Mill Performance: Ravi Satyapal Mohammad Javed Pratik Singh

MILL PERFORMANCE
Ravi Satyapal
Mohammad Javed
Pratik Singh
Mill Nomenclature Details
Specifications of Mills used at
JPL 4*600 MW
Motor Specifications
Make BHEL
Rating 680 kW
Voltage 3300 V
Frequency 50 Hz, 3 phase
Speed 985 rpm
Rated Current 161 A
Purpose of a Pulverizer
 To Pulverize Coal to a Suitable

size for Proper Combustion in the
Furnace
 To Dry Incoming Coal
 Classifying
 Transporting to furnace
Factors Affecting Mill
Performance
 Coal grindability index
 Moisture in the coal
 Mill inlet and outlet
temperature
 Coal Mill fineness
 Mill loading
 Air Flow in the Mill
 Mill Motor current
 Mill differential Pr. (DP)
Coal Properties
WHY IS MILL PERFORMANCE TESTING
IMPORTANT
 Unit capability governed by mill

performance
 Boiler and combustion system
performance affected by quality of PF coal
and its distribution
 Reliable feedback should focus on timely
mill overhaul
 Very effective cross check of the station
instruments feedback
OBJECTIVE OF PERFORMANCE
TESTING
 Clean air balancing between burners

 Dirty air balancing between burners
 Fuel balancing between burners
 Fineness testing
 To determine the economical running life of
mill internals
Grindability
 The grindability of the coal is an empirical

index
 Relative ease of grinding as compared
with standard coal
 It is determined in laboratory using 50 g of
air dried sample of properly sized coal in a
miniature pulveriser which is set to rotate
exactly 60 revolutions grinding the coal
sample.
Continued…
The hard grove Grindablility index is calculated

G.I. (hard grove) = 13+6.93W
Where,
W= weight of dust passing through 200
mesh sieve.
Higher The Number of G.I. more is ease to grind.

Effect of Grindability
 Higher the HGI more

is the capacity
 Normally mill
capacity is
indicated at 50/55
HGI.
 Actual Mill
capacity varies
with HGI
Effect of HGI on mill performance
Moisture in coal
 Moisture: Inherent and surface

 Inherent moisture locked up within the structure
 Inherent moisture is constant for a particular
seam
 Surface moisture varies
 Coal must be dried to remove the surface
moisture totally before grinding
 Beside drying primary air also should:
 Create circulation
 Transport coal
 Provide initial oxygen for combustion
Effect of moisture on Mill
Performance
 As the graph shows higher moisture
percentage in coal mill capacity reduces it
because more force will be required to
transport the coal to furnace. Also more
amount of hot air will be needed to maintain
the mill outlet temperature.
 Also there are likely chances of
accumulation of coal as agglomerate and
leads to mill choking.
 Every 1% increase in moisture in coal
decreases the Boiler Efficiency by 0.1-0.2%
Effect of Moisture on Mill Capacity
Temperature of Coal-Air Mixture
at Mill Outlet
 The temperature of pulverised coal and air
mixture at pulveriser outlet should be
maintained at least 15 ºC Above the dew point
of air at pulveriser pressure to avoid
condensation and consequent plugging of the
coal pipes.
 The pulveriser mill outlet temperature should
be maintained above 65 ºC.
 The higher limits are 80 ºC For high
volatile (above 24%) coals and 95 ºC for low
volatile coals (below20% VM)
Effect of Fineness
 More the fineness less is the capacity

 70% through 200 mesh
 Volatile content below 16% would
required higher degree of fineness i.e. 75
to 80% through 200 mesh sieve, whereas
the higher volatile coals (above 24%) will
ignite and burn with ease with lower
fineness of 60% through 200 mesh sieve.
Continued…
 Too coarse
 Wear in coal pipe
 Slower ignition
 Poor fireball mixing
 Unstable flame front at low loads
 High carbon loss
 Too fine
 Increased wear of pulverizer
 Decreased pulverizer output
 Increased power consumption
1% change in fineness equals approximately
1.5% change in capacity
Effect of fineness on mill capacity
Effect of fineness
Suppose 10000 Tons of fuel burnt in a day.
According to rough estimation in coal with 3200
GCV : Carbon – 32%, Ash – 42%
So amount of ash generated

= 0.42*10000
= 4200 T/day
As a thumb rule bottom ash is 20% and 80% is
fly Ash
So amount of bottom ash = 0.2*4200

= 840T/day
Suppose due poor fineness there is 2.5% unburnt
carbon found in bottom ash and after taking
corrective measures (Such as classifier setting,
Mill ring roll setting etc.) it came down to 1.5%.
Then we can calculate the benefit in following

way:
Amount of carbon present in bottom Ash =

(amount of Bottom ash)*(unburnt present in
bottom ash) = 840 * 0.025
= 21 T/Day
To avail 21 tons of carbon we need
= 21/0.32
= 65.625 T/day
Cost of 1 ton of coal = Rs 2000
Total cost of due to unburnt carbon
= 65.625 * 2000
= 131250 Rs.
Similarly total cost with 1.5% Unburnt carbon in
BA
= 78750 Rs.
Total Saving/day = 131250-78750
= 53000 Rs.
Effect of Mill Internals on Mill
Fineness
 Classifier blades opening

 Improper gap between inverted cone
and inner cone
 Spring tension
 Wear out of grinding elements
Coal Particle Size
Distribution
 If 1-2% is +50 in BS mesh sieve (300 micron),
most of this coarse coal will not burn and
results unburnt Carbon in bottom ash.
 It also frequently causes slagging around the
burners
 If -200 mesh (75 micron) fineness is poor,
results in high Carbon in Fly Ash.
 If the coal is not properly ground, the
distribution to the burners may not be even
resulting in air-fuel imbalances at one or more
burners.
Fuel Line Balance
 Mill discharge pipes offer different resistances to

the flows due to unequal lengths and different
geometry/layouts.
 Fixed orifices are put in shorter pipes to balance
velocities, dirty air / PF flows.
 The sizes of the orifices are normally specified by
equipment supplier.
 Dirty air flow distribution should be within +/-5%
 Coal distribution within +/- 10% of the mean
value
Inter-Relationship of Parameters
 Each line can rotate about the

pivot point The arrow head can
move laterally along the line it
touches
 The area swept by the arrow head
line increases or decreases
depending upon the direction of
swing
 The parameters
represented by the
area increase or
decrease as the area
changes
Clean air flow test
 Clean Air flowing through

the fuel lines at normal
operating temp and pres.
 Indicative of the transport
energy
 Clean air vel. should be
within +/- 2% of the mean.
Dirty Air Flow Test
 PF air mix flowing

through fuel lines
with mill in
service
 To determine
coal & air flow in
each line
 Dirty air velocity

should be within
+/- 5% of the
mean
Benefits of Clean Air Flow Test
Dirty air flow test
 Clean air flow balancing tests would confirm

the adequacy of fuel pipe & mill orifices.
 Dirty air flow tests would confirm air
imbalance if any.
 Reasons for short fall in mill performance or
additional mill requirement can be checked.
Actions Required to Enhance
Mill Performance
 Ring-Roller setting
 Spring tension adjustment
 Classifier setting
 Fuel piping metal temperature is being
monitored to monitor fuel pipe chocking
 Wear out part inspection during mill
stoppage.
 Mill reject system healthiness monitoring
Suggestion for Better
Performance
 Use of metal temperature in fuel pipe to

monitor chocking
 Online CO monitoring
 PA flow and Coal flow rates should be cross
checked and calibrated during preventive
maintenance scheduled.
 Regular checking of mill rejects, excessive
rejects leads to loss of energy.
Thanks

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What are the main factors affecting mill performance?

What are the main factors affecting mill performance?

What are the objectives of mill performance testing?

What are the objectives of mill performance testing?

MILL PERFORMANCE

 To Pulverize Coal to a Suitable

 Unit capability governed by mill

 Clean air balancing between burners

 The grindability of the coal is an empirical

The hard grove Grindablility index is calculated

Higher The Number of G.I. more is ease to grind.

 Higher the HGI more

 Moisture: Inherent and surface

 More the fineness less is the capacity

So amount of ash generated

So amount of bottom ash = 0.2*4200

Then we can calculate the benefit in following

Amount of carbon present in bottom Ash =

 Classifier blades opening

 Mill discharge pipes offer different resistances to

 Each line can rotate about the

 Clean Air flowing through

 PF air mix flowing

 Dirty air velocity

 Clean air flow balancing tests would confirm

 Use of metal temperature in fuel pipe to

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