CFB Design Evolution of Chinese CFBs

Sean Li, Burns and Roe Enterprise Inc (BRE)

Tang Yong, Dongfang Boiler Corporation, China (DBC)
Zhang Yanjun, Harbin Boiler Company Ltd, China (HBC)
Gao Zhiyu, Shanghai Boilers Works Ltd, China (SBWL)
ABSTRACT: This paper presents the development, Chinese CFB market and design evolution
of the CFB boilers offered by the leading Chinese boiler manufacturers.
TECHNOLOGY AND CFB BOILER MANUFACTURERS.
China started CFB development in 1980s. R&D was mainly carried out by the universities and academics
who worked or cooperated with small boiler manufacturers to build some small CFB boilers (mainly less
than 30 MWe) for industrial users. Different types of designs had been tried and put into operation around
1990, utilizing zig-zag impact separators, horizontal cyclones, L-valves, etc.
From the early 1990s, some industrial users started to import 50 MWe CFB boilers from the US and Europe
with foreign financing; Some built the boiler by buying a design package and limited equipment from
US/European manufacturers, and subcontracting the boiler fabrication to the domestic manufacturers.
Ahlstrom Pyropower (now Foster Wheeler) was the leader in supplying imported CFB boilers in that period.
The Chinese utilities, which is the biggest boiler market in the country, were still cautious about CFB
technology. In 1994 they imported a 100 MWe boiler from Ahlstrom Pyropower and named it Neijiang 100
MWe CFB Demonstration Project, located at the Neijang Power Plant. The boiler burns local anthracite and
achieved moderate success: all performance guarantees were met. But the carbon loss was high and there
were some problems with the cooling capacity of the bottom ash coolers and the loopseal expansion joints.
Still unimpressed by the CFBs performance, the Chinese utilities did not start to build +135 MWe CFBs
until 2000 when the government approved few new PC power plant projects and it was easier for the utilities
to get CFBs approved. Around this time the Big Three Chinese boiler manufacturers (DBC, HBC, and
SBWL) were also ready to offer the 135 MWe CFB boilers, with HBC having technology transfer from
Alstom/EVT, SBWL having technology transfer from Alstom/CE (ABB-CE at that time), and DBC having
their own technology developed based on imported technology from Foster Wheeler for 50 to 100 MWe
CFBs. In a matter of seven years time, these suppliers have built over 100 units of +135 MWe CFBs.
In 2002, Alstom transferred the 300 MWe CFB technology to the three big Chinese boiler manufacturers and
got the boiler award for the Baima 1 x 300 MWe CFB demonstration project. The Baima unit is located not
far away from the Neijang Power Plant and also burns similar anthracite.
In 2006, FW transferred subcritical CFB technology to Wuxi Boiler Works.
EXPERIENCE LIST AND STATUS
One can use the word extra ordinary to describe the Chinese CFB market.
In the past decade, over 2,000 CFB units have been put into operation in China (Yue, etc, 2006). Most of the
units are in the Chinese standard turbine sizes (net MWe): 300 MWe (1025 t/h SH), 135 MWe (440 t/h SH),
50 MWe (220 t/h), 25 MWe (130 t/h), 12 MWe (75 t/h) and 5 MWe (35 t/h). The first tier boiler companies,
the Big Three, sell mostly 100 MWe and larger boilers, and are concentrating on the 300 MWe market now
as the second tier boiler manufacturers have entered the 100 to 200 MWe markets. The third tier companies
are dominating the small boiler market (< 50 MWe) and are moving up their boiler size too.
The following list some major CFB boiler players in China:
MWe 300 200 135-150 100 50 <50
DBC 25 4 56 14 21 Note 1
HBC 11 1 57 8 52 Note 1
SBWL 10 6 21 6 0 Note 1
Wuxi Boiler Works 0 3 18 2 98 715**
Jinan Boiler Works 0 5 7 14 122 1,150
Wuhan Boiler Works 0 0 5 3 7 12
*all Information came directly from the manufacturers as of October, 2007.
** Includes 24 units of municipal solid waste CFB boilers
CHINESE CFB BOILER DESIGN
The pragmatic Chinese boiler manufacturers have made many changes to imported CFB designs over the
years. Normally they would send their design team to the foreign company transferring the technology to
design the boiler(s) for a recent order. The first units look like a boiler from the foreign company, but there is
no guarantee after that. They can change the boiler design to make the boilers more suitable for the local fuel
and operation.
One good example is the first 300 MWe CFB project that DBC built is the 2 x 300 MWe Qinghuadao project
based on Alstom license (see Fig. 1). DBC started to offer a different boiler design (see Fig. 2) to all the
projects that followed. The other two boiler companies, SBWand HBC have done the same thing (see Fig. 3
and Fig. 4). The reason is that the revised design offers cost advantage and a simpler design for the local
market.
Compared with the US and European manufacturers, the Chinese manufacturers enjoy the advantage of a
huge market with standard steam conditions and easier clients who are much less likely to enter litigations
with the manufacturers should there be performance or schedule shortfalls. Therefore the Chinese
manufacturers are much more willing to test different boiler designs and configurations until they find the
best design. Information is also spread in the industry more rapidly than in the West. Gradually, the Chinese
CFB designs from all manufacturers are becoming similar.
Most Chinese CFB boilers operate in a tougher environment than the boilers in the West in that:
The fuels are of more varieties. One week the boiler can burn bituminous coal of 25% ash. The
next week it can change to gob or culm of 40% ash.
The fuel crushers are mostly from domestic suppliers and it is rare that the fuel size to the furnace
meets the manufacturers requirement. Very often the fuel is much coarser than design and large
rocks get into the furnace too.
Little or no limestone is fed to the furnace although this is changing now. This makes the boiler
more subjective to tube erosion.
The following gives an account of the Chinese CFB design features which are different from those offered
by Western CFB manufacturers
1. Rotating ash coolers (see Fig.5) for the bottom ash cooling.
This is a Chinese invention and is widely used in almost all the Chinese CFB boilers because of its
reliability and simplicity (Li, etc 2005). The imported CFB technology from Foster Wheeler and
Alstom all use the fluidized type of ash coolers, which became one of the major boiler operation
problems due to plugging and high ash outlet temperature because of the plants difficulty in
controlling the crushed fuel size and the fuel ash content.
When the rotary ash coolers came to the market, they were an instant success with the Chinese CFB
boilers. The ash cooler is like a reverse kilm. Solids enter the rotating barrel from one side, cooled
by spiral and longitudinal fins inside the barrel, and leave the barrel cool from the other side. The
spiral fins lift and convey the solids continuously to the barrel exit. There is no mechanical pushing
force on the solids and therefore there is little erosion on the fins and barrel. The solid flow increases
with the barrel rotating speed and decrease to zero when the barrel stops rotating.
The barrel is double layered with coolant, normally condensate or service water, spiraling from one
end to the other between the layers. The sensible heat of the ash is transferred to the fins, to the
barrel and then to the coolant.
Alstoms 1x300 MWe Baima boiler was retrofitted with this type of ash coolers (4 x 20 t/h capacity)
a few months after commercial operation due to plugging problem in the original fluidized ash
coolers.
Alstom is convinced the rotary cooler design is acceptable and is offering the rotary cooler on most
large CFB projects in all markets. Some other Western CFB manufacturers have shown interest in
the product and are doing the due diligence on it.
2. Grid nozzles
Different grid nozzle designs came to China together with the technology transfer. Many Chinese
boiler manufacturers have tried different designs and finally found the bell type of nozzle (see Fig.
6) is the most appropriate for their boilers.
3. Reheat Wingwalls
HBC and SBWL have the reheater wingwalls inside the furnace as their standard design. The
reheaters in the earlier units of one manufacture worked but suffered high pressure drop (compared
with reheattubes in the backpass) and warped panels. The manufacturer quickly updated the design
with revised top hangers to eliminate the panel distortion.
DBC uses parallel backpass for the reheat temperature control. HBC and SBW use water spray for
the reheat temperature control.
4. Cyclone Construction
Due to its low cost and low construction cost (normally only about 10% of the plant cost) most
Chinese boiler manufacturers offer casing cyclones in lieu of cooled cyclones.
5. Bed Temperature
Higher bed temperature for better carbon burnup and lower carbon content in fly ash. Having 6% or
higher carbon content in fly ash is a big issue in China. This problem gets even bigger when no or
little limestone is added to dilute the carbon content in the fly ash.
6. Front Wall Fuel Feed
Most boilers are front wall feed only. This may have some performance impact, such as higher Ca/S.
But adding rear wall feed increases cost and reduces boiler reliability.
7. Lighter Structure Steel.
The Chinese CFB boilers normally have much less steel and platforms than in the West. Part of the
reason is the difference in code requirement and the fact that they do more recalculations after the
auxiliary equipment information is known. It is not unusual to see some boilers do not have
platforms to the drum, downcomers, cyclones and J valves. Boiler penthouses are very rare.
8. Boiler layout.
The primary air ducts to the furnace, induct burners, etc are normally in the sub floor about 10 feed
below the ground floor. The furnace grid is only about 4-6 feed above the ground floor. The bottom
ash conveyer is normally in a pit. As a result, he boiler looks less crowded as one enters the boiler.
600 MWE SUPERCRTICAL CFB DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA
Following the success of 600 MWe and 1000 MWe supercritical PC boilers in China, the Chinese
government has organized the Big Three boiler manufacturers, universities and research institutes to develop
a 600MW supercritical CFB demonstration project. The research budget for the supercritical boiler is 5
MUSD. No technology transfer from the Western boiler companies is expected. Universities and research
institutes will be in a supporting role to the boiler manufacturers in the technology development.
CONCLUSION
Due to the market size, technology transfer and local characteristics of fuels, equipment selection and plant
operation, the Chinese CFB boiler manufacturers have made significant improvements to the imported CFB
boiler designs for the local market. Some of the improvements have been adopted by other world leading
CFB suppliers. It is expected that Chinas development of 600 MWe supercritical CFB boilers will
contribute significantly to the CFB industry.
RFERENCES
Li Sean, Guo Guanglong, Kang Shifu, Ling Rotating Ash Cooler - Solution for CFB Ash Cooling
presented at the CIBO conference, PA, USA, 2006.
Yue Guangxi, etc, Report of the 300MW CFB demonstration project in Baima Sichuan, Sino Power Press,
2007
Fig. 1. 2x300 MWe Qinghuangdao Power
Plant by DBC Commissioned in 2006
Fig. 2. 2x300 MWe Wangjaozhuang Power
Plant by DBC to be Operated in 2008
Fig. 3. Latest 300 MWe CFB Design by HBC
Fig. 4. Latest 300 MWe CFB Design by SBWL
Fig. 5. Rotating ash cooler by Songling
(diagram and photo (15/hr capacity)
provided by Songling)
Fig. 6. Bell Type Grid Nozzles