5
Condenser repairs
0.4
O&M training
O&M
Computerised maintenance and

management systems and reliability
centred maintenance
Included in combustion and steam cycle

gains. Efficient operation realised over the
long term
Distributed control systems

Combined total
China, is an interesting example of relentlessly pursuing all

the smaller potential losses in a new USC plant, to push
efficiencies higher, by focusing on detailed areas,
including areas not previously recognised as worthy of
attention. A conclusion from that is that there may be other
unrecognised losses capable of being reduced.
The report also summarises best practice in plant
upgrading and improvement. The first requirement is to
reduce losses through better operational practices,
including monitoring of important plant parameters. A unit
identified for retrofitting should have potential for long
life, secure fuel availability and high future capacity factor.
It should have a good track record of competent
management, and the recent history of plant faults must
indicate good prospects of achieving sustainable
improvements. The improved plant must have a futureproof environmental control strategy with secure outlets
for waste streams as by-products. A thorough plant
examination should follow, including current performance
measurements. In planning the upgrading and
3.5
refurbishment activities, the components that require

replacement or renovation have to be identified. The
proposed work then needs to be analysed in detail in order
to provide estimates of performance and reliability
improvements, CO2 savings and costs.
The example projects in the report show that there is
extensive expertise and experience available among the
major suppliers of new plants and other companies
involved in retrofit work. Projects have been realised on
schedule or ahead of time and gains in efficiency and
output have been substantial.
Overall, this report shows that environmental and
economic benefits are routinely achievable from plant
modernisations and that the potential gains are now very
considerable. Expertise is widely available, and progress is
being made to realise these gains through projects at
increasing numbers of plants. Technology sharing between
all countries will be valuable in increasing the benefits.
Each issue of Profiles is based on a detailed study undertaken by IEA Clean

Coal Centre, the full report of which is available separately. This particular
issue of Profiles is based on the report:
Upgrading and efficiency improvement in coal-fired power plants
Colin Henderson
CCC/221, ISBN 978-92-9029-541-9,
58 pp, August 2013
This report is free to organisations in member countries.
100 to organisations in non-member countries for six months after
publication, and free thereafter.
Gemini House
10-18 Putney Hill
London SW15 6AA
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 8780 2111
Fax: +44 (0)20 8780 1746
e-mail: mail@iea-coal.org
> Internet: www.iea-coal.org

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Profiles

Upgrading and efficiency improvement in

efficiencies of coal-fired units in parts of the latter region

Potential efficiencies from plant improvements in APEC countries

Net efficiency gain (percentage points)

Pulveriser and feeder upgrades

Air heater repair or upgrade

Excess air instrumentation and control

Feedwater heater repairs

Heat transfer tube upgrades

Steam turbine blades

Computerised maintenance and

Included in combustion and steam cycle

Distributed control systems

China, is an interesting example of relentlessly pursuing all

refurbishment activities, the components that require

Each issue of Profiles is based on a detailed study undertaken by IEA Clean

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