SAFETY HAZARDS IN COAL PULVERISERS

INTRODUCTION :
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has a captive power plant of capacity
287.5 MW (including auxiliary generation units).
1. Turbo Generators- 3 X 60 MW & 1 X 67.5 MW.
2. Back Pressure turbines- 2 X 7.5 MW
3. Gas Expansion Turbines 2 X 12 MW
4. Steam Generators -

5 Nos ( 330 T/hr, 101 ata , 540 deg C

steam), type- suspended, multi fuel fired ( BF gas, CO gas, HSD,

HFO & pulverized coal), single drum, natural circulation, dry
bottom ash with XRP 623 model Bowl mills ( 6 Nos).
5. Turbo Blowers- 3 Nos. each supplying 6067 Nm3/min. of cold
blast to Blast Furnace.( Turbine equivalent to 28 MW of power
generation).

BOWL MILLS:

The purpose of bowl mill is to pulverize/grind coal into powder and

feed to the boiler for combustion.
Principle of Operation: Coal is fed to the centre of the pulveriser onto a
revolving bowl. Centrifugal force causes the coal to travel towards the
perimeter of the bowl. The coal passes between the bull ring and the
grinding rolls, which imparts the pressure necessary for grinding. The
partially ground coal continues outward and over the edge of the bowl.

Heated air enters the mill side housing below the bowl and is directed
upward around the bowl outside diameter and separator body annulus, by the
vane wheel. It continues upward and into the deflector openings, in the
classifier at the top of the inner cone, then out through the ventury and
multiple port outlet assembly. As the air passes upward around the bowl, it
picks up the partially pulverized coal. The heavier particles lose their
momentum, and return to the bowl for further grinding. The lighter particles
are carried up and through the deflector openings. The deflector blades in the
openings cause the coal air mixture to spin within the inner cone. The angle
of the blades determines the velocity of the spin and the resulting fineness of
the finished product. Any oversized coal is returned through the inside of the
inner cone to the bowl for further grinding. Coal that is pulverized to the
desired fineness leaves the pulveriser and enters the fuel piping system.
Any tramp iron or dense, difficult to grind foreign material in the coal
feed is carried over the top of the bowl, where it drops through the air stream
and vane wheel to the mill bottom. Pivoted scrappers attached to the bowl
hub sweep the tramp iron or other material to the tramp iron discharge
opening.
The tramp iron opening is fitted with a valve. Under normal operation
this valve remains open and the material is discharged into a sealed pyrites
hopper. The valve is closed only when the hopper is emptied.

HAZARDS IN OPERATION OF BOWL MILLS:

The operation of bowl mills involves all the normal hazards associated
with any electrical motor / rotating equipment like electrical short circuit/
flash over, coupling failure, oil leakage/ spillage , etc., But one safety

hazard which is unique to the bowl mill operation is mill fire which can
cause heavy damage to men, machine and material and create havoc in a
power plant unless it is tackled with utmost care. Coal contains lot of
moisture and the moisture in the coal causes problems while grinding the
coal in mill, during transportation from mill to furnace and during
combustion inside the furnace. Hence, coal is dried in the feeder by giving
hot air and also by heating the primary air before sending to mill. For good
pulveriser performance the temperature of the coal- air mixture leaving the
classifier should be maintained as high as possible. Considering the fire
hazard, the pulveriser outlet temperature should be maintained at around 7075 deg C.

CAUSES OF MILL FIRE:

The common causes of pulveriser fire are:

1. Excessive mill temperature: Mill outlet temperature should never
exceed 95 deg C regardless of the type of coal being pulverized.
2. Foreign material: Foreign material such as paper bags, straw and
wood collection in the inner cone and other points in the mill. These
materials do not pulverize readily and therefore should be kept out of
raw fuel supply as they may catch fire on entry into the system.
3. Excessive accumulation of pyrites or coal on the mill bottom or in
the air inlet to the mill.
4. Excessive accumulation of coal in areas above the bowl. Worn liners
may allow coal to accumulate in an area faster than the normal air
flow will remove it or to reach areas where it cannot be removed by
normal air flow.
5. Improper or unusual operation: If a mill is operated with low air
flow, higher mill inlet temperatures are necessary to maintain the set
outlet temperature. The air flow may be so low that additional coal
settles out of the air stream. This condition can result in more heat,
less coal movement and a potential for fire. Another example of
improper operation would be the failure to close the hot air gate when
coal feeding is stopped or disrupted. An example of unusual operation
would be running coal through a mill from a bunker that is known to
be on fire.

6. Feeder hot air: When feeders use hot air, it is important to close the
feeder hot air valve whenever there is a possibility that the feeder will
be stopped for longer than 3 minutes with coal in it.

INDICATIONS OF MILL FIRE:

The most common indications of a fire in a milling system are
a) Very high or rapidly increasing mill outlet temperature without
other causes.
b) Hot spot or paint peeling from the mill and/or fuel piping.
c) Hot sweet odour.

ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN CASE OF MILL FIRE:

In spite of taking all precautions if a mill fire does occur, the

following procedures are to be followed:
a) Regardless of the location of the fire, mill should not be shut
down. Mill inspection doors also should never be opened until all
the evidence of the fire has disappeared.
b) Hot air gate should be shut. The hot air shut off gate should close
automatically if the mill outlet temperature rises to 95 deg C.
c) Coal feeding should be continued at a high rate without
overloading the mill.
d) If the fire continues to blaze and spreads further, then as a last
resort the mill should be cooled by admitting steam or water.
ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN AFTER MILL FIRE IS EXTINGUISHED

When the mill fire is extinguished mill outlet temperature will drop.
After all signs of fire are gone the following actions are to be carried
out:
a) Steam or water being admitted to the system is to be shut off.

b) Coal feeding to be stopped.

c) Empty mill should be run for several minutes to completely purge
the system and to reduce the possibility of an accumulation of
water.
d) After the mill has cooled down to normal temperature, it is to be
stopped. All inspection covers to be opened and mill interior is to
be thoroughly cleaned of any accumulations, including any coal
water slurry.
e) All mill internals including gear box, journal assemblies, oil seals,
gland sealing and victaulic couplings of all the affected piping
portions are to be checked for any damages and corrective actions
are to be taken accordingly.
f) Lubricants are to be checked and replaced if there is any evidence
of carbonizing.
Once everything is found satisfactory the mill may be returned to
service.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO AVOID MILL FIRE:

1. Mill temperature should be maintained very carefully. Mill outlet

temperature should not be allowed to exceed 95 deg C regardless
of type of coal being pulverized.
2. Foreign materials should be removed from the incoming coal at
any point during transportation as far as possible. If mill is opened
for any reason, any debris like paper, bags, etc., collected in the air
inlet, cone, bowl and other areas should be removed.

3. Care should be taken to operate the bowl mill properly. All

interlocks and protections should function and all operating
parameters should be maintained within allowable limits.
4. Maintenance should be properly and regularly carried out. Any
accumulation of pyrite or coal in the air inlet to the mill should be
cleaned whenever mill is opened for any maintenance work.
5. Mill should never be allowed to be over loaded. If overloaded mill
may get packed with coal and that accumulated coal may catch
fire.
6. It is advisable to keep hot air connection to feeder isolated in
normal operating condition. Only during rainy season when coal is
very wet, hot air may be allowed into feeder for drying incoming
coal before it enters the pulveriser. However, care is to be taken to
isolate hot air to feeder whenever feeder is stopped.
7. In pressurized mills whose air ducts and mill feeder are sealed, it is
recommended to incorporate spray nozzles in the mixing air duct
and mill centre feed pipe to admit water or steam to milling
system.

CASE STUDY -1:

Incident: Fire due to overloading of mill and non closure of hot air gate.

Equipment: Mill - D of Boiler-2

Problem:
During night shift on 22nd April 2002, overloading of mill - D of
Boiler-2 occurred resulting in excessive accumulation of coal and tripping of
motor. Normally, hot air gate needs to close automatically on stoppage of
mill as per the interlock setting. However closure action of hot air gate did
not occur and same was not noticed for 5 hours. At around 4.30 a.m. in the
early morning the mill caught fire and the fire spread to feed pipe and mill
discharge pipe and was beyond control. Ultimately, the fire was put out by
CISF fire Brigade after a lot of struggle.

Damage:
On opening and inspection the following were noticed:
a. Damage of vertical shaft and journal oil seals
b. Damage of number of pipe couplings
c. Carbonization and oxidation of lubricants.
The complete mill was down for 10 days for repair and overhaul
resulting in loss of productivity, expenditure towards spares and repair.

Analysis of Problem:
A thorough study of sequence of events which resulted in the huge
fire in Mill-2D was carried out and following are the findings based on the
analysis carried out:

1. Packing of mill resulting in overload and trip of mill

2. Failure of activation of interlock mechanism to close the hot air
gates.
3. No annunciation for High Mill outlet temperature at control room
to alert the shift personnel.

Corrective Action taken:

The following are the corrective actions taken to prevent recurrence of
fire due to packing of mill and non closure of hot air gate:
1. Periodic checking of all interlocks once in a month.
2. Work instruction to all operators to run mill without overloading
during operation.
3. Additional annunciation at control room to alert personnel when
ever the air flow comes below 22 T/hr as a result of mill packing
due to overload.

CASE STUDY-2
Incident: Fire in feeder due to leakage of hot air through butter fly
valve.
Equipment: Mill-A of Boiler-3

Problem:
Mill was running with normal load. As per operational requirement
the mill was stopped. After stopping mill, hot air gate did not close. It
took an hour to rectify the problem. During that time mill outlet
temperature was maintained by keeping the cold air damper open.
Once, hot air gate was closed, fire broke out suddenly in the feeder.

Analysis:
A thorough investigation was carried out to ascertain the causes
of fire and following are the findings:
1. Hot air gate remained open for a long time.
2. Coal accumulation was there in the feeder.
3. Hot air to feeder is drawn from hot air duct just below hot air gate
and a butterfly valve is provided near feeder. This valve was in closed
condition but some air was leaking through the valve.
4. This leaking hot air for a long time caused the rise in temperature
and the accumulated coal caught fire.

Corrective action taken:

1. A blanking arrangement was made in the air duct to feeder to avoid

entry of leaking hot air from butterfly valve. This blanking can be
removed during rainy season to dry the wet coal.
Krishnasish Chanda
Asst. Gen. Manager(Oper)
Thermal Power Plant
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant