Combustion in Boilers

& Energy Saving Opportunities

without investment
Presented By
P.Dharmalingam B.Tech,PG.Energy Mgt,M.S
Sr.Dy.Director
National Productivity Council
AIP,Ambattur,Chennai-98
aipnpc@vsnl.com

Combustion in Boiler
Heat

Fuel
Air

Combustion

Exhaust

Types of combustion systems

Natural gas burners are the easiest gas to burn, since one needs
only to proportion the gas-air mixture, mix with air, and ignite the
mixture.

Oil burners prepare the oil by vaporization or gasification by

heating it in the burner, or by atomization in the combustion-air
stream. Atomization can be accomplished with high-pressure air or
steam, and is best suited for variable loads. Atomization can also be
done by mechanical means (centrifugal force) which is better suited
for steady loads and high capacities.

There are several types of coal furnaces including

stoker coal furnace
cyclone coal furnace
pulverized coal furnace
fluidized-bed furnace

Coal furnaces

The stoker furnace is of limited capacity and does not lend itself to
power plants but rather it is used in industrial processes. Coal is
introduced on a grate, and it is finally burned on a stationary bed. The
primary air enters below the burning bed and initiates the combustion
process, and also cools the grate. Secondary air is introduced over the
burning bed to complete the combustion process.

The cyclone furnace employs several independent combustion

chambers. The main combustion chamber operates at a temperature of
3200F. These were popular in the 50s and 60s but are no longer being
built since they have difficulty burning low-sulfur coals and the high
temperature results in significant NOx formation.

Pulverized coal furnace

The pulverized coal furnace attempts to burn finely powdered coal and
air in a gaseous torch. This is accomplished through pulverizing the coal
by crushing, impact and attrition (rubbing) of the coal to a size finer than
face powder (diameter<0.3 mm). The primary air dries and transports the
coal.
The advantages of a pulverized coal furnace include its ability to burn all
ranks of coal from anthracitic to lignitic, and it permits combination
firing (i.e., can use coal, oil and gas in same burner). Because of these
advantages, there is widespread use of pulverized coal furnaces.
The disadvantages of the pulverized coal furnace are that the coal
pulverizer has a significant power demand of its own and requires more
maintenance, flyash erosion and pollution complicate unit operation and
increase exhaust system maintenance requirements, and pulverized
systems have higher initial cost and require larger furnace volumes for
the combustion process

Fluidized-bed boiler
For a fluidized-bed boiler, the velocity of combustion gas (air) entering the
bottom of the furnace is maintained such that the coal and limestone or
dolomite particles are suspended (resembling a boiling liquid). The boiler
tubes are immersed in the fluidized bed.
Fluidized-bed combustion systems are categorized as pressurized vs.
atmospheric bed systems, and circulating vs. stationary bed systems.
Advantages :Higher rates of heat transfer between combustion process and
boiler tubes (thus reduced furnace area and size required), and combustion
temperature (1500-1600F) is lower than in a conventional furnace. The
lower furnace temperatures means reduced NOx production. In addition, the
limestone (CaCO3) and dolomite (MgCO3) react with SO2 to form calcium
and magnesium sulfides, respectively, solids which do not escape up the
stack; however, it does require about 50% more limestone/dolomite as
compared to a wet-scrubber system. This means the plant can easily use high
sulfur coal. Disadvantages: 1) erosion of tubes by the particles rubbing the
tubes, 2) requires more fan power to suspend the particles, and 3) system
appears better suited for low-power applications.

Example of System Loss

The typical steam system overall efficiency is about 35% as
follows:

Generation
efficiency
80%

Distribution
efficiency= 83%
(including condensate return)

Utilisation
efficiency
47%

Possible Boiler Losses

FLUE GAS LOSS
eg,
- excess air / temperature
- soot / slag deposits
- scale
- incomplete combustion

RADIATION LOSS
eg.,
- inadequate insulation

BOILER
HEAT
LOSS
BLOWDOWN LOSS
eg.,
- Non-optimal
water treatment

LOADING LOSS
eg.,
- excess boiler capacity
- variable demand

Factors Affecting Heat

Generation Efficiency
Equipment Design
Operating Parameters
Provision of Waste
Heat Recovery
Fuel Quality
Energy
Management

Controls
Load Management
Maintenance / Adjustments

Capital and
Process
Constraints

Efficiency %

Boiler efficiency vs Load

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0

20

40

60
Load %

80

100

120

Effect of excess air on carbon di-oxide

Carbon di oxide in flue gas, percent, when the
excess air is

Fuel
0

10

20

40

100

Natural gas 12.0

10.7

9.8

8.3

5.7

Distillate oil 15.2

13.8

12.5

10.7

7.4

Residual oil 15.6

14.1

12.9

11.0

7.6

Anthracite
coal

18.0

16.5

14.1

10.0

19.8

Increase in flue gas temperature ( oF)

Soot deposits vs flue gas temperature

180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

0.5

1
Soot deposits (mm)

1.5

Fuel savings as feed water

temperature increases

% fuel savings

9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

20

40

60
O

80

Feedwater temperature F above ambient

100

Fuel savings as combustion air

temperature increases
14

% fuel savings

12
10
8
6
4
2
0

100

200

300

400

500
O

Combustion air temperature F

600

Cleanliness of Boilers
FUEL = OIL

Clean Boiler

After 6 months
without cleaning

Flue gas temperature, deg C

220

300

CO2 ,%

12

12

Air temperature, deg C

30

30

Efficiency, %

88

84

Annual Consumption, Toe

1000

1048

Annual losses, Toe

48

Solution: brushing gas tubes of the boiler each month

Low-Cost / Short Term

Opportunities
ENERGY SAVING OPPORTUNITY

ACTION TO CHECK:

1. Reduce excess combustion

air to minimum

CO2/ O2 measurement

2. Maximise completeness of
combustion

Soot / CO measurement

3. Maintain boiler cleanliness

(soot / scale)

Monitor for rise in flue

gas temperature

4. Repair (replace) boiler

insulation and door sealing stripps

Periodic inspection of boiler

insulation condition

5. Insulate feedwater tank cover tank

Check possible feedwater

temperature losses

6. Insulate condensate return

lines

Check possible heat loss

from condensate return lines

Case Styudy: Boiler Efficiency

Improvement by damper control

Thermax Boiler

Economiser

6 TPH
10.75 Kg/cm2
Coconut shell
fired
Primary Air
Fan

Dust
Collector
Secondary Air
Fan

14 %

Damper
9%
Hopper
Coconut shell
crusher

Induced Draft
Fan

Fuel Savings due to Boiler Efficiency

Improvement
By damper control O2 in flue gas brought down
from 14 to 9 %
Correspondingly excess air from 200 to 75 %
Savings in coconut shell consumption 5 %
Annual Savings Rs. 3.5 Lakhs

Case Study:
Existing: High radiation loss from Moulds

Radiation
from moulds

Reduced heat loss through

insulation

Insulated Mould