IMPACT OF COAL PROPERTIES ON POWER PLANT

1. General Coal fired power station are very capital intensive ventures. Their capital cost is of the same order as the present worth of coal consumed during the lifetime of the plant. In countries using imported coal such as Japan life cycle fuel cost (present worth) could easily exceed the total capital cost. The capital cost of the plant is greatly affected by the quality of coal and the environmental restriction. A modern coal fired power station consistence of 4x700 MW unit, burning low sulphur coal, presently cost about US$ 1200 per KW to install including engineering and financial charges. A similar plant, burning high sulphur coal, requiring flue gas desulphurization plant (FGD) would typically cost about US$ 1400 per KW. Capital Cost (million US$) 4 x 700 MW coal fired power plant 1. 2. 3. 4. Boiler Plant Coal Handling including Ship Unloading Ash Collection Plant Ash Plant Total Cost of P.P US $ US $ US $ US $ US $ US $ US $ US $ 1100 2000 130 100 3330 620 50 4000

5. Desulphurization Plant 6. Denitrification Plant Total cost with FGD/De-NOX

Operating and maintenance cost amount typically to US $ 28 per KW per year for a plant without FGD and approximately twice as much for a plant with FGD. Large capital savings can be made if high quality coal can be secured for the lifetime of the power plant. 2. Coal properties As naturally occuring material, coal shows a wide range of properties. For the purpose of steam raising almost all coals can be used however different properties will requires the use of different plant designs. In designing or operating equipment it is essential that the mean and probable range of the various coal properties are to be known and allowed for. The coal properties that affect plant are listed on exhibit 7. a. Calorific Value Calorific value indicates the inherent quality of the coal determining the total coal volume to be consumed at the power station for a given energy generation. Calorific value depends on the composition of the coal indicated by the ultimate analysis and adversely affected by the moisture content and ash content. Exhibit 10 compares the boiler furnace sizes for different fuels, gas, oil, coal and brown coal (lignite). It is noted that from these figures lower grade fuels require dramatic increase in size and consequently cost of boiler. Ash Content Ash content has an adverse effect on power station plant and costs. An increase in ash content results in a direct decrease of the calorific value, requiring greater volume to be handled by the coal plant, boiler, electrostatic precipitators (ESP), and ash plant resulting in larger and expensive plant and increases operating and maintenance cost. Ash is responsible for erosion problem in boiler pressure parts and duct, resulting in additional operating and maintenance cost and loss of availability. It has been found that erosion in boiler is proportional velocity to the power of 3.5 (ash % x velocity 3.5). Accordingly, during the design stage of a boiler the gas velocities are selected as a function of the ash content in the design coal range, affecting the boiler cost. Moisture Content Moisture not only affects directly the calorific value of coal but also the efficiency of the boiler due to the fact that the latent heat of water is lost with the flue gas. For 1% increase in moisture efficiency drops by 0.1%. A greater volume of coal is also required

b.

c.

affecting the operating and maintenance costs and for a new plant the capital cost of the coal plant, boiler, dust collecting plant and ash plant. If moisture is above the design range, the drying capacity of pulverizer could be exceeded. d. Volatile Matter The volatile matter is of key element in determining the coals combustibility. Coal which low volatile require long burnout time and ignition support at certain loads. Coal having less than approximately 18% volatile would require special boiler using down shot firing to provide turbulance and longer furnace desidence time. Ultimate Analysis Ultimate analysis provides the elemental composition of the coal and is the basis for determining the combustion air boiler efficiency and gas volume (product of combustion) Sulphur Sulphur content is an extremely important in coal quality in modern power stations for environmental reasons. During combustion, sulphur in coal is converted mainly to sulphur dioxide (SO2) and a small quantity (about 1% ~ 2% of SO2) to sulphur trioxide (SO3). SO3 after combining with water vapor condenses on metal surfaces at low temperature, producing acid corrosion. To avoid such condensation, gas temperature is kept above the acid dew point. Sulphur also has marked effect on fly ash resistivity. Coals low in S are more difficult to collect in electrostatic precipitators to achieve dust emission control limits. Nitrogen During combustion, Nitrogen from the coal and from the air is converted to oxides (NOX). It is noted that more than 90% of NOX is originated from Nitrogen in coal under the furnace temperature lower than 1300oC. In country like Japan the formation of NOX is controlled by low NOX burner (staged combustion) and denitrification plants (de-NOX plant) are installed due to the stringent emission limits. Ash slagging and fouling This issue has already been discussed in different reports.

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COAL PROPERTIES
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Specific Energy Proximate Analysis Ultimate Analysis Ash Analysis Mineral Matter Analysis Ash Fusion Temperatures Grindability Abrasiveness Size Distribution Reactivity Hardness Handleability

Comparison of Furnace Sizes For Different Fuels

Brown Coal Coal Oil

Gas

1.25W

1.10W

1.25D

1.20D