Eyebrows raised over use of rejected fuel additive at Bathinda and Ropar thermal plants
VINOD KUMAR GUPTA
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
CHANDIGARH: Eyebrows have been raised over use of a fuel additive to improve the boiler efficiency at PSEB thermal plants at Bathinda and Ropar which was earlier rejected by General Manager of Ropar Thermal Plant.

Bhatinda Thermal Plant authorities are using a fuel additive for more than one year for second stage thermal plant boilers in the name of increasing boiler efficiency with unknown chemical composition. Ropar Thermal Plant authorities have also placed an order for particular fuel additive this month.

According to documents available with Punjab Newsline ,Bhatinda thermal plant authorities placed an trial order for 6000 Kg. of coal additive on a Mumbai based firm in March 2008 at a total cost of Rs. 18 lacs plus taxes for use in boiler unit no. 3. The 1 Kg. of additive fuel is mixed with 15000 Kg. of pulverized coal during trial run for 60 days by a method to be devised by the supplier of additive fuel.

It may be mentioned that Bhatinda Thermal Plant authorities refused to use the imported coal in its boilers on the plea that they do not have facilities to blend imported coal with Indian coal in right ratio. It is not understood how they are now blending a small quantity of additive with large coal quantity in a fixed ratio.

In September 2008 another order for 12000 Kg. at a total cost of Rs. 36 lac plus taxes for using it on boilers of unit 3 and 4.The order for unit 4 was on trial basis for 60 days whereas as use at unit 3 was on regular basis.

A senior officer said on the condition of anonymity that if the trial run on unit was successful where the necessity for was go on trial run for unit 4.

Bhatinda thermal plant authorities have now placed another order for additive to be used on unit 3 at a total cost of 45 lacs plus taxes on October 14 this year. Exactly a week after another order of fuel additive was placed as trial order for unit no. 1 at a cost of Rs. 18 lacs
It may be mentioned that first an order is placed on firm on trial basis and after that the order is placed on the basis of proprietary item which has no substitute.

According to sources same firm with the backing of a high up in PSEB had approached Ropar Thermal Plant authorities to use the particular additive in its boilers. With the change of guard at Ropar Thermal plant an order for 13600 Kg. was placed on the firm to use the fuel additive at a cost of more than 40.8 lacs. On trial basis on December 2. A committee of three officers has been formed to suggest ways and means to blend the chemical with coal.
As per documents available General Manager RTP had earlier rejected the use of this additive and wrote to Member Generation on July 20, 2004 that “The firm has claimed that they have devolved a multi functional thermo active powder which can be used in coal fired its was placed for using the additive on unit 3 and 4 thermal plants and this will increase the boiler efficiency by 2 %.The firm was asked to intimate procedure by which the increase in efficiency can be calculated in comparison with normal coal. The firm could not supply information. Without proper procedure and required instrumentation the usefulness of product can not be established.”

Moreover the product has not been approved by BHEL .Without knowing the chemical composition of product the safety of boiler cannot be ensured. The product is not being used by NTPC.

A senior PSEB thermal engineer said that there is no method to check the improvement in boiler efficiency. The coal consumption has been reduced or not as there is no fool proof method to measure the coal quantity used in boiler. The coal measurement at Ropar and Bhatinda thermal plant is measured by gravitational method which is not accurate. The percentage at of un-burnt carbon in ash is also not proper and it can be manipulated easily. The reduction in unburnt coal may be due to better coal quality or better fineness.

Another senior engineer said that the trial order is a ploy to bypass the normal tendering process. After the trial order the product is purchased at proprietary item on single tender basis.

Chief Engineer Ropar Thermal Plant said that the order for fuel additive has been approved by the board. He further said that there has been improvement in heat rate at Bhatinda thermal plant and only after its successful trial at Bhatinda it is now being procured for Ropar Thermal Plant. Incidentally Chief Engineer RTP was Superintending Engineer at Bhatinda who proposed the use of particular fuel additive at Bhatinda thermal plant.
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