Best Practices in ESP Operation and Maintenance for improved performance S.Ramakrishna Senior Manager srkrishna@bhelrpt.co.in K.

Rajavel Dy General Manager krajavelu@bhelrpt.co.in Engineering Development Centre Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Boiler Auxiliaries Plant Ranipet 632 406, Tamilnadu. Particulate emission control to minimum level from thermal power plants has gained significance. All present day electrostatic precipitators are designed for emission levels of less than 50 mg/ Nm3. But, often we find that the emission levels are going beyond the designed levels. This is due to several factors that are not given importance in the operation and maintenance of the plant. It is important to understand that ESP is collecting more than 99.9 % of the ash that enters the precipitator. The emission going out of the chimney is less than 0.1 % corresponds to 50 mg/ Nm3 for ESP inlet concentration of 50 g/Nm3. Even a small drop in collection efficiency can lead to multi fold increase in the emission level. Hence, it is imperative that collection efficiency of the ESP has to be maintained closer or better than the design condition to achieve the desired emission levels. Also the ESP field operating parameters also have major effect on the performance. In this paper we have highlighted steps in operation of ESP which can give significant improvement in the performance of ESP. Prerequisite for the better operation of the ESP is maintaining good field alignment, rapping system and ash evacuation. It is presumed that all these are maintained well. In this paper, we will discuss best practices that are required to be followed both in O&M for sustaining the emission below the designed level. 1.0 1.1 BEST PRACTICES IN OPERATION Importance ESP field voltage and current: Precipitation in the ESP is largely governed by ESP field voltages. The charge on the ESP particles is directly proportional to the peak voltages whereas the force on the particles towards the collecting electrode is proportional to charge on the particles and average voltages. Hence the performance of the ESP is dependant on the ESP voltage. Many times it becomes difficult to achieve the voltages in the ESP in spite of having good inter electrode gaps. There is a need to understand the reasons for such condition and take appropriate actions. The voltage in the field is dependant on the flue gas temperature, dust concentration, ash particle size, ash resistivity, ash coating on collecting electrodes, back corona conditions.
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Best Practices in ESP Operation and Maintenance for improved performance

1.2

Flue gas temperature: Monitoring the gas temperature can provide useful information about ESP performance. Voltage withstanding capacity of the field is directly dependant on temperature. Higher temperature will lead to lower voltages. Following graph shows the effect of temperature on voltage.

1.3

Temperature increases the resistivity of ash particles also gives rise to back corona condition. Significant temperature changes between inlet and outlet may indicate the air inleakage problems. Flue gas volume increases with increase in temperature. Dust Concentration and Particle size: Higher dust concentration normally affects the first two field operation since it leads to sparking at lower currents. Lower currents mean lower peak voltages. Generally in first few fields, the average voltages are higher due to space charge created by the ash particles. Particles create more space charge in the inter electrode gaps; hence the voltages will be higher. As the dust concentration almost reduces to less than 0.5 % in last few fields the voltage significantly reduces affecting the voltage levels and efficiency of these fields.

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Best Practices in ESP Operation and Maintenance for improved performance 1.4 Gas Flow and its effect: The increase in gas flow increases the emission levels considerably. The graph shows the increase in emission levels with increase in gas flow.

1.5

Methods for reducing the boiler exit temperature: Mill outlet temperature to be maintained around 90 deg C. LRSB soot blower and wall blowers to be operated to reduce the temperature Lower mill operation.

1.6

Methods for reducing the flue gas flow: Excess air operation to be maintained with O2 at Economiser outlet around 3.2 to 3.5 % Air heater and duct leakage control

1.5

Optimisation of ESP fields: Optimisation of ESP fields basically involves the setting of optimum intermittent charge ratio and base charge. The intermittent charging mode in the controller, supplies the current in pulses which provides a dense corona for a short time and at the same time gives a low average current to avoid back corona. Some of half cycles are skipped in the thyristor firing to achieve this. The pulsed current maximum limit is allowed up to 200% of the normal mode current in the ESP, but the average current will be much lower. Intermittent charging helps to curtail the back corona conditions. The back corona conditions differ for different field positions. The flue gas temperature, resistivity of the ash particle decides the back corona condition. Last fields of ESP experience very fine ash particles having high resistivity. Also these particles tend to stick to collecting electrodes. ESP voltage tend to be very low in the order of 17 to 22 KV compared to the first few fields where the voltages may be in the order of 28 KV to 32 KV.
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Best Practices in ESP Operation and Maintenance for improved performance Peak and valley voltages and VI characteristics of a field can give very good idea of the functioning of the field and back corona conditions. Adjusting the charge ratio for achieving better peak and valley voltage can lead to significant improvement in the ESP performance. The following table gives readings taken in a project before and after optimization of the fields. Improvement of peak and valley voltages after changing the ration can be seen. Before optimization Field Current Voltage Charge No In % ratio 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 182 68 198 197 188 199 200 200 27 30 34 30 28 27 25 25 11 15 21 31 41 51 61 61 After optimization Peak Current Voltage Charge /valley In % ratio voltage 70/18 55/17 70/25 74/28 65/18 72/24 77/22 77/22 182 68 198 197 188 199 200 173 33 36 42 36 31 32 31 30 31 61 61 912 101 141 151 151 Peak /valley voltage 84/23 62/23 79/37 81/38 70/23 77/30 84/28 70/26

After optimising the charge ratio, the emission levels were brought down to less than 45mg/ Nm3 from earlier level of 200 mg/Nm3. 1.6 Effect of higher air ingress: In some of the old ESPs it is observed that oxygen levels in the flue gas exceeds 9%. In addition, increase of the gas flow rate the ingress of air can lead due dilution of moisture in the flue gas as well as SOx concentration. This will have serious implication on the precipitation. Air ingress also increases the flue gas volume, resulting in poorer efficiency. BEST MAINTENANCE PRACTICES Proper maintenance precautions and procedures can make the difference between a precipitator which operates satisfactorily and the other with operational problems. Most of the precipitators problems are mechanical in nature and hence many of the break-down may be due to poor installation and poor maintenance. The problems in the precipitator can be broadly classified as below;
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2.0

Best Practices in ESP Operation and Maintenance for improved performance Fundamental problems: Gas velocity too high, poor gas flow distribution, aspect ratio too small, reentrainment of collected dust, high resistivity, inadequate rapping etc. Mechanical problems: Poor electrode alignment, distorted / skewed plates, vibrating or swinging electrodes, plugged distribution screens, shock bar bent, excessive ash deposit on electrodes, erosion of screens and rapping shaft breakage etc. Electrical Problems; Unstable electrical controls, rapping motors / heaters not in service, heavy sparking, Transformer tripping and insulator crack etc. One of the best maintenance practices in precipitator is to continuously monitoring of the emission and periodically monitoring the components attributed to the above said problems. If the emission goes out of range, then corrective action must be planned. The corrective action may include an investigation of the reason for high emission, evaluation of the situation. Necessary follow-up action is to be taken to bring back the precipitator to the normal operation within the acceptable range. It has been observed over a period that the most common problems for higher emission are ash build up in hoppers due to improper ash evacuation, field misalignment and non-uniform flow distribution inside ESP chamber and unequal flow between various ESP streams. 2.1 MONITORING GUIDELINES

2.1.1 START-UP PRACTICES The important activities during start-up are; Conduct air-load test for each TR set to ensure healthiness of the fields. Insulator heaters shall be on 2 12 hours prior to strat-up. Rapping system shall be in service during start-up to remove any settled dust. Energise fields according to established procedure 2.1.2 SHUT DOWN PRACTICES Rappers shall be allowed to operate for atleast 8 hours to remove residual dust. 2.1.3 ROUTINE OPERATIONS Reviewing parameters at ESP inlet, ESP fields, rapping system, and ash evacuation system. DAILY INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE Operation of dust discharge system : ensure the ash removal system is working properly Check hopper doors for air leaks
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Best Practices in ESP Operation and Maintenance for improved performance Inspection of rapper operation Inspection of TR set operation

WEEKLY INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE Thorough check of rapper operation and implement any changes in the rapping frequency, if required. Availability of heaters in hoppers and insulators Check al access doors for any leaks and make sure that the leakage is arrested. DURING SEMI ANNUAL / MAJOR UNIT OVERHAUL Empty all the ESP ash hoppers Check and correct the Field mis-alignment Inspect the internals like raping mechanisms, screens, deflector plates for wear and tear and rectify. Review the air load readings after the maintenance for ensuring healthiness. Check for all rapping motors operation Conduct gas distribution test, if required. 2.1.4 RECORD KEEPING AND REPORTING Opacity reports and supporting data Electronic records of Voltage current readings of fields Maintenance and inspection records will be kept for 5 years and shall be easily retrievable. 2.1.5 QUALITY CONTROL The continuous opacity monitor shall be calibrated for zero and span adjustments. The precipitator must be operated and maintained according to the manufacturers recommendation. Plant personnel must be properly trained to perform these activities with confidence. 3.0 Conclusion: The emission from the power plant affects the environment and it becomes utmost important responsibility of the operating personnel to understand the various parameters that affect performance of the ESP and take corrective action in achieving the desired emission level.

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