Power Plant Engineering

UNIT-1 COAL BASED THERMAL POWER PLANTS

Objective
Understanding of
 Power Plant Engineering concepts
 Thermal Power Plant, layout, working
 Thermodynamic cycle and processes
 Basics about Super Critical Boilers, FBC Boilers and
Condensers
 Coal and Ash handling systems
 Boiler Draught
 Feed Water Treatment
 Binary Cycles and Cogeneration systems
Introduction
 A power plant is an industrial facility used to generate
electric power with the help of one or more
generators which converts different energy sources
into electric power.
 Power Plant Engineering is a science, which deals with
the complete study of different types of power plant.
Types of Sources
 Conventional Sources
 Non-conventional Sources
Development of Power in India
 First Hydropower power plant in India at
Darjeeling established with the help of the
Maharaja of Burdwan, Maharajadiraja Sir Bijoy
Chand Mahatab Bahadur and the British
government. This plant supplied power to the
district of Darjeeling. It's installed capacity is
130kW and was commissioned in the year 1897.
 The first steam station was set up in Calcutta in 1899.
 By the end of 1920, the total capacity was 130 MW,
comprising Hydro 74 MW, thermal 50 MW and diesel 6 MW.
 In 1940, the total capacity goes to 1208 MW
 The total generation capacity was 1710 mW by the end of
1951.
 The development really started only after 1951 with the
launching of the first five-year plan.
 During the First Plan, construction of a number of Major
River Valley Projects like Bhakra- Nangal, Damodar Valley,
Hira Kund and Chambal Valley was taken up. At the end of
the First Plan, generation capacity stood at 34.2 lakh kW.
 Installed capacity at the end of Second Plan reached 57 lakh
kW. Comprising 3800 MW thermal and 1900 MW hydel.
 During the Third plan period (1961-66), extending power
supply to rural areas. The country was divided into Five
Regions and Regional Electricity Board was established to
promote integrated operation of constituent power
system.
 In fourth plan central participation in expansion of power
generation programmes.
 Current installed capacity in India is 399,496.61 MW,
comprising 236,108.72 MW Thermal, 6,780 MW Nuclear,
46,722.52 MW Hydro and 109,885.38 MW RES.
 Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 and the Indian Electricity
Act, 191() setting up of a Central Electricity Authority
(CEA) with responsibility, to develop a National Power
Policy and coordinate activities of various agencies and
State Electricity Boards.
 CEA advises Department of Power on technical, financial,
construction and operation etc. are entrusted to Central Power
Corporations, like NTPC, NHPC, NEEPCU under administrative
control of the Department of Power.
 Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) constituted under the DVC
Act, 1948 and the BBMB constituted under the Punjab
Reorganization. Act, 1966, is also under administrative control
of the Department of Power.
 Construction agencies Beas Construction Board (BCB) and
National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC),
 Training and research organizations, Central Power Research
Institute (CPRI) and Power Engineers Training Society (PETS).
 Programmes of rural electrification are within the purview of
Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) which is a financing
agency
Installed capacity in India (31/03/2022)
Installed Power Station Capacity in India as of 31 March 2022

Thermal Nuclear Hydro Renewable

Sector Total (MW)
(MW) (MW) (MW) (MW)

Central 74,927.91 6,780.00 15,664.72 1,632.30 99,004.93

State 75,304.86 0 27,126.80 2,423.31 104,854.98
Private 85,875.95 0 3,931.00 105,829.76 195,636.71
All India 236,108.72 6,780.00 46,722.52 109,885.38 399,496.61
Percentage 59.1 1.7 11.7 27.51 100

Hydroelectric power plants with ≤ 25 MW generation capacity are included in

Renewable category (classified as SHP – Small Hydro Project).
 Installed capacity

The break up of renewable energy sources

(RES) is:
Solar power (53,996.54 MW)
Wind power (40,357.58 MW)
Biomass (10,205.61 MW)
Small hydro (4,848.90 MW)
Waste-to-energy (476.75 MW)
 Power Corporations in India
 National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) was incorporated
in November, 1975
 National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC) was
incorporated in November 1975
 Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) was set up in July, 1969
 Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) & Beas Construction
Board (BCB) Under the Punjab Reorganization Act. 1966
 Power Engineers Training Society (PETS) was formed in 1980
 Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), BANGALORE was set
up in 1960
 Nathpa Jhakri Power Corporation Limited (NJPC) was
incorporated on May 24, 1988 and joint venture of the Centre
and Government of Himachal Pradesh.
 Power Plants
A power plant may be defined as a machine or assembly of
equipment that generates and delivers a flow of mechanical or
electrical energy. The type of prime move determines the type of
power plants. The major power plants are,
1. Steam power plant
2. Diesel power plant
3. Gas turbine power plant
4. Nuclear power plant
5. Hydro electric power plant
The Steam Power Plant, Diesel Power Plant, Gas Turbine Power
Plant and Nuclear Power Plants are called THERMAL POWER
PLANT, because these convert heat into electric energy.
Basic Rankine Cycle
 The Rankine cycle is a model used to predict the performance
of steam turbine systems. It was also used to study the
performance of reciprocating steam engines.
 The Rankine cycle is an idealized thermodynamic cycle of a
heat engine that converts heat into mechanical work while
undergoing phase change.
 There are four processes in the Rankine cycle, each changing
the state of the working fluid. These states are identified by
number in Fig.
Basic Rankine Cycle contin….
Basic Rankine Cycle contin….
Process 1-2s First, the working fluid is pumped (ideally isentropic ally)
from low to high pressure by a pump. Pumping requires a
power input (for example mechanical or electrical).
Process 2s-3 The high pressure liquid enters a boiler where it is heated
at constant pressure by an external heat source to
become a saturated vapor. Common heat sources for
power plant systems are coal, natural gas, or nuclear
power.
Process 3-4s The saturated vapor expands through a turbine to
generate power output. Ideally, this expansion is
isentropic. This decreases the temperature and pressure
of the vapor.
Process 4s-1 The vapor then enters a condenser where it is cooled to
become a saturated liquid. This liquid then re-enters the
pump and the cycle repeats.
Basic Rankine Cycle contin….
Rankine cycle is a reversible cycle which have two constant
pressure and two constant temperature processes. Working fluid
in Rankine cycle undergoes 4 processes, compression in Pump,
heat addition in Boiler, expansion in Turbine, and heat rejection
in Condenser.

The pump work (δw)pump is negligible, because specific volume

of water is very small
Basic Rankine Cycle contin….

The thermal efficiency improvement techniques of

Rankine cycle are:
 By decreasing average temperature at which heat is
rejected from the working fluid (steam) in the
condenser. (Lowering condenser Pressure)
 By increasing steam temperature entering the
turbine.
Modification in Rankine Cycle
Rankine cycle efficiency can be improved by using the
following three methods.
1. Reheating
2. Regeneration
3. Combined reheating and regeneration
Reheat Rankine Cycle
 In this cycle steam is extracted from a suitable point in the
turbine and reheated generally to the original temperature by
flue gases. Reheating is generally used when the pressure is high
say above 100 kg/cm2.
Reheat Rankine Cycle

Fig. shows flow diagram of reheat cycle. First turbine is high-

pressure turbine and second turbine is low pressure (L.P.) turbine.
This cycle is shown on T-S (Temperature entropy) diagram.

H1 = Total heat of steam at 1

H2 = Total heat of steam at 2
H3 = Total heat of steam at 3
H4 = Total heat of steam at 4
Hw4 = Total heat of water at 4

Efficiency = {(H1 – H2) + (H3 – H4)}

{H1 + (H3 – H2) – Hw4}
Reheat Rankine Cycle
The various advantages of reheating are as follows:
(i) It increases dryness fraction of steam at exhaust so that blade
erosion due to impact of water particles is reduced.
(ii) It increases thermal efficiency.
(iii) It increases the work done per kg of steam and this results in
reduced size of boiler.
The disadvantages of reheating are as follows:
(i) Cost of plant is increased due to the reheater and its long
connections.
(ii) It increases condenser capacity due to increased dryness
fraction.
Regenerative Rankine Cycle
The process of extracting steam from the turbine at certain points
during its expansion and using this steam for heating for feed
water is known as Regeneration or Bleeding of steam. The
arrangement of bleeding the steam at two stages is shown in Fig
Regenerative Rankine Cycle

m2 = Weight of bled steam at a per kg of feed water heated

m2 = Weight of bled steam at a per kg of feed water heated
H1 , Hw1 = Enthalpies of steam and water in boiler
H2, H3 = Enthalpies of steam at points a and b
t2, t3 = Temperatures of steam at points a and b
H4, Hw4 = Enthalpy of steam and water exhausted to hot well.
Work done in turbine per kg of feed water between entrance and a
= H1 – H2
Work done between a and b = (1 – m2)(H2 – H3)
Regenerative Rankine Cycle

Work done between b and exhaust = (1 – m2 – m3)(H3 – H4)

Total heat supplied per kg of feed water = H1 – Hw2
Efficiency (η) = Total work done/Total heat supplied
= {(H1 – H2) + (1 – m2)(H2 – H3) + (1 – m2 – m3)(H3 – H4)}
(H1 – Hw2)
Reheat-Regenerative Cycle
In steam power plants using high steam pressure reheat regenerative
cycle is used. The thermal efficiency of this cycle is higher than only
reheat or regenerative cycle. Fig. shows the flow diagram of reheat
regenerative cycle.
This cycle is commonly
used to produce high
pressure steam (90
kg/cm2) to increase the
cycle efficiency.
Binary Vapour Cycle
No single fluid can meet all the requirements (high critical
temperature, small specific heat, chemically stable, non
toxic, non-corrosive etc.). In overall evaluation, water is
better than any other working fluid. Some other working
fluids are diphenyl ether, alunimium bromide and liquid
metals like mercury, sodium, potassium etc. Among these ,
only mercury has actually been used in practice.
In binary vapour cycle two working fluids are used. Fig.
shows the elements of Binary vapour power plant. The
mercury boiler heats the mercury into mercury vapours in a
dry and saturated state.
Binary Vapour Cycle
These mercury vapours expand in the mercury turbine and
then flow through heat exchanger where they transfer the
heat to the feed water, convert it into steam. The steam is
passed through the steam superheater where the steam is
super-heated by the hot flue gases. The steam then expands
in the steam turbine.
Advantages of Mercury as a vapour cycle fluid
 It has high density and, therefore, it is easier to separate vapour
from liquid in the boiler.
 It is an element and hence stable.
 At higher fluid temperature it has moderate vapour pressure.
 The efficiency of binary vapour plant using mercury is more than
steam power plant of same capacity.
Disadvantages
 In mercury vapour plant there is danger due to poisonous fumes if
any leakage of mercury vapour occurs.
 The investment cost per kW of binary vapour cycle power plant is
more than a steam power plant.
 Cost of mercury is high.
 Mercury has toxic qualities.
Steam and Heat Rates
The fluid is undergoing a cyclic process, there will be
not net change in its internal energy over the cycle, and
consequently, the net energy transferred to the unit mass
of the fluid as heat during the cycle must equal the net
energy transfer as work from the fluid.
Σ Qnet = Σ Wnet
Q1-Q2 = WT-WP
Q1= heat transferred to the working fluid, kJ/kg
Q2= heat rejected from the working fluid, kJ/kg
WT = work transferred from the working fluid, kJ/kg
WP = work transferred into the working fluid, kJ/kg
Steam and Heat Rates
The capacity of steam plant is expressed in term of
steam rate or specific steam consumption (SSC). It is
defined as the rate of steam flow (kg/s) required to
produced unit shaft output (kW).
Steam rate =

The cycle efficiency is sometime expressed as heat rate

which is the rate of heat input (kJ/s) required to produce
unit shaft output (kW).
Heat rate=
Classification of Steam Power Plants
Central Station: Electrical energy available for general
sales to customers. These stations are condensing type
where the exhaust steam is discharged in to condenser
instead of in to the atmosphere.
Industrial Power Station or captive power station:
Run by the manufacturing company for its own use and
not available for general use. These plants are non-
condensing because a large quantity of steam is
required for different manufacturing operations.
Essential Requirements of Steam Power Plant
Reliability
Minimum capital cost
Minimum operating and maintenance cost
Capacity to meet peak load effectively
Minimum losses of energy in transmission.
Low cost of energy supplied to consumers
Reserve capacity to meet future demand
Selection of site for steam power plant
Availability of raw material
Nature of land
Cost of land
Availability of water
Transport facilities
Ash disposal facilities
Availability of labour
Size of plant
Load centre
Public problems
Future extensions
Components Thermal Power Plant
1. Boiler 10. Coal mill
 Superheater, 11. Crusher house
 Reheater, 12. Induced draught fan
 Economizer,
13. Electrostatic precipitator
 Air-heater
14. Chimney
2. Steam Turbine
15. Forced draught fan
3. Generator/Alternator
16. Water treatment plant
4. Condenser
17. Control room
5. Cooling tower
18. Switch yard
6. Circulating water pump
7. Boiler feed pump
8. Wagon tippler
9. Ash handling plant
Modern Coal Power Plant
Four circuits of modern thermal power plant
The layout of the steam power plant consists of four
main circuits. These are:
1. Coal and ash circuit
2. Air and flue gas circuit
3. Water and steam circuit
4. Cooling water circuit
1. Coal and Ash Circuit
Coal from the storage yard is transferred to the boiler
furnace by means of coal handling equipment like belt
conveyor, bucket elevator, etc., ash resulting from the
combustion of coal in the boiler furnace collects at the
back of the boiler and is removed to the ash storage
yard through the ash handling equipment.
 Coal Handling
Following stages of coal handling
Coal delivery
Unloading
Preparation
Transfer
Storage of coal
In plant handling
Weighing and measuring
Furnace firing
Ash Disposal
Indian coal contains 30% to 40% ash. A power plant of
100MW 20 to 25 tonnes of hot ash per hour. Hence
sufficient space near the power plant is essential to
dispose such large quantities of ash.
2. Air and flue gas circuit
This circuit consists of forced draught fan, air pre-heater, boiler
furnace, super heater, economizer, dust collector, induced draught
fan and chimney etc.

Fig.- Air and flue gas circuit

Air and flue gas circuit
 By the action of forced draught fan air is taken from the atmosphere.
 Air is passed through the pre heater where air is pre heated by the flue
gases.
 Pre heated air is used in boiler furnace for combustion of fuel.
 Flue gases produced due to the combustion of fuel.
 The flue gases from the furnace pass over boiler tubes and super heater
tubes, where generated wet steam is superheated by the flue gases in
super heater.
 Then the flue gases pass through economizer to heat the feed water.
 After that, it passes through the air pre-heater to pre-heat the
incoming air.
 It is then passed through a dust catching device (dust collector).
 Finally, it is exhausted to the atmosphere through chimney.
3. Water and Steam circuit
It consists of feed pump, economizer, boiler drum, super heater,
turbine condenser etc.

Fig.- Water and Steam circuit

Water and Steam circuit

Feed water is pumped to the economizer from the hot well. This
water is preheated by the flue gases in the economizer. This
preheated water is then supplied to the boiler drum. Heat is
transferred to the water by the burning of coal. Due to this, water
is converted into steam.
The steam raised in boiler is passed through a super heater. It is
superheated by the flue gases. The superheated steam is then
expanded in a turbine to do work. The turbine drives a generator
to produce electric power. The expanded (exhaust) steam is then
passed through the condenser. In the condenser, the steam is
condensed into water and recirculated.
Fig.- Water and Steam circuit
4. Cooling water circuit
The circuit includes a pump, condenser, cooling tower etc.

Fig.- Water and Steam circuit

Cooling Water circuit
The exhaust steam from the turbine is condensed in condenser. In the
condenser, cold water is circulated to condense the steam into water.
The steam is condensed by losing its latent heat to the circulating cold
water.Thus the circulating water is heated.
This hot water is then taken to a cooling tower, where the water is
sprayed in the form of droplets through nozzles. The atmospheric air
enters the cooling tower from the openings provided at the bottom of
the tower. This air removes heat from water. Cooled water is collected
in a pond (known as cooling pond). This cold water is again circulated
through the pump, condenser and cooling tower. Thus the cycle is
repeated again and again. Some amount of water may be lost during the
circulation due to vaporization etc. Hence, make up water is added to
the pond by means of a pump. This water is obtained from a river or
lake.
Advantages of Thermal Power Plant
 Initial cost is low compared with hydro-plant and nuclear plants.
 The power plant can be located near load center, so the transmission
losses are considerably reduced.
 The generation of power is not dependent on the nature’s mercy like
hydro plant.
 The construction and commissioning of thermal plant requires less
period of time than a hydro plant.
 Suitable for varying load conditions.
 Life of the plant is more (25-30 years) as compared to diesel plant (2-5
years).
 Repair and maintenance cost is low when compared with diesel plant.
 No harmful radioactive wastes are produced as in the case of nuclear
plant.
Disadvantages of Thermal Power Plant
 Thermal plant are less efficient than diesel plants.
 It pollutes the atmosphere due to production of large amount of
smoke and fumes.
 Starting up the plant and bringing into service takes more time.
 Cooling water required is more.
 Space required is more
 Storage required for the fuel is more
 Ash handling is a big problem.
 Not economical in areas which are remote from coal fields
 Fuel transportation, handling and storage charges are more
 Number of persons for operating the plant is more than that of
nuclear plants.This increases operation cost.
Boilers
Boiler is an apparatus used to produce steam. Thermal energy released
by combustion of fuel is transferred to water which vaporizes and gets
converted into steam at the desired pressure and temperature. The
steam produced is used for:
(i) producing mechanical work by expanding it in steam engine or
steam turbine.
(ii) heating the residential and industrial buildings
(iii) performing certain processes in the sugar mills, chemical and
textile industries.
Boiler is a closed vessel in which water is converted into steam by the
application of heat. Usually boilers are coal or oil fired.
Boilers continue..
A boiler should fulfill the following requirements:
 Safety. The boiler should be safe under operating conditions.
 Accessibility. The various parts of the boiler should be accessible for
repair and maintenance.
 Capacity. The boiler should be capable of supplying steam according to
the requirements.
 Efficiency. To permit efficient operation, the boiler should be able to
absorb a maximum amount of heat produced due to burning of fuel in the
furnace.
 It should be simple in construction and its maintenance cost should be low.
 Its initial cost should be low.
 The boiler should have no joints exposed to flames.
 The boiler should be capable of quick starting and loading.
Classification of Boilers
Horizontal, vertical and inclined
Fire tube and water tube
Fire tube- Cochran, Lancashire, locomotive
Water tube- Babcock-Wilcox, Stirling boiler
Externally fired and internally fired
External fired- Babcock-Wilcox, Stirling boiler
Internal fired- Cochran, Lancashire
Forced circulation and Natural circulation
Forced circulation -Velox, Lamont, Benson boiler
Natural circulation- Babcock-Wilcox, Lancashire
Classification of Boilers
High pressure and low pressure
High pressure-Babcock-Wilcox, Velox, Lamont, Benson
boiler
Low Pressure- Cochran, Lancashire, locomotive boilers
Stationary (land) and Portable (movable, locomotive,
marine)
Single tube and multi tube
Cornish and simple vertical boiler are single tube and rest
of the boilers are multi tube boilers
 Super Critical Boilers
Critical point: The figure shows the PT diagram of a pure substance. The
commonly known phases solid, liquid and vapor are separated by phase
boundaries, i.e. pressure–temperature combinations where two phases can
coexist.At the triple point, all three phases can coexist.
The critical point of a substance is
the temperature and pressure at
which that substance can behave like
a gas and a liquid at the same time,
hence indistinguishable gas and liquid
phases occur. That is because
the density of the gas phase and the
liquid phase is equal at this point.
A substance that exists at temperature
and pressure, above its critical point is
known as a supercritical fluid.
Super Critical Boilers
The term supercritical in supercritical boilers refers to the pressures
above the critical point of water that the boiler is being operated. The
critical point of water is at 647 K temperature and 221 bar (22.1 MPa)
pressure. Pressures below 221 bar are known as “subcritical
pressure” and above 221 bar is “supercritical pressure” of water.
Since above the critical point, there is no distinction between steam
and water, water acts as a fluid.
There is no bubble formation in supercritical boilers, and liquid water
immediately converts into steam.
one of the major advantages of supercritical boilers is less fuel
consumption. This causes less production of greenhouse gases. and also,
due to no bubble formation, less water consumption can be observed.
Super Critical Boilers Advantages
 For a given output, lower fuel consumption, and thus lower carbon
emissions, than other less efficient systems.
 The load change rate capability of the system is not restricted by the
turbine.
 Steam temperature at the inlet and outlet of the reheater is nearly
constant over a wide load range.
 The boiler feed-water pump power is significantly reduced at lower
loads.
 Short startup times, hence the boiler can be used for carrying peak.
load and standby purposes with hydro plants.
 Higher plant efficiency over the entire load range.
 Due to compactness less floor space is required.
 All the parts are uniformly heated, therefore, the danger of
overheating is reduced.
Fluidized Bed Combustion Boilers (FBC Boilers)

The traditional grate fuel firing systems have got limitations and
are techno-economically unviable to meet the challenges of
future. Fluidized bed combustion has emerged as a viable
alternative and has significant advantages over conventional firing
system and offers multiple benefits – compact boiler design, fuel
flexibility, higher combustion efficiency and reduced emission of
noxious pollutants such as SOx and NOx. The fuels burnt in these
boilers include coal, washery rejects, rice husk, bagasse and other
agricultural wastes. The fluidized bed boilers have a wide capacity
range- 0.5 T/hr to over 100 T/hr.
Fluidized Bed Combustion Boilers (FBC Boilers)

Fluidization is a method of mixing fuel and air in a specific

proportion, for obtaining combustion. A fluidized bed may be
defined as the bed of solid particles behaving as a fluid. It operates
on the principal that when an evenly distributed air is passed
upward through a finely divided bed of solid particles at low
velocity, the particles remain undisturbed, but if the velocity of air
flow is steadily increased, a stage is reached when the individual
particles are suspended in the air stream.
If the air velocity is further increased, the bed becomes highly
turbulent and rapid mixing of particles occur which appear like
formation of bubbles in a boiling liquid and the process of
combustion as a result is known as fluidized bed combustion.
Fluidized Bed Combustion Boilers (FBC Boilers) Video
Fluidized Bed Combustion Boilers (FBC Boilers)

 A fluidized furnace has an enclosed space with a base having

openings to admit air. Crushed coal, ash and crushed dolomite
or limestone is mixed in the bed furnace and high velocity
combustion air is then passed through the bed, entering from
the furnace bottom.
 The evaporator tubes of boiler are directly immersed in the
fluidized bed and the tubes, being in direct contact with the
burning coal particles, produce very high heat transfer rates.
Because of this, the unit size is reduced to a great extent, and
also produces combustion with very high efficiency.
Advantages of FBC Boilers

 The main advantage of fluidized bed combustion system

is that municipal waste, sewage plant sludge, biomass,
agricultural waste and other high moisture fuels can be used for
heat generation.
 High thermal efficiency.
 Easy ash removal system, to be transferred for made cement.
 Short commissioning and erection period.
 Fully automated and thus ensures safe operation, even at
extreme temperatures.
 Efficient operation at temperatures down to 150oC (i.e. well
below the ash fusion temperature).
Advantages of FBC Boilers

 Reduced coal crushing etc. (pulverised coal is not a necessity

here).
 The system can respond rapidly to changes in load demand, due
to quick establishment of thermal equilibrium between air and
fuel particles in the bed.
 The operation of fluidized bed furnace at lower temperature
helps in reducing air pollution. The low temperature operation
also reduces the formation of nitrogen oxides. By adding either
dolomite (a calcium-magnesium carbonate) or lime stone
(calcium carbonate) to the furnace the discharge of sulphur
oxides to the atmosphere can also be reduced if desired.
Disadvantages of FBC Boilers

 The major drawback of this system is that the fan power has to
be maintained at a considerably high value, since the air has to
be supplied continuously at a very high pressure for supporting
the bed. This in turn increases the operating cost of the auxiliary
units of the plant.
Types of Fluidized Bed Combustion in Solid Fuel Boilers
 Atmospheric Classic Fluidized Bed Combustion
(AFBC)/ Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustion (BFBC)
 Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC)
 Pressurized Fluid Bed Combustion (PFBC)
 Atmospheric Classic Fluidized Bed Combustion (AFBC)/ Bubbling Fluidized
Bed Combustion (BFBC)
AFBC solid fuel boilers are generally 0.9 m to 1.5 m deep and consist of in-
bed evaporator tubes in the limestone, sand, and fuel bed to extract heat
and control the bed temperature. It operates with a determined
temperature range of 800oC and 850oC. If the temperature exceeds 950oC,
there may be a risk of clinker formation, and if it lowers than 800oC, it
may result in loss of combustion efficiency.
In AFBC, the coal is crushed to 1mm to 10 mm, depending on the quality of
the coal and the type of fuel fed in the combustion chamber. The
atmospheric air acts as fluidization air and combustion air that gets
preheated by exhaust flue gas and flows through the bed with a velocity
ranging from 1.2 m/sec. to 3.7 m/sec. The amount of fuel reacted
depends on the rate at which air passes through the bed.
 Bubbling FBC is used for Fuels with lower heating values such as Rice
Husk.
Video
Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC) video
The CFBC technique performs by crushed fuel of 6 mm to 12 mm size and
limestone into the combustor. The bottom of the furnace consists of air
distribution nozzles that deliver upward flowing air in which the particles
are suspended. The fluidizing velocity ranges between 3.7 m/sec. to 9
m/sec. and combustion takes place between 840oC and 900oC. The CFBC
comes without steam generation tubes, but some of them consist of
external heat exchangers. The circulation of particles leads to sufficient
heat transfer and residence time for the utilization of carbon and
limestone.
 In this, the unburned fuel is fed again to the furnace with the help of a
Forced Draught fan and ducts, ensuring enhanced combustion and higher
heating and provides excellent fuel flexibility.
Pressurized Fluid Bed Combustion (PFBC) Video

Pressurized Fluid Bed Combustion (PFBC) is mainly used in

cogeneration plants and large-scale coal combustion. The gas
turbine is driven from the off-gas in fluidized bed combustion.
Waste heat from the gas turbine is utilized for preheating the
condensate from the steam turbine and used as feed water for
generating steam. Combining gas and steam turbines leads to the
efficient generation of electricity.
Steam Turbines
The steam turbine is a prime mover in which the potential energy of
steam is transformed in to kinetic energy, and latter in its turn is
transformed in to mechanical energy of rotation of the turbine
shaft.The turbine shaft is connected to the driven mechanism.
A steam turbine is basically an assembly of nozzles and blades. The
energy conversion essentially occurs in two ways:
1. The high pressure, high temperature steam first expends in
nozzle and come out at a high velocity.
2. The high velocity jets of steam coming out of the nozzles,
impinge on the turbine blades mounted on wheels, get deflected
by an angle and suffer a loss of momentum which is absorbed by
the rotating wheel in producing torque.
Main Parts of Steam Turbines
The main parts of a steam turbine are as follows
I. A rotor on the circumference of which a series of blades or
buckets are attached. To a great extent the performance of the
turbine depends upon the design a:d construction of blades.
The blades should be so designed that they are able to
withstand the action of steam and the centrifugal force caused
by high speed. Steel or alloys are the materials generally used
for the construction of blades.
II. Bearing to support the shaft.
III. Metallic casing which surrounds blades, nozzles, rotor etc.
IV. Governor to control the speed.
V. Lubricating oil system.
Classification of Steam Turbines
There are several way to classify steam turbine. The most common
division being w.r.t. the action of the steam, as
(a) Impulse turbine (b) Reaction turbine (c) Combined
impulse and reaction turbine
Other classifications are
According to pressure stage
(a) Single stage turbine (b) Multi stage turbine

According to direction of flow of steam

(a) Axial flow turbine (b) Radial flow turbine
Classification of Steam Turbines
According to steam pressure at inlet of turbine
(a) Low pressure turbine (b) Medium pressure turbine.
(c) High pressure turbine (d) Super critical pressure turbine.
According to method of governing
(a) Throttle governing turbine. (b) Nozzle governing turbine.
(c) By pass governing turbine.
According to usage in industry
(a) Stationary turbine with constant speed. (b) Stationary
turbine with variable speed. (c) Non stationary turbines.
Impulse Turbine
There is no change in the pressure of the steam as it passes through the
moving blades. There is change only in the velocity of the steam flow.
Steam at high pressure passes through nozzle where the velocity of steam
increases. The high velocity jet of steam strikes on the blades of impulse
turbine. The blades change the direction of steam flow without changing
its pressure. The force due to change of momentum causes the rotation of
the turbine shaft.
Reaction Turbine Video
There is change in both pressure and velocity as the steam flows
through the moving blades. The steam leaving from a fixed blade
(acting as a nozzle) enters into the curved blade at and glides over
the inside surface of the blades and leaves from the other edge.
Difference b/w Impulse and Reaction turbine
Draught System
The draught is one of the most essential systems of the thermal power
plant which support the required quantity of air for combustion and
removes the burnt products from the system. To move the air through
the fuel bed and to produce a flow of hot gases through the boiler
economizer, pre-heater and chimney require a difference of pressure.
This difference of pressure to maintaining the constant flow of air and
discharging the gases through the chimney to the atmosphere is known
as draught. Draught can be achieved by the use of chimney, fan, steam
or air jet or a combination of these.
If only a chimney is used to create the necessary draught, the system is
called natural draught system and if in addition to chimney a forced
draught (F.D.) fan or an induced draught (I.D.), fan or both are used
the system is called mechanical draught system.
Classification of Draught System
Types of Draught Systems
 Natural Draught
 Mechanical Draught/Artificial Draught
 Forced Draught
 Induced Draught
 Balanced Draught
Natural Draught System
Natural draught system is used in boilers of smaller capacities. The
natural draught is produced by chimney or stack. It is caused by the
density difference between atmospheric air and hot gas in the stack.
This system is dependent upon the height of chimney and average
temperature of the gases in the chimney.
Advantages of Natural Draught:-
No external power is required to run the system.
 It requires small capital investment.
 Maintenance costs are minimum.
 The exhausts are discharged at a high altitude and -hence
atmosphere pollution is less at lower levels.
 The system has a long life.
Limitations:-
 The maximum pressure created by natural draught is very low
(20mm of water).
 For sufficient draught, the flue gases should be discharged at a
higher temperature, which reduces the plant efficiency.
 The system will have poor combustion efficiency, since the velocity
of air is low.
 It cannot produce higher draughts under peak loads, hence not
flexible.
Artificial Draught System
In boilers of larger capacities, fans are employed to create the
necessary draught in order to reduce the height of chimney, to
obtain draught that is independent of weather conditions and to
control the draught easily.
Mechanical draught is produced by fan. There are two types of
fans in used today: forced draft and induced draught.
Types of Mechanical or Fan Draught
The following are the three types of mechanical or fan draught:
Induced draught.
Forced draught.
Balanced draught.
Induced Draught.
Here, an air fan is attached to the base of the chimney or nearer to
it. When the fan rotates, it sucks the flue gases from the boiler
furnace system. The suction of flue gases from the furnace
produces a pressure difference between the outside air and inside
flue gases, which creates a draught. Due to this draught, fresh air
enters the furnace. As the draught gets induced due to the suction
of gases, we call the method as induced draught. ID fan or
induced draught fan sucks the flue gases from the boiler system
and pushes to atmosphere through the chimney along its height.
Induced Draught.
Induced Draught.
Forced Draught.
In a forced draught system, a blower is installed near the base of
the boiler and air is forced to pass through the furnace,
economizer, air-preheater and to the stack. This draught system is
known as positive draught system or forced draught system
because the pressure and air are forced to flow through the
system.
Balanced Draught
Balanced draught is a combination of both forced draught and
induced draught. In this system, both forced draught and induced
draught fans are used, thus eliminating the difficulties of forced
draught and induced draught systems.
The forced draught fan provided at the entry to the furnace
supplies the air through the fuel bed/grate, while the induced
draught fan sucks in the hot flues from the furnace and discharges
them at the chimney.
Forced draught supplies sufficient air for combustion and induced
draught prevents blow off flames when the doors are opened.
Balanced Draught.
Comparison between Forced Draught and Induced Draught
Forced Draught Induced Draught
Fan or blower is placed before Fan or blower is placed after
the grate the grate
The pressure inside the flue The pressure inside the flue
gases is slightly more than gases is slightly less than
atmospheric pressure atmospheric pressure
Fan requires less power Fan requires more power
The flow of the flue gases The flow of the flue gases
through the boiler is more through the boiler is less
uniform uniform
The danger of fire in case of No danger of fire in case of
leakage of flue gases. leakage of flue gases.
Feed Water Treatment
For steam power plants water is one of the most important raw
materials. In most of the cases, water used for steam power plants
contains impurities which must be treated before use. All Natural
waters-even rain, snow, bail, treated municipal supplies contain
impurities in any one form.
Classification of Impurities in Water:
The impurities in water may be classified as follows:
1.Visible impurities:
(i) Microbiological growth: Presence of micro-organisms is always
undesirable as they may produce clogging troubles.
(ii) Turbidity and sediments: Turbidity is the suspended insoluble
matter whereas sediments are the coarse particles which settle down in
stationary water, both are objectionable.
2. Minerals and salts : 3. Dissolved gases :
(i) Iron and manganese (i) Carbon di-oxide
(ii) Fluorides (ii) Oxygen
(iii) Oxygen (iii) Nitrogen
(iv) Methane (iv) Hydrogen sulphide
(v) Sodium and potassium salt (v) Methane
(vi) Silica.
4. Mineral acids:
Their presence in water is always undesirable as it may result in the
chemical reaction with the boiler material.
5. Hardness:
The salts of calcium and magnesium as bicarbonates, chlorides,
sulphates, etc., are mainly responsible for the formation of a very hard
surface which resists heat transfer and clogs the passages in pipes.
Presence of these salts is known as hardness.
Troubles Caused by the Impurities inWater:
1. Scale formation 2. Corrosion
3. Carry over 4. Embrittlement
Iron: either soluble or insoluble, iron can deposit on boiler parts
and tubes, damage downstream equipment, and affect the quality
of certain manufacturing processes
Copper: can cause deposits to settle in high-pressure turbines,
decreasing their efficiency and requiring costly cleaning or
equipment change-outs
Silica: if not removed to low levels, especially in high-pressure
boilers, silica can cause extremely hard scaling
Calcium: can cause scaling in several forms depending on the
chemistry of the boiler feed water (e.g. calcium silicate, calcium
phosphate, etc.)
Magnesium: if combined with phosphate, magnesium can stick
to the interior of the boiler and coat tubes, attracting more solids
and contributing to scale
Aluminum: deposits as scale on the boiler interior and can react
with silica to increase the likelihood of scaling
Hardness: also causes deposits and scale on boiler parts and
piping
Dissolved gasses: chemical reactions due to the presence of
dissolved gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide can cause
severe corrosion on boiler pipes and parts
Methods of Feed Water Treatment:
The different methods adopted to remove the various impurities are
a) Mechanical treatment b) Chemical treatment
Sedimentation Cold lime soda softening process
Coagulation Hot lime soda softening process
Filtration Lime phosphate softening process
Interior painting Ion exchange process - The process may
be sodium zeolite process or hydrogen
zeolite process
c) Thermal treatment d) Blow Down
Deaeration Hot lime-soda and ziolite process
Distillation by evaporators Adding acide to control alkalinity and
vice versa
e) Demineralization
Fuel(Coal) Handling System
The various steps involved in coal handling are as follows:
1. Coal delivery.
2. Unloading
3. Preparation
4.Transfer
5. Outdoor storage
6. Covered storage
7. In-plant handling
8.Weighing and measuring
9. Feeding the coal into furnace.
Coal delivery
 The coal from supply points is delivered by ships or boats to power
stations situated near to sea or river.
 Coal is supplied by rail or trucks to the power stations which are
situated away from sea or river.
 The transportation of coal by trucks is used if the railway facilities
are not available.
Coal Unloading
 The type of equipment to be used for unloading depends on how coal
is received at the power station.
 If coal delivered by trucks, there is no need of unloading device as
the trucks may dump the coal to the outdoor storage.
 Coal is easily handled and unloaded if the lift trucks with scoop are
used.
 In case the coal is brought by railways wagons, ships or boats, the
unloading may be done by car shakes, rotary car dumpers, cranes,
grab buckets and coal accelerators.
Preparation
 When the coal delivered is in the form of big lumps in more storage.
 It is not of proper size, the preparation (sizing) of coal can be
achieved by crushers, breakers, sizers, driers and magnetic
separators.

Transfer
After preparation coal is transferred to the dead storage by
means of :
1. Belt conveyors
2. Screw conveyors
3. Bucket elevators
4. Grab bucket elevators
1. Belt Conveyor
 It consists of an endless belt moving over a pair of rollers.
 At some distance a supporting roller is provided at the centre.
 The belt is made up of rubber or canvas.
 Belt conveyor is suitable for the transfer of coal over long
distances.
 It is used in medium and large power plants.
Advantages of belt conveyor:
• Its operation is smooth and clean
• It requires less power as compared
to other types of systems
• Large quantities of coal can be
discharged quickly and
continuously.
• Material can be transported on
moderate inclines.
2. Screw Conveyor
 It consists of an endless helicoids screw fitted to a shaft.
 The screw while rotating in a trough transfers the coal from feeding end
to the discharge end.
 This system is suitable, where coal is to be transferred over shorter
distance and space limitations exist.
 Rotation of screw varies between 75-125 r.p.m.
3. Bucket elevator
 It is used for vertical shift.
 It consists of buckets fixed on chain which moves over two
wheels.
 The coal is carried by the bucket from bottom and
discharged at the top.
4. Grab bucket elevator
 It lifts and transfers coal on a single rail or track from one point to the
other.
 The coal lifted by grab buckets is transferred to overhead bunker or
storage.
 This system requires less power for operation and requires minimum
maintenance.
 The grab bucket conveyor can be
used with crane or tower.
 Although the initial cost of this
system is high but operating cost is
less.
5. Skip hoist.
It consists of a vertical or inclined hoist way a bucket or a car
guided by a frame and a cable for hoisting the bucket. The bucket
is held in upright position. It is simple and compact method of
elevating coal or ash.
Storage of Coal
 Storage of coal gives protection against the interruption of coal
supply.
 When there is delay in transportation of coal or due to strike in
coal mines the stored coal is very useful.
 Also when the prices are low, the coal can be purchased and
stored for future use.
 The amount of coal to be stored depends on the availability of
space for storage, and transportation facilities.
 Storage of coal for longer periods is not economical and results
in deterioration of the quality of coal.
Ash Handling System
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.
Types of Ash Generated in Thermal Power Plant
Bottom Ash – Ash generated below furnace of the thermal power
plant is called the bottom ash. The value of bottom ash generated is
around 20% of total ash. Bottom ash is mostly coarse in nature hence it
needs to be further crushed before being transported to ash handling
system
Fly Ash – Around 80 % of ash generated in thermal power plant is fly
ash. It is in form of very fine particles which is collected via
economizer hopper, air-preheater hopper and electrostatic precipitator.
Ash Handling System
Ash handling systems are primarily bifurcated on the
following grounds
Fly Ash Handling System: Fly Ash is captured and removed from the
flue gases by an economizer, air-preheater, and ESP that are located at
the outlet of the furnace and before the induced draft. The fly ash is
pneumatically transported from collection hoppers of the economizer,
air-preheater, and ESP to the storage silos.
Bottom Ash Disposal System: This system collects ash in the bottom
hopper which is located directly under the furnace boiler. As this is
coarse in nature, it has to be treated by multiple systems like clinker
grinders which then ensure that the size of the bottom ash is
manageable and can be easily transported to temporary storage or to an
ash pond in slurry form.
Ash Slurry Disposal System: The bottom ash that is collected by the
Bottom Ash Disposal System is often mixed with water and transported
to an ash disposal area.
The handling equipment should perform the following
functions: Mechanical means are required for the disposal of ash.
1.Capital investment, operating and maintenance charges of the
equipment should be low.
2. It should be able to handle large quantities of ash.
3.Clinkers, shoot, dust etc. create troubles. The equipment should
be able to handle them smoothly.
4. The equipment used should remove the ash from the furnace,
load it to the conveying system to deliver the ash to dumping site
or storage and finally it should have means to dispose of the stored
ash.
5.The equipment should be corrosion and wear resistant.
6.The operation of plant should be noiseless as much as possible.
Ash handling equipments
 Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP)  Storage Bin
 Feed/Discharge/Sluice Gate  Dry Bottom Ash Conveyor
 Clinker Grinder or Crusher  Clinker Cooling Conveyor
 Jet Pump  Dry Bottom Ash System
 Dewatering Bin  Slurry Pump
 Transfer Bin

Classification of ash handling system:

i) Hydraulic system
ii) Pneumatic system
iii) Mechanical system
iv) Water jetting system
Hydraulic ash handling system
 It is generally used in large power plants.
 In this method water at sufficient pressure is used to take away the
ash to sump. Where water and ash are separated and then ash is
transferred to the dump site in wagons, rail cars to trucks.
 The loading of ash may be through a belt conveyor, grab buckets.
 If there is an ash basement with ash hopper the ash can fall directly in
ash conveying system.
Pneumatic ash handling system
 In this system ash from the boiler furnace falls into a crusher.
 The larger ash particles are crushed to small sizes by using balls in
the crusher.
 The ash is then carried by a high velocity air or steam to the point of
delivery.
 Air leaving the ash
separator is passed through
filter to remove dust etc.
 So that the filter removes
the dust particles and
passes clean air which will
protect the blades of the
exhaust fan.
Mechanical ash handling system
In this system, ash cooled by water seal falls on the belt conveyor and is
carried out continuously to the bunker. The ash is then removed to the
dumping site from the ash bunker with the help of trucks
Water-Jetting system
In this method a low pressure jet of water coming out of quenching
nozzle is used to cool the ash. The ash falls into trough and is then
removed.
Steam Condenser
 A steam condenser is a closed vessel in which steam is
condensed by abstracting the heat by cooling it with water and
where the pressure is maintained below atmospheric pressure.
 The condensed steam is known as condensate. The efficiency of
the steam power plant is increased by the use of a condenser.
The steam condenser is an essential component of all modern
steam power plants.
Objectives of the Steam Condenser
 The primary objective is to maintain a low pressure (below
atmospheric pressure) so as to obtain the maximum possible
energy from steam and thus to secure a high efficiency.
 The secondary objective is to supply pure feed water to the hot
well, from where it is pumped back to the boiler.
Elements of a Condensing Plant
The essential elements of a steam condensing plant are as shown
in the figure. It includes:
1. Condenser
The condenser is a closed vessel in which steam is condensed.
During the condensation process, steam gives heat energy to the
coolant (which is water).
2. Condensate Pump
It is a pump, which removes condensate (i.e. condensed steam)
from a condenser to a hot well.
3. Hot Well
It is a pump between the condenser and boiler, which receives
condensate pumped by the condensate pump.
4. Boiler Feed Pump
Boiler feed pump pumps the condensate from a hot well to a
boiler. This is done by increasing the condensate pressure above
the boiler pressure.
5. Air Extraction Pump
Air extraction pump is a pump which extracts (i.e. removes) air
from the condenser.
6. Cooling Tower
The cooling tower is a tower employed for cooling the water
which is discharged from the condenser.
7. Cooling Water Pump
The cooling water pump is a pump, which circulates the cooling
water through the condenser.
Working of Steam Condenser
 The steam condenser receives exhaust steam from one end and
gets in contact with the cooling water flowed within it form the
cooling tower.
 As the low-pressure steam comes in contact with the cooling
water, it condenses and turns into water. It is attached to the air
extraction pump and condensation extraction pump. After
condensation of steam, the condensate is pumped into the hot
well by the help of condensate extraction pump.
 The air extraction pump extracts air from the condenser and
produces a vacuum inside it. The vacuum produced helps in the
circulation of cooling water and the flow of condensate
downstream.
Classification of Condenser
Condensers are classified as follows:
a) Jet Condenser
b) Surface Condenser
In jet condenser, the exhaust steam and water come in direct
contact with each other and temperature of the condensate is the
same as that of cooling water leaving the condenser. The cooling
water is usually sprayed into the exhaust steam to cause rapid
condensation.
Types of Jet Condensers
Parallel flow jet condenser
Counter flow or Low-level jet condenser
Barometric or High-level jet condenser
Ejector Condenser
(a) Parallel Flow Jet Condensers
In parallel flow jet condensers, both the steam and water enter at the
top and the mixture is removed from the bottom. The exhaust steam
mixes up with the water and condensed. Condensate, cooling water
and airflow downwards and are removed by two separate pumps
known as an air pump and condensate pump. The condensate pump
carries the condensate to the hot well.
(b) Counter Flow Jet Condenser
In these types of steam condenser, the cooling water enters at the top
and sprayed through jets. The steam enters at the bottom and mixes
with the fine spray of cooling water. A separate pump removes the
condensate.
In a parallel flow type of this condenser, the cooling water and steam to
be condensed move in the same direction, but in counter flow both
steam and cooling water from opposite direction.
(c) High-level Jet Condenser /Barometric Jet Condenser
This is similar to the low-level condenser, except the condenser shell is
placed at a height of 10.36 m (barometric height) above the hot well. In this
condenser, the cooling water enters at the top and sprayed through jets. The
steam enters the bottom and mixes with the fine spray of cooling water. The
column of water in the tailpipe forces the condensate into the hot well by
gravity.
(d) Ejector Condenser
In this condenser, cooling water under ahead of 5 to 6 m. enters at the top of
the condenser and it is passed through a series of convergent nozzles. There
is a pressure drop at the throat of the nozzle.
Steam is mixed with water and condensed. In the converging cones, pressure
energy is partly converted into kinetic energy. In diverging cones, the kinetic
energy is partly converted into pressure energy. The pressure obtained is
higher than atmospheric pressure and this forces the condensate to the hot
well.
In surface condensers, there is no direct contact between the
cooling water and the steam that is to be condensed. The heat
transfer between steam and cooling water is by conduction and
convection. The condensate can be recovered for re-use as feed
water.
Types of Surface Condensers
Down-flow surface condenser
Central flow condenser
Regenerative condenser
Evaporative condenser
 The surface condenser has a great advantage over the jet
condensers, as the condensate does not mix up with the cooling
water. As a result of this, the whole condensate can be reused in
the boiler.
Cogeneration
 Cogeneration is also called as combined heat and power or
combine heat and power. As it name indicates cogeneration
works on concept of producing two different form of energy by
using one single source of fuel. Out of these two forms one
must be heat or thermal energy and other one is either
electrical or mechanical energy.
 Cogeneration is the most optimum, reliable, clean and efficient
way of utilizing fuel. The fuel used may be natural gas, oil,
diesel, propane, wood, bassage, coal etc. It works on very
simple principle i.e the fuel is used to generate electricity and
this electricity produces heat and this heat is used to boil water
to produce steam, for space heating and even in cooling
buildings.
 In a conventional power plant, the fuel is burnt in a boiler,
which in turn produces high pressure steam. This high pressure
steam is used to drive a tribune, which is in turn is connected to
an alternator and hence drive an alternator to produce electric
energy. The exhaust steam is then sent to the condenser, where
it gets cool down and gets converted to water and hence return
back to boiler for producing more electrical energy. The
efficiency of this conventional power plant is 35 % only.
 In cogeneration plant the low pressure steam coming from
turbine is not condense to form water, instead of it its used for
heating or cooling in building and factories, as this low pressure
steam from turbine has high thermal energy. The
cogeneration plant has high efficiency of around 80 – 90%.
Need for Cogeneration
a) Cogeneration helps to improve the efficiency of the plant.
b) Cogeneration reduce air emissions of particulate matter,
nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxide, mercury and carbon dioxide
which would otherwise leads to greenhouse effect.
c) It reduces cost of production and improve productivity.
d) Cogeneration system helps to save water consumption and
water costs.
e) Cogeneration system is more economical as compared to
conventional power plant.
Types of Cogeneration Power Plants
1. Topping cycle power plant
2. Bottoming cycle power plant

1. Topping Cycle Power Plant

In this type of Combine Heat and Power plant electricity is
generated first and then waste or exhaust steam is used to heating
water or building.There are basically four types of topping cycles.
a) Combined-cycle topping CHP plant
b) Steam-turbine topping CHP Plant
c)Water- turbine topping CHP Plant
d) Gas turbine topping CHP plant
a) Combined-cycle topping CHP plant:
 In this type of plant the fuel is firstly burnt in a steam boiler. The
generated steam used to drive turbine and hence synchronous
generator which in turn produces electrical energy.
 The exhaust from this turbine can be either used to provide
usable heat, or can be send to a heat recovery system to
generate steam. This generated steam may be further used to
drive a secondary steam turbine.
 The steam turbine is either of the back-pressure type or an
extraction-condensing type.
 The combined-cycle plant is most suitable only when the
electric demand is high comparable to the heat demand.
b) Steam-turbine topping CHP Plant:
 In this the fuel is burned to produce steam which generates
power. The exhaust steam is then used as low-pressure process
steam to heat water for various purposes.
 Steam-electric power plant with steam extraction from a
condensing turbine to generate electricity.
 This extraction condensing cogeneration plant is suitable over a
wide range of ratios of electric-to-heat generation.
c)Water- turbine topping CHP Plant:
 In this type of CHP plant a jacket of cooling water is run
through a heat recovery system. This cooling water is used to
generate steam or hot water for space heating.
 Steam-electric power plant with a back-pressure turbine using
water as a source for producing electricity.
 The back-pressure steam turbine plant is most suitable only
when the electric demand is low compared with the heat
demand.
d) Gas turbine topping CHP plant:
 In this topping plant a natural gas fired turbine is used to drives
a synchronous generator to produce electricity.
 The exhaust gas is sent to a heat recovery boiler
 Gas-turbine power plant with a heat-recovery boiler which uses
the gas turbine exhaust to generate steam.
 The gas turbine power plant is most suitable when the electric
demand is almost nearer to the heat demand.
Bottoming cycle power plant:
 Bottoming cycle is exactly opposite to that of topping cycle
power plant.
 In this type of CHP plant the excess heat from a manufacturing
process is used to generate steam.
 This steam is used for generating electrical energy.
 In this type of cycle no extra fuel is required to produce
electricity, as fuel is already burnt in production process.