Thermal Power Plants (Steam Power Plants)

Instructor: Engr. Intisar Ali Sajjad

Lecture Outlines

Thermal Energy Energy conversion process Principle and Working Efficiency Merits & Demerits Parts of steam power plant Numerical Examples

Thermal Energy
1. The kinetic energy of the molecules in a solid, liquid or gas 2. The more kinetic energy, the more thermal energy the object possesses 3. Physicists also call this the internal energy of an object

Heat

Touch something hot and thermal energy enters your hand Touch something cold and thermal energy leaves your hand Direction of energy flow is from hot to cold Heat is the thermal energy transferred due to a temperature difference

Equilibrium

Thermal energy transfers between two objects until the reach the same temperature This means until the average kinetic energy of the atoms and molecules is the same

STEAM POWER PLANTS

Steam Power Plants

Electricity generation in thermal power plants if characterized by the main source of generation being firing of coal, gas etc. Steam is produced in a boiler, and it drives a turbine connected to an alternator. Heat energy is converted to electric energy within the so-called steam cycle.

Energy Conversion Process in Steam Power Plants

Thermal Energy

Fuel

Chemical Energy

Chemical Energy is Converted into Thermal Energy by Combustion In Boiler

Thermal Energy is Converted into Mechanical Energy In Turbine

Mechanical Energy

Electrical Energy

Mechanical Energy is Converted into Electrical Energy In Generator

Energy Conversion . . .

Fuel, Air and water produce steam in the boiler by combustion Steam of high temperature and pressure is expended from high pressure to low pressure in the turbine Thermal energy is converted into kinetic energy and finally mechanical energy This mechanical energy derives the generator to produce electricity

Steam Power Plant can work in two Manners

1. 2.

Production of electricity Production of electricity with production of steam for the use in industry e.g. paper mills, textile mills, sugar mills, refineries

Processing of Power Plant

Boiler Water Steam Turbine Fuel Grid

Generator

Exhaust Steam
Waste Gases

Types of Steam Power Plant w.r.t. Stem Exhaust

1. 2.

Condensing Non- Condensing

Efficiency
Efficiency = Heat Equivalent of Electrical output / Heat of Combustion

Normally = 29% Losses: 1. Boiler House Losses: a. To Dry Fuel Gases b. To moisture in gases c. To ash and unburnt carbon d. To radiation and leakage e. Unknown losses TOTAL

5% 5% 1% 2.5% 2.5% 16%

Efficiency . . .
Turbine Losses: a. Heat rejection to Condenser 54% 3. Alternator or Generator Loss 1% TOTAL 55% Grand Total 71% So Efficiency = (100% - Losses) = 100% - 71% = 29%
2.

Merits of Steam Power Plant

Fuel is cheaper* Less space is required The initial cost is less Plant can be located near the load centre Turbine can work at 25% overload continuously A portion of steam can be used in various industries

Demerits of Steam Power Plant

Maintenance and operating costs are high Pollution of atmosphere is one of the major problems Water is required in huge quantity Handling of coal and disposal of ash are difficult tasks It requires long time for installation Efficiency falls quickly below 75%

Site Selection

Availability of Coal (Fuel) Proper arrangement for ash disposal Nature of the land Location from load centre Availability of water Transport facilities Availability of labor

Principle of conversion of Heat Energy to Kinetic Energy in Gases

Think . ?

Main Circuits of Thermal Power Plant

Coal and Ash Circuit Air and Gas circuit Feed Water and Steam circuit Cooling Water circuit

Coal and Ash Circuit

Coal from the storage is fed to the boiler through coal handling equipment for the generation of steam. Ash produced due to combustion of coal is removed to ash storage through ashhandling system

Air and Gas Circuit

Air is supplied to the combustion chamber of the boiler either through forced draught or induced draught fan or by using both. The dust from the air is removed before supplying to the combustion chamber. The exhaust gases carrying sufficient quantity of heat and ash are passed through the air-heater. Here the exhaust heat of the gases is given to the air then it is passed through the dust collectors where most of the dust is removed before exhausting the gases to the atmosphere

Feed Water and Steam Circuit

The steam generated in the boiler is fed to the steam prime mover to develop the power The steam coming out of the prime mover is condensed in the condenser and then fed to the boiler with the help of pump The condensate is heated in the feed-heaters using the steam tapped from different points of the turbine The feed water supplied from external source is passed through the purifying plant to reduce to reduce dissolve salts to an acceptable level This purification is necessary to avoid the scaling of the boiler tubes

Cooling Water Circuit

The quantity of cooling water required to condense the steam is considerably high and it is taken from a lake, river or sea . The water is pumped in by means of pumps and the hot water after condensing the steam is cooled before sending back into the pond by means of cooling towers

Major Parts of Steam Power Plant

1. Boilers 3. Turbine 5. Economizer 7. Induced Draft Fan 9. Chimney 11. Ash Handling Plant 13. Alternator 15. Pumps 2. Superheater 4. Condenser 6. Air preheater 8. Forced Draft Fan 10. Coal Handling Plant 12. Cooling Tower 14. Evaporator

1. Boiler
Purpose: To produce steam under pressure Types: 1. Fire Tube Boiler: Hot gases of combustion are inside the tubes and the tubes are surrounded by water 2. Water Tube Boiler: Water is inside the tube and hot gases are outside the tube One of these are used according to the requirements (See advantages and disadvantages of both in text)

Fire Tube Boiler

Water Tube Boiler

Boiler Furnace
It is like a chamber in which fuel is burnt to produce heat energy Furnace walls are made of refractory materials such as fire clay, silica etc. Types: 1. Plain refractory Walls: Used where furnace temperature is not very high 2. Hollow Refractory Walls: Through which air is circulated and used for quite high temperatures 3. Partially Water Cooled Walls: Similar to plain but a potion of surface is covered by water tubes. It is used for high temperature applications

Superheater
Device used to remove the traces of moisture from saturated steam leaving boiler tubes. It also increase the temperature above saturation temperature Classes: 1. Radiant Superheater: Located in the furnace between the furnace water walls and absorbs heat from the burning fuel through radiation 2. Convection Superheater: Located well back in boiler tube bank. It receives its heat from flue gases through convection.

(Advantages and disadvantages on text)

Economizer

It absorbs heat from outgoing flue gases and used for raising the temperature of feed water coming from condenser Economizer raises efficiency of boiler by 10 12 % thus 5 15 % of fuel consumption is saved

Air Preheater

Air preheater is used to recover heat from flue gases since entire heat cant be extracted by economizer Boiler Efficiency is increased by 1% if the avg. air temp. is increased by 20C

Steam Turbines
1.

2.

There are two types of steam turbines Impulse type: Steam expands completely in the stationary nozzles, the pressure over the moving blades remains constant. Reaction Type: Steam is expanded both in fixed blades (nozzles) and moving blades.
(More detail on text)

Coal Handling
1.

2.

Coal shouldnt be exposed to air It pollutes the air and releases poisonous gases like carbon monoxide The coal from the heaps is moved into the plant by means of long conveyors that are electrically operated There are many different types of conveyors and coal-handling devices like screwing conveyors, bucket elevators, grabbing bucket conveyors etc.

Coal Crusher

Before the coal is sent to the plant it has to be ensured that the coal is of uniform size so it is passed through the crushers Rotary crushers are very commonly used for this purpose as they can provide a continuous flow of coal to the pulverizer

Coal Crusher . . .

Pulverizer

Are used to smash materials into tiny granular. Most commonly used pulverizer is the Boul Mill The arrangement consists of 2 stationary rollers and a power driven baul in which pulverization takes place as the coal passes through the sides of the rollers and the baul

STEAM POWER PLANT LAYOUT

Numerical Examples