PREFACE

A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which either drives an electrical generator or does some other work, like ship propulsion. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was heated; this is known as a Ranking cycle. 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. Commercial electric utility power stations are most usually constructed on a very large scale and designed for continuous operation. Electric power plants typically use three-phase or individual-phase electrical generators to produce alternating current (AC) electric power at a frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz (hertz, which is an AC sine wave per second) depending on its location in the world. CHAPTER1 INTRODUCTION

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, oil, or natural gas are often referred

to collectively as fossil-fuel power plants. Some biomass-fueled thermal power plants have appeared also. Non-nuclear thermal power plants, particularly fossilfueled plants, which do not use cogeneration, are sometimes referred to as conventional power plants. In thermal power stations, mechanical power is produced by a heat engine that transforms thermal energy, often from combustion of a fuel, into rotational energy. Most thermal power stations produce steam, and these are sometimes called steam power stations. Not all thermal energy can be transformed into mechanical power, according to the second law of thermodynamics. Therefore, there is always heat lost to the environment. If this loss is employed as useful heat, for industrial processes or district heating, the power plant is referred to as a cogeneration power plant or CHP (combined heat-and-power) plant. In countries where district heating is common, there are dedicated heat plants called heat-only boiler stations. An important class of power stations in the Middle East uses byproduct heat for the desalination of water. Commercial electric utility power stations are most usually constructed on a very large scale and designed for continuous operation. Electric power plants typically use three-phase or individual-phase electrical generators to produce alternating current (AC) electric power at a frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz (hertz, which is an AC sine wave per second) depending on its location in the world. Other large companies or institutions may have their own usually smaller power plants to supply heating or electricity to their facilities, especially if heat or steam is created anyway for other purposes. Shipboard steam-driven power plants have been used in various large ships in the past, but these days are used most often in large naval ships. Such shipboard power plants are general lower power capacity than full-size electric company plants, but otherwise have many similarities except

that typically the main steam turbines mechanically turn the propulsion propellers, either through reduction gears or directly by the same shaft. The steam power plants in such ships also provide steam to separate smaller turbines driving electric generators to supply electricity in the ship. Shipboard steam power plants can be either conventional or nuclear; the shipboard nuclear plants are mostly in the navy. There have been perhaps about a dozen turbo-electric ships in which a steamdriven turbine drives an electric generator which powers an electric motor for propulsion. Thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime

mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which either drives an electrical generator or does some other work, like ship propulsion. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was heated; this is known as a Ranking cycle. The greatest variation in the design of thermal power stations is due to the different fuel sources. Some prefer to use the term energy center because such facilities convert forms of heat energy into electrical energy. CHAPTER 2 NEED FOR THERMAL POWER GENERATION

Scarcity of water resources: Water resources are not abundantly available and are geographically unevenly distributed. Thus hydel power plants cannot be installed with ease and are limited to certain locations. Widely available alternate flues: Many alternate fuels such as coal, diesel, nuclear fuels, geo-thermal energy sources, solar-energy, biomass fuels can be used to generate power using steam cycles.

 Maintenance and lubrication cost is lower: Once installed, these require less maintenance costs and on repairs. Lubrication is not a major problem compared to hydel power plant. Coal is abundant: Coal is available in excess quantities in India and is rich form of energy available at relatively lower cost. Working fluid remains within the system, and need not be replaced every time thus simplifies the process.

CHAPTER 3 CLASSIFICATION

Thermal power plants are classified by the type of fuel and the type of prime mover Installed.

By fuel Nuclear power plants use a nuclear reactor's heat to operate a steam turbine generator. Fossil fuelled power plants may also use a steam turbine generator or in the case of natural gas fired plants may use a combustion turbine. A coal-fired power station produces electricity by burning coal to generate steam, and has the side-effect of producing a large amount of carbon dioxide, which is released from burning coal and contributes to global warming

 Geothermal power plants use steam extracted from hot underground rocks. Biomass Fuelled Power Plants may be fuelled by waste from sugar cane, municipal solid waste, landfill methane, or other forms of biomass. Solar thermal electric plants use sunlight to boil water, which turns the generator.

By prime mover Steam turbine plants use the dynamic pressure generated by expanding steam to turn the blades of a turbine Gas turbine plants use the dynamic pressure from flowing gases (air and combustion products) to directly operate the turbine. Combined cycle plants have both a gas turbine fired by natural gas, and a steam boiler and steam turbine which use the hot exhaust gas from the gas turbine to produce electricity Reciprocating engines are used to provide power for isolated communities and are frequently used for small cogeneration plants. Hospitals, office buildings, industrial plants, and other critical facilities also use them to provide backup power in case of a power outage Micro turbines, Stirling engine and internal combustion reciprocating engines are low-cost solutions for using opportunity fuels, such as landfill gas, digester gas from water treatment plants and waste gas from oil production

CHAPTER 4

BASIC DEFINITIONS Steam is vaporized water and can be produced at 100C at standard atmosphere. In common speech, steam most often refers to the visible white mist that condenses above boiling water as the hot vapor mixes with the cooler air. Turbine A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid or air flow and converts it into useful work. The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum, with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and impart rotational energy to the rotor. Early turbine exare windmills and waterwheels.

Fig Typical turbine

Electric generator An electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electrons in the windings to flow through the external electrical circuit. It is somewhat analogous to a water pump, which creates a flow of water but does not create the water inside.

Fig Typical Generator

A boiler or steam generator is a device used to create steam by applying

heat to water. Although the definitions are somewhat flexible, it can be said that

older steam generators were commonly termed boilers and worked at low to medium pressure

(1300 psi/0.06920.684 bar; 6.8952,068.427 kPa), but at pressures above this it is more usual to speak of a steam generator.

A boiler or steam generator is used wherever a source of steam is required. The form and size depends on the application: mobile steam engines such as steam locomotives, portable engines and steam-powered road vehicles typically use a smaller boiler that forms an integral part of the vehicle;

Second law of thermodynamics The second law of thermodynamics is an expression of the universal principle of entropy, stating that the entropy of an isolated which is not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium; and that the entropy change dSof a system undergoing any infinitesimal reversible process is given by q / T, where q is the heat supplied to the system and T is the absolute temperature of the system.

CHAPTER 5 FUNCTIONING OF THERMAL POWER PLANT:

In a thermal power plant, one of coal, oil or natural gas is used to heat the boiler to convert the water into steam. The steam is used to turn a turbine, which is connected to a generator. When the turbine turns, electricity is generated and given as output by the generator, which is then supplied to the consumers through high-

voltage

power

lines.

Fig steam power generation

Typical diagram of a coal-fired thermal power station 1. Cooling tower 10. Steam Control valve 19. Superheater draught

2. Cooling water pump

11. High pressure steam 20.Forced turbine (draft) fan

3. transmission line (3-phase) 12. Deaerator 4. Step-up transformer (3-

21. Reheater 22. Combustion air intake

phase) 5. Electrical phase) generator (3-

13. Feed water heater

14. Coal conveyor

23. Economiser

6.Low pressure steam turbine 15. Coal hopper 7. Condensate pump 16. Coal pulverizer

24. Air preheater 25. Precipitator 26.Induced (draft) fan draught

8. Surface condenser

17. Boiler steam drum

9.Intermediate pressure steam turbine

18. Bottom ash hopper

27. Flue gas stack

Detailed process of power generation in a thermal power plant: Water intake: Firstly, water is taken into the boiler through a water source. If water is available in a plenty in the region, then the source is an open pond or river. If water is scarce, then it is recycled and the same water is used over and over again.

 Boiler heating: The boiler is heated with the help of oil, coal or natural gas. A furnace is used to heat the fuel and supply the heat produced to the boiler. The increase in temperature helps in the transformation of water into steam. Steam Turbine: The steam generated in the boiler is sent through a steam turbine. The turbine has blades that rotate when high velocity steam flows across them. This rotation of turbine blades is used to generate electricity. Generator: A generator is connected to the steam turbine. When the turbine rotates, the generator produces electricity which is then passed on to the power distribution systems. Special mountings: There is some other equipment like the economizer and air pre-heater. An economizer uses the heat from the exhaust gases to heat the feed water. An air pre-heater heats the air sent into the combustion chamber to improve the efficiency of the combustion process. Ash collection system: There is a separate residue and ash collection system in place to collect all the waste materials from the combustion process and to prevent them from escaping into the atmosphere. Apart from this, there are various other monitoring systems and instruments in place to keep track of the functioning of all the devices. This prevents any hazards from taking place in the plant.

A Ranking cycle with a two-stage steam turbine and a single feed water heater.

The second law of thermodynamics states that any closed-loop cycle can only convert a fraction of the heat produced during combustion into mechanical work. The rest of the heat, called waste heat, must be released into a cooler environment during the return portion of the cycle. The fraction of heat released into a cooler medium must be equal or larger than the ratio of absolute temperatures of the cooling system (environment) and the heat source (combustion furnace). Raising the furnace temperature improves the efficiency but also increases the steam pressure, complicates the design and makes the furnace more expensive. The waste heat cannot be converted into mechanical energy without an even cooler cooling system. However, it may be used in cogeneration plants to heat buildings, produce hot water, or to heat materials on an industrial scale, such as in some oil refineries, cement plants, and chemical synthesis plants. Typical thermal efficiency for electrical generators in the electricity industry is around 33% for coal and oil-fired plants, and up to 50% for combined-cycle gasfired plants

Fig- Concept of the BLE Process