Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

BOILERS
A boiler is an enclosed vessel that provides a means for combustion heat to be
transferred into water until it becomes heated water or a gas (steam). The steam or
hot water under pressure is then usable for transferring the heat to a process. Water
is a useful and cheap medium for transferring heat to a process. When water is
boiled into steam its volume increases about 1,600 times, producing a force that is
almost as explosive as gunpowder. This causes the boiler to be extremely
dangerous equipment that must be treated with utmost respect.

An economiser, air heater, or super heater fitted to the boiler will enable most of the
heat liberated from the fuel to be used. Super heaters increase the temperature of
steam and are necessary to render it suitable for use in a steam turbine or steam
engine.

The process of heating a liquid until it reaches its gaseous state is called
evaporation. Heat is transferred from one body to another by means of (1) radiation,
which is the transfer of heat from a hot body to a cold body through a conveying
medium without physical contact, (2) convection, the transfer of heat by a conveying
medium, such as air or water and (3) conduction, transfer of heat by actual physical
contact, molecule to molecule. The heating surface is any part of the boiler metal
that has hot gases of combustion on one side and water on the other. Any part of
the boiler metal that actually contributes to making steam is heating surface. The
amount of heating surface a boiler has is expressed in square meters. The larger the
amount of heating surface a boiler has the more efficient it becomes. The
measurement of the steam produced is generally in tons of water evaporated to
steam per hour.

STEAM PROPERTIES
Water can exist in the form of solid, liquid and The heat required to change the
gas as ice, water and steam respectively. If temperature of a substance is called
heat energy is added to water, its temperature its sensible heat.
rises until a value is reached at which the water
o
can no longer exit as a liquid. We call this the If 1 kg of water in a vessel at 25 C
"saturation" point and with any further addition water containing heat value of 25
of energy, some of the water will boil off as kcals is heated by adding 75 kcals, the
steam. This evaporation requires relatively water o
is brought to boiling point of 100
C.
large amounts of energy, and while it is being
added, the water and the steam released are
both at the same temperature. Equally, if steam is made to release the energy that
was added to evaporate it, then the steam will condense and water at same
temperature will be formed.

Liquid Enthalpy

Liquid enthalpy is the "Enthalpy" (heat energy) in the water when it has been raised
to its boiling point to produce steam, and is measured in kCal/kg, its symbol is h f.
(also known as "Sensible Heat")

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 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Enthalpy of Evaporation (Heat Content of Steam)

The Enthalpy of evaporation is the heat energy
to be added to the water (when it has been
raised to its boiling point) in order to change it
into steam. There is no change in temperature,
the steam produced is at the same temperature
as the water from which it is produced, but the
heat energy added to the water changes its state
from water into steam at the same temperature.
To change the water to its gaseous
state (steam) an additional 540 kcal
would be required. This quantity of
heat required to change a chemical
from the liquid to the gaseous state
is called latent heat.

When the steam condenses back into water, it gives up its enthalpy of evaporation,
which it had acquired on changing from water to steam. The enthalpy of evaporation
is measured in kCal/kg. Its symbol is h fg. Enthalpy of evaporation is also known as
latent heat.

The temperature at which water boils, also called

 For a boiler is operating at a
as boiling point or saturation temperature pressure of 8 kg/cm2, steam
increases as the pressure increases. When saturation temperature is 170 oC,
water under pressure is heated its saturation and steam enthalpy or total heat
temperature rises above 100 oC. From this it is of dry saturated steam is given
evident that as the steam pressure increases, by:
the usable heat energy in the steam (enthalpy of
evaporation), which is given up when the steam hf +hfg = 171.35 +489.46 =
condenses, actually decreases. The total heat of 660.81 kCal/kg.
dry saturated steam or enthalpy of saturated
steam is given by sum of the two enthalpies hf  If the same steam contains 4%
moisture, the total heat of steam
+hfg. (Refer Table 1). When the steam contains
is given by:
moisture the total heat of steam will be h g = hf +q
hfg where q is the dryness fraction. 171.35+ 0.96 x 489.46 = 641.23
kCal/kg
The temperature of saturated steam is the same
as the water from which it is generated, and
corresponds to a fixed and known pressure. Superheat is the addition of heat to dry
saturated steam without increase in pressure. The temperature of superheated
steam, expressed as degrees above saturation corresponding to the pressure, is
referred to as the degrees of superheat.

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 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Table 1 Extract from the steam tables

Enthalpy in kCal/kg
Temperature
2
Pressure(kg/cm ) o Volume (m3/kg)
C Evaporation
Water (hf) Steam (hg)
(hfg)
1 100 100.09 539.06 639.15 1.673
2 120 119.92 526.26 646.18 0.901
3 133 133.42 517.15 650.57 0.616
4 143 143.70 509.96 653.66 0.470
5 151 152.13 503.90 656.03 0.381
6 158 159.33 498.59 657.92 0.321
7 164 165.67 493.82 659.49 0.277
8 170 171.35 489.46 660.81 0.244

Indian Boiler Regulations

The Indian Boilers Act was formed in 1923, 23 rd February to consolidate and amend
the law relating to steam boilers. IBR is Indian Boiler Regulations, which was created
in 15th September 1950 in exercise of the powers conferred by section 28 & 29 of the
Indian Boilers Act.

IBR steam boilers means any closed vessel exceeding 22.75 liters in capacity and
which is used expressively for generating steam under pressure and includes any
mounting or other fitting attached to such vessel which is wholly or partly under
pressure when the steam is shut off.

IBR steam pipe means any pipe through which steam passes from a boiler to a
prime mover or other user or both if pressure at which steam passes through such
pipes exceeds 3.5 kg/cm2 above atmospheric pressure or such pipe exceeds 254
mm in internal diameter and includes in either case any connected fitting of a steam
pipe.

The IBR boilers respond well to fluctuating loads without affecting steam quality due
to lower steam release velocities (dryness fraction – 0.98). Hence, IBR boiler is the
better choice if dry steam is important.

Boiler Systems
The feed water system provides water to the boiler and regulates it automatically to
meet the steam demand. Various valves provide access for maintenance and repair.
The steam system collects and controls the steam produced in the boiler. Steam is
directed through piping to the point of use. Throughout the system steam, pressure
is regulated using valves and checked with steam pressure gauges. The steam and
feed water systems share some components. The fuel system includes all
equipment used to provide fuel to generate the necessary heat. The equipment
required in the fuel system depends on the type of fuel used in the system. All fuels
are combustible and dangerous if necessary safety standards are not followed.

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 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Fuels commonly used are the fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gas and agro-residues. A
typical boiler room schematic is shown in Figure.

Boiler Room Schematic

In a fuel oil fired boiler plant, fuel oil leaves the tank through a suction line and
duplex strainer traveling then to the fuel oil pump. The fuel oil is then forced through
the pump and then through the discharge line. From the discharge line some fuel oil
is burned and some returned to the tank through a regulating valve.

Coal fired boilers use mechanical feeders or stokers to feed fuel to the burner at a
consistent rate. For example, in a chain grate stoker coal is fed through the hopper
and regulated before passing under the ignition arch. The coal continues on a
conveyor which carries the ignited coal slowly under the heating surface. Ash, slag
and unburned parts or clinkers are discharged at the other side of the conveyor.

In a natural gas fired plant gas is supplied at a set pressure, which varies depending
on the gas source. Gas systems are low pressure or high pressure. In a low
pressure gas system city gas pressure is reduced from kilograms to mm of H 2O
pressure by passing through a gas regulator. Through the regulator gas is drawn
into the burner and mixed with air supplied by a blower. This mixture is directed to
the burner where it is ignited with the pilot light. In a high gas pressure system, gas
passes through the regulator and gas is reduced to the proper pressure for the
burner. Some boilers have combination burners, which can burn gas or fuel oil or a
combination of both gas and fuel oil.

The draft system regulates the flow of air to and from the burner. For fuel to burn
efficiently the right amount of oxygen must be provided. Air must also be provided
to direct the flow of air through the furnace to direct the gases of combustion out of
the furnace to the stack. A forced draft system uses a fan to force (or push) air
through the furnace. An induced draft system uses a fan to draw (or pull) air
through the furnace. A combination or balanced draft system uses forced and
induced draft fans.

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 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Steam To Condensate Cycle

In a steam heating system steam leaves the main steam line and enters the main
steam header. From the main header piping directs the steam to branch lines.
Branch lines feed steam through a riser to the steam using equipment in the
process. As the steam releases heat to the equipment, it is cooled and becomes hot
water or condensate. The condensate is separated from the steam by a steam trap.
The steam trap allows condensate to pass but not the steam. The condensate
passes through the condensate return line and is collected and directed back to the
boiler to repeat the steam to water process.

After repeated condensate reuse in boiler, solids separate from water and buildup in
boiler. Since boiler is operating continuously and at higher temperatures this
"buildup" can occur very rapidly. When this occurs the heat transfer cannot be
achieved, as readily which requires more fuel to produce the steam. If continued
unchecked, damage to the metals in the boiler shell and tubes will result.

Pretreatment equipment such as softeners, demineralizer etc. are used to remove as

much of the dissolved solids as possible before they get to the boiler. To remove the
solids, boiler chemicals are added which react with the solids creating a sludge. This
sludge is then periodically removed by opening valves from the bottom of the boiler
and relieving it to the drain. This process is called blowdown.

Waterside problems can also shorten boiler life from corrosion brought on by the
oxygen content in the feed water. Pretreatment for the removal of oxygen is done in
a deaerator but here again the removal is not complete and chemical additions are
made to aid in improving the oxygen removal process.

The water supplied to the boiler that is converted into steam is called feed water.
The two sources of feedwater are: (1) Condensate. or condensed steam returned
from the processes and (2) Makeup water (usually raw water) which must come from
outside the boiler room and plant processes. For higher boiler efficiencies the feed
water can be heated, usually by economizers.

Types of Boilers
There are virtually infinite numbers of boiler designs but generally they fit into one of
two categories:

Firetube or "fire in tube" boilers,

contain long steel tubes through
which the hot gasses from a
furnace pass and around which the
water to be changed to steam
circulates. Figure 2.1.10 Fire tube
Fire tube boilers are generally used
for relatively small steam capacities
and low to medium steam
pressures. As a guideline, fire tube

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 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

boilers are competitive for steam rates up to 12,000 kg/hour and pressures up to 18
kg/cm2. Fire tube boilers are available for operation with oil, gas or solid fuels. For
economic reasons, most fire tube boilers are nowadays of “packaged” construction
(i.e. manufacturers shop erected) for all fuels.

Common types of fire tube boilers are scotch marine, firebox, HRT or horizontal
return tube. Fire tube boilers typically have a lower initial cost, are more fuel efficient
and easier to operate but they are limited generally to capacities of 25 tons/hr and
pressures of 17.5 kg/cm2.

Watertube or "water in tube" boilers in which the

conditions are reversed with the water passing
through the tubes and the furnace for the hot gasses
is made up of the water tubes. In water tube boiler,
boiler feed water flows through the tubes and enters
the boiler drum. The circulated water is heated by the
combustion gases and converted into steam at the
vapour space in the drum. These boilers are selected
when the steam demand as well as steam pressure
requirements are high as in the case of process cum
power boiler / power boilers.

Most modern water tube designs are within the

capacity range 4,500 – 120,000 kg/hour of steam, at
very high pressures. Many water tube boilers
nowadays are of “packaged” construction if oil and /or gas are to be used as fuel.
Solid fuel fired water tube designs are available but packaged designs are less
common.

The features of Water tube boilers are:

 Forced, induced and balanced draft provisions help to improve combustion

efficiency.
 Less tolerance for water quality calls for water treatment plant.
 Higher thermal efficiency levels are possible

Cornish Boiler

The furnace and ash grate are located inside the water cylinder. The fire and hot
gases were still routed through three flues, which run along both sides and beneath
the cylinder. Fire and hot gases move aft through the metal flue #1(the metal tube
running through the water) and return forward along flue #2, which runs along both
sides of the cylinder at the same time. At the front of the boiler the hot gasses were
directed downward into flue #3 and move aft along the bottom of the boiler and then
up the chimney. (Refer Figure)

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 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Cornish Boiler

Lanchashire Boiler

Lanchashire boiler is
constructed with
cylindrical shell and
furnace tubes or flues.
The products of
combustion passes
through the twin
furnace flues below
water level reverse
direction at rear end
pass into a bottom flue Lancashire Boiler
below flame bed. On
reaching the front end the gases pass in two approximately equal streams through
side flues into the chimney. The design is simple, robust, easily cleaned and by
reason of size and water content meets rapidly changing steam load very easily. The
exit gas temperature is very high because of comparatively inefficient heating
surface and an economizer is usually fitted with a waste heat recovery device. The
efficiencies of such boiler rarely exceed 65%. (Refer Figure)

Packaged Boiler

Package boilers are generally of shell

type with fire tube design so as to
achieve high heat transfer rates by
both radiation and convection. The
features of package boilers are:

 Small combustion space and high

heat release rate resulting in faster
evaporation.
 Large number of small diameter
tubes leading to good convective
heat transfer.

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 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

 Forced or induced draft systems resulting in good combustion efficiency.

 Number of passes resulting in better overall heat transfer.
 Higher thermal efficiency levels compared with other boilers.

Stoker Fired Boiler:

Stokers are classified according to the method of feeding fuel to the furnace and by
the type of grate. The main classifications are:

I. Spreader stoker
II. Chain-gate or traveling-grate stoker

Spreader Stokers

Spreader stokers utilize a

combination of suspension
burning and grate burning.
The coal is continually fed
into the furnace above a
burning bed of coal. The
coal fines are burned in
suspension; the larger
particles fall to the grate,
where they are burned in a
thin, fast-burning coal bed.
This method of firing
provides good flexibility to
meet load fluctuations, since
ignition is almost
instantaneous when firing
rate is increased. Due to this, the spreader stoker is favored over other types of
stokers in many industrial
applications.

Chain-grate or Traveling-
grate Stoker

Coal is fed onto one end of a

moving steel grate. As grate
moves along the length of the
furnace, the coal burns before
dropping off at the end as ash.
Some degree of skill is required,
particularly when setting up the
grate, air dampers and baffles, to
ensure clean combustion leaving
the minimum of unburnt carbon in
the ash.

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 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

The coal-feed hopper runs along the entire coal-feed end of the furnace. A coal gate
is used to control the rate at which coal is fed into the furnace by controlling the
thickness of the fuel bed. Coal must be uniform in size as large lumps will not burn
out completely by the time they reach the end of the grate.

Fluidized Bed Combustion Boiler

In Fluidized bed combustion, fuel is fed onto a hot, air agitated bed of refractory
sand. Fluidized bed combustion has significant advantages over conventional firing
systems and offers multiple benefits namely fuel flexibility, reduced emission of
noxious pollutants such as SO x and NOx, compact boiler design and higher
combustion efficiency. Lower combustion temperature allows use of cheaper
refractories. The most significant feature is the ability of FBC to burn low-grade coals
(upto 75% ash) as well as industrial and commercial waste with high efficiency.

The coal is ground (pulverised) to a fine powder, so that less than 2% is +300 µm
and 70-75% is below 75 µm, for a bituminous coal. The pulverised coal is blown with
part of the combustion air into the boiler plant through a series of burner nozzles.
Secondary and tertiary air may also be added.

Combustion takes place at temperatures from 1300-1700°C, depending largely on

coal rank. Steam is generated, driving a steam generator and turbine. Particle
residence time in the boiler is typically 2-5 seconds, and the particles must be small
enough for complete burnout to have taken place during this time.

The technology is well developed, and there are thousands of units around the
world, accounting for well over 90% of coal-fired capacity. Pulverised coal fired boiler
can be used to fire a wide variety of coals, although it is not always appropriate for
those with a high ash content.

There are variations in the positioning of the burners in the combustion chamber, and
designs are offered which use:

 wall-mounted burners on one side,

 opposed-fired wall mounted burners, or
 tangential burners in the corners or on the
walls.

Some corner burners can be adjusted in terms of the angle Tangential firing
at which they are pointing, thus moving the fireball in the
furnace up or down.

Combustion of pulverized fuel burned in boiler furnaces

The coal is ground to fine dust in a pulverizing mill. An air current blows this dust in
to then furnace where it burns almost like a gas. The fuel-laden air current enters an
outer chamber, which is shaped, to giver the current a circular motion. This tends to
throw the coal outward; so vanes are placed around the inner circumference to divert
the stream toward the center and keep the coal and air mixture evenly distributed
across the entire area of the pipe. The coal spreader at the burner tip breaks up the

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

mixture into alternate lean and rich layers and causes the stream to assume a
conical form.

Secondary air, supplied by a separate fan, is admitted around the tip of the fuel
burner. The volume of secondary air can be a regulated damper, and adjustable
vanes give it a whirling motion before it enters the furnace. Mingling of the rotating
fuel-laden air stream from the burner with the rotating current of secondary air tends
to ensure thorough mixing of the air and fuel and thus complete combustion.

The fire is started by inserting and oil or gas torch through the tube in the front of the
burner and then turning on the primary air and coal supply. Or a torch made from
waste dipped in oil may be inserted through an observation opening. The torch
should be in a position to ignite the fuel at the instant it is admitted to the furnace. If
for any reason the fuel does not ignite, the torch should be withdrawn immediately
and the setting allowed to clear before trying again to light up.

The secondary air supply is adjusted after the fire is lit. The shape or angularity of
the burning flare can be changed by advancing or withdrawing the coal spreader by
means of the tube in the center of the burner. Firing can be switched over to oil by
insuring an oil burner in the center pipe.

Fluidised bed combustion has

significant advantages over
conventional firing systems and
offers multiple benefits namely fuel
flexibility, reduced emission of
noxious pollutants such as SOx
and NOx, compact boiler design
and higher combustion efficiency.
When an evenly distributed air or
gas is passed upward through a
finely divided bed of solid particles
such as sand supported on a fine
mesh, the particles are undisturbed Schematic of Fluidized bed boiler
at low velocity. As air velocity is gradually
increased, a stage is reached when the
individual particles are suspended in the air stream. Further, increase in velocity
gives rise to bubble formation, vigorous turbulence and rapid mixing and the bed is
said to be fluidized.

If the sand in a fluidized state is heated to the ignition temperature of the coal and
the coal is injected continuously in to the bed, the coal will burn rapidly and the bed
attains a uniform temperature due to effective mixing. Proper air distribution is vital
for maintaining uniform fluidisation across the bed. The FBC boilers can be
designed for natural circulation or forced circulation. (Refer Figure). Both dry and wet
ash disposal systems can be adopted for transporting bottom ash and fly ash.

There are presently three types of Fluidised Bed Combustion Boilers as listed below:

 Atmospheric Fluidised Bed Combustion Boilers (AFBC)

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 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

 Pressurised Fluidised Bed Combustion Boilers (PFBC)

 Circulating Fluidised Bed Combustion Boilers (CFBC)

Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Combustion. (AFBC)

Most operational boiler of this type is of the Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Combustion.
(AFBC). This involves little more than adding a fluidized bed combustor to a
conventional shell boiler. Such systems have similarly being installed in conjunction
with conventional water tube boiler.

Coal is crushed to a size of 1 – 10 mm depending on the rank of coal, type of fuel fed
to the combustion chamber. The atmospheric air, which acts as both the fluidization
and combustion air, is delivered at a pressure, after being preheated by the exhaust
fuel gases. The in-bed tubes carrying water generally act as the evaporator. The
gaseous products of combustion pass over the super heater sections of the boiler
flow past the economizer, the dust collectors and the air preheater before being
exhausted to atmosphere.

Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion (PFBC)

In Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion (PFBC) type, a compressor supplies the

Forced Draft (FD) air and the combustor is a pressure vessel. The heat release rate
in the bed is proportional to the bed pressure and hence a deep bed is used to
extract large amount of heat. This will improve the combustion efficiency and
sulphur dioxide absorption in the bed. The steam is generated in the two tube
bundles, one in the bed and one above it. Hot flue gases drive a power generating
gas turbine. The PFBC system can be used for cogeneration (steam and electricity)
or combined cycle power generation. The combined cycle operation (gas turbine &
steam turbine) improves the overall conversion efficiency by 5 to 8%.

Atmospheric Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion Boilers (CFBC)

In a circulating system the

bed parameters are so
maintained as to promote
solids elutriation from the bed.
They are lifted in a relatively
dilute phase in a solids riser,
and a down-comer with a
cyclone provides a return path
for the solids. There are no
steam generation tubes
immersed in the bed.
Generation and super heating
of steam takes place in the
convection section, water walls, at the exit of the riser.

CFBC boilers are generally more economical than AFBC boilers for industrial
application requiring more than 75 – 100 T/hr of steam. For large units, the taller

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

furnace characteristics of CFBC boilers offers better space utilization, greater fuel
particle and sorbent residence time for efficient combustion and SO 2 capture, and
easier application of staged combustion techniques for NO x control than AFBC steam
generators.

Other Benefits

1. High efficiency
2. Pollution Control (SO2 formation can be greatly minimized by addition of limestone
for high sulphur coals.)
3. Low Corrosion and Erosion
4. Less Excess Air
5. No slagging in the furnace and no soot blowing
6. Low maintenance cost
7. Less manpower requirement
8. Attractive pay back period
9. Boilers with low thermal efficiency can be retrofitted with fluidized bed combustion
for conserving depleting fossil fuel.

 FBC boilers can burn fuel with high combustion efficiency irrespective of ash
content.

 FBC boilers can operate with overall efficiency of 82 to 86%.

 SO2 emissions are absorbed in limestone bed

 Consider replacement of inefficient boiler with highly efficient FBC boiler

Waste Heat Boiler

Wherever the waste heat is available at

medium or high temperatures, waste heat
boiler can be installed economically.
Wherever the steam demand is more than
the steam generated during waste heat,
auxiliary fuel burners are also used. If there
is no direct use of steam, the steam may be
let down in a steam turbine-generator set
and power produced from it. It is widely
used in the heat recovery from exhaust
gases from gas turbines and diesel engines
.

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar