COAL- FIRED

POWER PLANT
 HISTORY
• In the early 1870s Belgian inventor Zénobe Gramme
invented a generator powerful enough to produce
power on a commercial scale for industry.

• In the autumn of 1882, a central station providing

public power was built in Godalming, England. It
was proposed after the town failed to reach an
agreement on the rate charged by the gas
company, so the town council decided to use
electricity.
• In 1882 the world's first coal-fired public power
station, the Edison Electric Light Station, was built in
London, a project of Thomas Edison organized by
Edward Johnson. A Babcock & Wilcox boiler
powered a 125-horsepower steam engine that
drove a 27-ton generator.
• In September 1882 in New York, the Pearl Street
Station was established by Edison to provide
electric lighting in the lower Manhattan Island area.
The station ran until destroyed by fire in 1890. The
station used reciprocating steam engines to turn
direct-current generators. Because of the DC
distribution, the service area was small, limited by
voltage drop in the feeders.
 Coal Power Plant in the
Philippines

• Sual Power Station

It has the greatest MW output, having a 1,200
MW generated power. It is located near the Lingayen
Gulf in Sual, Pangasinan. And is owned by Team
Energy a company established as a joint venture
between Marubeni Corporation and Tokyo Electric
Power Corporation, but San Miguel Energy
Corporation is the independent power producer
administrator of the facility since 2009.
• Pagbilao Power Station
Is a 735 MW coal fired power plant in Pagbilao,
Quezon Province, Philippines, it is a two unit power
plant completed in 1996. The plant is owned by Tokyo
Electric Power and Marubeni Corporation.

• DMCI Holdings
Is a 600 MW Thermal Coal- Fired Power Plant
located in Calaca, Batangas. It has 2 units, each 300
MW, and is commissioned in 1984 and 1995
respectively. DMCI bought the plant from the
Philippine government in July 2009.
• AES Corporation
It is a 600 MW Coal power plant located in
Masinloc, Zambales. It was commissioned in 1998 and
was acquired by AES in April of 2008.
• Mariveles Coal-Fired Power Plant
is a 600 MW coal power plant in Mariveles,
Bataan. The facility was a jint project of GN Power
Mariveles Coal Plant and AC Energy. The power plant
started commercial operations in February 2014.
• Davao San Miguel Power Station
Also known as the Malita power station is a 500
MW Coal Power Plant located in Culaman, Davao
Occidental Province. It is owned by San Miguel
Corporation and it has 1 operating unit, and another 1
under construction.
• Quezon Power Station
is a 440 MW coal power plant located in
Mauban, Quezon Province. It is a single unit power
plant and is owned by Quezon Power Philippines, a
subsidiary of Thai company EGCO Group. The plant
occupies 87 hectares with a 31 km transmission line
that links into the national transmission network.

• General Santos power station

is a 300 MW coal power station by San Miguel
Corporation. The construction was in 2010 with coal
coming from the company’s Daguma Coal mine in
nearby Lake Sebu.
• Therma South Power Station
is a 300 MW power station in Toril, Davao City,
Davao Del Sur Province. The power plant consists of
two 150 MW, the full commercial operation of Unit 1
was on 2015, and the Unit 2 was on 2016. The
proponent of the power station is Therma South.
• Cebu Energy Development Corporation (CEDC)
is a 246 MW clean coal fired- power plant in
Toledo City, Cebu. CEDC is a partnership between
GBP and Abovant Holdings. The first unit was
synchronized with the grid in February 2010 while the
second and third units was in June 2010 and
December of the same year. It’s commercial
operation was declared in February 2011.
• STEAG power plant
is located in Villanueva Misamis Oriental,
with a capacity of 232 MW and supplies 22
million inhabitants of Mindanao. It has two
working units and was commissioned on the
year 2006.
• Cebu Power Plant
is a 200 MW power station located in
Naga, Cebu. It consists of two 100 MW units, it
has helped augmented the increasing power
demand in Visayas since it started its
operation in 2011.
• Palm Concepcion Power Corporation
is operating a 135 MW power station located in
Concepcion, Iloilo. The plant was developed as a
new base load power plant in Panay Island to address
the requirements of the grid.

• South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp

started the commercial operation of the
second 135 MW unit of a coal power plant in Calaca,
Batangas. It is a joint venture between Trans-Asia Oil
and Energy Development Corp. and AC Energy
Holdings
PARTS AND FUNCTIONS
 PARTS AND FUNCTIONS
1. Coal
-in a coal based thermal power plant, coal is
transported from coal mines to the generating station.
Generally, bituminous coal or brown coal is used as
fuel. The coal is stored in either ‘dead storage’ or in
‘live storage’. Dead storage is generally 40 days
backup coal storage which is used when coal supply
is unavailable. Live storage is a raw coal bunker in
boiler house. The coal is cleaned in a magnetic
cleaner to filter out if any iron particle is present which
may cause wear and tear in the equipment.
The coal from live storage is first crushed in small particles
and then taken into pulverizer to make it in powdered
form. Fine powdered coal undergoes complete
combustion, and thus pulverized coal increase the
efficiency of the boiler. The ash produce after the
combustion of coal is taken out of the boiler furnace and
then properly disposed. Periodic removal of ash from boiler
furnace is necessary for the proper combustion.

2. Boiler
-the mixture of the pulverized coal and air (usually
preheated air) is taken into boiler and then burnt in the
combustion zone. On ignition of fuel a large amount of
heat energy is radiated from it. The heat energy is utilized
to convert the water into steam at high temperature and
pressure.
Steel tubes run along the boiler walls in which water is
converted in steam. The flue gases from the boiler
make their way through super heater, economizer, air
preheater and finally get exhausted to the
atmosphere from the chimney.

o Superheater
- the superheater tubes are hanged at the
hottest part of the boiler. The saturated steam
produced in the boiler tubes is superheated to
about 540 degrees Celsius in the superheater. The
superheates high pressure steam is then fed to the
steam turbine.
o Economizer
-an economizer is essentially a feed
water heater which heats the water
before supplying to the boiler.

o Air pre-heater
- the primary air fan takes air from the
atmosphere and it is then warmed in the
air pre-heater. Preheated air is injected
with coal in the boiler. The advantage of
pre-heating the air is that it improves the
coal combustion.
3. Steam Turbine
- high pressure superheated steam is fed
to the steam turbine which causes turbine
blades to rotate. Energy in the steam is
converted into mechanical energy in the
steam turbine which acts as the prime mover.
The pressure and the temperature of the
steam falls to the lower value and it expands
in volume as it passes through the turbine. The
expanded low pressure steam is exhausted in
the condenser.
4. Condenser
-the exhausted steam is condensed in
the condenser by means of cold water
circulation. Here, the steam loses its pressure
as well as the temperature and it is converted
back into the water. Condensing is essential
because, compressing a fluid which is in
gaseous state requires a huge amount of
energy with respect to the energy required in
compressing liquid. Thus, condensing
increases efficiency of the cycle.
5. Alternator
-the steam turbine is coupled to an
alternator. When the turbine rotates the
alternator, electrical energy is generated. This
generated electrical voltage is then stepped up
with the help of a transformer and then
transmitted where it is to be utilized.

6. Feed water pump

- the condensed water is again fed to
boiler by a feed water pump. Some water may
be lost during the cycle, which is suitably
supplied from an external water source.
Coal Power Plant Process
In a coal-fired steam station water is turned
into steam, which in turn drives turbine generators to
produce electricity.

1. Heat is created
Before the coal is burned, it is pulverized to
the fineness of talcum powder. It is then mixed with
hot air and blown into the firebox of the boiler.
Burning in suspension, the coal/air mixture provides
the most complete combustion and maximum heat
possible.
2. Water turns to steam
Highly purified water, pumped through pipes
inside the boiler, is turned into steam by the heat.
The steam reaches temperatures of up to 1,000
degrees Fahrenheit and pressures up to 3,500
pounds per square inch, and is piped to the turbine.

3. Steam turns the turbine

The enormous pressure of the steam pushing
against a series of giant blades turns the turbine
shaft. The turbine shaft is connected to the shaft of
the generator, where magnets spin within wire coils
to produce electricity.
4. Steam turns back into water
After doing its work in the turbine, the steam
is drawn into a large chamber in the basement of
the power plant. In this important step, millions of
gallons of cool water from a nearby source (such
as a river or lake) are pumped through a network
of tubes running through the condenser. The cool
water in the tubes converts the steam back into
water that can be used over and over again in
the plant.
The cooling water is returned to its source
without any contamination, and the steam water
is returned to the boiler to repeat the cycle.
 Coal Energy Operation Impacts
• Impact on Economy
Coal-based electricity generation provides a
significant stimulus to the economy by increasing
output, income and employment in all sectors through
direct and indirect effects. It also increases the
purchasing power of the consumer, and enhances
the competitiveness of exports, by avoiding increased
reliance on higher- priced fuels and electicity-
generating technologies. In general, these results
reflect the large economic benefits associated with
coal’s favourable price differential effect relative to
alternative fuels.
• Impact on Environment
Coal-fired power plants emit more than 60
different hazardous air pollutants. Yet, despite billions
of pesos of investment, scientists are unable to
completely remove harmful emissions from plants.

Pollution from coal-fired power stations is

released in four main ways;
(i) as fly ash from the smoke stack,
(ii) bottom ash which stays at the bottom after
the coal is burned,
(iii) waste gases from the scrubber units (which
are chemical processes used to remove some
pollutants) and
(iv) gasreleased into the air.
 Advantages of Coal as Power Plant
Fuel
• Affordability
Energy produced from coal fired plants
is cheaper and more affordable than other
energy sources. Since coal is abundant, it is
definitely cheap to produce power using this
fuel. Moreover, it is not expensive to extract
and mine from coal deposits. Consequently,
its price remains low compared to other fuel
and energy sources.
• Abundance
There are approximately over 300 years of
economic coal deposits still accessible. With this great
amount of coal available for use, coal fired plants can
be continuously fueled in many years to come.

• Known technologies
The production and use of coal as a fuel are
well understood, and the technology required in
producing it is constantly advancing. Moreover, coal-
mining techniques are continuously enhanced to
ensure that there is a constant supply of coal for the
production of power and energy.
Disadvantages of Coal-Fired Power
Plants

• Greenhouse gas emissions

It cannot be denied that coal leaves behind
harmful byproducts upon combustion. These
byproducts cause a lot of pollution and contribute to
global warming. The increased carbon emissions
brought about by coal fired plants has led to further
global warming which results in climate changes.
• Mining destruction
Mining of coal not only results in the
destruction of habitat and scenery, but it also
displaces humans as well. In many countries
where coal is actively mined, many people are
displaced in huge numbers due to the pitting of
the earth brought about by underground mining.
Places near coal mines are unsafe for human
habitation as the land could cave in at anytime.

• Generation of millions of tons of waste

Millions of tons of waste products which can
no longer be reused are generated from coal
fired plants. Aside from the fact that these waste
products contribute to waste disposal problems,
these also contain harmful substances.
• Emission of harmful substances
Thermal plants like coal fired plants emit
harmful substances to the environment. These
include mercury, sulfur dioxide, carbon
monoxide, mercury, selenium, and arsenic.
These harmful substances not only cause acid
rain but also are very harmful to humans as
well.
STRUCTURAL OUTPUT