Thermal Power Plant | What is Coal Power Plant | Advantages and disadvantages of thermal power plant | Full detail

 In this article we will learn all about :

• What is a thermal power plant?
• How does a Thermal power plant work?
• Thermal Power plant's advantages and disadvantages?
• what type of coal is used for coal power plant

Hope I will give my best and you understand it very easily so let's starts :

Q.1. What is a thermal power plant?

Ans: A power plant means which generates electricity and if the plant uses heat from coal to make electricity then that plant is called thermal or coal power plant.

example :
when petrol is used for a motorbike so that motorbike will be called as petrol engine bike because the engine takes petrol for working of a bike. 


Overview of thermal power plant :
A thermal power plant uses coal heat to boil the water and convert it into steam and that steam is reinforced into a steam turbine which converts its mechanical energy, a generator is coupled with a turbine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

How does thermal power plant work ( Construction and working ) :

1. Coal storage and handling section :
In this section Coal in huge amount tons of coal is used at a time, firstly it is stored in some areas for future need. In coal handling coal is in pulverised form ( Coal broke into small pieces for combustion easy and fastly ) then this form of coal is given to the boiler section.

2. Boiler :
Water-tube boilers are used in thermal power plants. Pulverized coal heats up in the furnace and produced high-temperature heat which is then used to raise the temperature of the water and convert it into High-pressure steam.

3. Economiser :
It has very easy work just to preheat up the water before entering into the boiler, by using flue gases which are generated in the air preheater.

4. Superheater :
The superheater is rarely used but used to get high-pressure steam ( steam with high temperature and velocity ) it throws that steam into the steam turbine .

5. Turbine :
The steam turbine is used for getting the mechanical output from the high-pressure steam when high-pressure steam attacks the blades of the turbine then the turbine rotates and mechanical energy is achieved.

6. Generator :
lastly, the turbine is mechanically coupled with the generator as the mechanical turbine rotates its shaft is attached to the shaft of the generator and as we know generator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy . This electrical energy is then given to the power grid to step up the voltage and deliver it to the load centers.

7. Condenser :
The condenser is used to recycle the water how, when steam is falling onto the blades of the turbine then steam loses its energy and falls into a container where it will be recycled and reused. the cooling tower gives the cold water from the river and by circulating pump cold water circulate in the condenser. Mixture ( steam + cold water ) then again given to the economizer for the boiler.
See the Figure guys you understand properly well .

Working of thermal power plant :

Coal in the pulverized form given to the boiler for fuel purposes and pulverized coal heat up raises the temperature of boiler water and convert it into steam.
Steam is superheated by the superheater and this steam then falls onto the blades of the turbine 
rotates and its shaft is coupled with a generator, Generator runs and produces electricity. Rest steam is recycled by the use of a condenser.

Important Points to remember :
1. Pulverized means coal broke into fine particles.
2. Ash handling and ash storage plant is used for after coal combustion rest is ash in a huge amount that is collected into the containers and deposited to places where storage is.
3. Airpreheater is used to collect atmosphere air and raise its temperature for preheating the water used in economizer and during combustion the high-temperature air is passed from the chimney for safety purpose.

Advantages of thermal power plants :

1. Making Energy from Thermal Power plants is easy.
2. The fuel used (coal) is cheap.
3. A thermal Power Plant can be set up anywhere near fuel and water supply.
4. It requires less space as compared to the hydroelectric power station.
5. Repair and maintenance cost is low when compared with diesel plant. 
6.  Suitable for varying load conditions.
7.  The initial cost of the plant is less than nuclear plants.
8. Unskilled operators can operate the plant.

Disadvantages of thermal power plant :

1. Thermal plants are less efficient than diesel plants
2. Starting up the plant and bringing it into service takes more time.
3.  Cooling water required is more.
4.  The space required is more
5.  Storage required for the fuel is more
6.  Ash handling is a big problem, air pollution is also a concern.
7.  This plant has less efficiency rated 30 to 33%.
8.  Fuel transportation, handling, and storage charges are more

Which Coal is used in thermal power plants :
   👉  Bituminous: It is a medium grade of coal having high heating capacity. It is the most commonly used type of coal for electricity generation in India. Most of the bituminous coal is found in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.

Other Types of coals used :

•     Anthracite contains 86%–97% carbon and generally has the highest heating value in all ranks of coal. ...
•     Bituminous coal contains 45%–86% carbon. ...
•   Subbituminous coal typically contains 35%–45% carbon, and it has a lower heating value than bituminous coal.
  

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