Diesel Power Plant

We have seen how technology has advanced to the point where every resource is being used as a potential that can be used for generating power. One such power source is diesel which is a natural resource. Its certain qualities make it a perfect power source. To harness the energy of diesel, we require a power plant called Diesel Power Plant. In this article, we will see what a Diesel Power Plant, what are the necessary components of a Diesel Power Plant. We will also understand the workings of a Diesel Power Plant through its diagram. Later, we will try to throw light on some advantages and disadvantages of Diesel Power Plant. We will also see some real-life applications of Diesel Power Plant. To understand the location of the power plant, we will study the site selection process of the Diesel Power Plant and all the characteristics that it must satisfy. Later, we will conclude the article with some Frequently asked questions that can be referred to.

What is Diesel Power Plant?

The term power plant is used to denote that it is a place or a facility that generates power for commercial use. Therefore, Diesel Power Plant is a government-approved place that is responsible for utilizing thermal power to convert all the diesel engines into electricity. It is designed in a way that it can process the chemical energy stored in diesel fuel into something called mechanical energy through diesel engines. This mechanical energy is then further converted to electrical energy mainly through generators. There are some popular Diesel Power Plant in India like Brahmapuram Diesel Power Plant, KPCL Kasaragod Oil Power Plant, and Nallalam Diesel Power Plant.

Let us see the official definition of a Diesel Power Plant

A Diesel Power Plant is a provision that has been licensed by the government to produce electrical energy by harnessing power through diesel mainly through diesel engines and other components.

Terminologies

These are some important terms about Diesel Power Plant:

• Power Plant: It is a commercial unit that is responsible for generating on from of energy to another which can then be used on commercial level.
• Rotor: Rotor is a rotating element that helps to convert some thermal energy to mechanical energy. This is done through its rotation.
• Stator: As the name suggests ,it is the stationary part of plant that doesn’t move.
• Voltage Regulator: It automates the task of maintaining a stable voltage in power plant. The optimum voltage is decided by it and maintained by modulating the flow of DC to the rotor,
• Diesel Engine: It is a combustion engine present in the internal . The elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder results in internal combustion of fuel i.e. diesel here. Hence it generates heat mainly through mechanical compression.
• Alternator: It is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy at the end of whole process. The alternator is also known as the gen end. Brushless alternators are often used in large generators, while permanent magnets are commonly used in smaller generators.

Construction And Components

The whole power plant is a big set-up which can be divided to small components that construct the whole plant. Let us study these components and construction of diesel power plant in detail and how does it functions:

• Diesel engine: It is the driving component of whole Diesel Power Plant. It is responsible for converting all energy generated from combustion of diesel fuel into mechanical energy which is further converted to electrical energy. An alternator is connected to the same shaft as the diesel engine. There can be mainly two types of diesel engines depending on the stroke Two-stroke engines or Four-stroke engines
• Air intake system: Air intake system ensure that large amount of air can pass to the power plant through air filters. This is done to ensure the dust particles from natural air get removed and a sufficient amount is air is available to the power system. Air filters can be made of wood, paper
• Exhaust system: Now since the power plant involves combustion process, some amount of residue is inevitable. There is generation of certain gases after combustion of diesel which are removed through Exhaust system. These gases are released in atmosphere ensuring that there is minimum pressure loss during the release. This avoids an increased fuel consumption.
• Cooling water system: The major source of energy in such systems is thermal energy. Heat is an unwanted by product of combustion and can be a potential threat therefore, to avoid overheating of IC engine , some cooling water is required. The cooling water system consist of cooling tower components, pumps, transfer piping, valves, and heat exchangers.
• Fuel supply system :The fuel supply system as the name suggests, provides proper storage tank for storing the diesel fuel. It also filters the fuel to ensure no impurities are present. After all the process has been completed it also performs the task of guiding the unused fuel to return path.
• Lubrication system : Due to the high temperature range around which power plants work there is a large possibility that lubricants used might become gel-like and cause major accidents due to sticking of pistons. If Lubrication system then there can be a lot of friction therefore the lubrication system ensures that the oil of each part of system gets thoroughly changed after certain amount of time. Even the stored oil gets updated from time to time.
• Diesel engine starting system: The process needs some starting material because the inside temperature and pressure are not sufficient to initiate the combustion. The Diesel engine starting system therefore is made up of different methods that can help in initiating the reaction. Some of them are Hand or kick-starting, Electrical starting, Compressed air, Auxiliary petrol engine.

Working of Diesel Power Plant

A diagram of Diesel Power Plant has been provided below, let us study the working of this plant through the diagram.

Diesel Power Plant

The first important step is to transport the raw starting material i.e. the fuel from the mines to the power plant. This is done via transportation and when the fuel reaches the power plant, it stored in storage space for future use. The coal or the fuel brought to the plant is in large chucks hence it needs to broken into small parts which is dine via crusher. Then it is fed to boiler.

In order to boil coil, we also bring purified form of water from rivers and other sources which is cleaned and sent to boiler drum . Then when the fuel is heat a lot of heat is generated and this thermal energy is given to water which helps it convert to steam. This steam is under quite pressure and is then passed to super-heater from where it reaches turbine.

The thermal energy of steam is converted into mechanical energy through turbines when they rotate due to steam. The turbine is connected to the same shaft as the alternator. Therefore, rotation of turbine also rotates the rotor of the alternator. This is how mechanical energy is converted to electrical energy. This energy is then transported to commercial units.

Advantages of Diesel Power Plant

Let us see some of the advantages of Diesel Power Plant

• The maintenance of Diesel Power Plant is a very easy process because it has very low maintenance with minimal operating staff. This makes Diesel Power Plant a simple process.
• The quantity of water required for cooling all the thermal waste generated is very low meaning that a minimal supply of cooling water will be enough for an operation in power plant.
• When compared to different power plans, Diesel Power Plant have quite high efficiency .When compared to steam power plants, Diesel Power Plant have high power efficiency making them a better choice.
• Diesel Power Plant are great backup options for places that require temporary electricity backup. This includes power backups of commercial units, hospital, defence systems and some parties for emergency backup.
• Diesel Power Plant can be installed at almost any place that require minimal area because installation of power plants requires few square feets of area. This is different for different power plants.

Disadvantages of Diesel Power Plant

Let us see some of the disadvantages of Diesel Power Plant

• Diesel Fuels are quite expensive due to the shortage of fossil fuels this make the starting components of Diesel Power Plant quite costly making the starting cost of these plants high.
• The Diesel Power Plant has been designed for temporary backup situations this means it can’t be used under overload conditions and for long durations. This is a major limitation of Diesel Power Plant as it works under constraints.
• Even though it has higher efficiency than steam power plants, it has limited power generation and storage facility as compared to thermal and hydroelectric power plants that offer greater power generation and storage.
• The lifespan of Diesel Power Plant is short and can be extended only to certain extent with some additional maintenance.
• There is a limitation to the amount of electricity that can be generated by Diesel Power Plant. This range lies on an average to approximately 50MV.

Applications of Diesel Power Plant

Let us see some real-world applications of Diesel Power Plant

• Diesel Power Plant can act as a reservoir for emergency power backup. Due to the electricity production by the power plant, it can provide sufficient electricity that makes it a good option in case of emergency.
• Since they can be used for mobile power generation mainly through locomotives. This feature of diesel power plant can be use to power electric traction motors which can be a good method for locomotion of train and other automobiles.
• Some other applications of Diesel Power Plant is its use in marine vessels. The electricity generated by them can be used for on-boarding of heavy objects on ships. Some of the vessels its used for includes cargo ships, cruise ships, and naval vessels.
• Military defences use Diesel Power Plant for primary power supply. It is majorly used for performing some major operations like controlling RADAR system, communication and controlling some large operations.
• Other major applications of Diesel Power Plant are its use in entertainment industry like concerts and small events that require temporary power supply. Diesel Power Plant can manage to control this amount of power.

Site Selection of Diesel Power Plant

It is very important to consider the location where you are developing your power plant. This is because the location can affect various other profits associated with the plant. Here are some thing that must be kept in mind when you are choosing a site for your power plant.

• Near to the load centre: Try to ensure that the location of your plant is nearest to the load centre. Ensuring that the facility being generated is almost already being available to the unit and can be easily distributed.
• Presence of land and water nearby: Since diesel power plants involve use of a lot of thermal energy, it is necessary that you have cooling water present nearby the plant to ensure that you can cool off the extra heat being generated.
• Away from Common Public: This is necessary to ensure that no community is getting disturbed by the noise generated by the plant. This is done so that no people had disturbed an the power plant doesn’t act as a nuisance.
• Availability of Transport: For the generation of electricity, we will require some vehicles in order to transport fuel from the location to the plant. Therefore it is necessary that our plant is located near railway lines or some other transport facility.
• Future Expansion: The site should be chosen keeping in mind the future growth of the plant. they place should a provision of expansion to ensure you can expand your power plant in future.

Characteristics of Diesel Power Plant

In order to ensure that we have a great Diesel Power Plant, there are some characteristics that are kept in mind Here are some of them.

• Diesel power plants require Cooling System .During the generation of energy by diesel engine a lot of heat is generated . This heat can be a potential hazard and needs to be eradicated from the plant. Therefore a cooling system which includes radiator and a cooling fluid is necessary characteristic.
• The overall cost of Diesel Power Plant is quite high due to the expensive components that make up the power plant. The main component i.e. the diesel fuel that drives the whole power plant is an expensive resource making the running cost high.
• Diesel Power Plant have a high level of operating efficiency .If we talk about the load range then Diesel Power Plant have a 50 % to 100 % of full load range.
• Diesel Power Plant require almost negligible maintenance staff which reduces the staff cost of plant. This is because these power plants are efficient and need almost very less maintenance and produce really low residue.
• On major characteristic of Diesel Power Plant is that they have a very low start up time meaning they are almost fully working within few seconds of being turned on. They reach full power within seconds of a being switched on. This quick response is a viable property.

Conclusion

We have seen that Diesel Power Plant is a boon to the energy section of society since it efficiently converts the potential energy in diesel fuel to electrical energy which can benefit a large section of society. The whole construction of power plant can be a tedious task but as we saw the energy generation process has been made simpler using certain components. We have also seen that building a Diesel Power Plant is a complex procedure due to involvement of a large group of people and requirement of large number of equipment’s. Not only this, we learnt that despite being a boon it can cause some significant intoxication in surroundings that can lead to pollution. Therefore it is necessary to find efficient methods to discard the pollutants of the process. Readers are suggested to go through the FAQ section to resolve any query they have.

FAQs on Diesel Power Plant

Which government body is responsible for monitoring Diesel Power Plant in India?

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is the main body responsible for keeping a check on planning and development of electricity through various sources. It also formulates all the policies necessary for ensuring quality and safety.

Who is allowed to open a Diesel Power Plant in India and who approves it?

In India, you need to have a proper plan and need to f=provide evidence in support of the fact that you can manage a Diesel Power Plant . After that many different bodies like Central Electricity Authority (CEA), State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) will get together to approve a plant.

What are the necessary components needed for opening a Diesel Power Plant in India?

The need can vary from place to place but in general you need to have a provision of certain necessary resources to open a Diesel Power Plant. these are Land Acquisition, Fuel Storage and Handling Facilities, Construction and Labour and Technology.