Plant Process Engineering

MY DESIGN PRINCIPLE FOR THE PLANT PROCESS ENGINEERING: Rule 1) Safety first: First human safety, plant safety, environment safety   1 st  Priority - Safe Design ( Elimination  of Risk/Hazard) 2 nd Mechanical Protection (i.e. Safety Valves etc.) 3 rd  Instrumentation Protection (Control Protection) 4 th  Administrative Protection (Locks etc.)   Rule 2) “Keep things simple”, by Igor Karassik the writer of well-known Pump Handbook. More complication and more fancy design has more reliability issues. Rule 3) Common Sense (common engineering principle) + applying correct industry codes and standards to that common sense.   Some system and equipment are standard, like Boiler, turbine, condenser, pumps, Heater etc. These are standard components and we don’t replace it with something else. Manufacturer  also have their standard design options, we must select the best fit option for the plant we are working on.   Rule 4) Sometimes when assigned ...

Condenser Vacuum System in Power Plant In Power Plants, wherever Steam Turbine is used for Power Generation, Condenser is employed for cooling of the steam exhausted from steam Turbine.  Turbine converts steam heat energy (mass x enthalpy) in to shaft power which rotates Electric Generator to produce electricity. As the exhaust pressure reduce, exhaust enthalpy will be lower which will increase turbine output. Hence, Condenser is operated in vacuum condition to get the maximum power output from steam turbine. Condensate formed by cooling of the steam is extracted by Condensate Extraction Pump (CEP) and forwarded to Deaerator/HRSG/Boiler as per System Design.  Refer fig.1 for Understanding.     Due to condenser is operating in vacuum condition air may leak from the joints with the condenser or cooling water may leak from the condenser tube joints.  As this is a continuous process, over the time non-condensable gases/air may accumulate in the condenser which will ...