“SUPERCRITICAL BOILER”
REQUIREMENTS FOR BOILER DESIGN
PHILOSOPHY
• Steam cycle parameters:
• Optimumbest
• Boiler and auxilieries : Most efficient lowest sp. Coal
consumption i.e. highest
• High availability
• Short start-up timeminimum start-up losses e.g. fuel oil
consumption
• Quick load-following capability
• Flexible when coal of varying quality or fouling
tendencies
• Sophisticated firing system minimise NOx emissions
IMPORTANCE OF EFFICIENCY
• The cost of operating the Plant of 3 x 660 MW, one
percentage point below the design point, will incur
additional fuel cost of Rs. 20 Crores in a year.
• The indirect costs for Maintenance, Ash Dyke land
etc. will give additional burden of Rs. 2 Crores in a
year.
• The life time loss is Rs. 660 Crores for efficiency
lower by one percentage point .
• At Sipat, we gain an efficiency of 2.5 percentage
point by adopting super critical technology in 1980
MW station, thus saving Rs. 1650 Crores in its life
time.
QUEST FOR EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT
• Supercritical parameters (Press. above
225Kg/cm2 and temperature above
374.15 ºC) is an effort in that direction.
• The selected supercritical parameters
for Sipat Boiler are :
• Pressure : 256 kg/cm2
• Temperature : 540 º C SH and
568ºC RH
RANKINE CYCLE
• The Carnot Cycle is theoretically most efficient, but it is
having practical difficulties.
• For steam power plant, practical thermal cycle was
suggested by Rankine, called Ideal cycle or
T Rankine cycle.
T1 4 1 3-3’ – BFP raises pressure from p2 to p1
p1
3’-4 – Heating In feed heaters & eco
3’ 4 -1 – Heating In boiler
1-2 – Work done in Turbine from p1 to p2
T2 2
3 p2
S
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF RANKINE CYCLE
Q -Q W Useful work
• η = ------- = --- = ----------------
1 2
Q 1 Q Heat supplied
Rejected Heat
• η =1- --------------------
Useful Heat
T -T T
• η Carnot = -------- = 1 - ---
1 2 2
T 1 T 1
• To achieve more efficiency T2 should be as low as
possible and T1 should be as high as possible
CYCLE THERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS
How?
P0
T0
Reheat – one or two , Treheat
Regeneration
the best
More the better7 to 8 ?
Higher P0(P0-Pc)
8-10 heaters
Pc
METHODS OF INCREASING RANKINE CYCLE
EFFICIENCY
Raising supply temperature by super heating.
Increasing the inlet temperature will raise the
heat supply to the cycle more than the heat
rejection.
Raising inlet pressure of steam :
Increasing the pressure will mean increase in
saturation temperature at which steam
evaporates thus increasing the average inlet
temperature (T1)
(Contd..)
Dropping the final pressure (or temperature) at which heat is
rejected.
Regenerative Heating : Heating the feed water pumped to
Boiler by bleeding steam from turbine.
Reheat Cycle : Reheating of steam in boiler after it has already
expanded in HP Turbine will avoid moisture formation in LT
Turbine. Also, more heat content of steam before IP Turbine,
will improve efficiency.
WHY SUPERCRITICAL PRESSURE
• A Boiler operating at a pressure above
critical point is called ‘SUPERCRITICAL
BOILER’
• A point where boiling water and dry
saturated lines meet so that associated
latent heat is zero, this point is called
Critical Point and occurs at 225 kg/cm2
(abs) 374.15º C temperature.
CRITICAL CONDITION
Definition
“CRITICAL” is a thermodynamic expression
describing the state of a substance beyond
which there is no clear distinction between the
liquid and gaseous phase.
• The critical pressure & temperature for water
are
• Pressure = 225.56 Kg / cm2
• Temperature = 374.15 C
TEMP
600 540’C 568’C
/cm2 SUPER CRITICAL
Kg
500 25
6 BOILER CYCLE
400
WITH SH, RH &
Regeneration
300 of SIPAT 3 x 660 MW
200 Steam flow :2225 T/Hr
Steam temp : 540 ‘c
Steam Pres : 256 kg/cm2
100 RH pre : 51.6 Kg/cm2
RH Temp : 568’c
Feed water Temp : 291’c
ENTROPY
SUPERCRITICAL BOILER
• Supercritical pressure boiler has no drum and heat
absorbing surface being, in effect, one continuous
tube, hence called ‘once through Supercritical
pressure boilers.’
• The water in boiler is pressurized by Boiler Feed
Pump, sensible heat is added in feed heaters,
economizer and furnace tubes, until water attains
saturation temperature and flashes instantaneously
to dry saturated steam and super heating
commences.
SUPERCRITICALTHERMAL CYCLE
ADVANTAGES (1)
• Improvements in plant efficiency by
more than 2 %
• Decrease in Coal Consumption
• Reduction in Green House gases.
• Overall reduction in Auxiliary Power
consumption.
• Reduction in requirement of Ash dyke
Land & Consumptive water.
SUPERCRITICAL – ADVANTAGES (2)
• Sliding pressure operation because of Once
through system .
• Even distribution of heat due to spiral wall
arrangement leading to less Boiler tube
failure, thereby improving system continuity
and availability of the station.
• Low thermal stress in Turbine .
• The startup time is less for boiler.
SUPERCRITICAL – DISADVANTAGES
• Higher power consumption of BFP
• Higher feed water quality required.
• More complex supporting and framing in
Boiler due to Spiral Wall tubes.
• Slight higher capital cost.
COMPARISION OF THERMAL CYCLE
EFFICIENCIES.
• OPEN CYCLE EFFICIENCY - 14.68 %
• WITH CONDENSER - 26.2 %
• WITH SUPER HEAT – 30.75 TO 34.15 %
• WITH REHEAT - 34.2 TO 36.6 %
• WITH SUPER CRITICAL PARAMETERS-
36.0 TO 39.15
%
INCREASE IN PLANT EFFICIENCY by SUPER
CRITICAL PARAMETERS
Efficiency Increase
1.5
6
5 0.9
0.6
4 3.2
.3
2
167 bar 250 bar
250 bar 250bar 250 bar
538/538’c 538/538
540/560’c 566/566 ‘c 580/600’c
Natural Circulation System
To Superheater
Drum
Risers
Copyright ALSTOM 2005
Furnace
or
Combustor
Econ
Downcomers
Well suited for < 2100 psi cycles
Controlled Circulation System
To Superheater
Drum
Copyright ALSTOM 2005
Furnace
Econ
Downcomers (Orifices)
BWCPs
Optimum solution for reliable high pressure subcritical operation
Once-Through Circulation System
Separator
To Superheater
Econ Furnace
or
Copyright ALSTOM 2005
Combustor
Circ.
Pump
Distribution Header
Suitable for Sub and Supercritical Cycles
SLIDING PRESSURE
OPERATION(SPO)
• Natural S.P.O.(NSPO)
• Turbine inlet valves :fully open during
normal operation
• P live steam steam flow
Sliding Pressure Supercritical
Operation
Pressure operation mode at boiler outlet
4350
1
3625
psig
Copyright ALSTOM 2005
2900
2
2175
1450
3 1. Constant Pressure Operation
725 2. Modified Sliding Pressure Operation
3. Pure Sliding Pressure Operation
0
S.P.O. - ADVANTAGES
1. No additional pressure loss between boiler and turbine
cycle within (Pb.o. – Pc)
2. Boiler Pr. at low loads : low FW pump auxiliary power
consumption : low
At full load : same for both Operating modes
E.x. : 50% load , Power consumption in fixed Pr.
operation (f . p. o) is double as in S.P.O
3. Lower Pr. at low loads less fatigue of Pr. part
components e.g. boiler , turbine piping longer life
of all components, Less wear of components Less
Maintenance
N.C.B. with F.P.O :
Pr. loss at turbine inlet for f.p.o significant
temp
Higher Pr. loss higher temp
Different loads : Pr. loss = var, temp = var
Each load change Tt.i. = var
Permissible temp change at t.i. : LMITED
load change in f.p.o : LIMITED
O.T.B with S.P.O
Much larger permissible load transients (twice as high
as in natural circulation boilers)
A boiler requirement : maintain T0 = T0 rated
within widest load change
Special methods employed : Flue gas
recirculation, Attemperators, Special heat
exchangers
In drum boilers: T0 at loads < (50 – 60 )%
In supercritical boilers : T0= T0 rated in entire
controlled load range
Start – up time and start – up
losses :
Thick walled drum of n. c. boiler (thickness 200mm ,P > 180
bar ) : permits only small temp . gradients and a small no. of
sharp changes
Thin walled separating vessels of once through boilers : larger
gradients and a small no. of sharp changes
• This is increasingly more important as Tstart – up
• E.g. 48 hrs after shut down : boiler relatively cold :
• O.T.B start – up 80 min
• N.C.B start – up 210 min
Disadvantage of NSPO:
Storage effect of boiler >>that of turbine
This slows down load changes
Turbine inlet valve opening = const
Pr before turbine must first be raised or lowered .
The same for the complete boiler.
Requirements of electrical grid can hardly be fulfilled
using NSPO
REMEDY? Modified S.P.O. (MSPO)
Modified SPO (MSPO)
• With load variation admission cross –
section at turbine : altered briefly
• Accumulated steam in boiler : discharged
at once
• Dynamic response of boiler : improved
substantially
• Advantages of SPO: lost partly
WHY NOT SLIDING Pr. OPERATION IN
NATURAL CIRCULATION BOILERS?
• P steam formation in down comers instabilities in
circulation system
• P water surface in drum disturbed drum level
control problems feed water control problems
• Drum : most critical thick walled component
Tin drum = Ts = f(P)
In S.P.O ,P= var
Drum under highest thermal stresses
Note: almost all natural circulation boilers operated in fixed
Pr. mode and mostly for base load operation
THANK YOU
