Thermal Power Plant

A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven. Water is
heated, turns into steam and spins asteam turbine which drives an electrical generator. After it
passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was
heated; this is known as a Rankine cycle. The greatest variation in the design of thermal power
stations is due to the different fossil fuel resources generally used to heat the water. Some prefer to
use the term energy center because such facilities convert forms of heat energy into electrical
energy.
[1]
Certain thermal power plants also are designed to produce heat energy for industrial
purposes of district heating, or desalination of water, in addition to generating electrical power.
Globally, fossil fueled thermal power plants produce a large part of man-made CO
2
emissions to the
atmosphere, and efforts to reduce these are varied and widespread.
Contents
[hide]
1 Introductory overview
2 History
3 Efficiency
4 Electricity cost
5 Typical coal thermal power station
6 Boiler and steam cycle
o 6.1 Feed water heating and deaeration
o 6.2 Boiler operation
o 6.3 Boiler furnace and steam drum
o 6.4 Superheater
o 6.5 Steam condensing
o 6.6 Reheater
o 6.7 Air path
7 Steam turbine generator
8 Stack gas path and cleanup
o 8.1 Fly ash collection
o 8.2 Bottom ash collection and disposal
9 Auxiliary systems
o 9.1 Boiler make-up water treatment plant and storage
o 9.2 Fuel preparation system
o 9.3 Barring gear
o 9.4 Oil system
o 9.5 Generator cooling
o 9.6 Generator high-voltage system
o 9.7 Monitoring and alarm system
o 9.8 Battery-supplied emergency lighting and communication
10 Transport of coal fuel to site and to storage
11 See also
12 References
13 External links
Introductory overview[edit]
Almost all coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal electric, and waste incineration plants, as well as
many natural gas power plants are thermal. Natural gas is frequently combusted in gas turbines as
well as boilers. The waste heat from a gas turbine can be used to raise steam, in a combined
cycle plant that improves overall efficiency. Power plants burning coal, fuel oil, or natural gas are
often called fossil-fuel power plants. Some biomass-fueled thermal power plants have appeared
also. Non-nuclear thermal power plants, particularly fossil-fueled plants, which do not use co-
generation are sometimes referred to as conventional power plants.
Commercial electric utility power stations are usually constructed on a large scale and designed for
continuous operation. Electric power plants typically use three-phase electrical generators to
produce alternating current (AC) electric power at a frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz. Large companies
or institutions may have their own power plants to supply heating or electricity to their facilities,
especially if steam is created anyway for other purposes. Steam-driven power plants have been
used in various large ships, but are now usually used in large naval ships. Shipboard power plants
usually directly couple the turbine to the ship's propellers through gearboxes. Power plants in such
ships also provide steam to smaller turbines driving electric generators to supply electricity.
Shipboard steam power plants can be either fossil fuel or nuclear. Nuclear marine propulsion is, with
few exceptions, used only in naval vessels. There have been perhaps about a dozen turbo-
electric ships in which a steam-driven turbine drives an electric generator which powers anelectric
motor for propulsion.
Combined heat and power plants (CH&P plants), often called co-generation plants, produce both
electric power and heat for process heat or space heating. Steam and hot water lose energy when
piped over substantial distance, so carrying heat energy by steam or hot water is often only
worthwhile within a local area, such as a ship, industrial plant, or district heating of nearby buildings.
History[edit]
The initially developed reciprocating steam engine has been used to produce mechanical power
since the 18th Century, with notable improvements being made by James Watt. When the first
commercially developed central electrical power stations were established in 1882 at Pearl Street
Station in New York and Holborn Viaduct power station in London, reciprocating steam engines were
used. The development of the steam turbine in 1884 provided larger and more efficient machine
designs for central generating stations. By 1892 the turbine was considered a better alternative to
reciprocating engines;
[2]
turbines offered higher speeds, more compact machinery, and stable speed
regulation allowing for parallel synchronous operation of generators on a common bus. After about
1905, turbines entirely replaced reciprocating engines in large central power stations.
The largest reciprocating engine-generator sets ever built were completed in 1901 for the Manhattan
Elevated Railway. Each of seventeen units weighed about 500 tons and was rated 6000 kilowatts; a
contemporary turbine set of similar rating would have weighed about 20% as much.
[3]

Efficiency[edit]


A Rankine cycle with a two-stage steam turbine and a single feed water heater.
The energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power station, considered salable energy produced
as a percent of the heating value of the fuel consumed, is typically 33% to 48%.
[citation needed]
As with
all heat engines, their efficiency is limited, and governed by the laws of thermodynamics. By
comparison, most hydropower stations in the United States are about 90 percent efficient in
converting the energy of falling water into electricity.
[4]

The energy of a thermal not utilized in power production must leave the plant in the form of heat to
the environment. This waste heat can go through a condenser and be disposed of with cooling
water or in cooling towers. If the waste heat is instead utilized for district heating, it is called co-
generation. An important class of thermal power station are associated with desalination facilities;
these are typically found in desert countries with large supplies of natural gasand in these plants,
freshwater production and electricity are equally important co-products.
The Carnot efficiency dictates that higher efficiencies can be attained by increasing the temperature
of the steam. Sub-critical fossil fuel power plants can achieve 3640% efficiency. Super
critical designs have efficiencies in the low to mid 40% range, with new "ultra critical" designs using
pressures of 4400 psi (30.3 MPa) and multiple stage reheat reaching about 48% efficiency. Above
the critical point for water of 705 F (374 C) and 3212 psi (22.06 MPa), there is no phase
transition from water to steam, but only a gradual decrease in density.
Currently most of the nuclear power plants must operate below the temperatures and pressures that
coal-fired plants do, since the pressurized vessel is very large and contains the entire bundle of
nuclear fuel rods. The size of the reactor limits the pressure that can be reached. This, in turn, limits
their thermodynamic efficiency to 3032%. Some advanced reactor designs being studied, such as
the very high temperature reactor, advanced gas-cooled reactorand supercritical water reactor,
would operate at temperatures and pressures similar to current coal plants, producing comparable
thermodynamic efficiency.
Electricity cost[edit]
See also: Relative cost of electricity generated by different sources
The direct cost of electric energy produced by a thermal power station is the result of cost of fuel,
capital cost for the plant, operator labour, maintenance, and such factors as ash handling and
disposal. Indirect, social or environmental costs such as the economic value of environmental
impacts, or environmental and health effects of the complete fuel cycle and plant decommissioning,
are not usually assigned to generation costs for thermal stations in utility practice, but may form part
of an environmental impact assessment.
Typical coal thermal power station[edit]


Typical diagram of a coal-fired thermal power station
1. Cooling tower 10. Steam Control valve 19. Superheater
2. Cooling water pump 11. High pressure steam turbine 20. Forced draught (draft) fan
3. transmission line (3-phase) 12. Deaerator 21. Reheater
4. Step-up transformer (3-phase) 13. Feedwater heater 22. Combustion air intake
5. Electrical generator (3-phase) 14. Coal conveyor 23. Economiser
6. Low pressure steam turbine 15. Coal hopper 24. Air preheater
7. Condensate pump 16. Coal pulverizer 25. Precipitator
8. Surface condenser 17. Boiler steam drum 26. Induced draught (draft) fan
9. Intermediate pressure steam turbine 18. Bottom ash hopper 27. Flue gas stack
For units over about 200 MW capacity, redundancy of key components is provided by installing
duplicates of the forced and induced draft fans, air preheaters, and fly ash collectors. On some units
of about 60 MW, two boilers per unit may instead be provided.
Boiler and steam cycle[edit]
In the nuclear plant field, steam generator refers to a specific type of large heat exchanger used in
a pressurized water reactor (PWR) to thermally connect the primary (reactor plant) and secondary
(steam plant) systems, which generates steam. In a nuclear reactor called a boiling water
reactor (BWR), water is boiled to generate steam directly in the reactor itself and there are no units
called steam generators.
In some industrial settings, there can also be steam-producing heat exchangers called heat recovery
steam generators (HRSG) which utilize heat from some industrial process. The steam generating
boiler has to produce steam at the high purity, pressure and temperature required for the steam
turbine that drives the electrical generator.
Geothermal plants need no boiler since they use naturally occurring steam sources. Heat
exchangers may be used where the geothermal steam is very corrosive or contains excessive
suspended solids.
A fossil fuel steam generator includes an economizer, a steam drum, and the furnace with its steam
generating tubes and superheater coils. Necessary safety valves are located at suitable points to
avoid excessive boiler pressure. The air and flue gas path equipment include: forced draft
(FD) fan, air preheater (AP), boiler furnace, induced draft (ID) fan, fly ash collectors (electrostatic
precipitator or baghouse) and the flue gas stack.
[5][6][7]

Feed water heating and deaeration[edit]
The boiler feedwater used in the steam boiler is a means of transferring heat energy from the
burning fuel to the mechanical energy of the spinning steam turbine. The total feed water consists of
recirculated condensate water and purified makeup water. Because the metallic materials it contacts
are subject to corrosion at high temperatures and pressures, the makeup water is highly purified
before use. A system of water softeners and ion exchange demineralizers produces water so pure
that it coincidentally becomes an electrical insulator, with conductivity in the range of 0.3
1.0 microsiemens per centimeter. The makeup water in a 500 MWe plant amounts to perhaps 120
US gallons per minute (7.6 L/s) to replace water drawn off from the boiler drums for water purity
management, and to also offset the small losses from steam leaks in the system.
The feed water cycle begins with condensate water being pumped out of the condenser after
traveling through the steam turbines. The condensate flow rate at full load in a 500 MW plant is
about 6,000 US gallons per minute (400 L/s).


Diagram of boiler feed water deaerator (with vertical, domed aeration section and horizontal water storage section).
The water is pressurized in two stages, and flows through a series of six or seven intermediate feed
water heaters, heated up at each point with steam extracted from an appropriate duct on the
turbines and gaining temperature at each stage. Typically, in the middle of this series of feedwater
heaters, and before the second stage of pressurization, the condensate plus the makeup water flows
through a deaerator
[8][9]
that removes dissolved air from the water, further purifying and reducing its
corrosiveness. The water may be dosed following this point with hydrazine, a chemical that removes
the remaining oxygen in the water to below 5 parts per billion (ppb).
[vague]
It is also dosed
with pH control agents such as ammonia or morpholine to keep the residual acidity low and thus
non-corrosive.
Boiler operation[edit]
The boiler is a rectangular furnace about 50 feet (15 m) on a side and 130 feet (40 m) tall. Its walls
are made of a web of high pressure steel tubes about 2.3 inches (58 mm) in diameter.
Pulverized coal is air-blown into the furnace through burners located at the four corners, or along
one wall, or two opposite walls, and it is ignited to rapidly burn, forming a large fireball at the center.
The thermal radiation of the fireball heats the water that circulates through the boiler tubes near the
boiler perimeter. The water circulation rate in the boiler is three to four times the throughput. As the
water in the boiler circulates it absorbs heat and changes into steam. It is separated from the water
inside a drum at the top of the furnace. The saturated steam is introduced into superheat pendant
tubes that hang in the hottest part of the combustion gases as they exit the furnace. Here the steam
is superheated to 1,000 F (540 C) to prepare it for the turbine.
Plants designed for lignite (brown coal) are increasingly used in locations as varied
as Germany, Victoria, Australia and North Dakota. Lignite is a much younger form of coal than black
coal. It has a lower energy density than black coal and requires a much larger furnace for equivalent
heat output. Such coals may contain up to 70% water and ash, yielding lower furnace temperatures
and requiring larger induced-draft fans. The firing systems also differ from black coal and typically
draw hot gas from the furnace-exit level and mix it with the incoming coal in fan-type mills that inject
the pulverized coal and hot gas mixture into the boiler.
Plants that use gas turbines to heat the water for conversion into steam use boilers known as heat
recovery steam generators (HRSG). The exhaust heat from the gas turbines is used to make
superheated steam that is then used in a conventional water-steam generation cycle, as described
in gas turbine combined-cycle plants section below.
Boiler furnace and steam drum[edit]
The water enters the boiler through a section in the convection pass called the economizer. From
the economizer it passes to the steam drum and from there it goes through downcomers to inlet
headers at the bottom of the water walls. From these headers the water rises through the water
walls of the furnace where some of it is turned into steam and the mixture of water and steam then
re-enters the steam drum. This process may be driven purely by natural circulation (because the
water is the downcomers is denser than the water/steam mixture in the water walls) or assisted by
pumps. In the steam drum, the water is returned to the downcomers and the steam is passed
through a series of steam separators and dryers that remove water droplets from the steam. The dry
steam then flows into the superheater coils.
The boiler furnace auxiliary equipment includes coal feed nozzles and igniter guns, soot blowers,
water lancing and observation ports (in the furnace walls) for observation of the furnace interior.
Furnace explosions due to any accumulation of combustible gases after a trip-out are avoided by
flushing out such gases from the combustion zone before igniting the coal.
The steam drum (as well as the super heater coils and headers) have air vents and drains needed
for initial start up.
Superheater[edit]
Fossil fuel power plants often have a superheater section in the steam generating furnace. The
steam passes through drying equipment inside the steam drum on to the superheater, a set of tubes
in the furnace. Here the steam picks up more energy from hot flue gases outside the tubing and its
temperature is now superheated above the saturation temperature. The superheated steam is then
piped through the main steam lines to the valves before the high pressure turbine.
Nuclear-powered steam plants do not have such sections but produce steam at essentially saturated
conditions. Experimental nuclear plants were equipped with fossil-fired super heaters in an attempt
to improve overall plant operating cost.
Steam condensing[edit]
The condenser condenses the steam from the exhaust of the turbine into liquid to allow it to be
pumped. If the condenser can be made cooler, the pressure of the exhaust steam is reduced and
efficiency of the cycle increases.


Diagram of a typical water-cooled surface condenser.
[6][7][10][11]

The surface condenser is a shell and tube heat exchanger in which cooling water is circulated
through the tubes.
[6][10][11][12]
The exhaust steam from the low pressure turbine enters the shell where
it is cooled and converted to condensate (water) by flowing over the tubes as shown in the adjacent
diagram. Such condensers use steam ejectors or rotary motor-driven exhausters for continuous
removal of air and gases from the steam side to maintainvacuum.
For best efficiency, the temperature in the condenser must be kept as low as practical in order to
achieve the lowest possible pressure in the condensing steam. Since the condenser temperature
can almost always be kept significantly below 100 C where the vapor pressure of water is much
less than atmospheric pressure, the condenser generally works under vacuum. Thus leaks of non-
condensible air into the closed loop must be prevented.
Typically the cooling water causes the steam to condense at a temperature of about 35 C (95 F)
and that creates an absolute pressure in the condenser of about 27 kPa (0.592.07 inHg), i.e.
a vacuum of about 95 kPa (28 inHg) relative to atmospheric pressure. The large decrease in
volume that occurs when water vapor condenses to liquid creates the low vacuum that helps pull
steam through and increase the efficiency of the turbines.
The limiting factor is the temperature of the cooling water and that, in turn, is limited by the prevailing
average climatic conditions at the power plant's location (it may be possible to lower the temperature
beyond the turbine limits during winter, causing excessive condensation in the turbine). Plants
operating in hot climates may have to reduce output if their source of condenser cooling water
becomes warmer; unfortunately this usually coincides with periods of high electrical demand for air
conditioning.
The condenser generally uses either circulating cooling water from a cooling tower to reject waste
heat to the atmosphere, or once-through water from a river, lake or ocean.


A Marley mechanical induced draft cooling tower
The heat absorbed by the circulating cooling water in the condenser tubes must also be removed to
maintain the ability of the water to cool as it circulates. This is done by pumping the warm water from
the condenser through either natural draft, forced draft or induced draft cooling towers (as seen in
the image to the right) that reduce the temperature of the water by evaporation, by about 11 to 17 C
(20 to 30 F)expelling waste heat to the atmosphere. The circulation flow rate of the cooling water
in a 500 MW unit is about 14.2 m/s (500 ft/s or 225,000 US gal/min) at full load.
[13]

The condenser tubes are made of brass or stainless steel to resist corrosion from either side.
Nevertheless they may become internally fouled during operation by bacteria or algae in the cooling
water or by mineral scaling, all of which inhibit heat transfer and reduce thermodynamic efficiency.
Many plants include an automatic cleaning system that circulates sponge rubber balls through the
tubes to scrub them clean without the need to take the system off-line.
[citation needed]

The cooling water used to condense the steam in the condenser returns to its source without having
been changed other than having been warmed. If the water returns to a local water body (rather than
a circulating cooling tower), it is tempered with cool 'raw' water to prevent thermal shock when
discharged into that body of water.
Another form of condensing system is the air-cooled condenser. The process is similar to that of
a radiator and fan. Exhaust heat from the low pressure section of a steam turbine runs through the
condensing tubes, the tubes are usually finned and ambient air is pushed through the fins with the
help of a large fan. The steam condenses to water to be reused in the water-steam cycle. Air-cooled
condensers typically operate at a higher temperature than water-cooled versions. While saving
water, the efficiency of the cycle is reduced (resulting in more carbon dioxide per megawatt of
electricity).
From the bottom of the condenser, powerful condensate pumps recycle the condensed steam
(water) back to the water/steam cycle.
Reheater[edit]
Power plant furnaces may have a reheater section containing tubes heated by hot flue gases outside
the tubes. Exhaust steam from the high pressure turbine is passed through these heated tubes to
collect more energy before driving the intermediate and then low pressure turbines.
Air path[edit]
External fans are provided to give sufficient air for combustion. The Primary air fan takes air from the
atmosphere and, first warming it in the air preheater for better combustion, injects it via the air
nozzles on the furnace wall.
The induced draft fan assists the FD fan by drawing out combustible gases from the furnace,
maintaining a slightly negative pressure in the furnace to avoid backfiring through any closing.
Steam turbine generator[edit]
Main article: Turbo generator


Rotor of a modern steam turbine, used in a power station
The turbine generator consists of a series of steam turbines interconnected to each other and a
generator on a common shaft. There is a high pressure turbine at one end, followed by an
intermediate pressure turbine, two low pressure turbines, and the generator. As steam moves
through the system and loses pressure and thermal energy it expands in volume, requiring
increasing diameter and longer blades at each succeeding stage to extract the remaining energy.
The entire rotating mass may be over 200 metric tons and 100 feet (30 m) long. It is so heavy that it
must be kept turning slowly even when shut down (at 3 rpm) so that the shaft will not bow even
slightly and become unbalanced. This is so important that it is one of only five functions of blackout
emergency power batteries on site. Other functions are emergency lighting, communication, station
alarms and turbogenerator lube oil.
Superheated steam from the boiler is delivered through 1416-inch (360410 mm) diameter piping
to the high pressure turbine where it falls in pressure to 600 psi (4.1 MPa) and to 600 F (320 C) in
temperature through the stage. It exits via 2426-inch (610660 mm) diameter cold reheat lines and
passes back into the boiler where the steam is reheated in special reheat pendant tubes back to
1,000 F (540 C). The hot reheat steam is conducted to the intermediate pressure turbine where it
falls in both temperature andpressure and exits directly to the long-bladed low pressure turbines and
finally exits to the condenser.
The generator, 30 feet (9 m) long and 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter, contains a stationary stator and a
spinning rotor, each containing miles of heavy copper conductorno permanent magnets here. In
operation it generates up to 21,000 amperes at 24,000 volts AC(504 MWe) as it spins at either 3,000
or 3,600 rpm, synchronized to the power grid. The rotor spins in a sealed chamber cooled
withhydrogen gas, selected because it has the highest known heat transfer coefficient of any gas
and for its low viscosity which reduces windage losses. This system requires special handling during
startup, with air in the chamber first displaced by carbon dioxide before filling with hydrogen. This
ensures that the highly explosive hydrogenoxygen environment is not created.
The power grid frequency is 60 Hz across North America and 50 Hz
in Europe, Oceania, Asia (Korea and parts of Japan are notable exceptions) and parts of Africa. The
desired frequency affects the design of large turbines, since they are highly optimized for one
particular speed.
The electricity flows to a distribution yard where transformers increase the voltage for transmission
to its destination.
The steam turbine-driven generators have auxiliary systems enabling them to work satisfactorily and
safely. The steam turbine generator being rotating equipment generally has a heavy, large diameter
shaft. The shaft therefore requires not only supports but also has to be kept in position while running.
To minimize the frictional resistance to the rotation, the shaft has a number of bearings. The bearing
shells, in which the shaft rotates, are lined with a low friction material like Babbitt metal. Oil
lubrication is provided to further reduce the friction between shaft and bearing surface and to limit
the heat generated.
Stack gas path and cleanup[edit]
See also: Flue-gas emissions from fossil-fuel combustion and Flue-gas desulfurization
As the combustion flue gas exits the boiler it is routed through a rotating flat basket of metal mesh
which picks up heat and returns it to incoming fresh air as the basket rotates, This is called the air
preheater. The gas exiting the boiler is laden with fly ash, which are tiny spherical ash particles. The
flue gas contains nitrogen along with combustion products carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide,
and nitrogen oxides. The fly ash is removed by fabric bag filters or electrostatic precipitators. Once
removed, the fly ash byproduct can sometimes be used in the manufacturing of concrete. This
cleaning up of flue gases, however, only occurs in plants that are fitted with the appropriate
technology. Still, the majority of coal-fired power plants in the world do not have these facilities.
[citation
needed]
Legislation in Europe has been efficient to reduce flue gas pollution. Japan has been using
flue gas cleaning technology for over 30 years and the US has been doing the same for over 25
years. China is now beginning to grapple with the pollution caused by coal-fired power plants.
Where required by law, the sulfur and nitrogen oxide pollutants are removed by stack gas
scrubbers which use a pulverized limestone or other alkaline wet slurry to remove those pollutants
from the exit stack gas. Other devices use catalysts to remove Nitrous Oxide compounds from the
flue gas stream. The gas travelling up the flue gas stack may by this time have dropped to about
50 C (120 F). A typical flue gas stack may be 150180 metres (490590 ft) tall to disperse the
remaining flue gas components in the atmosphere. The tallest flue gas stack in the world is 419.7
metres (1,377 ft) tall at the GRES-2 power plant in Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan.
In the United States and a number of other countries, atmospheric dispersion modeling
[14]
studies
are required to determine the flue gas stack height needed to comply with the local air
pollution regulations. The United States also requires the height of a flue gas stack to comply with
what is known as the "Good Engineering Practice (GEP)" stack height.
[15][16]
In the case of existing
flue gas stacks that exceed the GEP stack height, any air pollution dispersion modeling studies for
such stacks must use the GEP stack height rather than the actual stack height.
Fly ash collection[edit]
Fly ash is captured and removed from the flue gas by electrostatic precipitators or fabric bag filters
(or sometimes both) located at the outlet of the furnace and before the induced draft fan. The fly ash
is periodically removed from the collection hoppers below the precipitators or bag filters. Generally,
the fly ash is pneumatically transported to storage silos for subsequent transport by trucks or railroad
cars .
Bottom ash collection and disposal[edit]
At the bottom of the furnace, there is a hopper for collection of bottom ash. This hopper is always
filled with water to quench the ash and clinkers falling down from the furnace. Some arrangement is
included to crush the clinkers and for conveying the crushed clinkers and bottom ash to a storage
site. Ash extractor is used to discharge ash from Municipal solid wastefired boilers.
Auxiliary systems[edit]
Boiler make-up water treatment plant and storage[edit]
Since there is continuous withdrawal of steam and continuous return of condensate to the boiler,
losses due to blowdown and leakages have to be made up to maintain a desired water level in the
boiler steam drum. For this, continuous make-up water is added to the boiler water system.
Impurities in the raw water input to the plant generally consist ofcalcium and magnesium salts which
impart hardness to the water. Hardness in the make-up water to the boiler will form deposits on the
tube water surfaces which will lead to overheating and failure of the tubes. Thus, the salts have to be
removed from the water, and that is done by a water demineralising treatment plant (DM). A DM
plant generally consists of cation, anion, and mixed bed exchangers. Any ions in the final water from
this process consist essentially of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions, which recombine to form pure
water. Very pure DM water becomes highly corrosive once it absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere
because of its very high affinity for oxygen.
The capacity of the DM plant is dictated by the type and quantity of salts in the raw water input.
However, some storage is essential as the DM plant may be down for maintenance. For this
purpose, a storage tank is installed from which DM water is continuously withdrawn for boiler make-
up. The storage tank for DM water is made from materials not affected by corrosive water, such
as PVC. The piping and valves are generally of stainless steel. Sometimes, a steam blanketing
arrangement or stainless steel doughnut float is provided on top of the water in the tank to avoid
contact with air. DM water make-up is generally added at the steam space of the surface
condenser (i.e., the vacuum side). This arrangement not only sprays the water but also DM water
gets deaerated, with the dissolved gases being removed by a de-aerator through an ejector attached
to the condenser.
Fuel preparation system[edit]


Conveyor system for moving coal (visible at far left) into a power plant
In coal-fired power stations, the raw feed coal from the coal storage area is first crushed into small
pieces and then conveyed to the coal feed hoppers at the boilers. The coal is next pulverized into a
very fine powder. The pulverizers may be ball mills, rotating drum grinders, or other types of
grinders.
Some power stations burn fuel oil rather than coal. The oil must kept warm (above its pour point) in
the fuel oil storage tanks to prevent the oil from congealing and becoming unpumpable. The oil is
usually heated to about 100 C before being pumped through the furnace fuel oil spray nozzles.
Boilers in some power stations use processed natural gas as their main fuel. Other power stations
may use processed natural gas as auxiliary fuel in the event that their main fuel supply (coal or oil) is
interrupted. In such cases, separate gas burners are provided on the boiler furnaces.
Barring gear[edit]
Barring gear (or "turning gear") is the mechanism provided to rotate the turbine generator shaft at a
very low speed after unit stoppages. Once the unit is "tripped" (i.e., the steam inlet valve is closed),
the turbine coasts down towards standstill. When it stops completely, there is a tendency for the
turbine shaft to deflect or bend if allowed to remain in one position too long. This is because the heat
inside the turbine casing tends to concentrate in the top half of the casing, making the top half
portion of the shaft hotter than the bottom half. The shaft therefore could warp or bend by millionths
of inches.
This small shaft deflection, only detectable by eccentricity meters, would be enough to cause
damaging vibrations to the entire steam turbine generator unit when it is restarted. The shaft is
therefore automatically turned at low speed (about one percent rated speed) by the barring gear until
it has cooled sufficiently to permit a complete stop.
Oil system[edit]
An auxiliary oil system pump is used to supply oil at the start-up of the steam turbine generator. It
supplies the hydraulic oil system required for steam turbine's main inlet steam stop valve, the
governing control valves, the bearing and seal oil systems, the relevant hydraulic relays and other
mechanisms.
At a preset speed of the turbine during start-ups, a pump driven by the turbine main shaft takes over
the functions of the auxiliary system.
Generator cooling[edit]
While small generators may be cooled by air drawn through filters at the inlet, larger units generally
require special cooling arrangements. Hydrogen gas cooling, in an oil-sealed casing, is used
because it has the highest known heat transfer coefficient of any gas and for its low viscosity which
reduces windage losses. This system requires special handling during start-up, with air in the
generator enclosure first displaced by carbon dioxide before filling with hydrogen. This ensures that
the highly flammable hydrogen does not mix withoxygen in the air.
The hydrogen pressure inside the casing is maintained slightly higher than atmospheric pressure to
avoid outside air ingress. The hydrogen must be sealed against outward leakage where the shaft
emerges from the casing. Mechanical seals around the shaft are installed with a very small annular
gap to avoid rubbing between the shaft and the seals. Seal oil is used to prevent the hydrogen gas
leakage to atmosphere.
The generator also uses water cooling. Since the generator coils are at a potential of about 22 kV,
an insulating barrier such as Teflon is used to interconnect the water line and the generator high-
voltage windings. Demineralized water of low conductivity is used.
Generator high-voltage system[edit]
The generator voltage for modern utility-connected generators ranges from 11 kV in smaller units
to 22 kV in larger units. The generator high-voltage leads are normally large aluminium channels
because of their high current as compared to the cables used in smaller machines. They are
enclosed in well-grounded aluminium bus ducts and are supported on suitable insulators. The
generator high-voltage leads are connected to step-up transformers for connecting to a high-
voltage electrical substation (usually in the range of 115 kV to 765 kV) for further transmission by the
local power grid.
The necessary protection and metering devices are included for the high-voltage leads. Thus, the
steam turbine generator and the transformer form one unit. Smaller units may share a common
generator step-up transformer with individual circuit breakers to connect the generators to a common
bus.
Monitoring and alarm system[edit]
Most of the power plant operational controls are automatic. However, at times, manual intervention
may be required. Thus, the plant is provided with monitors and alarm systems that alert the plant
operators when certain operating parameters are seriously deviating from their normal range.
Battery-supplied emergency lighting and communication[edit]
A central battery system consisting of lead acid cell units is provided to supply emergency electric
power, when needed, to essential items such as the power plant's control systems, communication
systems, turbine lube oil pumps, and emergency lighting. This is essential for a safe, damage-free
shutdown of the units in an emergency situation.
Transport of coal fuel to site and to storage[edit]
Main article: Fossil fuel power plant
Most thermal stations use coal as the main fuel. Raw coal is transported from coal mines to a power
station site by trucks, barges, bulk cargo ships or railway cars. Generally, when shipped by railways,
the coal cars are sent as a full train of cars. The coal received at site may be of different sizes. The
railway cars are unloaded at site by rotary dumpers or side tilt dumpers to tip over onto conveyor
belts below. The coal is generally conveyed to crushers which crush the coal to about
3

4
inch
(19 mm) size. The crushed coal is then sent by belt conveyors to a storage pile. Normally, the
crushed coal is compacted by bulldozers, as compacting of highly volatile coal avoids spontaneous
ignition.
The crushed coal is conveyed from the storage pile to silos or hoppers at the boilers by another belt
conveyor system.


How does a thermal power plant work?
In thermal generating plants, fuel is converted into thermal energy to heat water, making steam. The steam turns an
engine (turbine), creating mechanical energy to run a generator. Magnets turn inside the generator, producing electric
energy.
From fuel to electric energy

This diagram shows the basic steps in converting fossil fuels to thermal power.
Coal, oil and gas are used to make thermal electricity. They all work basically the same way (with a few exceptions:
for example, in an oil- or gas-fired plant, fuel is piped to the boiler).
1. Coal supply After haulers drop off the coal, a set of crushers and conveyors prepare and deliver the coal
to the power plant. When the plant needs coal, coal hoppers crush coal to a few inches in size and conveyor
belts bring the coal inside.
2. Coal pulverizer The belts dump coal into a huge bin (pulverizer), which reduces the coal to a fine powder.
Hot air from nearby fans blows the powdered coal into huge furnaces (boilers).
3. Boiler The boiler walls are lined with many kilometres of pipe filled with water. As soon as the coal enters
the boiler, it instantly catches fire and burns with high intensity (the temperatures inside the furnace may climb
to 1,300 C). This heat quickly boils the water inside the pipes, changing it into steam.
4. Precipitators and stack As the coal burns, it produces emissions (carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides) and ash.The gases, together with the lighter ash (fly ash), are vented from the boiler up the
stack. Huge air filters called electrostatic precipitators remove nearly all the fly ash before it is released into
the atmosphere. The heavier ash (bottom ash) collects in the bottom of the boilers and is removed.
5. Turbine and generator Meanwhile, steam moves at high speed to the turbines, massive drums with
hundreds of blades turned at an angle, like the blades of a fan.As jets of high-pressure steam emerge from
the pipes, they propel the blades, causing the turbine to spin rapidly. A metal shaft connects the turbine to a
generator. As the turbine turns, it causes an electro-magnet to turn inside coils of wire in the generator. The
spinning magnet puts electrons in motion inside the wires, creating electricity.
6. Condensers and cooling water system Next, the steam exits the turbines and passes over cool tubes in
the condenser. The condensers capture the used steam and transform it back to water. The cooled water is
then pumped back to the boiler to repeat the heating process. At the same time, water is piped from a
reservoir or river to keep the condensers constantly cool. This cooling water, now warm from the heat
exchange in the condensers, is released from the plant.
7. Water purification To reduce corrosion, plants purify water for use in the boiler tubes. Wastewater is also
treated and pumped out to holding ponds.
8. Ash systems Ash is removed from the plant and hauled to disposal sites or ash lagoons. Ash is also sold
for use in manufacturing cement.
9. transformer and transmission lines transformers increase the voltage of the electricity generated.
transmission lines then carry the electricity at high voltages from the plant to substations in cities and towns.

Types of thermal plants
Many of Canadas large thermal plants use a simple-cycle process to generate electricity. Fuel is burned to heat
water to create steam, and much of the heat is vented as hot air or steam. While these conventional thermal plants
use less fuel than plants in the past to generate the same amount of power, they still lose energy in the form of
exhaust heat or steam.
Some thermal plants have been converted from simple cycle to combined-cycle generation, a form of more advanced
thermal technology. These plants capture waste heat from exhaust gases to produce more electricity and to use fuel
more efficiently. Gas-fired combined cycle plants have a heat conversion efficiency of about 60 per cent, compared to
35 per cent for conventional simple-cycle plants.
Cogeneration is another important innovative thermal technology, which is increasing in use. Cogeneration plants
produce electricity and usable heat or steam from a single fuel source such as natural gas. A cogeneration plant
captures heat that would be otherwise wasted to provide heat or steam to a building or facility.

At present 54.09% or 93918.38 MW (Data Source CEA, as on 31/03/2011) of total electricity production in
India is from Coal Based Thermal Power Station. A coal based thermal power plant converts the chemical
energy of the coal into electrical energy. This is achieved by raising the steam in the boilers, expanding it
through the turbine and coupling the turbines to the generators which converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy.

Introductory overview
In a coal based power plant coal is transported from coal mines to the power plant by railway in wagons or in a merry-go-
round system. Coal is unloaded from the wagons to a moving underground conveyor belt. This coal from the mines is of no
uniform size. So it is taken to the Crusher house and crushed to a size of 20mm. From the crusher house the coal is either
stored in dead storage( generally 40 days coal supply) which serves as coal supply in case of coal supply bottleneck or to
the live storage(8 hours coal supply) in the raw coal bunker in the boiler house. Raw coal from the raw coal bunker is
supplied to the Coal Mills by a Raw Coal Feeder. The Coal Mills or pulverizer pulverizes the coal to 200 mesh size. The
powdered coal from the coal mills is carried to the boiler in coal pipes by high pressure hot air. The pulverized coal air
mixture is burnt in the boiler in the combustion zone.
Generally in modern boilers tangential firing system is used i.e. the coal nozzles/ guns form tangent to a circle. The
temperature in fire ball is of the order of 1300 deg.C. The boiler is a water tube boiler hanging from the top. Water is
converted to steam in the boiler and steam is separated from water in the boiler Drum. The saturated steam from the boiler
drum is taken to the Low Temperature Superheater, Platen Superheater and Final Superheater respectively for
superheating. The superheated steam from the final superheater is taken to the High Pressure Steam Turbine (HPT). In the
HPT the steam pressure is utilized to rotate the turbine and the resultant is rotational energy. From the HPT the out coming
steam is taken to the Reheater in the boiler to increase its temperature as the steam becomes wet at the HPT outlet. After
reheating this steam is taken to the Intermediate Pressure Turbine (IPT) and then to the Low Pressure Turbine (LPT). The
outlet of the LPT is sent to the condenser for condensing back to water by a cooling water system. This condensed water is
collected in the Hotwell and is again sent to the boiler in a closed cycle. The rotational energy imparted to the turbine by high
pressure steam is converted to electrical energy in the Generator.
Diagram of a typical coal-fired thermal power station

Principal
Coal based thermal power plant works on the principal of Modified Rankine Cycle.

Components of Coal Fired Thermal Power Station:
Coal Preparation
i)Fuel preparation system: In coal-fired power stations, the raw feed coal from the coal storage area is first
crushed into small pieces and then conveyed to the coal feed hoppers at the boilers. The coal is next
pulverized into a very fine powder, so that coal will undergo complete combustion during combustion
process.
** pulverizer is a mechanical device for the grinding of
many different types of materials. For example, they
are used to pulverize coal for combustion in the
steam-generating furnaces of fossil fuel power plants.

Types of Pulverisers: Ball and Tube mills; Ring and Ball mills;
MPS; Ball mill; Demolition.
ii)Dryers: they are used in order to remove the excess moisture from coal mainly wetted
during transport. As the presence of moisture will result in fall in
efficiency due to incomplete combustion and also result in CO emission.
iii)Magnetic separators: coal which is brought may contain iron particles. These iron particles
may result in wear and tear. The iron particles may include bolts, nuts wire fish plates etc. so these are
unwanted and so are removed with the help of magnetic separators.
The coal we finally get after these above process are transferred to the storage site.
Purpose of fuel storage is two
Fuel storage is insurance from failure of normal operating supplies to arrive.
Storage permits some choice of the date of purchase, allowing the purchaser to take advantage of
seasonal market conditions. Storage of coal is primarily a matter of protection against the coal strikes,
failure of the transportation system & general coal shortages.

There are two types of storage:
1. Live Storage(boiler room storage): storage from which coal may be withdrawn to supply combustion equipment with
little or no remanding is live storage. This storage consists of about 24 to 30 hrs. of coal requirements of the plant and is
usually a covered storage in the plant near the boiler furnace. The live storage can be provided with bunkers & coal bins.
Bunkers are enough capacity to store the requisite of coal. From bunkers coal is transferred to the boiler grates.
2. Dead storage- stored for future use. Mainly it is for longer period of time, and it is also mandatory to
keep a backup of fuel for specified amount of days depending on the reputation of the company and its
connectivity.There are many forms of storage some of which are
1. Stacking the coal in heaps over available open ground areas.
2. As in (I). But placed under cover or alternatively in bunkers.
3. Allocating special areas & surrounding these with high reinforced concerted retaking walls.
Boiler and auxiliaries
A Boiler or steam generator essentially is a container into which water can be fed and steam can be taken
out at desired pressure, temperature and flow. This calls for application of heat on the container. For that
the boiler should have a facility to burn a fuel and release the heat. The functions of a boiler thus can be
stated as:-
1. To convert chemical energy of the fuel into heat energy
2. To transfer this heat energy to water for evaporation as well to steam for superheating.
The basic components of Boiler are: -
1. Furnace and Burners
2. Steam and Superheating
a. Low temperature superheater
b. Platen superheater
c. Final superheater
Economiser
It is located below the LPSH in the boiler and above pre heater. It is there to improve the efficiency of boiler
by extracting heat from flue gases to heat water and send it to boiler drum.
Advantages of Economiser include
1) Fuel economy: used to save fuel and increase overall efficiency of boiler plant.
2) Reducing size of boiler: as the feed water is preheated in the economiser and enter boiler tube at
elevated temperature. The heat transfer area required for evaporation reduced considerably.
Air Preheater
The heat carried out with the flue gases coming out of economiser are further utilized for preheating the air
before supplying to the combustion chamber. It is a necessary equipment for supply of hot air for drying the
coal in pulverized fuel systems to facilitate grinding and satisfactory combustion of fuel in the furnace
Reheater
Power plant furnaces may have a reheater section containing tubes heated by hot flue gases outside the
tubes. Exhaust steam from the high pressure turbine is rerouted to go inside the reheater tubes to pickup
more energy to go drive intermediate or lower pressure turbines.
Steam turbines
Steam turbines have been used predominantly as prime mover in all thermal power stations. The steam
turbines are mainly divided into two groups: -
1. Impulse turbine
2. Impulse-reaction turbine
The turbine generator consists of a series of steam turbines interconnected to each other and a generator on
a common shaft. There is a high pressure turbine at one end, followed by an intermediate pressure turbine,
two low pressure turbines, and the generator. The steam at high temperature (536 c to 540 c) and
pressure (140 to 170 kg/cm2) is expanded in the turbine.
Condenser
The condenser condenses the steam from the exhaust of the turbine into liquid to allow it to be pumped. If
the condenser can be made cooler, the pressure of the exhaust steam is reduced and efficiency of
the cycle increases. The functions of a condenser are:-
1) To provide lowest economic heat rejection temperature for steam.
2) To convert exhaust steam to water for reserve thus saving on feed water requirement.
3) To introduce make up water.
We normally use surface condenser although there is one direct contact condenser as well. In direct contact
type exhaust steam is mixed with directly with D.M cooling water.
Boiler feed pump
Boiler feed pump is a multi stage pump provided for pumping feed water to economiser. BFP is the biggest
auxiliary equipment after Boiler and Turbine. It consumes about 4 to 5 % of total electricity generation.
Cooling tower
The cooling tower is a semi-enclosed device for evaporative cooling of water by contact with air. The hot
water coming out from the condenser is fed to the tower on the top and allowed to tickle in form of thin
sheets or drops. The air flows from bottom of the tower or perpendicular to the direction of water flow and
then exhausts to the atmosphere after effective cooling.
The cooling towers are of four types: -
1. Natural Draft cooling tower
2. Forced Draft cooling tower
3. Induced Draft cooling tower
4. Balanced Draft cooling tower
Fan or draught system
In a boiler it is essential to supply a controlled amount of air to the furnace for effective combustion of fuel
and to evacuate hot gases formed in the furnace through the various heat transfer area of the boiler. This
can be done by using a chimney or mechanical device such as fans which acts as pump.
i) Natural draught
When the required flow of air and flue gas through a boiler can be obtained by the stack (chimney) alone,
the system is called natural draught. When the gas within the stack is hot, its specific weight will be less
than the cool air outside; therefore the unit pressure at the base of stack resulting from weight of the
column of hot gas within the stack will be less than the column of extreme cool air. The difference in the
pressure will cause a flow of gas through opening in base of stack. Also the chimney is form of nozzle, so the
pressure at top is very small and gases flow from high pressure to low pressure at the top.

ii) Mechanized draught
There are 3 types of mechanized draught systems
1) Forced draught system
2) Induced draught system
3) Balanced draught system
Forced draught: In this system a fan called Forced draught fan is installed at the inlet of the boiler. This
fan forces the atmospheric air through the boiler furnace and pushes out the hot gases from the furnace
through superheater, reheater, economiser and air heater to stacks.
Induced draught: Here a fan called ID fan is provided at the outlet of boiler, that is, just before the
chimney. This fan sucks hot gases from the furnace through the superheaters, economiser, reheater and
discharges gas into the chimney. This results in the furnace pressure lower than atmosphere and affects the
flow of air from outside to the furnace.
Balanced draught:-In this system both FD fan and ID fan are provided. The FD fan is utilized to draw
control quantity of air from atmosphere and force the same into furnace. The ID fan sucks the product of
combustion from furnace and discharges into chimney. The point where draught is zero is called balancing
point.

Ash handling system
The disposal of ash from a large capacity power station is of same importance as ash is produced in large
quantities. Ash handling is a major problem.
i) Manual handling: While barrows are used for this. The ash is collected directly through the ash outlet
door from the boiler into the container from manually.
ii) Mechanical handling: Mechanical equipment is used for ash disposal, mainly bucket elevator, belt
conveyer. Ash generated is 20% in the form of bottom ash and next 80% through flue gases, so called Fly
ash and collected in ESP.

iii) Electrostatic precipitator: From air preheater this flue gases (mixed with ash) goes to ESP. The
precipitator has plate banks (A-F) which are insulated from each other between which the flue gases are
made to pass. The dust particles are ionized and attracted by charged electrodes. The electrodes are
maintained at 60KV.Hammering is done to the plates so that fly ash comes down and collect at the bottom.
The fly ash is dry form is used in cement manufacture.

Generator
Generator or Alternator is the electrical end of a turbo-generator set. It is generally known as the piece of
equipment that converts the mechanical energy of turbine into electricity. The generation of electricity is
based on the principle of electromagnetic induction.
Advantages of coal based thermal Power Plant
They can respond to rapidly changing loads without difficulty
A portion of the steam generated can be used as a process steam in different industries
Steam engines and turbines can work under 25 % of overload continuously
Fuel used is cheaper
Cheaper in production cost in comparison with that of diesel power stations
Disadvantages of coal based thermal Power Plant
Maintenance and operating costs are high
Long time required for erection and putting into action
A large quantity of water is required
Great difficulty experienced in coal handling
Presence of troubles due to smoke and heat in the plant
Unavailability of good quality coal
Maximum of heat energy lost
Problem of ash removing

Major Thermal Power Plants in India
Power
station Operator Location District State Sector Region Unit wise Capacity
Installed
Capacity
(MW)
Rajghat
Power Station IPGCL Delhi Delhi NCT Delhi State Northern 2 x 67.5 135.00
Deenbandhu
Chhotu Ram
Thermal
Power Station HPGCL Yamunanagar Yamunanagar Haryana State Northern 2 x 300 600.00
Panipat
Thermal
Power Station
I HPGCL Assan Panipat Haryana State Northern 4 x 110 440.00
Panipat
Thermal
Power Station
II HPGCL Assan Panipat Haryana State Northern 2 x 210, 2 x 250 920.00
Faridabad
Thermal
Power Station HPGCL Faridabad Faridabad Haryana State Northern 1 x 55 55.00
Rajiv Gandhi
Thermal
Power Station HPGCL Khedar Hisar Haryana State Northern 1 x 600 600.00
Guru Nanak
dev TP PSPCL Bathinda Bathinda Punjab State Northern 4 x 110 440.00
Guru
Hargobind TP PSPCL
Lehra
Mohabbat Bathinda Punjab State Northern 2 x 210, 2 x 250 920.00
Guru Gobind
Singh Super
Thermal
Power Plant PSPCL Ghanauli Rupnagar Punjab State Northern 6 x 210 1260.00
Suratgarh
Super
Thermal
Power Plant RVUNL Suratgarh
Sri
Ganganagar Rajasthan State Northern 6 x 250 1500.00
Kota Super
Thermal
Power Plant RVUNL Kota Kota Rajasthan State Northern
2 x 110, 3 x 210, 2 x
195 1240.00
Giral Lignite
Power Plant RVUNL Thumbli Barmer Rajasthan State Northern 2 x 125 250.00
Chhabra
Thermal
Power Plant RVUNL Mothipura Baran Rajasthan State Northern 2 x 250 500.00
Orba Thermal
Power Station UPRVUNL Obra Sonebhadra
Uttar
Pradesh State Northern
1 x 40, 3 x 94, 5 x
200 1,322.00
Anpara
Thermal
Power Station UPRVUNL Anpara Sonebhadra
Uttar
Pradesh State Northern 3 x 210, 2 x 500 1630.00
Panki
Thermal UPRVUNL Panki Kanpur
Uttar
Pradesh State Northern 2 x 105 210.00
Power Station
Parichha
Thermal
Power Station UPRVUNL Parichha Jhansi
Uttar
Pradesh State Northern 2 x 110, 2 x 210 640.00
Harduaganj
Thermal
Power Station UPRVUNL Harduaganj Aligarh
Uttar
Pradesh State Northern
1 x 55, 1 x 60, 1 x
105 220.00
Badarpur
Thermal
power plant NTPC Badarpur New Delhi NCT Delhi Central Northern 3 x 95, 2 x 210 705.00
Singrauli
Super
Thermal
Power Station NTPC Shaktinagar Sonebhadra
Uttar
Pradesh Central Northern 5 x 200, 2 x 500 2000.00
Barsingsar
Lignite Power
Plant NLC Barsingsar Bikaner Rajasthan Central Northern 1 x 125 125.00
Rihand
Thermal
Power Station NTPC Rihand Nagar Sonebhadra
Uttar
Pradesh Central Northern 4 x 500 2000.00
National
Capital
Thermal
Power Plant NTPC Vidyutnagar
Gautam Budh
Nagar
Uttar
Pradesh Central Northern 4 x 210, 2 x 490 1820.00
Feroj Gandhi
Unchahar
Thermal
Power Plant NTPC Unchahar Raebareli
Uttar
Pradesh Central Northern 5 x 210 1050.00
Tanda
Thermal
Power Plant NTPC Vidyutnagar
Ambedkar
Nagar
Uttar
Pradesh Central Northern 4 x 110 440.00
Raj west
Lignite Power
Plant JSW Barmer Barmer Rajasthan Private Northern 1 x 135 135.00
VS Lignite
Power Plant KSK Gurha Bikaner Rajasthan Private Northern 1 x 125 125.00
Rosa Thermal
Power Plant
Stage I Reliance Rosa Shahjahanpur
Uttar
Pradesh Private Northern 2 x 300 600.00
Northern

28 104
Ukai Thermal
Power Station GSECL Ukai dam Tapi Gujarat State Western
2 x 120, 2 x 200, 1 x
210 850
Gandhinagar
Thermal
Power Station GSECL Gandhinagar Gandhinagar Gujarat State Western 2 x 120, 3 x 210 870
Wanakbori
Thermal
Power Station GSECL Wanakbori Kheda Gujarat State Western 7 x 210 1470
Sikka
Thermal
Power Station GSECL Jamnagar Jamnagar Gujarat State Western 2 x 120 240
Dhuvaran
Thermal
Power Station GSECL Khambhat Anand Gujarat State Western 2 x 110 220
Kutch
Thermal
Power Station GSECL Panandhro Kutch Gujarat State Western 2 x 70, 2 x 75 290
Surat
Thermal
Power Station GIPCL Nani Naroli Surat Gujarat State Western 4 x 125 500
Akrimota
Thermal
Power Station GMDC Chher Nani Kutch Gujarat State Western 2 x 125 250
Satpura
Thermal
Power Station MPPGCL Sarni Betul
Madhya
Pradesh State Western
5 x 37.5, 1 x 200, 3 x
210 1017.5
Sanjay
Gandhi
Thermal
Power Station MPPGCL Birsinghpur Umaria
Madhya
Pradesh State Western 4 x 210, 1 x 500 1340
Amarkantak
Thermal
Power Station MPPGCL Chachai Anuppur
Madhya
Pradesh State Western 2 x 120, 1 x 210 450
Korba East
Thermal
Power Plant CSPGCL

Korba Chattisgarh State Western 4 x 50, 2 x 120 440
Dr Shyama
Prasad
Mukharjee
Thermal
Power Plant CSPGCL

Korba Chattisgarh State Western 2 x 250 500
Korba West
Hasdeo
Thermal
Power Plant CSPGCL

Korba Chattisgarh State Western 4 x 210 840
Koradi
Thermal
Power Station MAHAGENCO Koradi Nagpur Maharastra State Western
4 x 105, 1 x 200, 2 x
210 1040
Nashik
Thermal
Power Station MAHAGENCO Nashik Nashik Maharastra State Western 2 x 125, 3 x 210 880
Bhusawal
Thermal
Power Station MAHAGENCO Deepnagar Jalgaon Maharastra State Western 1 x 50, 2 x 210 470
Paras
Thermal
Power Station MAHAGENCO Vidyutnagar Akola Maharastra State Western 1 x 55, 2 x 250 555
Parli Thermal
Power Station MAHAGENCO Parli-Vaijnath Beed Maharastra State Western
2 x 20, 3 x 210, 2 x
250 1170
Kaparkheda
Thermal
Power Station MAHAGENCO Kaparkheda Nagpur Maharastra State Western 4 x 210 840
Chandrapur
Super
Thermal
Power Station MAHAGENCO Chandrapur Chandrapur Maharastra State Western 4 x 210, 3 x 500 2340
Vindhyachal
Super
Thermal NTPC Vidhya Nagar Sidhi
Madhya
Pradesh Central Western 6 x 210, 4 x 500 3260
Power Station
Korba Super
Thermal
Power Plant NTPC Jamani Palli Korba Chattisgarh Central Western 3 x 200, 3 x 500 2100
Sipat Thermal
Power Plant NTPC Sipat Bilaspur Chattisgarh Central Western 2 x 500 1000
Bhilai
Expansion
Power Plant
NTPC-
SAIL(JV) Bhilai Durg Chattisgarh Central Western 2 x 250 500
Sabarmati
Thermal
Power Station Torrent Ahamadabad

Gujarat Private Western
1 x 60, 1 x 120, 2 x
110 400
Mundra
Thermal
Power Station Adani Mundra Kutch Gujarat Private Western 2 x 330 660
Jindal Megha
Power Plant jindal Tamnar Raigarh Chattisgarh Private Western 4 x 250 1000
Lanco
Amarkantak
Power Plant Lanco Pathadi Korba Chattisgarh Private Western 2 x 300 600
Trombay
Thermal
Power Station Tata Trombay Mumbai Maharastra Private Western
1 x 150, 2 x 500, 1 x
250 1400
Dahanu
Thermal
Power Station Reliance Dahanu Thane Maharastra Private Western 2 x 250 500
Wardha
Warora
Power Station KSK Warora Chandrapur Maharastra Private Western 1 x 135 135
Western

32 135
Ramagundam
B Thermal
Power Station APGENCO Ramagundam Karimnagar
Andhra
Pradesh State Southern 1 x 62.5 62.5
Kothagudem
Thermal
Power Station APGENCO Paloncha Khammam
Andhra
Pradesh State Southern 4 x 60, 4 x 120 720
Kothagudem
Thermal
Power Station
V Stage APGENCO Paloncha Khammam
Andhra
Pradesh State Southern 2 x 250 500
Dr Narla
Tatarao TPS APGENCO Ibrahimpatnam Krishna
Andhra
Pradesh State Southern 6 x 210, 1 x 500 1760
Rayalaseema
Thermal
Power Station APGENCO Cuddapah YSR
Andhra
Pradesh State Southern 4 x 210 840
Kakatiya
Thermal
Power Station APGENCO Chelpur Warangal
Andhra
Pradesh State Southern 1 x 500 500
Raichur
Thermal
Power Station KPCL Raichur Raichur Karnataka State Southern 7 x 210, 1 x 250 1720
Bellary
Thermal
Power Station KPCL Kudatini Bellary Karnataka State Southern 1 x 500 500
North
Chennai
Thermal
Power Station TNEB Athipattu Thiruvallore Tamilnadu State Southern 3 x 210 630
Ennore
Thermal
Power Station TNEB Ennore Chennai Tamilnadu State Southern 2 x 60, 3 x 110 450
Mettur
Thermal
Power Station TNEB Metturdam Salem Tamilnadu State Southern 4 x 210 840
Tuticorin
Thermal
Power Station TNEB Tuticorin Tuticorin Tamilnadu State Southern 5 x 210 1050
NTPC
Ramagundam NTPC Jyothi Nagar Karimnagar
Andhra
Pradesh Central Southern 3 x 200, 4 x 500 2600
Simhadri
Super
Thermal
Power Plant NTPC Simhadri Visakhapatnam
Andhra
Pradesh Central Southern 2 x 500 1000
Neyveli
Thermal
Power Station
I NLC Neyveli Cuddalore Tamilnadu Central Southern
6 x 50, 3 x 100, 2 x
210 1020
Neyveli
Thermal
Power Station
II NLC Neyveli Cuddalore Tamilnadu Central Southern 7 x 210 1470
JSW EL-
SBU-I Power
Plant JSW Vijayanagar Bellary Karnataka Private Southern 2 x 130 260
JSW EL-
SBU-II Power
Plant JSW Vijayanagar Bellary Karnataka Private Southern 2 x 300 600
Udupi
Thermal
Power Plant Lanco Nandikoor Udupi Karnataka Private Southern 1 x 600 600
Neyveli Zero
Unit STPS Neyveli Cuddalore Tamilnadu Private Southern 1 x 250 250
Southern

20 83
Barauni
Thermal
Power Station BSEB Barauni Begusarai Bihar State Eastern 2 x 50, 2 x 105 310
Muzafferpur
Thermal
Power Station KBUCL Kanti Muzaffarpur Bihar State Eastern 2 x 110 220
Patratu
Thermal
Power Station JSEB Patratu

Jharkhand State Eastern
4 x 40, 2 x 90, 2 x
105, 2 x 110 770
Tenughat
Thermal
Power Station TVNL

Jharkhand State Eastern 2 x 210 420
Kolaghat
Thermal
Power Station WBPDCL Mecheda
East
Midnapore
West
Bengal State Eastern 6 x 210 1260
Bakreshwar
Thermal
Power Station WBPDCL Suri Birbhum
West
Bengal State Eastern 5 x 210 1050
Bandel
Thermal
Power Station WBPDCL

Hooghly
West
Bengal State Eastern 4 x 60, 1 x 210 450
Santaldih
Thermal
Power Station WBPDCL

Purulia
West
Bengal State Eastern 4 x 120, 1 x 250 730
Sagardigi
Thermal
Power Station WBPDCL Monigram Murshidabad
West
Bengal State Eastern 2 x 300 600
Durgapur
Thermal
Power Plant DPL Durgapur Bardhaman
West
Bengal State Eastern
2 x 30, 1 x 70, 2 x
75, 1 x 110, 1 x 300 690
IB Thermal
Power Plant OPGCL Banharpali Jharsuguda Orissa State Eastern 8 x 120 960
Captive
Power Plant NALCO Angul Angul Orissa State Eastern 2 x 210 420
Kahalgaon
Super
Thermal
Power Station NTPC Kahalgaon Bhagalpur Bihar Central Eastern 4 x 210, 3 x 500 2340
Bokaro
Thermal
Power Station
B DVC Bokaro Bokaro Jharkhand Central Eastern 3 x 210 630
Chandrapura
Thermal
Power Station DVC Chandrapura Bokaro Jharkhand Central Eastern
3 x 130, 3 x 120, 2 x
250 1250
Farakka
Super
Thermal
Power Station NTPC Nagarun Murshidabad
West
Bengal Central Eastern 3 x 200, 2 x 500 1600
Durgapur
Thermal
Power Station DVC Durgapur Bardhaman
West
Bengal Central Eastern 1 x 140, 1 x 210 350
Mejia
Thermal
Power Station DVC Durlavpur Bankura
West
Bengal Central Eastern 4 x 210, 2 x 250 1340
Talcher Super
Thermal
Power Station NTPC Kaniha Angul Orissa Central Eastern 6 x 500 3000
Talcher
Thermal
Power Station NTPC Talcher Angul Orissa Central Eastern 4x 60, 2 x 110 460
Budge Budge
Thermal
Power Plant CESC Achipur
South 24
Paraganas
West
Bengal Private Eastern 3 x 250 750
Titagarh
Thermal
Power Station CESC

North 24
Paraganas
West
Bengal Private Eastern 4 x 60 240
CESC
Southern
Generating CESC

West
Bengal Private Eastern 3 x 67.5 135
Station
Jojobera TPP Tata Jojobera Jamshedpur Jharkhand Private Eastern 3 x 120,167.5 427.5
Jharsuguda
TPP Vedanta Jharsuguda Jharsuguda Orisa
Private
IPP Eastern 4600 2400
Vedanta
Aluminim
CPP Vedanta Jharsuguda Jharsuguda Orisa
Private
CPP Eastern 9135 1215
Eastern

22 104
Total

102 426
81 Responses to Thermal Power Plant
1. Neeraj Kumar says:
July 31, 2014 at 7:06 PM
We hereby require thermal power companies contact details for transportation of black oil by road tankers
With Rergars
Neeraj (9999673105)
Reply
2. Monali Shah says:
July 26, 2014 at 5:51 PM
Dear Sir,
Kind request to please share installed capacities and utilisation or PLF of all Thermal power plants in India
Reply
3. HARINATH SINGH says:
June 16, 2014 at 11:28 PM
What would be the reason for their being located at those place ect. Kindly share.
Reply
4. Sandeep Maheshwari says:
June 1, 2014 at 9:23 PM
I would like to know what capacity of booler is required for 10 mw thermal power plant.
Tk.
Sandeep maheshwari
+91 9351549294
Reply
o IndianPowerSector.com says:
June 2, 2014 at 11:18 AM
Dear Sandeep,
Please rite to info@indianpowersector.com, with complete details.
Reply
5. Sandeep Maheshwari says:
June 1, 2014 at 9:21 PM
I would like what capacity of boiler needed for 10 mw power plant
Reply
6. AMIT JAIN says:
May 29, 2014 at 5:25 PM
SUBJECT- SCALEBAN:: History created at NTPC by installing our patented product in 500MW power plant to
achieve ZERO DISCHARGE WITH ZERO SCALING in cooling water system.
Dear Sir,
We are proud in all our modesty to inform your good self that we have successfully commissioned the
SCALEBAN in the 500MW power plant of one of the leading and most reputed power producer of the world
i.e. NTPC at their Dadri (U.P.) unit (Please find attached photographs for the same). The installation in the
other 500MW power plant will be done in the month of October 2014 during the proposed maintenance
shutdown of the concerned power plant.
You will be pleased to note that M/s NTPC limited have placed an order for the supply of Scaleban equipment
for the condenser and auxiliary system of 500MW X 2Nos power plant at Dadri (U.P.) on 06thNovember
2013.
M/s NTPC limited has installed Scaleban equipment in their power plant with an objective to operate the
cooling tower at a very high COC level of 15 with zero scaling in condenser and other heat exchangers.
Currently, they are operating the cooling tower at 2.5COC and yet facing a severe problem of scale
deposition in the system.
This is the biggest achievement in the history of Scaleban equipment, as the most reputed power producer
of the country has joined hands with us to establish the sustainable, most efficient and cost effective
solution for zero discharge with zero scaling. NTPC, after gaining confidence in our technology through in
depth study of theoretical aspects and in situ analysis of the performance of the equipment at our client site
has joined us in our mission to conserve water with zero scaling.
The prevailing situation is quite alarming and dictates to the power industry to switch over to the sustainable
& efficient means of the water conservation with zero scaling to achieve zero liquid discharge.
The industry is very well familiar with the prevalent losses in productivity and profitability due to zero
discharge norms and scale deposition in condensers & other heat ex-changers.
It is evident that conventional methods for stopping scale deposition in heat ex-changer surfaces are not
efficient enough to target this specific problem of the industry. Also the conventional methods available to
achieve zero liquid discharge (ZLD) are very costly to establish and operate and so we are encouraged to
present our revolutionary technology to help the industry stakeholder to get Scale free condenser/heat ex-
changer and to design most efficient, cost effective and sustainable solution for Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD).
The cooling tower can be operated at very high COC of 15 to 20 as against 3 to 5 of conventional methods.
Operations at higher COC will lead to minimization of blow down to almost negligible. There is lot of water
conservation involved with use of Scaleban Technology. Practically, uses of Scaleban equipment can
conserve water to the tune of more than 25% to 30%. Consumption of fresh water can be brought down by
100% as RO reject and ETP treated water can be directly utilized in cooling tower as make up water instead
of soft water. Thus Scaleban has initiated a march towards establishment of a cost effective, most efficient
and sustainable solution for the achievement of zero liquid discharge with water conservation and zero
scaling.
Most importantly, Scaleban provides guaranteed zero scale condition in the condenser and other heat
exchangers for a period of 20 years without use of Soft water and anti scalant chemicals. Scale free
condensers leads to constant vacuum and specific steam consumption maintained in specified ideal range.
The product is manufactured by State of the Art technology which keeps the product a step ahead of all the
other kind of water treatment technologies available in market.
Scaleban with no reject of water is the maintenance free mechanical equipment and does not require any
energy input for its operation. We have proved ourselves in the conservation of water to the tune of more
than 25% and also in increasing industry productivity and profitability for our (150+) valuable clients across
India.
Both, water and energy are the main area of concern for the industries now a days and no one in the world
is able to create them; conserving them is the only way to create them. Scaleban can proudly claim the
maximum conservation of water and energy on account of use of this revolutionary equipment as compared
with any other technology available in the world.
Scaleban is awaiting a Patent Number from Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks
(Intellectual Property India), Mumbai, Government of India, pending our application number
2335/MUM/2009 dated 7th October 2009.