Capacity Mapping for Optimum

Utilization of Pulverizers for Coal

Chittatosh Bhattacharya
National Power Training Institute,
Eastern Region,
Durgapur-713216, West Bengal, India
e-mail: chittatosh_bhattacharya@rediffmail.com
Fired Boilers
Pulverizers play a pivotal role in coal-based thermal power generation. Improper coal
fineness or drying reflects a qualitywise deterioration. This results in flame instability,
unburnt combustible loss, and a propensity to slagging or clinker formation. Simulta-
neously, an improper air-coal ratio may result in either coal pipe choking or flame
impingement, an unbalanced heat release, an excessive furnace exit gas temperature,
overheating of the tube metal, etc., resulting in reduced output and excessive mill rejects.
In general, the base capacity of a pulverizer is a function of coal and air quality, condi-
tions of grinding elements, classifier, and other internals. Capacity mapping is a process
of comparison of standard inputs with actual fired inputs to assess the available standard
output capacity of a pulverizer. In fact, this will provide a standard guideline over the
operational adjustment and maintenance requirement of the pulverizer. The base capacity
is a function of grindability; fineness requirement may vary depending on the volatile
matter (VM) content of the coal and the input coal size. The quantity and the inlet
temperature of primary air (PA) limit the drying capacity. The base airflow requirement
will change depending on the quality of raw coal and output requirement. It should be
sufficient to dry pulverized coal (PC). Drying capacity is also limited by utmost PA fan
power to supply air. The PA temperature is limited by air preheater (APH) inlet flue gas
temperature; an increase in this will result in efficiency loss of the boiler. Besides, the
higher PA inlet temperature can be attained through the economizer gas bypass, the
steam coiled APH, and the partial flue gas recirculation. The PA/coal ratio, a variable
quantity within the mill operating range, increases with a decrease in grindability or
pulverizer output and decreases with a decrease in VM. Again, the flammability of mix-
ture has to be monitored on explosion limit. Through calibration, the PA flow and effi-
ciency of conveyance can be verified. The velocities of coal/air mixture to prevent fallout
or to avoid erosion in the coal carrier pipe are dependent on the PC particle size
distribution. Metal loss of grinding elements inversely depends on the YGP index of coal.
Besides that, variations of dynamic loading and wearing of grinding elements affect the
available milling capacity and percentage rejects. Therefore, capacity mapping is neces-
sary to ensure the available pulverizer capacity to avoid overcapacity or undercapacity
running of the pulverizing system, optimizing auxiliary power consumption. This will
provide a guideline on the distribution of raw coal feeding in different pulverizers of a
boiler to maximize system efficiency and control, resulting in a more cost effective heat
rate. DOI: 10.1115/1.2955563

Keywords: pulverizer, capacity factor, pulverizing capacity, coal drying capacity,

fineness, coal moisture, grindability index, capacity mapping

1 Introduction
In the electric power business, cost effective generation with a
high availability factor has always been an important issue 1,2.
In 2005, about 40.3% IEA 3 of the global power generation is
met by coal fired thermal power generation. In India, coal fired
thermal power plants contribute about 73% of the total installed
capacity of power generation.
The PC-firing system is the most adopted technology in coal
fired thermal power plants, particularly for higher capacity units.
Therefore, a pulverizer plays a pivotal role in the power genera-
tion process. For any PC-fired thermal power generating system,
the design and selection of a pulverizer are on available grade or
quality of coal. The quality and quantity of PC to be fed to the
Contributed by the Fuel Combustion Committee of ASME for publication in the
JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESOURCES TECHNOLOGY. Manuscript received February 8, 2008;
final manuscript received April 2, 2008; published online August 11, 2008. Review
conducted by Srinivas Katipamula. Paper presented at the ASME Power 2006
PWR2006, Atlanta, GA, May 24, 2006.
furnace depend on the mode of furnace control and steam genera-
tion demand. Up to a certain extent, the variation in the quality of
input raw coal is taken care of by the factor of safety in design.
However, often the variation beyond acceptable limits results in
variation in the quality and quantity of PC output.
As such, capacity mapping is a mechanism by which we can
assess the available capacity in terms of the quantitative output of
required quality while there is a variation in process inputs from
the usual design conditions and limitations. The main objective of
capacity mapping is to optimize the utilization of any equipment
based on the manufacturers recommended typical conditions of
input/output. For this, the maximum operating capacity as per
performance guarantee test or standard design capacity can be
taken as a reference capacity. The impacts of variability of differ-
ent pulverization process inputs are analyzed to ascertain the
maximum available capacity in terms of quantity that can be uti-
lized without affecting the quality of the output.
Thus, capacity mapping is to ensure beforehand the decrease in
efficiency losses that may occur due to overutilization or underuti-
lization of the equipments running capacity. It ascertains varia-

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 tion in quality of pulverization beyond permissible limits or even
sometimes within permissible limits but affected by other process
parameters.
2 Pulverizing System
The attainable efficiency of PC-firing power boilers is largely
dependent on the quality of coal used and how effectively the coal
preparation system is employed to match the steaming require-
ment. The consistency in the availability of the coal-based power
plant, by and large, depends on the boiler and, in particular, on
performance and reliability in the operation of vital equipments,
such as fans and pulverizers.
PC firing, one of the efficient ways of utilizing coal for steam
generation, involves burning coal under suspension with pneu-
matic conveyance, developed and put into commercial use 8085
years back. By pulverizing the coal, the surface area increases to
60 sq in. / in.3 volume of the coal for a particle size of a 0.1 in.
diameter. For submicron pulverization to a 0.01 in. diameter, the
surface area increases to a 600 sq in. / in.3 volume, and for mi-
cronized pulverization to a particle diameter of 0.001 in., the sur-
face area goes up to a 6000 sq in. / in.3 volume. This increase
varies rapidly after 0.01 in. diameter of the coal particle and there
is no substantial increase after a 0.001 in. diameter.
By the coal pulverizers, semicrushed lump coal, primarily
crushed through a hammer mill or crusher, is further reduced to
the desired fineness of 6085%, which passes through a 200-mesh
sieve with an approximate pass on diameter of 74 m. In direct
firing arrangement, the PC is pneumatically conveyed through the
PC carrier pipes to furnace through coal burners. In the case of
indirect firing arrangement, PC is stacked in a storage bin for
subsequent firing. The pulverization is, in general, a combination
of mechanical processes such as attrition, impact loading,crush-
ing, or all of these. The choice of a pulverizing system for PC-
fired boilers depends on the type of coal to be pulverized, the
required capacity of the pulverizer, the manufacturer, the pressur-
ized or suction type pulverizing arrangement, the mode of con-
veyance, and the type of firing. Besides that, the coal feeding and
PA supply systems are associated with the coal pulverizing system
configuration.
The advantage of a pulverizing system is the efficient utiliza-
tion of coal with better combustion parameters to sustain variabil-
ity in thermal load demand. Proper coal drying ensures minimum
chance of loss of ignition and higher availability. The prevailing
pulverizing system constitutes bin system/indirect firing system or
the direct ignition of pulverized coal DIPC system, each of
which has its own merits and demerits.
In the DIPC system, for pneumatic conveyance in suspension,
two systems are in use. In the hot PA system, the forced draft fan
supplies the air required for the PA fan. In the cold PA system, the
PA fan draws air directly from the atmosphere. Both are pressur-
ized pulverizing devices. In certain cases, a suction type milling or
pressurized exhauster system is found.
Pulverizers are classified on the basis of running speed, grind-
ing capacity, make, and other salient features. In the submicron
pulverizing system for PC-fired boilers, the available types are
slow speed drum mill or drum-tube mill, medium speed vertical
spindle mills such as ball and race, bowl mill, NEI/LM mills, high
speed hammer mill/beater mill, or tan mills.
3 Effect of Coal Quality
The majority of power coal is of non-caking bituminous or
sub-bituminous rank except on few occasions when anthracite is
used. Lignite is also used in certain pithead thermal power gener-
ating stations. For the selection of pulverizers during the plant
equipment design stage, a detailed coal analysis is done either as
a received basis or as a dry mineral matter free basis i.e., dry ash
free basis, taking samples from coal seams identified for procure-
ment. The important coal properties that influence the choice of
the pulverizer and boiler design are as follows: rank of coal; ig-
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nition temperature; grindability index; moisture content mini-
mum for best variety and maximum for worst variety; VM con-
tent; ash properties such as the initial deformation temperature
IDT to measure propensity to slagging, the fouling index, the
YGP/abrasion index, and the ash percentage in coal; and the gross
calorific value GCV of the fired coal 1.
The grading in coal rank is done on the dry mineral matter free
VM content, the calorific value, the caking index, carbon, hydro-
gen, and the inherent moisture content. Actually, the reactivity of
coal is controlled by the VM content and the petrographic com-
position of coal. The reactivity of coal determines the minimum
throughput requirement for the self-sustaining flame, i.e., the ease
with which ignition can be attained in the furnace 2.
Though pulverizers are not so sensitive to the coal ranks, the
low VM coals excluding the anthracite have a high grindability
index softer resulting in an output higher than that of a high VM
bituminous coal, considering other parameters such as the ash
composition, the power input, and the moisture content being
equal.
4 Pulverizer Capacity
By pulverizer capacity, we mean the PC output with reference
to a particular quality of pulverization. The pulverizer capacity is
measurable by weight of the input coal excluding the surface
moisture content and the quantity of coal rejected by the pulver-
izer per unit time under the specified condition of pulverization
with respect to PA flow and output fineness.
In general, the design capacity of a pulverizer with respect to
the best and worst design coals conforming to a particular coal
fineness requirement implies the tones per hour of PC output. The
actual amount of coal conveyed to the boiler will vary depending
on the grindability, the moisture content, the PA flow, the fineness
attained based on the health of grinding element, the body liners,
and the classifier setting, and the quantity of rejects in the pul-
verization process.
The base capacity of a pulverizer is the rate of the maximum
PC output with respect to the characteristics of raw coal to be fed
to the pulverizer and the conditions of the PA supply system. The
grindability index, the moisture content, the input coal size, the
desired PC fineness or the particle size distribution of the PC, and
the available PA flow with the PA inlet temperature control the
base capacity. Therefore, the base capacity will vary depending on
the characteristics of input coal and will remain the same for a
particular type of pulverizer. The base capacities of pulverizers are
established by conducting performance guarantee tests during the
commissioning for attaining 100% maximum continuous rating of
the steam generating capacity. As such, the base capacity of a
particular pulverizer is a product of the design capacity as per the
manufacturers catalog with different capacity factors, such as the
hard grove index HGI, the moisture content, the fineness re-
quirement, the available PA flow, the PA inlet temperature,
the pulverizer internal wearing condition, etc., arising due to the
variation of the actual fed coal properties with the design coal
characteristics.
The capacity factor is the ratio of the pulverizers actual output
capacity with respect to the pulverizers base capacity for varia-
tion, in particular, the characteristics of input coal considering that
there is no variation in other characteristics of the coal. The maxi-
mum capacity with an acceptable quality of PC will be the modi-
fied base capacity considering all the variations in raw coal char-
acteristics and the internal condition of the pulverizer
components. The minimum capacity is taken as 40% of the attain-
able maximum capacity for direct firing of bituminous or anthra-
cite coal. In fact, the number of pulverizers to be operated for a
definite steam generation demand can be found out by dividing
the total coal input requirement by the sum of available base ca-
pacities of particular pulverizers.
Transactions of the ASME
 Table 3 The result of a typical sieve analysis of coal samples
of a thermal power station

Power outgoing Percentage

mW Mill 75 m 75 m

Constant load, different mills, same time

210 A 55.0 45.0
210 B 54.0 46.0
210 E 53.0 47.0
210 C 50.0 40.0
210 A 46.0 54.0
210 C 66.0 34.0
Constant load, same mill, one hourly difference
200 C 53.0 47.0
200 C 46.0 54.0
200 C 47.0 53.0
200 C 49.0 51.0
200 C 47.0 53.0
200 C 50.0 50.0
Fig. 1 Raw coal size versus capacity factor Varying load, same mill, different times
180 A 48.0 52.0
185 A 50.0 50.0
5 Factors Affecting Capacity 190 A 52.0 48.0
195 A 55.0 45.0
5.1 Input Raw Coal Size. Raw coal is prepared to a size up 198 A 52.0 48.0
to 30 mm for feeding the pulverizer. The major cost of coal prepa- 202 A 50.0 50.0
ration is power, and it is economical to precrush coal before feed- 205 A 63.0 37.0
ing the pulverizer. Each type of pulverizer has a maximum rec- 206 A 63.0 37.0
ommended coal feed size. Larger size of feeding results in the
increased power consumption per unit output of the desired fine-
ness. Hence, the pulverizer capacity varies inversely with the in-
put raw coal size, as shown in Fig. 1 raw coal size versus capac- The fineness of PC is controlled within the range of 5085%
ity factor. For example, an observation on a particular pulverizer passing through a 200-mesh sieve i.e., 74 m, pass on diameter.
shows that if the coal size 100% passing for feeding is 1.25 in., It is generally carried out by adjusting the classifier blade or vane
the capacity factor is 0.9, whereas when the coal size increases to angle opening of the static cyclone in the pulverizer. A certain
2.5 in., the capacity factor becomes 0.73. The basic intention of pulverizing system is also provided with a dynamic classifier ar-
the control of feed size is to optimize the total O&M cost of the rangement. The pulverizing capacity varies inversely with PC
precrusher and the pulverizer of the coal preparation unit. Besides, fineness. The pulverizer output will reduce with increased fineness
the arrangement of stacking, transporting, dust suppression, fine setting due to the larger amount of classification resulting in more
separation arrangements, etc., decide the most suitable raw coal recirculation, which may vary from six to eight times to twice for
feeding size. In Indian condition, the coal passing through a 20 minimum opening of blades/vanes for various types of pulverizing
mm screen is taken as the most suitable. systems Table 3. The effect on the capacity factor for getting
5.2 PC Fineness. The firing arrangement and the coal quality different fineness percentages of PC output based on the classifier
determine the fineness requirement of the PC. The more the VM adjustment is shown in Fig. 2 5 fineness percentage versus ca-
content of the coal is, the less percentage of fineness is required; pacity factor.
the less the VM content is, the more the fineness is necessary for The PC fineness also affects the pneumatic coal conveyance
a sustainable complete combustion, as shown in Table 1. and ignition of coal-air mixture 68. The PC is a mixture of
The recommended value of fineness of PC with respect to GCV certain minimum amount of coarse particle and a maximum
and fixed carbon content is given in Table 2. amount of fine particles where the fineness is expressed as a per-
centage passing through a 200 mesh sieve 74 m and coarse-
ness is defined as percent retained on 50 mesh 297 m. In
Table 1 Effect of VM on the variation of the fineness require- general, for sub-bituminous low/medium volatile Indian coal,
ment of PC 70% passing through 200 mesh is assumed to be the standard
fineness, as shown in Fig. 3 U.S. Standard Sieve Designation
VM % Fineness requirement
As dry ash free basis percent through 200 mesh 9,10.
A fixed classifier setting for a required fineness at the time of
VM 10% 85 commissioning cannot be maintained due to the gradual wearing
10 VM 20 80 of the grinding elements and mill body liners resulting in a
20 VM 25 75 gradual reduction in the rate of pulverization per rotation of grind-
25 VM 70 ing elements. The effect of the pulverizer wear in terms of pro-

Table 2 Typical PC fineness requirements 4

Fixed carbon, % Heating value, kJ/kg

97.986 85.978 77.969 30240 3024025590 30240

Fuel high-rank coal % 74 Low-rank coal % 74
80 75 70 70 65 60
For water cooled furnace
4

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Fig. 2 Fineness percent are versus capacity factor 5
gressive running hours of the pulverizer on fineness of PC is
shown in Fig. 4 fineness percentage reduction due to wearing of
the grinding elements 5.
Therefore, the adjustment of the classifier to maintain the de-
sired fineness percentage will reduce the pulverizing capacity and
increase the pulverizer rejects if coal feeding is not adjusted ac-
Fig. 3 U. S. Standard Sieve Designation
Fig. 4 Fineness percentage reduction due to wearing of the
grinding elements
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Fig. 5 Effect of HGI in pulverizing capacity for specific
fineness
cordingly. On the other hand, variation in pulverizer coal feeding
at a particular classifier setting will vary the fineness percentage of
PC, as shown in Table 3.
The result of the typical sieve analysis of coal samples collected
in a thermal power station during the energy audit reflects the
different possible situations to analyze the effect of available fine-
ness on the pulverizer performance, as shown in Table 3 therefore,
we need either the continuous maneuvering of the angle setting of
the classifier blade or the carrying out of the periodic bull ring/roll
setting, the ball filling/ball changing, or ball charging in the pul-
verizer, adjustment of the dynamic loading or spring compression,
etc., as in the vertical spindle mills to maintain the fineness and to
minimize the pulverizer rejects.
An alternative solution is the control of coal feeding to the
pulverizer as per capacity mapping, i.e., ensuring the optimum
coal feeding depending on the health of the pulverizing system,
the input coal characteristics, and the desired PC quality. The
advantages of the proper control of PC fineness and balanced
coal-air flow through the pulverizer outlet can be summarized as
the reduction in furnace slagging and fouling propensity, the uni-
form heat release and absorption in the furnace, the furnace exit
gas temperature FEGT within the designed limit and below ash
IDT, and the acceptable level of unburnt carbon in ash.
5.3 Grindability Index/Hard Grove Index. The grindability
index indicates the ease with which the coal can be pulverized.
Softer coals have a higher value of grindability index. It is mea-
sured by hard grove grindability index HGI. It is an inherent
property of coal. The HGI may deteriorate by contamination with
incombustible materials, while blending with better coal or wash-
ing the coal may improve it. The effect of the variation of HGI is
approximately proportional to the pulverizer capacity. As such,
HGI reflects power consumption at a particular pulverizer coal
output with requisite fineness. For constant power input, i.e., con-
stant pulverizer loading or constant coal feeding, if the HGI is
higher, the pulverizing capacity will increase, reflecting the in-
crease in capacity factor for the high HGI. The pulverizing capac-
ity can be found out by knowing the HGI of coal and the classifier
setting for a specific fineness, neglecting the effect of other per-
formance parameters, as shown in Fig. 5 effect of HGI in pulver-
izing capacity for specific fineness 10.
It has been established that the HGI of coal initially increases
with rank, reaches a maximum at about 105 for bright coals of
8990% fixed carbon content dry ash free basis, and then falls
sharply by about 35% for anthracites, as shown in Fig. 6 from
Paper 1: variation of HGI with FC of coal.
Besides the percentage of ash, the chemical composition of ash
alongwith the other coal parametersdetermines the HGI of
coal, as depicted in Table 4.
5.4 Moisture Content. The pulverizer output is largely af-
fected by the amount of inherent and free or surface moisture
present in the raw coal. The separation of moisture from coal is
Transactions of the ASME
 Fig. 6 From Paper 1 Variation of HGI with FC of coal
dependent on the drying capacity of the pulverizing system. How-
ever, the available PA flow, PA inlet temperatures to the pulver-
izer, and maximum PA fan power determine the drying capacity.
The limitation of the drying capacity in different milling systems
affecting the pulverizer output capacity for various percentage
moisture contents is shown in Fig. 7 5 pulverizing capacity at
different percentages of moisture content vertical spindle mill.
The effect of the available PA inlet temperature with different
moisture contents on pulverizing capacity is shown in Fig. 8 pul-
verization capacity variation for moisture percentage 15% for
a given PA inlet temperature. The power consumption by PA/
exhauster fan is proportional to the mass flow rate of the air-coal
mixture. Obviously, the higher the inlet PA temperature is, the
lower the airflow necessary for drying coal.
The APH inlet flue gas temperature limits the availability of the
higher PA inlet temperature; an increase in this will result in the
efficiency loss of the boiler 11. Additionally, the higher PA inlet
temperature can be attained through economizer gas bypass, the
SCAPH, partial flue gas recirculation, etc. The coal leaving the
pulverizer is not totally dry and it is common to have 23% mois-
ture present in it.
However, the objective of drying is to facilitate pulverization.
The proper drying ensures pneumatic conveyance in suspension
avoiding self-ignition of coal particles as well as condensation of
moisture during transport. The effectiveness of drying is indicated
by coal-air mixture outlet temperature from the pulverizer. 60 C
is regarded as the minimum acceptable outlet temperature. Table 5
shows some typical inlet PA temperatures required for different
types of coal.
5.5 PA Flow. The PA flow at a particular pulverizer inlet tem-
perature governs drying, degree of recirculation through a static
classifier, air-coal ratio, PC air velocity, and pulverizer outlet tem-
perature. With a variable airflow mode of operation at partial
loads, it is important to have a proper pulverizer-operating win-
dow to optimize the pulverizing capacity. Through a clean PA
Fig. 7 Pulverizing capacity at different percentages of mois-
ture contents vertical spindle mill 5
flow test for pulverizer calibration, the PA flow requirement can
be established against designed coal flow rates as the base airflow.
Usually, 70% design airflow is kept at 25% pulverizer load and
gradually increased to 100% design airflow at 100% pulverizer
load, as illustrated in Fig. 9 10 variation of PA flow requirement
for coal flow %.
Therefore, it is necessary to find out an equivalent pulverizer
load with respect to the input coal condition through capacity
mapping and adjust the PA flow as per the corrected maximum
pulverizer loading. If the corrected pulverizer load is beyond the
control of the maximum PA flow at a particular temperature, we
need to adjust the maximum coal feeding as per the available PA
flow condition.
Alternately, the capacity factor for determining the maximum
pulverizing capacity will be provided by the equivalent PA differ-
ential which represents the PA flow as the percentage of the
maximum PA differential corrected for available PA inlet tempera-
ture, and this is shown in Fig. 10 capacity factor for various
percentages of the PA differentials. The PA differential is the
differential pressure between the PA fan suction and the total PA
entering the pulverizer. Through a dirty pitot test kit, we can ana-
lyze the air-coal velocity, coal flow rate, available fineness, pul-
verizer outlet temperature. and air-coal ratio.
For a better understanding of the system limitation, we need to
know the minimum coal throughput required for the flame stabil-
ity, the minimum PA flow with minimum inlet temperature, the
maximum allowable pulverizer outlet temperature, the minimum
and the maximum air-coal velocities through the coal pipes to
prevent the coal pipe choke or flashback from the furnace and
erosion of pipes, and the maximum air-coal ratio to avoid
explosion.
For the E-type pulverizers, the base air-coal weight ratio is
1.74, which may increase up to 4.0 at lower loads. The air-coal

Table 4 Variation of HGI of coal with ash content 9

Sl. No Coalfield region Ash % VM % Inherent moisture % HGI

1 Raniganj belt 20 33 4 49
2 15 35 4.4 46
3 16 34.7 4.8 633
4 15 34.3 5 42
5 18.6 33.8 6.3 54
6 12.0 36.4 5.8 48
7 20.8 33.0 5.4 42
8 KNagar 13.8 36.6 1.9 56
9 28.9 27.5 6.0 80
10 Bararee 26.4 17.6 1.4 60
11 Loyabad 20.5 22.5 1.2 82
12 Agordih 21.8 19.1 1.3 82
13 Lodhna 24.7 19.9 0.9 73
14 Khas-jharia 25.9 17.3 1.2 75

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Fig. 8 Pulverization capacity variation for moisture percent
>15% for a given PA inlet temperature
ratio in the medium speed pulverizer is in the range of 1.72.2,
while that in the tube mill is 1.21.5 Clapp, 1991 11. The PA abrasive index, and cumulative quantity of coal rejected from the
requirement reduces with the increase in coal feeding. Therefore,
in the part load operation, the air-coal ratio increases. The air-coal
ratio also increases with the decrease in the HGI due to more
recirculation and it decreases with the decrease in the fixed carbon
content, implying the less heating value and the more coal input
requirement. The pulverizer differential is the differential pressure
between the PA inlet pressure and the PC-air outlet pressure from
the pulverizer. To maintain the air-coal ratio within the specific
limit, the pulverizer differential versus the PA differential ratio at
a particular PA flow can be analyzed. This ratio can be utilized to
find out the maximum pulverizing capacity or the capacity factor
considering the minimum quantity of the mill rejects, as shown in
Fig. 11 pulverizer differential/PA differential ratio at a given PA
differential value. The air-coal ratio in a particular level of pul-
verizer differential is a function of the PA differential. Hence the
capacity mapping with pulverizer differential versus PA differen-
tial ratio will help to identify the variation of the throat gap in the
vertical spindle mill, short circuiting of static cyclone, imbalance
in the hot and cold PA inlet damper operations, etc. For E-type
mills, a ratio of about 8 is considered favorable for the mill oper-
ating range.
5.6 Effect of Pulverizer Erosion. The rate of the wear of the
pulverizer grinding elements and the internals are proportional to
the cumulative PC output and the progressive running hours. The
performance of the grinding elements deteriorates to produce the
desired PC due to the presence of quartz, pyrites, siderite, and
other high abrasive mineral matters in the coal ash. Besides, with
the degradation of coal quality, the PC input requirement increases
to meet the specific steam generation demand. The pulverizing
capacity is gradually reduced during the pulverizer running life
with a particular set of grinding elements while maintaining the
quality of the output, as shown in Fig. 12 capacity factor versus
progressive running hours mill life/mill wear.
To maintain the PC quality with respect to fineness, air-coal
ratio, outlet temperature, etc., the rate of reduction in the capacity
between successive pulverizer adjustments can be plotted down.
Table 5 Typical PA inlet temperatures for different coals 9
Temperature of Inlet hot pulverized coal C
Fuel Anthracite Lean Coal
Inferior
Bituminous
Temperature of hot air
C 380430 330380
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Fig. 9 Variation of PA flow requirement for coal flow % 10
Taking periodic readings through a dirty pitot tube, the dirty air
curve for various pulverizer loadings can be established for sub-
sequent adjustments to maintain the PC quality. This will provide
the available pulverizing capacity with respect to pulverizer inter-
nal wears with time. Therefore, the capacity factor for wearing
effect is a function of the progressive running hours, cumulative
pulverizer coal input, root mean square value of the input coal
pulverizer.
In India, high ash non-caking coals with an ash content of 32
45% from different coal fields are used for the coal-based thermal
power generation with PC-firing system. Most of these high ash
coals contain a significant quantity of abrasive minerals, particu-
larly alpha quartz free silica. Additionally, the shape and size of
the abrasive minerals decide the rate of erosion. In India, erosion
in the pulverizer is largely dependent on alpha quartz.
In a study by Perish 12 on coal abrasiveness using a Yancy
GearPrice machine, the relationship between the wear rate and
the mineral contents of coal is linear. According to the study con-
ducted by Babcock Power, the correlation of the quantity of abra-
sive minerals quartz+ pyrite with wear and tear of the pulverizer
is found as follows: wearing rate is low for less than 2% abrasive
mineral in coal, medium for 23%, high for 35%, and alarming
for more than 5% abrasive minerals.
The percentage of fed coal rejected in the pulverizing process
can be analyzed to understand the effect of wear on a particular
pulverizer. If coal characteristics do not vary appreciably, pulver-
izers operated at the same loading and power input at different
progressive running hours will deliver the PC depending on the
health of pulverizer internal elements. The specific gravity of In-
dian coal of commercial grade varies between 1.45 and 1.65. The
allowable percentage of coal spillage in the rejects should not
exceed 10% as separated floats of rejects sample in 1.8 g/cc
density solution. An increase of coal spillage reflects overfeeding
if there are no other reasons, such as the blocked PA flows, the
low PC-air outlet temperature, the classifier cone choke, the PC
pipe choke.
6 Conclusion
Considering all the factors affecting the performance, we find
that the pulverizer capacity decreases when the input raw coal size
increases. The HGI value of coal decreases, the PC fineness per-
cent increases, the total moisture content of raw coal increases, the
PC outlet temperature decreases, and the pulverizer differential
Brown Coal Bituminous
Hot air Fuel Coal
Drying Drying
350380 300350 280350
Transactions of the ASME

Fig. 10 Capacity factor for various percentages of the PA
differentials
pressure increases. In view of the above, the base line data can be
generated for analyzing the impact for each of the factors on the
pulverizing capacity.
A combination of these factors on the basis of the functional
relationship will provide the optimum available capacity at which
mill can be run at a particular input/output condition with the
reduced carbon in ash, the loss of ignition, and the maximum
achievable heat rate. At present, coal as fired properties are not
available immediately through the on-line measuring device. A
numerical algorithm, the CAPFAC copyright C.Bhattacharya @
2006, is developed to find the optimum available capacity of a
pulverizer.
A typical output of input plant data from the result sheet of the
associated program is given below:
enter the design capacity or the supplied base capacity of
the pulverizer tph16.33 at 75 mW load, three mills to
run
coal size in.: if available enter Y, if not enter N Y respect to raw coal properties.
raw coal size in.: 100% passing ring diameter0.75
Fig. 11 Pulverizer differential/ PA differential ratio at a given
PA differential value
Fig. 12 Capacity factor versus progressive running hours
mill life/mill wear
Journal of Energy Resources Technology
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percentage of VM24%
HGI value if not available, enter 060
available coal fineness percent through 200 mesh80
enter the quality of coal 1 = high quality; 2 = low quality,
choose either 1 or 22
enter the heating value of the coal kcal/kg4900
enter the type of mill 1vertical spindle; 2ball tube
mill1
moisture content a percentage in a proximate analysis
%10
enter either available PA flow percent: 1 or PA differential
percent: 21
percentage of the PA flow85%
enter the air flow rate at the mill inlet tph41.4
PA I/L temperature to the mill C182 C
seal airflow to the mill tph4
SA I/L temperature to the mill C30 C
air-coal outlet temperature to the mill C82 C
enter the life of the mill in 1000 h-I unit10
Result. Actual optimum coal throughput capacity at full load
= 14.87 tph.
Similarly, the capacity of other mills can be determined and the
cumulative capacity of all running mills for a boiler will give a
proper assessment on the efficiency condition of the milling sys-
tem. If the available PC fineness is more than the required fineness
as per coal characteristics such as the VM and the fixed carbon
content, the available fineness of PC is considered for the calcu-
lation of the optimum pulverizer capacity. Or else, the optimum
capacity is to be corrected as per fineness requirement of PC with
It is possible to improve the developed model by the application
of genetic algorithm and neural networking to find the optimum
available capacity for a particular pulverizer of a power station
through some pilot project. In a simulated situation, the base line
data can be generated using tools such as coal quality impact
model CQIM 13 developed by EPRI and the available perfor-
mance curves from the pulverizer manufacturer 1416.
Acknowledgment
The author wishes to acknowledge the peer review of the paper
done by Dr. B. Sinha, Ex. Director-in-Charge CMERI/CSIR/India,
Professor A. K. Mitra, Deparment of Mechanical Engineering/
National Institute of Technology/Durgapur; Professor A. Dutta,
Ex. H.O.D. Department of Humanities, NIT/Durgapur and the
support and encouragement extended by NPTI authorities to un-
dertake this work. Special thanks are due to the chemical labora-
tory and fuel efficiency cell of DPPS/DPL, A Ghosh, Sr. Scientist
NEERI-Nagpur, Dr. H. S. Sarkar, Ex. Chief Chemist, DPL; Ef-
ficiency Cell, Dr. P. S. Tripathy. C.F.R.I.-Dhanbad, Sri Sumit
Kundu, Engineer, NTPC/Vindyachal S.T.P.S. former. P. G. Di-
ploma Trainee NPTI/ER to assist in collection of data and test-
ing of the program part; Khaparkheda TPS/MSEB; CPRI/Koradi
for various short communications to complete this work.
Nomenclature
slagging deposition of fused ash over the
tube of furnace 17
fouling index percent of alkaline salts in coal
ash affecting deposition in con-
vective zone of the boiler
YGP/abrasion index the rate of metal loss from grind-
ing elements
caking index propensity to clinker formation
SEPTEMBER 2008, Vol. 130 / 032201-7
 References
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Chittatosh Bhattacharya is a 1990 Mechanical Engineering Graduate and M. Tech (OR & B. Mgt) in 2002
from NIT, Durgapur, Inda. He completed P.G. Dip. (Ecology & Env) in 2001. His eighteen years profes-
sional career is spread over boiler manufacturing planning at ACC-Babcock Ltd.; Boiler Maintenance at
Durgapur Projects Ltd., West Bengal, India and presently at National Power Training Institute, Durgapur
imparting training. He has managed boiler-maintenance activities in DPL. He has coordinated a number of
boiler overhauling, training programs and seminars. He has also worked for R&M on retrofitting higher
capacity ESP, Pulverizers. He has authored a book on Maintenance Planning & Cost Control from NPTI.
He is having research interest in environmental/efficiency aspects of coal fired steam generation and so far
having twelve publications. He holds a patent on developing a Boiler Outlet Steam Attemperation System.

032201-8 / Vol. 130, SEPTEMBER 2008 Transactions of the ASME

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