REES

Reliability, Efficiency, Environment & Safety

is a Hindi
across thermal word.stations
power
Meaning of REES in English is to compete.
Which means struggle ,fight, battles etc.
A feedback & experience
By

R. S. Sharma
Managing Director (Bajaj Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd)

(Former CMD-NTPC, Former MD&CEO-Jindal Power)

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FOR SUSTAINABLE GENERATION PEOPLE ARE THE BASE,
TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEM ARE THE PILLARS.

RELIABILITY, EFFICIENCY ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY ARE

THE FOUR KEY CONSTITUENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE
GENERATION.

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 Generation

Sustainability

R E
T E
E N
E F
L V S
C F S
I I Y
H I A
A R S
N C F
B O T
O I E
I N E
L E T
L M M
O N Y
I E S
G C
T N
Y Y
Y T

People
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 Reliability

To me reliability is adherence to quality during

Project Construction & O&M phase.

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 Reliability
Outages of the units at a wrong time is real cause of worry across the power
stations.
1. Boiler-
A. Boiler tube leakage failures are one of most common problems faced in
power stations. There are power stations which have faced only 1 or 2 BTL in last 2
to 3 years.

 What are the key differentiators?

a) 100% radiography in first pass of all field joints & 20-25% in second pass.
b) 100% DPT of all fin welding done at site.
c) 100% boroscopic inspection of all headers.

B. PA fan blades failure are most susceptible due to sudden surge in

vibration because of stalling and unloading of fan. The operation practice is the
predominant factor.
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2. TG Outages
Sudden surge in TG shaft vibration has been the cause of prolonged outage of the
Units.
 Off late Turbine shaft vibration runs in to 3 digits in many power stations.
 It is a function of quality checks during manufacturing and erection .
 There are many large turbines of some Indian utilities running with vibration
running in two digit .
 With higher unit sizes , last stage LP turbine blades are becoming larger,
particularly in case of single LP Turbine.
 We must include installation of blade vibration monitoring system in the TG
package .Ultimately this is going to be the fraction of total cost.
 Steam quality and wetness in the last stage blades are most vital parameters
to be monitored and controlled in operation phase to avoid any failure on this
account

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3. BOP Outages
 Higher capacity drives of CW pumps ,CHP conveyors/crushers & other
rotating auxiliaries are getting affected due to high vibrations.
 due care should be taken during design ,manufacturing & assembly stages .
Also Proper erection & regular checks during operation can eliminate these
problems

4. Coal handling plant

 Initial design of equipment & installation is the key to reliable operation of
CHP.
 Coal Spillage, dust nuisances are the results of this simple issue not being
taken care.
 Improper design of fire fighting system poses a big reliability threat.
Designers have not given much thought to this issue specially in tall TPs
where the present system of fire fighting system like LHS ,Medium velocity
spray system, IRD detection system are totally inadequate.

I have experienced this problem at two large CHPs at NTPC-Ramagundam & at

JPL-Tamnar. 7
5.Water Chemistry
 Water chemistry is key to plant reliability. Large super critical and ultra super
critical units are extremely sensitive to water parameters.
 As per the requirement of Boiler & Turbine ,the design of water system should be
made in such a way for long term reliability of Boiler ,TG & Heat exchangers .
 Record of chemistry parameters should be available for life time.
6. Generator
 Generator is also subjected to occasional failure mainly due to manufacturing
defects and improper commissioning. Quality of primary water system & air
tightness are the key factors towards reliability.
7. Generator Transformer
 In recent times GT Failures though reduced to a large extent , but enough care
should be taken at manufacturing stage through stringent quality control to
further reduce its failure. On line DGA analysis provide right information.
8. Unit Tripping
 False tripping are the results of poor workmanship during erection and
maintenance phases in C&I area .Improper AC & dust control etc.in control room
are major concerns. This could be minimised to zero with stringent quality works
during erection & commissioning stage. Our tolerance for false tripping must be
zero. 8
 Efficiency

Thermal Efficiency of power stations in India is much lower

than OECD countries and is a matter of serious concern.

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 Global analysis of thermal cycle efficiency of coal based
power stations
Highest Cycle Efficiency Average Cycle Countries Coal
Sl No Unit Size Country Plant Name
& Parameters Efficiency Base Capacity
45% HHV
ISOGO TPS P- 250 Kg/cm² 41.60%
1 600 MW JAPAN 34.6 GW
YOKOHOMA MST- 600ᵒC HHV NET
HRH- 620ᵒC
47.8%
LHV 38.6%
2 1000MW CHINA GUDIAN TAIZHU TPS 746 GW
NET LHVNET
DOUBLE REHEAT
47% LHVNET
P-285 Kg/cm²
3 1100MW NETHERLAND MASSVLAKIE TPS ROTTERDAM 38% LHV NET 101GW EU
MST-600 ᵒC
HRH 620ᵒC
47.5%
LHV NET
4 912 MW GERMANY RKDB KARLSHRUBE P-275 Kg/cm² - PART 0F EU
MST-600 ᵒC
HRH 620ᵒC
42%
LHV NET
5 665 MW USA JOHN TURK JR TPS ARKANSAS P-262 Kg/cm² 37.4% LHV NET 246GW
MST-600 ᵒC
HRH 620ᵒC
P-270 Kg/cm²
NTPC KHARGON
6 800MW INDIA MST-600 ᵒC 41% * Likely 193 GW
*yet to be commissioned
HRH 600ᵒC
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Comparison of capacity between India & global highest
cycle efficiency countries

NON <300MW ULTRA

>300 SUB- SUPER
SL NO COUNTRY REHEAT SUB- SUPER
CRITICAL CRITICAL
CAPACITY CRITICAL CRITICAL
1 CHINA - 0.10% 50.40% 28.40% 20.00%
2 JAPAN - - 4.90% 38.40% 56.60%
3 EU - - 68.39% 15.24% 16.90%
4 USA - - 63% 36.70% 0.03%
5 INDIA 2.10% 37.08% 38.78% 22.04% -

• Unit Size less than 300 MW are virtually non existing in these countries having highest
efficiency where we have 39.18% (75.793 GW).
• Japan has virtually 100% supercritical & Ultra supercritical Plants.

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Benchmarking of cycle efficiency with leading countries in
power sector.

COUNTRY GSHR( KCal/KWH) Cycle Efficiency (%)

JAPAN 2067 41.6
CHINA 2227 38.6
EU 2263 38.0
USA 2300 37.4
INDIA 2471 34.8

• We are well below in terms of efficiency

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 What need to be done in India
Mind Set & Monitoring
• Right now we compare our operating heat rate with normative
heat rate approved by regulator. Utility should always compare it
w.r.t design THR and Boiler efficiency.
Example- for reference a 660 MW unit THR after one year of
operation was to found to have deteriorated by just 1%
above design. There is no reason for THR deterioration by more
than 2% between overhaul to overhaul period of 5 to 6 years.
• Boiler efficiency can always be maintained to its designed level and
even better if coal quality could be improved.
• There is need to adhere to these levels of efficient operation .
• Heat rate monitoring to be done daily on enthalpy basis and coal
consumption basis . Both figures must be reconciled.

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 What need to be done in India
At Policy level
• Unfortunately we are still operating lower size units of 60 & 100 MW that too non reheat.
Certainly these units are having very high Heat Rate .
• Even the 200 /500MW units are of 1980s vintage model, after which there has been drastic
technological improvements in the Heat Rate which are not been captured by old units.
Hence there is a need for following major actions.

I. Replacement of old sets with super critical/ ultra super critical sets which have completed
useful life, particularly non-reheat sets.

II. To carry out techno economic study for retrofit in 200/500 MW sub critical units for HR
improvement Vs replacement cost of Super critical and ultra Super Critical Units.

III. Designing of one or two machines in a station with best efficiency at part load.

To permit installation of only Ultra Super Critical Units for which I feel govt. must take a policy
decision as the basic parameters of MS/RH Temp- 600 /620ᵒC , Pr- 270 bar. There are proven
parameters globally and there is need to pursue unanimously for 700 ᵒC & above
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 What need to be done in India
At Utility Level
• Design HMBD should be part of online DCS for comparing real time deviations in
parameters w.r.t HMBD.
• Lower back pressure :- Its unfortunate that though during winter units could be operated
below 0.1 bar back pressure but due to design limitation of last stage LP turbine blade this
is not recommended. There are at least 4 to 5 month in a year we can operate below 0.1
bar. One can imagine HR improvement on account of this.
• Scope of reduction of back pressure from 0.10 bar at present should be studied by Utilities
together with OEM for design improvements of the blades.
• Also considering present situation of thermal backing for most of the time even we can run
through out year
• Base line data for Performance monitoring of units based on acceptance test with offline
instruments must be prepared and annual performance test of the unit pre and post
overhaul must be conducted. Its comparison with base line data must be done.
• For Furnace temp, FG Temp , O2 at combustion zone & CW flow instruments should be
provided.
• Performance testing should not be limited to BTG area only. BOP areas e.g CW pumps,
CHP, AHP for its capacity testing & Sp. Power consumption should be done.
• Benchmarking of performance parameters should be done using data envelope analysis
which is more scientific and adopted by global utilities.
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 What need to be done in India
• Aux Power Consumption must be compared w.r.t PG test data. We could see during
performance acceptance test of 660 MW unit, APC is 2.3 % for BTG after one year
operation. Considering BOP APC around 2.2 %- 2.4 % ,Total APC of station should be
well below 5% for units having TD BFP in service.
• GCV Improvement - Poor GCV as fired/as received have been a major cause of
concern since it does not only increase the chance of BTL but also deteriorates Boiler
performance.
• Fortunately with introduction of third party sampling result have been observed
good & utilities need to be vigilant on this issue .
• I feel GCV could be increased to 4000 Kcal/Kg level with proper control.
• Modifications in boiler may be done if required for operating with higher GCV coal.
• Future projects should be designed on high GCV.
• GCV loss in coal yard has also been found to be substantial. At BEL stations we have
initiated action for covering of coal yard by tarpaulin on trial basis and see the
result.
• Transit loss is also a potential loss of coal value being born by utilities. Some utilities
have initiated action for covering of rake by tarpaulin & putting guard with every
rake.

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 ENVIRONMENT

World is moving toward higher efficiency & lower emission (HELE).

We need to stretch with this.

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 GLOBAL BENCHMARKS FOR PM, SOx and NOx
PM : 3-11 mg/Nm3
SOx : 25-11 mg/Nm3 – for New Units
25-165 mg/Nm3 – for Existing Units
NOx : 80-125 mg/Nm3 – for New Units
80-165 mg/Nm3 – for Existing Units

LOWEST ACHIEVED
PM : 2-3 mg/Nm3
SOx : 15 mg/Nm3
NOx : 31 mg/Nm3

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 INDIAN NORMS
PM : 30 mg/Nm3 for New Units*
50 mg/Nm3 for Existing Units
SOx : 100 mg/Nm3 – for New Units
200 mg/Nm3 – for Existing Units
NOx : 100 mg/Nm3 – for New Units
300 mg/Nm3 – for Existing Units

*Units installed/accorded Environmental Clearance from

1st January 2017 onwards

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 EMISSION
So far SOx and NOx – Indian utilities are mandated for installation of FGD & Nox
control equipment i.e. Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system/selective non-
catalytic reduction (SNCR) system.
We must carefully select technology to achieve these parameters closer to lowest
achieved globally.
For PM followings are the challenges
I. High inlet dust burden
II. High gas volume
III. Higher flue gas temp
 I apprehend that future norms may be brought below 10mg/nm3.
 Hence power utilities should be ready with technological upgrade and better ESP
design to get SPM below 10.
 Use of higher GCV coal to meet stringent norm of PM.
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 COMPLIANCES

• Round the clock monitoring through continuous on-line effluent &

emission monitoring system – Zero deviation otherwise non-
compliance.
• There is zero tolerance for deviation if any at statutory level .

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 WATER CONSERVATION

 The lowest raw water consumption achieved is in the range of 2 – 2.5

m3/hr/MW .
 There is a need of reducing cooling tower evaporation loss.
 Water balance study is essential to achieve to reduce of water
consumptions & control of losses.
 The global water crisis emphasizes on the prudent water use through
conservation of water. Current situation in Capetown South Africa
reflects the global water crisis.
 Zero water discharge is a reality and achievable.
 Optimization/minimization of water consumption adopting principles
of ‘3Rs’ i.e. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.

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 SAFETY
 Utilities need to have safety culture nurtured in the organization
with proficiency in process knowledge and activity expertise.
 Need to build safety organization of people in each power station
with having process knowledge and activity expertise.
 Any change of technical process require to be properly captured in
SOPs with full information to all concerned involved in the process.
Management of change should be adopted.
 Avoid Rotation of executives/workers location without proper
training.
 Regular Safety Audits- Internal Safety audits & external Safety audits.
 Safety Review Management must be action and implementation
oriented to be chaired by top persons of the stations/organization

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 Do’s
• LLF
Look
Listen
Feel

• WWRA
Walk down
Write Down
Report
&
Act

• More visit to the location and sites by Senior management

• Direct interaction with workforce at lowest level.
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 Don’t
• Have Over confidence
• Have lack of Training & Skill development
• Spend more time in control room than in site
• Have more meetings
• Fatigue yourself & people
• Listen less & Direct more
• Have “ I know everything attitude”
• Allow non compliances to systems & procedures.

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 Conclusion
• So far we have done a great work in achieving generation
capacity to the tune of 3.3 Lac MW. But this has thrown many
challenges like part load operation resulting lower cycle
efficiency.
• We need to gear up ourselves to achieve best cycle efficiency at
par with best achieved globally and to bring down emission
levels.
• Focus on improvement of coal quality in big way.
• Water conservation and reduction of water consumption must
become a mission.
• I have firm belief that “we can do it and shall do it”.

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 Let me end with following shloka from Bhagavad Gita with the diagram shown in 2nd Slide

Meaning is there are five main factors responsible for success of any action.
1st is the work Place
2nd Person
3rd The specific knowledge
4th The right and sufficient efforts
5th The divine blessing which depend
upon the ethical and right actions to help
the society and nation

Here the Generating plant is work place,

People are the person or doer
Specific knowledge are the technology
and systems,
Right and sufficient efforts are the four constituents of REES.
&
Divine blessing shall be compliance to the norms which will be resulting in
sustainability. 27
Thank
You
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