General Layout of the Plant: Though each plant is unique

in itself in terms of specific features and functionalities, still there is a broad outline to which all thermal power plants confirm to and the general layout of a typical power plant. There are four main circuits in any thermal power plant and these are 1. Coal & Ash Circuit this circuit deals mainly with feeding the boiler with coal for combustion purposes and taking care of the ash that is generated during the combustion process and includes equipment and paraphernalia that is used to handle the transfer and storage of coal and ash. . Air & !as Circuit we know that air is one of the main components of the fire triangle and hence necessary for combustion. "ince lots of coal is burnt inside the boiler it needs a sufficient quantity of air which is supplied using either forced draught or induced draught fans. The e#haust gases from the combustion are in turn used to heat the ingoing air through a heat e#changer before being let off in the atmosphere. The equipment which handles all these processes fall under this circuit. $. %eed &ater & "team Circuit this section deals with supplying of steam generated from the boiler to the turbines and to handle the outgoing steam from the turbine by cooling it to form water in the condenser so that it can be reused in the boiler plus making good any losses due to e'aporation etc. (. Cooling &ater Circuit this part of the thermal power plant deals with handling of the cooling water required in the system. "ince the amount of water required to cool the outgoing steam from the boiler is substantial, it is either taken from a nearby water source such as a ri'er, or it is done through e'aporation if the quantity of cooling water a'ailable is limited.

The abo'e breakdown of the plant would gi'e you a clear idea about the components of the plant but a complete picture shown below would be more useful in getting an idea how these circuits are integrated together to form the complete power plant.

THE AIR/GAS CIRCUIT

The circuit or path of airflow to the boiler and gasses of combustion from the boiler furnace back to the atmosphere is known as the Air/Gas Circuit. Air for combustion is drawn from the atmosphere by the %orced )raught *%)+ fan and deli'ered to the wind bo# after passing through the Air ,eater. The Air ,eater is a heat e#changer where heat is reco'ered from the flue gasses to pre-heat the combustion air. The combustion air flows from the wind bo# into the burner assemblies where the fuel and air are mi#ed in the correct ratio for stable, efficient combustion. The fuel.air mi#ture burns in the boiler furnace in a continuous process releasing heat energy, which is absorbed by the boiler components *water walls, super heater, reheater, economiser and air heater+ The hot gasses from combustion are drawn from the furnace and through the boiler and air heater by the /nduced )raught */)+ fan and discharged up the stack. 0oilers burning coal ha'e a precipitator or some other method of particulate collection located in the flue gas path between the air heater and /) fans to pre'ent fly ash discharge into

the atmosphere. The circuit or path of the steam flow from the boiler to the turbines and water flow from the condenser to the boiler is known as the Thermal Cycle. THE THERMA C!C E The 0oiler %eed 1ump raises the pressure of the feed water sufficiently for the water to flow through the ,igh 1ressure *,1+ %eed ,eaters, the feed water regulating 'al'e and into the boiler. The ,1 feed heaters use steam bled from the ,igh and /mmediate 1ressure *,1 & /1+ turbines topre-heat the feed water. The feedwater-regulating 'al'e controls the amount of water entering the boiler to maintain thecorrect water le'el in the boiler drum. The economiser is situated in the flue gas path2 it is a tubular heat e#changer, which further preheatsthe feed water using the flue gasses lea'ing the boiler as the heat source. The boiler drum distributes the feed water into down comers *large bore e#ternal pipes+, which deli'ers the water to the bottom distribution headers, where the water enters the tubes forming the water walls of the boiler furnace. The boiler water in the water walls is heated by the

heat released by the combustion of fuel in the furnace. The water rises in the water walls gaining more heat2 hence some of it is changed into steam. The steam.&ater mi#ture is collected from the water walls in the top or collection headers and returned to the drum where it is separated, the water returning to the boiler water circulation pattern, the steam passing to a heat e#changer known as the super heater where its temperature *thus energy le'el+ is increased. The superheated steam flows from the boiler to the ,1 turbine 'ia the go'ernor 'al'es, which controls the steam flow to the turbine ie" the energy input to the turbine. "team entering the turbine is e#panded through the no33les and the rotating turbine blades producing torque at the turbine shaft. ,ence, the steam pressure and temperature is reduced that is, heat energy *enthalpy+ is transformed to mechanical energy *torque+. The steam lea'es the ,1 turbine to return to a heat e#changer located in the boiler flue gas path known as the 4reheater5 where its temperature *energy le'el+ is increased. The 4hot reheat steam5 flows to the /1 and finally to the 6ow 1ressure *61+ turbine,

e#panding on the way through as it does its work spinning the turbine blades. The steam e#hausts from the 61 turbine to the condenser, where the steam space is held at a high 'acuum ensuring ma#imum e#pansion *work+ from the steam through the 61 turbine. The e#haust steam is condensed in the condenser turning back into water known as condensate. The Cooling &ater *C&+ system supplies 'ast 'olumes of seawater to the condenser to condense the e#haust steam. The e#traction pump remo'es the condensate from the condenser and deli'ers it to the deaerator 'ia the 61 feed heaters. The deaerator and 61 feed heaters use steam bled from the /1 and 61 turbines to pre-heat the condensate *61 feed water+.The 0oiler %eed 1ump draws water from the deaerator storage tank and so the cycle is complete.

Steam #Thermal$ power %lant A steam power plant, also known as thermal power plant, is using steam as working fluid. "team is produced in a boiler using coal as fuel and is used to dri'e the prime mo'er, namely, the steam turbine. /n the steam turbine, heat energy is con'erted into mechanical energy which is used for generating electric power. !enerator is an electro-magnetic de'ice which makes the power a'ailable in the form of electrical energy. ayout of steam power plant& The layout of the steam power plant is shown in figure below. /t consists of four main circuits. These are7 Coal and ash circuit. Air and flue gas circuit &ater 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 con'eyor, bucket ele'ator, etc., ash resulting from the combustion of coal in the boiler furnace collects at the back of the boiler and is remo'ed to the ash storage yard through the ash handling equipment. Ash disposal 7 The indian coal contains $89 to (89 ash. A power plant of 188:& 8 to ; tonnes of hot ash per hour. ,ence sufficient space near the power plant is essential to dispose such large quantities of ash. Air and flue 'as 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, economi3er and pre-heater before being e#hausted to the atmosphere through the chimney. 0y this method the heat of the flue gases which would ha'e been wasted otherwise is used effecti'ely. Thus the o'erall efficiency of the plant is impro'ed.

Air pollution& The pollution of the surrounding atmosphere is caused by the emission of ob<ectable gases and dust through the chimney. The air pollution and smoke cause nuisance to people surrounding the planet. (eed water and steam circuit& The steam generated in the boiler passes through super heater and is supplied to the steam turbine. &ork is done by the e#pansion of steam in the turbine and the pressure of steam is reduced. The e#panded steam then passes to the condenser, where it is condensed. The condensate lea'ing the condenser is first heated in a l.p. water heater by using the steam taken from the low pressure e#traction point of the turbine. Again steam taken from the high pressure e#traction point of the turbine is used for heating the feed water in the ,.1 water heater. The hot feed water is passing through the economi3er, where it is further heated by means of flue gases. The feed water which is sufficiently heated by the feed water heaters and economi3er is then fed into the boiler. Coolin' water circuit& Abundant quantity of water is required for condensing the steam in the condenser. &ater circulating through the condenser may be taken from 'arious sources such as ri'er

or lake, pro'ided adequate water supply is a'ailable from the ri'er or lake throughout the year. /f adequate quantity of water is not a'ailable at the plant site, the hot water from the condenser is cooled in the cooling tower or cooling ponds and circulated again. Ad)anta'es of thermal power plants 1. . /nitial cost is low compared with hydro-plant. The power plant can be located near load center, so the transmission losses are considerably reduced. $. The generation of power is not dependent on the nature=s mercy like hydro plant. (. The construction and commissioning of thermal plant requires less period of time than a hydro plant. Modern Hi'h %ressure *oilers A boiler which generates steam at a pressure of >; kgf.sq.cm or abo'e is termed as a+hi'h pressure ,oiler-. The present tendency is towards the use of high pressure boilers in power plants. The modern high pressure boilers used for power generation ha'e capacities of (8 to 1?88 tonnes.hr of superheated steam with a pressure upto 18 kgf.sq.cm and a temperature of about ?;8=C. @ne of the largest modern steam power plants in the world is in <apan with a steam capacity of 1?88 Tonnes.hr. /n /ndia, the trombay power plant has a steam generating capacity of ;;8 tonnes.hr, Aamagundampower power plant with $ 8 tonnes.hr and bokaro plant with 1?8 tonnes.hr.

&ater tube boilers are generally preferred for high pressure and high output whereas fire tube boilers for low pressure and low output. Ad)anta'es of hi'h pressure ,oilers& Method of water circulation &ater circulation through the boiler may be either natural circulation due to density difference or by forced circulation. /n high pressure boilers, water circulation is made with the help of a centrifugal pump which forces water through the boiler tubes. This is called 4forced circulation of water5. The use of natural circulation is limited upto 1 8 kgf.sq.cm. "team pressure and forced circulation upto 18 kgf.sq.cm. %orced circulation increases the rate of heat transfer and hence increases the steam generating capacity of boilers. Si.e of drums The high pressure boilers are characteri3ed by the use of 'ery small steam separating drums or by the complete absence of any drum. Type and arran'ement of tu,es The heat of combustion is utili3ed more efficiently by the use of small diameter and light weight tubes in large numbers. To a'oid large resistance to the flow of water , the high pressure boilers ha'e a parallel set of arrangement of tubes. Compactness

The boiler components can be arranged hori3ontally, gi'ing greater accessibility and operational con'enience as high head required for natural circulation is eliminated by using forced circulation. The space required is hence less and arrangement is compact. (oundation cost )ue to the light weight tubes and small si3e drums required and the arrangement being compact, the cost of foundation is reduced. Efficiency The efficiency of the power plant is increased upto (89, by using high pressure superheated steam. Also steam can be raised quickly after the boiler is fired. Cost of electricity "ince efficiency of the plant is increased by using high pressure boilers, the cost of electricity production is reduced. /)erheatin' All the parts are uniformly heated2 therefore the danger of o'erheating is reduced. Also thermal stress problem is a'oided. Scale formation The tendency of scale formation is eliminated due to the high 'elocity of water through the boiler tubes. Types of hi'h pressure ,oilers 1. 6a-:ont 0oiler

. $.

6oeffler 0oiler 0enson 0oiler