Cleaning Up CCTs for reducing emissions from thermal plants (FMoat-based power generation is the Cp Mansy of power generation in © the country, accounting for over 75 per cent of the generation in 2015-16 (provisional). Amidst growing environ- mental concerns, it is essential to put in place checks and balances to limit the harmful emissions from thermal power plants (TPP), including SO:, NOs, mer- cury emissions and particulate matter. Clean coal technologies (CCTs) play a Vital role in curbing emissions from TPPs. As per the International Energy Agency, CCTs include coal upgrading, efficiency improvements at existing power plants, improved combustion technologies and other near-zero emission technologies. Besides, CCTs also lead to more ef combustion of coal Tynes of Cots ‘Some of the popular CCTs are supercriti- cal boilers, fluidised-bed combustion (FBO), oxy-fuel combustion and integrat- ed gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technologies. Besides this, emissions from TPPs can also be reduced through timely renovation and modernisation and the use of add-on devices/processes. ‘Supercritical technology Supercritical boilers operate in high temperature and high pressure condi- tions, resulting in reduced fuel con- sumption as well as lower greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the steam con. itions in the boiler, the technology is categorised into supercritical, advanced supercritical and ultra-supercritical technologies. In addition to the steam conditions, these boilers have other clean air technologies including impro- ved designs of burners, boiler furnaces and steam super-heaters and gas clean- ing systems. Besides, supercritical and ultra-supercritical boilers have a higher capacity than subcritical boilers and, therefore, also lower the number of boil- er units required fora given capacity. ‘The use of supercritical boilers is rapidly Parameter Steam pressure Steam temperature Tutbine heat rate Turbine cyte efficiency Overall plant efcien Coal consumption CO» generation Unit legree colsius Source: BHEL _Sopeont gaining traction in India. Adani Power Limited commissioned the first super- critical plant of the country at the 4,620 MW Mundra TPP in Gujarat. The boilers for the plant were imported from China. Currently, there is a lot of focus on increasing the localisation of supercriti- cal technology in the country. In 2015- 16, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) supplied supercritical boilers to various TPPs in the country, includipg the 1,980 MW Lalitpur super thermal power project and the 1,000 MW Bellary ‘TPP in Karnataka. Further, BHEL has formed a national consortium with NTPC Limited and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research for indige- nous development of 800 MW advanced ultra-supercritical power plants in the country under the National Mission on Clean Coal (Carbon) Technologies. Fac In FBC, coal combustion takes place in a combustion bed created using pres. surised air, With strong airflow, the coal bed becomes highly turbulent and rapid mixing of particles occurs. This results in fluidisation of the coal and the formation of bubbles in a boiling liquid. FBC can be used to burn wide varieties of coal, including low-quality coal and waste coal, as well as biomass and other feed- stock, Further, in this technology there is in-combustion sulphur removal by mix- ing crushed limestone/dolomite along with coal as well as lower NO. production due to low combustion temperatures. Another advantage of FBC is that it can be effectively used for combustion of Emissions and coal consumntion for different steam HSS ECU Ca Ec ULCCRC OL ‘Source: Cleaner Power in india; Towards a Clean-Coal-Techology Roadmap, Ananth P. Chiktatur and Ambuj D. Sagar large pieces of coal, thereby resulting in the saving of coal crushing costs. ‘There are three popular variants of FBC systems ~ bubbling fluidised-bed com- bustion (BFBO), circulating fluidised- bed combustion (CFBC) and pressuri- sed fluidised-bed combustion (PFBC), In BFCP, the airflow into the bed is strong enough for fluidisation but not Jarge enough for a continuous outflow of fine particles. In CFBC, the air is blown into the bed with enough pressure to elutriate fine particles out of the bed. One of the key features of CFBC is that it allows power plants to burn a wide range of coal varieties and other fuels (including biomass waste). Meanwhile, in the PFBC system, combustion takes place under high pressure with the underlying combustion process based on either BFBC or CFBC. ‘The use of CEBC is beginning to increase in the country. In July 2015, Neyveli Lignite Corporation commissioned the 500 MW Thermal Power Station II Ex- pansion Project at Neyveli, the country’s first project of this size deploying CEBC boiler technology. Other technologies Another CCT is IGCC wherein coal and steam are used to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide from coal and Emission cleaned vse Flyash Fly ash, mercury Sulphur ‘Sulphur Sulphur Nitrogen oxides [Nitrogen oxides Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide these are then burned in a gas turbine with a secondary steam turbine (in a combined cycle power plant) to produce electricity. IGCG entails higher capital costs and is yet to gain prominence in the country. Another CCT is oxy-fuel combustion, which entails burning of coal in pure or enriched oxygen to create flue gas composed primarily of carbon dioxide and water. In the absence of nitrogen in the combustion atmosphere, the only pollutant produced is carbon dioxide, which can be captured by amine scrubbing, Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is another technology that aims to manage carbon dioxide emissions from plants. CCS entails separating the carbon diox- ide from flue gas, transporting it to a storage location and injecting it into suitable underground geological forma- tions (such as depleted oil and gas fields, unmineable coal seams and saline water-bearing reservoir rocks). All forms of CCS require careful preparation and monitoring to avoid environmental damage. The technology also requires a large initial investment. ‘Add-on technologies ‘There are some add-on technologies for pollution control that can be deployed along with CCTs. There are three broad categories of add-ons — pre-combustion, Fly ash, sulphur, mercury, carbon dioxide -PouIGoo Pc, FB, ce Ico 2 PG, IGCC, FBC in-combustion and post-combustion. One of the popular pre-combustion emission clean-up technologies is coal ‘washing. Use of washed coal improves plant efficiency and reduces emissions. Taking cognisance of the importance of washed coal for emission reduction, the Ministry of Power has mandated Coal India Limited to supply only crushed and washed coal from all it subs after 2017. Some of the in-combustion pollution control technologies include use of improved burners, use of limestone for sulphur removal in FBC and gasifica- tion, and the use of scrubber technolo- gy filters in smoke stacks. Further, post- combustion clean-up technologies in- clude electrostatic precipitators, flue gas desulphurisers, and selective cat- alytic reducers. To conclude, the success of a particular technology depends on various site-spe- cific factors such as ambient conditions, temperature and availability of the cool- ing water as well as technical factors such as greenfield brownfield plant, size of the plant, fuel properties and load factors. ‘Thus, while it is critical to adopt CCTs to mitigate and improve the efficiency of combustion, it is essential to make a judicious choice of technology for optimum gains. environmental issues