The effect of various coal properties like ash content, moisture content, fixed carbon and calorific value on specific coal consumption in a typical thermal power station in India is analyzed. It is observed that the specific coal consumption is a strong function of moisture content, ash content and fixed carbon.
For the known Thermal Power Station (as considered in the present analysis), it is observed that, for an increase in moisture content by 2%, the specific coal consumption increases by about 8%. If, however, the ash content is increased by 2%, the specific coal consumption increases by about 5%. It is also observed that, for a 4% increase in fixed carbon, the specific coal consumption decreases by about 25%.