TATA SPONGE IRON LIMITED

Reports on kiln & power plant

Submitted by

Mr.Bibekananda maharana

IN PLANT TRAINE 2017

INTRODUCTION

➢ Sponge iron
➢ Raw material handling system
➢ Kiln section
➢ Cooler section
➢ Product separation system
➢ Waste gas system
➢ Utility (air & water) system
➢ De dusting system
➢ WHRB boiler
SPONGE IRON

Sponge Iron is a Metallic product produced through direct reduction of Iron ore,

In the solid state. It’s a substitute for scrap mainly used in steel making.

• Iron ore ,Dolomite and non-cocking coal are the prime raw material for the,
Production of the sponge Iron.

• These are charge into a rotary kiln in requisite proportion.

• The feed coal charge the first section of the kiln and then injection coal charged
End of the kiln. Coal plays a dual role in the process by acting as a reductant,
And a fuel as well, for providing heat for requisite temperature inside the kiln,
At a range of 850-10500c.
• The crucial Factor in this reduction process is the control combustion of the coal,
And its conversion to carbon monoxide to remove oxygen from Iron ore
• The overall process requires duration of approximately 10-12hrs inside the kiln.
• Dolomite used as disulphurised item. It used as sulphur scavenger which finally
Comes out with char.

• The kiln is divided into two parts one is pre-heating zone and another is
reduction zone .The pre-heating zone extends over 40 to 50 percent of length of
the kiln. In this part moisture is removed and volatile matter in coal removed in
the temperature 600 to 8000c.

• The combustion air supplied through the air tube in the free space. Heat from the
combustion raises the temp of the bed surface.
• Materials around 9500c enters the reduction zone temperature up to 1050 to 11000c
maintain in the reduction zone which appropriate for solid state reduction of iron,
Oxide to reduction.
• The hot reduced material of the kiln then passes to the rotary cooler through
transfer chute for cooling.
• The water is sprayed on the top of the cooler for cool indirectly the hot material
On the shell.

• The material is cooled around about 1000c and is discharged by belt conveyor.

• The cool product after discharge sent to the product separation area where DRI is
magnetic separated from char and screen to various size
RAW MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM:-

• RMH system processes & prepares iron ore, coal & dolomite in
specific size fractions, as required by the sponge iron making process
• Various Mechanical equipment under RMH are as follows
• Belt conveyors
• Vibro feeders
• Vibrating Screens
• Crushers(Coal/Ore)
• Bucket elevators
• Weigh feeders
• Storage bins, etc

F-utility air and water system:-

• Cold well Pumps

• Hot well Pumps
• Cooling Tower
• Compressors
• Fans & blowers
• Water treatment plant
• Other equipment

G-dedusting system:-

• Bag house
• ID fan
• Pug mill
• Rav screw compressor
• Other ancillary parts

STORAGE

• Open coal yard - 1 ×70,000MT

• Dolomite shed - 4×100MT
• Open iron ore - 1×100,000MT
• Coal shed - 5×5000MT
RAW MATERIAL
• Iron ore - (5-18mm)(65%iron) khadbandh,indrani pattnaik
(10-40mm)(62-63%iron)joda east
• Coal - (0-5mm)[FC-58%]south Africa
(3-25mm)[FC-43%]ECL
• Dolomite - (4-8mm)Bhutan
CONVEYOR

What is a Conveyor Belt?

A Conveyor Belt is generally an endless loop which moves materials from one
location to another. Conveyor belts are often driven by variable speed electric
motors or by other moving parts in a complex system. They are commonly
found in factories, grocery stores, warehouses and public transportation centers.

Use of Conveyor Belt in DRI Industry

A conveyor belt is used for transporting material such as coal, iron ore; char etc
from one place to another with low operating and maintenance cost

What is a Vibrating Screen?

The vibrating screen is a kind of sieving equipment

 Why a Vibrating Screen is used?

It is widely used for grading and screening materials in the following fields:
minerals, quarry, building materials, water conservancy and hydropower,
transportation, chemical industry, smelting and so on

Operating Mechanism of Circular Vibrating Screen

Circle-throw vibrating equipment is a shaker or a series of shakers as to where

the drive causes the whole structure to move. The structure extends to a
maximum throw or length and then contracts to a base state. A pattern of
springs are situated below the structure to where there is vibration and shock
absorption, as the structure returns to the base state.

1. Screen body

2. Screen Deck

3. Coil Spring

4. V-Belt

5. Motor

6. Driven Pulley

Vibrator

The vibrator consists of a high-carbon steel shaft to which are attached two-
off-centre weights. These produce the circular-throw action characteristic of
the screen.
CRUSHER

Definition

Crusher is a machine used to reduce material to smaller sizes, either by impact,

compression, shearing, and attrition or by some combination of these forces.

Classification of Crushers

Crushers are classified as follows:

1. Primary crusher - These crushers have large feed opening to take
big size of rock/ROM material. These are not intended to prepare
the material to meet final specification, but simply to reduce it to a
more workable size.
2. Secondary crusher - Secondary Crushers are those which accept
smaller size material (usually product from the primary crusher).
3. Tertiary crusher - Tertiary crushers are those which are used for
achieving final reduction of material.

What is a Cone crusher?

A Gyratory Cone Crusher is one of the main types of crushers in a mine or ore
processing plant. ... The crushing action is caused by the closing of the gap
between the mantle line (movable) mounted on the central vertical spindle and
the concave liners (fixed) mounted on the main frame of the crusher.
PROCESS FLOW CHART

KILN SPECIFICATION

KILN Shell length Shell dia TPD

1 72 4.2 500

2 72 4.2 475

3 80 4.8 475
WHAT IS KILN?

Kilns are thermally insulated chamber, or oven in which controlled temperature,

Regimes are produced .it used to calcining or oxidising the fire property.

➢ In coal based DRI manufacture, rotary kiln are used to reduce oxygen from iron
ore in solid state .Technology for production for sponge iron are highly sensitive
to the characteristics of raw material. These raw materials are :

➢ Iron ore

➢ Coal

➢ Dolomite

➢ Critical Mechanical equipments are:-

• Rotary kiln
• Post combustion chamber
• Double pendulum valve & feed pipes
• Support rollers and kiln supporting tyre
• Support roller bearing
• Slip seal for kiln sealing from both ends
• Main drive gear box and auxiliary gear box
• Girth gear and pinion
• Gear oil pump
• PCC blower
• Back spillage chamber with wets scrapper
• Dust settling chamber
• cowl cooling blower, feed seal blower
• Secondary air blower and SAB tubes
• Primary air blower and burner tubes
• Coal injection system(rotary feeder, roots blower)
• Other ancillary parts
 ROTARY KILN

Rotary kilns of various sizes /dimension are rested on support roller (4 stations)
And are rotate with mechanical devices as predefined process as per production
Requirements

➢ Waste gas handling system:

• ID FAN
• ESP
• SILO & Ash conditioner
• Ash handling system through pneumatic cylinder

➢ Utilities
• Compressor
• Water pump
 COOLER SECTION

A cooler consist of a slightly inclined tube of similar construction to a rotary kiln

placed at a lower level than the kiln. Sponge iron is transform from the kiln to cooler for
indirect cooling through transfer chute.

➢ Mechanical equipments in cooler are:

• Cooler
• Support roller
• Cooler supporting tyres
• Main drive gear box
• Girth gear
• Slip seal from cooler sealing from both end.

The reduced sponge iron from rotary kiln with other contaminates like non magnetic
char/stone pieces get discharge into a rotary cooler at a temperature of 950 0c.The
sensible heat of the materials will be dissipated indirectly by water spraying on the
outside of the cooler shell. The material gets cooled around 100 0c and the travel time in
the cooler is 2hours.

Product separation
The cooler discharge material consists of sponge iron,char,dolo char & other constaminats
coming out of cooler is screened in vibratory screen to 0-4mm and plus 20mm.the 4 to 20mm
material are processed in lumps drum type rotating magnetic separator.the 0-4mm are
processed in double stage fines drum magnetic separator to ensure the purity of iron.the
magnetic separator lumps and the magnetic sponge fines are stored in the product storage bin
the non magnetic char and dolo char are also stored in waste product bins.plus 20mm material
in the cooler discharge generallay acceration pieces and collected separated from chute.
REFRACTOY WALL

• A high heat-resistant material, usually nonmetallic, which can withstand

very high temperatures without degrading or softening

• Refractory includes certain ceramics and super alloys.

• Refractory is used for heat insulation of furnaces or for furnace linings

PURPOSE FOR REFRATORY WALL

• Protect kiln shell

• Prevent heat loss
• Provide chemical,
• Abrasion, Impact & thermal shock resistance

VARIOUS FORMS OF REFRATORY

• Refractory is applied in the shapes of :

• Bricks
• Castables
• Bricks and Castable combined
• In the present scenario, most of the kilns are coming up with castable
lining

Areas / Equipments where Refractory is applied in Coal based Rotary Kiln DRI
Plants:-
• Rotary Cooler ( Inlet portion- 5.0 meters)

• Feed Tray (Transfer chute)

• Central Hood

• Rotary Kiln

• Dust Settling Chamber

• Post Combustion Chamber (ABC)

• Elbow Duct

• Emergency Cap
SECONDARY AIR BLOWER

• There are 8 air tubes mounted on kiln to feed air into kiln through Secondary Air
blowers.
• The quantity of air is controlled as per the pre-set production parameters.
• The SAB tube can withstand a temperature of around 1200°C and also thermal
shocks during operation

• It can also withstand the shock load in case of boulders hitting the tubes inside the
kiln

• It supplies the air inside the kiln as per the process requirement

Components are:-

• Secondary air blower

• Damper
• Expansion joint

AIR INJECTION TUBE

• It passes air to inside of kiln as per process requirement through the swirled
at various angles in different tube.
• Air is diverted via inner cooling air jacket to forcefully cool the wall of air
injection tube
• It is exposed to kiln inside flame
 Air injection tube

Components air injection tubes:-

• Air injection tubes

• Inner tube for air injection tube
• Swiler
• Clamping flange
• Dome

Tyre:-

• It supports the kiln.

• It rotates with kiln, but the frictional force between tyre & support
roller makes the tyres slip over kiln. This phenomenon is called creep.
This plays a vital roll in assessing kiln alignment. Creep is essential
as there is uneven expansion of tyre & kiln shell
• As the tyre slips over chair pad, a clearance is caused after a certain
period. Tyre inner surface as well as chair pad outer surface get
eroded & air gap is formed which off centers the kiln, causing its
misalignment
• Also, as the tyre & stopper are closely placed, there is a natural
tendency of erosion of both due to friction
Primary Air Blower

It supplies air inside the kiln as per process requirement, from the discharge end

Components

• air blower

• Damper

• expansion joint

Rotary Feeder:-

• It feeds coal to a pneumatic system.

• It also stops air leakage from pneumatic conveying system during
material feeding.
• There are two rotary feeders - One running & the other, a standby

• Components

Rotary feeder

Geared motor

Chain & sprocket

Central Burner

It passes air inside the kiln as per process requirement form discharge end and
also initiates firing the kiln start-up, after shutdown

Components

➢ Central burner pipe

➢ Damper
➢ Expansion joint
➢ Trolley
➢ Oil spray station
Roots Blower (Twin Lobe Compressor)

➢ It delivers air (low pressure & high discharge).

➢ This air is required to convey the injection coal & throw it into kiln from
discharge end

➢ There are two roots blowers - one for working & other as a standby

COMPONETS:-

• Roots blower
• Safety valve
• Silencer

Coal Throw Pipes & Nozzle Cooling Blower

• It conveys air & coal mixture from rotary feeder to kiln.

• There are two sets of pipe for each rotary feeder - One is running & other,
a standby.

• Since no air passes through standby pipe line, which is exposed to kiln
flame, the air from pipe cooling blower is used to cool this standby
pipeline.
 Post Combustion Chamber Blower

• It feeds air inside PCC as per process requirement, to facilitate proper

burning of residue carbon particles of flue gas.
• Three no. blowers are installed, out of which 2 are functional & one is a
standby

Components
• Air Blower

• Damper

• Expansion Joint

Transition (Feed Tray)

• Materials from kiln fall on the feed tray which is located in the transition
between kiln & cooler

• Feed tray feeds material to cooler

Components
Feed Tray
Trolley

Deflector Plate
 Silo & Pug Mill

• Ash is stored in silo.

• A blower is used to fluidize ash inside bin so that ash will flow freely
from silo
• A RAV uniformly feeds material from silo to ash conditioner.
• In the conditioner, water is sprayed on ash to make it moist, to avoid its
flying during transportation
• As ash is discharged from a pneumatic conveying system to silo, a vent
filter is installed on top of silo for release of air from silo

Components

• Silo

• Rotary Air Lock Valve

• Pug Mill

• Twin Lobe Compressor

• Vent Filter

Ash Handling System

• It transfers ash from hopper (below boiler) & ESP and to storage silo.

• It has a dense phase pneumatic conveying system

Components

• Surge Hopper

• Vessel

• Dome Valve

• Blow Valve

• Conveying Pipe

• Busting line
Some Terminology related to kiln study

Run out- It is a difference of distance measured at two points on periphery of

shells at 180degree apart from a fix point

Creep- It is a difference of Tyre ID and Kiln OD i.e. Creep= π (D-d) where D is

the inner dia of Tyre and d is the outer dia of Kiln.

Skewness- Skewness of support roller and kiln happen when axis of both
support roller and kiln are not in parallel. (for 500 tpd kiln, support rollers are
kept parallel.)

This is very important to hold the rotating kiln at place.

During the adjustment of support roller to move the kiln up(inlet side) or down
(outlet side), skewness is done as per determined dimensions.

Backlash- In gear meshing, Backlash is maintained for rolling contact instead

of sliding contact. In open gear system, Backlash is an amount by which the
tooth space exceeded the thickness of the tooth at meshing point.

Root Clearance- It is a space between root of the teeth and teeth top land in
meshing gear.

Root clearance = module/4

Slop- Generally kilns are Inclined at 2.5% in vertical plane.

Kiln axis
Some Terminology related to kiln study

Kiln Axis- Line joining the geometrical centers at each support stations is called
Kiln Axis

Axis of Rotation- The axis around which kiln is rotated is called Axis of
Rotation

Kiln Floating- It’s a kiln movement in axial direction

Air Gap - It is a gap between Tyre ID and chairpad on the Shell (Creep / π)

If air gap is more it causes kiln ovality, brick / castable failure, chair pad failure,
etc.

Ovality - It’s applicable to kiln shell. It is the change of curvature of shell or

flexing of kiln shell during the course of each rotation.

Kiln is supported by 4 support station with 8 support rollers, with a inclination

of 2.5% slope.
Accordingly, support rollers are also inclined as per kiln i.e 2.5%
To float the kiln in rotating condition, following mechanisms are adopted-
Hydro Thruster mechanism is provided

Support roller is kept skewed

Kiln is kept floating on support rollers axially i.e longitudinally for uniform
wear of tyre & support roller surface, otherwise groove formation will take
place on support rollers & tyre surface if kiln will rotate at same place.

Kiln floating is done very slowly

The support rollers are kept skewed where there is no thruster mechanism for
kiln floating (In our case kiln-1 & kiln-2)

The support roller is kept parallel to kiln axis where thruster mechanism is
available and kiln axial movement (floating) is done by the thruster mechanism.

By the thruster mechanism, vertical movement of cylinder results horizontal

movement of kiln.
 Kiln alignment

It is very important factor to improve or maintain the mechanical stability of

kiln.
Any kiln is considered “aligned” when the locus of centre of rotation of shell at
each support station is a straight line.
In other way, when kiln’s geometrical axis and the axis of rotation coincide or
are in same line, the kiln is called perfectly aligned.
Also kiln floating is done with skewing of support rollers or by some extra
mechanism

Decreased mechanical stress on shell, tyre chair pads and retainer blocks, tyres,
support rollers , roller bearing and shaft, etc.
Reduced wear & tear of tyres, support rollers, chair pads, girth gears and
pinions, etc.
No incident of chair pad support crack
Control in localized refractory failure
Increase mechanical stability of refractory

Signs of kiln misalignment

Backlash and root clearance get disturbed.

Skewness of support rollers and floating pattern of kiln vary in each rotation of
kiln.
Excessive load coming on support rollers and bearings, causing abnormal
behavior, i.e heat, sound, etc.
Increase in the run-out of kiln at different places
Disturbance in kiln floating/axial movement
Development of shell cracks near support station.
Occasional fluctuation in kiln current

Methodology to carry out kiln alignment

Cold Kiln Alignment

Hot Kiln Alignment

In both the methods, Kiln centers at support station are measured

Methodology to carry out kiln alignment

In cold Method, some correction factor is added to all measured readings and
calculations are carried out to find out the actual axis.

In the case of hot kiln alignment, all the readings are taken directly on the shell
in hot condition. This method is more accurate.

Here also, the readings are measured and calculated to find the kiln actual axis.

Measurement Method in Hot Alignment

Misalignment Correction & Support Roller Adjustment

After the calculation of measured value, support roller

Adjustment is carried out to correct misalignment, keeping in mind the

minimum disturbance in girth gear area
Support roller movement

Centre line correction of kiln is done to ensure that

The support roller movement is minimum.

Disturbance in girth gear area is minimum regarding backlash and root

clearance

During adjustment, changes in current profile and monitoring of bearing

temperatures change, and any abnormal sound, floating of kiln and tyres should
be monitored closely.

Adjustment is carried out in two categories

As a part of alignment as per measured values

As a part of adjustment for correction of thrust by properly skewing the rollers .

Support Roller Adjustment for thrust

 Kiln & Cooler Main Drive

Kiln/Cooler main drive is one of the most critical equipment of the plant.
Any failure in this system leads to stoppage of the plant and consequent
production loss.

• Kiln/Cooler rotation is done by main drive system. It consist of

• Main drive Motor
• Main drive Gear Box
• Girth gear & Pinion
• Auxiliary drive
• Kiln Brake

Auxiliary Drive

Auxiliary drive is an important input to keep running the kiln with a slow
rpm as required, in case of any failure of kiln main drive (power)

Auxiliary drive remains attached with main drive with over-run clutch
which remains free during main drive operation.

During failure of main motor or any type of hold or interruption,

auxiliary drive comes in operation and gives drive

Overrun Clutch

Over-run clutch is a drive free wheel mechanism which remains idle

during main drive operation. When auxiliary drive is in operation, the
power is transmitted to main gear box through over run clutch.

Over-run clutch’s working life is 4 to 5 years (as per our past experience)
which needs to be replaced then. However, it needs checking for bearing
condition & lubrication in every shutdown.

Over run clutch is connected with pin bush coupling to main drive gear
box. It is also checked in every shut down.

Auxiliary Gear Box oil is replaced yearly after checking the condition &
wear debris analysis report of oil
Girth Gear & Pinion

Girth gear & pinion are the part of Kiln drive system.

Girth gear is mounted on kiln & driven by pinion attached with main
motor & gear box arrangement.

In our case (5OO TPD KILN)

Girth Gear consist of 144nos Teeth.

Pinion consist of 21nos Teeth.

Module = 55

Lubricant = BERULIT GA 400

Back lash = 0.02 to 0.04 of Module

Root Clearance = 1/4th of the Module

In our case (375 TPD KILN)

Girth Gear consist of 112nos Teeth.

Pinion consist of 21nos Teeth.

Module = 55
Lubricant = compound 30

Back lash = 0.02 to 0.04 of Module

Root Clearance = 1/4th of the Module

Daily checking of Kiln & Cooler

Slip seal air pressure & lubrication

Girth Gear spray lubrication

Girth Gear & Pinion teeth condition

Main drive gear box oil pressure

Main drive gear box oil Temperature

Cooling water flow

Any leakage of main drive area

SRB water flow

Slip Ring Seals

It is a very important part of kiln to keep the kiln in a sealed condition

from both end i.e. inlet & out let end

2 to 3 mm water Column positive pressure is maintained at kiln out let

inside to maintain other parameters

If sealing is not proper, false air suction may take place, resulting in
accretion formation inside the kiln

It seals the kiln & prevents gas passing from kiln to atmosphere & vice
versa.

Stationary seal & rotary seal are always kept in contact by Air pressure
through pneumatic cylinder mounted on the floating frame.

Air pressure for operation of pneumatic cylinder is maintained 3-4 kg/cm2

Lubrication of slip seals at matching parts is very important and critical .

Lubricant must be suitable to withstand 250 to 300 deg C temperature.

For this application special grease is used, where molybdenum sulphide

additive gives a solid and hard lubricating surface in between the seals
during lubrication, and facilitates in getting more life of seals.
Back Spillage Chamber, DSC & Wet Scrapper

Back spillage

It discharges spilled-back materials of kiln to ground. As kiln is an air

tight chamber, equipment is required to seal the air at the back spillage
area. A wet scrapper is used for this purpose.
Dust settling chamber

Entry of flue gas into kiln i.e. to a expanded area, reduces the velocity of
flue gas. DSC separates larger suspended particles from flue gas

Wet scraper

Wet Scrapper is used for removing the dust particles from DSC particles
& sealing flue gas path from ambient atmosphere. It is installed just
below the DSC. It is filled with water for air sealing as well as cooling the
hot dust. The settled dust are taken out with the help of a chain conveyor

Maintenance Practices for Kiln

Regular checking & inspection of the following:

➢ Kiln shell crack

➢ Shell distortion, if any

➢ Any abnormal sound from support rollers & tyre area, slip seal & main
drive area, power slip ring area, SAB blowers, etc.

➢ Girth gear greasing pattern & teeth condition

Main drive gear boxes (lubrication

Minor unattended problems often lead to major breakdowns, and
therefore, must be attended timely. Some of these problems:

➢ Temporary shell problem caused by misalignment.

➢ Permanent shell distortion because of thermal deviations.

Shell cracks, requiring repairing.

➢ Creep measurement, tyre ID lubrication, surface contact pattern,
temperature deviations.
➢ Tyre and support roller wear out measurement in case of both fixed and
loose tyres.
Lubrication

A substance, such as grease or oil that reduces friction when applied as a

surface coating to moving parts

Functions of oil: Oil reduces unwanted friction. It reduces wear on moving

parts, and helps to cool an engine. It also absorbs shock loads and acts as a
cleaning agent.

Grease is a lubricant of higher initial viscosity than oil, consisting originally of a

calcium, sodium or lithium soap jelly emulsified with mineral oil.

Greases are a type of shear thinning or pseudo-plastic fluid, which means that
the viscosity of the fluid is reduced under shear. After sufficient force to shear
the grease has been applied, the viscosity drops and approaches that of the base
mineral oil

Main Functions of Lubricants

• To reduce friction
• To control temperature rise
• To control wear
• To control corrosion
• To act as a seal
• To absorb shock
• To carry out heat
• To decrease power requirement

Various Types of Lubricants

Lubricant

Solid semi liquid liquid Gaseous

wax (all type of gases) (all type of oil minerals) Air

Graphite sodium base (minerals oil) helium

French chalk calcium base (synthetic oil) co2

Lithium base
Type of Lubrication

Splash system: In this system, a dipper or slinger splashes oil through the
internal parts of the machine. Oil is also splashed up to the valve mechanism.

Pressure system: - In force-feed lubrication, pressure forces oil around the

engine. In a wet-sump system, oil is kept in the sump ready for the next use. In a
dry sump system, oil falls to the bottom of the engine and a scavenge pump
sends it to an oil tank.

Sump: The sump is at the base of a MACHINE. It can be used as a storage

container in a 'wet sump system'.

Oil collection pan: An oil collection pan is used in 'dry sump systems’ prior to
being returned to an oil tank.

Oil pressure relief valve: The pressure relief valve is used to prevent damage to
an engine due to too much oil pressure.

Oil indicators: Oil indicators are used to check when there are safe oil levels in
a MACHINE.
Oil cooler: An oil cooler cools oil prior to its reuse in the machine.

USE OF LUBRICANTS

Kln-1,2 &srb
Servo mesh(sp-680),EP-2 Kiln-1,2,pinon bearing

Kiln,cooler-1,2,3(main gear box)

Servo mesh(sp-460) Kiln-1,2,3(aux gear box)

18.5mw cooling tower

Gear compound 30 Kiln, cooler -1,2(girth gea

Berulit GA-400 Kiln cooler-3

FA 50 MO GRESE Kiln,cooler-3(pinion
bearing,srb,thrust roller

BECHEM ALCOM-460 Slip seal

Waste Heat Recovery Boiler at Tata Sponge

What is WHRB ?

Waste Heat Recovery Boilers (WHRB) is non-fired type natural circulation

water tube boilers. It evaporates water and further superheat. The superheated
steam in turn to runs the turbine and generate power

Why WHRB use in sponge iron plant?

Waste Heat Recovery Boilers (WHRB) used in sponge iron plants are non-fired
type natural circulation water tube boilers. These boilers utilize already
generated heat in sponge iron making process to evaporate water and further
superheat.
POWER PLANT

It’s an industrial facility used to generate the electric power by the combustion
of fuel

BOILER

It’s a closed vessel having 22.5l capacity produced steam from water with
pressure

Classification of boilers:

➢ Horizontal, vertical or inclined.

➢ Fire tube and water tube
➢ Cochran, Lancashire and locomotive boilers are fire tube and Babcock
and Wilcox, Stirling, Yarrow boiler
➢ etc. are water tube boilers.
➢ Externally fired and internally fired.
➢ Forced circulation and natural circulation.
➢ High pressure and low pressure boilers.
➢ Stationary and portable.
➢ Single tube and multi tube boilers

SL NO Specification Boiler-1 Boiler-2 Boiler-3

1 Types of boiler Whrb,water tube Whrb,water tube Whrb,water tube

nonfiring,natural nonfiring,natural nonfiring,natural
circulation circulation circulation

2 Work 54 45 45
pressure(kg/cm2)

3 TPD 33 32 45

Temperature range (approximate)

Components Gas inlet Gas outlet Water inlet Water outlet

coil

Superheater(1) 8050c 6700c 3800c 5400c

Superheater(2) 6700c 5000c 3100c 3700c

Evaporator(1) 5000c 4300c 3110c 3110c

Evaporator(2) 4300c 3800c 3110c 3110c

economiser 3800c 2000c 1600c 2900c

Boiler accessories and mountings

Accessories:

Accessories are the auxiliary parts used for steam boilers for their proper
operation and for the increase of their efficiency.

➢ Steam Drum
➢ Economiser
➢ Evaporator
➢ Super heater
➢ Support Tubes
➢ Screen Tubes
➢ Water wall
➢ Risers and Down comers
➢ Attemperater
➢ Soot Blowers
➢ De aerator
➢ HP and LP Dosing
➢ Blow down Tank
➢ BFW Pump
➢ ESP
➢ ID Fans
➢ Buck stays
➢ Inlet/Outlet Ducts
➢ Hoppers

Mountings:

These are fittings for the safety of the boiler and control of the steam
generation process completely.

➢ Pressure gauge
➢ Safety valves
➢ Water level indicators
➢ Feed check valve
➢ Steam stop valve
➢ Fusible plug
➢ Blow-off cock
➢ Manholes
FLOW OF PATH

All the passes are confined in the required arrangement by panels that host the
water-wall tubes. The first pass is usually called

“Radiation Pass” since the heat transfer occurs mainly through radiation and
only with the Water-wall tubes.

Radiation pass could be absent in some cases. In radiation pass the gases pass
vertically downwards. As the gases reach the bottom and shed some of the soot
they pass through Screen Tubes. The 2nd pass is called “Convection Pass” since
the medium of heat transfer is mainly convection.

The gases serially pass around the superheater tubes, the evaporator tubes and
then in 3rd pass through Economiser coils. The evaporator is a heat exchanger
designed to evaporate the water to drum pressure. Superheater is a heat
exchanger designed to superheat the saturated steam to required pressure and
temperature.

Superheater needs more heat input as against evaporator since it takes the steam
into the superheat region. Thus it is put prior to evaporator in the gas flow. The
gases pass through the 3rd pass around the economiser coils.

Economiser serves as a heat exchanger to increase the feed water temperature to

Steam Drum, and hence reduces the heat load on evaporator coils. The
Economiser coils are arranged in modules as per the heat flux availability and
manufacturing capability. The gases are later led to the Electrostatic Precipitator
(ESP). The gases are then led out by ID fan arrangement to the stack

The feed water is let in through FW pump to the economiser which in turn is led
to the steam drum. Steam drum collects all the feed water as well as the steam
formed. The economiser simply raises the temperature of water and reduces the
thermal load one evaporator.
The evaporator takes in the water from Steam Drum through Down comers and
releases the steam back to the drum through Risers. Before the saturated steam
is passed on to the superheater it
is made to pass through demister pads to reduce the water droplet content in
steam up to 99.9% and the superheated steam at final required temperature and
pressure is let out to the turbine.
The design pressure is kept higher than the required pressure at the outlet since
various pressure losses exist in the whole flow process. The feed water prior to
entry to FW Pump is passed through a component called the De-aerator to
reduce the chances of corrosion
Certain additives (Tri Sodium Phosphate and Hydrazine) are mixed with the
feed water to reduce the oxygen content and settle colloidal particles in the
water. This chemical dosing in pre-pumping stage is called Low Pressure (LP)
Dosing while the one in post pumping side is called High Pressure (HP) Dos

The overall arrangement may only be finalized after considering the site
location and space availability. Required changes or modifications may result in
major changes in design

Steam Drum

The steam drum is the component that collects the feed water from
economizer coils and saturated steam from the evaporators and provides this
steam to superheated coils and the soot blowers.

The drum pressure is an important basis of design. Generally the drum

pressure is chosen as per the turbine inlet steam requirement.
The steam drum pressure is little higher than the required pressure at outlet
by an amount equal to algebraic sum of various pressure drops across the
flow field of water or steam. The steam drum is a pressure vessel and thus
follows the corresponding ASME or IBR code. The drum shell is made by
welding the required lengths of plates along the periphery.
Economiser

The economiser does not generate steam but simply reduces the amount by
which the evaporator needs to raise the temperature of water to form steam.
The purpose of the economiser unit is to raise the temperature of feed water
so that the heat load on Evaporator coils will be less and heat is utilized
efficiently.

The feed water entering the economiser coils is maintained at a pressure little
higher than ideal considering the pressure drop in its coils. The economiser
coils are manufactured in the form of modules or units depending upon the
standard manufacturing capability available. As per requirement multiple
modules are employed. In some cases, extra space may be provided to install
additional modules in future.

Evaporator

The evaporator coils, as the name suggests, evaporate the high temperature
water at the drum pressure. The evaporators as per requirement may be
divided into two or three units to effectively absorb the heat from flue gases.
The temperature of flue gases goes on decreasing as they pass around the
coils thus, the overall heat transfer is better if coils are used in units as against
used together in a big single unit.
Superheater

Superheater, as the name suggests further heats the steam into the superheat
region. The superheater is usually divided in two units and a humidification
component is introduced in between the two. This is required since the outlet
steam of superheater is directly fed to the turbine and hence should exactly be
of same quality as needed. The humidifying component called as
Attemperater controls the outlet steam condition.
Support Tubes

The tubes in the boiler cannot be hanged in the flue gas path by welding to
beams. Few more tubes are arranged specifically for the same purpose. These
tubes called as support tubes are shock absorbing tubes. Support tubes are
also meant for water cooling of all the heat exchanging tubes, for carbon
steels cannot survive temperatures more than 400°C for long.

Screen Tubes

These are special tubes provided at the bottom of the first pass and at the
common region between first and second pass. The purpose of installation of
screen tubes is screening the superheater tubes from direct thrust of flue gas
and soot particles.
 Water wall

The water wall is the term used for the arrangement of tubes along the panel
walls in the radiation as well as the convection pass. The tubes are arranged
alternatively with connecting strips of metallic wall. On the inner side water
wall tubes are exposed to high temperature flue gases while on the outer side
are exposed to the atmosphere.

The top and bottom headers of these panels are connected to the risers and
down comers respectively. The steam formation occurs in water wall panel as
well and the steam is led to the steam drum through risers while the high
temperature water from steam drum comes down in down comers only to
enter the water wall tubes.

Risers and Down comers

Risers and down comers are tubes that help circulation of steam to drum and
water from the same. The idea behind the circulation is of density difference.
The density of water is high as compared to that of steam. The water enters
from the bottom and rises vertically in the water wall and is led to regions
with rising temperatures.

Thus steam formation starts in these tubes and thus a density gradient is
created leading to flow of steam upwards and out of the water wall tubes. The
diameter of risers is always smaller than that of the down comers. This is
required since maintaining pressure in riser tubes is essential as against down
comers.
Down comers can work with larger diameter since the water comes down by
pull of gravity. The difference also helps in circulation since the large inflow
of water is to be compensated by equivalent steam going out.

Attemperator

An attemperator is a humidifier. The purpose of humidifier is to control the

steam temperature for inlet to 2nd unit of superheater (The one exchanging heat
at the very beginning and lending steam directly to the turbine). The steam
condition (temperature and pressure) is measured at the outlet of 1st superheater
and the data is run through a control loop to automatically activate the actuators
to control spray water supply to the attemperator.
The water is sprayed in the attemperator into the steam and thus reduces its
temperature by a calculated amount such that after passing through the latter
half of the superheater coils the output steam is exactly as per the requirement.
 Soot Blowers

These are special equipments used to blow away the soot gathered on the heat
exchanging tubes. The soot blowers are arranged above and below each coil
unit. In brief, a soot blower can be explained as a narrow hollow shaft called as
lance rotated by a motor filled with saturated steam from the drum or rotate as
well as reciprocate horizontally below the coils covering each exposed region of
coils.

The saturated steam is let in through a line taken from the puppy header. The
same steam is sprayed onto the tubes through nozzles placed at the end of the
hollow shaft. The nozzles have a spray radius. The area covered within the span
gets sprayed. Thus arrangement is done such that complete area is covered.
Types of Soot blowers

➢ Long Retractable Soot Blowers (LRSB)

➢ Rotary Soot Blowers (RSB)

Long Retractable Soot Blowers (LRSB)

They reciprocate from hot end to cold end and spray the steam onto the coils
when inside. The LRSB employ a puppet valve to let the steam in. Nozzles are
provided at the end of the shaft along the periphery. These are usually used for
superheater and evaporator coils where temperature is high and the soot blower
lance cannot be exposed to it for long.

Rotary Soot Blowers (RSB)

The hollow shaft is fixed inside the boiler covered by a box below each coil. 1
nozzle per consecutive pair is provided on the lance. This arrangement covers
maximum exposed area of the coils. This type of soot blowers are usually
provided for economiser coils where temperature of gases is comparatively low
and soot blower lance can survive. The soot blowers are operated periodically
and are not operational continuously.

De aerator

The de aerator is a component placed previous to pump feeding the water to

boiler. As the name suggests it de-aerates the water by addition of some
chemicals as well raising the temperature of water. (Oxygen has low affinity to
water at high temperatures). The boiler feed water is to be pumped to the drum
pressure using standard pumps. Obviously the water to be pumped should be
clean so that it does not damage the pump impellers.
HP and LP Dosing

When the water passes through pumps it needs to be de-aerated. This is done by
addition of chemicals such as Tri-Sodium Phosphate. Since this addition is
before pumping or low pressure side, this chemical dosing is called as LP
Dosing system. The inlet receives the feed water at atmospheric temperature
and pressure while the outlet is given to the deaerator.

Oxygen has low affinity to water at high temperatures. As the temperature rises,
the oxygen mixed in water is released. This oxygen needs to be removed time
and again before it enters the turbine since that will adversely affect the blades.
Also the pH level of the water is to be maintained below 7 to avoid corrosion of
tubes.
This is performed by addition of chemicals such as Hydrazine on the high
pressure lines. The system that performs this task is known as HP Dosing
system. The outlet of HP Dosing system is led to the steam drum.

Blow down Tank

The precipitates formed due to chemical dosing get collected in steam drum and
obviously need to be washed away. Thus some measured amount of fluid needs
to be taken out through blow down pipes.

Blow down is continuous as well as intermittent. Depending upon need the

intermittent blow down valves are operated. The lines carrying blow down
fluid, called CBD and IBD lines start at the surface of drum water and the
bottom of the drum respectively

BFW Pump

The boiler feed water pump takes in clean water at approximately atmospheric
pressure and raises it to the drum pressure. Normally, a standby pump of 100%
capacity is provided per 2 pumps of 100% capacity. The provision for an extra
standby pump is mandatory according to IBR.

ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATOR (ESP)

In contrast to wet scrubbers which apply energy directly to the flowing fluid
medium, an ESP applies energy only to the particulate matter being collected
and therefore is very efficient in its consumption of energy (in the form of
electricity). In case of a WHRB, the ESP is needed before the exiting flue gas
passes on to the ID fans.
Maintenance activities in boiler

➢ Boiler cleaning

➢ UTG test

➢ SS shield and tube replacement

➢ Safety valve maintenance

➢ IBR valves overhauling

➢ Ash hopper cleaning

➢ Dome seal replacement

➢ Pneumatic cylinder/seal kit replacement

➢ Overhauling of blow valve of AHS

➢ Ash hopper poking from bypass pipe/by removing spool piece/from top
manhole.

➢ Ash conveying line jamming clear.

➢ Jacket cooling water line of ash hopper flushing.

➢ Sample cooler cooling water line flushing.

➢ Silo vents filter bags cleaning/ replacement.

➢ Maintenance of LRSB/RSB.

➢ Priming/suction strainer cleaning/ pump or motor replacement of HP/LP

dosing pumps.

➢ Replacement of pipe/valve etc.

➢ Replacement of steam drums gauge glass.