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Subject Code :

Q
1a)
i)

12160

WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

Page No : ____/ N

Pneumatic ash handling system is used for handling abrasive ash as well as fine dusty
materials such as fly ash and soot. This is suitable for boiler plants from which ash
and soot must be transported some considerable distance for final disposal.

02

The ash and dust from all discharge points are picked up by high velocity air stream
created by an exhauster at the discharge end. The ash collected in the ash hopper is
passed through the ash crusher into the air stream. The ash carried by the air is
separated into primary and secondary separators working on cyclone principle and is
collected in ash hopper. The clean air is discharged from the top of the secondary air
separator to atmosphere through exhauster. The exhauster may be mechanical I. D.
Fan, steam jet or water jet type. Mechanical exhauster is preferred where large
tonnage of material is to be conveyed.

02

ii)

Factors considered for site selection of steam power plant. ( Any four )
1. Availability of Coal : A thermal power plant of 400 MW capacity require 5000
to 6000 tons of coal per day. Therefore power stations are to be installed near
coal mines.
2. Distance from load centre : The power plant is to be situated near to load centre
( Industrial or Domestic ) to minimise transmission losses.
Page 1 of 19

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3. Ash disposal facility : For power plants, the quantity of ash handled is about
1500 to 2000 tons per day. The ash handling problem is more serious as ash is
hot and corrosive. The ash makes soil unfertile and fly ash causes health
problems. So, ash is to be mixed with water and slurry is to be dumped to
nearby barren land.
4. Space requirement : Nowadays space is costly. Power plants requires space for
coal storage, ash disposal, staff colony, market facility, power plants. So cheap
land is to be selected.
5. Availability of Water : Large quantity of water are required for condenser, for
disposal of ash, and feed water in the plant. Also drinking water for staff,
colony is needed. So plant should be near to river, pond, etc.
6. Transport Facility : Power plant should be connected to railway route, ship
route or land route. Also transport facility should be available.
7. Availability of Labour : Cheap labour should be available at nearby site of the
plant.
iii)

General layout of gas turbine power plant ( Equivalent figure should also be
given marks )

04

There are many sources of waste heat, which can be used as energy conservation.
iv)

04

a) The heat discharged in steam condenser cooling water which is about 50 to 60

percent of energy supplied to plant. It is dissipated to ocean, river, etc. Various
possibilities are being considered for making use of this heat.
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WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

12160

Page No : ____/ N

b) Fossil fuel can be utilised more efficiently, with less heat discharged for a given
total power output if steam turbine is preceded by another heat engine that operates at
a higher temperature. The heat discharged from the high temperature cycle would then
be used to generate steam for conventional turbine ( Topping Cycle )
The purpose of topping cycle is utilise high temperature heat and thus increase overall
thermal efficiency. There is corresponding decrease in the condenser cooling water
requirement for given power output.
The most topping cycle used are gas turbine, diesel engine, Potassium Vapour Cycle,
Magneto hydro dynamic conversion.
Q1b)
In the most cases, heat from waste hot stream is recovered either in sensible heat or
i)

latent heat form. In this case, the heat recovered from waste hot stream is used for
heating the air which can be used either for combustion or for winter air conditioning.
a) Sensible heat recovery : The gas-air heaters which are commonly used are of
counter flow type. The temperature variations of the fluids are shown in figure.

03

Thi
Thi

Tho

Tco

Tci

The transfer of heat depends upon ( Tho-Tci ) and ( Thi-Tco) values as Tho > Tci and
Thi > Tco are the necessary conditions for the heat transfer.
Q= mg cpg ( Thi-Tco) = U A ( T ) m
b) Latent heat recovery : This is the common method of heat recovery used for power
generation. Because, waste heat boilers can be found virtually in any size and in the
pressure range of 2 to 50 bars.
The advantage are
Page 3 of 19

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12160

WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

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1) This form of recovery is attractive when latent heat of working fluid is high.
2) A reasonable low temperature difference can be maintained even some percent
heat recovery is high.
3) The heat transfer coefficients of vaporising sides are very high.
4) The use of fluids with lower boiling point than water is possible to recover the
heat from low temperature streams.
ii)

Wind energy is used to run wind mill which in turn drives a generator to produce
electricity. A wind mill converts kinetic energy of moving air to mechanical motion
that can be used to run generator to produce electricity. If K is the fraction of free flow 02
wind power that can be extracted by rotor, is power coefficient.

P1- Power of wind

P2- Power available in the wind
The main components of wind power plant is as below
i) Wind turbine
ii) Generator
iii) Supporting structure

02

Wind turbine generators have been built having capacity ranging from kilo-watt to
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WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

Page No : ____/ N

few thousand Kw. Wind power have been successfully used for cooling homes, space
heating, operating irrigation pumps, etc.
Advantages of wind power plant:
1) Wind energy is free and inexhaustible and does not need transportation
2) Requires Less time for construction
3) Free from pollution
4) Less maintenance cost
Q2
a)

Energy generated/day =
(30x6) + (46x2) + (60x4) + (46x2) + (66x4) + (70x4) + (36x2)
=180 + 92 + 240 + 92 + 264 + 280 + 72
= 1220 Mwh

Page 5 of 19

02

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WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

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MD=70 Mw
02

Now there is single generator of 50 Mw capacity. So excess energy bought from state
grid is
( 60-50 ) x 4 + ( 66-50 ) x 4 + ( 70-50) x 4
= 40 + 64 + 80
= 184 Mwh
Generator generates ( 1220-184 ) = 1036 Mwh Units in 24 Hours

Max. Demand on generator = 50 Mw

02

Energy Purchased from grid = 184 Mwh / day

02

= 0.8633
b)

Necessity for feed water treatment.

02

02

Natural water supplied has solid, liquid and gaseous impurities and as such this water
cannot be used for generation of steam in boiler. There impurities are required to be
removed.
The various impurities are :
i) Dissolved salts as carbonate, Sulphate, Chlorides, Calcium, etc.
ii) Dissolved gases such as CO2 , O2 , SO2 , etc.
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WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

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iii) Minerals acids.

iv) Suspended matter such as Aluminum, Silica, etc.
If water with above impurities is supplied to boiler, it is harmful. These impurities
may cause scale formation, corrosion, foaming and priming and embrittlement.
(Appropriate explanation (03 marks) of any one of the following with neat sketch (03
marks)should be given
Methods for feed water treatment are :
1) Mechanical Treatment :

2) Thermal Treatment :

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WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

3) Ion Exchange :

4) Blow down :

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Subject Code :
c)

12160

WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

Page No : ____/ N

Advantages of pulverized coal system:

1) It becomes easy to burn wide variety of coal. Low grade coal can be burnt
easily.

04

2) Powdered coal has more heating surface. They permits rapid and high
combustion.
3) Powdered requires low percentage of excess air.
4) By using powdered coal, fuel amount can be easily varied for fluctuating load.
5) It is free from clinker trouble.
6) It can utilize highly preheated air for rapid combustion.
Pulverized system : (Any one of the following )

04

Unit system

Bin or central system

Page 9 of 19

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Subject Code :

12160

WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

Q.3

Compare gas turbine plant with diesel engine power plant (Any four points )

a.

Gas Power Plant-

b.

1) Less vibrations hence perfect balancing is possible

2) Mechanical efficiency is high up to 90%
3) Continuous power developing hence torque characteristics are better
4) Work developed per kg of air is more
5) Less weight per HP
6) Running speed is very high
7) Lubrication and ignition is simple
8) Specific fuel consumption is constant
9) Installation and maintenance costs are less
10) free from smoke
Diesel Power Plant
1) More vibrations hence balancing is a difficulty
2) Mechanical efficiency is low up to 80%
3) torque characteristics are not uniform
4) Work developed per kg of air is less
5) More weight per HP and hence space required is more
6) Running speed is very low
7) Lubrication is a difficult task
8) Specific fuel consumption is not constant
9) Installation and maintenance costs are high
10) More smoke
Advantages of tidal power plants (Any two)
1) No land required
2) Free from pollutions as no fuel is used
3) Certainty of power supply as not dependant on rain.
4) No unhealthy waste like gas and ash.
5) Totally independent on natures cycle of rainfall
6) Fish farming is possibility in tidal basins
Disadvantages of tidal power plants (Any two)
1) Possible only when Natural sites are available
2) Away from load centers
3) Supply of power is not uniform
4) Capital cost is considerably large
5) Sedimentation and siltration of basins add problems
Page 10 of 19

Page No : ____/ N

01 for
each

01 for
each

01 for
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Subject Code :

12160

WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

Page No : ____/ N

6) Navigation is obstructed
7) Has not proved economical.

Q.3
c.

Q.3

Layout of small Hydro Power Plant

Rankine cycle

04

P-V diagram 02 Marks and T-S diagram 02 Marks

d.

Page 11 of 19

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12160

WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

Comparison of PWR and BWR

Q.3
e.

Q.4
a.
(i)

( Any two )

Pressurized water reactor

The coolant is not permitted to boil in
the core of the PWR.
In a PWR the heat from the reactor is
passed through a boiler to generate
steam which goes to the turbine that
drives the electrical generator. This is
called an indirect cycle.
The pressure in a pressurized water
reactor varies from the primary to the
secondary system.

Page No : ____/ N
02 Marks for each

Boiling water reactor

The coolant is permitted to boil in the core
of the BWR.
In a BWR the steam generated in the
reactor core is taken straight to the turbine,
without the use of an intermediate boiler.
This is known a direct cycle.
The boiling water reactor operates at
constant pressure.

Nuclear reactors are classified on the following basis (Any four)

01 for
each

1. On the basis of neutron energy

a) fast reactors
b) thermal reactors
2. On the basis of fuel used
a) Natural fuel type
b) Enriched fuel type
3. On the basis of moderator used a) Water moderated
b) Heavy water
moderated
c) Graphite moderated
d) Beryllium moderated
4. On the basis of coolant used
a) Gas cooled
b) water cooled
c) liquid cooled
5. On the basis of core used
a) Homogeneous
b) Heterogeneous
6. On the basis of purpose
a) Research b) Power
c) Breeder
d) Production
7. On the basis of core construction
a) Cylindrical b) Cubical
c) spherical
d) Octagonal
Environmental impact of gas turbine power plant

( ii )

01
Environmental impact is a creation of new environmental conditions adverse or
beneficial caused by the generation of power.
Gas turbines impact assessment is not difficult as most important is gaseous pollution 01
and its impact on human health is micro scale and on ecology in macro scale. The major
pollutants from the combustion process in the gas turbine are NOx, SO2, HC and CO.
Out of these NOx and SO2 are of main concern. The concentration of the above
pollutants is directly related to temperature, time, turbulence air fuel ratio and design of
combustion chamber
02
CO and HC : CO is formed due to insufficient residence time in primary zone and
inadequate missing of fuel and air and over rich combustion produces high local
concentration of CO. It is possible to reduce CO by staged admission of additional air
downstream of primary zone
NOx : it is formed by oxidation of atmospheric N2 in high temperature regions of flame .
Page 12 of 19

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WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

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It is a major cause of photo chemical smog. Irritating and harmful oxides are formed by
NOx. . Fresh water gets acidified and thus disturbs the aquatic life and agricultural life
cycle
SO2 Green plants life is far more sensitive to SO2. Events of acid rains in some areas is
also the cause of SO2.

( iii )

Electrostatic Precipitator are extensively used in removal of dust and fly ash from
electric utility boiler emission in thermal power plants. Figure shows the working
principle of Electrostatic Precipitator. The dust laden gas is passed between oppositely 02
charged conductors and it becomes ionized as the voltage applied between the
conductors is sufficiently large. As it moves both negative and positive ions are formed
the latter being as high as 80%. The ionized gas is further passed through the collecting
unit which is a set of vertical metal plates where the electrostatic field exerts a force on
positively charged dust particles and drives them to grounded plates. The dust particles
are removed from plates by giving shaking motion to the plates.

02 Marks

Electrostatic Precipitator

iv)
Breeder type reactors in nuclear power plant.

02 Marks

In fast breeder reactor, an enriched uranium or plutonium is kept in the casing without
moderator. The casing is surrounded by fairly thick blanket of depleted fertile uranium. The
ejected excess neutrons are absorbed by the fertile blanket and it converts into fissile material.
The heat produced in the reactor core is carried by liquid metal. The major advantage of breeder
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WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

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is at high energies, the structural materials of the reactor do not absorb neutron therefore a wide
choice of constructional material is possible. Helium is used as a coolant in breeder reactors.
02 Marks for figure

Following are the main components of the nuclear reactor.

Q4
b)
i)

a) Nuclear fuel
Reactor vessels

( Any four )

b) Moderator
c) Control rods d) Reflector
f) Biological shielding g) Coolant

02
e)

Coolant: The main purpose of the coolant in the reactor is to transfer the heat produced inside
the reactor. The same heat carried by the coolant is used in the heat exchanger for the
further utilization in the power generation. The coolant should not absorb the neutrons. It 02
should have high chemical and radiation stability should be non corrosive, high boiling point
and should be non oxidizing and non toxic. The coolant not only carried large amounts of heat
but also keeps the fuel assemblies at a safe temperature to avoid their melting and
destruction.
02
Moderator: It is a material which reduces the kinetic energy of fast neutron to slow neutron
and this is done in a fraction of second. It increases the probability of fission chain reaction in
the reactor. H2, N2, D2, O2, C and Be reduces the kinetic energy. The graphite, Heavy water or
Page 14 of 19

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WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

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beryllium can be used as moderator with natural uranium.

ii)

Characteristics of gas turbine fuels:

a) Volatility: It has a major effect on starting and combustion efficiency of the engine. The 04
volatility of the fuels should be such that it is conductive to a quick and successful restart in air
crafts.
b) Combustion products: They should not be in the solid form as they deposit on the
combustion chamber and turbine blades
c) Energy contents. Fuels should have greater heating value for less consumption.
d) Lubricating properties: They should be able to lubricate the parts.
e) Availability: The fuels should be available in large quantities so that it is cheaper.
Following fuels are used in the gas turbine power plants:
a) Natural gas b) Blast furnace gas c) Producer gas
d) coal gas
e) pulverized coal 02
f) Methane
g) ethane
h) propane
i) octane

Q
5
a)

Combustion chamber of gas turbine : Figure shows the combustion chamber of the gas
turbine. Nearly 15 to 10% of the total air is passed around the jet of fuel producing rich 02
mixture in the primary zone. This mixture burns continuously in the primary zone and
produces high temperature gases. About 30% of the total air is supplied in the secondary
zone through the annuals around the flame tube to complete the combustion. The secondary
air must be admitted at right in the combustion chamber which helps to complete the
combustion as well as helps to cool the flame tube. By inserting a bluff body in main stream, a
low pressure zone a created down stream side which causes the reversal of the flow along the
axis of the combustion chamber to stabilize the flame

02

Combustion chamber of gas turbine

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Subject Code :
b)

c)

d)

12160

WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

Page No : ____/ N

Major electrical equipment used in power plant are busbars, circuit breakers, transformers, 02
and controlling switch boards.
02
The functions performed by the switchgear are
(Any two )
i) The faults are localized and the faulty plant is automatically disconnected from system
by the operation of protective equipments
ii) To break short circuit without giving rise to dangerous conditions
iii) To facilitate redistribution of loads, inspection and maintenance on the system.
02
Prediction of load: Prediction of load is carried out for the prediction of energy required
in future. It is carried out by the following methods
i) Load survey ii) Method of
extrapolation
iii) Mathematical methods iv) Mathematical method using economic
parameters.
In load survey; methods loads are grouped under different categories such as residential
02
or domestic, commercial, industrial etc. Detailed information category wise is collected
to estimate the demand, duration and time of occurrence of load and energy
requirements. In extrapolation yearly increase is estimated statistically. By curve fitting
techniques mathematically energy consumption for past several years is studied

Advantages of Ideal reheating process: All superheat is not possible in one stage due 02
to metallurgical condition. Reheating is essential to decrease heavy blade erosion and
use of superheat in modern power plants.
i) It reduces fuel combustion and hence reduction in fuel handling.
ii) It reduces the power required in boiler, turbine and feed heating equipments.
iii) Wetness of steam is reduced hence reduction in exhaust blade erosion.
iv) Less costly materials can be used
v) Condenser size is reduced
vi) Size of low pressure turbine is reduced.
02

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MAHARASHTRA STATE BOARD OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION

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Subject Code :
e)

12160

WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

Page No : ____/ N

Magneto Hydro Dynamics power plant (MHD): The principle of MHD is based on 02
Faradays law of electromagnetic induction which states that a changing magnetic field
induces an electric field in any conductor located in it. The various components of MHD
Generator are shown in figure. The hot ionized gas passes between the poles of an
electromagnet and induces a potential difference between a pair of electrodes which are
at right angles to magnetic field and a current starts following in the resistive load
connected between electrodes. The ionized gas has high temperature and pressure and
after passing through MHD generator it is passed through a generator where energy is
added to it.

02

f)
Use of waste heat for aqua cultural purposes: The fish species are intensively cultivated in 04
controlled environments. In a pond with supplemented feeding , the yield increases. In a
pond with phosphorous fertilizer. Most impressive is running water with intensive feeding as
used in Japan which gives increased yield. Dissolved O2 and nutritional adequacy are some of
the factors in addition to temperature for their growth rate.
Q6

The general criteria for site selection of Nuclear power plant are as follows. (Any four )

a)

i) Availability of water: Ample quantity of water should be available for the condenser cooling
and make up water required for steam generation
ii) Distance from load centre. The plant should be located near the load centre. This will 01
for
minimize the power losses in transmission lines.
each
iii) Distance from populated area: The plant should be located far away from populated are to
avoid the radioactive hazard
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b)

12160

WINTER 12 EXAMINATION
Model Answer

Page No : ____/ N

iv) Accessibility to site. The site should have rail and road transportation facilities
v) Waste disposal: The waste of nuclear power plant is radioactive and there should be
sufficient space near the plant site for the disposal of wastes.
Advantages of regenerative cycles
02
i)
By using regenerative heat cycles there is a reduction in fuel consumption
ii)
Regenerative cycles increase the thermal efficiency of the plant
Disadvantages of regenerative cycles
02
i)
By regeneration the cost of the plant increases
ii)
The maintenance cost is also increases.

c)
Two feed water heater Regenerative cycle
In regenerative cycle condensate after leaving the pump circulates around the turbine casing 02
counterblow to the direction of vapour flow in the turbine. Thus it is possible to transfer heat
from the vapour as it flows through the turbine to the liquid flowing around the turbine.
Figure shows regenerative cycle with two feed water heater used in thermal power plant.
The amount of steam m1 and m2 extracted from the turbine are such that at the exit from
each of the heater, the state is saturated liquid at the respective pressures.

02

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Model Answer

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d)
Waste disposal in Nuclear power plant. Waste disposal problem is a common in every
02
industry. Wastes from atomic energy installations are radioactive, create radioactive hazard
and require strong control to ensure that radioactivity is not released into the atmosphere to
avoid atmospheric pollution.
The disposal of waste is done in two ways i) Dilution : The liquid wastes are diluted with
larger quantities of water and then released into the ground. This method has a drawback
02
that there is a chance of contamination of underground water if the underground water if the
dilution factor is not adequate
ii) Concentration to small volumes and storage . In this
method liquid wastes are concentrated to small volumes and stored in underground tanks.
The tanks are having enough strength and leakage should not take place through the tanks
e)
Reduction of quantity of SO2 produced during combustion of fuel in steam power plant is
utmost necessary to prevent the emission of sulphur into atmosphere as it is harmful to the 04
health. There are two basic approaches to the problem. First to remove sulphur compounds
from the fuel before burning and second to remove SO2 from flue gases. Wet scrubbing, Solid
absorbent and catalytic oxidation are the three processes used to remove SO2 from the flue
gases leaving the boiler. It has been found that to remove sulphur from flue gases instead of
removing sulphur from coal is more economical. Newly developed method of hydrogen
treatment reduces the sulphur content. It converts sulphur to hydrogen sulphide which is
then isolated by absorption in suitable chemicals.

Page 19 of 19