How to Run a Coal Handling Plant (CHP) Without Any Problems

Coal is the heart of a thermal power plant. Without coal, you can’t even imagine a thermal power plant. When you burn coal, it turns into heat, which turns into steam, which is then used to make electricity. First, coal is delivered to the power plant by rail, road, or ship. This is the first step in the coal handling plant (CHP) process. All together, a normal 2000 MW station needs about 30,000 tonnes of coal every day A specific coal mine is linked to each super thermal power project so that it can get the coal it needs.

Discussed the Whole Process in Coal Handling Plant (CHP).

The process starts with burning coal, which makes heat. The heat is then used to make steam, which is then used to make electricity.

But before we talk about how power is made, let’s talk about coal delivery, which is the first and most important step in the coal dealing process.

Coal Delivery: The First Step in Power Generation

• Rail: Taking a train is the most frequent and least expensive way to move coal. Long trains transport a lot of coal from mines to power plants. It is built into these trains so that they can carry big loads over long distances. This method satisfies 80–90% of the requirement.
• Road: Trucks are the main way that coal gets to places where train connections are limited. This way can be more time- and money-consuming, but it gives you more options for getting to places that train can’t reach.
• Ship: Coal transfer by ship is the best way for power plants near the coast. Big shipping ships move a lot of coal on rivers and seas, especially when the coal is from other nations or regions.

These different ways of transporting things make sure that the power plant always has the fuel it needs to keep making electricity.

From delivery to making electricity
As soon as the coal gets to the plant, it is kept, handled, and then burnt, which starts the whole process of making electricity. Coal distribution, on the other hand, needs to be carefully planned and carried out in order for everything to work well at a thermal power plant.

Coal Unloading: The Second Step in Power Generation

Unloading coal is an important step in many fields, but it’s especially important in power plants where coal is the main fuel. Different tools are used to load, move, and process coal quickly and easily. In order to better understand how these machines work, let’s look at what role each one plays in the process.

Waggon Trippler:

The Waggon Trippler is used to empty coal waggons by turning them upside down or tipping them over. It would take too much time and effort to unload waggons by hand because they can hold a lot of coal. The trippler makes this process automatic.

• This is how it works: the coal-filled train waggon is put on the tippler station. Hydraulic-moved arms firmly hold the waggon in place.
• The platform moves around a centre axis, which flips the waggon over or tilts it at a certain angle so that the coal can be dumped into a bin or onto a conveyor belt.
• Capacity: Can pull waggons that weigh at least 120 tonnes.
• The rotation mechanism moves precisely and steadily thanks to hydraulic systems or electric motors.
• The Waggon Trippler can unload waggons one after the other, so using automatic systems can help plan and load multiple waggons at once, which increases output.

Grave Bucket:

Coal unloading is a key step in many industries, particularly in power plants where coal is a primary fuel. To efficiently handle coal, several machines are used to unload, move, and process it. Let’s dive into the role of each machine in this process, along with technical details, to understand their operation better. A grave bucket is used to scoop coal from a pit or storage area. It’s generally attached to cranes or large mechanical arms that allow it to pick up and transfer coal to a different location, such as a conveyor system or another transport mechanism.

• How it works:
• The bucket is lowered into a coal storage area or pit.
• It scoops up a load of coal and lifts it to a conveyor belt or transfer point.
• Once in position, it releases the coal onto the next stage of the handling process.
• Technical Details:
• Capacity: Can vary from 1 cubic metre to larger buckets depending on the load capacity of the crane or excavator.
• Mechanism: The bucket uses cables or hydraulic systems to open and close the jaws.
• Efficiency Tip: To ensure continuous coal flow, scheduling regular maintenance of hydraulic or mechanical systems is crucial for preventing breakdowns and ensuring smooth operations.

Coal Shakers:

The coal shaker, or vibrating screen, is used to sort coal into different sizes. This is important because different processes may require coal of specific sizes—larger pieces may go through additional crushing, while smaller pieces can be used directly.

• How it works: coal is poured onto the shaker screen.
• The screen vibrates rapidly, causing coal particles to move across the surface.
• The screen has holes or meshes of various sizes, allowing small pieces of coal to fall through while keeping larger pieces on the surface.
• Vibration Mechanism: The machine uses electric motors or vibrators that oscillate at a specific frequency to achieve high-speed shaking.
• Mesh Sizes: Screens have various mesh sizes (e.g., 10mm, 20mm) depending on the desired particle size.
• Efficiency Tip: Adjusting the vibration frequency and mesh size according to the coal type ensures better separation and prevents clogging, enhancing the throughput rate.

Accelerator:

The accelerator is an essential part of coal conveyor systems. It boosts the speed of coal as it travels on the conveyor belt, helping to move coal quickly from one point to another.

• How it works: The accelerator is a belt or roller system placed at intervals along the conveyor line.
• It increases the velocity of coal on the conveyor, ensuring a steady flow to avoid delays in processing.
• Drive System: It uses powerful electric motors to drive the rollers or belts at increased speeds.
• Speed Control: Automated control systems regulate the speed, ensuring the conveyor doesn’t get overloaded.
• Efficiency Tip: Maintaining optimal speeds prevents bottlenecks. Overloading the accelerator could lead to jams, so controlling coal flow through automated systems is important.

Efficient Coal Transport: Using Belt Conveyors and Bucket Elevators for Storage

Once coal is unloaded, the next crucial step is to transport it to designated storage areas. This is where belt conveyors and bucket elevators come into play. These machines are engineered to handle the job efficiently, ensuring the smooth transfer of coal to storage silos, hoppers, or open yards. Let’s explore how these two systems operate and their importance in coal handling.

Belt Conveyor: The Workhorse of Horizontal Coal Transport

A belt conveyor is a continuous transport system that is essential for moving coal over long distances, especially when the coal needs to be transported horizontally or on a gentle incline. Its simplicity and effectiveness make it a staple in almost every coal handling facility.

How It Works:

• Loading the conveyor:
  After the coal is unloaded from the waggons, it is fed onto the conveyor belt through chutes or feeders. The conveyor belt is a tough, durable surface designed to handle heavy loads and resist wear from abrasive materials like coal.
• Transporting the coal:
  A series of rollers support the belt as it moves, carrying the coal from one place to another. The system can be as simple as a straight belt or more complex, with curves and inclines that allow it to navigate through different areas of the plant.
• Discharge at Storage:
  At the end of the conveyor line, coal is either discharged directly into storage bins or transferred to another conveyor for further movement. In more advanced systems, multiple conveyors can be linked, creating an efficient transport network across the plant.

Key Features and Techniques:

• Customisation: Conveyor systems can be designed to fit various lengths and capacities, depending on the volume of coal being handled. Belt widths usually range between 800mm and 2000mm, while the speed can be adjusted to match the flow of material.
• Continuous Flow: Unlike other transport methods, belt conveyors allow for continuous coal transport, minimising downtime and maintaining a consistent supply.
• Low Maintenance: With a focus on robust design and routine checks for wear and tear, conveyors require relatively low upkeep, ensuring long-term operational efficiency.

Bucket Elevator: The Go-To for Vertical Coal Movement

When coal needs to be lifted vertically—whether to storage silos, elevated bins, or other processing units—bucket elevators come into action. These machines are designed to handle vertical transport effectively, making them a key part of the storage process.

How It Works:

• Filling the buckets:
  At the base of the elevator, coal is loaded into specially designed buckets through a feed system. Each bucket is securely attached to a belt or chain, which moves in a loop.
• Vertical Transportation:
  As the belt or chain moves, the buckets carry the coal upward to the desired height. The buckets are shaped to minimise spillage and ensure that the coal stays securely in place during transport.
• Discharging at Height:
  Once the buckets reach the top, they tip over as they pass over the pulley system, dropping the coal into storage bins, hoppers, or directly onto another conveyor for further processing. After unloading, the empty buckets return to the bottom to repeat the cycle.

Key Features and Techniques:

• Handling High Places: Bucket lifts are great for moving things up and down, and they can move coal to great heights, sometimes over 100 metres. Because of this, they are perfect for loading up tall storage silos or moving coal to higher levels inside the plant.
• Accurate Control: These lifts let you precisely control the flow of coal. They have speeds that can be changed to make sure that the coal moves at the best rate without overburdening storage systems.
• Durable Design: The buckets are usually made of high-grade steel or other reinforced materials that can handle the weight and roughness of coal. This makes them last a long time and work well.

NOTE: Unloading coal in track hoppers

• Length of Track Hopper: Most track hoppers are 200 to 250 meters long. In a coal handling plant (CHP), a Track hopper is a piece of equipment that unloads coal from train cars and moves it to a conveyor belt, which then moves it to storage or breakers. The method is automatic, so the coal can be handled without any help from a person.
• Waggon Placement and Unloading: Once the waggons are in place over the hopper, an electrical pulse opens the bottom doors of the waggons using a mechanical device.
• Gravity unloading means that the coal falls into the bin because of its own weight.
  When the bin is empty, it takes about 20 seconds to unload a single waggon, which holds about 60 tonnes of coal.
• Coal Transfer: The coal falls onto a “T” table, and a paddle feeder moves it to a conveyor belt so it can be processed or stored further. The “T” table is a structure part that helps move and spread the coal evenly after it falls from the bin. This makes the process of moving the coal more organised and effective. A paddle feeder is a device used in coal handling systems to regulate and move coal from storage (like a hopper) onto conveyor belts. It has paddles that turn and push coal all the time, keeping the flow steady and under control so that it doesn’t get clogged or spill. By managing the coal feeding process, it helps the plant run smoothly.

Preparation: The Third Step in Power Generation

Now let’s look at how the CHP planning process works. To make the process go more smoothly, we use some tools. Let’s look at each piece of gear one by one and learn what it is and how it works.

1. Crusher: The job of the crusher is to cut fuels like coal and wood into smaller pieces. The reason for this step is that big pieces take longer to burn, which wastes energy. It burns faster and more evenly when the fuel is broken up into smaller pieces. Based on the type of fuel, crushers come in different styles, like impact crushers and hammer mills. Using a breaker is helpful because it saves energy during burning and makes the CHP system work better.
2. Sizer: A sizer controls the fuel’s size. The sizer makes sure that the pieces of fuel that have been broken up are all the same size. The good thing is that each piece burns evenly, which makes the heat and power production even. If the pieces of fuel are too big or too small, they won’t burn evenly, which makes the system less efficient. Standardising the fuel size is what the sizer does to make the CHP system work better generally.
3. Screener: This machine sorts the fuel into pieces of different sizes. Even after going through the crusher and sizer, not all of the pieces will be the same size. The screener sorts the pieces into bigger and smaller ones. The smaller pieces move on to the next step in the process, while the bigger pieces are sent back to the shredder to be cut down even more. This process makes sure that the fuel is all the same size, which is important for better burning and energy production.
4. Dryer: The dryer’s job is to dry the fuel. Biomass or coal that is wet needs more energy to burn because the water has to escape first. The dryer takes the water out of the fuel so that it burns more efficiently. When fuel is wet, heat is lost, which makes the system less effective. The dryer helps the CHP system make better heat and power by drying the fuel and getting rid of any wetness in it.
5. Magnetic Separator: A magnetic separator takes metal things out of the fuel, like iron and steel. Metal pieces that aren’t needed may get mixed into the fuel during processing, which can damage equipment. The magnetic filter removes these metal fragments, which keeps the fuel clean. The benefit is that it keeps tools like crushers and sizers from getting damaged, which keeps the CHP system running smoothly. By getting rid of metal bits, upkeep costs go down and the system works better overall.

Transfer: The fourth Step in Power Generation

Now let’s look at how the CHP planning transfer process works:

1. Conveyor Belt: A conveyor belt moves fuel from one place to another quickly and efficiently. It works great for long lengths, like when fuel needs to be moved between the crusher, sizer, and screener in a big plant. With conveyor belts, there is a smooth, steady flow that keeps work going. There are various processes for putting fuel on and taking it off the belt. The best thing about conveyor belts is that they make moving fuel easier and faster by automating the process. This process makes sure that the fuel goes steadily, which lets the CHP system work well.
2. Skip Hoist: A skip hoist is a vertical transfer device that moves fuel from a lower level to a higher level when the two levels are not the same height. It works with a bucket-style hoist that moves fuel from one place to another, usually another level up. When room is limited, skip hoists are small and useful. They aren’t constant like belt conveyors, but they are used to move certain loads up and down. The best thing about a skip hoist is that it can move quickly and vertically, making it easy to lift fuel. It can also work with tough stuff, which saves time and effort.
3. Flight Conveyor: A flight conveyor is a strong and durable device that moves large items, like coal or wood, both horizontally and vertically. It is carefully made to make moving big and rough objects easy. The fuel is moved along flight conveyors, which have wheels or flights that move the material forward. The good thing about this method is that it uses fuel well without spilling or losing any of it. Flight conveyors can move things both horizontally and vertically, which makes them perfect for places where people need to go more than once. This method is used for heavy-duty tasks that need to handle large amounts of fuel.

Outdoor storage: The five Step in Power Generation

Outdoor Storage: This is kept for at least 30-40 days as backup storage. This is where fuel, like coal or wood, is kept until it is ready to be used in the CHP process. This kind of setup is usually found in open spaces where a lot of fuel is stored. Outdoor storage is a cheap and easy way to handle a lot of fuel, especially when there isn’t much room inside. When keeping fuel outside, you need to take a few safety measures.

• Protection from the weather: If fuel, like coal or biomass, gets wet, it burns less efficiently. To keep the fuel safe from rain, snow, and other wetness, tarps or waterproof covers are used.
• Airflow: You need good airflow to keep moisture from building up and fungi from growing. Fuel stays dry and useful as long as it has good air flow.
• Access and Transportation: The fuel is stored outside in a way that makes it easy to get to and makes it simple for machines like trucks and elevators to move it to the CHP plant. Fuel can be moved quickly when demand rises if it can get to where it needs to go.
• Safety Measures: Storing things outside, especially coal, comes with the risk of sudden burning. To make sure everyone is safe, it’s important to check and record the temperature on a regular basis.
• Utilizing Space: Fuel is stored outside in piles, but it’s important to make good use of space so that you can store as much fuel as possible without any problems.

An important benefit of outdoor storage is that it is a cheap way to handle large amounts of fuel when the plant doesn’t have enough space for storage inside.

After this process, covered storage comes into play, which is also known as live storage. From here, the coal is sent to the boiler for furnace firing. This entire operation, from covered storage to sending the coal to the furnace, is referred to as in-plant handling. This process takes place after the coal has been processed and covered.

Next, the coal goes through the weighing and measuring process, where its current weight and quality are checked. After these checks, the final step is to send the coal to the furnace for firing.

Connection Between Idlers and Conveyor Belt

Connection Between Idlers and Conveyor Belt

What is a conveyor belt?

• A conveyor belt is a moving belt that transports materials like coal, stones, or bags from one place to another.
• It’s commonly used in factories, mines, and warehouses to efficiently move materials between different areas.

What Idlers Do:

• Idlers are rollers placed beneath the conveyor belt, providing support and guidance so that the belt moves smoothly without disruptions.
• Just as train tracks need solid support underneath, a conveyor belt relies on idlers for stability and durability.

Types of Idlers and Their Functions

Carry Idlers:

• On the side of the belt with carry idlers, heavy things like coal or other things are put. This keeps the belt from getting too heavy.Idlers called “carry” are put on the sides of the belt where heavy things like coal or other materials are put down to keep the belt from sliding.
• Idlers like these keep the belt level and steady, which helps spread the load without putting extra stress on the belt.

Return Idlers:

• On the return side, where the belt comes back empty, there are return idlers.
• Their job is to hold up the empty belt and make sure it stays stable and in the middle while it comes back, not falling or moving around too much.

Impact Idlers:

• Impact idlers are located at points where heavy materials fall directly onto the belt, such as loading points.
• These idlers protect the belt from impact damage and have a cushioning system that absorbs shocks to prevent harm to the belt.

Self-Aligning Idlers:

Self-aligning idlers are made to keep the belt straight and in the middle. If the belt starts to move, the idlers will bring it back to the right place on their own. They keep the belt on track so it doesn’t slip off the sides, which makes sure the machine works smoothly and efficiently. All of these idlers’ main job is to keep the conveyor belt stable and balanced so that materials can be moved easily and the parts of the system don’t get too worn out.

As promised, the next part will go into more detail about coal and its place in the energy industry. We will slowly go over how a thermal power plant works, breaking down each idea in a way that is simple and easy to understand. Stay tuned, because we’ll be posting more useful information on our blog. “See you in the next subject!