Steam Turbine Power Station

EEE4155
Power Plant Engineering & Economy

Dr. Taskin Jamal

Dept. of EEE
Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology

1
Introduction
➢ A steam power plant continuously converts the energy stored in fossil fuels
(coal, oil, natural gas) or fissile fuels (uranium, thorium) into shaft work and
ultimately into electricity.

➢ The working fluid is water which is sometimes in the liquid phase and
sometimes in the vapour phase during its cycle of operations.

➢ In this type of plant, the products of combustion do not form the working
medium for driving the turbine.

➢ These are utilized to produce steam which is expanded in the turbines.

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3
Advantages of Steam Power Plants

The advantages of steam power plants are as follows:

➢Operating costs are low in comparison to the gas turbine power plants.
➢Efficiency is better.
➢Low graded fuel can be used.
➢Capacity of such plants is high. Maximum single unit capacity can reach up
to 1400MW (Hitachi Steam turbines).
➢Initial capital cost is low in comparison to the hydro-electric power plants
and nuclear power plants.
➢It can be used efficiently as base load power plant.
4
Disadvantages of Steam Power Plants

The followings are disadvantages of steam power plants:

➢Handling and storage of fuels and disposal of ash create a big problem in
steam plants.
➢It requires a huge area (about 250 acres of land is needed for a 2000 MW coal
fired steam plant).
➢The time required to start a steam plant from idle is high causing a higher
standby losses.
➢It is difficult to maintain the cleanliness of the plant mainly because of the
fuel and ash handling problem.
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Disadvantages of Steam Power Plants

➢Electrostatic precipitator (which removes dust particles from gases) is

needed to reduce the stack emissions to an acceptable level.
➢In case of coal fired steam plant, the cost of the pulverized plant may be
introduced.
➢A large amount of fresh water will be required.
➢Sometimes water treatment plant is used for the purification of water which
introduces an extra investment.

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 porichalito
Site Selection of Steam Power Plants

For steam stations, the choice of plant location is governed by the

following considerations:
➢ Transmission of energy:
➢ Fuel delivery:
➢ Water supply:
➢ Realty value and taxes: jaigar dam

➢ Disposal of ash:
➢ Pollution and noise
7
The Nanticoke Generating Station was the
largest coal-fired power plant in North
America, delivering up to
1,880 MW of power into the
southern Ontario power grid from its base
in Nanticoke, Ontario, Canada.

Ontario Hydro built this 4,000MW fossil-

fuel generating station near Long Point,
Ontario in 1967. Its current site was
selected in Nanticoke, Ontario, because of
the nearby harbor, the proximity of United
States coal supplies, and proximity to much
of Ontario's population.

Current Update: The Nanticoke Generating Station is a 44 MW solar power station which started operation in April 2019. Previously
from 1972 to 2013, it was the largest coal-fired power plant in North America. At full capacity, it could provide 3,964 MW of power into
the southern Ontario power grid from its base in Nanticoke, Ontario, Canada, and provided as much as 15% of Ontario's electricity.
 Top-left:
Largest operational coal power plants by
capacity worldwide as of 2021

Bottom-right:
Datang Tuoketuo Power Station in China

The Datang Tuoketuo power plant exploits coal from the

Coalfield approximately 50 km (31 mi) away, and meets its
water requirements by pumping its needs from the Yellow
River, located 12 km (7 mi) away.
9
The Taichung Power Plant is a coal-fired power plant in Taiwan. With an installed coal-fired
generation capacity of 5,500 MW, it is the fourth largest coal-fired power station in the world.
Together with its gas-fired and wind generation units, the total installed capacity of the plant is
5,824 MW.

The power plant is designed for base load service and is able for daily startup and shutdown
operation. Electricity is being sold to Taipower under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

The plant uses 12 million tons of bituminous and 2.5 million tons of sub-bituminous coal a year.
Taipower buys most of the plant coal supply from Australia, USA, South Africa and Indonesia.

It was claimed that this plant along with another plant account for roughly 70% of the air pollution
in the Central Taiwan region, emitting large quantities of sulfur oxides.

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Water, Steam and Flue Gas Flow Diagram of a Steam Power Plant
REHEATER ALTERNATOR

STEAM STEAM STEAM

TURBINE TURBINE

WATER
BOILER

FEED
COOLING
FLUE CONDENSER TOWER OR
SUPERHEATER
GAS RIVER
ECONOMISER BLEEDING
OF STEAM
FURNACE
FUEL MAKEUP
GRATE WATER TANK CONDENSATE

AIR FEED WATER FEED WATER

PREHEATER HEATER PUMP
FLUE FLUE FEED FEED
GAS GAS WATER WATER
CONDENSATE
PUMP
AIR FROM
ATMOSPHERE
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Main and Auxiliary Equipment in a Steam Power Plant

The main equipments in a thermal (steam) power plant consist of-

 Boiler  Steam turbine  Alternator

To achieve efficient conversion of heat energy into electrical energy, a variety of auxiliary
equipments are needed. So, the main and auxiliary equipments in a thermal plant are:

 Coal handling plant  Pulverizing plant  Draft fans

 Boiler  Ash handling plant  Turbine
 Condenser  Cooling towers and ponds  Feed water heater
 Economizer  Superheater and reheater  Air preheater
 Alternator with exciter  Protection and control equipments
 Instrumentation

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Coal Handling Plant:
A thermal plant burns enormous amount of coal. The function of coal
handling plant is automatic feeding of coal to the boiler furnace. A grate (A
frame of iron bars to hold a fire) at the bottom of the furnace holds the fuel
bed.

Pulverizing Plant:
In modern steam power plant, coal is pulverized i.e. ground to dust like size.
Pulverization is a means of exposing large surface area to the action of
oxygen and consequently helping the combustion.

Pulverization: The act of grinding to a powder or dust.

The coal powder is blown into the combustion zone of a furnace and
burns more rapidly and efficiently because finely ground coal has
13 more
surface area per unit weight than larger particles.
Coal handling plant in Belchatow Power Station

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The Bełchatów Power Station is a coal-fired power station in Poland - the largest thermal power station in Europe. It is a
large 5,053 MW lignite-fired power station. It produces 27-28 TWh of electricity per year, or 20% of the total power
generation in Poland. The plant is considered to be one of the biggest producers of GHG emissions in the EU, emitting
about 30mt/y of CO2. 15
Advantages of using pulverized coal:
➢ The rate of combustion can be controlled and changed quickly to meet
the varying load.
➢ The percentage of excess air required is low.
➢ Automatic combustion control can be used.
➢ Preheated air can be used successfully.
➢ Low graded coals can be used.
➢ The boiler can be started from the cold condition very rapidly.
➢ The pulverizing equipment is outside the furnace. Therefore, it can be
repaired without cooling down the unit.
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Disadvantages of using pulverized coal:

➢ Investment cost of plant is increased.

➢ Explosion hazards exist. Therefore, skilled personnel are
required.
➢ Auxiliary power consumption of the plant is increased.
➢ A lot of extra equipments, mills, burners etc. are needed.
➢ The lower rows of boiler tubes get deposited with slag. Removal
of this slag requires special extra equipment.
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Draft System:
• The circulation of air is caused by a difference in pressure known as draft.
• Thus, draft is the differential in pressure between two points i.e.,
atmosphere and inside the boiler.
• A differential in draft is needed to cause flow of gases through the
boiler setting.

A draft may be natural or mechanical.

➢ A natural draft is provided by the chimney or stack.
➢ In a mechanical draft system, the movement of air is due to the fan.
A mechanical draft system may consist of forced draft or induced
draft or both.

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Draft System:
BOILER
CHIMNEY

AIR PREHEATER
FORCED

INDUCED DRAFT
PRECIPITATOR
ECONOMISER
DRAFT FAN
FURNACE

GRATE

Figure: Flue Gas Flow Diagram of a Thermal Power Plant

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Boiler:
➢ A boiler is a closed vessel in which water, under pressure, is converted into
steam. It is one of the major components of a thermal power plant.
➢ The heat is transferred to the boiler by all the three modes of heat transfer i.e.
conduction, convection (transfer of heat through a fluid (liquid or gas)
caused by molecular motion) and radiation (energy that is radiated or
transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles).
➢ Boilers are generally classified as fire tube boiler and water tube boiler.

Superheater:
➢ The function of superheater is to remove the last traces of moisture from the
saturated steam leaving the boiler tube and also raises the temperature of
the steam.
➢ The heat of combustion gases from the furnace is used for superheating.
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Reheater:
➢ The function of reheater is to superheat the partly expanded steam from the turbine.
➢ This ensures that steam remains dry through the last stage of turbine and
also increases the thermal efficiency.

Steam Turbine:
➢ A steam turbine converts the heat energy of steam into mechanical energy
and drives the generator.
➢ It uses the principle that the steam when issuing from a small opening
attains a high velocity.
➢ The attained velocity during expansion depends on the initial and final heat
content of the steam.
➢ The difference between initial and final heat content represents the heat
energy converted into kinetic energy.
➢ They are of two types, impulse turbine and reaction turbine.
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Ash Handling Plant:
➢ In thermal power plants, an ash handling system is used to collect and dispose off discharged
ash, once it has been cooled down to a manageable temperature, which is then used in various
industries like construction, cement plants, and other allied industries.

➢ Ash is produced due to combustion of coal - of this, about 25% is furnace bottom ash and
remaining 75% is fly ash or pulverized fuel ash (PFA) or dust ash.

➢ A sluicing system is generally used for removal of furnace bottom ash. The ash falls into a dry
hopper which is fitted with access doors and high pressure water jet.

➢ Fly ash is captured and removed from the flue gas by electrostatic precipitators or fabric bag
filters (or sometimes both) located at the outlet of the furnace and before the induced draft fan.

➢ Generally, the fly ash is pneumatically transported to storage silos for subsequent transport by
trucks or railroad cars .

➢ In this system, a high velocity air stream causes the ash to flow into separators where the ash is
collected in hoppers (Funnel-shaped container that is used to put or keep things in). 22
24
Condenser:
➢ The condenser does the job of condensing the steam exhausted from the
turbine.
➢ Thus it helps in maintaining low pressure at the exhaust, thereby permitting
expansion of steam in the turbine to a very low pressure.
➢ The exhaust steam is condensed and used as feed water for the boiler.

Cooling Towers and Ponds:

➢ A condenser needs huge quantity of water to condense the steam.
➢ Cooling towers and ponds are required where river is not available near the
thermal power plant for cooling.
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Feed Water Heater:
It is necessary to heat water before feeding it to the boiler. Normally steam is
bleeded from the main turbine for heating the feed water. It is necessary for
the following reasons:

➢ It improves overall plant efficiency.

➢ Removes dissolved oxygen and CO2 from feed water.
➢ Thermal stresses due to cold water entering the boiler drum are avoided.
➢ Quantity of steam produced by the boiler is increased.

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Economizer:
➢ Flue gases coming out of the boiler carry
FLUE GAS
lot of heat.
FEED WATER
➢ An economizer extracts a part of this heat OUTLET
from the flue gases and uses it for
heating feed water.
FEED WATER
INLET
➢ In an economizer, large numbers of small
diameter thin walled tubes are placed between
two headers. FLUE GAS

➢ Feed water enters the tubes through one

header and leaves through other, thus
transmits the heat to the feed water.
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Air Preheater:
➢ After the flue gas leaves the economizer, some further heat can be extracted
from them and used to heat the incoming air for combustion.

Auxiliary Supply:
➢ The auxiliaries in a steam plant can be divided into two categories: urgent
auxiliaries and service auxiliaries.
➢ The urgent auxiliaries are those which are associated with the running of a
unit and whose loss would cause an immediate reduction of the unit output.
➢ The service auxiliaries are those whose loss would not affect the output
until after a considerable time. Example: Boiler make-up water treatment
plant and storage.

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Typical properties of selected fuels
Calorific Value (CV) as normally Contaminants %
expressed
Fuel Gross Net Sulphur Water Ash
Steam coal
30.6 MJ/kg 29.7 MJ/kg 1.2 10.0 8.0
Wood waste 15.8 MJ/kg 14.4 MJ/kg
0.4 15 Trace
Heavy fuel oil 41.2 MJ/litre
38.9 MJ/litre 2.0 0.3 0.04
38.3 MJ/litre 36.0 MJ/litre
Gas-oil 0.15 0.05 0.01
38.0 MJ/cubic 34.2 MJ/cubic
Natural gas
metre metre - Trace -

20.0 MJ/cubic 18.0 MJ/cubic

Landfill gas
metre metre Trace Trace -

21.0 MJ/cubic 18.9 MJ/cubic

Mine gas
metre metre Trace 5.0 -

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Efficiencies in a Steam Power Plant
P
EXHAUST
GAS

4 3
P
FURNACE
(SOURCE) B C SINK
Q1 Q2
1 T 2

FUEL AIR BRAKE OUTPUT

G
POWER CONSUMED
GROSS POWER (MWe) Figure: A power plant
TO DRIVE converts energy of fuel into
AUXILIARIES
NET POWER (MWe) electricity

30
Efficiencies in a Steam Power Plant

Note:
A. 1 kWh (kilowatt-hour) = 3.6 MJ = 860 kcal (kilogram calories)
B. 1 megajoule per second [MJ/s] = 1 MW
C. The SI unit of calorific value is J/kg. 31
Efficiencies in a Steam Power Plant

32
Efficiencies in a Steam Power Plant

33
Efficiencies in a Steam Power Plant

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