Furnace Construction & Operations

Prepared by Osama Hasan GTE Amm 3 Engro Fertilizers 1

What is Furnace?
Converts Chemical/Electrical Energy to Thermal Energy Examples Household Furnace Metallurgical Furnace Industrial Process Furnace Non Reactive e.g. start-up furnace Reactive e.g. primary reformer in ammonia plant

Types
Draft Construction Fuel Process Type Burner Arrangement Heating Method Tubes Arrangement
Horizontal Inline Natural Draft

Vertical

Coal Fired

Continuous

Top Fired

Direct

Forced Draft

Horizontal

Gas Fired

Batch

Bottom Fired

Indirect

Horizontal Staggered

Induced Draft

Oil Fired

Side-wall Fired

Vertical Inline

Balanced Draft

Electric Current

Terrace-wall Fired

Vertical Staggered

Vertical Furnace

Types: Construction

Horizontal Furnace

Types: Draft
The slight pressure difference between firebox and the atmospheric pressure that produces the flow of gases due to temperature difference
Forced Mechanical Draft Natural Balanced Induced

Types: Burners

Natural Draft Furnace

Air Registers

Damper

Controls the air flow partially Controls the furnace pressure by manipulating the resistance in flow of the flue gas
Excessive opening leads to a significant decrease in furnace pressure Excessive closing leads to pressure building in furnace

Reduced furnace pressure:

Burner Lifting Burner backfire Increase in draft Flue gases leak from peep door Flame-out Explosion Refractory Damage Rise in radiation zone temp. Incomplete combustion of fuel Drop of heat duty in convection coil Radiation zone temperature decreases

Increased furnace pressure:

Zones
Zones Tube Banks
Radiant Radiation Furnace Shock

Convection

Convection

Zones: Radiation
Fire Box

Area around the burners where gas combustion occurs to produce heat and radiation Devices used to inject, mix and burn the fuel Wall lining / insulation that accumulates, insulates and radiates heat back to the tubes and increases the heat transfer

Burners

Refractory

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Zones: Radiation
Radiant Tubes

High Pressure and high flow rate process pipelines loaded with catalyst receiving heat via radiation from burners and refractory Tubes which receive heat via radiation and convection both

Shock Tubes

Types of Tubes:

Finned

Bare

Studded

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Zones: Convection
Also called Heat Recovery Section
Arch section

Space between the convection section and radiant section, where flue gases are mixed to offer uniform heat transfer in convection zone Coils carrying some fluid which recovers heat from the flue gases Area between the convection section and stack

Convection Coils

Breeching

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Zones: Convection

Arch Section Convection Coil

Breeching Section

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Zones: Convection
Vent Stack

The chimney that exhausts the flue gases from breeching to atmosphere Draft regulator which works similar to a butter fly valve to control the air and heat flow

Exhaust Damper

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Burners
Raw Gas Burners

Air and gas is mixed and burnt at spider or burner ring Air inlet is controlled via back and forth movement of air doors Stable operating range is determined by the fuel gas pressure at the burner inlet

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Burners
Pre Mix Burners

Uses a jet of gas to draw the air into aspirator Turbulence is maintained throughout the length of the burner tube due to shape of the aspirator and the velocity difference

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Burners
Combination Burner

Primary Air: Drawn intro aspirator by force of the gas jet. Mixed with gas before it reaches burner spider Secondary Air: Drawn into thimble and meets the mixture at spider.

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Burners
Oil Burner / Gun

Uses steam to atomize oil into a fine mist Stable operating range is determined by fuel oil pressure at the burner inlet and the atomizing steam pressure at the burner inlet

Combination Burner

Operated on oil or gas or both Startup is done via gas supply

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Refractories

Heat resistant materials which insulate and protect equipment structure due to their excellent resistance to heat, chemical attack and mechanical damage in high temperatures and/or corrosive environment Low iron-low silica content refractories:

Insulating castable Insulating brick Ceramic fiber Ceramic module

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Metallurgy
In-service degradation mechanisms: Thermal degradation (creep) The primary damage mechanism for hightemperature service Metal dusting Metal dusting is a high-temperature corrosion mechanism that occurs in gaseous environments where the carbon activity exceeds one and the metal temperatures are in the range of 450 to 700 C Stress relaxation cracking Cracking of a metal because of stress relaxation that occurs during post weld heat treatment (PWHT) or during service at elevated temperature

Furnace Operations

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Impingement
Burner Flame touching a tube in the firebox Causes:

Problems:

Increased gas header pressure Low furnace pressure High draft across furnace Mechanical defect / damage of tubes Hotspot on tube Uneven expansion of the tube Tube rupture Installation Peep doors for monitoring Regular inspection

Remedy:

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Flame Color
Blue Flame:

Complete combustion Desired heating value Oxygen deficient / starving Carbon monoxide rich Less thermal energy Increased fuel consumption

Yellow Flame:

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Post Burning
Causes

Reaction

Excess / false air Tube leakage Fuel gas preheat coil leakage Un-burnt fuel carry over Combustion of un-burnt fuel Oxidation of carbon monoxide Loss of energy Explosion

Consequences

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Heat Recovery

May be used in forced draft furnaces

Recuperative
Limited heat recovery Blowing + heating / cooling of air supply / flue gases

Regenerative

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Instrumentation
Skin Couples/TMT

Check tube wall metal temperatures

Draft Gauges

Measures draft inside the furnace

Analyzes for excess oxygen supply Regulates air flow outward

Flue Gas Analyzers

Damper

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Startup: Checkup
Remove
Flammable materials Tools and other sources of danger Burner Pilot Burner Valves Stack Damper Stack Damper Secondary air registers on furnace Peep Holes Fuel Valves

Check
Open Close

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Startup: Purging

Creates a draft and remove all flammable vapors or gas from furnace Purging time should be long enough to ensure all flammable vapors have been removed Purging ensures elements of combustion (fuel, air and heat) are under controlled before we light the burners Natural draft furnace uses steam;

Steam not only purges the furnace but also preheats it and creates an initial draft

Mechanical draft furnace uses air

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Startup: Lighting the Burners

Purging is immediately followed by lighting the burners via pilot / torch To-Do

Introduce torch via secondary air inlet Crack the burner gas valve Steady the burner flame pattern by air registers adjustment If fuel doesnt ignite, purge again. Satisfactory gas header pressure Safety precautions

Ensure

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Shutdown
Reduce fuel / heat Reduce charge flow Shutdown all burners

Close Gas header valve

Shut off Gas pilot

Reduce steam

Open Bleeder valves

Open air doors and stack damper

Install blinds in fuel lines

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Thank you
Prepared by Osama Hasan Graduate Trainee Engineer Ammonia III Plant II

osama_hasan@hotmail.com ohasan@engro.com