Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A K RAZA
AGM (BMD)
ABHISHEK
DY SUPDT (EMD)
ABSTRACT
One of the greatest problems that the world is facing today is that of environmental pollution,
increasing with every passing year and causing grave and irreparable damage to the earth. Air
pollution is by far the most harmful form of pollution in our environment. Power-generating plants are
probably the biggest sources of fossil fuel pollution.
To meet the growing electricity demand, the expansion of the coal-fired thermal power plants is the
most likely scenario, which consequently also leads to an array of environmental and health impacts.
India, depend on coal to produce electricity. 65% of the total installed power generation is coal. Indian
coal used in power stations is of inferior grade having high ash contents varying from 30 to 50%.
Air pollution from coal-fired power plants is large and varied and contributes to a significant number of
negative environmental and health effects. (PM), also known as particulate pollution, includes the tiny
particles of fly ash and dust that are expelled from coal-burning power plants.
Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs) are used to control the fly ash emission from the boilers of the plant.
A precipitator is a relatively simple device which separates particles from a gas stream by passing the
carrier gas between pairs of electrodes across which a unidirectional, high voltage potential is
placed. The particles are charged before passing through the field and migrate to an oppositely
charged electrode. Improvement and sustenance in collection efficiencies of ESPs are major
challenge for power industries in India.
The present emission standards for particulate emission for a 210 MW boiler are 150mg/nm3, which
is likely to revise to 100 mg/nm3 soon.
The performance of old ESPs can be improved by taking number of retrofit measures for which
systematic studies are required. Also to improve and sustain the performance of ESP a systematic
and holistic approach is required to minimize the ill effects of factors adversely affecting the
performance of ESP.
Emission from stack has always been a major concern for KhSTPS due to high ash content in coal,
low CV of coal and high resistivity of fly ash generated.This paper deals with the difficulties, issues,
challenges faced and corrective actions taken along with continuous monitoring to improve and
sustain the performance of ESP at KhSTPS and keep the stack emission within the statutory limit.
INTRODUCTION
The operation and performance of ESP largely depend on the properties of coal burnt and fly ash
generated. The properties of the coal used in different plants across the country
vary widely. In many of the power plants like in KhSTPS, the ash content in coal is as high as 45%
with a low calorific value. This increases the rate of coal fired in the boiler which in turn generates
more fly ash there by increasing the inlet dust burden on ESP.
Besides, low sulphur contents (<0.5%) result in resistivity of fly ash being 2 to 3 order of
magnitude higher than that generated elsewhere. The higher value of electrical resistivity
results in development of back corona even at much lower current densities and generation of
sparks at much lower voltages. As a result the ESP despite being much larger, have lower collection
efficiency. Stack emission has always been a matter of concern for KhSTPS, because to fulfil the
statutory emission limit ESP requires continuous services of operation and maintenance and carries a
tag of handle with care with itself. The dedicated effort of cross functional team formed for ESP
improvement has yielded positive results and has helped in keeping the emission within the statutory
limit.
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 1
IPS 2015
Corona Generation
Particle Charging
Particle Collection
Particle Removal
1.
2.
3.
Gas temperature
Gas composition & moisture content
Dust composition
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 2
IPS 2015
ESP characteristics with Resistivity
High resistivity (1012ohm cm and above ), the performance of ESP will deteriorate drastically due to
Reduced performance due to back-corona
High operating current levels
Reduced operating voltage levels
Very significant voltage loss across dust layer
High electrical force component retaining collected dust
Gas Temperature
Monitoring the temperature of the gas stream can provide useful information concerning ESP
performance.
Changes in gas temperature can have profound effects on ESP performance. The temperature
variation can be very small (in some cases as little as 15 0 F) and yet cause a significant change in
ESP power levels and opacity. their most important effect is on particle resistivity.
For sources with the potential for high resistivity, temperature changes can cause dramatic changes in
performance, even when all other parameters seem to be the same
250
200
150
Gas Temp.
Emission
100
50
0
Base
10
15
20
Graph shows the effect on ESP emission, due to increase of gas temperature only, without
considering variation in gas flow & dust load.
Variation of ESP emission w.r.t. gas temperature is not linear.
For 200 C (15 %) increase of gas temperature, emission shoots up by about 2 times.
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 3
IPS 2015
Gas composition and moisture
The chemical composition of both the particulate matter and flue gas can affect ESP performance.
In many applications, key indicators of gas composition are often obtained by using continuous
emission monitors.
Physical and chemical properties of the dust such as dust type, size of the dust particles, and
average and maximum concentrations in the gas stream are important. Particle size is important;
Small particles are more difficult to collect and become re entrained more easily than larger particles.
The dust loading can affect the operating performance. If the dust concentration is too high, the
automatic voltage controller may respond by totally suppressing the current in the inlet fields.
Suppressed current flow drives the voltage up, which can cause sparking.
Resistivity is a function of the chemical composition of the dust, the flue gas temperature and moisture
concentration. For fly ash generated from coal-fired boilers, the resistivity depends on the temperature
and moisture content of the flue gas and on the sulphur content of the coal burned; the lower the
sulphur content, the higher the resistivity, and vice versa. Increased content of SiO2, Al2O3 CaO
increases electrical resistivity.
High Electrical Resistivity of Fly-ash can be handled by doing the following
Description
210 MW
500 MW
ESP Type
FAA-6X45-78125-2
296 m/Sec
849 m/Sec
Temperature
129 C
130 C
Dust concentration
73.83 gm/N m
72.58 gm/Nm
---
23 mg/Nm
Design Condition
2
Number of Fields
Six
Ten
One
Two
Collection efficiency
99.90%
99.90%
20 mmwc
20 mmwc
0.759
0.87 m/sec
Velocity of gas
Treatment Time
No of collecting
Electrode per unit
NTPC Kahalgaon
35.57
6X27 (=162 per field)
X24=3888
Page 4
51.72 Second
6X61(=366)X40=14,640
IPS 2015
12
13
Type of Electrode
14
Plate/wire spacing
Boiler 1st
pass
Bottom
Ash-20%
237.16 m/ m/sec
343.46 m/ m/sec
(3X3)X6X26(=1404)X24=33,
696
Spiral with hooks 2.7 mm
dia
150 mm(300 mm pitch)
Boiler
2nd pass
Eco
Ash
(3X3)X6X60(=3240)X40=1,29,60
0
Spiral with hooks 2.7 mm dia
150 mm(300 mm pitch)
ESP
APH
APH
Ash
11
Dimension of plate,
Height X Length
Specific Collecting
Area
No of Emitting
Electrode
S TAC
10
ESP Ash80%
Coal in KhSTPS comes from Lalmatia mines located 30 kms from plant .Besides high ash content in
coal, specific coal consumption is also high, of the order of 0.88 which demands high coal feeding in
furnace, thus generating more fly ash and consequently loading the ESP higher. The inlet dust burden
gets increased & combined with high gas flow rate, decreases the treatment time of ash particles
inside ESP. The high gas flow rate poses another challenge. The Boiler outlet or ESP inlet temp goes
high increasing the gas volume and hence the gas flow rate increases further.
Lalmatia coal
Sample-1
Sample-2
Moisture %
8.05
8.18
Ash %
49.52
38.92
VM%
19.04
21.43
FC %
23.39
31.47
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 5
IPS 2015
2. Also it produces a high electric field across the dust layer deposited on plates which causes local
ionization of dust called back corona.
Silicon dioxide
Aluminium oxide +
Magnesium
Na2O
Total
Fly ash test
%
iron oxide %
oxide
%
chlorides
result
%
%
60.67
31.50
3.01
0.08
.021
FLUE GAS FLOW RATE MORE THAN DESIGNED FOR ESP INLET CONDITIONS
Gas flow rate is defined by quantity of coal fired, excess air and air in leakage. Measured gas flow
rate at ESP inlet was around 1.5 times than the designed flow. Design flow is 296m 3/sec.
Treatment time calculated for the flue gas was in the range of 23-26sec against design of 35.5sec.
Decreased treatment time results in high stack emission
The main reason for high flue gas flow is high specific coal consumption and air in leakage from air
heaters, sand compensators and re heater control stage casing. Oxygen mapping of boiler 2 nd pass
up to ESP inlet shows an increase from 3% at economiser outlet to 7% at ESP inlet.
Chocking of APH tubes/baskets, eroded guide vanes of flue gas duct, rotating fire-ball due to
tangential firing may skew the inter pass flow rate which causes higher gas flow rates in some of the
passes.
High flue gas velocity also results in re entrainment of particle inside ESP. It also disturbs the flow
pattern & flue gas distribution among different passes.
Design
296
Unit-2
451
Unit-3
444.3
Unit-4
441.2
0.76
1.15
1.012
1.01
DAY
F WISE VOLTAGE LEVEL FOR DIFFERENT UNITS OF FIRST FIELD(A1)
I
E
L
D
V
O
L
T
A
G
E
60
50
UNIT 1
40
UNIT 2
30
UNIT 3
20
UNIT 4
10
0
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 6
IPS 2015
DAY WISE VOLTAGE LEVELS FOR FIRST FIELDS OF ONE UNIT
F
I
E
L
D
V
O
L
T
A
G
E
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Unit 4 A1
Unit 4 B1
Unit 4 C1
Unit 4 D1
CURRENT VS VOLTAGE
V
O 100
L
50
T
0
A
0 50 100150200250300350400
G
E
FIELD CURRENT
A4
B3
D6
In every shutdown air load test is carried out and air load test curves are kept as a record for
future reference
During short shutdown all rapping mechanism for each field, both collecting and emitting are
checked physically. On several occasions problem has been found in pin arrangement of
emitting electrode and pinion of collecting plates
Daily checking of rapping motors- a format has been developed to check and record the
status of rapping mechanism on daily basis. Any deviation is immediately informed to
concerned area for rectification to prevent the field from outage
Oxygen mapping of boiler 2 nd pass is done on regular basis to find out the area of air in
leakage. Locations are identified and are attended in short/long shutdown. KHSTPS stage-1
has tubular air pre heaters which has got a tendency of chocking at low flue gas temperature.
During every start up SCAPH is charged to maintain temperature. SCAPH is also kept in
charged condition during winter. Chocking of air heater tubes increases the flue gas velocity
in balance tubes resulting in erosion and air in leakage through the tubes
Monitoring of ash evacuation from ESP hoppers- logging of evacuation parameters like shut
off vacuum, line vacuum of each ESP pas of each unit in every shift has helped in overcoming
the ash evacuation problem at KhSTPS which was very frequent due to high coal feeding and
high ash content. cycle time of each pass is also monitored, if any pass evacuation goes slow,
corrective action is taken or pass is isolated from flue gas side.
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 7
IPS 2015
without taking any shutdown. The main disadvantage of ammonia dosing experienced at KhSTPS is
formation of sticky layer of ash on the collecting plates which does not come out by rapping.
Unit load
205MW
Ammonia
injection rate
SPM(mg/nm3)
0 kg/hr
7kg/hr
12kg/hr
171
123
114
MAINTENANCE INITIATIVES
REPLACEMENT OF SAND COMPENSATORS WITH NON-METALLIC EXPANSION JOINTS
BOILERS OF STAGE-1
IN 210 MW
The connection between Economizer Stage- 2 and Air Pre Heater Stage- II is facilitated
through Sand Compensators, which allows vertical movement of second pass of the boiler
as well as sealing of the pass against air ingress.
The plate welded to the bottom header of wall super heater is allowed to move vertically
within the channel which is filled with sand and sealed with asbestos rope to prevent air
ingress.
Gradually the sand gets sucked inside the furnace as it is under negative pressure, resulting
in a creation of passage for atmospheric air to get inside the flue gas path.
Replacement of the Sand Compensator in the Air Pre Heaters (APHs) zone of the 210 MW
boilers with NMEJ (Non-Metallic Expansion Joints) was a viable option to get rid of such
recurrent problem.
NMEJ
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 8
IPS 2015
MODIFICATION OF ECONOMISER & AIR HEATER FLUSHING APPARATUS IN STAGE-2 AND
INSTALLATION OF AIR HEATER ASH EVACUATION SYSTEM IN STAGE-1
Initially there was problem in ash evacuation from economiser hoppers leading to more dust loading
on ESP. it was mainly due to
Misalignment of sealing apparatus. Restriction in expansion used to tilt the sealing apparatus
from one side and air ingress did not allow the ash to flow through
Capacity of flushing apparatus was not as per the rate of ash coming from economiser
hoppers. Size of flushing apparatus was increased along with modification in nozzle
arrangement, instead of unidirectional two nozzles in tangential direction was placed to create
more turbulence.
REPLACEMENT OF COLLECTING ELECTRODES:
The collecting electrodes of stage I ESPs have corroded / eroded at many locations. The
following problems were found in inspection of the fields during the shutdowns
The thickness of some of the plates had reduced to 0.6-0.7 mm as against designed
thickness of 1.2mm.
Shear at the bottom
Shear from Top hook
Bending of the plates causing misalignment
After inspection it was found that the damage of the plates might have occurred due to
following reasons:
Ageing of the ESP internals which is being reflected by reduction in thickness of the
plates.
Defects and misalignment in the rapping mechanism of collecting electrodes.
Unequal ash loading leading to hopper overfills
Heavy deposition on collecting electrodes to to high resistive and adhesive ash.
Such plates were identified and damaged plates in the first two fields of stage I units have
been replaced. Post overhauls, average voltage of these fields has increased marginally.
REPLACEMENT OF EMITTING ELECTRODES:
Most outages of the fields at KhSTPS occur due to snapping of Emitting electrodes. After inspection
the probable reasons for snapping are as follows:
The emitting electrodes weaken due to excessive sparking near the hooks connecting to
the discharge frames.
The vibration caused by regular rapping also causes slackness due to loss of spring-back
in the coils.
Heavy ash deposition on the emitting electrodes due to Back corona and failure of
coupling pins of the rapping shafts which is not visible from outside.
Corrective actions:
Wherever the collecting electrodes are changed during overhauling it is ensured that new
emitting electrodes are put in the vicinity of these collecting electrodes.
In addition to this, the emitting electrodes whose spring-back is less than normal are replaced
on regular basis.
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 9
IPS 2015
REPLACEMENT OF RAPPING MECHANISM:
As frequency of rapping in initial fields is high, most of the damage occurs in these fields. In order to
ensure healthiness of the rapping system, all shock-bars, shock-pads, inner & outer arms, and CRM
shafts are replaced in first three fields. The damaged shock-bar guide is also replaced.
REPLACEMENT OF SHAFT INSULATORS:
Heavy salt deposits were found on the shaft insulators. These led to tracking and field shortages. All
such shaft insulators are replaced. Further care is taken that there is no air ingress point near shaft
insulators. All 24 shaft insulators are thoroughly inspected and the damaged ones are being replaced
in every OH.
REPAIR OF DUCT GUIDE VANES AND ESP INLET SPLITTER PLATES :
These have major role in proper gas distribution across ESP. Abnormal difference in flow rate among
the different passes may lead to high gas flow rate in some sections. This results in poor collection
efficiency. The high erosion rate of such guide vanes are due to high ash content and low quality of
coal. Splitter plates at the entry of ESP are subjected to very high flue gas velocity which is also one
of main cause of erosion. These are replaced in each OH.
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 10
IPS 2015
350
310
300
250
289
260
221
200
150
131
122
133
143
2011
2014
100
50
0
unit 1
unit 2
unit 3
unit 4
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 11
IPS 2015
2. Electrostatic Fabric Integrated Precipitator (EFIP):The coarser particles in this type of filter
are captured by conventional electrostatic process while the finer particles are captured in the
fabric bags. This is highly effective in capturing highly resistive dusts. This type of hybrid filters
are of much use in India and are increasingly finding favours for retrofitting old plants as well
as new units burning low grade coals. As bags have higher dp margins of ID fan has to be
taken in consideration while going for a retrofit.
3. Lower Temperature Electrostatic Precipitator (LTEP) :
Coals with high resistive ash residue generally have very low sulphur content or the units with
an FGD unit ahead of an ESP have little chance of corrosion due to acid due point
depression. This provides opportunity to extract further heat from the flue gases so that the
resistivity is favourably reduced. Many precipitators in Japan are able to reduce emissions
using this technology by just reducing 20-30 0 C temperature of the flue gases. Advantage of
this technology is that it reduces the flue gas volume also. This not only reduces ID fan
margins but improves collection efficiency of precipitator also.
4. High Frequency Power supplies (HFPS):
There have been many new developments in the input power supplies which have been
effective in collection of smaller size particles as well as high resistivity ash. These increase
the peak field voltages while keeping the average current densities below back corona
threshold. Typically these operate from a 3 phase supply. In operation the DC from the input
rectifier is switched to a high frequency to feed the transformer. The major advantage of this is
that, for a normal 50 Hz supply the switching time is 100 milliseconds, whereas with say a 35
kHz supply the switching time is 140 microseconds, this enables a much closer control of
flashover with an extremely fast spark recovery. HFPS units have the inbuilt algorithm that
enables the controller to disconnect the power supply during the rapping cycle and make the
rapping more effective. The above is effective also in case of dust collected on discharge
electrodes.
CONCLUSION
In spite of adopting various methods, suitable for high resistivity ash and high ash content, the
sustainable and efficient collection of ash from ESP is a challenging task. KhSTPS has been able to
overcome numerous problems faced during operation by carrying out need based corrective actions
through meticulous planning, open approach and effective deployment. A joint effort by cross
functional team has yielded results in keeping the emission levels below the statutory limits but more
thrust is required to work out on future plans to improve ESP performance as the emission norms are
going to be more stringent very soon.
REFERENCES:
Emission reduction and Availability improvement in old Electrostatic Precipitators at Gold Roaster A
Case Study Debasish Chakrabarti ICESP XIII, September 2013, Bangalore, India
The Airflow Distribution Design of ESP-FF Hybrid Dust Collector and the Application at Balco Power
Plant in India Yao Yuping, Zhao Yongshui, Wang Yong ICESP XIII, September 2013, Bangalore,
India
Chandra A., Kumar S., and Kumar S.V., Investigations on Fly Ash Resistivity, Development of Empirical
Relations based on Experimental Measurement, Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi, ICESPX- Australia, 2006,
Paper 8B1.
Application of the Lower Temperature Electrostatic Precipitator Wu Huifeng ICESP XIII, September
2013, Bangalore, India
The Project on Efficiency and Environmental Improvement of Indian Coal-Fired Power Stations
Full-Fledged diagnosis for Unit #2, KhSTPS Thermal Power Station April, 2012 JCOAL
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 12
IPS 2015
NTPC Kahalgaon
Page 13