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 drives an electrical generator. 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 Rankine 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 electricity.[1] Some thermal power plants also deliver heat energy for industrial purposes, for district heating, or for desalination of water as well as delivering electrical power. A large part of human CO2 emissions comes from fossil fueled thermal power plants; efforts to reduce these outputs are various and widespread.

Republika Power Plant, a thermal power station in Pernik, Bulgaria Efficiency The energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power station, considered as
salable energy as a percent of the heating value of the fuel consumed, is typically 33% to 48%. This efficiency is limited as all heat engines are governed by the laws of thermodynamics. The rest of the energy must leave the plant in the form of heat. This waste heat can go through a condenser and be disposed of with cooling water or in cooling towers. If the waste heat is instead utilized for district heating, it is called co-generation. An important class of thermal power station are associated with desalination facilities; these are typically found in desert countries with large supplies of natural gas and in these plants, freshwater production and electricity are equally important co-products.The Carnot efficiency dictates that higher efficiencies can be attained by increasing the temperature of the steam. Sub-critical fossil fuel power plants can achieve 3640% efficiency. Super

critical designs have efficiencies in the low to mid 40% range, with new "ultra critical" designs using pressures of 4400 psi (30.3 MPa) and multiple stage reheat reaching about 48% efficiency. Above the critical point for water of 705 F (374 C) and 3212 psi (22.06 MPa), there is no phase transition from water to steam, but only a gradual decrease in density.Current nuclear power plants must operate below the temperatures and pressures that coal-fired plants do, since the pressurized vessel is very large and contains the entire bundle of nuclear fuel rods. The size of the reactor limits the pressure that can be reached. This, in turn, limits their thermodynamic efficiency to 3032%. Some advanced reactor designs being studied, such as the Very high temperature reactor, Advanced gas-cooled reactor and Super critical water reactor, would operate at temperatures and pressures similar to current coal plants, producing comparable thermodynamic efficiency.

A Rankine cycle with a two-stage steam turbine and a single feed water heater. Techniques to improve operational efficiency of power stations (thermal) Power sector is an essential service and in the basis of industrialization and agriculture. It plays a vital role in the socio-economic development. Despite a massive growth in the installed capacity by 50 times from a meager 1362 MW in 1947 to 69,781 MW in 1992-93, the present installed capacity is not able to meet the energy demands of various sectors. There will be an overall energy deficit of 9 % and peaking storage of 20% by the end of 8th plan, even with a massive planned and power station managements to attach great importance to improving performance of existing power stations. As the bulk of power generation, about 75%, is by thermal power stations, improvement in their performance would lead to increased availability and large scale energy conservation. Since the Plant Load Factor (PLF) has become a common yardstick for monitoring the availability of power stations, several efforts have been made to improve PLF. It has been estimated that one percentage point improvement in the overall PLF of thermal power sector will give additional generating capacity to the extent of 500 MW in a much shorter time and cost. However, the experience has shown that this alone has not been sufficient to bridge the gap between demand and supply. The PLF which over the years is being recognized as an index of plant performance, is not very appropriate as it itself depends upon the availability and besides other causes. The overall Availability Factor (OAF) will be a

better index for comparing plant performance. Efforts are therefore required to secure operational efficiency of thermal power stations as well by identifying the various loss areas and taking appropriate actions, so as to maximize the power generation and loss make available the saved energy to the consumers. Therefore, improving efficiency of these thermal power stations in addition to increasing their PLF has become the need of the hour to bring the cost and maximize the generation levels. With this objective in view, several actions have already been initiated by Ministry of Power (MOP) and other various agencies like CEA, NTPC, State Electricity Boards, CBIP etc. to improve the operating efficiency and PLF of thermal power stations. It is now required to document these efforts for the benefit of all the power stations in the country to achieve the desired results. Considering the fact that the power sector is very large,, this survey has been confined to only Coal based thermal power stations. The survey involved, undertaking a literature survey of published material already available, a questionnaire survey, visiting selected power stations in different regions in the country and having discussions with experts in the field. This report gives details of the findings of the literature survey as well as the data analysis obtained through questionnaires sought from various power stations. The following are the major highlights of the techniques identified/ compiled for adoption in Indian thermal power stations.

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATORS Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) are the most commonly used, effective, and reliable particulate control devices; they are employed mostly in power plants and other process industries. The particle-laden flue gas from the boiler flows through the ESP before it enters the environment. The ESP works as a cleaning device, using electrical forces to separate the dust particles from the flue gas. A typical ESP consists of an inlet diffuser known as an inlet evase, a rectangular collection chamber, and an outlet convergent duct known as an outlet evase. Perforated plates are placed inside the inlet and the outlet evase for the purpose of flow distribution. Inside the collection chamber there are a number of

discharge electrodes (DEs) and collection electrodes (CEs). A set of discharge electrodes is suspended vertically between two collection electrodes in a typical wire-plate ESP channel. While the flue gas flows through the collection area, electrostatic precipitators accomplish particle separation through the use of an electric field in the following three steps. The electrical field does the following: 1. Imparts a positive or negative charge to the particles by means of discharge electrodes 2. Attracts the charged particles to oppositely charged or grounded collection electrodes 3. Removes the collected particles by vibrating or rapping the collection electrodes or spraying them with liquid SP PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT THROUGH OPTIMIZATION ptimization of Flue Gas Velocity and Electric Potential The particle collection inside the ESP depends on the flue gas velocity and the electrostatic force of the ESP system. The average gas velocity inside the collection chamber of an ESP varies from 0.5 m/s to 2 m/s. The flow stream with high velocity leaves the collection chamber with poor particle collection. The particles require sufficient treatment time to get charged and collected inside an ESP. The electrostatic force, which is generated after the application of electric potential to the discharge electrodes, is strongly related to the movement of the particles. Figure 3 shows how the particle collection efficiency of an ESP channel can be improved by increasing electric potential at the discharge electrodes and maintaining a reduced flow velocity at the inlet surface, which is 0.5 m/s in all four cases. ptimization of Flow Field: Insertion of Guide Vanes inside the Inlet Evase:It has been found that when the flow medium spreads over the front of the grid, the streamlines become distorted. The higher the resistance coefficient of the grid is, the sharper is the distortion of streamlines, and consequently the greater is the departure of the jets from the orifices to the periphery of the grid. With an increase in the resistance coefficient of the grid up to a certain value, the velocity profile is reversed. To avoid this situation, guide vanes can be inserted over the cross section of the inlet evase to distribute the flow all over the last perforated plate of the inlet evase. It was found from the simulated results that this new geometric feature guides the flow uniformly over the perforated plate. The perforated plate then gives the flow an additional uniformity that continues throughout the total collection area of the ESP.