High pressure multi fuel fired boilers for co-generation.

AN EVER widening gap between power generation and its growing demand, as well as the problems concerning the steady decline of non renewable energy resources, has been a major cause of worry, not just for India but for many countries around the world. Depletion of fossil fuels, environmental concerns and the opportunities presented for carbon trading between developed and developing countries under the Kyoto Protocol have added to the importance of Green Power. The cane sugar factories, which have been generating power only for captive use by burning bagasse during the crushing season, have taken this as an opportunity to strengthen their revenue stream by producing power on a year round basis and trading in carbon credits. This has been achieved by adopting more efficient power cycles using high pressure and high temperature boilers along with high pressure feed water heaters and extraction cum condensing steam turbines. This paper reviews the advantages of using high pressure co-generation boilers in the sugar industries with higher power output, improved cycle heat rate and lower bagasse consumption. The multi-fuel firing capacity in the boilers enables the power plant to operate on alternative fuels during the off-season when the bagasse is fully consumed. The high pressure co-generation boilers thus ensure year round operation with high availability. The paper also discusses the unique features of high pressure boilers for ensuring high uptime, enhanced life, ease of operation and maintenance, high efficiency, low power consumption and environment friendliness. Salient performance data of one of the operating high pressure boilers is also highlighted in Table 4.