Is the air compressor the main equipment of the power plant?

Is the air compressor the main equipment of the power plant?

The answer is yes. The status of the air compressor in the power plant is very important, it can be said that the normal operation of the power plant can not be separated from one of the core equipment.

Let's talk about what the air compressor did in the power plant.

Thermal power plants burn coal or oil to generate electricity. Boiler combustion will produce a large amount of ash. If the ash sticks to the inner wall of the boiler, it will make the boiler heat transfer worse, wasting fuel and affecting safety. Therefore, power plants need to use compressed air to blow soot, the boiler heating surface of the ash blowing clean, which is one of the most important tasks of the air compressor.

In addition to soot blowing, there are a large number of instruments and valves in the power plant that need to be driven by compressed air. For example, the switching of pneumatic valves and the actions of various control instruments all rely on compressed air to complete. It can be said that compressed air is the blood of the power plant control system. Once the air compressor has a problem, many equipment cannot operate normally, which directly affects the safe operation of the unit.

In addition, the power plant's water treatment system, pipeline purging, and pneumatic tools used in maintenance also require compressed air to provide power. Whether it is thermal power, hydropower or wind power, are inseparable from the air compressor. Hydropower plants use it to supply gas to the turbine governor, and wind power plants use it to purge the equipment in the tower and provide power for pneumatic tools.

Therefore, although the air compressor is not the core host of power generation like boilers and steam turbines, it is the most important equipment in the power plant utility system, and its reliability is directly related to the safe and stable operation of the entire unit. Moreover, the air compressor itself is also a large power consumer in the power plant, and the operating cost is not low, so the power plant attaches great importance to it.

What use can a water-lubricated air compressor be used in a power plant?

Most of the traditional air compressors use oil to lubricate the internal parts. The oil will deteriorate over time, and there may be a small amount of oil mixed into the compressed air. Although the air quality requirements of power plants are not as extreme as those of hospitals, oil pollution is still a concern in some occasions where air cleanliness is required, such as gas for instruments and water treatment systems.

Now more and more power plants began to consider water-lubricated air compressor to replace. Its principle is very easy to understand, that is, water is used instead of oil to lubricate and dissipate the parts inside the machine. The water forms a water film on the surface of the parts, which makes the parts run smoothly and takes away the heat generated by friction. Because the whole process does not use oil at all, there is no oil in the air, which fundamentally eliminates the possibility of oil pollution. Moreover, the water can be recycled in the machine, and can be used continuously after simple treatment. There is no problem that the oil will deteriorate and turn black and produce sludge after being used for a long time. Daily maintenance is also more worry-free, and there is no need to change oil and filter elements frequently. It is a very suitable choice for power plants that require long-term stable operation of equipment.

So to sum up, the air compressor is indeed one of the main equipment of the power plant. It is responsible for key tasks such as soot blowing, gas for instruments, driving valves and tools, which directly affects the safety and efficiency of the power plant. The water-lubricated air compressor is becoming an increasingly popular solution in the power plant air supply system because it replaces oil with water, making the output air cleaner and easier to maintain.