Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments (JMERD) 42(4) (2019) 264-268

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and

Developments (JMERD)
ISSN: 1024-1752 DOI : http://doi.org/10.26480/jmerd.04.2019.264.268
CODEN : JERDFO

RESEARCH ARTICLE
ENERGY AUDIT OF SUBCRITICAL PLANT PERFORMANCE WITH DIFFERENT TYPES
OF SUBBITUMINOUS COAL
Nuraini A.A.1*, Salmi S.2, Hairuddin A.A.1

1Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2TNB Janamanjung Sdn. Bhd., Seri Manjung, Perak, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author Email: nuraini@upm.edu.my

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ARTICLE DETAILS ABSTRACT

The energy used and energy waste are calculating accordingly and presented to the financial terms. Having said that,
Article History: the energy audit is the activities of measuring the energy is being consumed and it also tells how efficiently and
effectively the energy is being used. In addition, the energy audit critically identifies various weak at the field and
Received 14 June 2019 becomes as a tools to inform the system to make and corrective actions, mitigation plant and the meantime monitor
Accepted 20 July 2019 the performance. For this study, many parameters and calculation involved in an energy audit such as superheated
Available online 11 September 2019
steam temperature, superheated steam pressure, boiler drum level and other for the subcritical plant. For the
condenser vacuum and condenser pressure, result shows within acceptance range which is between 65 to 95 bar.
Besides that, the generator performance which indicate through generator active power and generator frequency,
Hertz for all type of coal shows similar result which is within acceptable range. As a results, coal types D behave
similar performance compare with designed coal type A. Overall, the energy audit gives very good assessment and
valuable information on the plant performance and consequently depicts the plant life cycle.

KEYWORDS

Energy Audit, Subcritical Plant, Subbituminous Coal

1. INTRODUCTION 4. Medium-volatile bituminous 13840 32247

5. High-volatile bituminous A 13090 30499
In Malaysia scenario, most of the power generation significantly depends
on three fossil fuel sources, namely coal, natural gas and fuel-oil. Coal 6. High-volatile bituminous B 12130 28262
define as a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock with a 7. High-volatile bituminous C 10750 25047
high amount of carbon and hydrocarbons that is classified as a non-
renewable energy source because it takes millions of years to form [1]. The 8. Sub-bituminous B 9150 21319
same source also explained that coal is classified into four main types, or 9. Sub-bituminous C 8940 20830
ranks: anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite as in Figure 1.
The ranking depends on the types and amounts of carbon the coal contains 10. Lignite 6900 16077
and on the amount of heat energy the coal can produce. The rank of a coal
deposit is determined by the amount of pressure and heat that acted on Coal becomes the highest contributor of fuel sources as primary input for
the plants over time. power generation followed by natural gas in Malaysia [4]. The researcher
also mentioned that Malaysia has four coal-fired plants with installed
capacity of 15.4 GW at which Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), a state-
owned power company, is assigned to supply coals. Two of the plants-
Kapar and Janamanjung plants are owned by TNB where the other two are
independent power producers (IPP) namely Tanjung Bin and Jimah [4].
The power plant views that coal can offer higher economic benefit
especially when switching from burning bituminous to sub-bituminous
Figure 1: Type of coals coal to maximize the security of supply, most coal plant operator explore
From [2], coal rank increases as the amount of fixed carbon increases and coal source from various countries region [5]. Apart from the supply and
the amount of volatile matter and moisture decreases where sub- economic value of sub-bituminous coal, the effect on the boiler
bituminous coal is soft and black as shown in Figure 1 with energy density performance also needs to be investigated.
lower than bituminous coal, most common type for electricity generation.
From previous study [4] mentioned the impact of the various boiler
Coal with different specification will affect the boiler performance
parameters when firing different types of sub-bituminous coal, which is
abruptly during combustion [3]. The Engineering Tool Box has come out
not similar to the original boiler design. That is one of the stipulated
with coal categories with the heating value as show in Table 1.
reasons by [6], there is a need to measure and evaluate the boiler efficiency
Table 1: Coal categories [2] through energy audit on conversion of energy used to the financial term
where an energy audit is a technique for identifying energy losses,
No Coal Grade Heating value quantifying them, estimating conservation potential, evolving
technological options for conservation and evaluating techno economics
(Btu/lb) (kJ/kg) for the suggested measures that need to be implemented by the power
1. Anthracite 12910 30080 plant management team. In resolving this issues, according to [7],
managing the energy efficiency of the individual subsystem equipment is
2. Semi-Anthracite 13770 32084 essential where by introducing the energy audit it can balance the total
3. Low-volatile bituminous 14340 33412 energy inputs with its use and identify all energy streams in the power

Cite The Article: Nuraini A.A., Salmi S., Hairuddin A.A. (2019). Energy Audit Of Subcritical Plant Performance With Different Types Of Subbituminous Coal .
Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments, 42(4) : 264-268.
 Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments (JMERD) 42(4) (2019) 264-268

plant facility. This is because the activities on testing the boiler efficiency numerical plant performance data. The important parameters such as
indicate the combustion performance, optimum of operation, heat transfer main steam temperature, reheater steam temperature and the metal
process, effective maintenance activities, and the performance of boiler temperature were taken for analysis purposes. The spray water system is
over the time. For an example, there are two other causes which also lead used to control the temperature increase by reducing the temperature
to poor performance of boiler for example, the deterioration of fuel quality within the set limit; 540°C.
and water quality. Efficiency testing helps to observe, how far the boiler
deviates away from the best efficiency. During data collection, there are 6 unit stopwatches for recording the
exported power and 4 unit calibrated Resistance Temperature Detector
According to [8], the energy audit in analysing of boiler plant can be (RTD) for measuring condenser cooling water inlet temperature for each
measure through direct method and indirect method. The methods were steam turbine. The captured data was recorded in the log sheet and
referring to the standards for Boiler Testing at Site using indirect method presented in the checklist for energy audit assessment which comprise
namely British Standard, BS 845: 1987 and USA Standard is ‘ASME PTC-4- with 3 major areas such as boiler, turbine and condensate system and
1 Power Test Code Steam Generating Units as in [9]. The same researcher generator. The checklist was developed and applied during the energy
[8] mentioned that the method used energy balance sheet to compare the assessment audit for all types of coal. Checklist consists of boiler
efficiency and energy losses between the various components in Rankine parameters, turbine and condensate system parameters and generator
cycle such as heat exchanger, turbine, condenser, feed pump and overall parameters. In addition, the parameters checklist which consist of current
boiler. With regards to the energy analysis that can be conducted at power load setting, heat rate, milling parameters, cooling system is develop
generation plant, numerous energy assessments have been discussed during carrying out the activities.
among the researchers at various types of power plants. Most of the
researchers carried out the energy audit assessment to investigate the Table 2: Coal quality and characteristic
performance of the power plant, equipment availability and identification
Coal types A B C D
of energy losses sources such as in [10] and [11]. While [12] also adapting
energy audit in cement plant, other like [13] and [14] work on exergy Calorific value
4852 5013 5262 5410
analysis in solar-thermal power plant and lignite fired thermal power (kcal/kg)
plant respectively. %C 73.3 69.85 76.19 75.2
% H2 5.18 4.99 5.43 5.40
The parameter used for the energy audit and analysis is referred to the % N2 0.93 1.02 1.22 1.50
plant design before the commissioning period. Plant life cycle consist of % O2 20.43 20.33 16.17 17.21
equipment capability and reliability, financial model and condition base Ash 2.5 2.8 3.1 5.1
monitoring assessment as the factor should be considering before carry
Moisture 29.0 25.0 23.3 21.1
out the energy audit [15]. Most of the energy audit or namely as plant
energy assessment activities is decided by the authorities of the state and Sulphur 0.16 0.11 0.72 0.74
county such as in [16] where the study in tariff-based incentives given for HGI 47 54 45 44
improving coal-power-plant efficiencies in India. In Malaysia, the plant
assessment is carried out by referring to the requirement Energy 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Commission of Malaysia which is stated in Power Purchase Agreement
The units were maintained at full load condition throughout the test
(PPA) of the plant. For this study, a coal power plant in Manjung, Perak is
period. There were no interruptions or trips during the whole period of
used to carry out an energy audit in identifying the overall performance of
the test. As per requirement of the PPA the machine was run supplying its
the equipment in the power plant.
own auxiliaries and was isolated from all distribution board. During the
2. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY exercise, the data was taken and recorded for every 12 hours and the test
was carried out for four different types of coal. As mentioned before, the
The purpose of energy audit in the thermal power plant is to measure the parameters and calculation involved in an energy audit was superheated
auxiliary power consumption. Auxiliary consumption for the thermal steam temperature, superheated steam pressure, boiler drum level, the
power plant consists of boiler efficiency, equipment and machine power total steam flow for full load, generator frequency, generator active power,
consumption, air compressor efficiency, evaporation losses, blow down feed water flow, turbine speed and condenser inlet temperature and
consumption, sufficient of heat transfer and other relevant parameters condenser outlet temperature.
mentioned in [17, 18]. In this study, the parameter data of the plant
equipment was captured, recorded, evaluated and measured. The test The superheated steam parameter distribution is presented during
parameters consist of active power, exported power, power factor, analysis of the boiler parameters effects, and the figure below presents the
machine speed, frequency of the machine, feed water flow, condenser inlet superheated steam temperature for 12 hours for 4 days. Figure 2 describes
and outlet temperature, cooling water pump header pressure, the mean superheated steam temperature distribution for four different
temperature of the superheated steam, pressure of the superheated steam, types of coal. From the figure, an increase in inlet superheated steam
drum level, and steam flow quantities. temperature, an increase in superheat at constant inlet steam pressure
and condenser pressure gives steady improvement in cycle efficiency and
The test was conducted on the plant equipment using different types of lowers the heat rate due to the increase of mean superheated temperature.
coal. The loading for the steam turbine units was at full load operation and Raising the inlet superheated steam temperature also reduces the wetness
was fired with coal type A, coal type B, coal type C, and coal type D. The of the steam in the later stages of the turbine and improves the turbine
coal specifications are different between coal types. As required by the internal efficiency. However, the increase in steam temperature is limited
Energy Procurement Department of the plant, the total duration of the test by the properties of the construction materials of the boiler and turbines.
is 4 days. For sets of one-hour interval, test readings were taken during
each of this period for the purpose of calculation. All the parameters used In ensuring there was no effect of variation steam condition on thermal
during the energy tests were recorded annually using log sheets and efficiency of superheated steam power plant, the output of power
readings taken at Central Control Room (CCR). Condenser inlet and outlet generation is set at 690 MW. Consequently, there was a need for
temperature was recorded automatically using data logger at third second measuring the superheated steam pressure. The increase in superheated
interval. All tests readings were taken for every five-minute. For the steam pressure is limited by considerations of mechanical stresses and the
Export Power, the calculation made measured the energy integrated ensuing higher cost of equipment. Figure 3 shows that the superheated
between one-hour periods. steam pressure for different types of coal is about 177 bar in average. The
water forms superheated steam pressure at steam pressure of 177 bar and
In this plant, the boiler was fitted with seven mills where the corner-fired a temperature of 540C° in general.
boilers have burners at seven levels, each level served by one mill. The
mills were identified as numbers 10, 20, 30, 40 50, 60 and 70, starting from
the mill serving the lowest level of burners. The corners were identified as
numbers 10, 20, 30 and 40. For full-load operation, it is normal to operate
with six mills for sub bituminous coals and with five mills for bituminous
coals. Table 2 shows the coal quality determined by the laboratory section
before it is supplied to the power station coal yard. Example of Certificate
of Analysis (COA) of coal used for this study was attached in Appendix in
[2].

During the study, the boiler fired with the same coal for 5 days Figure 2: Mean superheated steam temperature for different types of
continuously without any interruption. Data was collected using the coal

Cite The Article: Nuraini A.A., Salmi S., Hairuddin A.A. (2019). Energy Audit Of Subcritical Plant Performance With Different Types Of Subbituminous Coal .
Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments, 42(4) : 264-268.
 Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments (JMERD) 42(4) (2019) 264-268
Figure 3: Superheated steam pressure for different types of coal
The feedwater flow was the measurement of feed water from the feed
water system to the boiler drum. The purpose of the measurement system
to indicate the amount of feed water required to form the steam condition
in the boiler drum. Figure 4 shows the feedwater flow for four different
types of coal. From the figure, there was different amount of feedwater
required to the boiler drum to form steam. The feedwater flow demand
was subjected to the generation load setting where high load required
more feedwater flow. Therefore, looking at the load pattern, the load nett
to the grid system was fluctuated between 1 to 2 MW and it results in the
feedwater fluctuation as well.
The measurement of drum level was to ensure safe boiler operation which
was critical to control the boiler operation. The drum level must be
controlled to the limits specified by the boiler manufacturer. If the drum
level does not stay within these limits, there may be water carryover. If the
level exceeds the limits, boiler water carryover into the superheated or the
turbine may cause damage resulting in extensive maintenance costs or
outages of either the turbine or the boiler. If the level is low, overheating
of the water wall tubes may cause tube ruptures and serious accidents,
resulting in expensive repairs, downtime, and injury or death to personnel.
Figure 4: Feedwater flow for different types of coal
According to [19], the tubes connected to the boiler drum were normally
defective due to rupture and crack. Due to that, there was inconsistency of
boiler drum position and affects the drum level. Drum level low incident
will occur where the water level was below the tube entry in the drum.
Boiler damage will happen accordingly. Figure 5 shows the boiler drum
level during the test for four different types of coal. The boiler drum level
is between -228 to -231 mm level and there was not significant effect
during the test period. The fluctuation of drum level is corresponding to
the feedwater system which the amount of water required to heat and
consequently perform amount of steam. Therefore, the boiler drum level
control system attached to this boiler is performing well and works
properly. In addition, the poor level control will effect on drum pressure
control. The water temperature going into the boiler drum through the
feedwater system is not equal to the existing water in the boiler drum.
Feeding of the water with high flow rate could reduce drum pressure and
cause boiler level shrinkage from the cooling effects. The phenomena
could be same as adding tap water into the pan which contains boiling
water. The heating process occur above the boiling point.
Basically, the control of the boiler drum level is to avoid the shrinking and
swelling effects to the boiler. The shrinking and swelling phenomena must
be avoided in order to properly control the boiler drum level. Besides that,
the drum level fluctuates because of inconsistency of boiler loading where
the different loading of the boiler is between 1 MW to 3 MW during normal
operation. In addition, the change of water density will affect the boiler
pressure change and cause shrinking and swelling to happen. The water in
the drum contains steam bubbles similar to when water was boiled in our
homes. During a rapid increase in load, a severe rise in level may occur
because of an increase in volume of the bubbles. The increasing of the
volume is the result of a drop in steam pressure from the load increase and
the increase in steam generation from the greater firing rate. In the
meantime, when firing rate increases which was regard to the load
demand, the bubbles start to expand and progressively form. In certain
cases, the water was carried over to the superheater tubes if the boiler
drum level too high and can cause tube defect. Moreover, the firing rate
cycle can result in drum pressure cycles. The drum pressure cycles will
cause a change in drum level.
As the costs of energy production rises, many companies are looking for
ways to increase efficiencies in their energy and power generation. As a
Cite The Article: Nuraini A.A., Salmi S., Hairuddin A.A. (2019). Energy Audit Of Subcritical Plant Performance With Different Types Of Subbituminous Coal .
Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments, 42(4) : 264-268.
result, more attention is being paid to steam flow measurement. Steam
flow measurement is important in this context because steam is widely
used as a source of power in the production of electricity. Commonly in the
thermal power plant, the monitoring parameters for the superheated
steam is the steam pressure, steam temperature and steam flow.
Fundamentally, steam was generated in boiler flows from the boiler drum
and passes through the turbine and flows to a condenser. The steam then
is converted to water so it can be reused as boiler feedwater. For this test,
the steam flow measures the superheated steam. The superheated steam
was produced once the temperature is above the boiling point. Figure 6
shows the superheated steam flow measurement for different types of
coal.
Figure 5: Boiler drum level measurement for different types of coal
Figure 6: Superheated steam flow for different types of coal
From the figures, the superheated steam flow is 2000 to 2200 tonne per
hour. Significantly, the high CV coal shows the less total steam flow
produced at the boiler with the same load output, 700 MW. Coal types D
with GCV of fuel 5410 kcal/kg formed less steam flow compared to the
others type of fuel. Then the superheated steam flow indicates the normal
flow to perform full load capacity, 700 MW. Therefore, the overall steam
energy accuracy was determined by combining the uncertainty of the flow,
temperature, and pressure sensors and calculation uncertainty.
Condenser pressure is an important parameter in a power plant especially
for a thermal plant. The condenser pressure was directly linked to the
amount of work done by the turbine which affects the output and hence
the efficiency of the overall cycle. By lowering the condenser pressure, the
steam is condensed at a lower pressure thus resulting in more expansion
through the turbine which increases the net work done by the turbine.
This can be visualized easily through the T-S diagram of the Rankine Cycle..
The condenser pressure was directly linked to the amount of work done
by the turbine which affects the output and hence the efficiency of the
overall cycle. By lowering the condenser pressure, the steam is condensed
at a lower pressure thus resulting in more expansion through the turbine
which increases the net work done by the turbine. This can be visualized
easily through the T-S diagram of the Rankine Cycle. Figure 7 shows the
condenser pressure for different types of coal during the test. Different
types of coal show different condenser pressure because it influences the
rate of heat transfer and consequently affects the thermal cycle efficiency.
The lower pressure at which steam condensate, the turbine work net will
increase and results in higher work output by the turbine. In mean time,
the cycle carries same work output and the efficiency of the cycle will
increase. Similarly, if the condenser pressure increases with less vacuum,
the steam will condense at a higher pressure resulting in less expansion
through the turbine resulting in decreased work output and lesser
efficiency. Figure 8 shows the condenser vacuum for different types of coal
during the test. The steam pressure in the last stage of the steam turbine
is very low after performing the work. To convert the steam flow to the
condenser into condensate (liquid/water) it is necessary that the pressure
be much lower in the condenser to make the steam flow to the condenser.
Therefore, vacuum was maintained in the condenser using either vacuum
pump or steam ejector.
Figure 7: Condenser pressure for different types of coal.
 Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments (JMERD) 42(4) (2019) 264-268
Figure 8: Condenser vacuum for different types of coal.
In addition, the heat available for conversion in a turbine was equal to the
difference between heat content in steam per unit mass at the inlet and
heat content in steam per unit mass at the outlet. The heat content in steam
per unit mass increases with rise in temperature and pressure and
decreases with lowering of the temperature and pressure. Therefore, a
lower pressure in the condenser which is the exit point for the steam
entering the system makes more heat available for conversion into
mechanical energy and thus increases the efficiency of a steam turbine.
The decrease mainly depends on the available cooling water temperature
and thus on the climatic condition of the place. A lower cooling water
temperature gives lower condenser pressure with high vacuum. It follows
that with identical steam conditions, cycle and similar equipment, the
thermal efficiency of a condensing steam power plant will be less in a
warm region than in a cold one. Figure 9 shows the condenser inlet
temperature for different types of coal where the reading is between 41℃
to 44℃ and in normal operation. The ambient temperature at the power
plant is consistently at 38℃. In addition, the temperature inlet shows on
the high site when using coal type B compared to other coals. The
condenser inlet temperature was influenced by the ambient temperature
and closely related to the cooling water system. Effective cooling water
system was needed to ensure sufficient heat transfer process in the
condensate system.
Figure 9: Condenser inlet temperature for different types of coal
Besides carrying out the measurement for condenser inlet temperature,
the researcher also carried out the measurement for condenser outlet
temperature. The condensate system was a closed circuit system and the
heat released during condensation is taken away by the cooling water
system. The heat transfer process improves the efficiency of the plant
where the condensate is delivered to the boiler for repeating energy
conversion, gaining heat energy as it passes through various heat
exchangers such as LP heaters, Deaerator, HP Heaters and other
supporting auxiliaries. Figure 9 shows the condenser temperature outlet
temperature for different types of coal.
From Figure 9 the condenser temperature outlet for different types of coal,
the condenser temperature outlet for coal type B is slightly higher
compared to other types of coal. However, the condenser temperature
outlet for all coal types is within the acceptance limit which is below 45⁰C.
Thus, it could be concluded that there was effective heat transfer process
during the conversion of heat energy. Considerably, there is only a small
difference between the condenser inlet temperature and condenser outlet
temperature for the condensate system and it’s indicate that the
condensate system performance is in good condition. Besides component
of the boiler and turbine components, the energy analysis also measures
and indicates the generator performance. Referring to the PPA
requirement, the test is required to measure the generator frequency and
generator active power during the energy test.
In addition, the study also conducted and calculated the power factor for
the generator because in power generation, the power factor is the energy
required to perform work. According to [20], the domain for electrical is
the electrical power which indicates the electrical energy conversion to
other energy forms in a period of time. In other words, the power factor is
the end product of a voltage drop across the element and current flowing
through it. The effective power factor is equal to 1.0 and if the power factor
value goes below 1.0, the power plant was required to work harder to
supply the actual power.
Typically, the increase of the size could affect the increase of cost to
carryover the extra current for an example like generator, conductors,
Cite The Article: Nuraini A.A., Salmi S., Hairuddin A.A. (2019). Energy Audit Of Subcritical Plant Performance With Different Types Of Subbituminous Coal .
Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments, 42(4) : 264-268.
transformer and switchgear. Due to that, the limit for power factor is set
up between 0.9 to 0.95 which is an impact to the minimum additional cost
that is paid by the customer. Therefore, the researcher carried out the
study to investigate the behaviour of the power factor in this power plant.
Measurement of the active power which indicated generator work load
was taken during the study. Figure 10 shows the generator active power
in MW units for fou different types of coal. From the figure, the
measurement for active power for all coal types is almost the same and not
much different. The figure also shows that the generator reactive power
was consistently the same during the test. Basically, the measurement was
done to determine the power factor of a load as one of the factors that
affect the efficiency of power transmission. For the record, this thermal
plant generator active power is designed with 802 MW which means the
maximum output for the generator can go up to 802 MW.
Figure 10: Generator active power for different types of coal
The output frequency of a generator was one of the important parameters
that determine the generator’s rating. The electrical output of the
generator must be maintained at a fixed frequency, 50 Hz or 60 Hz, to
match the output of a standard electrical grid or the frequency rating of
appliances. Referring to the PPA for this power plant, the power plant was
designated to perform 50 Hz frequency output. Compared to other
countries, the frequency is typically 60 Hz in the US and 50 Hz in Europe.
However, the frequency of the generator must come across to different
isolated sections of the same grid operating at different frequencies. Thus,
the setting of the generator frequency becomes essential to vary the
output frequency. The frequency of the generator must match the
appliances to be effective in the grid system. Figure 11 shows the
generator frequency for different types of coal used during the study.
Based on the finding of generator frequency for different types of coal, the
different coal characteristics used as a fuel does not directly affect the
generator frequency. The generator system for this thermal power plant
is well managed and in good operational control. According to the [21], the
changes in frequency will disturb the grid line and gives an impact to the
national grid. The disturbance and unbalance in the grid frequency can
affect to the governor valve and other plants which are connected to the
grid system.
Figure 11: Generator frequency for different types of coal
4. CONCLUSION
In general, the desuperheater system or namely as spray water system
was not recommended to be applied for controlling the RH steam
temperature during normal operation. For controlling the RH
temperature, a large volume of water is required for cooling the medium
and can cause negative implication to the tube performance, plant
performance in terms of efficiency and plant heat rate. Due to that, the
desuperheater system is the last protection on maintaining the
superheated steam and reheat steam temperature. Therefore, the
superheated steam and reheat steam temperatures should not be allowed
within the limit. Increasing the temperature beyond the rated value will
result in metallurgical problems and can change the tube material
behavior. Consequently, it will affect the performance of the superheater
tube, reheater tube and the other supporting components such as hanging
tube, supporting tube attached to the boiler. There were essential
activities to carry out the energy audit or namely as energy assessment. By
looking at the energy assessment result, coal type D better performance
compare with designed coal type A.
Coal type D present main superheated steam temperature at 540C° with
pressure 177.5 bar constantly. Coal type D with GCV 5410 kcal/kg
consume low ton of coal producing full capacity of the boiler 700MW
 Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments (JMERD) 42(4) (2019) 264-268
resulted less feedwater flow compared to other types of coal. For record,
coal type D only consumes less 2000 ton/hour. For the condenser vacuum
and condenser pressure, result shows within acceptance range which is
between 65 bar to 95 bar. Besides that, the generator performance which
indicates through generator active power and generator frequency, Hertz
for all type of coal shows similar result which is within acceptable range.
The energy assessment gives valuable information on the plant
performance and consequently depicts the plant life cycle. The energy
assessment could guide the industry on operation limit and directly
encourages the user for better improvement. Besides, the energy
assessment involves the PPA where plant performance must follow its
requirements.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Authors would like to thanks all related staff in this study at the site and
also guidance from supervisory committee in Universiti Putra Malaysia.
REFERENCES
[1] https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?
page=coal_home
[2] Nuraini A.A., Salmi, S., Aziz, H.A. 2018. Efficiency and Boiler
Parameters Effects in Subcritical Boiler with Different Types of Sub
Bituminous Coal Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions
of Mechanical Engineering, 3(11), 1
[3] Patel, C.T., Patel, B.K., Patel, V.K. 2013. Efficiency with Different GCV
of Coal and Efficiency Improvement Opportunity in Boiler International
Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology,
2(5).
[4] Samsudin, M.S.N., Rahman, M.M., Wahid, M.A. 2016. Power
Generation Sources in Malaysia, Status and Prospects for Sustainable
Development Journal of Advanced Review on Scientific Research, 25(1),
11-28.
[5] TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd. 2015. Coal Monthly Market Report August.
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), TNB Fuel Sdn Berhad.
[6] Hooda, A., Sharma, Y. 2015. Comprehensive Study on Energy Audit
of a Thermal Power Plant, International Journal of Enhanced Research in
Science Technology and Engineering, 4(7), 379-384.
[7] Sindhu, P., Arya, S. 2014. A Energy Audit of Thermal Power Plant,
International Journal of Exploring Emerging Trends in Engineering, 1(3),
1-6.
[8] Raviprakash, K., Sharad, C. 2012. Energy Analysis of Thermal Power
Plant, International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 3(7), 1
Cite The Article: Nuraini A.A., Salmi S., Hairuddin A.A. (2019). Energy Audit Of Subcritical Plant Performance With Different Types Of Subbituminous Coal .
Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments, 42(4) : 264-268.
[9] Bureau of Energy Efficiency 1. Energy Performance Assessment of
Boilers Increasing the efficiency of existing coal-fired power plants
Available at http://www.em-ea.org/guide%20books/book-
4/4.1%20boiler.pdf
[10] Abbi, Y.P. 2012. Energy audit: Thermal power, combined cycle, and
cogeneration plants, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
[11] Aljundi, I.H. 2009. Energy and exergy analysis of a steam power
plant in Jordan, Applied Thermal Engineering, 29(2), 324-328.
[12] Kabir, G., Abubakar, A.I., El-Nafaty, U.A. 2010. Energy audit and
conservation opportunities for pyro-processing unit of a typical dry
process cement plant, Energy, 35(3), 1237-1243.
[13] Gupta, M.K., Kaushik, S.C. 2010. Exergy analysis and investigation
for various feed water heaters of direct steam generation solar–thermal
power plant, Renewable Energy, 35(6), 1228-1235.
[14] Ganapathy,T., Alagumurthi, N., Gakkhar, R.P., Murugesan, K. 2009.
Exergy analysis of operating lignite fired thermal power plant, Journal of
Engineering Science and Technology Review, 2(1), 123-130.
[15] Anderson, S.T., Newell, R.G. 2004. Information programs for
technology adoption: the case of energy-efficiency audits, Resource and
Energy Economics, 26(1), 27-50.
[16] Chikkatur, A.P., Sagar, A.D., Abhyankar, N., Sreekumar, N. 2007.
Tariff-based incentives for improving coal-power-plant efficiencies in
India, Energy Policy, 35(7), 3744-3758.
[17] Kiran, K.C., Rao, S.G. 2013. Performance Analysis from the Energy
Audit Of A Thermal Power Plant, International Journal of Engineering
Trends and Technology, 4(6),
[18] Murehwa, G., Zimwara, D, Tumbudzuku, W., Mhlanga, S. 2012.
Energy Efficiency Improvement in Thermal Power Plants, International
Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, 2(1).
[19] Al-Awwad, M.Y. 2013. Experimental Investigation of Tube Rupture
Under Boiler Dynamic Operating Conditions, Master Thesis in King Fahd
University of Petroleum & Minerals.
[20] Ramli, N.M. 2015. Improvement of Power Factor in Renewable
Energy System Master Thesis in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia.
[21] Suruhanjaya Tenaga. 2016. Grid Code For Peninsular Malaysia
[Electricity Supply Act 1990 (Act 447)] Available at
https://www.gso.org.my/Home/AboutUs.aspx.