Journal of Scientific & Industria l Research

Vol. 63, Fehruary 2004, pp. 156- 162

Impact of Indian and imported coal on Indian thermal power plants

A Chandra' and H Chandra
Centre for Energy Studies, Indi an lnstitute of Technology, Delhi , Hauz Khas, New De lhi 11001 6
Received : 23 May 2003 ; accepted: 30 October 2003
Energy efticiency a nd env iro nmen t analysis have been performed for coal based thermal power plants s ilU ated in Delhi for
Indian and impo rted coal from Australia a nd America. In our study, it has been found that it is better to use imported C0<11 in Indi an
thermal power plants, wi th advantages li ke, less amou nt of coal feed , low CO) em ission, and less amo unt of partic ul ate ge nerati on.
The effect of per celll excess air on particulate generated and co ll ection effic ie ncy of e lec trostatic prec ipitator (ES P ) is a lso ana lyzed ,
and it is found th at as th e particu late generated (before discharge) is less for imported coal. on e may lise less e ffic ie nt ESP in thermal
power pla nts .
Keywords: Impact, In dian and imported coal, Coal, In dian Therma l Power Plants , Thermal Powe r Pl ants

1 Introduction
Th e power generation in Indi a has registered
re markab le grow th sin ce it ga in ed independ ence in
I947(ref. I). Power generation increased from 1362 MW
in 1947 to about 1049 J7 MW in 2002(ref. 2), Thermal
power plants and hydro-sectors are the major power
producer in Indi a. The major portion of power demand in
India is met by thermal power plants due to availability of
fossil fuels (coal, oil , and gas). Around 72 per cent of
total insta lled capacity is met by thermal power plants
and 25-30 per ce nt is met by hyd roelec tri c power
generati on, while the rest accounts for other sources of
power generati on. Among the conventional means of
power generation , foss il fuel fired thermal power plants
are very significant in the energy scenario of Indi aH .

Fossi l fuels (coal, oil, and gas) is goi ng to remain

the primary source of energy in Indi a in sp ite of
atte mpts to harness hydel, nu clear, and renewable
sources of energy. In the sphere of fossi I fuels, India
is not ve ry well placed with reference to resources of
oil and import of oil is very expensive . However the
s ituation with re spect to coa l rese rv es is
comparatively better, as it contributes 84 per cent of
therm al power generation while, gas and oil contribute
to 13 and 3 per cent of therm al power generation ,
respecti ve l/()t2.

*Author for correspo nde nc e

E-mai l :cha ndra 0! ces. i i td .erne!. i n

In India the demand of electricity is alway s more

than the supply and the coal reserves in India is in
better condition than other fossi I fuels , thus the power
production is totally dependant on the coal, which is
respon si ble to a large ex te nt , in po llutin g ou r
environment. Environmental probl ems associated
with thermal power plants start wilh transportat ion
of coal from min e, feeding it to boi le r, and th e
emi ss ion of flue gasesl.\ Nowadays the environmental
problems of energy use are rel ated with e nvironmental
cost, which have been risin g, rei nfo rcing the effect
of increased monetary costs in creating in centi ves for
increasing the efficiency with which e nergy is used 14 .
Th e e nergy effici e ncy a nd e nvironmental
pollution of thermal power pl ant are dependent upon
the fuel used for combustion in furnace of boil er.
Since coal reserves in India is in better situation , thu s
it is worthwhile studying the impact of coal qu ality
in thermal power plants. However the coal found in
India is characterized by low calorific value and high
ash content. As a result, for getting a unit amounts of
electricity, large amount of pollutan ts are generated.
It is desirable to have a good qual ity of coal for power
generation, as it reduces the p o lluta n t~. generated/unit
of electricity. The problem is anal yzed in the present
study by considering good quality of coal obtained
from overseas. The work reported here examines the
impact of coal quality in thermal power plant situated

CHAN DR A & CHA OR A: IMPACT OF INDI AN & IMPORTED COA L 0

in De lhi , with res pect to e ne rgy e ffi c ie ncy and

environmental polluti on for Indi an coa l and coal
imported from Au strali a and Ameri ca.
2 Materials and Methods
For anal ys is of pollutant emi ss ion and energy
efficiency, data have been co ll ected from the power
plant located in De lhi . Thi s power stati on is th e
Badarpur Thermal Power Station (BTPS ), Badarpur,
New Delhi. BTPS is coal-fired thermal power pl ant
under Nati onal Thermal Power Corporati on (NTPC),
an apex body in Indi a fo r power production. Anal ysis
of the BTPS is performed and then in thi s power pl ant
the coal is repl aced from different min es of India and
imported coal from Au strali a and Ameri ca.
2.1 Collection of Data

Data co llec ted arc as fo ll ows:

2.1.1 Technical Data of 13TPS

Fo ll o win ba data have been co ll ected fro m BTPS :

(a) Coal Co mpos iti on- As the compos iti o n of coa l
va ri es eve ry day, so th e coal co mpos iti o n is
g iven by the average va lue of proximate and
ultimate ana lys is of the coal used fo r produc ing
heat in pl ant.
( i) Prox imat e an a lys is ( pe r ce nt by mass)M o isture = 2.8 1, Ash = 45. 25, Vo latil e matte r
(VM ) = 16.54, F ixed carbo n (FC) = 35.40,
Cal o rific valu e (CV) = 3995 .375 kcal/kg
(ii ) Ultimate or tota l ana lys is (pe r cent by mass)Ash = 46.5 6, Carbo n (C ) = 39 .8 1, Hydrogen
(H) = 3.35, Sulphur (S) = 0 .50, Nit rogen (N ) =
0 .78, Oxygen (0) = Re ma inder.
(b) C oal Feed
(i) Coal source is Jhari a Coa l Fie ld s, Dh anbad,
Jharkhand , India .
(ii ) The coa l feed fo r each unit is g iven in Tabl e I.

Unilnu.
Firs l
Secund
T hi rd
Fuurth
Fifth
Tulal

Tahl e I- Coal feed for each unil ofBTPS

Coal feed ( lid)

1664
1692
1640
3 193
3036
11 225

I NDI AN TH ERM A L POWER PL AN T S

157

(c) C apac ity of Power Prod uc ti o n of Eac h Uni tCapac iti es of first, second , and third unit s are
100 MW eac h. A ll th ese three unit s a re
connected to o ne c himney. Capac iti es of fourth ,
and fifth units are 2 10 MW e ac h an d these two
are connec ted to second c himney. Thu s, tota l
power produced by BTPS is 720 MW.
(d) Fo r Fourth Unit o f BTPS- E mis sio n rate of
tota l fl y ash vari es betwee n 150 to 700 mgl
Nm ' . Capac it y o f fo urth unit is 2 10 MW.
Average flu e gas flow rate vari es betwee n 160
Nm' Is to 2 15 Nm ' Is at ISS lie.
2.1.2 Indian Cnal Quality

Th e coal quality o f diffe re nt coa l fi e ld s fro m Ind ia is

g iven in Table 2( ref. 15 ). Indi a has 70 bt rese rve o f coa l;
amounting to a lm ost 7 pe r cent o f th e g lo ba l reserves.
Sig nifi cantl y, 86.4 pe r ce nt of coa l rese rves in In d ia li e
w ithin eas il y ex pl o itabl e de pth of 600 m. The In d ia n coa l
is o f mostly sub-bitumino us rank , fo ll owed by bitumin ous
and li gnite (brow n coal ). Unlik e coa ls o f Austra li a and
Ameri ca, Indi an coa ls have a rathe r hi g h pe r centage of
as h, rang in g between 20-40 per cent and sul phur co nte nt
is gene rall y less th a n 0 .6 pe r cent 1/1 .
2.1.3 Imported Coal Quality

C hina and South Asi a a re both proj ected to increase

the ir de mand fo r coa l by mo re tha n 3 per cently during
th e projecti o n pe ri od. Coal de m and in South As ia w ill
continue to be do minated by Indi a. C hin a and In d ia w ill
th erefo re exert mo re influ ence on As ia n coa l produc ti on
and inte rn ational coal trade. In India the future leve l o f
coal producti o n w ill prim a ril y depend o n th e ava il ab ility
o f finan ce to ex pand produ cti on capac ity, was hing pla nts,
a nd infrastruc ture . The probl e m is no t o ne o f reserves ,
but the rate at whi c h produ cti on capac ity can be ex pa nded
and its locati on re lati ve to pote nti al co nsume rs. C urre ntl y,
Indi a's coal produ cti o n and transpo rtati o n capac ity is not
ex panding rapidl y enoug h to sati sfy domesti c coa l demand .
Therefore, Indi a is curre ntl y importin g coa l from Austra li a
and Ame ri ca. Au stra li a has 77 bt o f de mo nstrated ill sitll
coa l resources 1(,. Au s tra lia is th e fo urth la rges t coa l
produ cer in the wo rld , th at produced 265 .5 mt of black
coa l in 200 I (ref. 17 ). It ex po rte d 73 pe r ce nt of thi s
produ c ti o n ( 193.8 m t) , m a kin g Au stra li a th e wor ld 's
largest coa l e xporte r (a pos iti on it has he ld s in ce I Cl86),
accounting for a round 30 pe r cent of wo rld trade. As ia
accounts for almost 80 pe r ce nt of Australia's coa l expo rls
with the top four markets be ing Japan (47 pe r cent), Ko rea

J SC I INO RES VOL 63 FE I3RUARY 2004

158

Tah le 2 - Indian coa l qu ality (per cent by weight )

Coal fi eld
Raniga nj , Wcst Bcnga l
Giri dih. Jharkh an d
E 1St Fl okaro, Jharkhand
Wcs t Fl okaro . Jlwrkhand
S ngrau li , M P ;111d UP
" m ha, CG
Ward ha Vall ey, Maharas ht ra
TaJc har, O ri ss;1

60 .2

4.2
3.8
4. 1
3.3
2.8
2.XOlJ
2.9
2.76

0.3
0.5
0.49
0.4 1

50.~

61
52.3
39.27
42.93
46.4
40.56

055
0.4
0.4 1

(UX

Ash fr acti on

U~

7.1
5.9
7.2
4.9
9. 18
8. 5
lJ .3
9

22. 9
34
21
36
39

1.3
1.53
1. 23

o.n
1.06
1. 16
0.93

3~

32
40

Moisturc CV (kc allkg)

3.5
3.7
4_6~

U\6
8.28
6.30 1
7.83
6.37

42!::O
4058
4300
4098
3~50

3997
402(}
39 10

Fly ash frac tion

82
8.U
XX.58
7lJ .6
78 .25
lJO
XX.58
90.5

Tahle 3 - Impo rt cd coa l qu alit y (pe r cent hy weig ht )

CO;ll ty pc

c:

J--/

Ash fracti on

Alistra li;lI1 coa l

70

4.X

0.5

1. 7

6. 3

14.4

2.3

WlJO

70

American coal
Pcnnsy lvan ia
Ohi o
Wes t Virginia
KClll llck y
Illinois

77.4
64.2
70
70.9
73.7

5.2
5
5. 1
5. 1
5. 1

2.4
I.X
1.2
2.3

1.4

5
8.9
12.9
8. 1
7.4

7.5
16

1. 1
2.8
1. 2
2.3
2

7728
6378
7522
7022
7330

55
51
.'iX

? ..~)

1.3
1.5
I ..'i
1.6

( 13 per cent ). Taiwan (8 per cent ) and India (7 per cent ).

Acco rdin g to Au stralia 's blac k coal ex port of year 2001 2002, India import ed 1.4 mt of coal whil e total export to
Asia is 83.7 Mt (ref. 17) . The US is a maj or player in th e
int e rnati onal st ea m coa l mark et. Co nsiderabl e excess
producti on and ex port capac it y ex ists in the US, and thi s
e ffec ti ve ly places a limit o n th e ex te nt to whi c h
internati onall y traded coal pri ces can ri se. The re latively
hig h price level at which the US produ ce rs enter the export
marke t. prov ides some shelter for th e develop me nt of new
capac ity in other l es ~; ex pensi ve regions suc h as, Lati n
Ameri ca, lnd onc-sia, and C hina . The import ed coal quality
has been anal yzed in the stud y and is given in Tabl e 3.
T he relev ant dat a has bee n co ll ec ted fr om re lev ant
SO LI rces 17 " I .
The co mp ari so n of Tab le 2 and 3 rega rdin g th e coal
qualit y show s th at th e Indian vari ety of coa ls gives less
cal orific value (varyin g betwee n 3852 to 4300 kcallkg),
and hi gh ash co nte nt~ (v aryin g betwee n 21 to 40 per cent);
whi le imported quality of coal is ha ving hi gh ca lorifi c
val ue (va ryin g hetween 6300 to 7800 kca llkg), and at th e
sa me time hav ing low as h fracti ons (va rying between 7. 5
to 15 pe r ce nt ). Thu s, fo r ge ttin g the same amount of energy
the amount of coal burn ed in th e case of imported coal
will be less and so is th e fl y ash generati on. Thus th e CO~

~. I

9.8
7.9

Moist llre C V (kca!/kg)

Fl y ; : ~ h frac ti o n

()(}

55.5

generated/ unit of energy in the case o r im po rted coal will

be less, and fl y ash generated will als o be less, requirin g
the sma ll er ESP for fl y ash co llecti on. For Indi an coa l th e
reve rse is the case ,i .e., larger am ount of coa l burned and
hence more CO" generati on, more fl y ,Ish to co ll ec t, and
larger the size of ESP.
2.2 Ma thematical Model ing

Analysi s of vari olls data co ll ected for power pl ants is

based on certain we ll establi shed relati onshi ps"'-'('"" .
(a ) Relations for Energy Anal ysis""'"

Overall effi ciency of coa l based th e rm al po\ve r plant

is (per cent)
={ (Outpu t power)/(Input powe r)} x 100, ... ( I)
where, Input power = Coal feed x Cal or ihc valu e (CV)
of coal
... (2)
(h) Quick Comhustion Relationships.'''''''''

Alth ough so me of carbon and sulp hur may re main

unburned (l ess than or equ al to 4 per c (~ nt ). however it s
ex act estimate are di ffi cLlI! to mak e, th erefore here wc have

CHANDRA & CHANDRA: IMPA CT OF INDIAN & IMPORTED COAL ON INDIAN THERMAL POWER PLANTS

assumed 100 per cent co mbusti on of carbon and sulphur2:1

Volume of CO 2 emitted = u 1 = (22.411 00).(CII2) Nm 31
kg of coal,
... (3)
where C is carbon In per cent by weight of coa l
composition.
Volume of CO ~ emitted in Nm' /s = u 1 x coal feed
(kg of coa l/s) ,

.. . (7)

V= vo lume of gas (N m.1 /s) , R = uni versa l gas constant

(J/kg mol-K ), T= temperature (K).
Theo retica l air required =A I)= {(22.4 x 4 .76)/IOO).
{ (CI 12)+(H/4 )- (0/32)+(S /32)) Nm'/kg of coal,
.. . (8)

where C, H, and S are carbon, hydrogen , oxygen, and

sulphur in per ce nt by weight of coal composition.
~

= (22.411 00).
. .. (9)

where H, and M are hydrogen , and moisture in per cent

by weight of coal compos ition.

Table 4 Therma l Power Plant

~

Badarpur Thermal
Power Stalion (BTPS)

Volume of flu e gas in Nm' l kg of coa l = V = VII + II All.

.. .. ( 12)
Flue gas flow rate in Nm'/s = V x Coa l feed .
.. . ( 13)
Inlet Dust Concentrat ion = (Power ca pacity x Fly ash
fract ion x Coal feed (t/h/MW) x Ash fraction x 10(') I
(Flue gas flow rate x 3600) g/N m'
.. . ( 14)

(6)

where, P = atmospheric press ure( Pascal) , 111 = mo lecular

weight of gas (kg/kg mol),

Volume of mo is ture produced =

{( H/2) + (Mil 8) }Nm'/kg of coal ,

Volume of flu e gases = VII = U I +U2 +~+Y Nm' /kg of fuel,

. . . ( II )

... (4)

w he re S is sulphur In per ce nt by weight of coa l

compos iti on.

Mass of gas prod uced/s = w = 111. (PVIRT) ,

( 10)

Combustion of coal requires excess air, so let n per cent

of excess air is required, then ,

Volume of S02 emitted = u 2 = (22.411 00) .(S/32)

. .. (5)
Nm '/kg of coa l ,

Volume of SO ] emitted in Nm' /s = u] x coal feed

(kg of coa l/s) .

Vo lume of N2 emitted = y = 0 .79 All + [(Nx22.4) I

(28x I00)]

159

In Indian , thermal powe r plants E le ctrostati c

Precipitators (ESPs) are Llsed to control the particulate
emission . The collection efficiency of ES P (Tn is given
as' :
11 = I-I (outl et dust concentrat ion)1
(inlet dust concentrati on)}
. . . ( 15)
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) set; the outl et
dust concentration from ESPs of th erma l power plants in
India, which is 0.150 g/N m' .

3 Results and Discussion

The data of the thermal power plants , as give n in
section 2. 1.1, is ana lyzed in terms of energy efficiency
and environment; and the res ults are g ivcn in Table 4 .
From Table 4, it is evident that the particu late ge nerated
(before di sc harge) is more than CPCB standards . CO 2
emission per unit of power output is more than S0 2
emission. The energy efficiency of BTPS for coa l feed of
11225 tid (or 0.6495 t/h/MW ) is 33.025 per ce nt.
Analysis is ca rried out for BTPS with diffe rcnt Indian

Environmental ami energy analysis or BTPS with Jharia coal fie ld

Environmental
Analysis
CO, emission
(t/h/MW )

Particul ate generated

(gIN m' ) before discharge

SO , emission

0.949665

99 .305

0.006505

Energy Efficiency
(per cent)

(t/h/MW)

.n025

I ()()

J SCI INO RES VOL 6] FEBRUARY 2004

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usefi in BTPS

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Figure 4--lnl ct dust co nccntration (bcforc di sch arge) from BTPS

and differcnt roa l fie ld s w ith variat ion or per ce nt
exccss air (n) uscd for combustion

and imported coa ls. The am ount of different va ri eti es of

coa l required fo r getting a MW of power is shown in Figure
I. Once the coal feed required is calcul ated th en with the
help of environmental analys is meth odology we ca n get
CO" SO, e mission a nd particu late ge ne rated (be fore
d i s~harge-) from the power station for different coal fi elds.
The res ults are show n in Figures 2-4. As pe r epeE norm s
the particulate emitted in environment should not exceed
0. 150 g/Nm o, then we ca n calcu late the effici efl'Cy of ESPs
fo r var ious coa l fi elds. F igure I shows th e coa l feed
req uired from vari ous coa l fi elds wh en th ese coa ls are
replaced in BTPS fo r same energy output. From Figure I,
it is ev ident th at minimum amount of coal feed is required
fo r th e imported coa l than the Indi an coa l. It is du e to th e
fac t that th e ca lorifi c va lu e of imported coal is hi gh
compared to th e Indi an coa l thereby to generate the sa me
quant it y of stea m (electrici ty) we have to burn less quantity
or coa l. Figure 2 shows th e CO 2 emi ss ion from BTPS and
d ifferent coa l used in this powe r pl ant. From Figure 2, it
is evident that CO 2 e mi ssion fro m imported coal is less

than Indi an coa l.

Figure 3 shows the SO~ e mi ss ion fro m BTPS and
different coa ls used in this power plant. Fro m Figu re 3, it
is ev ident that SO~ e mi ss ion from import ed coa l is hi gher
than Indian coal. It is du e to the fact th at the sulphur content
of Indi an coal is ge nerall y less th an 0.6 pCT ce nt, and from
Table 2, it is ev ident that th e sulphur con tent of Indian
coa l va ri es from 0.3 to 0.5 5 per ce nt. T he sulphur content
of American coal is varying betwee n 1.2 to 2.4 per ce nt ,
whic h is more than Indian coa l; the refore for American
coal SOl emi ss ion is too hi gh co mpared to Indian coa l.
The su lphur co ntent of the Australi an COLl i is with in the
ran ge of Indi an coa l, the refore SO~ e mi ss ion is low, and it
is in th e range of Indian coa l.
Figure 4 shows the in let du st conce ntratio n (befo re
discharge) to any polluti on control devic e fo r BTPS and
different coa l used in thi s power plant. In orde r to ge l
co mpl ete co mbusti on in boiler the am ou nt or ai r should
be mo re than sto ic hi o me tri c rati o. Th e inl et du s t
concentrati on is ca lculated for three cases or excess air.

Fi gure

]- SO ~

em iss ion from I3TPS and di ffcrcnt con i fields uscd in

C HA NDRA & C HANDRA: IMPACT OF INDIAN & IMPORTED COAL ON INDIAN THERM A L POWER PLA TS

-C

101
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~ 100

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99

"--<>-- 8 TPS I Jhar ia co. , field I

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90

100

110

PtrClnt fxcell oir

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;;;

0
~

a~
w 0

ID

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Difftrent coal fi,lds

Fi gure 5 - Vari ati o n of co ll ecti o n c fliciency of ESP with res pect to

per ce nl excess air used for co mbustion in BTPS Plant

50, 75 and 100 pe r cent, respective ly. From Figure 4 , it is

e vide nt that Indian coa ls are more polluting with respect
to the du st e mi ss ion to environme nt. It is due to the fact
th at the (l.s h fraction of Indian coa l (varying between 21 to
40 pe r cent) is more than th e imported coal (varying
be tween 7 .5 to 15 pe r cent) . In imported coal American
coa l is be tte r than Australian coal. As the particu late
gene rated is hi gh for Indian coal the refore it is mu st to
control it before di scharging into atmosphe re with the help
of pollution control dev ices, e.g., e lectrostatic prec ipitators
(ES Ps). Large ES Ps are required in ord er to meet the
stipulated e mi ss ions stand ard s, which will increase the
capital cost and mainte nance cost of power plant and hence
hi ghe r value o r obtainin g power. Form Figure 4 , it is also
ev ide nt that th e inle t dust conce ntration decreases as the
pe r cent excess a ir increases. It is due to the fact that after
co mbu stion the mass of the particulate is same but due to
e xcess air used for combu sti on its de ns ity decreases.
From Figure 4, it is ev id e nt that th e inl e t du st
concentrati on is hi gh for BTPS (Jharia coal field) while
low for Pe nn sy lv a ni a coa l. In order to mee t CPCB
e mi ss ion s tandard of 0 . 150 g/NmJ; th e variation of
co llection effi ciency of ES P with respect to per cent excess
air, Figure 5 is drawn . Form Figure 5, it is ev ide nt that
wile n the per ce nt excess air is more the n the collection
effic iency decreases, and as the inlet dust concentration
fo r Penn sy lvani a coa l is low co mpared with Jharia coal,
the refo re the co ll ection effi c ie ncy for Penn sy lvania coal
is low. From Eq. ( 15), it may be observed that the co llection
effic ie ncy depe nd s upon inl e t dust concentration only,
because the outlet du st co nce ntrat ion is fixed by CPCB.
ow when inl et du st co ncentration decreases the n the
co ll ecti o n e ffi c ie ncy 01' ESP also decreases . The inl et dust

.~
~

. :.g

'2

~ ~ :.c

.t

.~

">
;'

>-

'"

Figure 6 - Collecti o n effici ency of ES P for BTPS anJ different

coal fields used in BTPS with variati o n of per ce nt
excess ai r (n)

concentration of the Pennsylvania coal is lowe r than Jharia

coa l, because th e ash fract ion of Penns y lvan ia coal (7 .5
pe r cent) is lowe r tha n ]ha ri a coa l (46.56 per ce nt ). Th e
\ inlet dust concentration also de pe nd s up on the fl ue gas
flow rate, whic h de pe nd s upon the pe r cent excess ai r,
and as the per cent e xcess air increases, flu e gas fl ow rate
increases, and the inle t du st concentration dec reases.
Figure 6 shows the co llecti on e ffi c ie ncy o f ESP for
BTPS and various coa l fi e ld s used in BTPS with va riati on
of pe r cent excess air. From Figure 6, it is evid e nt that the
required collection efficie ncy of ES P is low for imported
coal th an Indi an coa l, as imported coa l ha s low inl et dust
co nce ntrati o n . And as th e inl e t dust co nce ntrati o n
dec reases then the co ll ecti on effic ie ncy also dec reases,
because the outlet dust concentrati on re ma in co nstant by
the standards fix ed by CPCB. The inl et dust co ncentrat ion
a lso depends upon the flu e gas flow rate, which de pe nds
upon the pe r cent excess a ir used for co mbu sti on.

4 Conclusions
In this study the suitability of Indi a n coa l and imported
coal from Australia and America for Indian the rmal power
pl ant is assessed with respect to e nergy e ffic ie ncy and
environme nt analys is. It is es timated that l e s .~ am ollnt or
coal feed is required in the case of imported coa l (to get
the same e ne rgy effic ie ncy) to generate the same amount
of e lectricity, as it has hi gh calorific valu e. A lso th e CO,
e mission and parti culate gene rated (befo re di sc harge) is
lower for imported coa l than Indi an coa l. As the partic ulate
gene rated are less for imported coa l thu s we can use less
efficie nt ESPs to control pa rtic ulate. Th e SO, e mi ss ion is
hi gh in the case of imported coa l, which I; ight require
f lu e gas desulphuri sati on treatmcnt in so mc cases. On e

J SCI IND RES VOL 63 FEBRUARY 2004

has to do mo re detailed analysis in order to get overall

cos t of generatin g e lectricity for eac h case.

Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge support provided by the
Illanage ment ofThennal Power Plant regarding collection
of" data and power plant visit.

II

12

13

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