Boilers and Steam Utilities
Boiler and Boiler Types of Boiler
System
Thermodynamic
Process Boiling Heat Transfer
Boiler Efficiency Energy Conservation
Opportunities in Boiler
System
2
What is a boiler ?
• Aboilerisanenclosed vesselthat
providesa meansforcombustion
heattobetransferredto water
untilitbecomesheatedwateror
steam.
• Thehotwaterorsteamunder
pressureisthenusable
• fortransferring theheattoa
pro ce ss .
• Whenwateratatmospheric
pressureisboiledinto steam
itsvolumeincreasesabout
1,600times, producinga
forcethatisalmostas
explosiveas gunpowder.
• Thiscauses theboiler tobean
equipmentthatmustbe treated
withutmostcare.
Boiler System
• FeedWaterSystem
• Provides water to the boiler and
regulatesitautomatically tomeetthe
steam demand.
• SteamSystem
• Collectsandcontrolsthesteam
producedintheboilerand distributed
the steam through a piping system to
thepoint of use.
•Fuel System
• Providefueltogeneratethe
necessaryheat,normallyby
combustion process.
General
Boiler Systems
✓ Water treatment system
✓ Feed water system
✓ Steam System
✓ Blow down system
✓ Fuel supply system
✓ Air Supply system
✓ Flue gas system
• Thewatersuppliedtothe
boilerthatis convertedinto
steam is called feed water.
• The2sourcesoffeedwaterare:
Feed Water • Condensateorcondensedsteam
Sys te m returned fromtheprocesses
Makeup water (treated raw water)
• which mustcomefromoutsidethe
boilerroomand plantprocesses.
General
Thermodynamic Process
h
Thermodynamic Process
Thermodynamic Process
STEAM PROPERTIES
Energy Units
❑ Boilersareoftenratedin“Boiler
Horsepower”(BHP)ratherthanBtusper
hour.
❑ 1BHPisdefinedastheamountof
energyittakestoconvert34.5poundsof
watertosteaminonehourat212
❑ degrees Fahrenheit.
A boiler HP equals 33,472 Btu/hour.
Boiling Heat
Transfer
Classification of Boiling
General
Pool Boiling Regimes
Boiling Curve
Typical boiling curve for water at 1 atm pressure.
The actual boiling curve obtained with heated platinum wire in
water as the heat flux is increased and then decreased.
Heat Transfer Correlation for PB
Nucleate boiling
Peak heat flux
Minimum heat flux
Film boiling
Heat Transfer Between Gas and Water
Heat Transfer Process
Steam
Ste am Temperature
Air Film
Condensate Drops or Film
Rust or Scale
Metal Wall
Stagnant Product Film
Degraded Product or Scale
Product
Thermal Resistance
Product
Temperature
Q= U.AT
• Theseveraldifferentmethodsof
definingthe efficiencyofboilers
canpresentaconfusing picture.
AsprescribedbytheASMEPower
BOILER • TestCode PTC4,thefuel-to-steam
EFFICIENCY
efficiencyofaboiler canbe
determinedbytwomethods:the
Input-OutputMethod,andtheHeat
LossMethod.
General
Input-Output (Direct) Method
The Input-Output efficiency measurement method is
based on the ratio of the output-to-input of the boiler.
It is calculated by dividing the boiler output (in BTUs) by
the boiler input (in BTUs) and multiplying by 100.
The actual input and output of the boiler are determined
through instrumentation and the resulting data is used in
calculations that determine the fuel-to-steam efficiency.
Input-Output (Direct) Method
Input-Output (Direct) Method
Parameterstobemonitoredforthecalculationofboiler
efficiencybydirectmethodare:
❖ Quantityofsteamgeneratedperhour(Q)inkg/hr.
Quantityoffuelusedperhour(q)inkg/hr.
Theworkingpressure(inkg/cm2(g))andsuperheat
❖❖temperature (oC), if any
❖ The temperature of feed water (oC)
❖ Typeoffuelandgrosscalorificvalueofthefuel(GCV)
in kcal/kg of fuel
Efficiency Calculation by I/O Method
Type of boiler: Coal fired Boiler
Heatinput data
Qty of coal consumed :1.8 TPH
GCV of coal :3200K.Cal/kg
Heat output data
• Qtyofsteamgen : 8TPH
• Steam pr/temp:10 kg/cm2(g)/1800C
• Enthalpyofsteam(sat)at10kg/cm2(g)
pressure :665K.Cal/kg
• Feed water temperature : 850 C
• Enthalpyoffeedwater :85K.Cal/kg
Findouttheboilerefficiency?
Find out the Evaporation Ratio?
Boiler efficiency (h): = Q x (H –h) x 100
•(q x GCV)
Where Q = Quantity of steam generated per hour (kg/hr)
H = Enthalpy of saturated steam (kcal/kg)
h = Enthalpy of feed water (kcal/kg)
q = Quantity of fuel used per hour (kg/hr)
GCV = Gross calorific value of the fuel (kcal/kg)
Boiler efficiency (h)= 8 TPH x1000Kg/Tx (665–85) x 100
•1.8 TPH x 1000Kg/T x 3200
= 80.0%
EvaporationRatio = 8Tonneofsteam/1.8Tonofcoal
= 4.4
• TheHeatBalanceefficiencymeasurement
methodis basedonaccountingforallthe
heat losses of the boiler.
Heat Loss Theactualmeasurementmethodconsistsof
• subtracting from100%thetotalpercentage
of:A)stack,B)radiation, andC)convection l
(Indirect) osse s.
Theresulting valueistheboiler’s fuel-to-
Method •
steamefficiency. Theheatlossmethod
accountsforstack,radiationand convection l
osse s.
General
• Efficiencyofboiler(n)=100 -(i+ii+iii+iv+v+vi
+ vii)
• Wherebytheprinciplelossesthatoccurinaboiler
are lossofheatdueto:
Indirect • Dryfluegas
• Evaporation of water formed
Method duetoH2in fuel
• Evaporationofmoistureinfuel
• Moisture present in combustion air
•
• Unburntfuelinflyash
Unburnt fuel in bottom ash
•
Radiation and other unaccounted losses
General
• Thedatarequiredforcalculationofboilerefficiencyusing
theindirect methodare:
• Ultimateanalysis offuel(H2,O2,S,C,moisture
Indirect • content,ash content)
• PercentageofoxygenorCO2inthefluegas
Method • FluegastemperatureinoC(Tf)
• AmbienttemperatureinoC(Ta)andhumidity ofair in
• kg/kgofdryair
• GCV offuel inkcal/kg
• Percentagecombustible inash(incaseofsolidfuels)
•
GCV ofash inkcal/kg (in case ofsolid fuels)
General
• Flue gas temperature
COMPONENTS • Stack Losses
OF EFFICIENCY • Heating medium temperatures
(steam pressuresinthe
case of steam boilers)
• Radiation and convection losses
• Excessair
General
• Ambient air temperature
• Heating Medium Temperatures
COMPONENTS
• Fuel specification
OF EFFICIENCY
• Steam quality (in the case of steam
boilers)
General
The Flow of Energy
Boiler Heat Losses
Whatarethelossesthatoccurina boiler?
Steam Output
1.DryFluegas loss
2. H2 loss
6.Surfaceloss 3.Moistureinfuel
4.Moistureinair
5. CO loss
7.Flyashloss
Fuel Input, 100%
Boiler Fluegas
Air
8.Bottomashloss
E ffi ci enc y = 100 – (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8)
(byInDirectMethod)
Effect of Excess Air on Boiler Efficiency
Onwell-designednaturalgas-firedsystems,anexcessairlevelof10%is
attainable.Anoftenstatedruleofthumbisthatboilerefficiencycanbe
increasedby1%foreach15%reductioninexcessairor40°Freductionin
stack gas temperature.
EnergyConservation
Opportunities
in Boilers
1. ReduceStackTemperature
• Stack te mpera tu re sgreater than 200°C
indicates potential for recovery of waste heat.
• It also indicate the scaling of heat
transfer/recovery equipment and hence the
urgency of taking an early shut down for water
➢ 22oC
/ flue side cleaning.
reductionin fluegas temperature
increases boiler efficiency by 1%
Flue Temperature vs Efficiency (FO)
2. Combustion Air Preheating
• Combustion air preheating is an alternative to
feedwater heating.
• In order to improve thermal efficiency by 1%,
the combustion air temperature must be
raised by 20 oC.
3. Complete Combustion
• Incompletecombustioncanarisefromashortageofairor
surplus of fuel or poor distribution of fuel.
• Inthecaseofoilandgasfiredsystems,COorsmokewith
normalorhighexcessairindicatesburnersystemproblems.
Example: Poor mixing of fuel and air at the burner. Poor oil fires
canresultfromimproperviscosity,worntips,carbonizationon
tips and deterioration of diffusers.
•Withcoalfiring:Lossoccursasgritcarry-overorcarbon-in-ash
(2% loss).
Example :In chain grate stokers, large lumps will not burn out
completely, while small pieces and fines may block the air
passage, thus causing poor air distribution.
Increase in the fines in pulverized coal also increases carbon loss.
4.ControlExcessAirForEvery1%ReductionIn
Excess Air ,0.6% Rise In Efficiency
Theoptimumexcessairlevelvarieswithfurnacedesign,typeofburner,
fuel and process variables.. Install oxygen trim system
TABLE 2.5 EXCESS AIR LEVELS FOR DIFFERENT FUELS
Fuel Typeof FurnaceorBurners ExcessAir
Pulverised coal (% by wt)
Completelywater-cooledfurnace for slag- 15-20
tap or dry-ash removal 15-40
Partiallywater-cooledfurnacefor dry-ash
30-60
removal
Coal Spreader stoker 30-60
15-50
Water-coolervibrating-grate stokers 20-50
Chain-grateand traveling-gratestokers 15-20
Underfeed stoker
20-30
Fuel oil Oil burners, register type
5-7
Multi-fuel burners and flat-flame
20-25
Natural gas High pressure burner
Wood Dutch over (10-23% through grates) and 25-35
Hofft type
Bagasse 30-40
All furnaces
Black liquor Recoveryfurnacesfordraft andsoda-
pulping processes
EffectofExcessAironCombustionGas
Concentrations
Combustion Efficiency vs Excess Air (FO)
5. Feed Water Preheating using Economiser
• For an older shell boiler,
withtemperature
exit a flue gas of 260oC,
an economizer could be
used
to reduce it to 200oC,
Increase in overall
thermalefficiencywould
beintheorderof3%.
• Condensing
economizer(N.Gas) Flue
gas reduction up to 65oC
➢ 6oC raise in feed water temperature, by economiser/condens
recovery, corresponds to a 1% saving in fuel consumption
6. Reduction of Scaling and Soot Losses
• In oil and coal-fired boilers, soot buildup on tubes acts as an
insulator against heat transfer. Any such deposits should be
removed on a regular basis. Elevated stack temperatures may
indicate excessive soot buildup. Also same result will occur due
to scaling on the water side.
• High exit gas temperatures at normal excess air indicate poor
heat transfer performance. This condition can result from a
gradual build-up of gas-side or waterside deposits. Waterside
deposits require a review of water treatment procedures and
tube cleaning to remove deposits.
• Stack temperature should be checked and recorded regularly as
an indicator of soot deposits. When the flue gas temperature
rises about 20oC above the temperature for a newly cleaned
boiler, it is time to remove the soot deposits
7. Effect of Boiler Loading on Efficiency
• As the load falls, so does the value of the mass flow
rate of the flue gases through the tubes. This
reduction in flow rate for the same heat transfer area,
reduced the exit flue gas temperatures by a small
extent, reducing the sensible heat loss.
• Below half load, most combustion appliances need
more excess air to burn the fuel completely and
increases the sensible heat loss.
• Operation of boiler below 25% should be avoided
• Optimum efficiency occurs at 65-85% of full loads
Effect of Load on Boiler Efficiency
Fuel Full Load LowLoad
Efficiency Efficiency
Coal 85% 75%
Oil 80% 72%
Gas 75% 70%
Bio ma ss 70%(?) 60%(?)
