Coal is usually delivered to power stations by road, rail or ship. A typical 500-megawatt coal power plant produces 3.5 billion kWh per year, burning 1.43 million tons of coal in the process. To measure incoming coal volumes, ensure accurate payment, and manage inventory, most sites use weighbridges or unmanned weighbridge systems which weigh vehicles as they enter the site.

For sites that receive coal by rail, our rail weighing systems allow rail cars to be weighed in motion, without slowing down processes.

At every step of the process, weighing and measuring equipment can improve the efficiency of coal-fired power stations – whether achieving a uniform size and weight of crushed coal, or transporting it from the storage yard to the silos, or furnace.

Using weighing equipment can help to manage inventory and ensure a steady and stable supply of fuel to the furnace – from weighbridges at the site entrance to using load cells on tanks and silos or weighing on a conveyor. Sophisticated indicators can also be paired with software to measure and adjust the coal flow rate to maintain optimal combustion conditions and energy output.

Where goods are bought or sold by weight, legal-for-trade accuracy is required. Avery Weigh-Tronix provides a wide range of legal and non-legal scales. The benefits of a legal-for-trade system extend beyond legality into a scale system that provides reliable, repeatable weighing of goods – ensuring customer satisfaction, precise billing and accurate inventory records.

Weighing systems can be integrated into emissions monitoring equipment to measure the quantity of coal burned and correlate it with emissions data. This helps ensure compliance with environmental regulations and emissions limits.

Weighing equipment can be linked with inventory management systems to monitor coal inventory levels accurately. This information can help with scheduling coal deliveries, preventing stockouts, and optimising storage capacity