Upgrade of steam turbine and power management control

LaFourche Sugars LLC located in Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA is one of the leading sugar mills operating in Louisiana, producing 120,000 tonnes of raw sugar annually. Apart from sugar production, the mill also had a Co-Generation plant comprising of 1 x 4.5 MW steam turbine generator, with 650 PSI supply steam. Apart from producing power to reduce the mills’ import power from the Grid supply, the steam turbine generator also produces exhaust steam pressure at 180 PSI, for supply steam to the steam turbine drives (e.g., mills, fans, pumps, etc.) as well as the entire factory electrical load. The main issue that LaFourche Sugars faced was poor regulation of steam turbine control (via the existing WW 505 digital governor and EG10P electro-hydraulic actuator) requiring manual intervention by the operator during synchronizing, loading, and load variation during abnormal boiler conditions.

HEINZMANN Australia was able to engineer the optimum solution through the CGC-T integrated governor system controlling the StG30 actuator, resulting in a smooth and seamless automatic control system solution for the customer, while integrating the system upgrade in the existing control panels (after the removal of WW 505 governor).

The CGC-T system provided automatic start-up sequence, optimum steam turbine governing control, automatic synchronizing control, kW and PF control, as well as “Process Control” via inlet steam pressure control @ 650 PSI. This control mode helped guarantee a fully automatic control system with seamless control during normal and abnormal conditions, preventing the steam turbine from tripping, and helping with smooth recovery after the abnormal boiler steam pressure was overcome. In addition, the CGC-T maintained smooth turbine control in Island mode (frequency control) during the sudden loss of Grid supply, safeguarding the factory operations until re-synchronizing back with the Grid supply. The overall customer feedback was positive, with smooth control and simplified operations.

Application Type: Co-Generation Power Plant (Sugar Mill)

Turbine Type: 1x Elliott United Technologies backpressure steam turbine generator

Power Output: 1x 4.5 MW

Country: USA

Upgrade of ABB turbine control

The opportunity for upgrade was presented when the IBW Virginal’s existing WW 505 control (obsolete version) had failed, and required replacem ent (including supply, installation and commissioning) all within 3 weeks. IBW Virginal opted for the HEINZMANN Si-TEC Xtend CGC-T system to not only upgrade but also improve their ABB turbine control.The control strategy requested by IBW was “Automatic Inlet Pressure Control” with the option of operating in “Automatic Base Load kW Control”.

Through the assistance of our French distributor NCG (Normandy Controls Group), who helped us secure and win this project, they successfully supplied, installed and commissioned 1 x Si-TEC CGC-T system within 16 days, exceeding their client’s expectations.

With the successful commissioning and performance of the their 4.7 MW ABB T/G, IBW are now looking at upgrading their other turbine generator controls utilizing the many beneficial features of the Heinzmann Si-TEC Xtend CGC-T steam turbine control system.

Application Type: Waste to energy power plant

Turbine Type: ABB condensing steam turbine

Power Output: 4.7 MW

Country: Belgium

Upgrade solution to meet guidelines

EGAT (Electricity Grid Authority of Thailand) imposes strict conditions for the quality of power exported to National Grid 115 kV network. The existing turbine control systems at Mitr Phol’s Dan Chang Bio-Energy plant were unable to meet these strict guidelines set out by EGAT. So approached HEINZMANN Australia for an upgrade solution.

With the assistance of SWTS & MARC, HEINZMANN Australia was able to provide Mitr Phol with a comprehensive steam turbine control upgrade solution. The proposed system included 2x Si-TEC Xtend CGC-T turbine control systems and 1x GSM Master control for grid export power control, to be rolled out over two separate phases.

By the end of June 2017 the full control system upgrade was commissioned successfully, addressing several unique application specific requirements:

• Improved quality of export power up to 25 MW to satisfy EGAT requirements.
• Automatic import power control during 32 MW T/G trip condition.
• Reduced complexity of system operation, providing consistency and ease of operation.

Project: Comprehensive steam turbine control upgrade solution

Application Type: Bio-Energy Power Plant (sugar mill)

Turbine Type: 2x SNM backpressure steam turbine generators

Power Output: 1x 17 MW / 1x 32 MW

Country: Thailand

Steam turbine and power management control upgrade

PEA (Provincial Electricity Authority) provides Baanrai with a 22 kV Grid connection via PEA Grid #1 and #2. The existing governing system installed was a combination of WW 505’s and UG8 governors. The main issues that Baanrai was experiencing was very poor Grid export power regulation and significant voltage swings, making it difficult to maintain a parallel Grid connection with the 27 MW T/G. In some cases, PEA Grid #2 trip also caused tripping of 27 MW T/G. This led to factory shutdowns & significant “downtime”.

With the assistance of SWTS & MARC, HEINZMANN Australia was able to provide Baanrai Sugar Industry with a comprehensive steam turbine and power management control upgrade for 2x 27 MW and 1x 20 MW T/Gs.

This resulted in improved quality of export power (via GSM), satisfying PEA Grid standards and the added feature of Grid voltage control (via GSM) maintained a steady 22.0 kV. This also eliminated trips on “Over & Under Voltage”, with no need for OLTC (On-Line Tap Changer) adjustment. The ROI for Baanrai was around 3 months.

Application Type: Bio-Energy & Factory Power Plant (sugar mill)

Turbine Type: 3x SNM backpressure steam turbine generators

Power Output: 2x 27 MW / 1x 20 MW

Country: Thailand

Upgrade of steam turbine and power management control

Arcante Blois Incineration Plant located in France processes over 85,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste annually. The plant processes waste and uses the combustion heat to convert to saturated steam. The steam supply (44 bar) is used for generating electricity, while the process steam (6.4 bar) is used for district heating. The main issues that Arcante Blois was experiencing was poor boiler pressure steam regulation, and difficulty in regulating process steam. This was particularly during peak demand in winter.

With the assistance of NCG, HEINZMANN Australia was able to provide Arcante Blois with a comprehensive steam turbine and power management control upgrade.

This resulted in optimum boiler steam pressure control at 44 bar, improved control of process steam for district heating at 6.4 Bar, and the added feature of Grid export kW control and export PF control. This also resulted zero turbine trips during Grid export CB trip to Island mode operation. The ROI for Arcante Blois was about 5 months.

Application Type: Bio-Mass Power Plant (Municipal Waste)

Turbine Type: 1x Alstom condensing-extraction steam turbine generator

Power Output: 1x 6.6 MW

Country: France