BHEL to make key gadget for supercritical boilers

(Rep Image)

BHEL Tiruchi plant, which was instrumental in technology improvements in supercritical boilers, will be manufacturing the key equipment for the Rs. 11,700-crore order the company has won for installing 3 x 800 MW Supercritical Power Plant in Jharkhand, along with the units in Haridwar, Hyderabad, Ranipet, Bhopal, Bengaluru and Jhansi.

Eco-friendly power

The project will significantly contribute to the nation’s quest for clean and eco-friendly power in multiple ways.

It will reduce fuel consumption by employing high efficiency equipment working at higher operating parameters.

The commissioning of the project would also lead to phasing out of the old fleet of sub-critical units presently installed at Patratu, enabling a quantum leap in efficiency of the station.

The project will further limit emissions by utilising state-of-the-art Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems to capture pollutants like SOx and NOx.

Largest project

Significantly, the project is the largest of its kind in the country to be based on Air Cooled Condenser technology, which will result in conserving a large amount of water, a press release said.

BHEL had commenced commercial operation of its first 800 MW unit - highest-rating coal-based supercritical thermal power plant last year through the first unit of the 2x800 MW Yeramarus thermal power station of Raichur Power Corporation Limited (RPCL) in Raichur district, Karnataka.

BHEL, Tiruchi, made a major stride in 'Engineering and Technology' during 2012-13 by coming up with a Project Design Memorandum (PDM) document for setting up and demonstration of 800 MW coal-fired plant with Advanced Ultra Supercritical (AUSC) parameters, an official document - Performance Highlights 2012-13 - states.

The PDM prepared in association with National Thermal Power Corporation and Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research assured plant efficiency of 46 per cent, the highest in the world at that time.

As part of the project, hot wire GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) technology was established by Welding Research Institute, Tiruchi, for joining of tubes and plates of advanced materials such as Super 304H, Haynes 230, T92 and T91.

To augment the company’s competitive strength, BHEL Tiruchi came up with its first 800 MW supercritical boiler design with vertical furnace wall using rifled tubes as an option to spiral wall design.

At the Coal Research Centre in BHEL Tiruchi, a Drop Tube Furnace System was established for testing the combustion characteristics of various coals and determining coal char reactivity

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