MAPÚA UNIVERSITY

Muralla St. Intramuros, Manila

SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING

ENGINEERING

EXPERIMENT NO. 5
STEAM POWER PLANT

23 TORRES, Rodolfo Rey M. Date of Performance: June 26, 2019

ME152L / EO2 Date of Submission: July 10, 2019
Group 3

GRADE

ENGR. TEODULO A. VALLE

INSTRUCTOR
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................................................Page 1
THEORY AND PRINCIPLE..................................................................................................Page 1
LIST OF APPARATUS.........................................................................................................Page 12
PROCEDURE.......................................................................................................................Page 12
SET-UP OF APPARATUS...................................................................................................Page 13
FINAL DATA SHEET..........................................................................................................Page 19
SAMPLE COMPUTATION.................................................................................................Page 20
TEST DATA ANALYSIS.....................................................................................................Page 21
QUESTIONS / PROBLEMS.................................................................................................Page 22
CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................Page 24
 I. OBJECTIVES

1. To familiarize ourselves with the basic principle behind the operation of a simple steam
power plant

2. To be able to determine the Rankine Cycle ratio, boiler efficiency, and combined thermal
efficiency of steam power plant

II. THEORY AND PRINCIPLE

A steam-electric power station is a power station in which the electric generator is steam
driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an
electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a
condenser. The greatest variation in the design of steam-electric power plants is due to the
different fuel sources. Almost all coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal electric power
plants, waste incineration plants as well as many natural gas power plants are steam-
electric. Natural gas is frequently combusted in gas turbines as well as boilers. The waste
heat from a gas turbine can be used to raise steam, in a combined cycle plant that improves
overall efficiency.

Figure 1. Steam Power Plant

Worldwide, most electric power is produced by steam-electric power plants, which
produce about 86% of all electric generation. The only other types of plants that currently
have a significant contribution are hydroelectric and gas turbine plants, which can burn

1
natural gas or diesel. Photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and binary cycle geothermal plants
are also non-steam electric, but currently do not produce much electricity.

Some of the basic parts of the steam power plant are the following: Condenser, Feed
water heater, boiler, super heater. Steam-electric power plants utilize a surface condenser
cooled by water circulating through tubes. The steam which was used to turn the turbine is
exhausted into the condenser. The steam is therefore condensed as it comes in contact with
the cool tubes full of circulating water. This condensed steam is withdrawn from the bottom
of the surface condenser. The condensed steam is now water, commonly referred to as
condensate water.

Figure 2. Water-cooled Surface Condenser

For best efficiency, the temperature in the condenser must be kept as low as practical
in order to achieve the lowest possible pressure in the condensing steam. Since the
condenser temperature can almost always be kept significantly below 100 oC where the
vapor pressure of water is much less than atmospheric pressure, the condenser generally
works under vacuum. Thus leaks of non-condensable air into the closed loop must be
prevented. Plants operating in hot climates may have to reduce output if their source of
condenser cooling water becomes warmer; unfortunately this usually coincides with
periods of high electrical demand for air conditioning. If a good source of cooling water is

2
 not available, cooling towers may be used to reject waste heat to the atmosphere. A large
river or lake can also be used as a heat sink for cooling the condensers; temperature rises
in naturally occurring waters may have undesirable ecological effects, but may also
incidentally improve yields of fish in some circumstances.

In the case of a conventional steam-electric power plant utilizing a drum boiler, the surface
condenser removes the latent heat of vaporization from the steam as it changes states from
vapor to liquid. The heat content (btu) in the steam is referred to as Enthalpy. The
condensate pump then pumps the condensate water through a feed water heater. The feed
water heating equipment then raises the temperature of the water by utilizing extraction
steam from various stages of the turbine.

Figure 3. Rankine cycle with a two-stage steam turbine and a single feed water heater

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Preheating the feed water reduces the irreversibility’s involved in steam generation and
therefore improves the thermodynamic efficiency of the system. This reduces plant
operating costs and also helps to avoid thermal shock to the boiler metal when the feed
water is introduced back into the steam cycle.

Once this water is again inside the boiler or steam generator, the process of adding the
latent heat of vaporization or Enthalpy is underway. The boiler transfers energy to the water
by the chemical reaction of burning some type of fuel. The water enters the boiler through
a section in the convection pass called the economizer. From the economizer it passes to
the steam drum. Once the water enters the steam drum it goes down the down comers to
the lower inlet waterfall headers. From the inlet headers the water rises through the water
walls and is eventually turned into steam due to the heat being generated by the burners
located on the front and rear water walls (typically). As the water is turned into steam/vapor
in the water walls, the steam/vapor once again enters the steam drum. The steam/vapor is
passed through a series of steam and water separators and then dryers inside the steam
drum. The steam separators and dryers remove the water droplets from the steam and the
cycle through the water walls is repeated. This process is known as natural circulation.

As the steam is conditioned by the drying equipment inside the drum, it is piped from
the upper drum area into an elaborate set up of tubing in different areas of the boiler. The
areas known as superheater and reheater. The steam vapor picks up energy and its
temperature is now superheated above the saturation temperature. The superheated steam
is then piped through the main steam lines to the valves of the high-pressure turbine.

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 Figure 4. Steam Turbine

The site selection of steam power plant depends upon various factors. Let’s discuss
about these factors one by one:

1. Cost of the land: The cost of the land which is selected for the installation should
be minimum or economical.
2. Population density of the land: The distance of the steam power plant from the
public area should be at appropriate distance. So that in case of any failure or hazard
happen in the plant, the population of the area near to the power plant should not
be affected.
3. Availability of water sources: There should be a plenty of water sources in the
selected area. Since the power plant requires a large amount of water for the
generation of steam.
4. Availability of fuel: The availability of required fuel (coal) should be there because
without fuel the plant will not work.
5. Type of land: The land which is selected for the power plant installation should be
plain enough and it is suitable for the strong foundation for the various machinery
of the plant.
6. Scope for the future demand: The size of the land should be such that it is capable
for the handling of future power demand.

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7. Availability of Ash handling facility: Proper ash handling facility should be
available near the power plant to minimize the adverse effect of the ash produced
in the steam power plant
8. Availability of transportation facility: The transportation facility is must in the
installation for the power plant, because any material cannot be transported to the
power plant form its required location in lack of transport. There should be easy
availability of proper transportation facility at the selected site.

Figure 5. Steam Power plant Site

There are so many components present in the steam power plant which performs
their specialized function for the efficient working. The various component of the steam
power plant are:

Figure 6. Steam Power Plant Diagram

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1. Coal Storage: It is the place where coal is stored which can be utilised when
required.
2. Coal Handling: Here the coal is converted into the pulverised form before
feeding to the furnace. A proper system is designed to transport the pulverised
coal to the boiler furnace.
3. Boiler: It converts the water into high pressure steam. It contains the furnace
inside or outside the boiler shell. The combustion of coal takes place in the
furnace.
4. Air-preheater: It is used to pre-heat the air before entering into the boiler
furnace. The pre heating of air helps in the burning of fuel to a greater extent.
It takes the heat from the burnt gases from the furnace to heat the air from the
atmosphere.
5. Economiser: As its name indicates it economises the working of the boiler. It
heats the feed water to a specified temperature before it enters into the boiler
drum. It takes the heat from the burnt gases from the furnace to do so.
6. Turbine: It is the mechanical device which converts the kinetic energy of the
steam to the mechanical energy.
7. Generator: It is coupled with the turbine rotor and converts the mechanical
energy of the turbine to the electrical energy.
8. Ash Storage: It is used to store the ash after burning of the coal.
9. Dust Collector: It collects the dust particle from the burnt gases before it is
released to the chimney.
10. Condenser: It condensate the steam that leaves out turbine. It converts the low
pressure steam to water. It is attached to the cooling tower.
11. Cooling Tower: It is a tower which contains cold water. Cold water is circulates
to the condenser for the cooling of the residual steam from the turbine.
12. Chimney: It is used to release the hot burnt gases or smoke from the furnace to
the environment at appropriate height. The height of the tower is very high such
that it can easily throw the smoke and exhaust gases at the appropriate height.
And it cannot affect the population living near the steam power plant.
13. Feed Water ump: It is used to transport the feed water to the boiler.

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 In the steam power plant the pulverised coal is fed into the boiler and it is burnt in
the furnace. The water present in the boiler drum changes to high pressure steam. From
the boiler the high pressure steam passed to the super heater where it is again heated
upto its dryness. This super heated steam strikes the turbine blades with a high speed
and the turbine starts rotating at high speed. A generator is attached to the rotor of the
turbine and as the turbine rotates it also rotates with the speed of the turbine. The
generator converts the mechanical energy of the turbine into electrical energy. After
striking on the turbine the steam leaves the turbine and enters into the condenser. The
steam gets condensed with the help of cold water from the cooling tower. The
condensed water with the feed water enters into the economiser. In the economiser the
feed water gets heated up before entering into the boiler. This heating of water increases
the efficiency of the boiler. The exhaust gases from the furnace pass through the super
heater, economiser and air pre-heater. The heat of this exhaust gases is utilised in the
heating of steam in the super heater, feed water in the economiser and air in the air pre-
heater. After burning of the coal into the furnace, it is transported to ash handling plant
and finally to the ash storage.

Figure 7. Steam Power Plant Flow

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Here are some of the advantages of a steam power plant:
 As compared with power generating plant, it has low initial cost and hence
economical.
 Less land area is required as compared with the hydro power plant.
 Coal is used as fuel and the cost of coal is cheaper than petrol and diesel fuel.
So the power generation cost is economical.
 This power plant has easy maintenance cost.
 Steam power plant can be installed in any area where water sources and
transportation facility are easily available.

On the other hand here are some of the disadvantages of the steam power plant:
 The running cost of steam power plant is comparatively high because of fuel,
maintenance etc
 If we talk about the overall efficiency of steam power plant, than is about 35 %
to 41% which is low.
 Due to the release of burnt gases of the coal or fuel, it contributes to the global
warming to a larger extent.
 The heated water that is thrown in the rivers, ponds etc puts and adverse effect
on the living organism of water and disturbs the ecology.

The Rankine cycle is a model used to predict the performance of steam turbine
systems. It was also used to study the performance of reciprocating steam engines. The
Rankine cycle is an idealized thermodynamic cycle of a heat engine that converts heat
into mechanical work while undergoing phase change. The heat is supplied externally
to a closed loop, which usually uses water as the working fluid. It is named after
William John Macquorn Rankine, a Scottish polymath and Glasgow University
professor. The Rankine cycle closely describes the process by which steam-operated
heat engines commonly found in thermal power generation plants generate power.
Power depends on the temperature difference between a heat source and a cold source.
The higher the difference, the more mechanical power can be efficiently extracted out
of heat energy, as per Carnot's theorem.

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 Figure 8. Four Main Devices used in a Rankine Cycle

There are four processes in the Rankine cycle. These states are identified by
numbers (in brown) in the above T–s diagram:

 Process 1–2: The working fluid is pumped from low to high pressure. As the
fluid is a liquid at this stage, the pump requires little input energy.
 Process 2–3: The high-pressure liquid enters a boiler, where it is heated at
constant pressure by an external heat source to become a dry saturated vapour.
The input energy required can be easily calculated graphically, using an
enthalpy–entropy chart (h–s chart, or Mollier diagram), or numerically, using
steam tables.
 Process 3–4: The dry saturated vapour expands through a turbine, generating
power. This decreases the temperature and pressure of the vapour, and some
condensation may occur. The output in this process can be easily calculated
using the chart or tables noted above.
 Process 4–1: The wet vapour then enters a condenser, where it is condensed at
a constant pressure to become a saturated liquid.

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 Figure 9. T-S Diagram of Rankine Cycle

In an ideal Rankine cycle the pump and turbine would be isentropic, i.e., the pump
and turbine would generate no entropy and hence maximize the net work output.
Processes 1–2 and 3–4 would be represented by vertical lines on the T–s diagram and
more closely resemble that of the Carnot cycle. The Rankine cycle shown here prevents
the vapor ending up in the superheat region after the expansion in the turbine, [1] which
reduces the energy removed by the condensers.

The actual vapor power cycle differs from the ideal Rankine cycle because of
irreversibilities in the inherent components caused by fluid friction and heat loss to the
surroundings; fluid friction causes pressure drops in the boiler, the condenser, and the
piping between the components, and as a result the steam leaves the boiler at a lower
pressure; heat loss reduces the net work output, thus heat addition to the steam in the
boiler is required to maintain the same level of net work output.

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III. LIST OF APPARATUS

1.) TH 136 Compact Steam Turbine Power Plant

IV. PROCEDURE

1.) Start up the boiler and wait until it builds up steam pressure.
2.) Open the main steam valve to allow steam to flow through the turbine.
3.) Adjust the rheostat of the generator and check the line voltage.
4.) For Trial 1, apply a load in the A-C generator and check the voltage and current.
5.) During this trial, wait for the steam pressure to drop and immediately start up the
boiler again and start timing the on-off operation.
6.) Before the trial ends, determine the following:
 Quality of the steam using the throttling calorimeter
 Actual exhaust temperature
 Line voltage
 Line current
7.) After the end of the trial, measure the fuel consumed and the feed water supplied
during the duration.
8.) For the next trial, repeat the above procedure and apply another load.
9.) Obtain all the necessary requirements needed to complete the data sheet.

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 V. SET-UP OF APPARATUS

In this experiment the class tackled the mini steam power plant that is located on the
boiler room in the university. The mini steam power plant that may be found in the boiler
room of the university is a small one, but yet almost all of the parts that may be found in a
steam power plant that is on the industry, is present in the mini steam power plant of the
university. Hence being familiarize with the parts of the steam power plant is quite
effective. In the figure below, it shows the whole schematic diagram that may be found on
the boiler in the boiler room of the university.

Figure 10. Schematic Diagram of the Boiler

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 Figure 11. Television Projector

On Figure 11, one of the things that may be found inside the boiler room is the big
television projector that displays the current condition of the boiler together with its
different parts. There is a program that is from ESSON which is projected in the big
television. In this program some of the things that may be monitor is the temperature in the
feed water, steam outlet, steam after regulator, condensate stack, wet bulb, and other more.
With this monitoring of the temperature is done more accurately and more convenient with
the use of this program together with the different sensors on the system. Also another
thing that may be found from this is the pressure on the steam turbine itself. This makes it
more convenient to the operators since the operator doesn’t need to look in the gauges but
just look at the television the pressure will be already displayed. Also there is a direct
conversion of the pressure to absolute pressure, which makes computation really
convenient. Also the mass of water that is entering in the system may be found here, hence
making it really convenient for the operator. And also some of the other essential to know
in the operation of the steam power plant may be found there.

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 STACK
CHECK PRESSURE
VALVE REGULATOR

PRESSURE SAFETY
GAUGE VALVE

PRESSURE
GAUGE
REFRACTERIES

LEVEL
GAUGE
WATER
METER

BOILER
CHEMICAL
TANK

FEED BLOWDOWN
WATER
PUMP
Figure 12. Steam Power plant parts I

In Figure 12, some of the basic parts on this part of the steam power plant is shown.
Some of the parts that were shown in this part are check valve, water meter, pressure gauge,
feed water pump, blowdown, boiler, level gauge, refractories, safety valve, and stack
pressure regulator. The pressure valve is mainly used in monitoring the pressure of each
area assigned to them. On the other hand the feed water pump is often used in order for the
feed water to be pumped into the boiler. The boiler on the other hand is one of the most
important part of the steam power plant. This is the usually the one responsible to convert
water into steam, in which later to be used in the system. The level gauge on the other hand
is the one responsible in determining the level of fluid that is inside the boiler. The different
kind of valves on the other hand are the one responsible in controlling the flow of the fluid
or steam in the system. The chemical tank on the other hand is the one responsible on the

15
storage of the chemicals that will be used in the system. And lastly the stack pressure
regulator is used to regulate or control the pressure in the stack

FEED WATER
RESIN FILTER FUEL TANK TANK TURBINE

DYNAMOMETER BOILER
GENERATOR
Figure 13. Steam Power Plant part II

In figure 13, some of the other basic parts of the steam power plant is shown some of
which are the dynamometer, generator, turbine, boiler, resin filter, fuel tank, and feed water
tank. The dynamometer is used mainly in the reading of the output power of the steam
power plant. On the other hand the generator is the one that is responsible for the production
of electrical power. This is the one that converts that the mechanical input of the turbine
into electrical power output. On the other hand the turbine is used in order to generate
mechanical power that later will be converted to electrical power with the aid of the
generator. The fuel tank on the other hand is used for the storage of the fuel that will be
used in the steam power plant. Same goes with the feed water tank, but this time it is the
storage for the feed water that will be used in the system. The boiler on the other hand is
one of the most important part of the steam power plant. This is the usually the one
responsible to convert water into steam, in which later to be used in the system. And lastly

16
the resin filter is used for filtration, it is used to remove any contaminants that may be
hinder the process of the system.

CONDENSATE
TANK

CONDENSER

Figure 14. Steam Power Plant part III

In this Figure 14, it shows two parts of the steam power plant, this parts are also one of
the most important parts of the a steam power plant. The main purpose of the condenser is
to condense the excess steam that is from the turbine, and with the help of the condenser it
will then condense it into pure water. And eventually this water will then be pumped back
again to the boiler for another operation. On the other hand the main use of the condense
tank is for the storage of the steam that was then condensed into water. The water will then
be eventually pumped back to the boiler for another cycle of operation.

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 COOLING TOWER

CONDENSER PUMP

COOLING
TOWER PUMP

Figure 15. Steam Power Plant part IV

In this part of the steam power plant, there are also some basic parts that may be found
here. In this part there are three important parts found here and these are the following:
cooling tower, cooling tower pump, condenser pump. These parts are very essential to a
steam power plant. The cooling tower is used in order to reduce the temperature of the
water. This is by placing air and the water in contact in order for the temperature of the
water to be reduced. On the other hand the cooling tower pump are used in order to pump
back the water into the system again for the cyclic operation. The water that was been
cooled will be pumped back again to the feed water pump then in to the boiler again for
operations. On the other hand the condenser pump is used in order to pump water that was
been condensed from steam into the cooling tower for cooling operations.

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 VI. FINAL DATA SHEET

Fuel Flow Feed Water Flow Temperature oC Speed r/min Electrical Load
No. mL Time mf L Time Ws mw P2 T1 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 Tw n1 n2 V I Power
s kg/s s kg/s L/min kg/cm2

1 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 205.71 5.5 30 160 100 47 42 46 140 31 12358 1720 173.6 0 0
2 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 205.34 5.554 30 160 100 47 42 46 142 31 12583 1812 175.2 0 0
3 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 209.01 5.52 30 160 102 47 43 47 142 31 12429 1751 172.3 0 0
4 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 203.16 5.51 30 160 103 48 43 48 145 31 12455 1795 172.5 0 0
5 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 200.77 5.32 30 158 104 49 44 49 144 31 11959 1668 161.6 0.17 27.48
6 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 203.34 5.49 30 160 104 50 44 49 148 31 12257 1706 166.6 0.36 59.97
7 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 205.74 5.26 30 158 104 50 44 49 142 31 11222 1543 143.7 0.5 71.83
8 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 206.76 5.42 30 159 105 51 45 50 149 32 11890 1631 157.9 0.7 110.5
9 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 203.16 5.36 30 159 105 51 45 50 149 32 11919 1640 156.4 0.87 136.09
10 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 204.77 5.44 30 159 105 51 45 50 150 32 12235 1720 163.2 0.89 145.27
11 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 203.55 5.29 30 158 106 52 46 51 150 32 12153 1673 160.1 1.06 169.75
12 558.6 299 0.00157 10.3 499.9 0.0207 206.35 5.34 30 159 106 53 46 52 153 32 12824 1801 171.7 1.1 188.84

No. Boiler Efficiency, Condenser Heat Transfer Cooling Efficiency of Steam Turbine Electrical Power Overall Power Plant Efficiency With
(nb%) Efficiency, (nc%) Cooling Tower, (nct%) Output, Poe( W) a Generator, (nom%)
1 80.05 128.47 30.263 0 0
2 80.07 128.48 30.065 0 0
3 80.05 127.72 27.778 0 0
4 80.08 124.34 27.108 0 0
5 80.02 120.16 25.434 27.472 0.04
6 80.07 132.91 27.273 59.976 0.09
7 80 131.78 26.554 71.85 0.11
8 80.04 140.8 27.933 110.53 0.16
9 80.03 141.24 27.717 136.068 0.2
10 80.03 144.97 28.108 145.248 0.21
11 80 143.9 27.807 169.706 0.25
12 80 143.85 26.289 188.87 0.28

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 VII. SAMPLE COMPUTATION

Trial 12
19
m = 𝑚𝑓 𝑇 = 0.00157(299) = 0.46943 𝑘𝑔

𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝐽
𝑄 = 𝑚𝑓 𝐻𝑉 = 0.00157 ( 43,249 ) = 67.9 𝑘𝑊
𝑠 𝑘𝑔𝑓

𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝐽
𝑚𝑠 (ℎ1 −ℎ4 ) 0.0207 (2800.6677−125.78)
𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔
Boiler efficiency: 𝑛𝑏 = = 𝑥100% = 𝟖𝟏. 𝟓𝟓%
𝑄 (67.9 𝑘𝑊)

𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉 = 0.89(163.2) = 145.248 𝑊

𝑃 145.248𝑥10−3
Overall efficiency: 𝑛𝑜 = 𝑥100% = 𝑥100% = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟎𝟖𝟒%
𝑄 67.9

Condenser heat transfer efficiency:

204.77
𝑚𝑤 𝐶𝑝 (𝑇8 − 𝑇7 ) (4.187)(50 − 45)
𝑛𝑐𝑡 = = 60 𝑥100% = 𝟏𝟑𝟓. 𝟕%
𝑚𝑠 (𝑇5 − 𝑇6 ) 0.0207(2757 − 213.51)

Cooling tower efficiency:

𝑇8 − 𝑇7 50 − 45
𝑛𝑐 = = 𝑥100% = 𝟐𝟕. 𝟕𝟖%
𝑇7 − 𝑇𝑤8 50 − 32

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 VII. Test Data Analysis

The students were able to determine the heat power supplied to the boiler and the rejected
heat in the condenser to the cooling water for them to be able to compute for the efficiencies of the
condenser and the boiler, and also the thermal efficiency of the power plant, which is defined as the
net work done by the system divided by the heat that is supplied to the boiler.

The students determined the necessary data before solving for each component of the system
separately and independent of all other of the components, accompanied with known formulas and
equations. The students utilize the schematic diagram of the plant by solving each efficiency.

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 VIII. Questions and Answers:
1. What Rankine cycle efficiency is for a good Steam Power Plant may be in the range of?
 The efficiency of Rankine cycle in actual working condition is found to be between 35
to 45% thus can be applied for a steam power plant.
2. What is the actual turbine inlet temperature in Rankine cycle?
 The actual turbine inlet temperature typically ranges from 500 to 570 degrees C.
3. Which of the following contributes to the improvement of efficiency of Rankine cycle in a
Thermal Power Plant?
a) reheating of steam at intermediate stage
b) regeneration use of steam for heating Boiler feed water
c) use of high pressures
d) all of the mentioned
The answer here is D, since

4. What are advantages and disadvantages of steam power plant?

Advantages
 As compared with power generating plant, it has low initial cost and hence
economical.
 Less land area is required as compared with the hydro power plant.
 Coal is used as fuel and the cost of coal is cheaper than petrol and diesel fuel. So the
power generation cost is economical.
 This power plant has easy maintenance cost.
 Steam power plant can be installed in any area where water sources and
transportation facility are easily available.

Disadvantages

 The running cost of steam power plant is comparatively high because of fuel,
maintenance etc
 If we talk about the overall efficiency of steam power plant, than is about 35 % to 41%
which is low.
 Due to the release of burnt gases of the coal or fuel, it contributes to the global
warming to a larger extent.

5. What are the different components of steam power plant?

22
 Coal Storage: It is the place where coal is stored which can be utilised when required.
 Coal Handling: Here the coal is converted into the pulverised form before feeding to
the furnace. A proper system is designed to transport the pulverised coal to the boiler
furnace.
 Boiler: It converts the water into high pressure steam. It contains the furnace inside or
outside the boiler shell. The combustion of coal takes place in the furnace.
 Air-preheater: It is used to pre-heat the air before entering into the boiler furnace. The
pre heating of air helps in the burning of fuel to a greater extent. It takes the heat from
the burnt gases from the furnace to heat the air from the atmosphere.
 Economiser: As its name indicates it economises the working of the boiler. It heats
the feed water to a specified temperature before it enters into the boiler drum. It takes
the heat from the burnt gases from the furnace to do so.
 Turbine: It is the mechanical device which converts the kinetic energy of the steam to
the mechanical energy.
 Generator: It is coupled with the turbine rotor and converts the mechanical energy of
the turbine to the electrical energy.
 Ash Storage: It is used to store the ash after burning of the coal.
 Dust Collector: It collects the dust particle from the burnt gases before it is released to
the chimney.
 Condenser: It condensate the steam that leaves out turbine. It converts the low-
pressure steam to water. It is attached to the cooling tower.
 Cooling Tower: It is a tower which contains cold water. Cold water is circulating to the
condenser for the cooling of the residual steam from the turbine.
 Chimney: It is used to release the hot burnt gases or smoke from the furnace to the
environment at appropriate height. The height of the tower is very high such that it
can easily throw the smoke and exhaust gases at the appropriate height. And it
cannot affect the population living near the steam power plant.
 Feed Water pump: It is used to transport the feed water to the boiler.

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 IX. Conclusion

After performing the experiment, I have learned that steam is an important medium of
producing mechanical energy it has the advantage that it can be raised from water which is available
in abundance it does not react much with the materials of the equipment of power plant and is stable
at the temperature required in the plant. Steam is used to drive steam engines, steam turbines etc.
Steam power station is most suitable where coal is available in abundance.

Through the experiment we were able to familiarize ourselves with the basic principle behind
the operation of a simple steam power plant. Rankine cycle is the one used in steam power plants.
The most common fluid used in this cycle is water, but other fluids can also be used. The different
types of systems and components used in steam power plant are as follows: High pressure boiler,
prime mover, condensers and cooling towers, coal handling system, ash and dust handling system,
draught system, feed water purification plant, pumping system and Air pre-heater, economizer, super
heater, feed heaters.

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