KIET Group of Institutions, Ghaziabad

Department of Mechanical Engineering

B.Tech. VII sem (ME)

Power Plant Engineering (RME071)

Unit-2
Steam Power Plant

Topic: Coal Pulverisers and Coal Burners, Combustion System

Coal Pulverisers:
Method of conversion of coal lump into powder is called pulverization. Coal is
pulverized (powdered) to increase its surface exposure thus permitting rapid
combustion. Efficient use of coal depends greatly on the combustion process
employed. For large scale generation of energy the efficient method of burning
coal is confined still to pulverized coal combustion. The pulverized coal is
obtained by grinding the raw coal in pulverizing mills. The various pulverising
mills used are as follows:
(a) Ball mill (b) Hammer mill
(c) Ball and race mill (d) Bowl mill.

The essential functions of pulverising mills are as follows:

(1) Drying of the coal (2) Grinding
(3) Separation of particles of the desired size.

Proper drying of raw coal which may contain moisture is necessary for
effective grinding. The coal pulverising mills reduce coal to powder form by
three actions as follows:
(i) Impact (ii) Attrition (abrasion) (iii) Crushing.

Most of the mills use all the above mentioned all the three actions in varying
degrees. In impact type mills hammers break the coal into smaller pieces
whereas in attrition type the coal pieces which rub against each other or metal
surfaces to disintegrate. In crushing type mills coal caught between metal
rolling surfaces gets broken into pieces. The crushing mills use steel balls in a
container. These balls act as crushing elements.

Ball Mill:
A line diagram of ball mill using two classifiers is shown in Fig. 1. It consists
of a slowly rotating drum which is partly filled with steel balls. Raw coal from
feeders is supplied to the classifiers from where it moves to the drum by means
of a screw conveyor. As the drum rotates the coal gets pulverized due to the
combined impact between coal and steel balls. Hot air is introduced into the
drum. The powdered coal is picked up by the air and the coal air mixture enters
the classifiers, where sharp changes in the direction of the mixture throw out
the oversized coal particles. The over-sized particles are returned to the drum.
The coal air mixture from the classifier moves to the exhauster fan and then it
is supplied to the burners.

Fig.1: Ball Mill

Ball and Race Mill:

Fig. 2 shows a ball and race mill. In this mill the coal passes between the
rotating elements again and again until it has been pulverized to desired degree
of fineness. The coal is crushed between two moving surfaces namely balls and
races. The upper stationary race and lower rotating race driven by a worm and
gear hold the balls between them. The raw coal supplied falls on the inner side
of the races. The moving balls and races catch coal between them to crush it to
a powder.
 Fig.3: Ball and Race Mill

The necessary force needed for crushing is applied with the help of springs.
The hot air supplied picks up the coal dust as it flows between the balls and
races, and then enters the classifier. Where oversized coal particles are returned
for further grinding, where as the coal particles of required size are discharged
from the top of classifier.
In this mill coal is pulverized by a combination of' crushing, impact and
attrition between the grinding surfaces. The advantages of this mill are as
follows :
(i) Lower capital cost (ii) Lower power consumption
(iii) Lower space required (iv) Lower weight.

However in this mill there is greater wear as compared to other pulverizes. The
use of pulverized coal has now become the standard method of firing in the
large boilers. The pulverized coal burns with some advantages that result in
economic and flexible operation of steam boilers.
Preparation of pulverized fuel with an intermediate bunker is shown in Fig. 2.
The fuel moves to the automatic balance and then to the feeder and ball mill
through which hot air is blown. It dries the pulverized coal and carries it from
the mill to separator.
The air fed to the ball mill is heated in the air heater. In the separator dust (fine
pulverized coal) is separated from large coal particles which are returned to the
ball mill for regrinding. The dust moves to the cyclone. Most of the dust (about
90%) from cyclone moves to bunker. The remaining dust is mixed with air and
fed to the burner.
Coal is generally ground in low speed ball tube mill. It is filled to 20-35% of its
volume, with steel balls having diameter varying from 30-60 mm. The steel
balls crush and ground the lumps of coal.
The average speed of rotation of tube or drum is about 18-20 r.p.m.
Advantages of Pulverization:
The advantages of using pulverized coal are as follows:
1. It becomes easy to burn wide variety of coal. Low grade coal can be burnt
easily.
2. Powdered coal has more heating surface area. They permits rapids and high
rates of combustion.
3. Pulverized coal firing requires low percentage of excess air.
4. By using pulverized coal, rate of combustion can be adjusted easily to meet
the varying load.
5. The system is free from clinker troubles.
6. It can utilize highly preheated air (of the order of 700°F) successfully which
promotes rapid flame propagation.
7. As the fuel pulverising equipment is located outside the furnace, therefore it
can be repaired without cooling the unit down.
8. High temperature can be produced in furnace.

Disadvantages of Pulverization:
1. It requires additional equipment to pulverize the coal. The initial and
maintenance cost of the equipment is high.
2. Pulverized coal firing produces fly ash (fine dust) which requires a separate
fly ash removal equipment.
3. The furnace for this type of firing has to be carefully designed to withstand
for burning the pulverized fuel because combustion takes place while the fuel
is in suspension.
4. The flame temperatures are high and conventional types of refractory lined
furnaces are inadequate.
It is desirable to provide water cooled walls for the safety of the furnaces.
5. There are more chances of explosion as coal burns like a gas.
6. Pulverized fuel fired furnaces designed to burn a particular type of coal
cannot be used to any other type of coal with same efficiency.
7. The size of coal is limited. The particle size of coal used in pulverized coal
furnace is limited to 70 to 100 microns.
 Fig.4: Pulverization with a Shaft Mill

PULVERISED COAL FIRING

Pulverised coal firing is done by two systems:
(i) Unit System or Direct System.
(ii) Bin or Central System.

Fig.5: Unit System or Direct System

Unit System: In this system (Fig.5) the raw coal from the coal bunker drops on
to the feeder. Hot air is passed through coal in the feeder to dry the coal. The
coal is then transferred to the pulverising mill where it is pulverised. Primary
air is supplied to the mill, by the fan. The mixture of pulverised coal and
primary air then flows to burner where secondary air is added. The unit system
is so called from the fact that each burner or a burner group and pulveriser
constitutes a unit.
Advantages
(i) The system is simple and cheaper than the central system.
(ii) There is direct control of combustion from the pulverising mill.
(iii) Coal transportation system is simple.
Bin or Central System: It is shown in Fig. 6. Crushed coal from the raw coal
bunker is fed by gravity to a dryer where hot air is passed through the coal to
dry it. The dryer may use waste flue gases, preheated air or bleeder steam as
drying agent. The dry coal is then transferred to the pulverizing mill. The
pulverised coal obtained is transferred to the pulverised coal bunker (bin). The
transporting air is separated from the coal in the cyclone separator. The
primary air is mixed with the coal at the feeder and the mixture is supplied to
the burner.

Fig.6: Bin or Central System

Advantages
l. The pulverising mill grinds the coal at a steady rate irrespective of boiler
feed.
2. There is always some coal in reserve. Thus any occasional breakdown in the
coal supply will not affect the coal feed to the burner.
3. For a given boiler capacity pulverising mill of small capacity will be
required as compared to unit system.
Disadvantages
1. The initial cost of the system is high.
2. Coal transportation system is quite complicated.
3. The system requires more space.
To a large extent the performance of pulverised fuel system depends upon the
mill performance.
The pulverised mill should satisfy the following requirements:
1. It should deliver the rated tonnage of coal.
2. Pulverised coal produced by it should be of satisfactory fineness over a wide
range of capacities.
3. It should be quiet in operation.
4. Its power consumption should be low.
5. Maintenance cost of the mill should be low.
Fig. 7 shows the equipments for unit and central system of pulverised coal
handling plant.
 Fig.7: Schematic for Unit and Central System

Pulverised Coal Burners:

Burners are used to burn the pulverised coal. The main difference between the
various burners lies in the rapidity of air-coal mixing i.e., turbulence. For
bituminous coals the turbulent type of burner is used whereas for low volatile
coals the burners with long flame should be used. A pulverised coal burner
should satisfy the following requirements:

 It should mix the coal and primary air thoroughly and should bring this
mixture before it enters the furnace in contact with additional air known as
secondary air to create sufficient turbulence.

 It should deliver and air to the furnace in right proportions and should
maintain stable ignition of coal air mixture and control flame shape and
travel in the furnace. The flame shape is controlled by the secondary air
vanes and other control adjustments incorporated into the burner. Secondary
air if supplied in too much quantity may cool the mixture and prevent its
heating to ignition temperature.

 Coal air mixture should move away from the burner at a rate equal to flame
front travel in order to avoid flash back into the burner.
 Fig.8: Pulverised coal burner System

The various types of burners are as follows:

1. Long Flame Burner (U-Flame Burner). In this burner air and coal mixture
travels a considerable distance thus providing sufficient time for complete
combustion [Fig. 9].
2. Short Flame Burner (Turbulent Burner). It is shown in Fig. 10. The
burner is fitted in the furnace will and the flame enters the furnace horizontally.
3. Tangential Burner. A tangential burner is shown in Fig. 11. In this system
one burner is fitted attach corner of the furnace. The inclination of the burner is
so made that the flame produced are tangential to an imaginary circle at the
centre.
4. Cyclone Burner. It is shown in Fig. 12. This burner uses crushed coal
intend of pulverized coal. Its advantages are as follows:

 It saves the cost of pulverisation because of a crusher needs less power than
a pulveriser.

 Problem of fly ash is reduced. Ash produced is in the molten form and due
to inclination of furnace it flows to an appropriate disposal system.
 Fig.9: Long flame burner Fig.10: Short flame burner

Fig.11: Tangential burner Fig.12: Cyclone burner

CYCLONE FIRED BOILERS

In cyclone fired boilers the furnace is arranged as a horizontal cylinder. The
pulverised fuel is bed along the periphery of the cylinder. The hot gases travel
axially into the water tube section having a tight helix path. The temperature
generated in the combustion zone is quite high and because of this the tubes are
coated with fused ash which goes on collecting the ash particles going in the
flue gases.
The outgoing gases contain particles less than 20 microns. The cyclone
furnaces can successfully burn coals having low ash fusion temperature. The
Cyclone furnace is operated under combustion air pressure of 700 to 1000 mm
of water gauge.
Cyclone fired boilers have the following advantages:

 Quick load variations can be easily handled.

 Nearly 55% of ash in coal is burnt in the form of liquid slag. The ash can
be removed in the molten form.

 The slag can be used as a building material.

 Fly-ash problem is reduced to much lower limits.

Combustion system of Steam Power Plant

FLUIDISED BED COMBUSTION (FBC):
Burning of pulverised coal has some problems such as particle size of coal
used in pulverized firing is limited to 70-100 microns, the pulverised fuel fired
furnances designed to burn a particular cannot be used other type of coal with
same efficiency, the generation of high temp. about (1650 C) in the furnace
creates number of problems like slag formation on super heater, evaporation of
alkali metals in ash and its deposition on heat transfer surfaces, formation of
SO2 and NOX in large amount. Fluidised Bed combustion system can burn any
fuel including low grade coals (even containing 70% ash), oil, gas or municipal
waste. Improved desulphurisation and low NOX emission are its main
characteristics. Fig.13 shows basic principle of Fluidised bed combustion
(FBC) system. The fuel and inert material dolomite are fed on a distribution
plate and air is supplied from the bottom of distribution plate. The air is
supplied at high velocity so that solid feed material remains in suspension
condition during burning. The heat produced is used to heat water flowing
through the tube and convert water into steam: During burning SO 2 formed is
absorbed by the dolomite and thus prevents its escape with the exhaust gases.
The molten slag is tapped from the top surface of the bed. The bed temperature
is nearly 800-900’C which is ideal for sulphur retention addition of limestone
or dolomite to the bed brings down SO 2 emission level to about 15% of that in
conventional firing methods.

Fig. 13

The amount of NOX is produced is also reduced because of low temperature of

bed and low excess air as compared to pulverised fuel firing. The inert material
should be resistant to heat and disintegra-tion and should have similar density
as that of coal. Limestone, or dolomite, fused alumina, sintered ash are
commonly used as inert materials.

Various advantages of FBC system are as follows:

 FBC system can use any type of low grade fuel including municipal
wastes and therefore is a cheaper method of power generation.

 It is easier to control the amount of SO 2 and NOX, formed during

burning. Low emission of SO2 and NOX will help in controlling the
undesirable effects of SO2 and NOX during combustion. SO2 emission is
nearly 15% of that in conventional firing methods.
  There is a saving of about 10% in operating cost and 15% in the capital
cost of the power plant.

 The size of coal used has pronounced effect on the operation and
performance of FBC system. The particle size preferred is 6 to 13 mm
but even 50 mm size coal can also be used in this system.

TYPES OF FBC SYSTEMS

FBC systems are of following types:
(i) Atmospheric FBC system:
(a) Over feed system
(b) Under feed system.
In this system the pressure inside the bed is atmospheric.
Fig. 14 shows commercial circulation FBC system. The solid fuel is made to
enter the furnace from the side of walls. The Low Velocity (LV), Medium
Velocity (MV) and High Velocity (HV) air is supplied at different points along
the sloping surface of the distribution ash are collected from the ash port. The
burning is efficient because of high lateral turbulence.

(ii) Pressurised FBC system. In this system pressurised air is used for
fluidisation and combustion.
This system has following advantages:

 High burning rates.

 Improved desulphurization and low NO, emission.

 Considerable reduction in cost.

Fig. 14