IPS 2015
IPS 2015
DEALING WITH ESP PERFORMNCE - ISSUES AND SOLUTIONSFAIZ TAIYABA K
RAZA ABHISHEK KUMARAGM (OPN)AGM (BMD) DY SUPDT (EMD)
ABSTRACTOne 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 countryvary 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 (
