DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL

ENGINEERING

EiT-M

Thermal power plant

Date: 5/01/2013
Introduction
A burner (combustion equipment) is a device for liberating
heat by the combustion of fuel. Fuels are predominantly
hydrocarbons, which release their heat exothermically when
oxidized in a controlled manner. The most freely available oxidant is
air, which contains only 21% oxygen, the remaining 79% being
nitrogen which does not contribute to the process. The nitrogen,
because it is heated at the same time, reduces the maximum flame
temperature that would have been possible with a pure oxidant.
Similarly, the combustion products, when discharged from the
process, contain the inert nitrogen, which increases the volume of
the gases and hence the sensible heat loss.
A burner, then, comprises a means to inject the fuel a fan to
provide the air for the combustion reaction, a register or flame
stabilizer assembly which provides for the mixing of air and fuel and
the stability of the flame and a means for controlling the air-fuel
ratio and fuel input.

Combustion equipment manufacturers are frequently called

upon to provide all the auxiliary services necessary for the safe and
efficient operation of the burner. This can include gas supply and
control trains and governing stations and pumping, heating and
filtration for liquid fuels.

Aspects of selection
Assuming that the plant requirements do not embrace heat
and power study resulting in a combined heat and power system, we
can confine ourselves to assessing the heat loading alone. Having
determined a total steam and/or hot water requirement in terms of
MW this will determine how many boilers are required.

In conjunction with the Pressure Equipment Directive

burners will shortly have to meet the design and safety standards
laid down for the boiler under codes for the auxiliary equipment
which includes the firing equipment as well as all of the other
peripheral parts of the basic heat generation pressure vessel. These
Standards are as follows:-

PrEN 12953 Shell Boilers

Part 7 Firing Equipment for Liquid and Gaseous Fuels

PrEN 12953 Water Tube Boilers

Part 8 Firing Equipment for Liquid and Gaseous Fuels

Part 9 Firing Equipment for Pulverized Fuels

Part 16 Firing Equipment for Grates and Fluidized Beds

Basic Standards for burners which are associated with other

Directives comprise:-

BSiEN 676 Gas Burners with Fans

BSrEN 267 Oil Burners with Fans

Air pollution and emissions

It is incumbent upon the plant engineer to do all in his power to
select, utilize and maintain the best standards and technology to
minimize the total production of exhaust gases by maximizing overall
efficiency. The main pollutants and effects are:

Carbon dioxide, unburnt hydrocarbons, N2O (Nitrous oxide), O3

(Ozone), Smoke, SOx (Sulphur oxides), Particulates, NOx (Nitric
oxides), CO (Carbon monoxide)

Gas burners
Introduction

Gas is the most common and easily controlled method of

combustion. Gas and air are in the same phase, i.e. gases, as opposed
to a liquid or solid fuel in two alternative phases, which obviously
require greater measures to obtain mixing of the fuel and air. The
process, therefore, is one of control or indeed inhibition of reaction
rate.

The simplest gas burners are of the non-aerated type, which

utilize a small jet of gas to self-inspirate the required air in order to
obtain a so-called diffusion flame. Simple jets of this type are the
Bray, Aeromatic or Drew types.

Commercial and industrial sizes of Gas burners tend to fall

into three categories: - Pre Mix, Radiant and Nozzle Mix all of which
have been adapted for good emission performance.

1. Pre mix burners

Known as aerated or atmospheric burners, the gas ejected
from the nozzle induces all the air necessary for combustion into a
closed space, whereupon the mixture is emitted through a variety of
slots, holes or grilles. These are sufficiently small that the flame
above cannot burn back into the primary chamber because the holes
are small enough to quench the combustion or are of sufficient
velocity to be higher than the flame speed of the gas. The premix
chamber can be made in any shape to fit the configuration of the
combustion space and therefore is very suitable for small boilers
where overall compactness is an important aspect. An even
distribution of heat output promotes low NOx because special
hotspots are avoided.

pre mix burner

2. Radiant burners
Gas flames have the weakness that they do not liberate very
much heat by radiation because of the low emissivity of the flame.
Even if the flame is fairly yellowish and at risk of incomplete
combustion the emissivity does not increase much. To overcome this
weakness and hence lower the temperature of the gases as the
combustion takes place a radiant burner comprises of a large
ceramic or similar mantle into which the premix gases are fed.

Combustion at the surface of the ceramic matrix raises its

temperature to 1000oC or more so that much of the gases' energy is
liberated in the form of radiant heat transfer.

By making the ceramic radiant enclosure of a similar shape to

the relatively cold surfaces of the combustion chamber, very good
heat transfer can be accomplished. Low average flame temperatures
produce low NOx. Sizes up to around 3MW are available.
Disadvantages are the relatively delicate nature of the matrix and
its supporting framework and the inability to derive dual fuel
versions.

3. Nozzle mix types

Utilizing a forced draught fan, the burner has a gas head
arranged to mix the fuel and air in a blast tube which controls the
stability and shape of the flame. Gas exits from holes or nozzles in
the head and is mixed partly in the high velocity air stream and
partly allowed to exit into an area downstream of a bluff body or a
swirl stabilizer. Behind the bluff body a relatively quiescent zone
forms which provides the means for stability.

Alternatively the swirl stabilizer achieves its function by

promoting a reverse flow zone in front of the blades so that a
permanent source of re-ignition is facilitated.

Oil burners
Oil burners are normally characterized by the method of
atomizing which in itself is dependent on the grade of fuel being
combusted. Four main types are found suitable for the vast majority
of applications:

-The pressure jet which is available as a basic nozzle and with a tip
shut off

-Spill return atomizer

-The rotary cup and

-The twin fluid atomizer

1.Pressure-jet atomizers
Oil is fed at high pressure to a nozzle in which the oil passage
is positioned to feed oil radially inward via a number of slots which
are arranged at a tangent to the swirl chamber.

The high rotational velocity given to the oil as it exits at high

pressure through the central discharge hole provides the means for
droplet disintegration via a conical sheet formed at discharge.
Limitations of this principle include restriction to kerosene and gas
oil for small sizes and poor turndown caused by a limited range of
pressures over which the atomization is satisfactory. There is a
choice of spray pattern, notably solid, semi hollow and hollow cone,
and a reasonable range of spray angles is available often used in a
two-nozzle head configuration to improve the turndown ratio from
1.4:1 for a single nozzle with pressure variation to 2:1 using two
nozzles at constant pressure.

2. Spill return atomizer

These partially overcome the weakness of the simplex
pressure jet regarding turndown ratio by spilling back the
unconsumed fuel at part load. In this way, the swirl velocity in the
exit chamber is maintained constant but the diameter of the exit
hole remains the same. A further advantage is that it is possible to
add a central shut-off needle through the atomizer which is
actuated by a servo piston using fuel pressure against the shut-off
spring. This allows fuel to be circulated right up to the atomizer tip
prior to starting the burner. Improved light-up results on medium
and heavy fuel oils due to pre-warming of the nozzle and feed
pipework. In addition, it provides a further mode of safety on
shutdown acting as a shut-off valve as well as preventing dribbling of
the atomizer, which could lead to poor atomization caused by nozzle
fouling.

3. Twin-fluid atomizers
Atomization in these types if partly caused by fuel pressure,
but this is enhanced by the kinetic energy provided by another fluid
which is normally air or steam. At present, this secondary fluid is at
a medium or high pressure, the low-pressure method being largely
superseded.

Pressures are around 1-2 bar for those categorized as medium

pressure and 6-10 bar for high pressure types. Oil pressures are
also typically 6-12bar.

Steam is the preferred atomizing medium, since it is more

economic than compressed air. Steam consumption is typically less
than 0.5% of the fuel burnt on a mass basis, although this rises in
direct proportion to turndown ratio. On very large burners the
steam flow is modulated in proportion to fuel burnt. Turndown ratios
range from about 5:1 for small shell boilers to 12:1 in water tube
applications, making this one of the most versatile burners. The
steam condition is important in that it must be dry-saturated or
slightly superheated at the nozzle to avoid condensate formation.
On small or non-continuously running plant where no steam is
available for start up a compressed air supply must be provided until
steam becomes available from the boiler.

Possibly the best-known version of this principle is the Y-jet

atomizer which has between four and ten exit holes arranged
circumferentially, each consisting of two converging passages
arranged in a Y formation. Latterly performance has been improved
by variations which use a central chamber so that the two fluids are
internally mixed before being ejected in a similar pattern to the Y-j
et. The advantage of this system is that the resulting jet of
atomized oil is more evenly dispersed from the hole whereas with
the asymmetric confluence of the two fluids at the Y junction a
small amount of oil is carried down the wall of the common hole. This
is due to surface tension and density differences between the steam
and oil. Notwithstanding this small difference both types are widely
used on larger boilers especially water tube types.
4. Rotary cup atomizers
A shaft rotating at 4000-6000 rev/min carries a primary air fan and
an atomizing cup. The cup, typically of about 70-120 mm diameter, is
tapered by a few degrees to increase in diameter at the exit. Oil is
fed to the inner surface by a stationary distributor which projects
oil onto the smaller-diameter end of the cup. The oil, influenced by
centrifugal force, forms a thin film which passes towards the cup lip.
Atomization occurs as the oil leaves this lip. In addition, a primary
air supply, normally in the range of 5-12% of stoichiometric
(chemically correct) air, is arranged to exit over the cup outer
surface, at a velocity of about 50-90 m/s. The primary air is swirled
to oppose the rotation of the cup.
 Supplementary and auxiliary firing
Systems
Combined heat and power systems have become a major
feature of the energy market over the last decade. This is not
surprising when one considers the benefits of cheaper electricity,
efficient generation of steam, flexibility of heat to power
consumption, excellent emissions performance and avoidance of the
Climate Change Levy.
Benefits of supplementary and
auxiliary firing systems
The addition of a supplementary firing system between the
gas-turbine or reciprocating engine and the waste heat boiler adds
to basic attractions of CHP by:-
Improving flexibility of operation
a) Increasing the range of possible heat/power ratios from about
1.6:1 to as high as 11:1.
b) Allowing variation of steam demand by modulation of fuel input.
Improving the efficiency of scheme from
30-50% for the turbine alone to as high as 92%
a) Reducing the sensible heat losses.
b) Reducing the residual oxygen in the exhaust.
Improving the emission performance
a) NOx reduction from the prime mover by the technique of re-
burning.
b) Reduction of other pollutants, e.g. CO, particulates by
combustion in more favourable environment than in the prime mover
due to higher temperatures and better flame residence times.
Specifying auxiliary operation of the burner with a forced draught
fan between the prime mover exit and the burner with suitable
control dampers allows:
a) Boiler operation when no significant electrical generation is
required.
b) Continued boiler usage when outages occur due to breakdowns
and maintenance. There are an almost infinite number of
configurations of combined heat and power layouts but only two
types of burner prevail. The generic term duct burner refers to the
fact that the burner is arranged to be fitted in the duct between
the turbine and boiler. If the fuel is to be gas the simple grid burner
is adequate. However, if dual fuel operation is required, a specially
adapted register burner is necessary.