Internship Report

Nishat Power Plant, Lahore

Submitted to:
Shoaib Rana
Sr. Engineer (O&M)

Submitted by:
Muhammad Farooq Rasheed
Mechanical Engineer (NFC IEFR)
&
Rana Muhammad Arsam Sajid
Mechanical Engineer (NFC IEFR)
 Water Treatment at Nishat Power Plant, Lahore

Theory:
The quality of water used in boiler is an important factor in the operation of boilers. As the
operating pressures in power plants are increasing, the quality of water used is also becoming
stricter. Continuous improvements and changes in the methods of maintaining water quality,
understanding the corrosion mechanisms, and the development of new chemicals have resulted
in a more economical and efficient water regime management.
So, water quality is an important factor in determining the life and efficiency of a boiler.
Impurities can seriously disturb the working of a boiler.
Some reasons why water quality is crucial for boilers are:
 Water contains dissolved salts, which upon evaporation of water forms scales on the heat
transfer surfaces. This formation of scales leads to overheating and failure of the boiler
tubes. Scale also reduces flow area, which increases pressure drop in boiler tubes and
piping.
 Low pH or dissolved oxygen in the water attacks the steel. This causes pitting or
lowering the thickness of the steel tubes, leading to rupture of the boiler tubes.
 Impurities carried over in the steam, causing deposits on turbine blades leading to
reduced turbine efficiency, high vibrations, and blade failure. These contaminants can
also cause erosion of turbine blades. Silica at higher operating pressures volatilizes and
carries over to the turbine blades.
So the goal is to make the water to the steam cycle as pure as possible. This is achieved by
treating the raw water with several quality improvement devices/methods.
Thus, the major parameters that require monitoring for water treatment are:
1. The dissolved solids.
2. The pH of the boiler feed water.
3. Dissolved Oxygen in the feed water entering the boiler.
4. Silica in boiler water.
Flow Chart:
The schematic flow chart of water running from turbines to RO pool is shown below:

The schematic flow chart of water running from RO pool to treated water tank is shown below:
Let’s follow the step-by-step treatment of water in a power plant at Nishat Textile Mills Lahore.

 Water Turbines:
Three water turbines are installed in the plant to fulfil the requirement of raw water. The water
from these turbines combines at a common header from where it is transported further.

Water Turbine
  Raw Water Storage Tank:

The water from the common header is transported to the Raw Water Tank where it is stored for
further usage/treatment.
This storage tank is
made up of a material
called Fiber-
Reinforced
Plastic(FRP). The inner
liner of this storage
tank is made up of “C-
glass” and “E-glass”
each having distinct
material properties.
The storage capacity of
this tank is 30 cubic
meters.

Raw Water Tank

 RO Feed Pumps:
The function of the RO feed pump is to increase the pressure of reverse osmosis feed water.
Reverse osmosis is a pressure-driven treatment. Increasing the inlet pressure improves both the
product/reject efficiency and the quality of the product water (TDS).
A total of 6 RO feed pumps are installed in the plant which increase the pressure of water
coming from the storage tank.
 RO Feed Pump

 Sand Filter:
Sand filters provide rapid and efficient removal of relatively large suspended particles in water.
Sand filters are highly effective for removal of turbidity (usually < 0.1-1 NTU). They have high
filter rate and occupy small area of land. They are cleaned instantly and the filters can be put
back into operation instantly after cleaning.
The interior of a sand filter is illustrated in the following figure:

Six sand filters are installed in the plant each having its supply from one of the feed pump.
Graded sand is used as a filling media in the sand filters.
The capacity of each sand filter is shown below in the table:

Sand Filter # Capacity

(m3)
1 80

2 32

3 24

4 32

5 32

6 32

Total Sand Filter Capacity 232

The specifications of Sand filter vessels are given below:

Made of Mild Steel

Design Pressure 6 bar

Operating Pressure 3-4 bar

Inside Lining Epoxy

Outside Protection Enamel

 Sand Filter

 Cartridge Filter:
A cartridge filter is installed before every RO system for the pretreatment of water. Cartridge
filters are almost universally used in all
RO systems prior to the high pressure
pump because it serves as the final
barrier for the water born particles. They
have large surface areas enabling them
to operate for long periods. These types
of filters are also easiest to clean by
using a flow of high-pressure water from
a hose. The filters are made of polyester
or other material that can provide a
superfine filtering surface.
Cartridge filters can remove metals and
other sediment. Cartridge filters work
best in situations where there is not
much solid material in the water supply
and little iron or manganese (less than
about 300 micrograms per liter) of iron.
Cartridge Filter
  High Pressure Pump:
A pressure of around 20 bar is required for the RO system to operate. The water coming out from
the cartridge filter is pressurized by the high pressure pump. This water is then sent in RO
membranes.

High Pressure Pump

 RO Plant:
RO is currently considered one of the most economic and effective process for water
desalination. Accordingly, it is often the appropriate technique to treat solutions having salt
concentrations from 100 to over 50,000 mg/ liter. Solutions with salinity from surface water to
sea water, and even brines, can be treated by RO membrane.
Cross flow is the configuration applied for membrane separation using RO membrane.
As shown in Figure the feed water stream flows tangentially to the membrane surface. A fraction
of the water in this feed stream passes through the membrane, whereas the majority of the feed
flow travels along the surface. Thus, two streams are collected:
 permeate, almost pure water
containing low concentration of
ions
 concentrate, having high
concentration of small particles
and dissolved ions

In operation, the RO membrane system is continuously supplied with feed water which produces
a constant water movement from feed to concentrate. When in cross-flow operation, there is little
accumulation of the rejected solutes and fouling or scaling can be minimized.
RO membranes can be supplied in both flat sheet and HFF (Hollow Fine Fiber) structural
formats. The flat sheet RO membrane is composed of three layers.
There is a nonwoven polyester support layer, a polysulfone layer, and on top the polyamide
barrier layer. The barrier layer is formed by the polyamide.
The typical construction of the spiral-wound RO system is shown below:

A total of six RO plants are installed. Water from high pressure pump is treated in these systems.
They are working on two-stage operation. The waste water from the first stage serves as the feed
for the second stage and the waste of the second stage is drained out which is the actual rejected
water from RO.
 RO System

The capacities of the RO systems are illustrated in the table below:

RO # Capacity Product Flow Reject Flow

1 60 m³/hr 60 m³/hr 20 m³/hr
2 24 m³/hr 24 m³/hr 8 m³/hr
3 15 m³/hr 15 m³/hr 6 m³/hr
4 24 m³/hr 24 m³/hr 8 m³/hr
5 24 m³/hr 24 m³/hr 8 m³/hr
6 24 m³/hr 24 m³/hr 8 m³/hr
Total RO 171 m³/hr
Capacity
  RO Pool:
The treated water coming out of each RO is collected in an underground reservoir called the RO
pool.
The storage capacity of this RO pool is 900 m3.
Feed pumps are installed on the pool that directs the flow of water towards the MBP and
DEMIN.

 Mixed-bed Polisher:
Mixed bed resins or mixed bed ion exchange resins are used in the water purification for
polishing process water to achieve demineralized water quality after a reverse osmosis system.
A mixed bed ion exchanger in water purification uses two ion exchange regenerative systems
formed in beads shape. It allows the anion and cation resin beads to mix together to remove
impurities. This process acts as a deionizer and effectively removes the ions present in the water
which later on proves harmful for the boiler.
A mixed bed usually contains a strong acid cation exchange in addition to a strong base anion
exchange resin and completely removes the hydrogen and hydroxyl ions from the purified water.
De-ionization produces very high quality water with regard to dissolved ions and minerals.

The process going on inside a MBP is shown below:

2 Mixed bed plants are installed at the power plant each having a capacity of purifying water at a
rate of 45 m3/hr.

MBP-A MBP-B
The following readings have been taken on date 28-6-2019.

MBP Regeneration Time Chemical

Consumption
MBP-A 42 hours 350 m3 HCl
350 m3 NaOH
MBP-B 42 hours 350 m3 HCl
350 m3 NaOH

 DEMIN or Demineralization of Water:

The water from the RO pool is simultaneously forwarded by Demin feed pumps. Here another
similar technology is applied to remove ions from RO water. Demineralization utilizes both
cation and anion exchange resins but in different beds or columns.
In two-bed demineralization, a stream is first treated with a strong acid cation (SAC) resin that
captures the dissolved cations, and releases hydrogen (H+) ions in exchange. The resulting
mineral acid solution is then routed to the strong base anion (SBA) resin bed. This second step
sequesters the anionic contaminants while releasing hydroxide (OH–) ions, which combine with
the existing hydrogen ions (H+) to form water. The resulting stream is low in TDS and has a
nearly neutral pH.
The strong acid used here is HCl and the strong base used is caustic soda or NaOH. This acid and
base are stored in a tank in the plant.

DEMIN Regeneration Time Chemical

Consumption
DEMIN-A 42 hours 350 m3 HCl
350 m3 NaOH
DEMIN-B 42 hours 350 m3 HCl
350 m3 NaOH

Thus these ions are removed from the water and the waste water is drained out.
There are two cation tanks and two anion tanks.
 

Anion A
Cation A
  Treated Water Tank:
The purified water is finally stored in the treated water tank.

Treated Water Tank

 Ash Handling at Coal-Fired Power Plant

Theory:
Once coal is burnt in a boiler for energy purposes, the waste contains harmful chemicals and if
these materials are directly released to the environment, they can be hazardous for the
environment. So, in order to make this combustion process as safe and clean as possible for the
environment, some sort of treatment of that waste is necessary.
Around 10% of coal is ash. Coal ash is hazardous and toxic to human health. Coal ash typically
contains heavy metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium and selenium, as
well as aluminum, antimony, barium, beryllium, boron, chlorine, cobalt, manganese,
molybdenum, nickel, thallium, vanadium, and zinc. If inhaled, these toxicants can cause heart
disease, lung disease, respiratory disease, kidney disease, reproductive problems as well as
diseases like cancer and nervous system disorders.
In order to prevent the air from these harmful chemicals, ash handling is required.
Now, different methods are applied for the safe disposal of ash from the site. The main systems
are:
1. Mechanical Ash Handling
2. Hydraulic Ash Handling
3. Pneumatic Ash Handling
One of the above system is employed according to the feasibility.
Pneumatic ash handling system is used at Nishat Power Plant to dispose the ash produced in
boiler furnace.

Pneumatic Ash Handling:

This system uses compressed air as a conveying medium. It has many technical benefits such as:
 Transfers bulk materials of almost any type
 Moves larger quantities of material
 Moves material at longer distances
 Transports from one or more sources to single or multiple destinations
 Utilizes less space
 No spillage during conveying
 Multiple pick-up points on a single pipeline
Two boilers of 6MW and 9MW power are installed at the plant. The ash coming out of each
boiler furnace is dealt separately with a slight technological difference.
The detailed mechanism of each one is discussed below.

Ash Handling of 6MW Boiler:

The schematic flow chart of the process is shown below:

The set-up is divided into three groups each containing two ash pumps.
There are eight chambers in total and six pulse valves are connected by each chamber
through the lift valve. The dust passes through these valves and enters the cyclone separators.
Each valve is opened and closed for a specific interval of time. The main time intervals are
mentioned below:
 Interval time of lift valve close and pulse valve on = 5s
 Every pulse valve open time= 150ms
 Every pulse valve’s interval time=10s
 Interval time of pulse valve off and lift valve open=5s
 Every circulation interval time=15s
The value of temperature is normally:
 Inlet Temperature =130.64 oC
 Outlet Temperature=125.29 oC
The function of each part/equipment is stated below:

 Air Line:
The piping system connecting the whole structure that contains the air and carries the ash from
pumps to storage is called air line.

 Cyclone Separator:
It is a device that separates large particles of solid matter from a gaseous mixture. It uses the
principle of inertia to separate the particles. The solid particles are thrown into the hopper while
the gases are allowed to move towards the induce fan.

Cyclone Separator

 Hopper:
The hopper is attached with the cyclone and receives the ash while conveys the ash down into
the ash pump gradually.

 Ash Pump:
The coal ash is dropped into the ash pump when the charge valve opens up. While containing the
ash, the ash pump closes itself up and the compressed air carries the ash away leaving the pump
empty for the process to repeat.
 Ash Pump

 Conveying Valve:
This valve is attached before the opening of the ash pump. When the pump is filled with
adequate amount of ash, this valve is opened up automatically. Compressed air passes through
the pipe with a high velocity, this causes a suction effect on the ash present in the pump and it
rushes away with the air towards the outlet.

 Charging Valve:
When the ash is required to fill the ash pump, this valve is opened. It is connected between the
hopper and the ash pump.

 Exhaust Valve:
This valve is used to remove the air that is already present in the ash pump. It is opened along
with the charging valve so that the ash can be poured and the air can be removed simultaneously.
The air is pushed out into the hopper. This valve is connected between the hopper and the ash
pump.

 Discharge Valve:
This valve is used to allow the passage of air along with the ash towards the storage.

 Ash Storage:
The air carries the ash to a large container where all the collected ash is stored. This tank is
cleaned regularly and the ash is disposed.

Ash Storage
  Induced Fan:
Induced draft fan is located at the outlet between dust collector and chimney. The fan takes hot
flue gases from the boiler through dust collector and delivers it to the chimney into the open
atmosphere. ID fan creates negative pressure or suction to discharge the gases out after
combustion from the furnace.

Induced Fan
  Chimney:
The flue gases coming from the induced fan are transferred to the external environment with the
help of a chimney.

Chimney
Ash Handling of 9MW Boiler:
The schematic flow-chart of the process is shown below:

This process is almost similar to the 6MW boiler. The only difference is that the ash present in
the pump is removed individually by allowing the compressed air supply to enter the pump from
the bottom.

Air Supply 450 KPa

The devices/valves used here are already discussed in the 6MW section.
This dust collector has eight chambers, a total of eight offline valves, three bypass valves, four
ash hoppers, four groups of electric heating and four groups of ash hopper air cannons.
The monitored control system has a Temperature+Timer control.

Turn on delay time of lift valve 12s

Interval time of pulse valve 10s
Inlet temperature high set 180oC
Inlet temperature low set 80oC
 Wartsila Multi-Fuel Power Plant

Background:
“Wartsila” is a Finnish corporation which manufactures and services power sources and other
equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wartsila include technologies
for the energy sector, including gas, multi-fuel, liquid fuel and biofuel power plants and energy
storage system.
Wartsila is a provider of power plants in distributed and flexible power generation.
Wartsila produces a wide range of medium-speed diesel, gas and dual- and multi-fuel engines for
marine propulsion, electricity generation on board ships and for land-based power stations.
A W20V34DF generator is installed at Nishat power plant. The Wartsila dual fuel engine is
designed for multi-fuel operation on gas or diesel. The operating mode can be changed while the
engine is running, within certain limits, without interrupting the power generation. If the gas
supply fails, the engine automatically transfers to diesel mode operation.
In gas operating mode the main fuel is natural gas which is injected into the engine at a low
pressure. The gas is ignited by injecting a small amount of pilot diesel fuel.
In diesel operating mode the engine operates only on liquid fuel oil. HFO is used as fuel with a
conventional diesel fuel injection system. The pilot injection is active in gas and diesel operating
modes. In backup operating mode, the pilot injection is not active.

Fuel System:
Since Wartsila 34df is a multi-fuel engine, therefore each fuel entering the system must meet the
prescribed requirements. The engine can be operated on LFO (light fuel oil), HFO (heavy fuel
oil) and Natural gas.
The specifications and characteristics of each fuel used in the engine are discussed below.

 Gas Fuel Specification:

As a dual fuel engine, the Wartsila 34DF engine is designed for continuous operation in gas
operating mode or diesel operating mode. For continuous operation in the rated output, the gas
used as main fuel in gas operating mode has to fulfill the below mentioned quality requirements:
Liquid Fuel Specification:
The fuel specifications are based on the ISO 8217:2017(E) standard.
The fuel shall not contain any added substances or chemical waste, which jeopardizes the safety
of installations or adversely affects the performance of the engines or is harmful to personnel or
contributes overall to air pollution.

 Liquid Fuel Oil Operation:

The fuel specification is based on the ISO 8217:2017(E) standard and covers the fuel grades
ISO-F-DMX, DMA, DFA, DMZ, DFZ, DMB and DFB.
The distillate grades mentioned above can be described as follows:
● DMX: A fuel which is suitable for use at ambient temperatures down to –15 °C without
heating the fuel. Especially in merchant marine applications its use is restricted to lifeboat
engines and certain emergency equipment due to reduced flash point.
● DMA: A high quality distillate, generally designated MGO (Marine Gas Oil) in the marine
field.
● DFA: A similar quality distillate fuel compared to DMA category fuels but a presence of
max. 7,0% v/v of Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) is allowed.
● DMZ: A high quality distillate, generally designated MGO (Marine Gas Oil) in the marine
field. An alternative fuel grade for engines requiring a higher fuel viscosity than specified
for DMA grade fuel.
● DFZ: A similar quality distillate fuel compared to DMZ category fuels but a presence of
max. 7,0% v/v of Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) is allowed.
● DMB: A general purpose fuel which may contain trace amounts of residual fuel and is
intended for engines not specifically designed to burn residual fuels. It is generally
designated MDO (Marine Diesel Oil) in the marine field.
● DFB: A similar quality distillate fuel compared to DMB category fuels but a presence of
max. 7,0% v/v of Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) is allowed.
  Heavy Fuel Oil Operation:
The fuel specification “HFO 2” is based on the ISO 8217:2017(E) standard and covers the fuel
categories ISO-F-RMA 10 – RMK 700. Additionally, the engine manufacturer has specified the
fuel specification “HFO 1”. This tighter specification is an alternative and by using a fuel
fulfilling this specification, longer overhaul intervals of specific engine components are
guaranteed.
HFO is accepted only for back-up fuel system.
The specifications for this fuel is given below:
Operating Principles:
Wartsila 34DF engines are usually installed for dual fuel operation meaning the engine can run
either in gas or diesel operating mode. The operating mode can be changed while the engine is
running, within certain limits, without interruption of power generation. If the gas supply would
fail, the engine will automatically transfer to diesel mode operation.

 Gas Mode Operation:

In gas operating mode the main fuel is natural gas which is injected into the engine at a low
pressure. The gas is ignited by injecting a small amount of fuel oil.

 Diesel Mode Operation:

In diesel operating mode the engine operates only on liquid fuel oil. LFO or HFO is used as fuel
with a conventional fuel injection system.

 Backup Mode Operation:

The engine control and safety system or the blackout detection system can in some situations
transfer the engine to backup mode operation. In this mode the LFO pilot injection system is not
active and operation longer than 30 minutes (with HFO) or 10 hours (with LFO) may cause
clogging of the pilot fuel injection nozzles.