1. How much coal required to produce 1 mw power?

As per rule of thumb or quick calculation, 4 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) coal is
required for 1000 MW coal based thermal power plant that implies a 4 thousand tonnes per
annum for 1 MW coal based thermal power plant.
Actual coal requirement may vary and depends on five factors:
Gross Calorific Value of the Primary Fuel i.e. Coal (GCV) in kcal/kg
Gross Station Heat Rate (GSHR) in kcal/kWh
Gross Calorific Value of the Secondary Fuel i.e. Oil (GCV) in kcal/ml
Secondary Fuel Consumption (Oil) in kcal/ml
Net Energy Generation in kWh (Gross Generation - Auxiliary Consumption) which inturn
depends on Plant Load Factor, Plant Availability Factor, Installed Capacity of the Plant (1
MW in this case) and No. of Operating Hours
Quick Calculations (Assumptions relevant to Indian context):
Gross Energy Generation in kWh = Installed Capacity in kW (1000 in this case) * PLF in %
(85% assumed) * PAF in % (90% assumed) * 365 * 24 = 7073700 kWh
Assuming 6% Auxiliary Consumption, Net Energy Generation would be 6649278 kWh
Assuming a GSHR of 2350 kcal/kWh, GCV of 10.3 kcal/ml of secondary fuel and 1 kcal/ml
secondary fuel consumption, total heat contribution required from coal would be 2339.7
kcal/kWh, which implies 0.56 kg coal requirement to produce 1 unit.
Since net energy generation is 6649278 kWh, total coal required would be ~ 3750 tonnes per
annum for 1 MW coal based thermal power plant.

2. What is the tph of a boiler?

When a steam boiler is continuously operated for a long period of time, the amount of steam
generated per hour is called the evaporation amount of this boiler, and is usually used in tons
per hour (t/h or tph).

A steam boiler is a steam device that uses heated energy or other thermal energy that is
converted by the combustion of a fuel to heat the feed water to obtain specified parameters
(temperature, pressure) and quality. 1tph means that the boiler can produce 1 ton of steam
per hour under standard operating conditions.
3. How much coal (standard GCF) is required to produce 1 ton of saturated steam in a
coal boiler?
I will give you an example, so you can take this as reference and calculate fuel required for
any capacity of Boiler for any fuel.

Boiler Capacity - 1000 kg/hr

Steam Pressure - 10.5 kg/cm2(g)

Steam Temperature - 185.5 Deg c (Saturated Steam)- You will get this value in steam table

Enthalpy of Saturated Steam - 664.2 kcal/kg-You will get this value in steam table

Enthalpy of Feed water - 105 kcal/kg - You will get this value in steam table

Fuel - Bagasse with 50% moisture

Calorific value(GCV) - 2272 kcal/kg- (It is the amount of heat liberated in Kcal by the
complete combustion of 1 kg of fuel)

Boiler Efficiency - 70 % on GCV Basis ( It can be calculated by deducting the losses.

Carbon loss, radiation loss, dry gas loss, H2O in Air, H2O in Fuel etc)

These parameters are required to calculate fuel consumption to boiler.

Fuel Required = Heat Input required (kcal/hr.) / Calorific Value of that fuel (kcal/kg)

Heat Input required (kcal/hr.)= (Boiler Capacity x (Steam Enthalpy - Feed water
Enthalpy))/(Boiler Efficiency)

For above parameters

Heat Input required = 1000 x (664.2 -105)/0.7 = 798857.14 kcal/hr

Fuel Required = 798857.14/2272 = 351.6 kg/hr

Fuel Required for 1 TPH Boiler is 351.6 kg/hr.

4. What burner kW is required for a 1 TPH boiler?
Boiler capacity is normally stated in terms of output, and we have to account for the boiler
system efficiency - energy output capacity vs energy input required. If a natural gas burner is
used, a steam boiler will typically have a combustion efficiency of 82–83%, and heat losses
of 2–3%, so the overall fuel-to-steam “catalog” efficiency is 80%. This is a rule of thumb
efficiency for sizing burners, so the burner kW could be calculated as follows. Note: This
also depends on required steam pressure, so let's assume 7.0 Bars, or approximately 100
PSIG steam pressure.

Steam Output = 1 TPH, or 2,000 Lbs/Hr, or 2,400,000 Btu/Hr, or 700 kW

System Efficiency = 80%

Required Burner Input = 700 kW / 80% = 875 kW

So to allow for safety factors, the burner would need to be in the 900 kW - 1,000 kW range.

5. How much fuel required for 1TPH boiler?

I will give you an example, so you can take this as reference and calculate fuel required for
any capacity of Boiler for any fuel.

Boiler Capacity - 1000 kg/hr

Steam Pressure - 10.5 kg/cm2(g)

Steam Temperature - 185.5 Deg c (Saturated Steam)- You will get this value in steam table

Enthalpy of Saturated Steam - 664.2 kcal/kg-You will get this value in steam table

Enthalpy of Feed water - 105 kcal/kg - You will get this value in steam table

Fuel - Bagasse with 50% moisture

Calorific value(GCV) - 2272 kcal/kg- (It is the amount of heat liberated in Kcal by the
complete combustion of 1 kg of fuel)

Boiler Efficiency - 70 % on GCV Basis ( It can be calculated by deducting the losses.

Carbon loss, radiation loss, dry gas loss, H2O in Air, H2O in Fuel etc)

These parameters are required to calculate fuel consumption to boiler.

Fuel Required = Heat Input required (kcal/hr.) / Calorific Value of that fuel (kcal/kg)
 Heat Input required (kcal/hr.)= (Boiler Capacity x (Steam Enthalpy - Feed water
Enthalpy))/(Boiler Efficiency)

For above parameters

Heat Input required = 1000 x (664.2 -105)/0.7 = 798857.14 kcal/hr

Fuel Required = 798857.14/2272 = 351.6 kg/hr

Fuel Required for 1 TPH Boiler is 351.6 kg/hr.

That means by burning 351.6 kg/hr of of Bagasse, you can generate 1000 kg/hr saturated
steam at 10.5 kg/cm2(g) pressure.

6. What is the need of boiler blowdown?

Boiler blowdown is the intentionally removing of water from the boiler to avoid the
concentration of impurities during the continuous evaporation of steam. It prevents
scale formation inside the boiler. Its purpose is to control boiler water parameters
within prescribed limits. It is of 2 types
1. Continuous (Surface) Blowdown: It utilizes a calibrated valve and a blowdown
tap near the boiler water surface. It continuously takes water from the top of the
boiler at a predetermined rate to reduce the level of dissolved solids.
2. Periodic (Manual or Bottom) Blowdown: The manual blowdown take-off is
usually located in the bottom of the lowest boiler drum where any sludge formed
would tend to settle.
Blowdown is calculated using formula
Blowdown % =

Blowdown Rate = Evaporation rate * Blowdown %

Blowdown Rate is the removal rate of water from the boiler.
Total time for blowdown =

7. What are the chemicals that are used in a thermal power plant?

There are a variety of chemicals used in a thermal power plant. They include:
1. Ammonia for dosing in the boiler steam-water cycle system to control the pH.
2. Hydrazine for oxygen scavenging from the boiler.
3. Sodium hypochlorite or any bactericide during primary treatment of water.
4. Coagulant ad flocculant for primary treatment of water.
5. Anti-scalant and reducing agent in reverse osmosis system.
6. Acid and alkali for various purposes including chemical cleaning of systems and
to regenerate the mixed bed resin used in condensate polishing system.
7. Organic sulfur in treatment of Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) wastewater.
The choice of chemicals may very from plant to plant but these are the general
chemicals that can be found in almost every thermal power plant.