MILL PERFORMANCE

Ravi Satyapal
Mohammad Javed
Pratik Singh
Mill nomenclature details
Specifications of Mills used at JPL
4*600 MW
 Motor Specifications

Make BHEL
Rating 680 kW
Voltage 3300 V
Frequency 50 Hz, 3 phase
Speed 985 rpm
Rated Current 161 A
 Factors affecting mill performance

 Coal grindability index

 Moisture in the coal
 Mill inlet and outlet temperature
 Coal Mill fineness
 Mill loading
 Air Flow in the Mill
 Mill Motor current
 Mill differential Pr. (DP)
WHY IS MILL PERFORMANCE TESTING
IMPORTANT

 UNIT CAPABILITY GOVERENED BY MILL

PERFORMANCE
 BOILER AND COMBUSTION SYSTEM
PERFORMACE AFFECTED BY QUALITY OF PF
COAL AND ITS DISTRIBUTIION
 RELIABLE FEEDBACK SHOULD FOCUS ON
TIMELY MILL OVERHAUL
 VERY EFECTIVE CROSS CHECK OF THE
STATION INSTRUMENTS FEEDBACK
 Effect of Grindability

 It is an important inherent property of coal.

 It is determined in laboratory using 50 g of air dried
sample of properly sized coal in a miniature pulveriser
which is set to rotate exactly 60 revolutions grinding the
coal sample.
 The hard grove Grindablility index is calculated
G.I. (hardgrove) = 13+6.93W
Where W= weight of dust passing through
200 mesh sieve.
 Higher The Number of G.I. more is ease to grind.
Effect of Grindability

 Higher the HGI more is

the capacity
 Normally mill capacity
is indicated at 50/55
HGI.
 Actual Mill capacity
varies with HGI
Effect of HGI on mill performance
 Moisture in coal

 Moisture: Inherent and surface

 Inherent moisture locked up within the structure
 Inherent moisture is constant for a particular seam
 Surface moisture varies
 Coal must be dried to remove the surface moisture
totally before grinding
 Beside drying primary air also should:
 Create circulation
 Transport coal
 Provide initial oxygen for combustion
 Effect of moisture on Mill
Performance

 As the graph shows higher moisture

percentage in coal, mill capacity reduces
because more force will be required to
transport the coal to furnace. Also more
amount of hot air will be needed to maintain
the mill outlet temperature.
 Also there are likely chances of accumulation of
coal as agglomerate and leads to mill choking.
Moisture in coal
Effect of Moisture on Mill Capacity
Temperature of Coal-Air Mixture
at Mill Outlet

 The temperature of pulverised coal and air mixture at

pulveriser outlet should be maintained at least 15 ºC
Above the dew point of air at pulveriser pressure to
avoid condensation and consequent plugging of the
coal pipes.
 The pulveriser mill outlet temperature should be
maintained above 65 ºC.
 The higher limits are 90 ºC For high volatile (above
24%) coals and 110 ºC for low volatile coals
(below20% VM)
 Effect of fineness

 More the fineness less is the capacity

 70% through 200 mesh
 Volatile content below 16% would required higher
degree of fineness i.e. 75 to 80% through 200 mesh
sieve, whereas the higher volatile coals (above 24%) will
ignite and burn with ease with lower fineness of 60%
through 200 mesh sieve.
Effect of fineness on mill capacity
Effect of fineness
Fineness requirement
Suppose 10000 Tons of fuel burnt in a day.
According to rough estimation in coal with 3200 GCV
: Carbon – 32%, Ash – 42%
So amount of ash generated = 0.42*10000
= 4200 T/day
As a thumb rule bottom ash is 20% and 80% is fly
Ash
So amount of bottom ash = 0.2*4200 = 840T/day

Suppose due poor fineness there is 2.5% unburnt

carbon is found in bottom ash and after taking
corrective measures (Such as classifier setting, Mill
ring roll setting etc.) it came down to 1.5%. Then we
can calculate the benefit in following way:
Amount of carbon present in bottom Ash = (amount of
Bottom ash)*(unburnt present in bottom ash)
= 840 * 0.025
= 21 T/Day

To avail 21 tons of carbon we need = 21/0.32

= 65.625 T/day
Cost of 1 ton of coal = Rs 2000
Total cost of due to unburnt carbon = 65.625 * 2000
= 131250 Rs.
Similarly total cost with 1.5% Unburnt carbon in BA

= 78750 Rs.
 Effect of mill internals on mill fineness

 Classifier blades opening

 Improper gap between inverted cone and inner
cone
 Spring tension
 Wear out of grinding elements
 Coal particle size distribution

 If 1-2% is +50 in BS mesh sieve (300 micron), most of

this coarse coal will not burn and end up in C in bottom
ash
 It also frequently causes slagging around the burners
 If -200 mesh (75 micron) fineness is poor, results in high
Carbon in Fly Ash.
 If the coal is not properly ground, the distribution to the
burners may not be even resulting in air-fuel imbalances
at one or more burners.
 Fuel line balance

 Mill discharge pipes offer different resistances to the

flows due to unequal lengths and different
geometry/layouts.
 Fixed orifices are put in shorter pipes to balance
velocities, dirty air / PF flows.
 The sizes of the orifices are normally specified by
equipment supplier.
 Dirty air flow distribution should be within +/- 5%
 Coal distribution within +/- 10% of the mean value
 Inter-relationship of parameters

Each line can rotate about the

pivot point
The arrow head can
move laterally along the line it touches
The area swept by the arrow head line
increases or decreases depending
upon the direction of swing
The parameters represented by the area
increase or decrease
as the area changes
 Clean air flow test

 Clean Air flowing through the

fuel lines at normal operating
temp and pres.
 Indicative of the transport
energy
 Clean air vel. should be within
+/- 2% of the mean.
 Dirty air flow test

 PF air mix flowing

through fuel lines
with mill in service
 To determine coal &
air flow in each line

 Dirty air velocity

should be within +/-
5% of the mean
Benefits of Clean air flow test Dirty air flow
test

 CLEAN AIR FLOW BALANCING TESTS WOULD CONFIRM

THE ADEQUACY OF FUEL PIPE & MILL ORIFICES.
 DIRTY AIR FLOW TESTS WOULD CONFIRM AIR
IMBALANCE IF ANY.
 REASONS FOR SHORT FALL IN MILL PERFORMANCE OR
ADDITIONAL MILL REQUIREMENT CAN BE CHECKED.
 Actions required to enhance mill
performance

Roller setting
Spring tension adjustment
Classifier setting
Fuel piping metal temperature is being
monitored to monitor fuel pipe chocking
Wear out part inspection during mill stoppage.
Thanks