Introduction

PEPCO's Thermal Power Generation is mainly based on generation of power from its Steam Turbo-Generators, Gas
Turbines (simple as well as Combined Cycle Units) installed at different Power Stations located in Sindh, Punjab and
Baluchistan provinces. Indigenous Gas & Coal is the main fuel whereas Furnace oil and HSD are also used as
alternative fuel. .

As per Government of Pakistan policy all thermal power generation has been restructured and four corporatized
companies namely Jamshoro Power Generation Company Limited (GENCO-1) head quarter at Jamshoro district
Dadu near Hyderabad Sindh, Central Power Generation Company Limited (GENCO-2) head quarter at Guddu district
Jacobabad Sindh and Northern Power Generation Company Limited (GENCO-3) head quarters at Muzaffargarh and
Lakhra Power Generation Company Limited (GENCO-IV) at Khanote (Sindh) have been formed and registered.
Functioning of GENCOs has commenced.
Structural formation of all four GENCOs is as under:
JPCL
(GENCO-1)

CPGCL
(GENCO-2)

NPGCL
(GENCO-3)

LPGCL
(GENCO-4)

TPS Jamshoro

TPS Guddu

TPS Muzaffargarh

FBC Lakhraa

GTPS Kotri

TPS Quetta

NGPS Multan
GTPS Faisalabad
SPS Faisalabad
GTPS Shahdara
CGTM W/Shop F/Abad

1.1What is thermal power

A Thermal Power Plant converts the heat energy of coal into electrical energy. Coal is
burnt in a boiler which converts water into steam. The expansion of steam in turbine produces
mechanical power which drives the alternator coupled to the turbine.Thermal Power Plants contribute
maximum to the generation of Power for any country.

. 1 ..

1.1 General layout thermal power plant

1.1 Types of Thermal power

Almost all coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal electric, and waste
incineration plants, as well as many natural gas power plants are thermal. Natural gas is
frequently combusted in gas turbines as well as boilers. The waste heat from a gas turbine can
be used to raise steam, in a combined cycle plant that improves overall efficiency. Power plants
burning coal, fuel oil, or natural gas are often called fossil-fuel power plants. Some biomassfueled thermal power plants have appeared also. Non-nuclear thermal power plants,
particularly fossil-fueled plants, which do not use co-generation, are sometimes referred to
as conventional power plants.
Commercial electric utility power stations are usually constructed on a large scale and designed
for continuous operation. Electric power plants typically use phase electrical to produce
alternating current (AC) electric power at a frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz. Large companies or
institutions may have their own power plants to supply heating or electricity to their facilities,
especially if steam is created anyway for other purposes. Steam-driven power plants have been
used in various large ships, but are now usually used in large naval ships. Shipboard power
plants usually directly couple the turbine to the ship's propellers through gearboxes. Power
plants in such ships also provide steam to smaller turbines driving electric generators to supply
electricity. Shipboard steam power plants can be either fossil fuel or nuclear.

Nuclear marine propulsion is, with few exceptions, used only in naval vessels. There have been
perhaps about a dozen turbo-electric ships in which a steam-driven turbine drives an electric
generator which powers an electric motor for propulsion.
Combined heat and power plants (CH&P plants), often called co-generation plants, produce
both electric power and heat for process heat or space heating. Steam and hot water lose
energy when piped over substantial distance, so carrying heat energy by steam or hot water is
often only worthwhile within a local area, such as a ship, industrial plant, or district heating of
nearby buildings.

1.2 Advantage of thermal power Plant

The fuel used is quite cheap.

Less initial cost as compared to other generating plants.

It can be installed at any place irrespective of the existence of coal. The coal can be
transported to the site of the plant by rail or road.
It require less space as compared to Hydro power plants.
Cost of generation is less than that of diesel power plants

1.3 Disadvantage of thermal power plant

It pollutes the atmosphere due to production of large amount of smoke and fumes.
It is costlier in running cost as compared to Hydro electric plants.

2. Components of thermal power plant

Main parts of the plant are
1.Stoker
3.Boiler
5. Air preheater
7. Smoke stack
9. Condenser
11. Cooling towers

2. Pulverizer
4. Coal ash
6. Electrostatic precipitator
8. Turbine
10. Transformers
12. Generator 13. High - voltage
ge power lines

2.1 Stoker
The coal which is brought near by boiler has to put in boiler furnace for combustion.
This stoker is a mechanical device for feeding coal to a furnace.

2.2 Pulverizer
The coal is put in the boiler after pulverization. For this pulverizer is used. A
pulverizer is a device for grinding coal for combustion in a furnace in a power plant.

Types of Pulverizers
Ball and Tube Mill
Ball mill is a pulverizer that consists of a horizontal rotating cylinder, up to three diameters
in length, containing a charge of tumbling or cascading steel balls, pebbles, or rods.
Tube mill is a revolving cylinder of up to five diameters in length use
used
d for fine pulverization
of ore, rock, and other such materials; the material, mixed with water, is fed into the
chamber from one end, and passes out the other end as slime.

Ring and Ball

This type consists of two rings separated by a series of large bal

balls.
ls. The lower ring rotates,
while the upper ring presses down on the balls via a set of spring and adjuster assemblies.
Coal is introduced into the center or side of the pulverizer (depending on the design) and is
ground as the lower ring rotates causing tthe
he balls to orbit between the upper and lower
rings. The coal is carried out of the mill by the flow of air moving through it. The size of the
coal particles released from the grinding section of the mill is determined by a classifier
separator. These mills
s are typically

2.3 Boiler
Now that pulverized coal is put in boiler furnance.Boiler is an enclosed vessel in which
water is heated and circulated until the water is turned in to steam at the required pressure.
Coal is burned inside the combustion chamber of boiler.The products of combustion are
nothing but gases.These gases which are at high temperature vaporize the water inside the
boiler to steam.Some times this steam is further heated in a superheateras
as higher
highe the
steam pressure and temperature the greater efficiency the engine will have in converting
the heat in steam in to mechanical work. This steam at high pressure and tempeture is used
directly as a heating medium, or as the working fluid in a prime mover to convert thermal
energy to mechanical work, which in turn may be converted to electrical energy. Although
other fluids are sometimes used for these purposes, water is by far the most common
because of its economy and suitable thermodynamic characteristi
characteristics.
Classification of Boilers

Bolilers are classified as

Fire tube boilers : In fire tube boilers hot gases are passed through the tubes and water
surrounds these tubes. These are simple,compact and rugged in construction.Depending on
whether the tubes
s are vertical or horizontal these are further classified as vertical and
horizontal tube boilers.In this since the water volume is more,circulation will be poor.So
they can't meet quickly the changes in steam demand.High pressures of steam are not
possible,maximum
e,maximum pressure that can be attained is about 17.5kg/sq cm.Due to large
quantity of water in the drain it requires more time for steam raising.The steam attained is
generally wet,economical for low pressures.The outut of the boiler is also limited.

Water tube boilers : In these boilers water is inside the tubes and hot gases are outside the

tubes.They consists of drums and

tubes.They may contain
any number of drums (you can see 2 drums in fig).Feed water enters the boiler to one drum
(here it is drum below
elow the boiler).This water circulates through the tubes connected external
to drums.Hot gases which surrounds these tubes wil convert the water in tubes in to
steam.This steam is passed through tubes and collected at the top of the drum since it is of
light
ht weight.So the drums store steam and water (upper drum).The entire steam is collected
in one drum and it is taken out from there (see in laout fig).As the movement of water in
the water tubes is high, so rate of heat transfer also becomes high resulting in greater
efficiency.They produce high pressure , easily accessible and can respond quickly to
changes in steam demand.These are also classified as vertical,horizontal and inclined tube
depending on the arrangement of the tubes.These are of less weight an
and
d less liable to
explosion.Large heating surfaces can be obtained by use of large number of tubes.We can
attain pressure as high as 125 kg/sq cm and temperatures from 315 to 575 centigrade.
Superheater : Most of the modern boliers are having superheater and reheater
arrangement. Superheater is a component of a steam
steam-generating
generating unit in which steam, after
it has left the boiler drum, is heated above its saturation temperature. The amount of
superheat added to
o the steam is influenced by the location, arrangement, and amount of
superheater surface installed, as well as the rating of the boiler. The superheater may
consist of one or more stages of tube banks arranged to effectively transfer heat from the
products
s of combustion.Superheaters are classified as convection , radiant or combination of
these.
Reheater : Some of the heat of superheated steam is used to rotate the turbine where it
loses some of its energy.Reheater is also steam boiler component in which heat is added to
this intermediate-pressure
pressure steam, which has given up some of its energy in expansion
through the high-pressure
pressure turbine. The steam after reheating is used to rotate the second
steam turbine (see Layout fig) where the heat is converted to m
mechanical
echanical energy.This
mechanical energy is used to run the alternator, which is coupled to turbine , there by
generating elecrical energy.

Condenser : Steam after rotating staem turbine comes to condenser.Condenser refers here
to the shell and tube heat exchanger (or surface condenser) installed at the outlet of every
steam turbine in Thermal power stations of utility companies generally. These condensers
are heat exchangers which convert steam from its gaseous to its liquid state, also known as
phase transition. In so doing, the latent heat of steam is given out inside the condenser.
Where water is in short supply an air cooled condenser is often used. An air cooled
condenser is however significantly more expensive and cannot achieve as low a steam
turbine backpressure (and therefore less efficient) as a surface condenser.
The purpose is to condense the outlet (or exhaust) steam from steam turbine to obtain
maximum efficiency and also to get the condensed steam in the form of pure water,
otherwise known as condensate, back to steam generator or (boiler) as boiler feed water.
Why it is required ?
The steam turbine itself is a device to convert the heat in steam to mechanical power. The
difference between the heat of steam per unit weight at the inlet to turbine and the heat of
steam per unit weight at the outlet to turbine represents the heat given out (or heat drop)
in the steam turbine which is converted to mechanical power. The heat drop per unit weight
of steam is also measured by the word enthalpy drop. Therefore the more the conversion of
heat per pound (or kilogram) of steam to mechanical power in the turbine, the better is its
performance or otherwise known as efficiency. By condensing the exhaust steam of turbine,
the exhaust pressure is brought down below atmospheric pressure from above atmospheric
pressure, increasing the steam pressure drop between inlet and exhaust of steam turbine.
This further reduction in exhaust pressure gives out more heat per unit weight of steam
input to the steam turbine, for conversion to mechanical power. Most of the heat liberated
due to condensing, i.e., latent heat of steam, is carried away by the cooling medium. (water
inside tubes in a surface condenser, or droplets in a spray condenser (Heller system) or air
around tubes in an air-cooled condenser).
Condensers are classified as (i) Jet condensers or contact condensers (ii) Surface
condensers.
In jet condensers the steam to be condensed mixes with the cooling water and the
temperature of the condensate and the cooling water is same when leaving the condenser;
and the condensate can't be recovered for use as feed water to the boiler; heat transfer is
by direct conduction.
In surface condensers there is no direct contact between the steam to be condensed and
the circulating cooling water. There is a wall interposed between them through heat must be
convectively transferred.The temperature of the condensate may be higher than the
temperature of the cooling water at outlet and the condnsate is recovered as feed water to
the boiler.Both the cooling water and the condensate are separetely with drawn.Because of
this advantage surface condensers are used in thermal power plants.Final output of
condenser is water at low temperature is passed to high pressure feed water heater,it is
heated and again passed as feed water to the boiler.Since we are passing water at high
temperature as feed water the temperature inside the boiler does not dcrease and boiler
efficincy also maintained.
Cooling Towers :The condensate (water) formed in the condeser after condensation is
initially at high temperature.This hot water is passed to cooling towers.It is a tower- or
building-like device in which atmospheric air (the heat receiver) circulates in direct or
indirect contact with warmer water (the heat source) and the water is thereby cooled (see
illustration). A cooling tower may serve as the heat sink in a conventional thermodynamic

process, such as refrigeration or steam power generation, and when it is convenient or

desirable to make final heat rejection to atmospheric air. Water, acting as the heat-transfer
fluid, gives up heat to atmospheric air, and thus cooled, is recalculated through the system,
affording economical operation of the process.
Two basic types of cooling towers are commonly used. One transfers the heat from warmer
water to cooler air mainly by an evaporation heat-transfer process and is known as
theevaporative or wet cooling tower.

Evaporative cooling towers are classified according to the means employed for producing air
circulation through them:atmospheric, natural draft, and mechanical draft. The other
transfers the heat from warmer water to cooler air by a sensible heat-transfer process and
is known as the no evaporative or dry cooling tower.
No evaporative cooling towers are classified as air-cooled condensers and as air-cooled heat
exchangers, and are further classified by the means used for producing air circulation
through them. These two basic types are sometimes combined, with the two cooling
processes generally used in parallel or separately, and are then known as wet-dry cooling
towers.
Evaluation of cooling tower performance is based on cooling of a specified quantity of water
through a given range and to a specified temperature approach to the wet-bulb or dry-bulb
temperature for which the tower is designed. Because exact design conditions are rarely
experienced in operation, estimated performance curves are frequently prepared for a
specific installation, and provide a means for comparing the measured performance with
design conditions.
Economiser : Flue gases coming out of the boiler carry lot of heat. Function of economizer
is to recover some of the heat from the heat carried away in the flue gases up the chimney
and utilize for heating the feed water to the boiler. It is placed in the passage of flue gases
in between the exit from the boiler and the entry to the chimney. The use of economizer
results in saving in coal consumption , increase in steaming rate and high boiler efficiency
but needs extra investment and increase in maintenance costs and floor area required for
the plant. This is used in all modern plants. In this a large number of small diameter thin
walled tubes are placed between two headers. Feed water enters the tube through one
header and leaves through the other. The flue gases flow out side the tubes usually in
counter flow.

2.4 Air preheater

The remaining heat of flue gases is utilised by air preheater.It is a device used in steam
boilers to transfer heat from the flue gases to the combustion air before the air enters the

furnace. Also known as air heater; air-heating system. It is not shown in the lay out.But it is
kept at a place near by where the air enters in to the boiler.
The purpose of the air preheater is to recover the heat from the flue gas from the boiler to
improve boiler efficiency by burning warm air which increases combustion efficiency, and
reducing useful heat lost from the flue. As a consequence, the gases are also sent to the
chimney or stack at a lower temperature, allowing simplified design of the ducting and
stack. It also allows control over the temperature of gases leaving the stack (to meet
emissions regulations, for example).After extracting heat flue gases are passed to
electrostatic precipitator.

2.5 Electrostatic precipitator

It is a device which removes dust or other finely divided particles from flue gases
by charging the particles inductively with an electric field, then attracting them to highly
charged collector plates. Also known as precipitator. The process depends on two steps. In
the first step the suspension passes through an electric discharge (corona discharge) area
where ionization of the gas occurs. The ions produced collide with the suspended particles
and confer on them an electric charge. The charged particles drift toward an electrode of
opposite sign and are deposited on the electrode where their electric charge is neutralized.
The phenomenon would be more correctly designated as electrode position from the gas
phase.
The use of electrostatic precipitators has become common in numerous industrial
applications. Among the advantages of the electrostatic precipitator are its ability to handle
large volumes of gas, at elevated temperatures if necessary, with a reasonably small
pressure drop, and the removal of particles in the micrometer range. Some of the usual
applications are: (1) removal of dirt from flue gases in steam plants; (2) cleaning of air to
remove fungi and bacteria in establishments producing antibiotics and other drugs, and in
operating rooms; (3) cleaning of air in ventilation and air conditioning systems; (4) removal
of oil mists in machine shops and acid mists in chemical process plants; (5) cleaning of blast
furnace gases; (6) recovery of valuable materials such as oxides of copper, lead, and tin;
and (7) separation of rutile from zirconium sand.

2.6 Smoke stack

A chimney is a system for venting hot flue gasesor smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or
fireplace to the outsideatmosphere. They are typically almost vertical to ensure that the hot
gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion through the chimney effect (also known
as the stack effect). The space inside a chimney is called a flue. Chimneys may be found in
buildings, steam locomotives and ships. In the US, the termsmokestack (colloquially, stack) is
also used when referring to locomotive chimneys. The term funnel is generally used for ship
chimneys and sometimes used to refer to locomotive chimneys.Chimneys are tall to increase
their draw of air for combustion and to disperse pollutants in the flue gases over a greater area
so as to reduce the pollutant concentrations in compliance with regulatory or other limits .

2.7 Turbine
A steam turbine is a device that extracts thermal energy from
pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft.
Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884.
Because the turbine generates rotary motion,, it is particularly suited to be used to
drive an electrical generator about 90% of all electricity generation in the United
States (1996) is by use of steam turbines. The steam turbine is a form of heat
engine that derives much of its improvement in thermodynamic efficiency from
the use of multiple stages in the expansion of the steam, which results in a closer
approach to the ideal reversible expansion process.

Types
Steam turbines are made in a variety of sizes ranging from small <0.75 kW (<1 hp) units (rare) used
as mechanical drives for pumps, compressors and other shaft driven equipment, to 1 500 000 kW
(1.5 GW; 2 000 000 hp) turbines used to generate electricity. There are several classifications for
modern steam turbines.

Blade and stage design

Schematic diagram outlining the difference between an impulse and a 50% reaction turbine

Turbine blades are of two basic types, blades and nozzles. Blades move entirely due to the impact
of steam on them and their profiles do not converge. This results in a steam velocity drop and
essentially no pressure drop as steam moves through the blades. A turbine composed of blades
alternating
ng with fixed nozzles is called an impulse turbine, Curtis turbine, Rateau turbine,
turbine or Brown-

Curtis turbine. Nozzles appear similar to blades, but their profiles converge near the exit. This results
in a steam pressure drop and velocity increase as steam moves through the nozzles. Nozzles move
due to both the impact of steam on them and the reaction due to the high-velocity steam at the exit.
A turbine composed of moving nozzles alternating with fixed nozzles is called a reaction
turbine or Parsons turbine.
Except for low-power applications, turbine blades are arranged in multiple stages in series,
called compounding, which greatly improves efficiency at low speeds.] A reaction stage is a row of
fixed nozzles followed by a row of moving nozzles. Multiple reaction stages divide the pressure drop
between the steam inlet and exhaust into numerous small drops, resulting in a pressurecompounded turbine. Impulse stages may be either pressure-compounded, velocity-compounded,
or pressure-velocity compounded. A pressure-compounded impulse stage is a row of fixed nozzles
followed by a row of moving blades, with multiple stages for compounding. This is also known as a
Rateau turbine, after its inventor. A velocity-compounded impulse stage (invented by Curtis and
also called a "Curtis wheel") is a row of fixed nozzles followed by two or more rows of moving blades
alternating with rows of fixed blades. This divides the velocity drop across the stage into several
smaller drops.A series of velocity-compounded impulse stages is called a pressure-velocity
compounded turbine.

Diagram of an AEG marine steam turbine circa 1905

By 1905, when steam turbines were coming into use on fast ships (such as HMS Dreadnought) and
in land-based power applications, it had been determined that it was desirable to use one or more
Curtis wheels at the beginning of a multi-stage turbine (where the steam pressure is highest),
followed by reaction stages. This was more efficient with high-pressure steam due to reduced
leakage between the turbine rotor and the casing.[13] This is illustrated in the drawing of the German
1905 AEG marine steam turbine. The steam from the boilers enters from the right at high pressure
through a throttle, controlled manually by an operator (in this case a sailor known as the
throttleman). It passes through five Curtis wheels and numerous reaction stages (the small blades at
the edges of the two large rotors in the middle) before exiting at low pressure, almost certainly to
a condenser. The condenser provides a vacuum that maximizes the energy extracted from the
steam, and condenses the steam into feedwater to be returned to the boilers. On the left are several
additional reaction stages (on two large rotors) that rotate the turbine in reverse for astern operation,

with steam admitted by a separate throttle. Since ships are rarely operated in reverse, efficiency is
not a priority in astern turbines, so only a few stages are used to save cost.

Blade Design Challenges[edit]

A major challenge facing turbine design is reducing the creep experienced by the blades. Because
of the high temperatures and high stresses of operation, steam turbine materials become damaged
through these mechanisms. As temperatures are increased in an effort to improve turbine efficiency,
creep becomes more significant. To limit creep, thermal coatings and superalloys with solid-solution
strengthening and grain boundary strengthening are used in blade designs.
Protective coatings are used in to reduce the thermal damage and to limit oxidation. These coatings
are often stabilized zirconium oxide-based ceramics. Using a thermal protective coating limits the
temperature exposure of the nickel superalloy. This reduces the creep mechanisms experienced in
the blade. Oxidation coatings limit efficiency losses caused by a buildup on the outside of the blades,
which is especially important in the high-temperature environment.[14]
The nickel-based blades are alloyed with aluminum and titanium to improve strength and creep
resistance. The microstructure of these alloys is composed of different regions of composition. A
uniform dispersion of the gamma-prime phase a combination of nickel, aluminum, and titanium
promotes the strength and creep resistance of the blade due to the microstructure.[15]
Refractory elements such as rhenium and ruthenium can be added to the alloy to improve creep
strength. The addition of these elements reduces the diffusion of the gamma prime phase, thus
preserving the fatigue resistance, strength, and creep resistance.[16]

Steam supply and exhaust conditions[edit]

A low-pressure steam turbine working below atmospheric pressure in a nuclear power plant

These types include condensing, non-condensing, reheat, extraction and induction.

Condensing turbines are most commonly found in electrical power plants. These turbines exhaust
steam from a boiler in a partially condensed state, typically of a quality near 90%, at a pressure well
below atmospheric to a condenser.
Non-condensing or back pressure turbines are most widely used for process steam applications.
The exhaust pressure is controlled by a regulating valve to suit the needs of the process steam

pressure. These are commonly found at refineries, district heating units, pulp and paper plants,
and desalination facilities where large amounts of low pressure process steam are needed.
Reheat turbines are also used almost exclusively in electrical power plants. In a reheat turbine,
steam flow exits from a high pressure section of the turbine and is returned to the boiler where
additional superheat is added. The steam then goes back into an intermediate pressure section of
the turbine and continues its expansion. Using reheat in a cycle increases the work output from the
turbine and also the expansion reaches conclusion before the steam condenses, there by minimizing
the erosion of the blades in last rows. In most of the cases, maximum number of reheats employed
in a cycle is 2 as the cost of super-heating the steam negates the increase in the work output from
turbine.
Extracting type turbines are common in all applications. In an extracting type turbine, steam is
released from various stages of the turbine, and used for industrial process needs or sent to
boiler feedwater heaters to improve overall cycle efficiency. Extraction flows may be controlled with a
valve, or left uncontrolled.
Induction turbines introduce low pressure steam at an intermediate stage to produce additional
power.

Casing or shaft arrangements[edit]

These arrangements include single casing, tandem compound and cross compound turbines. Single
casing units are the most basic style where a single casing and shaft are coupled to a generator.
Tandem compound are used where two or more casings are directly coupled together to drive a
single generator. A cross compound turbine arrangement features two or more shafts not in line
driving two or more generators that often operate at different speeds. A cross compound turbine is
typically used for many large applications.

Two-flow rotors[edit]

A two-flow turbine rotor. The steam enters in the middle of the shaft, and exits at each end, balancing the axial
force.

The moving steam imparts both a tangential and axial thrust on the turbine shaft, but the axial thrust
in a simple turbine is unopposed. To maintain the correct rotor position and balancing, this force
must be counteracted by an opposing force. Thrust bearings can be used for the shaft bearings, the

rotor can use dummy pistons, it can be double flow- the steam enters in the middle of the shaft and
exits at both ends, or a combination of any of these. In a double flow rotor, the blades in each half
face opposite ways, so that the axial forces negate each other but the tangential forces act together.
This design of rotor is also called two-flow, double-axial-flow, or double-exhaust. This
arrangement is common in low-pressure casings of a compound turbine.

2.8 Generator
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to
alternating current electrical energy. Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field.
Different geometries - such as a linear alternator for use with stirling engines - are also
occasionally used. In principle, any AC generator can be called an alternator, but usually the
word refers to small rotating machines driven by automotive and other internal combustion
engines.
2.9 Transformers
It is a device that transfers electric energy from one alternating-current circuit to one
or more other circuits, either increasing (stepping up) or reducing (stepping down) the
voltage. Uses for transformers include reducing the line voltage to operate low-voltage
devices (doorbells or toy electric trains) and raising the voltage from electric generators so
that electric power can be transmitted over long distances. Transformers act through
electromagnetic induction; current in the primary coil induces current in the secondary coil.
The secondary voltage is calculated by multiplying the primary voltage by the ratio of the
number of turns in the secondary coil to that in the primary.

2 Operation of thermal power plant

Thermal power generation plant or thermal power station is the most
conventional source of electric power. Thermal power plant is also referred as
coal thermal power plant and steam turbine power plant. Before going into
detail of this topic, we will try to understand the line diagram of electric power
generation plant.

Theory of Thermal Power Station

The theory of thermal power station or working of thermal power station is

very simple. A power generation plant mainly consists of alternator runs with
help of steam turbine. The steam is obtained from high pressure boilers.
Generally in India, bituminous coal, brown coal and peat are used as fuel of
boiler. The bituminous coal is used as boiler fuel has volatile matter from 8 to 33
% and ash content 5 to 16 %. To increase the thermal efficiency, the coal is used
in the boiler in powder form.
In coal thermal power plant, the steam is produced in high pressure in the steam
boiler due to burning of fuel (pulverized coal) in boiler furnaces. This steam is
further supper heated in a super heater. This supper heated steam then enters
into the turbine and rotates the turbine blades. The turbine is mechanically so
coupled with alternator that its rotor will rotate with the rotation of turbine
blades. After entering in turbine the steam pressure suddenly falls and
corresponding volume of the steam increases. After imparting energy to the
turbine rotor the steam passes out of the turbine blades into the condenser. In
the condenser the cold water is circulated with the help of pump which
condenses the low pressure wet steam. This condensed water is further supplied
to low pressure water heater where the low pressure steam increases the
temperature of this feed water, it is again heated in high pressure.

For better understanding we furnish every step of function of a

thermal power station as follows
1) First the pulverized coal is burnt into the furnace of steam boiler.
2) High pressure steam is produced in the boiler.
3) This steam is then passed through the super heater, where it further heated up.
4) This supper heated steam is then entered into a turbine at high speed.

5) In turbine this steam force rotates the turbine blades that means here in the
turbine the stored potential energy of the high pressured steam is converted
into mechanical energy.
6) Line Diagram of Power Plant

7)After rotating the turbine blades, the steam has lost its high pressure, passes out
of turbine blades and enters into a condenser.
8) In the condenser the cold water is circulated with help of pump which
condenses the low pressure wet steam.
9) This condensed water is then further supplied to low pressure water heater
where the low pressure steam increases the temperature of this feed water, it is then
again heated in a high pressure heater where the high pressure of steam is used for
heating.
10) The turbine in thermal power station acts as a prime mover of the alternator.

Plant

A typical Thermal Power Station Operates on a Cycle which is shown below.

The working fluid is water and steam. This is called feed water and steam cycle. The
ideal Thermodynamic Cycle to which the operation of a Thermal Power Station
closely resembles is the RANKINE CYCLE.
In steam boiler the water is heated up by burning the fuel in air in the furnace & the
function of the boiler is to give dry super heated steam at required temperature.
The steam so produced is used in driving the steam Turbines. This turbine is coupled
to synchronous generator (usually three phase synchronous alternator), which
generates electrical energy.
The exhaust steam from the turbine is allowed to condense into water in steam
condenser of turbine, which creates suction at very low pressure and allows the
expansion of the steam in the turbine to a very low pressure. The principle advantages
of condensing operation are the increased amount of energy extracted per kg of steam
and thereby increasing efficiency and the condensate which is fed into the boiler again
reduces the amount of fresh feed water.
The condensate along with some fresh make up feed water is again fed into the boiler
by pump (called the boiler feed pump).
In condenser the steam is condensed by cooling water. Cooling water recycles through
cooling tower. This constitutes cooling water circuit.
The ambient air is allowed to enter in the boiler after dust filtration. Also the flue gas
comes out of the boiler and exhausted into atmosphere through stacks. These
constitute air and flue gas circuit. The flow of air and also the static pressure inside
the steam boiler (called draught) is maintained by two fans called Forced Draught
(FD) fan and Induced Draught(ID) fan.
The total scheme of a typical thermal power station along with different circuits is
illustrated below.

Inside the
boiler there are various heat exchangers, viz. Economiser, Evaporator (not
shown in the fig above, it is basically the water tubes, i.e. downcomer riser circuit),
Super Heater (sometimes Reheater, air preheater are also present).
In Economiser the feed water is heated to considerable amount by the remaining heat
of flue gas.
The Boiler Drum actually maintains a head for natural circulation of two phase
mixture (steam + water) through the water tubes.
There is also Super Heater which also takes heat from flue gas and raises the
temperature of steam as per requireme

..The End.