ESL-IE-85-05-120

HEAT RECOVERY BOILERS FOR PROCESS APPLICATIONS

V. Ganapathy, Jack Rentz, Dave Flanagan, ABCO Industries, Abilene, Tx.

I

ABSTRACT

are possible, namely unfired, supplementary fijled

and exhaust fired.

Heat recovery boilers are widely used in

process plants for recovering energy from various
waste gas streams, either from the consideration
of process or of economy. Sulfuric, a~ well as
nitric, acid plant heat recovery boilers are
examples of the use of heat recovery due primarily
to process considerations. On the other hand,
cost and payback are main considerations in the
case of gas turbine and incineration plants, where
large quantities of gases are exhausted at temp
0
0
eratures varying from 800 F to 1800 F. This gas,
when recovered, can result in a large energy
savings and steam production.

Typical gas temperature leaving a gas tur!ine

ranges from 850 to 1050 F and contains about I %
free oxygen. Gas flow and exhaust temperature
depend on the turbine make, cycle and efficien y.
In unfired units, the energy in the exhaust gaf as
such may be used for steam generation.

The additional fuel input that is possibl due

to the excess oxygen in the gas is given appro imately by the expression [I]
I
I

58.4 W 0, where Q is the fuel input i

BTU/hr on the Lower heating value basis, W the
exhaust gas flow in Lb/hr and 0 the % oxygen.
example by adding say 30 MM BTU/hr to the exha
gas when the flow is 150,000 Lb/hr, we consume
about 3.5% of the oxygen and still 12.5% is Ie
the gas. This fuel input can probably raise t
gas temperature to 1650 F, which can nearly do
the steam production. In the case of furnace
units, nearly all of the oxygen in the exhaust
consumed, resulting in a steam production that
three to four times that in the unfired case.

This paper attempts to outline some of the

engineering considerations in the design of heat
recovery boilers for turbine exhaust applications
(combined cycle, cogeneration mode), incineration
plants (solid waste, fume) and chemical plants
(reformer, sulfuric acid, nitric acid).

INTRODUCTION
Waste heat recovery plays a dominant role in
power and process plants. Energy in the exhaust
gases may be utilized in several ways such as for
heating air, organic fluids, i~dustrial heat
transfer liquids such as Therminol, Dowtherm, re
frieerants, and last but not the least for steam
generation. This paper is restricted to discus
sion of boilers. Steam thus generated in the
boilers may be used for process, for power.
generation and for enhanced oil recovery to ment
ion a few applications. Sometimes th~ boilers
are installed from necessity of process but more
often from economic considerations.

For
st
only
t in
e
ble
ired
is
is

In all of the above cases, single or dual

pressure steam generation is possible.
Heat Recovery boilers can be of single pa s
design (fig 1) or of two pass design (fig 2),
depending on space availability and layout
considerations. Extended surfaces are used in
order to arrive at a compact design. Fin dens ty
varies from 3 to 6 fins/in. Type of fuel used in
the turbine dictates the choice of fin configu at
ion. If natural gas or another clean fuel is $sed,
the fin density could go as high as 5-6 finS/iI'
while if heavy oils are used, fin density is
limited to 3 fins/in. Fin height varies from .5 to
0.75 in, and thickness ranges from 0.05 to O. lOin.
Serrated as well as solid fins may be used. T e
choice of fin density in clean applications is
often decided by optimization studies [2]. Si ce
the power output of the gas turbine decreases y
about 0.25% for each inch water column of back
pressure in the turbine exhaust, fin configura ion
and boiler layout must be carefully selected.

Heat recovery boilers in fertilizer plants,

sulfuric and nitric acid plants are examples of
the former, while boilers serving gas turbines
and incinerators are examples of the latter.
Depending on gas and steam parameters,
several configurations are possible. This paper
attempts to bring out the features of some of the
widely used designs and their design considerat
ions.

Tubes may be arranged in either staggered or

in inline fashion. Inline fashion is preferre if
the tubes are required to be cleaned or if gas
pressure drop has to be limited. Staggered ar ange
ment results in lesser surface area requiremenfs,
but more gas pressure drop. Total gas pressurr
drop including diverter, duct boiler and econo izer
usually ranges from 6 to 8 in WC.

HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEMS FOR TURBINE EXHAUST

APPLICATIONS
Gas turbines are widely used in industry.
Their exhaust can be used for steam generation,
resulting in either a cogeneration system or a
combined cycle plant. Depending on the steam
requirements, three types of heat recovery systems

610

Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985

ESL-IE-85-05-120

output, and the insulation must be sized to handle

the higher temperature conditions. The ductwork
in the case of supplementary fired units can be
either refractory lined or ceramic fiber 1 ined
with a stainless steel liner.

! or
l

.. ", .
/'.~~'.~:

- "'
c

"

T'_~

..

, ....

:~~~ :~:: ~ ~-. ~::.. =~~t..~~.,

Fig I: Heat recovery boiler for turbine exhaust

The temperature profile for the boiler is
shown in Fig 9. It must be borne in mind that the
temperature profile in turbine exhaust boilers can
not be arbitrarily selected. Appendix 1 discusses
the importance of the ratio of energy absorbed
between the surfaces ahead ofoand in the economizer
which dictates the pinch point and the gas exit
'
temperature. Also, once the pinch point is select
ed for a particular gas inlet condition, it will
vary depending on the gas inlet parameters.
Steam
ing in the economizer is not a concern in unfired
heat recovery boilers if the approach point is
carefully selected considering the various modes
in which the gas turbine will operate. Significant
variations in ambient temperature and load can
affect the gas parameters entering the boiler and
hence the pinch and approach point. A complete
performance analysis is a must to ensure a good
design.

Fig 2: Heat recovery boiler for turbine exhaust

A decrease in the gas inlet temperature, with

the same gas flow can decrease the approach point
and consequently lead to steaming in the economizer.
This situation is more likely in a supplementary
fired boiler, when it is operated in the unfired
mode.

Direct radiation from the cavity ahead of the

boiler and non-luminous radiation have to be con
sidered while evaluating the fin tip temperatures
and the heat fluxes so that DNB (departure from
nucleate boiling) conditions are avoided. The
selection of fin density in the first few rows has
to be made with care so fin tip temperature
criteria are not exceeded. A combination of bare
tubes followed by low fin-density tubes and then
higher fin density tubes is often the choice. Non
luminous radiation contribution from the exhaust
gases though smaller in finned tubes compared to
bare tubes (due to smaller beam length), cannot be
ignored if the partial pressures of water vapor is
high as in the case of Cheng cycle applications or
turbines with water/steam injection.

In order to increase the steam flow, supple

mentary firing by using duct burners is often
employed. The gas temperature entering the boiler
is raised from about 900 F to 1200 - 1650 F
depending on the steam demand. Boiler desi~n is
similar to that of unfired units; however the
various components such as drum, piping and valves
have to be selected to match the higher steam

The heat flux has to be evaluated taking into

account the non-uniformity of gas temperature
profiles. DNB studies are performed after estab
lishing the circulation ratio in every row. Gen
erally a vertical boiler tube can withstand higher
heat flux compared to a horizontal or inclined
tube, due to the nature of vapor formation. Crit
ical heat flux, which is responsible for DNB is a

611
Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985

ESL-IE-85-05-120

function of several variables such as mass flow

inside the tubes, pressure, tube size, configurat
ion, initial sub-cooling, and steam quality. For
natural circulation designs, it varies from 120,000
to 350,000 BTU/sq ft hr [3,4,5].
The economizer of a supplementary fired
boiler is likely to steam in the unfired mode of
operation if it is not properly designed. There
are several ways by which economizer steaming can
be avoided. For instance, provision may be made
to bypass gas at low loads using a modulating
diverter or a portion of the economizer can be
bypassed or the design can be made with an
adequate approach under the turbine worst load
condition, namely the lowest load. A complete
review of boiler performance under various operat
ing modes and ambient temperature conditions is
essential before arriving at the final design.
When the steam demand increases so that the
gas temperature entering the boiler exceeds 1650 F,
a furnace fired design is preferred. This is a
conventional boiler with a radiant section made
up of water walls, followed by a convection
section. The steam generation can increase by
three to four times compared to an unfired boiler.
The burner u~ed for this application can be a
conventional register type with the wind box,
though grid burners are available.
Studies may be performed to arrive at the
optimum firing temperature taking into consider
ation the life cycle cost of the additional fuel
and the boiler cost and size. A lower inlet
temperature for the same duty may mean more
heating surface and hence more initial cost;
however the operating cost will be lower and
efficiency will be higher.

A recent 3pplication for turbine exhau

is
in enhanced oil recovery projects. Steam a
quality is injected into the ground to prod
additional oil. Steam pressure could vary
300 to 2000 psig, depending on the depth of
well. Since high TDS water is generally us
steam quality is limited to 80% to ensure t
salts of sodium are soluble in the steam-wa
mixture and do not precipitate inside the t bes,
leading to tube failures. The heat flux inside
the tubes must be evaluated for DNB conditidns.
Single streams are acceptable to 60,000 Lb/~r of
steam. In larger units, multiple streams a~e used.
Analysis for two-phase flow instabilities become
important in such cases. Inlet orifices or Iconirol
valves act to decrease flow oscillations an4 insure
uniform flow in various circuits. The stea1 side
pressure drop has to be evaluated with care Iso
that the temperature profile may be predicted
accurately along the gas path, as the saturAtion
temperature varies along the coil with the dteam
I
pressure.

The boiler for this application is usuAlly a

coil with associated trim and controls. onlsmaller
units, reciprocating pumps are used with wa~er
bypass in order to control the steam quality.

lay

Efficiency of turbine exhaust boilers

be
determined by ASME power test code methods ~6J.
Uncertainities in the measurement of gas fl'w and
gas inlet temperature must be reckoned with while
arriving at the guarantees.
Leakage across the bypass damper is si nifi
cant if the cross section is large. The leakage
flow may be estimated by the expression [7JI
W = 2484 A (IOO-E) (H/T)0.5

Turbine exhaust boilers ~an be of the natural

circulation design or forced circulation type, in
which a circulating pump forces the boiler water
from the drum through the horizontal evaporator
to the drum. A circulation ratio of 3 to 5 is
used in forced circulation designs. Availability
of circulating ~umps and boiler performance under
pump failure mode are the concerns to be addressed
in a forced circulation design.

'Ii

Where A is damper cross section in sq ft, H the

differential head between the gas and atmos~here
in WC,T, the gas temperature in deg Rand Elthe
efficiency of damper in % on area basis. I H=8,
T=1400,E=99, and A=80, then W=15020 Lb/hr, hich
is not insignificant.
I
HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEMS FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID W STE
MSW heat recovery boilers are different from
the turbine exhaust units due to the fact tie waste
gas stream may contain a significant amountlof
particulate and corrosive gases such as HCL
The
l
factors to be considered in the design are wossib
ilities of slagging, erosion and high tempefature
corrosion. Salts of sodium can have a low melting
point, on the order of 1600 F, which is typtcally
the gas temperature entering the boiler. Wtth'
the various metals in the gas stream, euteciics
are formed, which have a low softening temp rature.
Table 1 shows the softening temperatures 0 sev
eral alkali salts [8]. Hence the tubes mus have
adequate spacing and provision must be made for
cleaning the tubes with soot blowers. In 0 der
to ensure that the tubes are properly clean d,
retractable sootblowers may be used in the nlet
portion.

Turbine exhaust may also be used to raise

the temperature of heat transfer fluids such as
Therminol, Caloria, Dowtherm and refrigerants.
The heat flux inside the tubes must be limited so
that the film temperatures do not exceed the
limits specified. Choice of fin density has to
be made carefully as a high fin density can
increase the heat flux inside the tubes several
times. For example, a 3 in pipe with 3 fins/in,
0.75 in high, .05 in thick fins has an external
surface area of 5.95 sq ft/ft and if the overall
heat transfer coefficient is say 6 BTU/sq ft h F
and gas temperature, fluid temperature are 800 F
and 400 F respectively, the tube side heat flux
is [6x(800-400)x5.95xI2/3. 14/3.07]=18000 BTU/sq
ft hr, which may be high for the fluid in consid
eration.

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Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985

ESL-IE-85-05-120

It is felt by many in the industry that HCL

corrosion may be significant beyond a metal
temperature of 700 F-750 F. Hence, if superheat
ers are used, care should be taken to see that
they are located in a zone which results in a low
metal temperature. A buried superheater
located in the low gas temperature region is
preferred.

Depending on the nature of the waste gas

stream, steam 'pressure and temperature, one could
use a single shell, or an elevated drum fire tube
boiler. In the single shell design, the steam
space forms part of the same shell in which heat
transfer takes place. This design is economical
for low pressures and capacities. There is no
external circulation of steam water mixture.
Hence heat fluxes shQuld not be high. In an
elevated drum boiler, the steam drum is located
above the exchanger. Downcomer and riser tubes
are responsible for the circulation. The down
comers admit the boiler water at one end and the
steam-water mixture travels partly along the tubes
to the risers. The separation takes place in the
steam drum.

Table I
liquidus/Melting Points
Sodium and Vanadium
Ash Constituents
CompoWld

Mellins Poinl

Liquidu. Temp
Healins CoolioS

v,o,
IN7.1274'F 1220'F
:'>ja,o . 6V,o, 1255
185
5 Na,o . V,o.
. 11 V,o,
995
984
Na,o JV,.o, 1220
1040
:'>java,
(Na,o . v,o,) 1 HO
1040
Na,sa.
1625
1625

Depending on the gas temperature and heat

fluxes, the tubesheet can be lined with refractory
and ferrules may be used to transfer the heat flux
into a region away from the tube sheet. With pro
cess gas streams in hydrogen plants such as the
reformer effluent, the heat transfer coefficients
can be very high, on the order of 100 BTU/sq ft hF
compared to 10-15 from flue gases arising from
combustion ~f'fossil fuels. Hence the heat flux
will be high. Tube sizes, quantity have to be
carefully selected such that DNB conditions are
not initiated.

1165'F
1060

922
1020
1020
1625

Fig 3 sho~s a design fDr a MSW application,

which has been in operation at Charlottetown,
Prince Edward Island, Canada since 1983 with an
availability factor of over 977. [9]. Gas velocit
ies of 50 ftls or less are preferred if the par
ticulate concentration is high, in order to
minimize erosion. With HeL gases, the dew point
is not generally a concern, as it is well below
160 F and feedwater enters the unit typically at
250 F. Partial pressure of HCL does not signif
icantly affect the dew point as does the water
vapor content [10]. It has been observed that
the increase in chlorine content increases the
potential for corrosion, while an increase in
sulfu~ content rlecreases the corrosion rate. [II].
Casing design however is important in the low
temperature regions to avoid RCL corrosion.

Tube sizes vary from 1.25 to 3.0 in 00.

Optimizatioll $tudies may be performed to arrive
at the best size [12]. A smaller tube generally
results in a shorter tube length and lesser tube
sheet thickness. However, if the gases contain
dust or ash particles, plugging is likely if the
diameter is too small.
Vertical fire tube boilers have also been
built, especially in applications where space is
limited and tube cleaning is required.
Water tube and fire tube designs have been
used in chemical plants. Water tube boilers have
the advantage that by using extended surfaces,
their size can be reduced. However, they cannot
withstand gas pressures higher than 3-5 psig un
less special casing designs are used.

With certain types of incinerators having

high exit grain loading in conjunction with low
sofening temperature, a convective type design is
not adequate and radiant cooling chambers must be
used ahead of the convection section.

In sulfuric acid plants and in hydrogen plants,

the gas temperature after the boiler is important
from process considerations and must be controlled
at all loads. Internal or external gas bypass
dampers accomplish this. The advantage of internal
bypass is that the bypass pipe is cooled by the
water compared to an external bypass, which runs
hot. The disadvantage, however, is that the ex
changer diameter increases adding to the cost of
the pressure parts. The part load performance
of the boiler must be analysed before sizing the
bypass duct.

Fire tube boilers have also been used with

incinerators if the gas does not contain dust of
slagging nature. On low capacity, low pressure
units, single shell fire tube types have been
used, while for high pressure units, elevated
drum types are preferred, fig 4 & 5.
REAT RECOVERY IN CHEMICAL PLANTS

In hydrogen plants the metal temperature of

the tubes has to be determined carefully in view of
the hydrogen embrittlement problem. Chrome-Moly
steels have a longer life compared to carbon steels
at temperatures above 700 F, as indicated by
Nelson's chart, fig. 6.

Table 2 shows a few of the waste gas streams

commonly found in the chemical plants [5]. It
may be seen that some of them are at a very high
pressure, which necessitates the use of fire tube
design. In fire tube boilers the gas flows inside
the tubes, while steam water mixture is on the
outside.

613

Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985

ESL-IE-85-05-120

r
_".,0_;

~I
I

r*,

...

r"ffEIfII'It:HRtJ'.

.,.

~.

'

... .."#

t 1';,.

...

rll:.."

Fig 3: Heat recovery boiler for municipal solid waste

TABLE 4 COMPOSITION OF WASTE GASES

No

Gas TempC

Pressure atm

N
2

HO
2

O
2

S02
8- I I

S03

CO

CO

CH

0.3

300- 1100

78-82

8-10

250-500

80-82

10-12 0.5-1.0 6-8

200-1100

70-72

16-18

300-1100

30-50

\2-13

40-4\

6-8

7-9

500-1000

25-50

]3-15

34-36

13-15

0.2-1

200-900

76

4-10

J.

Raw sulfur gas

5.

Converted gas

2.
6.

Sulfur gas from converter

H
2

9-10

2-3

14-16
3.

30 2
38 0

3-6

Primary reformer flue gas

4.

Secondary ref rmer gas

Turbin.e exhaust

614

Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985

ESL-IE-85-05-120

Fig 4: Single shell fire tube boiler

Fig 5: Elevated drum fire tube boiler

Superheaters and economizers can be added to

fire tube boilers, if required.

large water tube boiler built for a sulfuric acid

plant. Provision is made for bypassing the gas
at lower loads in order to control the exit gas
temperature. Each row is analysed for tube and
fin tip temperature as the gas inlet temperature
is high, about 2300 F. The gas flow is 570,000 Lb/
hr and steam generation is about 225,000 Lb/hr.

The gas inlet and exit chambers of fire tube

boilers are not externally insulated to avoid a
hot casing, while the boiler portion alone is
externally insulated.
In fire tube boilers, the tubes can be ar
ranged to allow more than one effluent. In case
the length required is more than that desired, a
fire tube boiler can be arranged in two passes.

Combination fire tube and water tube boilers

have been used especially in hydrogen plants,
where one comes across reformed gas at a very high
pressure and flue gas at atmospheric pressure.
The fire tube boiler cools the process gas, while
a conventional water tube boiler is used to cool
the flue gas. The feed gas stream may also be

Water tube boilers have been used for chem

ical plants. Fig 7 shows the arrangement of a

615

Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985

ESL-IE-85-05-120

the same gas flow and inlet, exit gas temper tures.
Procedures for estimating the flue gas prope ties
are outlined in literature [5,14].

heated up by the flue gas and superheated steam

may be generated using the flue gas. The steam
side is common to the entire system. Fig 8 shows
the arrangement of a boiler for this application.

CONCLUSION
OFF-DESIGN PERFORMANCE
Heat recovery boiler designs can take va ious
forms such as fire tube, water tube, combina ion
type, and in each case a wide variety of tub
sizes, fin configuration and arrangement are~
possible. Boiler performance has to be eval ated
considering all the possible operating modes from
the point of view of steaming, gas velOCitY'jmetal
temper~tures, heat flux to avoid DNB, corros'on,
erosion, tube bundle vibration and noise.

Often fire tube and water tube boilers are

designed for a specific set of gas inlet condit
ions, while in operation they handle different
gas inlet conditions and steam pressure. The
performance of water tube and fire tube boilers
can be predicted for purposes of estimates by use
of simple charts [13]. However, when superheaters
and economizers are involved, the performance
of the boiler system can be predicted easily with
the help of computer programs developed for the
purpose [5],

ABCO has the experience of engineering a wide

variety of designs and is confident of meeti g the
challenge of heat recovery options.
I

Appendix Z illustrates how performance of

boilers may be predicted from field data,

APPENDIX 1:
BOILERS

TEMPERATURE PROFILES IN HEAT RE OVERY

ANALYSIS FOR TUBE BUNDLE VIBRATION

Typical gas and steam temperature distr'bution
in waste heat boilers is shown in fig 9 for
simple case. The difference between the gas
temperature leaving the evaporator and the S tur
ated steam temperature is known as the pinch point
and the difference between the water tempera ure
leaving the economizer and the saturation is known
as the approach temperature.

In large water tube boilers, care must be

taken to avoid two problems, namely the tube
bundle vibration and noise, Tubes vibrate when
the vortex shedding frequency approaches the nat
ural frequency of vibration of the tubes, while
noise is generated when the acoustic frequency
approaches the vortex shedding frequency. Baffles
are used to correct the noise problem. while
selection of tube geometry and pitch can avoid
the tube bundle vibration [5].

It is desirable. to design a boiler with

Iowan approach as possible in order to incr
the steam production. However the pinch poi
cannot be selected arbitrarily. It depends
arily on the inlet gas temperature.

1.00

"
"..

......
......

From energy balance, it may be shown:

o.i./.N.STUl

lOot

..

as
ase
t
rim

WgCp(TI-T3)=ws(h4-hZ)
2~ Cr

"1....

SlUL

WgCp(TI-T4)=Ws(h4-hl) [h refers to enthalpy](Z)

-'.1I.1II0stUL

From (I) and (2),

LWlloc 0
MDT

0
'0111011:0

'to 0' - - -...

"---_-'----_..l....---...J_'---....
'---_
......"'_-,_rn...--.:O.,Gi'.
"101001"

Fig. 6

I'MlT.A" I'liusullil

Two conditions that must be met for steam ge

ion to occur are:

Nelson's chart.

rat
( )

If an arbitrary pinch point is used whilk

initially arriving at the cycle diagram, it if
likely that one of the above conditions may n t be
met. It can now be shown that at high gas in et
temperatures, t is limiting and at lower val es
l
of TI,t) limits the temperature profile.

IMPORTANCE OF GAS PROPERTIES

In nrder to predict the performance of boilers,
a good estimate of the gas properties is a must.
This can be accomplished if the analysis is known.
If the gas pressure is high as in hydrogen plants,
the pressure effect must be considered as thermal
and transport properties are influenced by gas
pressure [5]. It should be borne in mind that
simply specifying the gas stream as flue gas can
be misleading to the boiler designer as the gas
specific heat alone can vary by more than 6-8%
depending on the moisture content. This results
in steam flow estimates varying significantly for

The lowest value T, can have is t), whil that

for T is t Substituting these in equation ()),
4
J
and calling the 'critical inlet temperature'T as
I
TIc:
( )

616
Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985

ESL-IE-85-05-120

-,

.. __

~l:::Q.~

- -ai
. -- - --1

Fig 7: Heat recovery boiler for acid plant

-;

r,.

fRQNT fl 001'9" yO'

Fig 8: Combination fire tube-water tube boiler

617

Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985

ESL-IE-85-05-120

Since T )T) , feed wate

temperature lim1ts the profi
Let us see what happens if w
arbitrarily fixed the pinch
at 30 F.
T = 550. From (3),
3
(1500-550)/(1500-T ) = 0.146
4
Or, solving for T4 , we 1ave
226 F. This is imposs1ble, s it
is below the feed water temp rat
ure.
I
I

If we had fixed up T a$ 280F

4
say, then
I

(1500-T )!(1500-280)=O.746
3

SlE"M

T] = 590 F. This is feasibl

toe pinch point is 70F.

I!V~PORATOR

Fig 9: Temperature profiles in heat recovery boiler

and
ysis,
can
or
can
e
nsure
is
mp
bit

It should be kept in mi d
that once the pinch point is
chosen for a particular inle
conditions, and the boiler sized accordingly, the
pinch point and approach point would vary wit load
and gas inlet conditions.

When TI;> TIc, t limits the temperature

profiles, while at values less than T ' t limits
I
3
the profiles. Let us illustrate thesecpoints with
simple examples.

The above analysis assumed no blow down,

effect of variations in gas specific heat was
glected, in order to establish the fact that
parameters and gas inlet conditions primarily
fect the choice of pinch point.

Example I: An unfired waste heat boiler is

to be designed for a gas flow of 150000 Lb/hr at
950F entering the boiler. Steam pressure is 800
psia and temperature is 600 F. Feed water is at
250 F and assume economizer approach is 20 F.
Determine the temperature profiles with a pinch
point of 40 F.

and
ne
team
af

APPENDIX 2: SIMPLIFIED APPROACH TO PERFORMAN E

PREDICTION OF HEAT RECOVERY BOILERS
The following approach may be used by pl nt
engineers to predict the performance of heat
recovery boilers of fire tube and water tube
gas inlet conditions if the performance is kn
at a particular gas inlet condition. The ana ysis
is valid for boilers without superheaters and econ
omizers. Also this may be used for purposes f
estimates only as the variations in gas prope ties
and effect of radiation (non-luminous and dir ct)
are neglected. For more accurates prediction, the
boiler designer should be consulted. The adv ntage
of this approach is that it is simple and hea
transfer coefficients need not be estimated.

Solution: Calculate T : From Steam Tables,

J
h 4 = 1271, h = 487, hI = 225 BTU/Lb, while t =
2
3
520 F. From (3),

Through this simple ana

we can show that pinch point
not be arbitrarily selected
a given inlet condition. Fo
unfired boilers, pinch point
be arbitrarily selected, whi
for fired units, we have to
that the exit gas temperatur
higher than the feed water t
erature, if pinch point is a
rarily selected.

fr

= (1271-487)/(1271-220) = 0.746

From (5), TIc = (520-0.746 * 250)/(1-0.746) = 1313 F.

Since the actual gas temperature T <1313, the
I
saturation temperature limits the temperature
profile and hence by using a value of 520+40=560F
for T , a feasible distribution is achieved.
3
It can be shown from energy balance that the
exit gas temperature will be about 424 F. Steam
flow can then be worked out.
Example 2: The same steam conditions except
that gas inlet is 1500 F.

Energy transferred from the flue gas to

is given by:

team

Q=WgCp(TI-T2)=US~T=US(TI-T2)/In[(TI-ts)

)]

= WsAH

618

Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985

ESL-IE-85-05-120

REFERENCES

From the above, we have In [(T -t )/(T -t )]=

I s
2 s
(2)
US/W C
g p
For a fire tube boiler, U is proportional to W 0.8

V. Ganapathy, 'Chart estimates supplementary

fuel papameters', Oil and Gas Journal,
June 25, 1984, P 108

[2]

V. Ganapathy, 'Charts help evaluate finned

tube alternates', Oil and Gas Journal,
Dec. 3, 1979, P 74

[3]

Babcock & Wilcox, 'Steam, its generation and

use' 38th ed.

[4]

W. Roshenow & J. P. Harnett, 'Handbook of

heat transfer', McGraw Hill, 1973

[5]

V. Ganapathy, 'Applied heat transfer',

Penwell Books, Tulsa, 1982

[6]

ASME Power Test Code, PTC 4.4, 'Gas turbine

heat recovery steam generators', 1981

[7]

V. Ganapathy, 'Quick estimates of damper

leakage, energy loss', Oil and Gas Journal,
Sept. 21, 198 I, P 124

[8]

Combustion Engineering, 'Combustion-Fossil

power systems', 1981

[9]

Resources, published by Tricil Resources Inc,

Akron, Ohio', Vol 12, 1984

and for a water tube boiler, to W 0.6

g

Using the above fact and neglecting variations

in gas properties, we may write the following
equations:
KW -0.2
g

[ 1]

(J)

for

a fire tube boiler

and In [(T -t )/(T -t )] = K w - 0 . 4
I s
2 s
g
a water tube boiler

(4) for

Example: In a fire tube boiler in an incin

eration plant, the following data are noted:
Gas flow = 22000 Lb/hr, Gas inlet temperature
1600 F, exit gas = 500 F, saturation temperature
400 F and steam flow = 6300 Lb/hr.
Determine the exit gas temperature, and steam
flow when 16000 Lb/hr of same gas enters the boil~
at 1400 F. Steam pressure is the same.
Solution:

[10] Jo Ann Ward et al, 'Waste Incineration and

heat recovery', Environmental Progress,
Feb. 82, p 30

Calculate K, using eq (3).

0 2
In [(1600-400)/(500-400)] = Kx22000- . or
18.35

[II] H.H. Krause et al, 'Corrosion and deposits

from combustion of solid waste', Transactions

of the ASME, July 1975, p 448

For the ~Ow2case, In [(J400-400)/(T 2-400)]

18.35xJ6000 . =2.647 or .
T =47 I F. Hence, new steam flow is approximately:
2

[12] V. Ganapathy, 'Optimum design of waste heat

boilers', Hydrocarbon Processing,
July 1981, p 167

6300x(1400-471)/(J600-500)= 5320 Lb/hr. The

actual flow is likely to be slightly different as
variations in gas properties was not considered.
However this gives a good idea and is simple to
use. For more accurate performance predictions,
the boiler supplier must be contacted.

[13] V. Ganapathy, 'Evaluate performance of

waste heat boilers', Chemical Engineering,
Nov. 16, 198 I, P 29 1
[14] V. Ganapathy et al, 'Physical properties of
selected gas streams', Chemical Engineering,
Feb. 28, 1977, P 195

NOME NCLATURE
C -Specific heat of the hot fluid, BTU/(lb)(oF)
p

Q -Rate of heat transfer, BTU/h

2
S -Surface area for heat transfer, ft
T1-Hot-fluid inlet temperature, of
T -Hot-fluid outlet temperature, of
2

ts-Saturation temperature of hot fluid, of

U -Overall he2t-transfer coefficient,

BTU/(h)(ft )(oF)

W -Flowrate of the fluid controlling the heat

g transfer, lb/h

619

Proceedings from the Seventh National Industrial Energy Technology Conference, Houston, TX, May 12-15, 1985