Steam Power Station (Thermal Station)

A generating station which converts heat energy of coal combustion into electrical
energy is known as a steam power station.
A steam power station basically works on the Rankine cycle. Steam is produced in
the boiler by utilising the heat of coal combustion. The steam is then expanded in
the prime mover (i.e., steam turbine) and is condensed in a condenser to be fed
into the boiler again. The steam turbine drives the alternator which converts
mechanical energy of the turbine into electrical energy. This type of power
station is suitable where coal and water are available in abundance and a large
amount of electric power is to be generated.

The Rankine cycle is an idealized 

thermodynamic cycle describing the process
by which certain heat engines, such as 
steam turbines or reciprocating steam engines,
allow mechanical work to be extracted from a
fluid as it moves between a heat source and 
heat sink
Advantages
(i) The fuel (i.e., coal) used is quite cheap.
(ii) Less initial cost as compared to other generating stations.
(iii) It can be installed at any place irrespective of the existence of coal.
The coal can be transported to the site of the plant by rail or road.
(iv) It requires less space as compared to the hydroelectric power station.
(v) The cost of generation is lesser than that of the diesel power station.
Disadvantages
(i) It pollutes the atmosphere due to the production of large amount of
smoke and fumes.
(ii) It is costlier in running cost as compared to hydroelectric plant.
BLOCK DIAGRAM OF THERMAL POWER STATION
The components used in thermal power
plant:
1) Boiler
2) Economizer
3) Superheater & reheater
4) Condenser
5) Chimney
6) Air Pre Heater
7) Turbine
8) Steam prime movers
9) Spray ponds &cooling towers
10)Feed water heater
Operation of following components:-
BOILER
Definition of Boiler
Steam boiler or simply a boiler is basically a closed vessel into which
water is heated until the water is converted into steam at required pressure.
This is most basic definition of boiler.

Working Principle of Boiler

The basic working principle of boiler is very very simple and easy to
understand. The boiler is essentially a closed vessel inside which water is
stored. Fuel (generally coal) is burnt in a furnace and hot gasses are
produced. These hot gasses come in contact with water vessel where the heat
of these hot gases transfer to the water and consequently steam is produced
in the boiler.
Then this steam is piped to the turbine of thermal power plant. There are
many different types of boiler utilized for different purposes like running a
production unit, sanitizing some area, sterilizing equipment, to warm up the
surroundings etc.
Steam Boiler Efficiency
The percentage of total heat exported by outlet steam in
the total heat supplied by the fuel (coal) is called steam
boiler efficiency.

                                                                                                       
                                  

It includes with thermal efficiency, combustion efficiency

and fuel to steam efficiency. Steam boiler efficiency
depends upon the size of boiler used. A typical efficiency
of steam boiler is 80% to 88%. Actually there are some
losses occur like incomplete combustion, radiating loss
occurs from steam boiler surrounding wall, defective
combustion gas etc. Hence, efficiency of steam boiler gives
this result.
Types of Boiler
There are mainly two types of boiler – water tube boiler and fire tube boiler.
In fire tube boiler, there are numbers of tubes through which hot gases are
passed and water surrounds these tubes.
Water tube boiler is reverse of the fire tube boiler. In water tube boiler the
water is heated inside tubes and hot gasses surround these tubes.
These are the main two types of boiler but each of the types can be sub divided
into many which we will discuss later.
Fire Tube Boiler
As it indicated from the name, the fire tube boiler consists of numbers of tubes
through which hot gasses are passed. These hot gas tubes are immersed into
water, in a closed vessel. Actually in fire tube boiler one closed vessel or shell
contains water, through which hot tubes are passed. These fire tubes or hot gas
tubes heated up the water and convert the water into steam and the steam remains
in same vessel. As the water and steam both are in same vessel a fire tube boiler
cannot produce steam at very high pressure. Generally it can produce maximum
17.5 kg/cm2 and with a capacity of 9 Metric Ton of steam per hour.
Types of Fire Tube Boiler
There are different types of fire tube boiler likewise, external furnace and internal
furnace fire tube boiler.
External furnace boiler can be again categorized into three different types-
•Horizontal Return Tubular Boiler.
•Short Fire Box Boiler.
•Compact Boiler.
Again, internal furnace fire tube boiler has also two main categories such as
horizontal tubular and vertical tubular fire tube boiler.
Normally horizontal return fire tube boiler is used in thermal power plant of low
capacity. It consists of a horizontal drum into which there are numbers of
horizontal tubes. These tubes are submerged in water. The fuel (normally coal)
burnt below these horizontal drum and the combustible gasses move to the rear
from where they enter into fire tubes and travel towards the front into the smoke
box. During this travel of gasses in tubes, they transfer their heat into the water and
steam bubbles come up. As steam is produced, the pressure of the boiler developed,
in that closed vessel.
Advantages of Fire Tube Boiler
It is quite compact in construction.
Fluctuation of steam demand can be met easily.
It is also quite cheap.
Disadvantages of Fire Tube Boiler
As the water required for operation of the boiler is quite large, it requires long
time for rising steam at desired pressure.
As the water and steam are in same vessel the very high pressure of steam is
not possible.
The steam received from fire tube boiler is not very dry.
Water Tube Boiler
A water tube boiler is such kind of boiler where the water is heated
inside tubes and the hot gasses surround them.
This is the basic definition of water tube boiler. Actually this boiler is just
opposite of fire tube boiler where hot gasses are passed through tubes which are
surrounded by water.
Types of Water Tube Boiler
There are many types of water tube boilers, such as
1. Horizontal Straight Tube Boiler.
2. Bent Tube Boiler.
3. Cyclone Fired Boiler.
1.Horizontal Straight Tube Boiler again can be sub-divided into two different
types,
I. Longitudinal Drum Water Tube Boiler.
II. Cross Drum Water Tube Boiler.
2. Bent Tube Boiler also can be sub divided into four different types,
III. Two Drum Bent Tube Boiler.
IV. Three Drum Bent Tube Boiler.
V. Low Head Three Drum Bent Tube Boiler.
VI. Four Drum Bent Tube Boiler.
Advantages of Water Tube Boiler
There are many advantages of water tube boiler due to which these
types of boiler are essentially used in large thermal power plant.
Larger heating surface can be achieved by using more numbers of
water tubes.
Due to convectional flow, movement of water is much faster than
that of fire tube boiler, hence rate of heat transfer is high which
results into higher efficiency.
•Very high pressure in order of 140 kg/cm2 can be obtained smoothly.
Disadvantages of Water Tube Boiler
The main disadvantage of water tube boiler is that
• it is not compact in construction.
•Its cost is not cheap.
•Size is a difficulty for transportation and construction.
 Fire Tube Boiler Water Tube Boiler
Differences between Fire Tube and Water Tube Boiler
1 The Hot flue gases flow inside the tube The water flow inside the tube and the hot
and water has surrounded the tube. flue gases have surrounded the tube.

2 This is heavy in weight. This is light in weight.

3 This is also called as internally firetube This one is called an Externally Firetube
boiler and boiler
4 Here the pressure is limited up to only In the water tube boiler the pressure around
20 bar but to 100 bar and more

5 The rate of Steam generation is Lower. The rate of Steam generation is

Why? because the pressure is limited to High. Why? because the pressure is
only 20 bar limited to 100 bar and more.

6 The explosion chances are less in a fire Here explosion chances are more because of
tube boiler because of low pressure. high pressure.

7 The overall efficiency is around 75 In the water tube, the overall

percent. efficiency is around 90 percent.
8 Efficiency is less compared to the Efficiency is more.
water tube.
9 Load fluctuations cannot be Load fluctuations can be handled
handled easily.
10 The direction of water circulation is The direction of water circulation in
not well defined in this boiler. a water tube boiler is well defined.
A definite path is provided for the
circulation of water.
11 This is not suitable for a large But It is suitable for Large Power
Power Plant. It is used for the Plant.
process industry
12 It is simple in design It is complex in design
13 A less skilled operator can work on But here it requires a more skilled
this boiler. operator
14 This is having a low maintenance But the Water tube boiler has High
cost. maintenance cost
15 Fire Tube Boiler example: Water Tube boiler example:
Cochran Boiler Benson Boiler
Cornish Boiler Lamont Boiler
Locomotive Boiler Babcock and Wilcox Boiler
Velcon Boiler Lamont Boiler
Simple Vertical and Loeffler boiler and
Scotch Marine Boiler. Yarrow boiler
The boiler mountings are fittings which are mounted on the boiler for its proper functioning.
Mountings are water level indicator, safety valve, pressure gauge, etc. It may be noted that a
boiler cannot function safely without the mountings.

Boiler Mountings
Following are the important boiler
mountings:
Water level indicator
Pressure gauge
Safety valve
Stop valve
Blow off
Feed check valve
Fusible plug

.
Water Level Indicator
It is an main fitting in the boiler, Water level indicator indicates the water level
inside the boiler. It is a safety device upon which safe working of the boiler
depends.
.Pressure Gauge
Pressure gauges are used to measure the pressure of steam inside a steam boiler. The
pressure gauge is fixed in front of a steam boiler.
Safety valves
These are the devices attached in the steam boiler for preventing explosions due to
excessive internal pressure of steam
The safety valve is an instrument which prevents the boiler pressure from rising
above its normal working pressure by automatically opening when the boiler pressure
exceeds the normal working pressure, Thus allowing excess steam to escape into the
atmosphere until the pressure comes down to its normal valve. Thus, a safety valve
ensures safety to a boiler from being damaged due to excessive steam pressure.

The safety valves commonly used are:

Deadweight safety valve,
Lever safety valve,
Spring-loaded safety valve,
Steam stop valve
The function of a stop valve is to control the flow of the steam from within the boiler
and to stop it completely when required. A stop valve or junction valve is used to
regulate the flow of steam from the boiler.

The valves mounted on the boilers, which change the direction of flow of steam by 90°
are called junction valves, while valves fitted in pipelines which allowing the steam in
the same direction are called stop valve.
Blow-off Valve
The function of a blow-off valve is to remove periodically the sediments
deposited at the bottom of the boiler while the boiler is in operation and to
empty the boiler while it is being cleaned or inspected

When the blow-off valve is opened the water which is under the pressure of steam,
rushes out with tremendous velocity thus carrying out the sediments along with it.
Feed Check Valve
When the level of water in the boiler falls, it is brought back to the specified level
by supplying the additional water called feed water. The pressure inside the boiler
will be high therefore the pressure of the feed water has to be raised by a pump
before it is fed into the boiler. The feed water under high pressure is fed into the
boiler through the feed check valve

The function of a feed check valve

is to control the flow of water
from the feed pump to the boiler
and to prevent the backflow of
water from the boiler to the pump
when the pump pressure is less
than the pressure or when the feed
pump ceases to work. Evidently
feed check valve is placed at the
boiler end of the delivery pipe of
the feed pump.
The plug is made up of tin or leads alloy, which has a low melting point. The
function of the fusible plug is to put-off the fire in the furnace of the boiler when
the water level falls below an unsafe level and thus avoids the explosion, which may
take place due to overheating of the tubes and the shell. It is fitted over the crown of
the furnace or the combustion chamber
The boiler accessories are the devices, which form an integral part of a boiler
but are not mounted on it. They include superheater, economiser, feed pump etc.
It may be noted the accessories help in controlling and running the boiler
efficiently

The essential boiler accessories are:

Economiser
Air pre-heater
Superheater
Feed pump
Steam Separator
Steam trap
Economiser
The combustion gases coming out of the boiler contain a large quantity of heat.
Therefore the maximum amount of heat from the gases should be recovered
before it escapes to the chimney.
Applications of Economizer
It is used in all modern plants. The use of economizer results in saving fuel
consumption, increases steaming rate and boiler efficiency.
Some of the common applications of economizer are given below:
•In steam power plants it captures the waste heat from boiler stack gases (flue gases)
and transfers it to the boiler feed water
•Air-side economizers HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Condition) can save
energy in buildings by using cool outside air as a means of cooling the indoor space.
•Refrigeration: This is commonly used in industrial refrigeration where vapor
compression refrigeration is essential. Systems with economizers aim to produce part
of the refrigeration work on high pressures, condition in which gas compressors are
normally more efficient.
 •Advantages and Benefits of Economizer
•The advantages of an economizer include:
•It recovers more heat of flue gases which normal air pre-heater can not do.
•Due increase in fuel prices, all power plants are facing pressure for increasing
boiler efficiency. So by using economizer, this pressure can be minimized.
•Power plants where it is not used, large quantity of water is required to cool
the flue gas before desulphurization which is minimized by using
economizers.
•The efficiency of power plant reduced when steam air pre-heater required
steam.
In the economiser, heating the feed water does the recovery of heat in the flue
gases. The economiser is placed in the path of the gases. They improve the
overall efficiency of the boiler by reducing fuel consumption
Types of Economizer
CI Gilled Tube Economizer
The gilled tube economizers are made up of cast iron which are fabricated using
graded cast iron fins, have following features,
High optimum efficiency due to proper contact of gills with tubes.
Commonly used in plants where intoxicated flue gas is generated due to the quality of
fuel burnt.
Round Gilled Tube Economizer
This is made by mild steel fabricated with square and round fins, welded on carbon
steel seamless tubes, have the feature,
Proper contact between the tubes and fins are ensured for optimum efficiency.
Coiled Tube Type Economizer
These are used mostly in thermal power plants and large processing units. These
coiled tube type Economizers are fabricated out of carbon steel seamless, have
following features,
These are very efficient in recovering the heat from gases.
Occupy very little space.
Horizontal Finned Tube Economizer
In this is carbon steel seamless tube sealed – welded with horizontal fins to make a
complete assembly of economizer for heat transfer, have following features,
Proper care is taken for making the contact of fins with tubes for perfect heat transfer.
These are used mainly used by Thermal Power Plants.
Types of Economizers Based on Boiler Efficiency
Non condensing Economizer
The most widely used one, in a thermal power plant is the non-condensing
economizer. These are basically heat ex-changer coils‚ that are finned around in the
form of a spiral and are located inside the flue gas duct near the exit region of the
boiler. They have the ability to reduces the fuel requirements of a boiler by
transferring heat from the exit flue gas to the steam boiler feed water. It is used in the
case of coal-fired boilers, where the lowest temperature to which flue gas can be
cooled is about 250o F (120oC).
You can well understand form the discussion above that, cooling the flue gas below
250o F and transferring that additional heat to the boiler feed water would have
resulted in greater efficiency, but in a coal fired power plant, this should not be done,
since coal as a fuel contains sulphur in a very large extent as impurity. And the flue
gas thus formed by burning this coal, results in the formation of sulphurous
compounds as by product.
Now if this flue gas is allowed to cool below 250o F, condensation of the gaseous
compounds result in the formation of sulphuric acid, which is considered extremely
corrosive against the metal surface. Since the installation and maintenance cost of a
power plant is huge, it is note-worthy that a non-condensing economizer be installed
to limit the cooling capacity of the flue gas to about 250 o F, i.e above the
condensation temperature and increase the overall boiler efficiency by about 3 to 6 %.
Condensing Economizer
The condensing economizers are mainly used in natural gas fired thermal power
plants, as they have the ability to improve the waste heat recovery by cooling the
flue gas below its condensation temperature, which is about 80 o F (25oC). This
particular variant of economizers result in greater efficiency of around 10 to 15%
and more economical operation as it reclaims both sensible heat from the flue gas
and latent heat by condensing water vapor present in the flue gas.
This is contradictory to the conventional non-condensing economizers as they
increase the efficiency to only about 5 %. But the condensing variant with greater
value of efficiency can only be used, when the flue gas does not contain any
sulphurous, nitrate or other corrosive compounds.
Air Pre-heater
The air preheater is an accessory that recovers the heat in the exhaust gas by
heating the air supplied to the furnace of the boiler. Supplying preheated air into
the furnace produces a high furnace temperature and accelerates the combustion
of the fuel. Thus the thermal efficiency of the plant will be increased.
•The advantages of air pre-heater are,
•Increase in the steam generation rate.
•Better combustion with less soot, smoke and ash, and
•Low-grade fuels can be used.

Superheater
The superheater is used in boilers to increase the temperature of the steam about
the saturation temperature.
The dry saturated steam generated in the boiler is passed through a set of
tubes placed in the path of the flue gases, in which it will be heated
further by the hot gas to increase its temperature about the saturation
temperature.
Reheater
Power station furnaces may have a reheater section containing tubes heated by
hot flue gases outside the tubes. Exhaust steam from the high-pressure turbine is
passed through these heated tubes to collect more energy before driving the
intermediate and then low-pressure turbines.

Feed Pump
A feed pump is a boiler accessory required to force the feed water at high pressure
into the boiler. Commonly used pumps are,
•Reciprocating pumps
•Rotary pumps
The reciprocating pumps are driven directly by coupling them to the steam engine.
The rotary pumps are driven by the steam turbines or by electric motors.
 Steam Prime Movers 
      The prime mover convert the natural resources of energy into power or
electricity. The prime movers to be used for generating electricity could be diesel
engine, steam engine, steam turbines, gas turbines, and water turbine.
Since we know that, a power plant generated a flow of mechanical or electrical
energy by means of generators. When coupling runs the generator, then the
generator is a prime mover.
In case of steam power plant, the prime movers is steam engine or steam turbine,
which is called, steam prime movers. Presently, the steam turbine has totally
replaced steam engine. The steam is generated in a boiler and is then expanded in
the turbine. The output of the steam turbine is utilized to run the generator. The fuel
used in the boiler is coal or oil.

 A working fluid holds potential energy as a pressure head and kinetic energy as a
velocity head. The fluid may be whether compressible or incompressible. Impulse
and reaction turbines employ different physical principles to use this energy.
Difference Between Impulse and Reaction Turbine

S.n Impulse Turbine Reaction Turbine

o
1. In an impulse turbine, the steam flows In the reaction turbine, first, the steam
through the nozzle and strike on the flows through the guide mechanism
moving blades. and then flows through the moving
blades.
2. Steam strikes on the buckets with The steam glides (सरकना) over the
kinetic energy. moving blades with both pressure and
kinetic energy.
3. During the flow of steam through During the flow of steam through
moving blades, its pressure remains moving blades its pressure reduces.
constant.
4. The steam may or may not be admitted The steam must be admitted over the
to the whole circumference. whole circumference.
5. The blades of impulse turbine are The blades of reaction turbine are not
symmetrical. symmetrical.
 6. While gliding over the blades the relative In reaction turbine, while gliding over
velocity of steam remains constant. the blades the relative velocity of steam
increases.
7. For the same power developed, the For the same power developed, the
number of stages required is less. number of stages required is more.
8. The direction of steam flow is radial to the The direction of steam flow is and axial
direction of turbine wheel. to the turbine wheel.
9. It requires less maintenance work. It requires more maintenance work.
10. It is suitable for low discharge. It is suitable for medium and high
discharge.
11. Pelton Wheel is the example of impulse Francis turbine, Kaplan turbine etc. are
turbine. the examples of reaction
turbine.
A spray pond is a reservoir in which warmed water (e.g. from a power plant) is
cooled before reuse by spraying the warm water with nozzles into the cooler air.
Cooling takes place by exchange of heat with the ambient air, involving both 
conductive heat transfer between the water droplets and the surrounding air and 
evaporative cooling . The primary purpose of spray pond design is thus to ensure
an adequate degree of contact between the hot injection water and the ambient air,
so as to facilitate the process of heat transfer.
The spray pond is the predecessor to the natural draft cooling tower, which is much
more efficient and takes up less space but has a much higher construction cost. A
spray pond requires between 25 and 50 times the area of a cooling tower. However,
some spray ponds are still in use today.
 cooling tower
A cooling tower is a heat rejection device that rejects waste heat to the atmosphere
 through the cooling of a coolant stream, usually a water stream to a lower
temperature. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove
process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or, in the
case of closed circuit cooling towers or dry cooling towers, rely solely on air to cool
the working fluid to near the dry-bulb air temperature using radiators.
Common applications include cooling the circulating water used in oil refineries, 
petrochemical and other chemical plants, thermal power stations, 
nuclear power stations and HVAC systems for cooling buildings. The classification is
based on the type of air induction into the tower: the main types of cooling towers are 
natural draft and induced draft cooling towers.
Cooling towers vary in size from small roof-top units to very large 
hyperboloid structures (as in the adjacent image) that can be up to 200 metres (660 ft)
tall and 100 metres (330 ft) in diameter, or rectangular structures that can be over 40
metres (130 ft) tall and 80 metres (260 ft) long. The hyperboloid cooling towers are
often associated with nuclear power plants,[1] although they are also used in some
coal-fired plants and to some extent in some large chemical and other industrial
plants. Although these large towers are very prominent, the vast majority of cooling
towers are much smaller, including many units installed on or near buildings to
discharge heat from air conditioning.
Condenser:
The condenser is nothing but a heat exchanger which is used to condensate the
exhaust steam comes from the turbine. 
Within this vessel, steam loses heat as soon as it is in touch with the cooling water
(either directly or via small tubes). 
Generally inside of a condenser is maintained at negative pressure or vacuum
pressure, as the steam comes from the turbine, has low pressure so to the easier
flow of steam into the condenser we need to maintain the condenser vessel at
lower pressure.
Hot Well:
It is a tank which stores the condensate which comes from the condenser, and
from here it is supplied to the boiler using a feedwater pump
Quality of fuel and its effect on quality of power generation

Thermal Power Plant

The thermal Power plant is a power generation station which burns fossil fuels
like coal, petroleum etc to produce electricity. It does so by utilizing the
chemical energy stored in the fuel, burning it and then converting it into
mechanical energy. This mechanical energy is utilized to operate an electrical
generator to generate electricity

Fuels
Coal
Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel on the planet, and widely used as the source
of energy in thermal power stations and is a relatively cheap fuel. Coal is an
impure fuel and produces more greenhouse gas and pollution than an equivalent
amount of petroleum or natural gas.
Types of coal found in India
Anthracite: It is the highest grade of coal containing a high percentage of
fixed carbon. It is hard, brittle, black and lustrous. It is found in smaller
quantity in regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
Bituminous: It is a medium grade of coal having high heating capacity. It
is the most commonly used type of coal for electricity generation in India.
Most of bituminous coal is found in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal,
Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.
Subbituminous: It is black in colour, dull (not shiny) and has a higher
heating value than lignite.
Lignite: It is the lowest grade coal with the least carbon content. It is found
in the regions of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Jammu & Kashmir.

Coal Reserves (in descending order):

Jharkhand
Odisha
Chhattisgarh
West Bengal
Madhya Pradesh
 Natural gas

Gas is a very common fuel and has mostly replaced coal in countries where
gas was found in the late 20th century or early 21st century, such as the US
and UK. Sometimes coal-fired steam plants are refitted to use natural gas to
reduce net carbon dioxide emissions. Oil-fuelled plants may be converted to
natural gas to lower operating cost.

Oil
Heavy fuel oil was once a significant source of energy for electric power
generation. After oil price increases of the 1970s, oil was displaced by coal
and later natural gas. Distillate oil is still important as the fuel source for
diesel engine power plants used especially in isolated communities not
interconnected to a grid. Liquid fuels may also be used by gas turbine
power plants, especially for peaking or emergency service. Of the three
fossil fuel sources, oil has the advantages of easier transportation and
handling than solid coal, and easier on-site storage than natural gas.
Effect of Fossil Fuels
The world’s power demands are constantly on the rise and are expected to
increase by 60% by 2030. There are 50,000 active coal plants worldwide
and growing. Fossil fuel share in energy production is also expected to
rise with 85% of the energy generated by fossil fuel by 2030. The
combined carbon emission of thermal power plants in the world is
enormous, almost twice the amount that can be removed from the
atmosphere through natural processes. Out of the three conventional
sources of energy, coal is the most inefficient and polluting. Our energy
needs are increasing at an alarming rate and the solution in sight is using
coal unreservedly. This will only lead to more problems and hence it is
imperative that we switch to less-polluting sources of energy.
Environmental Impacts
1. Air Pollution
There are several pollutants emitted into the air from a coal power plant. These include
Sulphur Dioxide (SO ), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Ozone
(O). Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Lead and Non-Methane Hydrocarbons are
also released.
Any combustion process is a source for production of NOx. They are formed during
combustion of the nitrogen present in the fuel and the oxygen present in the air. The
formation of NOx is greater with increase in the combustion temperature.
Further formations of major greenhouse gases Carbon Dioxide (CO ) - formed by CO
mixing with atmospheric oxygen - and Nitrous Oxide (NO) - formed by NOx combing
with atmospheric oxygen – also take place.
Similarly, SOx (Oxides of Sulphur) are the combination of sulphur in the fuel and the
oxygen from the air. Sulphur Dioxide (SO ) is a common pollutant from coal power
plants. Sometimes, due to excess oxygen, SO  is also formed, which mixes with the
water in the atmosphere, causing acid rain. SPM from coal power plants are mainly
soot, smoke and fine dust particles and these cause asthma and respiratory illness.  
2. Water Pollution
In a coal power plant, water is used for washing coal, circulating in the boiler
furnace to produce steam and cooling of equipment. The dust from coal-cleaned
water contaminates groundwater. The hot water, if let out into water bodies without
cooling, causes a rise in temperature and affects aquatic flora and fauna.
3. Land Degradation
Untreated air and water pollutants from coal power plants affect the water and the
flora and fauna of adjoining areas making them unfit for living or livelihood
activities.
​4. Noise Pollution
Regular exposure to such high noise levels emanating from power plants from the
usage of equipment like boilers, turbines and crushers, affects people working in the
plants