Power plant products |
Sulzer’s OEM-X line service proves its worth in India
A major thermal power plant in Rajasthan, India, was presented with multiple issues with an ageing boiler infeed pump, including challenges sourcing new units to fit the surrounding infrastructure and application requirements of the plant.
Sulzer was able to provide a custom solution under its OEM-X line service. The solution cushioned the impact to production, while assuring reliable associated support, covering maintenance and spares for the decades to come.
Pump problems
The power plant utilises lignite fuel to produce its 1000 MW rating. The boiler infeed pumps at the site are critical to this – but recently one of the units was giving operators cause for concern. Dating from 2009, the Chinese OEM pump was showing its age with a range of issues. The mean time between failures (MTBF) for the pump was less than six months, with resulting downtime being compounded by a lack of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) spares support when maintenance was required. For example, sourcing new equipment from the OEM could take up to a year, which presented an unacceptable risk to electricity generation and profitability. Furthermore, the pump was running inefficiently. Operators calculated it was only achieving 70% efficiency and was consuming
139 kW of the available power, eroding the plant’s margins.
It was clear that the pump had reached the end of its useful life. Any solution to this situation needed to minimise downtime and disturbance to surrounding plant infrastructure. It needed to offer improved efficiency and reliability too. Furthermore, the plant operator was keen to secure local spares and service support going forward. With these criteria established, the plant operator invited tenders for the project.
A custom pump
Sulzer’s bid was successful, and was helped by its extensive network of service centres and manufacturing facilities in India, giving it a strong local presence. The bid also benefited from a positive reputation in the industry, owing to a previously successful Sulzer retrofit for this brand of Chinese OEM pump at another Indian power plant.
Sulzer proposed a custom pump design based on a pre-existing booster pump model. The new pump would be a drop-in, one-to-one replacement for the older unit. This would reduce downtime and plant disturbance while delivering improved reliability and efficiency. Overall pump efficiency was raised to 81.2%, an increase of over 11% compared to the legacy unit. This figure was also better than the best competing pump replacement, which could only deliver around 78%. Other benefits included a unit price better by 50% than sourcing a new pump from the Chinese OEM, and it also avoided a 1-year lead time from the manufacturer of the legacy pump.
The new pump
In the event, the entire pump was produced locally. It featured the same base plate design
and orientation of the inlet and discharge connections as the previous unit, delivering a one-to-one, plug-and-play solution. The complete pump was produced from CA6NM MOC stainless steel alloy.
The entire project was delivered within eight months, required no modifications to the surrounding infrastructure. In operation, it increased overall efficiency by more than 10%, while power consumption was reduced by 14%. Additionally, it has lowered the net positive suction head required (NPSHr) value from 5.2 down to 4.5. Operators are now benefitting from reduced energy consumption for the boiler infeed application by 16%.
Concerning reliability, the new pump offers a MTBF of over two years, greatly improving pump availability. Beyond a one-to-one replacement, Sulzer’s OEM-X line service provided an upgraded design that supported the efficiency, reliability and performance levels operators desired. If any problems do arise, there is a local maintenance and spares support network available from Sulzer’s own facilities.
ZX to carry out wind monitoring at key sites
UK-based renewable energy developer Banks Renewables has contracted wind resource management specialist ZX Measurement Services to support its expanding development work in the UK. This will take the form of complete wind measurement services and Lidar deployment at the proposed Bodinglee wind farm, Mill Rig wind farm and Lethans wind farm extension. The family-owned Banks Renewables owns and operates 223 MW of renewable energy generation, with a further 547 MW in various stages of development. With ten operational onshore wind farms across Scotland and the North of England, a further 14 sites are in development, and wind measurements at key wind sites is underway.
ZX MS has recently completed the first of
these two-year wind measurement campaigns, using the ZX 300 wind Lidar, at the proposed Bodinglee wind farm in southern Scotland. If consented the 37 turbine site is expected to be rated at 266 MWe.
Kasia Szczepanik, development engineer at Banks Renewables commented: “On proposed sites such as Bodinglee … where we are considering the latest wind turbine technology at increasing tip heights, Lidars are proving a cost-effective and practical method for providing vital wind measurements across the full height of the eventual wind turbine. The team at ZX Measurement Services has provided us with a professional and holistic approach to our wind measurement requirements.”
ZX MS has provided Banks Renewables 38 | September 2023|
www.modernpowersystems.com
with expert data measuring, power supply and installation services for its Lidar system at the proposed Bodinglee Wind Farm whilst ensuring communications for data transfer, data management and reporting to provide updates of project progress.
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