Geographical Location and the Environmental

benefits shall be the main criteria of the modern

Thermal Power Plants
Abstract:
Oil, Coal and Natural Gas originally produced from solar energy. The large scale atmospheric circulations provided the Winds that
have powered the wind mills for many centuries. Solar radiation also derives the earths rain cycle which powers modern hydroelectric
generators.
Solar Cells become very popular as they burn no fuel, have no moving part, clean and silent, but entire range of renewable technologies
so far developed re not yet matured enough to replace the traditional Thermal or Gas based power plants.
As Oil and Coal remains the primary energy source in the context of Green House Gas mitigation, we have to design our power plants
toward maximization of natural benefits. The natural distilled water source shall be nearer. Water reservoirs walls shall be natural.
Quality fuel source shall be within the vicinity of the plant. The ash produces shall be used for cement factories and other various value
added products.
Where there is uniform wind circulations through the year, air cooled condensers shall be considered and so many other factors need to
be considered in designing the modern power plants.
Key Wards: Climate Shocks, air cooled condensers

For thermal power plant operating on Rankine cycle,

power is generated through expansion of high pressure
steam up to condensing pressure and then condensation of
exhaust steam from the low-pressure section of the steam
turbine takes place in condenser. When the steam
condenses, the rapid decrease in vapor-to-liquid specific
volumes creates a vacuum at the turbine outlet (termed as
turbine backpressure / condenser pressure).
As lower turbine back pressure is achieved when the
steam condensate temperatures is lower, a cooling system
that can remove the heat of condensation at the low
temperature becomes an essential requirement. Therefore,
the condenser cooling system should be considered as an
integral part of the power generation process and have a
major influence on the overall power plant performance
and viability.
The waste heat removed by the cooling system during the
steam condensation in condenser has to be transferred to
the environment. Water has been the traditional transfer
medium of choice. Because it has been readily available,
relative inexpensive and re-useable up to a point.
Though plant consumptive water requirement for a
thermal power plant is governed by a number of factors
such as quality of raw water, type of condenser cooling
system, quality of coal, ash utilization, type of ash
disposal system, waste water management aspects etc,

majority of consumptive water (about 80%) is required

only as make up to the cooling water system and 90% of
which is accounted for condenser cooling.
Further when we use Ice melt water for this purpose, the
cost of the regular water treatment will be totally
minimized. Further if we can accumulate the Ice melt
water inside the closed pockets of the mountains or else
the mountains are joined together to form a water
reservoir, we are not only saving the constructional cost of
the water catchment area, rather we are more in favor to
the movement of the geotectonic plate.
Where availability of water is limited or scarce, dry
cooling system is considered for rejection of power cycle
waste heat from condenser to atmosphere.
In case of Air Cooling Condenser to improve the plant
efficiency where the ambient temperature of air is pretty
high during summer time need water mist spray for
cooling the incoming air to condenser.
Cost wise if we see water cooling system need about 10 %
of the total cost of Thermal power plant ( CW System =
5.45% + Cooling Tower = 4.326 % + 1.514 %) where as
in case of dry cooling system cost is less as well as
operating cost is also less. An attempt may be made for a
techno-economic analysis in favor of the Air Cooling
System Condenser.
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The waste heat removed by the cooling system during the

steam condensation in condenser has to be transferred to
the environment. Where availability of water is limited or
scarce, dry cooling system is considered for rejection of
power cycle waste heat from condenser to atmosphere in
air cooled condenser by way of sensible cooling in finned
tubes by ambient air. Unlike wet cooling system, dry
cooling system if considered for steam condenser does not
require any make-up to compensate the loss of water due
to evaporation, drift and blow down.
Majority of direct dry cooling installations employ
mechanical draft fans and are termed as air cooled
condensers (ACC).
In an indirect dry cooling system, exhaust steam from the
turbine is cooled by water in a surface or jet condenser
and hot water is cooled by air in finned tube bundles using
mechanical draft fans or natural draft hyperbolic tower.
There can be a Hybrid cooling option which is a
combination of dry cooling system and wet cooling
system. Two types of hybrid systems viz. dry cooling
system with part wet system and wet cooling system with
part dry system are possible.

with the nearby Cement Plant is highly economic and

beneficial to both the Power Plant as well as to the nearby
Cement Plant.
We are all now very concern about the climate shocks due
to Green House Gas (GHG) emissions primarily out of
Coal Burning and Fuel Oil Burning in automobiles. Hence
the location of Power Plants must be inside the deep forest
in the hilly areas, except the land allocated by the Forest
Department and by the Ministry of Environment and
Forestry (MoEF) and the land which is highly Seismic
Prone.
The surrounding Green Belt of the Power Plant shall be
enough to absorb the generated Co2. So there will be
Natural Carbon Sequestration.
In the nutshell a Profitable Environment friendly Thermal
Power Plant must be located at high elevated land nearer
to the Natural Distilled Water Source, quality Coal Block,
Natural Green Belt and less Seismic prone area.

Even for thermal power plant with dry condenser cooling

system, wet cooling tower is required for Auxiliary
cooling system. Since cooling tower make up water
constitutes major part of plant consumptive water, use of
dry cooling system results in considerable reduction of
plant consumptive water.
Evaporative Cooling can be used effectively in most
geographical locations. This is because when temperatures
reach their peak during the day, humidity is normally at its
lowest point.
By forcing water through our specially designed misting
nozzles, we create a fog of ultra fine water droplets with
an average size of 50 microns or less. These tiny water
droplets quickly absorb the energy (heat) present in the
environment and evaporate, becoming water vapor (gas).
The energy (heat) used to change the water to a gas is
eliminated from the environment, hence the air is cooled.
Coal is the most widely used fuel for power generation all
over the world. Quality coal as nearer as possible to the
power plant reduces operating cost of the Power Plant.
Further the ash produced from the plant need to be linked

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