Power Plants In India Research Articles

Cost reduction potential of parabolic trough based concentrating solar power plants in India

In this paper, we estimate the cost reduction potential of parabolic trough based concentrated solar Power systems in India and consequently their implications for levelized cost of electricity. Using the past as well as envisaged global cumulative diffusion of CSP systems and the learning rates reported in the literature, the expected capital cost of parabolic trough based CSP systems in India has been estimated. Present capital cost of parabolic trough based CSP plant in India has been taken as US $2540/kW. Local manufacturing of CSP components and consequently reduced logistics is expected to reduce the capital cost by 14% and 8% respectively. A learning rate of 10% for the global cumulative diffusion in the base case scenario is expected to reduce capital cost to 49% of the present cost by the end of 2050. Present LCOE of US $151/MWh of CSP plant in India is expected to reduce to US $76/MWh by the end of 2050. Provision of 6hour thermal storage is expected to reduce LCOE of CSP plant in India by 18% as compared to LCOE of CSP plant without storage. Analysis for different learning rates (5%, 10% and 15%) for CSP plant and different discount rates (6%, 8% and 10%) has also been undertaken and results obtained are presented.

Techno economic analysis of chemical looping system for Indian power plants

Abstract Chemical looping combustion (CLC) has been developed as a major new generation CO 2 capture technology which involves inherent CO 2 separation and high system conversion efficiency. The technology is well-known to have low energy penalty, as compared to other technologies. This paper intends to carry out a numerical investigation on the flow characteristics of the chemical looping combustion (CLC) process using the cold model fabricated and commissioned by CSIR-CIMFR, Dhanbad. It attempts to visualise the hydrodynamic viability of the system, which is very important to know the effect of the configuration of the system on circulation of the oxygen carrier particles. Cost analysis for a power plant implemented with chemical looping based capture system in Indian condition has also been presented. The pressure drop profile, volume fraction distribution of particles and fluidisation patterns are analysed and found to give expected results. The effects of gas phase and solid phase velocity are also studied, through which, similarity in flow pattern of ilmenite as well as air can be seen in both the plots. Through the cost analysis, higher temperature in both air reactor as well as fuel reactor has been found to increase plant efficiency while residence time in both reactor was found to have a little effect on the plant efficiency. As cost for O&M for gasifier was found to be more, change and modification of the gasifier unit will play a major role towards increasing the plant efficiency with incorporation of chemical looping as a carbon capture system.

A New MLP–GA–Fuzzy Decision Support System for Hydro Power Plant Site Selection

This article propose a Neuro-fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making framework which uses the merits of both Neural Network and Fuzzy approach. The objective of this work is to enable policy maker to select the best hydro power plant installation site by considering important criteria like Ecological and Environmental Impact, Hostility, Socioeconomic Impact, Cost of Energy Delivery, Water Quality and Air Quality. In the case study Multi-layer Perceptron Neural Network trained with Genetic Algorithm is used to classify each of the important attributes of power plant site into different class. In the final stage, by applying fuzzy reasoning, a score is assigned to rank or prioritized different existing as well as upcoming site for installation of hydro power plant in India.

Biodiversity variability and metal accumulation strategies in plants spontaneously inhibiting fly ash lagoon, India.

Out of 29 plant species taken into consideration for biodiversity investigations, the present study screened out Cyperus rotundus L., Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton, Croton bonplandianus Baill., Eclipta prostrata (L.) L., and Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less. as the most suitable metal-tolerant plant species (high relative density and frequency) which can grow on metal-laden fly ash (FA) lagoon. Total (aqua-regia), residual (HNO3) and plant available (CaCl2) metal concentrations were assessed for the clean-up of metal-contaminated FA disposal site using naturally colonized plants. The total metal concentration (in mg kg-1) in FA followed an order of Mn (229.8)>Ni (228.4)>Zn (89.4)>Cr (61.2)>Pb (56.6)>Cu (51.5)>Co (41.9)>Cd (9.7). The HNO3- and CaCl2-extracted metals were 0.57-15.68% and 0.03-7.82% of the total metal concentration, respectively. The concentration of Ni and Cr in FA in the present study was highest among the previously studied Indian and average world power plants and Cd, Ni, and Cr were above soil toxicity limit. The variation in total, residual, and plant-available metal (single extraction) concentration indicated the presence of different proportions of metals in FA lagoon which affects the metal uptake potential of the vegetation growing on it. It has been reported that plant-available metal extractant (CaCl2) is the most suitable extractant for assessment of metal transfer from soil to plant. However in the present study, Spearman's correlation showed best significant correlation between total metal concentration in FA and shoot metal concentration (r=0.840; p<0.01) which suggest aqua-regia as the best extractant for understanding the bioavailability and transfer of metal, and in calculation of BCF for moderately contaminated site. It can be stated that plant-available extractant is not always suitable for understanding the availability of metal, but total metal concentration can provide a better insight especially for moderate or low metal-contaminated sites. Principle component analysis revealed that all the plants showed positive correlation with Co and Cd which suggest its subsequent uptake in root and shoot. The biological indices (BCF, BAF, and TF) revealed that E. prostrata (10mg Cd kg-1) and C. procera (3.5mg Cd kg-1) can be utilized efficiently for the phytoextraction of Cd and phytostabilization of other potentially toxic metals (Pb, Cr, and Co) from FA lagoon. All the plants were tolerant to Pb pollution (TF>1, BAF>1, and BCF>1); hence, there was a negligible translocation of Pb to the aerial tissues of these plants which shows their suitability in phytostabilization. In addition, V. cinerea accumulated elevated concentration of potentially toxic Cr (50mg Cr kg-1) and Ni (67mg Ni kg-1) which could also help in the phytoremediation of FA lagoon.

Intelligent Decision Support System for Detection and Root Cause Analysis of Faults in Coal Mills

Coal mill is an essential component of a coal-fired power plant that affects the performance, reliability, and downtime of the plant. The availability of the milling system is influenced by poor controls and faults occurring inside the mills. There is a need for automated systems, which can provide early information about the condition of the mill and help operators to take informed decisions. In this paper, a model-based residual evaluation approach, which is capable of online fault detection and diagnosis of major faults occurring in the milling system, is proposed. A dynamic mathematical model of mill, which can authentically replicate the mill behavior under different conditions, is selected for residual generation. Fuzzy logic is employed for residual evaluation to determine the type and magnitude of the fault, while Bayesian network is used for troubleshooting the root cause. The proposed technique is validated using historical data of coal mills obtained from an actual coal-fired power plant in India. Two case studies are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach. The results indicate that the proposed approach has potential to provide useful information regarding the condition of the mills and can help operators to take appropriate control action timely. This application also shows that how fuzzy logic and Bayesian networks (probability theory) can complement each other and can be used appropriately to solve parts of the problem.

Economic Implications of CO2 Capture from the Existing as Well as Proposed Coal-fired Power Plants in India under Various Policy Scenarios

India is a country with rising energy needs. Much of the energy demand is met by coal and there are dynamic links between coal consumption and economic growth. However, the increasing coal use is likely to result in increasing carbon dioxide emissions. India's power sector contributes to about half of the all-India CO2 emissions. As a result, end-of-the-pipe abatement of CO2 in the power sector may be one of the prominent mechanisms to reduce India's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology may provide such a means in the Indian coal-fired power plants. This paper initially makes an effort to assess the economic implications of this technology on existing Indian coal-fired power plants. Some characteristic features of Indian power plants are identified with special reference towards CCS deployment. The importance of proximity of coal linkage and sink location from the power plant is established using the studied examples. General trends on the estimates of cost of electricity (COE), emission factor and net plant efficiency are evaluated. Subsequently, the trends in costs are projected for the next three decades for the upcoming plants using CCS. In these predictions, three scenarios of CCS deployment are considered, with varying carbon price range. In a high carbon price scenario (C price of US$ 80/t-CO2 in 2030), CCS is firmly established as a useful technology for the Indian coal-fired power plants by the year 2050.

Review of risks associated with renovation modernization of thermal power plants in India

Renovation and Modernization (R&M) refers to a set of activities intended to improve the performance and reliability of the existing production facilities, and is seen as a cost-effective alternative to increase the operational life of plants. Through R&M, obsolete generation equipment undergoes technological upgrades to boost capacity and reduce harmful emissions. It consists of a five-step process of identification, assessment, planning, execution and closure in order to plan, implement and monitor the entire procedure. The R&M cost per Megawatt (MW) varies, depending on the age of plant, operational history, fuel type, demand of the equipment to be replaced, the cost of generation and technology. The study aims at of Renovation and Modernization R&M of existing thermal power plants, which as an alternative can help the Country not only to increase the existing capacity and efficiency but will further help to reduce the heavy dependence on coal. Hence it is important to understand the major risks associated with the implementation of R & M projects and mitigate them proactively to enhance the effectiveness of this approach.

Modeling and performance simulation of 100 MW PTC based solar thermal power plant in Udaipur India

Solar energy is a key renewable energy source and the most abundant energy source on the globe. Solar energy can be converted into electric energy by using two different processes: by means of photovoltaic (PV) conversion and the thermodynamic cycles. Concentrated solar power (CSP) is viewed as one of the most promising alternatives in the field of solar energy utilization. Lifetime and efficiency of PV system are very less compared to the CSP technology. A 100MW parabolic trough solar thermal power plant with 6h of thermal energy storage has been evaluated in terms of design and thermal performance, based on the System Advisor Model (SAM). A location receiving an annual DNI of 2248.17kWh/m2 in Rajasthan is chosen for the technical feasibility of hypothetical CSP plant. The plant design consists of 194 solar collector loops with each loop comprising of 8 parabolic trough collectors. HITEC solar salt is chosen as an HTF due to its excellent thermodynamic properties. The designed plant can generate annual electricity of 285,288,352kWh with the plant efficiency of 21%. The proposed design of PTC based solar thermal power plant and its performance analysis encourages further innovation and development of solar thermal power plants in India.

Future CO2 emissions and electricity generation from proposed coal‐fired power plants in India

AbstractWith its growing population, industrializing economy, and large coal reserves, India represents a critical unknown in global projections of future CO2 emissions. Here, we assess proposed construction of coal‐fired power plants in India and evaluate their implications for future emissions and energy production in the country. As of mid‐2016, 243 gigawatts (GW) of coal‐fired generating capacity are under development in India, including 65 GW under construction and an additional 178 GW proposed. These under‐development plants would increase the coal capacity of India's power sector by 123% and, when combined with the country's goal to produce at least 40% of its power from non‐fossil sources by 2030, exceed the country's projected future electricity demand. The current proposals for new coal‐fired plants could therefore either “strand” fossil energy assets (i.e., force them to retire early or else operate at very low capacity factors) and/or ensure that the goal is not met by “locking‐out” new, low‐carbon energy infrastructure. Similarly, future emissions from the proposed coal plants would also exceed the country's climate commitment to reduce its 2005 emissions intensity 33% to 35% by 2030, which—when combined with the commitments of all other countries—is itself not yet ambitious enough to meet the international goal of holding warming well below 2°C relative to the pre‐industrial era.

Investigation on geomechanical behaviour and microstructure of cement-stabilized fly ash

Present laboratory study investigated the geomechanical behaviour of cement-stabilised fly ash. Class F fly ash collected from two different power plants in India was used in the study. Fly ash was stabilised with varying proportions of cement up to 10%, added in the ratio of dry weight of fly ash. Effects of addition of cement were evaluated on compacted fly ash–cement mix at optimum moisture content for rest period of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Results showed that the hydraulic conductivity of both the fly ash samples decreased by an order in magnitude when added with 10% cement. Effects of rest periods on hydraulic conductivity of cement-stabilised fly ash were found to be insignificant. Unconfined compressive strength of the cement-stabilised fly ash samples increased with increase in the cement content and rest periods, while the compression index of the stabilised samples decreased with increase in cement content. Different geomechanical behaviour was correlated with the microstructural changes in cement-stabilised fly ash, obtained through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FMSEM). Test results showed that cement stabilisation improved the engineering behaviour of both the fly ash, which may aid in their application as resource geomaterial.

Can fuzzy logic bring complex issues in risk based optimal ranking of hazardous plant sites into focus? A case study

Selection of sites for the installation of hazardous plants in general and thermal power plants in particular, has assumed significant importance due to excessive air pollution load. Coal-fired power based thermal plants which generate 41% of the world’s electricity are a major source of local pollution and health hazard. It is therefore, important to decide suitable sites for these plants with low risk levels based on formalised mathematical techniques. In this paper, realizing uncertainty in parametric data, authors used fuzzy logic based formalisms, wherein goal in combination with constraints is considered as fuzzy multi constraint optimization problem. The study concludes with identifying optimal ranking of nine thermal power plants in India with ‘low risk’ potential. The limitations of this study have also been outlined.

International projects in space and nuclear energy: Russian-Indian partnership

The article analyzes the influence of international projects in the development of such knowledge-intensive industries as space and nuclear energy on the Indian economy and its position in international relations. India has intensive cooperation with Russia in space projects. The article studies the stages of development of Russian-Indian cooperation in space and the most important projects (the development of navigation technologies, the creation of a radio telescope, the study of solar activity). The author studies Russian-Indian cooperation in the nuclear energy development, distinguishing two interconnected aspects: from one side - Russia’s support of the Indian nuclear programs, from another side - Russian participation in the real projects of the building of nuclear power plants in India. It is mentioned that the partnership has the suitable legal base, long history, strategic character and is addressed to the development of the knowledge-intensive industries, contributing to economic growth. It is the reason why the perspectives of russian-indian projects can be appreciated as as favorable for both countries.

Prospects of Implementing CO2 Capture and Sequestration (CCS) in the Proposed Supercritical Coal Power Plants in India

Abstract India is heavily dependent on coal for electricity generation with 60% of the installed capacity was coal fired plants. Many more coal power plants are expected to be built in the next few years and most of them would be super-critical or ultra-super-critical plants. The coal plants are responsible for large emissions of CO2 – a major greenhouse gas (GHG) considered to be responsible for climate change. India being the 3rd largest CO2 emitter in the world, there is a need for exploring various carbon mitigation techniques with ever increasing concerns about climate change. Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is one such mitigation option wherein CO2 emitted by the power plants and other industries is captured and transported to a storage site where it is isolated from the atmosphere permanently. This study is to understand the economic & environmental impacts of implementing CCS in the Supercritical Coal power plants with the help of Integrated Environment Control Model (IECM-cs). Two technology options, viz. post-combustion CO2 absorption from flue gas and oxy-fuel combustion with CO2 capture, have been analyzed.

Techno-Economic Assessment of Carbon Mitigation Options for Existing Coal-fired Power Plants in India

Abstract India's developmental needs in the near and long-term future will be strongly interlinked with the need to provide steady electricity to its cities and villages. The current fleet of Electricity Generating Units (EGUs) in India is mostly coal-based. These coal-fired power plants lead to a substantial amount of CO2 emissions. Due to international climate obligations, there might be a need to limit the amount of unmitigated CO2 emissions being emitted into the atmosphere. Mitigation of such emissions at coal-fired power plants offers an easily controllable way of reducing such emissions. The mechanisms to reduce emissions in coal-fired power plants may be through installation of super-critical units, repowering the plant with Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) or with use of coal blended with biomass. More radical emission cuts may be obtained by retrofitting the existing plants with CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS), a technology with the ability to reduce the emissions by 80-85% of the current emissions levels. This paper begins with a brief insight into some of the mechanisms to cause emission reductions in coal-fired power plants. It focuses mainly of how retrofitting the power plants with CCS technology will affect the techno-economic of the plant. Three types of plants will be analyzed, viz, Low performance, medium performance and high performance; the categorization being based on the current Indian fleet of EGUs. We analyze five pathways for mitigation, with two focusing on efficiency improvements and three on CCS technology. The results show that overall cost of avoidance for CCS ranges from US$ 59.54 to US$ 85.41 per tonne of CO2. There is a strong incentive for repowering of old plants to supercritical units and their subsequent retrofitting with CO2 capture systems than direct retrofitting of low performance plants.

Environmental life cycle assessment of Indian coal-fired power plants

Coal is the backbone of the Indian power sector. The coal-fired power plants remain the largest emitters of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and substantial amounts of nitrogen oxides, which are associated with climate and health impacts. Various CO2 mitigation technologies (carbon capture and storage—CCS) and SO2/NO x mitigation technologies (flue gas desulfurization and selective catalytic reduction) have been employed to reduce the environmental impacts of the coal-fired power plants. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the feasibility of various mitigation technologies employed. This paper attempts to perform environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of Indian coal-fired power plant with and without CO2, SO2 and NO x mitigation controls. The study develops new normalization factors for India in various damage categories, using the Indian emissions and energy consumption data, coupled with the emissions and particulate emission to come up with a final environmental impact of coal-fired electricity. The results show a large degree of dependence on the perspective of assessment used. The impact of sensitivities of individual substances and the effect of plant efficiency on the final LCA results is also studied.

Hydro World: Things Starts Happening When You Start Believing

In an imperfect world, hydroelectric power is a form of energy which has the fewest imperfections of all. India has been dominant player in global hydro power development. Hydro-power generation has been a vital component within the overall electricity Portfolio of the country. It is an important source of renewable energy & produces a great amount of electricity. The discourse of “Benefits versus Losses” always remains with hydroelectric power projects. This paper will include some ideas to increase the efficiency of hydro power plant by increasing generation with same input. This paper throws the light over adequacy and flaws of hydro power plants and will conclude with the positive aspect of hydro power plants in India.

Enhancement of Power Generation in Thermal Power Plant Using MHD System

In India 80 percent of power generation is from coal fired thermal power plants. To fulfil the deficiency of electrical energy further enhancement of power plants is taking place, thereby causing severe air pollution. Present investigation deals with the enhancement of power generation in the existing power plants by incorporating the MHD system and also which reduces the air pollution problem. In MHD generator, electrically conducting fluid plasma (flue gases of power plant at very high temperature) is passed through a strong magnetic field there by generating electricity. It is predicted that by incorporating MHD system in Tuticorin thermal power plant, 10% of extra power can be generated along with the usual generation. By attaching this MHD system in all thermal power plants in India, we can add 10% extra production of electrical energy to the current generation.

Mathematical Methodology to Predict Energy Generation of Grid Connected PV Power Plants in India

This paper presents a reliable mathematical methodology to predict the energy generation from grid connected Photovoltaic plant of different technologies in India. Energy generation of different commercially used PV technologies in different locations of India is predicted using proposed mathematical method. This results show a decisive study to choose the best PV technology for particular location of India. Predicted energy generation is validated with the monthly generation for the whole year of 2014 from operational PV power plants of different technologies. Predicted generation is in good co-relation with the actual real time generation and Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) of the PV plants.

The Impact of Electricity Sector Restructuring on Coal-fired Power Plants in India

We examine whether the unbundling of generation from transmission and distribution services at state-owned power plants in India improved operating efficiency at these power plants. Between 1995 and 2009, 85 percent of coal-based generation capacity owned by state governments was unbundled from vertically integrated State Electricity Boards into state generating companies. We find that generating units in states that unbundled before the Electricity Act of 2003 experienced reductions in forced outages of about 25% and improvements in availability of about 10%, with the largest results occurring 3-5 years after unbundling.

Leaching characteristics of bottom ash from thermal power plants

ABSTRACTThe disposal of coal ash from thermal power plants in India is a challenging task. The objective of the present study was to investigate the leaching characteristics of the bottom ash disposed in ash pond of thermal power plants. A series of leaching experiments have been performed to analyze the tracing elements of metal at different liquid-to-solid ratios (L/S). L/S ratio varies from 20:1 to 80:1. From the experiment, it is observed that the elements Mn, Mg, Cr, Zn, and Cu are present in major concentrations while elements viz. Pb, Fe, Zn, and Co are present in minor concentrations. It is also observed that the leaching characteristics of the bottom ash are affected by the pH of extraction solution and L/S ratio. The minimum leachability of the solution was determined using an ASTM method, whereas the maximum leachability was determined using a TCLP method.