Volume 1, Issue 2, 2007 Performance Analysis of Primary Air Heater Under Particulate Condition in Lignite-Fired Power Plant Pipat

Juangjandee, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, Thailand, E-mail: pipat.ju@hotmail.com Thawan Sucharitakul, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, Thailand, E-mail: thawan@dome.eng .cmu.ac.th Abstract This research paper studies the performance of cross-flow heat exchanger, known as the primary air heater in a 300 MW lignite-fired power plant under particulat e, no leakage, and leakage conditions. Normally, this equipment exchanges heat b etween the hot flue gas and the inlet combustion air which operates under a high content of fly ash. Testing was executed with the full American society of mech anical engineers, performance test code no. 4.3 field test (ASME PTC 4.3) to pro vide final verification of performance. The leakage values of selected primary a ir heater were 6.31, 7.37, and 7.65 % when the power plant was run at the manufa cturer guaranteed turbine generator capacity of 100, 80, and 60 % respectively. Under these conditions, the gas side efficiency of the selected primary air heat er was found to be at the low level of 66.83, 65.44, and 62.12 % and X-ratios we re 0.92, 0.88, and 0.79 respectively. The air heater leakage and particulate mat ter have an effect on the performance of primary air heaters and would tend to p oor efficiency. Figure 1 Mae Moh lignite-fired power plant. Introduction A primary air heater is a tubular air heater which is arranged in the form of cr oss-flow heat exchanger. Many primary air heaters are used in coal-fired power p lants. These air heaters are used in Mae Moh lignite-fired power plant (figure 1 ) which is located in northern Thailand. The cross-flow air heater is very popul ar due to its low cost and ease of cleaning, operating and maintaining. Normally , the heat exchanger (known as the primary air heater) is recovered heat from th e high temperature flue gas to warm up the combustion air to ensure the coal is dried before transporting to the furnace. This heat exchanger is operated under high particulate conditions where fly ash from the combustion process tends to d ecrease its performance. Unfortunately, there is lack of data about the performa nce decreasing due to this condition. The objective of this research work is to investigate the performance of primary air heaters at Mae Moh lignite-fired powe r plant under these leakage and high particulate conditions. 11 Performance Data In this work, the primary air heaters of Mae Moh lignite-fired power plant (300 MW units) units no.10 and 12, were selected for investigation. Units 10 and 12 w ere selected because other units had scheduled maintenance planned. The tested d ata were recorded every 10 minutes for 8 hours, during which power plant generat ion was kept at 100, 80, and 60 % of turbine generator capacity respectively (30 0, 240, and 180 MW) while operated with lignite fuel. Each primary air heater co nsists of three assemblies in series. Each assembly has 1540 horizontally laid t ubes. Each tube has an external diameter of 76.2 mm. Plain tubes are used for th ese air heaters. Air from the primary air fan enters the lowest assembly and tra vels through the tubes. The air then moves into the air chamber where it reverse s direction and travels through the second assembly which is positioned vertical ly above the first. While in each assembly, air completes the four passes across the tube banks, exiting at the top assembly to be directed to the bowl mills. T he gas side of air heaters is a vertical gas tight duct with flue gas entering a t the top of and exiting at the bottom. The in-line tube arrangements and dimens ions of cross-flow heat exchanger named primary air heater are shown in figure 2 and table 1 respectively. Figure 2 In-line tube arrangements of primary air heater. Table 1 Dimension of tested primary air heater.

Type Cross flow, 1 flue gas pass, and 3 assemblies number of tubes 1,540 number of tube rows 28 tube arrangement Inline transverse tube pitch 1.3386 Do longitudinal tube pitch 1.3386 Do tube outside diameter 0.0762 m tube thickness 0.0042 m tube length 9.017 m/assembly The schematic diagram of Mae Moh lignite-fired power plant, lignite analysis (as received), and the fly ash chemical composition are shown in figure 3, table 2 and 3 respectively. Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of Mae Moh lignite-fired power plant. The lig nite-fired units produce electricity by burning lignite in a boiler to heat wate r to produce steam. The steam, at tremendous pressure, flows into a turbine, whi ch spins a generator to produce electricity. The steam is cooled, condensed back into water, and returned to the boiler to start the process once more. The basi c principles of the operation of a thermal power plant involve the conversion of heat from fuel combustion into mechanical energy and electricity respectively. The process can be described by the following stages: Stage 1: First the fuel is burned in the boiler furnace to heat water in the boi ler into steam. In order to make full use of the heat produced by the fuel, befo re entering the boiler, the water is preheated at the economizer using remnant h eat from the exhaust gases emitted through the stack. Also, the water must pass a demineralization process where mineral salts and gases are removed to prevent the boiler structure from corrosion. Stage 2: The superheated, high pressured steam in the boiler is piped to the ste am turbine and rotates the turbine at a fixed revolution speed. The power of the turbine is greatly related with the volume and 22 temperature of the inlet steam and outlet steam. The greater the different in te mperatures between the inlet and outlet steam, the more efficient the turbine is . After performing its work of driving the turbine, the exhaust steam from a low pressured turbine is passed into a condenser where the hot steam is condensed i nto water to be reused in the boiler. Stage 3: When the high pressured steam drives the turbine, the turbine shaft whi ch connects directly with the generator will also spin the generator, thus produ cing electricity. The voltage of the generated electricity will be stepped up at the transformer and switchyard and then transmitted to the power system for fur ther distribution to customers. Figure 3 Schematic diagram of Mae Moh lignite-fired power plant. Table 2 Lignite analysis (as received). Categories Values Load (MW) 300 240 180 Content of carbon (kg/kg) 0.2958 0.3015

0.3127 Content of hydrogen (kg/kg) 0.0189 0.0187 0.0212 content of oxygen (kg/kg) 0.0758 0.0824 0.0563 Content of nitrogen (kg/kg) 0.0106 0.0113 0.0117 Content of sulphur (kg/kg) 0.0266 0.0246 0.0243 Content of ash (kg/kg) 0.2734 0.2416 0.2529 Content of moisture (kg/kg) 0.2990 0.3200 0.3210 HHV (kJ/kg) 11,174.57 11,806.78 12,367.81 LHV (kJ/kg) 9,972.96 10,571.67 11,128.51 33 Table 3 Fly ash chemical composition. Categories Values (%) Na2O 1.46 MgO 3.41 Al2O3 17.86 SiO2 31.48 P2O5 0.19 SO3 3.05 K2O 2.44 CaO 21.13 TiO2 0.36 MnO2 0.15 Fe2O3 18.47 Data Reduction In this experiment, hot gas flowing outside the tube bank transfers heat to the

inside tube air and the heat transfer rate () can be calculated as equation (1) and (2), [2, 3]. Q& )(,aiaoapaTTcmQ=&& (1) )(,gogigpgTTcmQ=&& (2) The heat transfer rate can be calculated in the form of log mean temperature dif ference method as equation (3), [2, 3]. lmTUAFQ=& (3) The overall heat transfer coefficient area of the heat exchanger can be evaluate d in the term of thermal resistance as equation (4), [3]. ()iitioooAhLkDDAhUA12/ ln11++= (4) The tube side heat transfer coefficient can be estimated by Dittus-Boelter equat ion, [3], in the term of Nusselt number as equation (5). n8.0DiPrRe023.0Nu= (5) Note that Nusselt number, Reynolds number and Prandtl number in this work are de fined as equation (6), (7), and (8) respectively. aiikDhNu= (6) iaiDDm&4Re,= (7) a aapkc,Pr= (8) 44 For the flue gas side, Zhukauskass equation, [3], is adapted for evaluating the h eat transfer coefficient, . This equation is the functions of Reynolds number an d Prandtl number as equation (9). oh 36.063.0,PrRe27.0oDofoDkh= (9) The flue gas side Reynolds number is defined as equation (10). fomaxfo,DDVRe= (10) where VDSSVoTT=max (11) The approximation of percentage of air leakage, , may be obtained as equation (1 2). aL 90,2,2,2=gogogiaCOCOCOL (12) The factor, 90, is proposed by [1], will result in percentage leakage figures th at are very close to leakage determined on a weight basis. Calculated gas temperature outlet of air heater for no leakage, , [1], can be de fined as equation (13). NLgoT, gogpaigoapaNLgoTcTTcLT+=,,,100)( (13) X-ratio, () is the ratio of heat capacity of the air passing through the air hea ter to the heat capacity of gas passing through the air heater, [1], can be calc ulated as equation (14). XR aiaoNLgogigpgapaTTTTcmcmXR==,,,&& (14) Gas side efficiency, g is the ratio of gas temperature drop, corrected for no air leakage, to temperature head, [1] as equation (15). Temperature head is the gas inlet temperature minus air inlet temperature. 100,=aigiNLgogigTTTT (15) Results and discussion Primary air heaters of a 300 MW lignite-fired power plant were tested under part iculate conditions of fly ash. The percentage values of fly ash in flue gas were approximately 2.31 2.74%. The test results are displayed as follows. 55 Lignite-fired power plant05010015020025030035040012345678Time (h)Load (MW), Coal flow (t/h), Air flow (kg/s)LoadCoal flowAir flow Figure 4 Power plant load, coal flow, and air flow. Figure 4 shows the power plant load when operated at 300 MW. Coal flow and total air flow were closely related with power plant load. Lignite-fired power plant0 5010015020025030035012345678Time (h)Power plant generation (MW)05101520253035Hea t transfer (MW)Power plant generationPAH Figure 5 Power plant generation and heat transfer through primary air heater. Figure 5 shows the relationship between power plant generation and heat transfer through primary air heater. It was found that heat transfer through the primary air heater was virtually parallel with power plant generation. Lignite-Fired po wer plant,at 300 MW generation0.0020.0040.0060.0080.00100.00120.00140.00160.0012 345678Time (h)Convection coefficient (W/m2 K)CorrelationExperiment Figure 6 Convective heat transfer coefficient at flue gas side of primary air he ater Figure 6 shows the heat transfer coefficient from the experiment when power plan t generation was at 300 MW, It was found that the heat transfer coefficient aver age from correlation and experiment were 130.59 and 82.24 W/m2 K respectively. B oth lines being nearly constant. The experimental line was lower than the 66 values calculated from Zhukauskass equation by approximately 37.02 %. This result

may come from the effect of particulate matter (fly ash). Actually, Zhukauskass equation was selected for calculating the sizing of heat exchanger. However, thi s correlation agrees well with clean air conditions. Therefore, the application of this equation for evaluating the sizing of heat exchanger operated under high particulate condition, may have some error. To avoid the miscalculation, the ne w correlation is proposed for evaluating the convective heat transfer coefficien t of the primary air heater. Equation (16) shows the detail of this correlation which works well if applying for this primary air heater where 0.0445<<0.0451, 5 1000 << 53500, and 0.681 < kDRePr< 0.686. ()7497.87745.079764.0PrRe3318.0DDkh= (16) 70 58085907075808590h experiment (W/m2 K)h correlation (W/m2 K)Data+5%-5%+5 % -5 % Figure 7 The comparison of the new model and the experimental data of convective heat transfer coefficient. Figure 7 shows the comparison of the developed correlation and the experimental data of the convective heat transfer coefficient. The lines shown in figure 7 in dicate the deviation from the average value of +5 % and -5 %. It was found that the new correlation can predict reality quite well. To analyze leakage in primary air heaters data were collected when the power pla nt was generating at 300, 240, and 180 MW. The test results are displayed as fol lows. Lignite-fired power plant100150200250300350150180210240270300330Power plan t generation (MW)Load (MW), Coal flow (t/h), Air flow (kg/s)LoadCoal flowAir flo w Figure 8 Power plant generation, coal flow, and total air flow during testing. Figure 8 shows power plant generation, coal flow, and total air flow during test ing. Coal flow and air flow increase with power plant generation, but it is not a direct correlation. 77 Lignite-fired power plant17.5915.6511.0005101520150180210240270300330Power plant generation (MW)Heat tranfer thru PAH (MW) Figure 9 Heat transfer through primary air heater at power plant generations 180 , 240, and 300 MW. Figure 9 shows heat transfer through primary air heater at power plant generatio ns 180, 240, and 300 MW. It also changes with power plant generation. 6.3067.370 7.65014.9316.813.5315.713.812.470.05.010.015.020.0150180210240270300330Gross gen eration (MW)Heat exchanger leakage, CO2 (%)HX leakage (%)CO2 inlet (%)CO2 outlet (%) Figure 10 The percentage of CO2 gas entering and leaving and leakage of primary air heater during power plant generations 180, 240, and 300 MW. Figure 10 shows the percentage of CO2 gas entering and leaving and leakage of pr imary air heater. The percentage of primary air heater leakage was decreased, 7. 650, 7.370, and 6.306 % while power plant gross generation was increased, 180, 2 40, and 300 MW respectively. 58.1661.9261.4327.16317.47325.94430.48407.52399.341 74.55173.01180.880100200300400500150180210240270300330Gross generation (MW)Tempe rature (Deg.C)TaiTao TgiTgo Figure 11 The measured temperatures of air and gas entering and leaving the prim ary air heater. 88 Figure 11 shows the measured temperatures of air and gas entering and leaving th e primary air heater during power plant generations 180, 240, and 300 MW. 62.126 5.4466.830.790.880.9250556065707580859095100150180210240270300330Gross generatio n (MW)Gas side efficiency (%)0.50.550.60.650.70.750.80.850.90.951X ratioGas side eff.XR Figure 12 Gas side efficiency and X ratio compared with power plant gross genera tion. Figure 12 shows under particulate and leakage conditions during power plant gros s generations of 300, 240, and 180 MW, the gas side efficiencies were 66.83, 65. 44, and 62.12 % respectively. For the same power generations, X ratios were 0.92 , 0.88, and 0.79 respectively. Therefore, the ratio of heat capacity of the air passing through the air heater to the heat capacity of gas passing through the a ir heater depend on power plant gross generation. Primary air heater under parti culate and leakage condition130.12113.7194.8856.7457.2842.760.0020.0040.0060.008

0.00100.00120.00140.00150180210240270300330Power plant generation (MW)Convection coefficient (W/m2 K)CorrelationExperiment Figure 13 Gas side convection coefficient of primary air heater under particulat e and leakage condition and power plant generation. Figure 13 shows the gas side convection coefficient of primary air heaters under particulate and leakage conditions and power plant generation. The correlation convection coefficient was increased by 94.88, 113.71, and 130.12 W/m2 K when po wer plant generation was increased by 180, 240, and 300 MW respectively. Also, t he experimental line varies 42.76, 57.28, and 56.74 respectively. The gas side convection coefficient characteristics at power plant generation of 300 MW (as shown in figure 6 and 13) show the experimental convection coefficie nt average under particulate condition alone at 82.24 W/m2 K, but under particul ate and leakage conditions at 56.74 W/m2 K. The combined factors of particulate and leakage affect gas side convection coefficient more than particulate conditi ons alone. Thus, reducing performance and efficiency greater. Conclusion 1. The particulate matter has an effect on the gas side convection coefficient o f primary air heaters and tends to reduce its performance. Furthermore, the part iculate matter and leakage affect the gas side convection coefficient and perfor mance more than that of the particulate condition alone. 99 2. This research paper proposes a new equation which predicts the value of gas s ide convection coefficient approximately 37.02 % lower than Zhukauskass equation [2, 3]. The new equation considers real life conditions of particulate occurrenc e where power plant generation is 300 MW. This papers equation can predict real data quite well. Suggestion 1. Heat exchanger should be operated under clean and minimal dust conditions to get high performance. 2. To get high heat exchanger performance in coal-fired power plant, routine mon itoring is necessary to maintain satisfactory performance of the primary air hea ter. Gauges should record: 2.1 A decrease in the amount of heat removed from the flue gases. This is indica ted by an increase in the temperature of the gases leaving the heater. 2.2 A decrease in the amount of heat absorbed by air. This is indicated by a dec rease in the temperature of the air leaving the heater. 2.3 An increase in the pressure drop on the gas side. 3. Air heaters in coal-fired power plant should be designed so that the gas velo cities are usually high enough to prevent excessive collection of soot or flue g as dust and for this reason only occasional cleaning of the heaters is necessary . 4. If leakage is found on primary air heaters, it should be repaired as soon as possible. Acknowledgement The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Electricity Gener ating Authority of Thailand and Chiang Mai university. References [1] Driscoll, J.M. et al, ASME performance test codes test code for air heaters, USA, 1968. [2] Hewitt, G.F., Shires, G.L. and Bott, T.R., Process Heat Transfer, Boca Raton , CRC Press, USA, 1994. [3] Incropera, F.P. and Dewitt, D.P., Introduction to heat transfer, 4th edition , John Wiley & Sons Inc., USA, 2002. [4] Shah, R.K., Sekulic, D.P., Fundamentals of heat exchanger design, John Wiley & Sons Inc., Canada, 2003. [5] Juangjandee, P. and Sucharitakul, T., Performance Evaluation of Cross-Flow H eat Exchanger in Coal-Fired Power Plant Under Particulate Condition, The 18th Co nference of Mechanical Engineering Network of Thailand, Khon Kaen University, Th ailand, 2004. [6] Juangjandee, P. and Sucharitakul, T., Performance Evaluation of Leakage Cros

s-Flow Heat Exchanger in Coal-Fired Power Plant, The 19th Conference of Mechanic al Engineering Network of Thailand, Phuket, Thailand, 2005. [7] Juangjandee, P. and Sucharitakul, T., Effect of High Ash Content Lignite on Cross-Flow Heat Exchanger Performance in Mae Moh Lignite-Fired Power Plant, HAPU A Fuel Procurement & Utilisation Forum, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2006. [8] Juangjandee, P. and Sucharitakul, T., Air Heater Performance and Enhancement Under Low-Rank Coal, The 16th Conference of Electric Power Supply Industry, Mum bai, India, 2006. Nomenclature A area (m2) pc specific heat at constant pressure (J/kg K) cpc, specific heat of cold medium at constant pressure (J/kg K) hpc, specific heat of hot medium at constant pressure (J/kg K) giCO,2 percent by volume of dry CO2 gas at air heater inlet (%) goCO,2 percent by volume of dry CO2 gas at air heater outlet (%) D diameter (m) F correction factor f friction factor 1100 HHV higher heating value (kJ/kg) h heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K) k thermal conductivity (W/m K) L length (m) LHV lower heating value (kJ/kg) m& mass flow rate (kg/s) Nu Nusselt number p pressure (Pa) p pressure drop (Pa) Pr Prandtl number Q& heat transfer rate (W) DRe Reynolds number TS transverse tube pitch (m) LS longitudinal tube pitch (m) T temperature (C) U overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K) V velocity (m/s) XR X-ratio Greek symbol dynamic viscosity (Pa s) density (kg/m3) Subscript a air c cold h hot i inner or inlet max maximum NL no air leakage o outer t tube Abbreviations used BFP boiler feed pump CEP condensate extraction pump ECO economizer ESP electrostatic precipitator FDF forced draft fan FGD flue gas desulfurization FWST feedwater storage tank HP TB high pressure turbine IDF induced draft fan IP TB intermediate pressure turbine

LP TB low pressure turbine MCWP main cooling water pump PAF primary air fan PAH primary air heater RH reheater SH superheater SAH secondary air heater 1111