Guidelines for Energy Auditing of

Coal & Ash Handling Plants

Surender KumarDeputy Director,NPTI

Coal Handling Plant – Energy Audit Methodology

Crushers

Conveyers

Feeders

Tipplers

Stacker Reclaimers

Major Equipments used are

Measurement and Observations to Be Made

Drive speed, belt speed ,roller condition, belt condition and belt loading with respect to design.

Power consumption of equipments load & unload condition

Loss of energy in the coal in stock yard due to spontaneous combustion

Equipments operations and throughput comparison

with design conditions Unit load of plant

Instrument used and frequency of measurement.

Measurement and Evaluation

Measure the power input i.e. electrical parameters such as kW, kVA, Current, Voltage, power factor, for all drives for no load and load conditions

-Coal throughput rate: Study track hopper management/ coal unloading. It is also desired to study time-motion study. Note the coal throughput using coal totalisers or other alternative methods.

Steps Involved Data Collection

Observations and Analysis of Drives Speed Belt Tension Roller Conditions Belt Conditions Belt Loading

Energy Conservation Measures

Steps Involved

Evaluation of specific energy consumption and capacity utilisation

Comparing design and PG values of

Overall CHP

Stage wise

Equipment wise - conveyor belts,paddle feeders,

crushers, vibro feeders, belt feeders,wagon tippler,

stacker, stacker,reclaimer ….

Data Collection

Design details of overall CHP Capacity,specific power consumption etc

Process flow diagram Track hoppers

Number , length , capacity, power, layout etc. Paddle feeders

Number, capacity, travel, speed ,power Wagon tippler

Number , type,capacity,maximum weight,time cycle, motor rating

Data Collection Crushers

Number, type, capacity, coal size at inlet and outlet, motor rating, power consumption, number of vibrating feeders

Coal Design parameters and sizes Belt Conveyors

Capacity , number, speed, width, motor rating power consumption

Stacker Reclaimer Quantity, capacity, travel speed. Number of buckets and

length of boom, motor rating Other equipments

Vibrating feeders, dust suppression system pumps , belt feeders, dust extraction fans etc

Evaluation of Equipment Loading and Specific Energy Consumption

For direct bunkering , reclaiming and stacking use the table for power consumption and throughput

Direct Bunker in Design capacity Average capacity tph Hrs operation

Equipment

MotorRated

kWMotor

No loadMotor

Average load

 Specific Energy Consumption

Average Rated

A kW A kW kW /MT kW /MT  

 

 

 

Equipment Ref.

Capacity Motor Input Kw

Speed of driven equipment

LengthFor belts

Hours of operation

Specific energy consumption

NL Load

Paddle feeders TPH

Belt Conveyors TPH

Vibro Feeders TPH

Grizzly Feeders

TPH

Belt Feeders TPH

Dust Extraction Fans

Nm3/h

Dust Suppression pumps

M3/h

Crushers TPH

Stacker Reclaimers

TPH

Other Equipments

TPH

Key Specification parameters to be measured stream wise

Parameter Unit Tracke hopper Bunker End

Total Coal Receipt Lakh tons

Total Electrical Related load MW

Overall operating load MW

Energy Consumption of CHP Kwh

Plant Equipment Operating Hours

Hrs

Plant Utilization Factor %

Total Gross Generation of Station

MU

Total auxiliary power consumption of station

MU

Total Power Consumption by CHP plant

MU

% of power consumption of CHP with respect to total auxiliary power consumption

%

Specific energy Consumption kwh./MT

Equipment wise operating hrs hrs

Production and Operating Data

Coal Parameters

Unit Design Actual Remarks

Upstream of crusher size of coal

mm

Downstream of crusher size of coal

mm

Total coal in bunker filling

tph

Major Performance Parameters

Calculation of Specific Energy Consumption

Calculate kWH /MT for existing operations i.e. bunkering, stacking, and reclaiming both activity wise & equipment wise for last one year.

Based on energy meter reading & coal receipt data, calculate month wise kWh / MT for last one year.

Plot kWh/MT on Y-axis & months on X-axis.

Major Performance parameters

Coal Sample Analysis Send 2-3 samples of coal taken from the belts feeding to

the crushers for sieve analysis to determine extent of coal particles below 20 mm size and above 200 mm size or design size which ever is applicable. This analysis will help in optimising crusher operation

Lub Oil Inspection

Performance of CrushersIf significant quantity of coal >20 mm size is observed on down side of crusher then it may led to substantial decrease in mill performance

Identification of Energy Conservation Possibilities

Performance improvement options: Possibilities in Improving the throughput this is a major

energy saving area which offers substantial saving at minimum investment.

Reducing the idling time. Increasing the loading. Modifications and changes in coal feeding circuits. Need for automation and controls. Identification of combination of various least power

consuming equipments and recommending merit order operation.

Use of natural daylight through conveyor galleries and use of fire resistant translucent sheet.

Identification of Energy conservation possibilities

Maximum Mechanical Handling : Minimum Bulldozing:

Sequence of coal handling operations like receipt, unloading, stacking and reclaiming and the selection of machinery is to be made in such a way that all the handling operations are accomplished without the use of semi mechanized means like bulldozers which are more energy intensive equipments.

However Principal of “FIRST IN FIRST OUT” is to be adopted for coal receipt & consumption and at any time coal need not to be stocked in yard for more than incubation period (duration between coal mined and getting self ignited)

Ash Handling Plant –Audit Methodology

The major energy consumers in ash handling

plant are ash water pumps and ash slurry

series pumps.

The contribution of wet ash handling plant in

auxiliary power consumption varies between

1.5 to 2%.

Many systems have dry ash handling plant.

Major Objectives

Evaluation of ash water ratio

Analysis of higher consumption of water if any

Comparison of the ash water ratio with design

value, P.G. Test value and previous energy

audit values

Equipments performance

Instruments Required

Steps Involved

Data collection

1) line diagram

2) detailed specification pertaining to type,handling capacity,design ash %ash collection rates,fly ash and bottom ash extraction capacities,operating hours,design bulk densities

Steps Involved

3) PG test values/design values of coal parameters, ash generation, ash to water ratio,

slurry velocities, no.of pumps involved.

4) Energy Consumption details

5) Water consumption details

6) Performance characteristics curves of all pumps, if in parallel then curve for parallel operation.

Operating parameters to be monitored

Water supply rate Water velocity Discharge Head Valve position Temperature Operating hours and schedule Pressure drop in system Pump/motor speed Load of the plant Discharge throttle valve position Flow control frequency % loading of pump on flow and head % loading on motor

ID code

Application

Make , type and model

Fluid to be pumped

Density of fluid

No.of stages

Rated suction pressure

Rated Discharge pressure

Rated total pressure

Rated flow m3/h

Rated Efficiency

Input KW of pump

Speed of pump

Motor KW

Motor voltage,current

Motor rpm

Motor Efficiency

Minimum Recirculation required

Performance Parameters for Pumps

Hydraulic power in KW =

( Q(m3/s)*total head (m)*density (kg/m3) ------------------------------------------------------

1000

Measurement of Electrical parameters and motor loading

Ash water and ash slurry water pressure and flow measurement.

ObservationsSuction abstractionsImpeller pittingShaft alignmentThrottle controlRe-circulationClearancesBearing conditionInter-stage leakages

Motor Loading Parameters

Evaluation of ash to water ratio

Parameters Fly ash Bottom ash CombinedDesign ash generation

Actual ash generation

Design ash to water ratio

Actual ash to water ratio

Design density of slurry

Actual density of slurry

Total power consumption of pump

Specifc energy consumption kw/ton of ash evacuationDesign ash evacuation rate

Parameter Fly ash Bottom ash Combined

Actual ash evacuation rate

Actual ash slurry velocity

Design head drop in ash slurry pipe line

Actual head drop in ash slurry pipe

While conducting the energy audit of the pumping, the following aspects need to be explored in detail for Optimisation / improving the ash to water ratios

Possibilities of reducing the operating hours of the AHP

Adequacy of pipe sizes

Improvement of pumping systems and drives.

Use of energy efficient pumps

Replacement of inefficient pumps Use of high efficiency motors High Performance Lubricants: The low

temperature fluidity and high temperature stability of high performance lubricants can increase energy efficiency by reducing frictional losses.

Booster pump application