Generating Steam in the Power Plant

Course Number: 112

This course covers energy principles and boiler maintenance. It explains coal, oil, and natural gas combustion, and how to conserve energy through improved combustion control.

Recommended Contact Hours - 10

Chapter 1: Transforming Energy into Work

Topics: Energy and matter; Fuels; Combustion; Temperature and pressure; Heat transfer; Sensible and latent heat; Enthalpy

Learning Objectives:

• Define energy and describe the main forms of energy encountered in a power plant.
• Explain the process of combustion and list the three elements necessary for combustion to occur.
• Explain the principles of temperature and pressure measurement and describe the four scales on which temperature is measured.
• Describe the methods of heat transfer and the types of effects heat transfer can have on a material.
• Summarize the interrelationship of temperature, volume, and pressure in a gas.

Chapter 2: Boiler Operation

Topics: Types and characteristic of boilers; Water treatment; Boiler and cooling tower blowdown; Wastewater disposal; Thermodynamic efficiency

Learning Objectives:

• Compare the two basic types of boilers.
• Describe the characteristics by which boilers are classified.
• Explain the different processes by which water is treated for use in a boiler.
• Define blowdown and explain its importance in boiler operation.
• List the problems associated with wastewater disposal and describe how these problems are overcome.
• Describe the factors that affect boiler efficiency, as well as auxiliary equipment efficiency.
• Calculate thermodynamic efficiency.
• List practices that aid in energy conservation in all areas of the power plant.

Chapter 3: Boiler Maintenance

Topics: Soot and scale removal; Corrosion; Calibration; Cleaning; Maintaining auxiliaries; Valves; Piping; Pumps; Fans; Controls; Stacks and cyclones

Learning Objectives:

• Explain how the two types of sootblowers remove soot and slag from heat exchange surfaces.
• Describe how scale forms on boiler surfaces and list the three common removal methods.
• Explain why both hot-end and cold-end corrosion occur in a boiler, and tell what practices help prevent corrosion.
• Describe how refractory should be maintained and list the problems that can occur if it is not properly maintained.
• List the primary functions of boiler control systems and describe the three common types.
• Explain how to calibrate and clean boiler control systems and maintain compressed air systems.
• Summarize maintenance procedures for boiler auxiliaries such as pumps, valves, motors and electric circuits.

Chapter 4: Combustion and How It Works

Topics: Coal, oil and natural gas; Chemistry and efficiency of combustion; Burners; Flame color and adjustment; Coal firing; Ash analysis

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the different ranks of coal and describe how the makeup of coal affects its heating value.
• List the properties that are tested in a coal analysis.
• Summarize the properties of oil and natural gas fuels.
• Explain the combustion process in detail.
• Describe how to interpret and adjust a flame's characteristics in coal, oil, and gas burners.
• Describe the three types of coal firing systems.
• List the ways in which combustion efficiency is measured.

Chapter 5: Steam Generation

Topics: Temperature/pressure/volume relationships; Superheating; Boiler water circulation; Conserving energy; Blowdown; Makeup water

Learning Objectives:

• Trace the flow of water and steam through the boiler system.
• Explain the relationship between temperature and pressure and explain why superheated steam has a higher quality than saturated steam.
• Read a steam table properly and apply its information to a boiler system.
• Compare natural circulation boilers with forced circulation boilers, and explain how pressure and temperature affect the type of boiler used.
• Describe the process of operating a high-pressure boiler at low pressure.
• Describe how proper maintenance of steam traps, valves, packing, flanges, and insulation improve the energy conservation rate in a boiler system.