Unit-1

Almost two third of electricity requirement of the world is fulfilled

by thermal power plants (or thermal power stations). In these power
stations, steam is produced by burning some fossil fuel (e.g. coal) and then
used to run a steam turbine. Thus, a thermal power station may sometimes
called as a Steam Power Station. After the steam passes through the steam
turbine, it is condensed in a condenser and again fed back into the boiler to
become steam. This is known as ranking cycle. This article explains how
electricity is generated in thermal power plants. As majority of thermal power
plants use coal as their primary fuel, this article is focused on a coal fired
thermal power plant.

Typical Layout And Working Of A Thermal Power Plant

A simplified layout of a thermal power station is shown below.

Coal: In a coal based thermal power plant, coal is transported from coal mines
to the generating station. Generally, bituminous coal or brown coal is used as
fuel. The coal is stored in either 'dead storage' or in 'live storage'. Dead
storage is generally 40 days backup coal storage which is used when coal
supply is unavailable. Live storage is a raw coal bunker in boiler house. The
coal is cleaned in a magnetic cleaner to filter out if any iron particles are
present which may cause wear and tear in the equipment. The coal from live
storage is first crushed in small particles and then taken into pulverizer to
make it in powdered form. Fine powdered coal undergoes complete
combustion, and thus pulverized coal improves efficiency of the boiler. The ash
produced after the combustion of coal is taken out of the boiler furnace and
then properly disposed. Periodic removal of ash from the boiler furnace is
necessary for the proper combustion.

Boiler: The mixture of pulverized coal and air (usually preheated air) is taken
into boiler and then burnt in the combustion zone. On ignition of fuel a large
fireball is formed at the center of the boiler and large amount of heat energy
is radiated from it. The heat energy is utilized to convert the water into
steam at high temperature and pressure. Steel tubes run along the boiler
walls in which water is converted in steam. The flue gases from the boiler
make their way through superheater, economizer, air preheater and finally get
exhausted to the atmosphere from the chimney.
 Superheater: The superheater tubes are hanged at the hottest part of
the boiler. The saturated steam produced in the boiler tubes is
superheated to about 540 °C in the superheater. The superheated high
pressure steam is then fed to the steam turbine.
 Economizer: An economizer is essentially a feed water heater which heats
the water before supplying to the boiler.
 Air pre-heater: The primary air fan takes air from the atmosphere and it
is then warmed in the air pre-heater. Pre-heated air is injected with coal
in the boiler. The advantage of pre-heating the air is that it improves
the coal combustion.
Steam turbine: High pressure super heated steam is fed to the steam turbine
which causes turbine blades to rotate. Energy in the steam is converted into
mechanical energy in the steam turbine which acts as the prime mover. The
pressure and temperature of the steam falls to a lower value and it expands
in volume as it passes through the turbine. The expanded low pressure steam
is exhausted in the condenser.

Condenser: The exhausted steam is condensed in the condenser by means of

cold water circulation. Here, the steam loses it's pressure as well as
temperature and it is converted back into water. Condensing is essential
because, compressing a fluid which is in gaseous state requires a huge amount
of energy with respect to the energy required in compressing liquid. Thus,
condensing increases efficiency of the cycle.

Alternator: The steam turbine is coupled to an alternator. When the turbine

rotates the alternator, electrical energy is generated. This generated electrical
voltage is then stepped up with the help of a transformer and then
transmitted where it is to be utilized.

Feed water pump: The condensed water is again fed to the boiler by a feed
water pump. Some water may be lost during the cycle, which is suitably
supplied from an external water source.

This was the basic working principle of a thermal power station and its typical
components. A practical thermal plant possess more complicated design and
multiple stages of turbine such as High Pressure Turbine (HPT), Intermediate
Pressure Turbine (IPT) and Low Pressure Turbine (LPT).

Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Thermal Power Plant

Advantages:
 Less initial cost as compared to other generating stations.
 It requires less land as compared to hydro power plant.
 The fuel (i.e. coal) is cheaper.
 The cost of generation is lesser than that of diesel power plants.
Disadvantages:
 It pollutes the atmosphere due to the production of large amount of
smoke. This is one of the causes of global warming.
 The overall efficiency of a thermal power station is low (less than 30%).

Efficiency Of A Thermal Power Station

A huge amount of heat is lost in various stages of the plant. Major part of
heat is lost in the condenser. That is why the efficiency of thermal plants is
quite low.
1. Thermal Efficiency: The ratio of 'heat equivalent of mechanical energy
transmitted to the turbine shaft' to the 'heat of coal combustion' is
called as thermal efficiency.

Thermal efficiency of modern thermal power stations is about 30%. It

means, if 100 calories of heat are produced by coal combustion, the
mechanical energy equivalent of 30 calories will be available at the turbine
shaft.
2. Overall Efficiency: The ratio of 'heat equivalent of electrical output' to
the 'heat of coal combustion' is called as overall efficiency.

The overall efficiency of a thermal plant is about 29% (slightly less than
the thermal efficiency).

Main parts of the plant are

1. Coal conveyor 2. Stoker 3. Pulverizer 4. Boiler 5. Coal ash 6. Air
preheater 7. Electrostatic precipitator 8. Smoke stack 9. Turbine 10.
Condenser 11. Transformers 12. Cooling towers
13. Generator 14. High - votge power lines
Basic Operation :A thermal power plant basically works onRankine cycle.
Coal conveyor : This is a belt type of arrangement.With this coal is
transported from coal storage place in power plant to the place near by
boiler.
Stoker : The coal which is brought near by boiler has to put in boiler
furnance for combustion.This stoker is a mechanical device for feeding coal to
a furnace.

Pulverizer : The coal is put in the boiler after pulverization.For this pulverizer
is used.A pulverizer is a device for grinding coal for combustion in a furnace in
a power plant.

Types of Pulverizers
Ball and Tube Mill
Ball mill is a pulverizer that consists of a horizontal rotating cylinder, up to
three diameters in length, containing a charge of tumbling or cascading steel
balls, pebbles, or rods.
Tube mill is a revolving cylinder of up to five diameters in length used for
fine pulverization of ore, rock, and other such materials; the material, mixed
with water, is fed into the chamber from one end, and passes out the other
end as slime.
Ring and Ball
This type consists of two rings separated by a series of large balls. The lower
ring rotates, while the upper ring presses down on the balls via a set of
spring and adjuster assemblies. Coal is introduced into the center or side of
the pulverizer (depending on the design) and is ground as the lower ring
rotates causing the balls to orbit between the upper and lower rings. The
coal is carried out of the mill by the flow of air moving through it. The size
of the coal particals released from the grinding section of the mill is
determined by a classifer separator. These mills are typically produced by
B&W (Babcock and Wilcox).

Boiler : Now that pulverized coal is put in boiler furnance.Boiler is an enclosed

vessel in which water is heated and circulated until the water is turned in to
steam at the required pressure.
Coal is burned inside the combustion chamber of boiler.The products of
combustion are nothing but gases.These gases which are at high temperature
vaporize the water inside the boiler to steam.Some times this steam is
further heated in a superheateras higher the steam pressure and temperature
the greater efficiency the engine will have in converting the heat in steam in
to mechanical work. This steam at high pressure and tempeture is used
directly as a heating medium, or as the working fluid in a prime mover to
convert thermal energy to mechanical work, which in turn may be converted
to electrical energy. Although other fluids are sometimes used for these
purposes, water is by far the most common because of its economy and
suitable thermodynamic characteristics.

Classification of Boilers

Bolilers are classified as

Fire tube boilers : In fire tube boilers hot gases are passed through the tubes
and water surrounds these tubes. These are simple,compact and rugged in
construction.Depending on whether the tubes are vertical or horizontal these
are further classified as vertical and horizontal tube boilers.In this since the
water volume is more,circulation will be poor.So they can't meet quickly the
changes in steam demand.High pressures of steam are not possible,maximum
pressure that can be attained is about 17.5kg/sq cm.Due to large quantity of
water in the drain it requires more time for steam raising.The steam
attained is generally wet,economical for low pressures.The outut of the boiler
is also limited.

Water tube boilers : In these boilers water is inside the tubes and hot gases
are outside the tubes.They consists of drums andtubes.They may contain any
number of drums (you can see 2 drums in fig).Feed water enters the boiler
to one drum (here it is drum below the boiler).This water circulates through
the tubes connected external to drums.Hot gases which surrounds these tubes
wil convert the water in tubes in to steam.This steam is passed through
tubes and collected at the top of the drum since it is of light weight.So the
drums store steam and water (upper drum).The entire steam is collected in
one drum and it is taken out from there (see in laout fig).As the movement
of water in the water tubes is high, so rate of heat transfer also becomes
high resulting in greater efficiency.They produce high pressure , easily
accessible and can respond quickly to changes in steam demand.These are also
classified as vertical,horizontal and inclined tube depending on the arrangement
of the tubes.These are of less weight and less liable to explosion.Large heating
surfaces can be obtained by use of large number of tubes.We can attain
pressure as high as 125 kg/sq cm and temperatures from 315 to 575
centigrade.

Superheater : Most of the modern boliers are having superheater and

reheater arrangement. Superheater 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 superheater surface
installed, as well as the rating of the boiler. The superheater may consist of
one or more stages of tube banks arranged to effectively transfer heat from
the products of combustion.Superheaters are classified as convection , radiant
or combination of these.

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 (see Layout fig) 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 elecrical energy.

Condenser : Steam after rotating staem 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.

Why it is required ?
The steam turbine itself is a device to convert the heat in steam to
mechanical power. The difference between the heat of steam per unit weight
at the inlet to turbine and the heat of steam per unit weight at the outlet
to turbine represents the heat given out (or heat drop) in the steam
turbine which is converted to mechanical power. The heat drop per unit
weight of steam is also measured by the word enthalpy drop. Therefore the
more the conversion of heat per pound (or kilogram) of steam to mechanical
power in the turbine, the better is its performance or otherwise known as
efficiency. By condensing the exhaust steam of turbine, the exhaust pressure
is brought down below atmospheric pressure from above atmospheric pressure,
increasing the steam pressure drop between inlet and exhaust of steam
turbine. This further reduction in exhaust pressure gives out more heat per
unit weight of steam input to the steam turbine, for conversion to
mechanical power. Most of the heat liberated due to condensing, i.e., latent
heat of steam, is carried away by the cooling medium. (water inside tubes in
a surface condenser, or droplets in a spray condenser (Heller system) or air
around tubes in an air-cooled condenser).

Condensers are classified as (i) Jet condensers or contact condensers (ii)

Surface condensers.
In jet condensers the steam to be condensed mixes with the cooling water
and the temperature of the condensate and the cooling water is same when
leaving the condenser; and the condensate can't be recovered for use as feed
water to the boiler; heat transfer is by direct conduction.

In surface condensers there is no direct contact between the steam to be

condensed and the circulating cooling water. There is a wall interposed
between them through heat must be convectively transferred.The
temperature of the condensate may be higher than the temperature of the
cooling water at outlet and the condnsate is recovered as feed water to the
boiler.Both the cooling water and the condensate are separetely with
drawn.Because of this advantage surface condensers are used in thermal power
plants.Final output of condenser is water at low temperature is passed to
high pressure feed water heater,it is heated and again passed as feed water
to the boiler.Since we are passing water at high temperature as feed water
the temperature inside the boiler does not dcrease and boiler efficincy also
maintained.

Cooling Towers :The condensate (water) formed in the condeser after

condensation is initially at high temperature.This hot water is passed to
cooling towers.It is a tower- or building-like device in which atmospheric air
(the heat receiver) circulates in direct or indirect contact with warmer water
(the heat source) and the water is thereby cooled (see illustration). A
cooling tower may serve as the heat sink in a conventional thermodynamic
process, such as refrigeration or steam power generation, and when it is
convenient or desirable to make final heat rejection to atmospheric air.
Water, acting as the heat-transfer fluid, gives up heat to atmospheric air,
and thus cooled, is recirculated through the system, affording economical
operation of the process.

Two basic types of cooling towers are commonly used. One transfers the heat
from warmer water to cooler air mainly by an evaporation heat-transfer
process and is known as theevaporative or wet cooling tower.

Evaporative cooling towers are classified according to the means employed for
producing air circulation through them:atmospheric, natural draft, and
mechanical draft. The other transfers the heat from warmer water to cooler
air by a sensible heat-transfer process and is known as the nonevaporative or
dry cooling tower.

Nonevaporative cooling towers are classified as air-cooled condensers and as

air-cooled heat exchangers, and are further classified by the means used for
producing air circulation through them. These two basic types are sometimes
combined, with the two cooling processes generally used in parallel or
separately, and are then known as wet-dry cooling towers.

Evaluation of cooling tower performance is based on cooling of a specified

quantity of water through a given range and to a specified temperature
approach to the wet-bulb or dry-bulb temperature for which the tower is
designed. Because exact design conditions are rarely experienced in operation,
estimated performance curves are frequently prepared for a specific
installation, and provide a means for comparing the measured performance
with design conditions.

Economiser : Flue gases coming out of the boiler carry lot of heat.Function of
economiser is to recover some of the heat from the heat carried away in the
flue gases up the chimney and utilize for heating the feed water to the
boiler.It is placed in the passage of flue gases in between the exit from the
boiler and the entry to the chimney.The use of economiser results in saving in
coal consumption , increase in steaming rate and high boiler efficiency but
needs extra investment and increase in maintenance costs and floor area
required for the plant.This is used in all modern plants.In this a large number
of small diameter thin walled tubes are placed between two headers.Feed
water enters the tube through one header and leaves through the other.The
flue gases flow out side the tubes usually in counter flow.

Air preheater : The remaining heat of flue gases is utilised by air preheater.It
is a device used in steam boilers to transfer heat from the flue gases to the
combustion air before the air enters the furnace. Also known as air heater;
air-heating system. It is not shown in the lay out.But it is kept at a place
near by where the air enters in to the boiler.
The purpose of the air preheater is to recover the heat from the flue gas
from the boiler to improve boiler efficiency by burning warm air which
increases combustion efficiency, and reducing useful heat lost from the flue.
As a consequence, the gases are also sent to the chimney or stack at a lower
temperature, allowing simplified design of the ducting and stack. It also allows
control over the temperature of gases leaving the stack (to meet emissions
regulations, for example).After extracting heat flue gases are passed to
elctrostatic precipitator.
Electrostatic precipitator : It is a device which removes dust or other finely
divided particles from flue gases by charging the particles inductively with an
electric field, then attracting them to highly charged collector plates. Also
known as precipitator. The process depends on two steps. In the first step
the suspension passes through an electric discharge (corona discharge) area
where ionization of the gas occurs. The ions produced collide with the
suspended particles and confer on them an electric charge. The charged
particles drift toward an electrode of opposite sign and are deposited on the
electrode where their electric charge is neutralized. The phenomenon would be
more correctly designated as electrodeposition from the gas phase.
The use of electrostatic precipitators has become common in numerous
industrial applications. Among the advantages of the electrostatic precipitator
are its ability to handle large volumes of gas, at elevated temperatures if
necessary, with a reasonably small pressure drop, and the removal of particles
in the micrometer range. Some of the usual applications are: (1) removal of
dirt from flue gases in steam plants; (2) cleaning of air to remove fungi and
bacteria in establishments producing antibiotics and other drugs, and in
operating rooms; (3) cleaning of air in ventilation and air conditioning
systems; (4) removal of oil mists in machine shops and acid mists in chemical
process plants; (5) cleaning of blast furnace gases; (6) recovery of valuable
materials such as oxides of copper, lead, and tin; and (7) separation of rutile
from zirconium sand.
Smoke stack :A chimney is a system for venting hot flue gasesor smoke from
a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outsideatmosphere. They are
typically almost vertical to ensure that the hot gases flow smoothly, drawing
air into the combustion through the chimney effect (also known as the stack
effect). The space inside a chimney is called a flue. Chimneys may be found in
buildings, steam locomotives and ships. In the US, the termsmokestack
(colloquially, stack) is also used when referring to locomotive chimneys. The
term funnel is generally used for ship chimneys and sometimes used to refer
to locomotive chimneys.Chimneys are tall to increase their draw of air for
combustion and to disperse pollutants in the flue gases over a greater area so
as to reduce the pollutant concentrations in compliance with regulatory or
other limits.
Generator : An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts
mechanical energy to alternating current electrical energy. Most alternators
use a rotating magnetic field. Different geometries - such as a linear
alternator for use with stirling engines - are also occasionally used. In
principle, any AC generator can be called an alternator, but usually the word
refers to small rotating machines driven by automotive and other internal
combustion engines.
Transformers :It is a device that transfers electric energy from one
alternating-current circuit to one or more other circuits, either increasing
 (stepping up) or reducing (stepping down) the voltage. Uses for transformers
include reducing the line voltage to operate low-voltage devices (doorbells or
toy electric trains) and raising the voltage from electric generators so that
electric power can be transmitted over long distances. Transformers act
through electromagnetic induction; current in the primary coil induces current
in the secondary coil. The secondary voltage is calculated by multiplying the
primary voltage by the ratio of the number of turns in the secondary coil to
that in the primary.

Layout of steam power plant:

The layout of the steam power plant is shown in figure below. It consists of four
main circuits. These are:
 Coal and ash circuit.
 Air and flue gas circuit
 Water and steam circuit and
 Cooling water circuit

Coal and ash circuit:

Coal from the storage yard is transferred to the boiler furnace by means of
coal handling equipment like belt conveyor, bucket elevator, etc., ash resulting
from the combustion of coal in the boiler furnace collects at the back of the
boiler and is removed to the ash storage yard through the ash handling
equipment.

Ash disposal :

The indian coal contains 30% to 40% ash. A power plant of 100MW 20 to
25 tonnes of hot ash per hour. Hence sufficient space near the power plant
is essential to dispose such large quantities of ash.

Air and flue gas circuit:

Air is taken from the atmosphere to the air preheater. Air is heated in the
air preheater by the heat of flue gas which is passing to the chimney. The
hot air is supplied to the furnace of the bolier.

The flue gases after combustion in the furnace, pass around the boiler tubes.
The flue gases then passes through a dust collector, economizer and pre-
heater before being exhausted to the atmosphere through the chimney. By
this method the heat of the flue gases which would have been wasted
otherwise is used effectively. Thus the overall efficiency of the plant is
improved.

Air pollution:

The pollution of the surrounding atmosphere is caused by the emission of

objectable gases and dust through the chimney. The air pollution and smoke
cause nuisance to people surrounding the planet.

Feed water and steam circuit:

The steam generated in the boiler passes through super heater and is supplied
to the steam turbine. Work is done by the expansion of steam in the turbine
and the pressure of steam is reduced. The expanded steam then passes to
the condenser, where it is condensed.
 The condensate leaving the condenser is first heated in a l.p. water heater by
using the steam taken from the low pressure extraction point of the turbine.
Again steam taken from the high pressure extraction point of the turbine is
used for heating the feed water in the H.P water heater. The hot feed
water is passing through the economizer, where it is further heated by means
of flue gases. The feed water which is sufficiently heated by the feed water
heaters and economizer is then fed into the boiler.

Cooling water circuit:

Abundant quantity of water is required for condensing the steam in the

condenser. Water circulating through the condenser may be taken from various
sources such as river or lake, provided adequate water supply is available from
the river or lake throughout the year.
If adequate quantity of water is not available at the plant site, the hot
water from the condenser is cooled in the cooling tower or cooling ponds and
circulated again.

Advantages of thermal power plants

1. Initial cost is low compared with hydro-plant.

2. The power plant can be located near load center, so the transmission losses
are considerably reduced.
3. The generation of power is not dependent on the nature’s mercy like hydro
plant.
4. The construction and commissioning of thermal plant requires less period of
time than a hydro plant.
Introduction to Coal handling plant

In a coal based thermal power plant, the initial process in the power
generation is “Coal Handling”. So in this article i will discuss the overall
processes carried out at a Coal Handling plant in a coal based thermal power
generating station.

The huge amount of coal is usually supplied through railways. A railway siding
line is taken into the power station and the coal is delivered in the storage
yard. The coal is unloaded from the point of delivery by means of wagon
tippler. It is rack and pinion type. The coal is taken from the unloading site
to dead storage by belt conveyors. The belt deliver the coal to 0m level to
the pent house and further moves to transfer point 8.

The transfer points are used to transfer coal to the next belt. The belt
elevates the coal to breaker house. It consists of a rotary machine, which
rotates the coal and separates the light dust from it through the action of
gravity and transfer this dust to reject bin house through belt.

The belt further elevates the coal to the transfer point 7 and it reaches the
crusher through belt. In the crusher a high-speed 3-phase induction motor is
used to crush the coal to a size of 50mm so as to be suitable for milling
system. Coal rises from crusher house and reaches the dead storage by passing
through transfer point 8.

Stages in coal handeling power plant

Equipment used in a coal handling plant

1. Pull chord switch

A series of such switches are arranged in series at a 1m distance on the side

of conveyor belt. The power supply to rotor of the conveyor belt is
established only if all switches in series are connected.
2. Vibrating feeder

The coal stored in a huge hub is collected on the belt through vibrations
created by the vibrating feeder.

3. Flap gates

These are used to channelize the route of coal through another belt in case
the former is broken or unhealthy. The flap gates open let the coal pass and
if closed stop its movement.

4. Magnetic separator

these are used to separate the ferrous impurities from the coal.

5. Metal detector

These are detect the presence of any ferrous and non-ferrous metal in the
coal and sends a signal to a relay which closes to seize the movement of belt
until the metal is removed. It basically consists of a transmitter and a
receiver.
The transmitter consists of a high frequency oscillator, which produces a
oscillations of 1500 Hz at 15V. The receiver receives this frequency signal. If
there is any presence of metal in the coal. Then this frequency is disturbed
and a tripping signal is send to relay to stop the conveyor belt.

6. Belt weightier

It is used to keep an account of the tension on the belt carrying coal and is
moves accordingly to release tension on the belt.

7. Reclaim hopper

Reclaimation is a process of taking coal from the dead storage for preparation
or further feeding to reclaim hoppers. This is accomplished by belt conveyors.
Steam generation from coal

1. Tipplers

Coal from the coal wagons is unloaded in the coal handling plant. This
unloading is done by the “Tipplers”. This coal is transported up to the raw
coal bunkers with the help of conveyor belts.

2. Crush House

After hand picking foreign material, coal is transported to the Crush house by
conveyor belts where it is crushed to small pieces of about 20 mm diameter.
The crushed coal is then transported to the store yard. Coal is transported
to bowl mills by coal feeders.

3. Bowl Mill

The coal is pulverized in the bowl mill, where it is grounded to a powder

form. The mill consists of a round metallic table on which coal particles fall.

This table is rotated with the help of a motor. There are three large steel
rollers, which are spaced 120” apart. When there is no coal, these rollers do
not rotate but when the coal is fed to the table it packs up between rollers
and the table and this forces the rollers to rotate.

Coal is crushed by the crushing actions between the rollers and rotating
tables.

4. Furnaces

This crushed coal is taken away to the furnace through coal pipes with the
help of hot and cold air mixture from P.A Fan. P.A Fan takes atmospheric
air, a part of which is sent to Air pre-heaters for heating while a part goes
directly to the mill for temperature control.
Atmospheric air from F.D Fan is heated in the air heaters and sent to the
furnace as combustion air.

5. Boiler

Boiler used in the power plant is suspended type. This prevents it from
getting deformed, when a subjected to very high temperatures.

The boiler is divided into two cylindrical parts namely the Primary and the
Secondary boiler. Water from the boiler feed pump passes through economizer
and reaches the boiler drum. Water from the drum passes through down
comers and goes to bottom ring header. Water from the ring header is
divided to all the four side of furnace.
Due to heat and density difference the water rises up in the water wall
tubes.

Water is partly converted to steam as it rises up in the furnace. This steam

and water mixture is again taken to the boiler drum where the steam is sent
to super heaters for superheating.

The super heaters are located inside the furnace and the steam is
superheated (540°C) and finally it goes to turbine. Flue gasses from the
furnace are extracted by induced draft fan, which maintains balance draft in
the furnaces with forced draft fan. These flue gasses emit their heat energy
to various super heaters in the pant house and finally pass through air pre-
heaters and goes to electrostatic precipitator where the ash particles are
extracted. Electrostatic precipitator consists of metal plates, which are
electrically charged.

Ash particles are attracted on to these plates, so that they do not pass
through the chimney to pollute the atmosphere.
Regular mechanical hammers blows cause the accumulation of ash to fall to
the bottom of the precipitator where the bottom of the precipitator where
they are collected in a hopper for disposal. This ash is mixed with water to
form slurry and is pumped to ash pond.
 As geological processes apply pressure to dead biotic material over time, under
suitable conditions, its metamorphic grade increases successively into:

 Peat, considered to be a precursor of coal, has industrial importance as a

fuel in some regions, for example, Ireland and Finland. In its dehydrated
form, peat is a highly effective absorbent for fuel and oil spills on land
and water. It is also used as a conditioner for soil to make it more able
to retain and slowly release water.
 Lignite, or brown coal, is the lowest rank of coal and used almost
exclusively as fuel for electric power generation. Jet, a compact form of
lignite, is sometimes polished and has been used as an ornamental stone
since the Upper Palaeolithic.
 Sub-bituminous coal, whose properties range from those of lignite to
those of bituminous coal, is used primarily as fuel for steam-electric
power generation and is an important source of light aromatic
hydrocarbons for the chemical synthesisindustry.
 Bituminous coal is a dense sedimentary rock, usually black, but sometimes
dark brown, often with well-defined bands of bright and dull material; it
is used primarily as fuel in steam-electric power generation, with
substantial quantities used for heat and power applications in
manufacturing and to make coke.
 "Steam coal" is a grade between bituminous coal and anthracite, once
widely used as a fuel for steam locomotives. In this specialized use, it is
sometimes known as "sea coal" in the US.[9] Small steam coal (dry small
steam nuts or DSSN) was used as a fuel for domestic water heating.
 Anthracite, the highest rank of coal, is a harder, glossy black coal used
primarily for residential and commercial space heating. It may be divided
further into metamorphically altered bituminous coal and "petrified oil",
as from the deposits in Pennsylvania.
 Graphite is one of the more difficult coals to ignite and is not commonly
used as fuel — it is mostly used in pencils, and when powdered, as
a lubricant.
 Unit-ii

Applications of diesel power plant

1. Diesel power plant’s is in the range of 2 to 50 MW capacity. They are used
as central station for small or medium power supplies.
2. They can be used as stand-by plants to hydro-electric power plants and steam
power plants for emergency services.
3. They can be used as peak load plants in combinations with thermal or hydro-
plants.
4. They are quite suitable for mobile power generation and are widely used in
transportation systems such as automobiles, railways, air planes and ships.
5. Now-a-days power cut has become a regular feature for industries. The only
solution to tide over this difficulty is to install diesel generating sets.

Layout diesel engine power plant:

Diesel engine:
Diesel engines or compression ignition engines as they are called are generally
classified as two stroke engine and four stroke engines. In diesel engine, air
admitted into the cylinder is compressed, the compression ratio being 12 to
20. At the end of compression stroke, fuel is injected. It burns and the
burning gases expand and do work on the position. The engine is directly
coupled to the generator. The gases are then exhausted from the cylinder to
atmosphere.

Engine starting system:

This includes air compressor and starting air tank. The function of this
system is to start the engine from cold supplying compressed air.

Fuel system:
Pump draws diesel from storage tank and supplies it to the small day tank
through the filter. Day tank supplies the daily fuel need of engine. The day
tan is usually placed high so that diesel flows to engine under gravity.
Diesel is again filtered before being injected into the engine by the fuel
injection pump. The fuel is supplied to the engine according to the load on
the plant.

Air intake system:

Air filters are used to remove dust from the incoming air. Air filters may be
dry type, which is made up of felt, wool or cloth. In oil bath type filters,
the sir is swept over a bath of oil so that dust particles get coated.

Exhaust system:
In the exhaust system, silencer (muffler) is provide to reduce the noise.

Engine cooling system:

The temperature of burning gases in the engine cylinder is the order of 1500
to 2000’C. to keep the temperature at the reasonable level, water is
 circulated inside the engine in water jackets which are passage around the
cylinder, piston, combustion chamber etc. hot water leaving the jacket is sent
to heat exchanger. Raw water is made to flow through the heat exchanger,
where it takes up the heat of jacket water. It is then cooled in the cooling
tower and recirculates again.

Engine lubrication system:

It includes lubricating oil tank, oil pump and cooler. Lubrication is essential to
reduce friction and wear of engine parts such as cylinder walls and piston.
Lubricating oil which gets heated due to friction of moving parts is cooled
before recirculation. The cooling water used in the engine is used for cooling
the lubricant also.

Advantages of diesel power plant:

1. Plant layout is simple. Hence it can be quickly installed and commissioned,

while the erection and starting of a steam power plant or hydro-plant takes
a fairly long time.
2. Quick starting and easy pick-up of loads are possible in a very short time.
3. Location of the plant is near the load center.
4. The load operation is easy and requires minimum labors.
5. Efficiency at part loads does not fall so much as that of a steam plant.
6. Fuel handling is easier and no problem of ash disposal exists.
7. The plant is smaller in size than steam power plant for same capacity.
8. Diesel plants operate at high overall efficiency than steam.

Disadvantages of diesel power plant:

1. Plant capacity is limited to about 50 MW of power.

2. Diesel fuel is much more expensive than coal.
3. The maintenance and lubrication costs are high.
4. Diesel engines are not guaranteed for operation under continuous, while steam
can work under 25% of overload continuously.
Gas turbine power plant - layout and advantages

A generating station which employs gas turbine as the prime mover for the generation of
electrical energy is known as a gas turbine power plant.In a gas turbine power plant, air is used as
the working fluid.The air is compressed by the compressor and is led to the combustion chamber
where heat is added to air, thus raising its temperature.Heat is added to the compressed air
either by burning fuel in the chamber or by the use of air

heaters.The hot and high pressure air from the combustion chamber is then passed to the gas
turbine where it expands and does the mechanical work. The gas turbine drives the alternator
which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

It may be mentioned here that compressor, gas turbine and the alternator are mounted on
the same shaft so that a part of mechanical power of the turbine can be utilised for the
operation of the compressor.Gas turbine power plants are being used as standby plants for hydro-
electric stations, as a starting plant for driving auxiliaries in power plants etc.

Schematic arrangement of a gas turbine power plant:

The schematic arrangement of a gas turbine power plant is shown in Figure below.The main
components of the plant are :

(i) Compressor

(ii) Regenerator

(iii) Combustion chamber

(iv) Gas turbine

(v) Alternator

(vi) Starting motor

(i) Compressor : The compressor used in the plant is generally of rotatory type.The air at
atmospheric pressure is drawn by the compressor via the filter which removes the dust from
air.The rotatory blades of the compressor push the air between stationary blades to raise its
pressure.Thus air at high pressure is available at the output of the compressor.

(ii) Regenerator : A regenerator is a device which recovers heat from the exhaust gases of the
turbine.The exhaust is passed through the regenerator before wasting to atmosphere.A regenerator
consists of a nest of tubes contained in a shell.The compressed air from the compressor passes
through the tubes on its way to the combustion chamber.In this way,compressed air is heated by
the hot exhaust gases.

Gas turbine power plant

(iii) Combustion chamber : The air at high pressure from the compressor is led to the combustion
chamber via the regenerator.In the combustion chamber, heat is added to the air by burning
oil.The oil is injected through the burner into the chamber at high pressure to ensure atomisation
of oil and its thorough mixing with air.The result is that the chamber attains a very high
temperature (about 3000 F).The combustion gases are suitably cooled to 1300

F to 1500F and then delivered to the gas turbine.

(iv) Gas turbine : The products of combustion consisting of a mixture of gases at high
temperature and pressure are passed to the gas turbine.These gases in passing over the turbine
blades expand and thus do the mechanical work. The temperature of the exhaust gases from the
turbine is about 900F.

(v) Alternator : The gas turbine is coupled to the alternator.The alternator converts mechanical
energy of the turbine into electrical energy.The output from the alternator is given to the bus-
bars through transformer, circuit breakers and isolators.

(vi) Starting motor : Before starting the turbine, compressor has to be started. For this
purpose,an electric motor is mounted on the same shaft as that of the turbine.The motor is
energised by the batteries.Once the unit starts, a part of mechanical power of the turbine drives
the compressor and there is no need of motor now.

Advantages of Gas turbine power plant :

(i) It is simple in design as compared to steam power station since no boilers and their auxiliaries
are required.

(ii) It is much smaller in size as compared to steam power station of the same capacity.This is
expected since gas turbine power plant does not require boiler, feed water arrangement etc.

(iii) The initial and operating costs are much lower than that of equivalent steam power station.

(iv) It requires comparatively less water as no condenser is used.

(v) The maintenance charges are quite small.

(vi) Gas turbines are much simpler in construction and operation than steam turbines.

(vii) It can be started quickly form cold conditions.

(viii) There are no standby losses.However, in a steam power station, these losses occur because
boiler is kept in operation even when the steam turbine is supplying no load.

Disadvantages of Gas turbine power plant:

(i) There is a problem for starting the unit. It is because before starting the turbine, the
compressor has to be operated for which power is required from some external source. However,
once the unit starts, the external power is not needed as the turbine itself supplies the necessary
power to the compressor.

(ii) Since a greater part of power developed by the turbine is used in driving the compressor, the
net output is low.

(iii) The overall efficiency of such plants is low (about 20%) because the exhaust gases from the
turbine contain sufficient heat.

(iv) The temperature of combustion chamber is quite high (3000F) so that its life is
comparatively reduced.

Combined cycle power plant

• The Combined Cycle Power Plant or combined cycle gas turbine, a gas
turbine generator generates electricity and waste heat is used to make
steam to generate additional electricity via a steam turbine.

• A Combined Cycle Power Plant produces high power outputs at high

efficiencies (up to 55%) and with low emissions. In a Conventional
power plant we are getting 33% electricity only and remaining 67% as
waste.

• By using combined cycle power plant we are getting 68% electricity.

• A combined-cycle power plant uses both a gas and a steam turbine

together to produce up to 50 percent more electricity from the same
fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas
turbine is routed to the nearby steam turbine, which generates extra
power.

Gas turbine burns fuel:

• The fast-spinning turbine drives a generator that converts a portion
of the spinning energy into electricity.

Heat recovery system captures exhaust:

• The HRSG creates steam from the gas turbine exhaust heat and
delivers it to the steam turbine.

Steam turbine delivers additional electricity:

• The steam turbine sends its energy to the generator drive shaft,
where it is converted into additional electricity.

Advantages of Combined Cycle Power Plant

• The efficiency of the combined cycle plant is better or higher than the
turbine cycle or steam cycle plant. The efficiency of combined cycle
power plant will be of the order of about 45 to 50%.

• fewer moving parts and less vibration than a reciprocating engine

• very low toxic emissions

• runs on a wide variety of fuels

• high operating speeds

Disadvantages of Combined Cycle Power Plant

• Higher cost

• longer start-up

• less responsive to power demands

• shrill whining noise.

 Unit-iii

Power system mainly contains three parts namely generation, transmission

and distribution. Generation means how to generate electricity from the
available source and there are various methods to generate electricity but in
this article we only focused on generation of electricity by the means of
hydro or water (hydro power plant). A generating station which utilizes the
potential energy of water at a high level for the generation of electrical
energy is known as hydro-electric power station. As we know that the power
plant is defined as the place where power is generated from a given source, so
here the source is hydro that’s why we called it hydro power plant.hydro
power plant

In hydro power plant we use gravitational force of fluid water to run the
turbine which is coupled with electric generator to produce electricity. This
power plant plays an important role to protect our fossil fuel which is
limited, because the generated electricity in hydro power station is the use of
water which is renewable source of energy and available in lots of amount
without any cost.

The big advantage of hydro power is the water which the main stuff to
produce electricity in hydro power plant is free, it not contain any type of
pollution and after generated electricity the price of electricity is average
not too much high.

Construction and Working of Hydro Power Plant

Fundamental parts of hydro power plant are

Area

Dam

Reservoir
Penstock

Storage tank

Turbines and generators

Switchgear and protection

For construction of hydro power plant first we choose the area where the
water is sufficient to reserve and no crisis of water and suitable to build a
dam. The main function of dam is to stop the flow of water and reserve the
water in reservoir. Mainly dam is situated at a good height to increase the
force of water. Reservoir hold lots of water which is employed to generate
power by means of turbines. Penstock, the pipe which is connected between
dam and turbine blades and most important purpose of the penstock is to
enlarge the kinetic energy of water that’s why this pipe is made up of
extremely well-built material which carry on the pressure of water. To
control the pressure of water means increase or decrease water pressure
whenever required, we use a valve. Storage tank comes in picture when the
some reason the pressure of water in reservoir is decreases then we use
storage tank it is directly connected to penstock and use only in emergency
condition. After that we employ turbine and generator. Turbine is the main
stuff, when water comes through the penstock with high kinetic energy and
falls on turbine blades, turbine rotates at high speed. As we know that the
turbine is an engine that transfers energy of fluid into mechanical energy
which is coupled with generator and generator converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy which we utilize at the end. In hydro power plant we also
add switchgears and protections which control and protect the whole process
inside the plant. The control equipments consists control circuits, control
devices, warning, instrumentation etc and connect to main control board.
After generating electricity at low voltage, we use step up transformer to
enlarge the level of voltage (generally 132 KV, 220 KV, 400 KV and above)
as per our requirement. After that we transmit the electric power to the
load center, and then we step down the voltage for industrial and large
consumer and then again we step down the voltage to distribute electricity
at domestic level which we used at home.

This is the whole process of generating electricity by the means of hydro

(hydro power plant) and then transmitting and distributing electricity.

History of Hydro Power Plant

First hydro power is used by the Greeks to spin water wheels for crushing
wheat into flour before more than 2000 years ago. In the 1700's,
hydropower was generally used for pumping irrigation (non-natural use of
water on the way to the land) water. We start to generate electricity from
hydro power in 1882 when United States (U S) establishes a first hydro
power station which generate 12.5 kilowatts (KW) of power. The rapid
growth of hydro power comes in 1900’s when hydraulic reaction turbine
comes in picture as a result in 1900’s hydro power plants fulfill the
requirement of 40% of total United States' electricity. In between 1905-1911
largest hydro power station (Roosevelt Dam) is built by the united state and
its generated capacity is increased from 4500 kW to 36,000 kW. In 1914
S.J. Zowski developed the high specific speed reaction (Francis) turbine
runner for low head applications. 1922 the first time a hydroelectric plant
was built specifically for crest power. In 1933 Hoover Dam, Arizona generated
electricity first time. In 1940 over 1500 hydro power plants generate about
one third of the United States electrical energy.

If we compare the countries on the basis of generated electricity by the

means of hydro power, Canada on the top after that United State then
Brazil then Russia then China then Norway and at 7th number India is
present. India fulfills the 3.5 % power to the total world power through
hydro power plants.

In India scope of hydro power is very good, first hydro power station,
capacity of 130kW establishes in Asia at mounts of Darjeeling in 1898 and
after that in 1902 Shimsh (Shivanasamudra) is established and both located
in India. Now a day in India the leading hydro power plant is located of river
Naptha Jhakri hydro project of 1500MW in Himachal Pradesh. In India main
boost come in the field of hydro power in august 1998 when the Government
of India publicized a plan on ‘Hydro Power Development’ after that in
November 2008 once again Indian government announced this plan and as a
result India become leading country list to produce hydro power.

This is a general idea about hydro power plant.

UNIT-IV DIESEL AND GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT

DIESEL POWER PLANTS:

A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical

generator (often called an alternator) to generate electric energy. Diesel
generating sets are used in places without connection to the power grid or as
emergency power-supply if the grid fails. Small portable diesel generators
range from about 1 kVA to 10 kVA may be used as power supplies on
construction sites, or as auxiliary power for vehicles such as mobile homes.

Generator Rating Definitions

Standby Rating based on Applicable for supplying emergency power for the
duration of normal power interruption. No sustained overload capability is
available for this rating. (Equivalent to Fuel Stop Power in accordance with
ISO3046, AS2789, DIN6271 and BS5514). Nominally rated. Typical
application - emergency power plant in hospitals, offices, factories etc. Not
connected to grid.

Prime (Unlimited Running Time) Rating: Should not be used for Construction

Power applications. Output available with varying load for an unlimited time.
Average power output is 70% of the prime rating. Typical peak demand 100%
of prime-rated ekW with 10% of overload capability for emergency use for a
maximum of 1 hour in 12. A 10% overload capability is available for limited
time. (Equivalent to Prime Power in accordance with ISO8528 and Overload
Power in accordance with ISO3046, AS2789, DIN6271, and BS5514). This
rating is not applicable to all generator set models.

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Typical application - where the generator is the sole source of power for say
a remote mining or construction site, fairground, festival etc.

Base Load (Continuous) Rating based on: Applicable for supplying power
continuously to a constant load up to the full output rating for unlimited
hours. No sustained overload capability is available for this rating. Consult
authorized distributor for rating. (Equivalent to Continuous Power in
accordance with ISO8528, ISO3046, AS2789, DIN6271, and BS5514). This
rating is not applicable to all generator set models
Typical application - a generator running a continuous unvarying load, or
paralleled with the mains and continuously feeding power at the maximum
permissible level 8760 hours per year. This also applies to sets used for peak
shaving /grid support even though this may only occur for say 200 hour per
year.

As an example if in a particular set the Standby Rating were 1000 kW, then
a Prime Power rating might be 850 kW, and the Continuous Rating 800 kW.
However these ratings vary according to manufacturer and should be taken
from the manufacturer's data sheet.

Often a set might be given all three ratings stamped on the data plate, but
sometimes it may have only a standby rating, or only a prime rating.

Sizing

Typically however it is the size of the maximum load that has to be

connected and the acceptable maximum voltage drop which determines the set
size, not the ratings themselves. If the set is required to start motors, then
the set will have to be at least 3 times the largest motor, which is normally
started first. This means it will be unlikely to operate at anywhere near the
ratings of the chosen set.

Manufactures have sophisticated software that enables the correct choice of

set for any given load combination.

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GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT:

A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal

combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a
downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between. Energy is added
to the gas stream in the combustor, where fuel is mixed with air and ignited.
In the high pressure environment of the combustor, combustion of the fuel
increases the temperature. The products of the combustion are forced into
the turbine section. There, the high velocity and volume of the gas flow is
directed through a nozzle over the turbine's blades, spinning the turbine
which powers the compressor and, for some turbines, drives their mechanical
output. The energy given up to the turbine comes from the reduction in the
temperature and pressure of the exhaust gas.

Energy can be extracted in the form of shaft power, compressed air or thrust
or any combination of these and used to power aircraft, trains, ships,
generators, or even tanks.

Theory of operation

Gasses passing through an ideal a gas turbine undergo three thermodynamic

processes. These are isentropic compression, isobaric (constant pressure)
combustion and isentropic expansion. Together these make up the Brayton
cycle. In a practical gas turbine, gasses are first accelerated in either a
centrifugal or radial compressor. These gasses are then slowed using a diverging
nozzle known as a diffuser, these process increase the pressure and
temperature of the flow. In an ideal system this is isentropic. However, in
practice energy is lost to heat, due to friction and turbulence. Gasses then
pass from the diffuser to a combustion chamber, or similar device, where heat
is added. In an ideal system this occurs at constant pressure (isobaric heat
addition). As there is no change in pressure the specific volume of the gasses
increases. In practical situations this process is usually accompanied by a slight
loss in pressure, due to friction. Finally, this larger volume of gasses is
expanded and accelerated by nozzle guide vanes before energy is extracted by
a turbine. In an ideal system these are gasses expanded isentropicly and leave
the turbine at their original pressure. In practice this process is not isentropic
as energy is once again lost to friction and turbulence.

If the device has been designed to power to a shaft as with an industrial

generator or a turboprop, the exit pressure will be as close to the entry
pressure as possible. In practice it is necessary that some pressure remains at
the outlet in order to fully expel the exhaust gasses. In the case of a jet
engine only enough pressure and energy is extracted from the flow to drive
the compressor and other components. The remaining high pressure gasses are
accelerated to provide a jet that can, for example, be used to propel an
aircraft.

Brayton cycle

As with all cyclic heat engines, higher combustion temperatures can allow for
greater efficiencies. However, temperatures are limited by ability of the steel,
nickel, ceramic, or other materials that make up the engine to withstand high
temperatures and stresses. To combat this many turbines feature complex
blade cooling systems.

As a general rule, the smaller the engine the higher the rotation rate of the
shaft(s) needs to be to maintain tip speed. Blade tip speed determines the
maximum pressure ratios that can be obtained by the turbine and the
compressor. This in turn limits the maximum power and efficiency that can
be obtained by the engine. In order for tip speed to remain constant, if the
diameter of a rotor is reduced by half, the rotational speed must double. For
example large Jet engines operate around 10,000 rpm, while micro turbines
spin as fast as 500,000 rpm.

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Mechanically, gas turbines can be considerably less complex than internal

combustion piston engines. Simple turbines might have one moving part: the
shaft/compressor/turbine/alternative-rotor assembly (see image above), not
counting the fuel system. However, the required precision manufacturing for
components and temperature resistant alloys necessary for high efficiency
often make the construction of a simple turbine more complicated than
piston engines. More sophisticated turbines (such as those found in modern
jet engines) may have multiple shafts (spools), hundreds of turbine blades,
movable stator blades, and a vast system of complex piping, combustors and
heat exchangers. Thrust bearings and journal bearings are a critical part of
design. Traditionally, they have been hydrodynamic oil bearings, or oil-cooled
ball bearings. These bearings are being surpassed by foil bearings, which have
been successfully used in micro turbines and auxiliary power units.

Types of gas turbines

Jet engines

Airbreathing jet engines are gas turbines optimized to produce thrust from
the exhaust gases, or from ducted fans connected to the gas turbines. Jet
engines that produce thrust primarily from the direct impulse of exhaust
gases are often called turbojets, whereas those that generate most of their
thrust from the action of a ducted fan are often called turbofans or (rarely)
fan-jets.

Gas turbines are also used in many liquid propellant rockets, the gas turbines
are used to power a turbo pump to permit the use of lightweight, low
pressure tanks, which saves considerable dry mass.

Aero derivative gas turbines

Aero derivatives are also used in electrical power generation due to their
ability to be shut down, and handle load changes more quickly than industrial
machines. They are also used in the marine industry to reduce weight. The
General Electric LM2500, General Electric LM6000, Rolls-Royce RB211 and
Rolls-Royce Avon are common models of this type of machine.

Amateur gas turbines

Increasing numbers of gas turbines are being used or even constructed by

amateurs. In its most straightforward form, these are commercial turbines
acquired through military surplus or scrapyard sales, then operated for display
as part of the hobby of engine collecting. In its most extreme form,
amateurs have even rebuilt engines beyond professional repair and then used
them to compete for the Land Speed Record.

The simplest form of self-constructed gas turbine employs an automotive

turbocharger as the core component. A combustion chamber is fabricated and
plumbed between the compressor and turbine sections. More sophisticated
turbojets are also built, where their thrust and light weight are sufficient to
power large model aircraft. The Schreckling design constructs the entire engine
from raw materials, including the fabrication of a centrifugal compressor wheel
from plywood, epoxy and wrapped carbon fibre strands. Like many technology
based hobbies, they tend to give rise to manufacturing businesses over time.
Several small companies now manufacture small turbines and parts for the
amateur. Most turbojet-powered model aircraft are now using these
commercial and semi-commercial micro turbines, rather than a Schreckling- like
home-build.

Auxiliary powe r units

APUs are small gas turbines designed for auxiliary power of larger machines,
such as those inside an aircraft. They supply compressed air for aircraft
ventilation (with an appropriate compressor design), start-up power for larger
jet engines, and electrical and hydraulic power.

Industrial gas turbines for powe r generation

GE H series power generation gas turbine: in combined cycle configuration,

this 480- megawatt unit has a rated thermal efficiency of 60%. Industrial
gas turbines differ from aeroderivative in that the frames, bearings, and
blading is of heavier construction. Industrial gas turbines range in size from
truckmounted mobile plants to enormous, complex systems. They can be
particularly efficient—up to 60%—when waste heat from the gas turbine is
recovered by a heat recovery steam generator to power a conventional steam
turbine in a combined cycle configuration They can also be run in a
cogeneration configuration: the exhaust is used for space or water heating, or
drives an absorption chiller for cooling or refrigeration. Such engines require a
dedicated enclosure, both to protect the engine from the elements and the
operators from the noise. The construction process for gas turbines can take
as little as several weeks to a few months, compared to years for base load
power plants.[citation needed] Their other main advantage is the ability to be
turned on and off within minutes, supplying power during peak demand. Since
single cycle (gas turbine only) power plants are less efficient than combined
cycle plants, they are usually used as peaking power plants, which operate
anywhere from several hours per day to a few dozen hours per year,
depending on the electricity demand and the generating capacity o f the
region. In areas with a shortage of base load and load following power plant
capacity or low fuel costs, a gas turbine power plant may regularly operate
during most hours of the day. A large single cycle gas turbine typically
produces 100 to 400 megawatts of power and have 35–40% thermal
efficiency.DYARTHIPLUS.COM

Compressed air energy storage

One modern development seeks to improve efficiency in another way, by

separating the compressor and the turbine with a compressed air store. In a
conventional turbine, up to half the generated power is used driving the
compressor. In a compressed air energy storage configuration, power, perhaps
from a wind farm or bought on the open market at a time of low demand
and low price, is used to drive the compressor, and the compressed air
released to operate the turbine when required.

Turboshaft engines

Turboshaft engines are often used to drive compression trains (for example in
gas pumping stations or natural gas liquefaction plants) and are used to
power almost all modern helicopters. The first shaft bears the compressor and
the high speed turbine (often referred to as "Gas Generator" or "Ng"), while
the second shaft bears the low speed turbine (or "Power Turbine" or "Nf" -
the 'f' stands for 'free wheeling turbine' on helicopters specifically due to the
fact that the gas generator turbine spins separately from the power
turbine). This arrangement is used to increase speed and power output
flexibility.

Radial gas turbines

In 1963, Jan Mowill initiated the development at Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk in

Norway. Various successors have made good progress in the refinement of this
mechanism. Owing to a configuration that keeps heat away from certain
bearings the durability of the machine is improved while the radial turbine is
well matched in speed requirement.

Scale jet engines

Scale jet engines are scaled down versions of this early full scale engine Also
known as miniature gas turbines or micro-jets. With this in mind the pioneer
of modern Micro-Jets, Kurt Schreckling, produced one of the world's first
Micro-Turbines, the FD3/67. This engine can produce up to 22 newtons of
thrust, and can be built by most mechanically minded people with basic
engineering tools, such as a metal lathe.

UNIT-V OTHER POWER PLANTS AND ECONOMICS OF POWER PLANTS

GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT:

Geothermal electricity is electricity generated from geothermal energy.

Technologies in use include dry steam power plants, flash steam power plants
and binary cycle power plants. Geothermal electricity generation is currently
used in 24 countries while geothermal heating is in use in 70 countries.
Estimates of the electricity generating potential of geothermal energy vary
from 35 to 2000 GW. Current worldwide installed capacity is 10,715
megawatts (MW), with the largest capacity in the United States (3,086
MW), Philippines, andIndonesia.

Geothermal power is considered to be sustainable because the heat extraction

is small compared with the Earth's heat content. The emission intensity of
existing geothermal electric plants is on average 122 kg of CO2 per
megawatt-hour (MW·h) of electricity, about one-eighth of a conventional
coal- fired plant.

OTEC:

Ocean thermal ene rgy conversion (OTEC ) uses the difference between cooler
deep and warmer shallow or surface ocean waters to run a heat engine and
produce useful work, usually in the form of electricity. A heat engine gives
greater efficiency and power when run with a large temperature difference. In
the oceans the temperature difference between surface and deep water is
greatest in the tropics, although still a modest 20oC to 25oC. It is
therefore in the tropics that OTEC offers the greatest possibilities. OTEC has
the potential to offer global amounts of energy that are 10 to 100 times
greater than other ocean energy options such as wave power. OTEC plants
can operate continuously providing a base load supply for an electrical power
generation system.

The main technical challenge of OTEC is to generate significant amounts of

power efficiently from small temperature differences. It is still considered an
emerging technology. Early OTEC systems were of 1 to 3% thermal efficiency,
well below the theoretical maximum for this temperature difference of
between 6 and 7%. [2] Current designs are expected to be closer to the
maximum. The first operational system was built in Cuba in 1930 and
generated 22 kW. Modern designs allow performance approaching the
theoretical maximum Carnot efficiency and the largest built in 1999 by the
USA generated 250 kW .
The most commonly used heat cycle for OTEC is the Rankine cycle using a
lowpressure turbine. Systems may be either closed-cycle or open-cycle. Closed-
cycle engines use working fluids that are typically thought of as refrigerants
such as ammonia or R-134a. Open-cycle engines use vapour from the seawater
itself as the working fluid.

OTEC can also supply quantities of cold water as a by-product . This can be
used for air conditioning and refrigeration and the fertile deep ocean water
can feed biological technologies. Another by-product is fresh water distilled
from the sea.

Cycle types

Cold seawater is an integral part of each of the three types of OTEC

systems: closed-cycle, open-cycle, and hybrid. To operate, the cold seawater
must be brought to the surface. The primary approaches are active pumping
and desalination. Desalinating seawater near the sea floor lowers its density,
which causes it to rise to the surface.

WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM

The alternative to costly pipes to bring condensing cold water to the surface
is to pump vaporized low boiling point fluid into the depths to be condensed,
thus reducing pumping volumes and reducing technical and environmental
problems and lowering costs.

Closed

Diagram of a closed cycle OTEC plant Closed-cycle systems use fluid with a
low boiling point, such as ammonia, to power a turbine to generate
electricity. Warm surface seawater is pumped through a heat exchanger to
vaporize the fluid. The expanding vapor turns the turbogenerator.

Cold water, pumped through a second heat exchanger, condenses the vapor
into a liquid, which is then recycled through the system. In 1979, the
Natural Energy Laboratory and several private-sector partners developed the
"mini OTEC" experiment, which achieved the first successful at-sea production
of net electrical power from closed-cycle OTEC.[12] The mini OTEC vessel was
moored 1.5 miles (2 km) off the Hawaiian coast and produced enough net
electricity to illuminate the ship's light bulbs and run its computers and
television.

WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM

Open

Diagram of an open cycle OTEC plantOpen-cycle OTEC uses warm surface

water directly to make electricity. Placing warm seawater in a low-pressure
container causes it to boil. The expanding steam drives a low-pressure turbine
attached to an electrical generator. The steam, which has left its salt and
other contaminants in the low-pressure container, is pure fresh water. It is
condensed into a liquid by exposure to cold temperatures from deepocean
water. This method produces desalinized fresh water, suitable for drinking
water or irrigation.

In 1984, the Solar Energy Research Institute (now the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory) developed a vertical-spout evaporator to convert warm
seawater into low-pressure steam for open-cycle plants. Conversion efficiencies
were as high as 97% for seawater-to-steam conversion (overall efficiency using
a vertical-spout evaporator would still only be a few per cent). In May 1993,
an open-cycle OTEC plant at Keahole Point, Hawaii, produced 50,000 watts
of electricity during a net power-producing experiment. This broke the record
of 40 kW set by a Japanese system in 1982.

Hybrid

A hybrid cycle combines the features of the closed- and open-cycle systems.
In a hybrid, warm seawater enters a vacuum chamber and is flash-evaporated,
similar to the open-cycle evaporation process. The steam vaporizes the
ammonia working fluid of a closed-cycle loop on the other side of an ammonia
vaporizer. The vaporized fluid then drives a turbine to produce electricity.
The steam condenses within the heat exchanger and provides desalinated
water.

Working fluids

A popular choice of working fluid is ammonia, which has superior transport

properties, easy availability, and low cost. Ammonia, however, is toxic and
flammable. Fluorinated carbons such asCFCs and HCFCs are not toxic or
flammable, but they contribute to ozone layer depletion. Hydrocarbons too
are good candidates, but they are highly flammable; in addition, this would
create competition for use of them directly as fuels. The power plant size is
dependent upon the vapor pressure of the working fluid. With increasing vapor
pressure, the size of the turbine and heat exchangers decreases while the wall
thickness of the pipe and heat exchangers increase to endure high pressure
especially on the evaporator side.

TIDEL POWER PLANT:

Tidal powe r, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts
the energy of tides into electricity or other useful forms of power. The first
large-scale tidal power plant (the Rance Tidal Power Station) started
operation in 1966.

Although not yet widely used, tidal power has potential for future electricity
generation. Tides are more predictable than wind energy and solar power.
Among sources of renewable energy, tidal power has traditionally suffered
from relatively high cost and limited availability of sites with sufficiently high
tidal ranges or flow velocities, thus constricting its total availability. However,
many recent technological developments and improvements, both in design
(e.g. dynamic tidal power, tidal lagoons) and turbine technology (e.g. new
axial turbines, crossflow turbines), indicate that the total availability of tidal
power may be much higher than previously assumed, and that economic and
environmental costs may be brought down to competitive levels.

Historically, tide mills have been used, both in Europe and on the Atlantic
coast of North America. The earliest occurrences date from the Middle Ages,
or even from Roman times. Tidal power is extracted from the Earth's oceanic
tides; tidal forces are periodic variations in gravitational attraction exerted by
celestial bodies. These forces create corresponding motions or currents in the
world's oceans. The magnitude and character of this motion reflects the
changing positions of the Moon and Sun relative to the Earth, the effects of
Earth's rotation, and local geography of the sea floor and coastlines.

Tidal power is the only technology that draws on energy inherent in the
orbital characteristics of the Earth–Moon system, and to a lesser extent in
the Earth–Sun system. Other natural energies exploited by human technology
originate directly or indirectly with the Sun, including fossil fuel, conventional
hydroelectric, wind, biofuel, wave and solar energy. Nuclear energy makes use
of Earth's mineral deposits of fissionable elements, while geothermal power
taps the Earth's internal heat, which comes from a combination of residual
heat from planetary accretion (about 20%) and heat produced through
radioactive decay (80%).VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM

A tidal generator converts the energy of tidal flows into electricity. Greater
tidal variation and higher tidal current velocities can dramatically increase the
potential of a site for tidal electricity generation. Because the Earth's tides
are ultimately due to gravitational interaction with the Moon and Sun and
the Earth's rotation, tidal power is practically inexhaustible and classified as a
renewable energy resource. Movement of tides causes a loss of mechanical
energy in the Earth–Moon system: this is a result of pumping of water
through natural restrictions around coastlines and consequent viscous
dissipation at the seabed and in turbulence. This loss of energy has caused the
rotation of the Earth to slow in the 4.5 billion years since its formation.
During the last 620 million years the period of rotation of the earth (length
of a day) has increased from 21.9 hours to 24 hours;[4] in this period the
Earth has lost 17% of its rotational energy. While tidal power may take
additional energy from the system, the effect is negligible and would only be
noticed over millions of years.

Generating methods

The world's first commercial-scale and grid-connected tidal stream generator –

SeaGen – in Strangford Lough. The strong wake shows the power in the tidal
current. Top-down view of a DTP dam. Blue and dark red colors indicate low
and high tides, respectively.

Tidal power can be classified into three generating methods:

Tidal stream generator

Tidal stream generators (or TSGs) make use of the kinetic energy of moving
water to power turbines, in a similar way to wind turbines that use moving
air.

Tidal barrageWWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM

Tidal barrages make use of the potential energy in the difference in height
(or head) between high and low tides. Barrages are essentially dams across
the full width of a tidal estuary.

Dynamic tidal power

Dynamic tidal power (or DTP) is a theoretical generation technology that

would exploit an interaction between potential and kinetic energies in tidal
flows. I proposes that very long dams (for example: 30–50 km length) be
built from coasts straight out into the sea or ocean, without enclosing an
area. Tidal phase differences are introduced across the dam, leading to a
significant water- level differential in shallow coastal seas – featuring strong
coast-parallel oscillating tidal currents such as found in the UK, China and
Korea.
PUMPED STORAGE:

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric power generation

used by some power plants for load balancing. The method stores energy in
the form of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher
elevation. Low-cost off peak electric power is used to run the pumps. During
periods of high electrical demand, the stored water is released through
turbines. Although the losses of the pumping process makes the plant a net
consumer of energy overall, the system increases revenue by selling more
electricity during periods of peak demand, when electricity prices are highest.
Pumped storage is the largest-capacity form of grid energy storage now
available.

SOLAR CENTRAL RECIVER SYSTEM:

The solar power tower (also known as 'central tower' power plants or
'heliostat' power plants or power towers) is a type of solar furnace using a
tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable
mirrors (called heliostats) to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower (the
target). Concentrated solar thermal is seen as one viable solution for
renewable, pollution free energy production with currently available
technology. Early designs used these focused rays to heat water, and used the
resulting steam to power a turbine. Newer designs using liquid sodium has
been demonstrated, and systems using molten salts (40% potassium nitrate,
60% sodium nitrate) as the working fluids are now in operation. These
working fluids have high heat capacity, which can be used to store the energy
before using it to boil water to drive turbines. These designs allow power to
be generated when the sun is not shining.

COST OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY:

Electric powe r transmission or "high voltage electric transmission" is the bulk

transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to substations
located near to population centers. This is distinct from the local wiring
between high voltage substations and customers, which is typically referred to
as electricity distribution. Transmission lines, when interconnected with each
other, become high voltage transmission networks. In the US, these are
typically referred to as "power grids" or just "the grid", while in the UK the
network is known as the "national grid." North America has three major
grids: The Western Interconnection; The Eastern Interconnection and the
Electric Reliability Council of Texas (or ERCOT)grid.

Historically, transmission and distribution lines were owned by the same

company, but over the last decade or so many countries have liberalized the
electricity market in ways that have led to the separation of the electricity
transmission business from the distribution business. Transmission lines mostly
use three-phase alternating current (AC), although single phase AC is
sometimes used in railway electrification systems. High-voltage direct
current(HVDC) technology is used only for very long distances (typically
greater than 400 miles, or 600 km); submarine power cables (typically
longer than 30miles, or 50 km); or for connecting two AC networks that are
not synchronized.WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM

Electricity is transmitted at high voltages (110 kV or above) to reduce the

energy lost in long distance transmission. Power is usually transmitted
through overhead power lines. Underground power transmission has a
significantly higher cost and greater operational limitations but is sometimes
used in urban areas or sensitivelocations.A key limitation in the distribution of
electricity is that, with minor exceptions, electrical energy cannot be stored,
and therefore must be generated as needed. Sophisticated system of control
is therefore required to ensure electric generation very closely matches the
demand. If supply and demand are not in balance, generation plants and
transmission equipment can shut down which, in the worst cases, can lead to
a major regional blackout, such as occurred in California and the US
Northwest in 1996 and in the US Northeast in 1965, 1977 and 2003. To
reduce the risk of such failures, electric transmission networks are
interconnected into regional, national or continental wide networks thereby
providing multiple redundant alternate routes for power to flow should
(weather or equipment) failures occur. Much analysis is done by transmission
companies to determine the maximum reliable capacity of each line which is
mostly less than its physical or thermal limit, to ensure spare capacity is
available should there be any such failurein another part of the network.

ENERGY RATES:

Electricity pricing (sometimes referred to as electricity tariff or the price of

electricity) varies widely from country to country, and may vary signicantly
from locality to locality within a particular country. There are many reasons
that account for these differences in price. The price of power generation
depends largely on the type and market price of the fuel used, government
subsidies, government and industry regulation, and even local weather
patterns.

Basis of electricity ratesWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM

Electricity prices vary all over the world, even within a single region or power
district of a single country. In standard regulated monopoly markets, they
typically vary for residential, business, and industrial customers, and for any
single customer class, might vary by time-of-day or by the capacity or nature
of the supply circuit(e.g., 5 kW, 12 kW, 18 kW, 24 kW are typical in some
of the large developed countries); for industrial customers, single-phase vs. 3-
phase, etc. If a specific market allows real-time dynamic pricing, a more
recent option in only a few markets to date, prices can vary by a factor of
ten or so between times of low and

high system-wide demand.

TYPES OF TARIFFS:

In economic terms, electricity (both power and energy) is a commodity

capable of being bought, sold and traded. An electricity market is a system
for effecting purchases, through bids to buy; sales, through offers to sell; and
short-term trades, generally in the form of financial or obligation swaps. Bids
and offers use supply and demand principles to set the price. Long-term
trades are contracts similar to power purchase agreements and generally
considered private bi- lateral transactions between counterparties. Wholesale
transactions (bids and offers) in electricity are typically cleared and settled
by the market operator or a special-purpose independent entity charged
exclusively with that function. Market operators do not clear trades but
often require knowledge of the trade in order to maintain generation and load
balance. The commodities within an electric market generally consist of two
types: Power and Energy. Power is the metered net electrical transfer rate
at any given moment and is measured in Megawatts (MW). Energy is
electricity that flows through a metered point for a given period and is
measured in Megawatt Hours (MWh).Markets for power related commodities
are net generation output for a number of intervals usually in increments of
5, 15 and 60 minutes. Markets for energy related commodities required by,
managed by (and paid for by) market operators to ensure reliability, are
considered Ancillary Services and include such names as spinning reserve, non-
spinning reserve, operating reserves, responsive reserve, regulation up,
regulation down, and installed capacity. In addition, for most major operators,
there are markets for transmission congestion and electricity derivatives, such
as electricity futures and options, which are actively traded. These markets
developed as a result of the restructuring