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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach
Introduction
The word Analytical means using or skilled in using analysis, where the word Analysis means separating something into its elemental parts or basic principles. In order to develop an Analytical approach in Steam Generators Operation, one has to always seek the basic principles behind every aspects of Steam Generation. A competent Boiler Operator knows What to do to ensure safe and efficient operation of a Steam Generator. A proficient Boiler engineer on the other hand also knows Why to do that. During the academic days in the college, an engineer has little or no idea about the field practices in the industry. As a result, they fail to connect the theory they learn during this period with the field engineering aspects and the knowledge acquired by them remain purely academic. When they start their professional career, they learn fresh about the field practices, from their experienced predecessors, who again, have gathered the knowledge through the same process. This type of knowledge helps you during regular operation and also to deal with usual emergencies and problems that are experienced during operation of a steam generating system. But what happens if something goes wrong, which was not previously experienced by either you or your predecessor? All field engineering practices are based on their basic engineering principles, and the difference between theory and practical information results only due to the practical limitations that deviates the actual from the theoretical value to some extent. But the basic principles remain same. Unless, an engineer is able to connect engineering theory with actual practice, micro analysis of any activity becomes difficult and there would be a departure from the Analytical Approach. In steam generating system operation, development of this approach should begin by first closely understanding the system and breaking it into its elemental parts. We should know the major sub-systems, each component in those subsystems, the basic engineering principles on which those components work, their operating parameters and their significance on their performance and the effect of the performance of each component on the overall system performance. How would one describe the performance of a Steam Generating System? A Steam Generating System performance can be described in two parts. In the first part, it has to extract heat from the fuel and in the second part it has to transfer the extracted heat into water and steam. Therefore to understand the performance, one should have a very clear understanding about the characteristics of Combustion of Fuel and Steam properties first. In order to achieve best performance during combustion, which are the activities that are important and why. Which components are used for these activities and how their performances are affecting the overall combustion performance? We should continuously ask these questions. Again in heat transfer into water and steam, we should know, where and how the heat is being transferred, from where the heat is lost and how much of these losses can be controlled, which are the components that affect this performance and how the performance of each of these components influences the heat transfer performance. In short, we should go on asking these two questions: Why? How? And then perhaps it would help us to take a more qualified decision at times, if we also ask How much? 1

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach If we understand the system with this approach, then we can handle every kind of situations, even it deviates from the usual practices. In Steam generating system operation, two aspects are important in addition to its performance, and these are Safety and Efficiency, with safety preceding efficiency in the priority list. If we can take an Analytical Approach towards the operation of this system, then we can take care of both these aspects more appropriately. In this course, our primary objective would be to develop an Analytical Approach towards Steam Generating System. Once we can develop this approach, then it not only going to be useful for safe and efficient operation of this system, but it would also help us in every aspects of engineering through out our career.

Engineering Basics
Units for measurement Physical measurement always requires specification of both a value (i.e., a number representing how much) and a unit (i.e., of what). Systems of measurement are formal strategies for indexing amounts of specified physical quantities. Unit: To express the magnitude of a physical quantity a standard is chosen which is of the same kind as physical quantity. This standard is taken as reference to measure a physical quantity which is known as unit. Therefore the process of measurement of a physical quantity involves. i) The selection of the unit and ii) Number of times the unit is contained in that physical quantity In general, measure of a physical quantity = numerical value of the quantity X size of its unit Fundamental and derived units: Fundamental units are those units, which can neither be derived from one another, nor can they be further resolved into any other units. The three fundamental units are (i) Mass (ii) Length and (iii) Time Derived units are units of all such physical quantities which can be expressed in terms of the fundamental units of mass, length and time. Ex. unit of area = (metre)2 unit of volume = (metre)3 hence all derived units can be obtained by writing it in terms of fundamental units. System of Units: The common system of units are: (i) CGS system: It was set up in France and is based on centimetre, gram and second as the fundamental units of length, mass and time respectively. It is a metric system of unit (ii) FPS system or British system of units: - It is based on foot, pound and second as the fundamental units of length mass and time. (iii) MKS system: It was also set up in France and is based on metre, kilogram and second as the fundamental units of mass, length and time. SI system of unit: In 1960 The General Conference of Weights and Measures introduced a new system of, units known as SI units. It is based on seven basic and two supplementary units given as: Base Units: Name of the Property Length Mass Time Electric Current Thermodynamic Temperature Amount of Substance Luminous Intensity Unit of Measurement metre kilogram second ampere kelvin mole candela Symbol m kg s A K mol cd

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Supplementary Units: Name of Property Plane angle Solid angle the Unit of Measurement radian steradian Symbol rad sr
All properties of interest to a Boiler Engineer can be derived from the above Base and Supplementary Units as can be seen from the following: Derived Units: Name of the Property Acceleration Area Density Energy Entropy Specific entropy Force Power (Rate of Work) Pressure Quantity of Heat Stress (Same as Pressure) Velocity Work Moment of force specific energy Unit of Measurement metre per sec2 square metre kilogram per cubic metre joules joules per kelvin joule per kilogram kelvin newton watt pascal joules pascal metre per second joules newton meter joule per kilogram Symbol m/s2 m2 kg/m2 J = N.m J/K J/(kgK) N = kg.m/s2 W J/s Pa = N/m2 J = N.m Pa = N/m2 m/s J = N.m Nm J/kg
Some of the useful conversions for SI Units: 1 kg = 2.205 lb 1 kgf = 9.81N (Newton) 1 kg/ cm2 = 0.981 bar; 1 bar = 1.0197 kg/ cm2 1 atm = 760 mm of Hg = 1.033 kg/ cm2 = 1.013 bar 1 bar = 105 N/ m2 (Pa) = 102 kPa = 0.1 MPa 750 mm of Hg = 1 bar 1 kg/ cm2g = 2.033 kg/ cm2 absolute (ata) 1 mm of water column = 1 kg/ m2 10 m of water column = 1 kg/ cm2 1 kg-m = 9.81 N-m = 9.81 J 1 kcal = 4.187 kJ = 2.205 CHU = 3.969 BTU 1 kcal = 427 kg m (Mechanical work equivalent of heat) 1kg-m/s = 9.81 W 1 HP (metric) = 75 kg-m/ s = 735.75 Watt 1 HP (British) = 33000 ft pound/min = 746 Watt 1 kWh = 3600 kJ = 860 kcal

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Mass: Mass is a property of physical objects that, roughly speaking, measures the amount of matter they contain. The SI unit for mass is the kilogram (kg), which is equal to the mass of the international prototype kilogram. Mole: The mole is the amount of substance. The unit is called the mole (mol), and its defined as the number of molecules present (6.023 x 1023) in 0.012 kilograms of carbon-12. In other words, 1 mole of carbon-12 has a mass of 12 grams. 1 kmol = 103 mol Volume: Volume of gas or any substance is defined as the space, which it occupies. Unit of volume of any substance is cubic centimeter or cubic meter. The volume is also expressed in litre. 1 liter = 1000 cm3 =106 mm3 = 10-3 m3 Specific volume: The specific volume of a substance is its volume per unit mass. The unit of specific volume is m3/kg. One kilogram of air at 00 C and under an absolute pressure of 1.0332 kg/cm2 (760 mm of Hg) has volume of 0.7734 m3. Density & Specific Gravity: Density of a substance signifies how densely it is packed with mass. Mathematically it is expressed as mass per unit volume i.e kg/m3 it also termed as Mass density and denoted by . Density or Mass density, = m/v For example water has a Density of 1 gm/cc or 1000 kg/m3 or 62.4 lb/cft. The Specific Gravity of a substance is its density compared with that of water. Since Specific Gravity is only a comparison of Density of a substance with the Density of water, it has no unit and its value remains same irrespective of the Units of Measurement. Specific Gravity is generally used for liquids. Concentration: Concentration is the amount of a substance contained in a given volume. "Amount of a substance" and "given volume" can take many forms. Mole/Volume Moles per litre (mol/L) and moles per cubic centimetre (mol/cc) express concentration in the terms of mole per unit volume (mol/v). The number of moles of a substance in one litre of solution is called the molarity of that solution. Parts Per Million (ppm) A part per million is one of a quantity in one million of another quantity. Parts per million is abbreviated to "ppm". To convert a concentration from v/v to ppm the concentration must be in ml/ml, L/L, etc... and then multiply by 106 to get ppm v/v. In the same way w/w concentration can only be converted to ppm using the factor "106" if the concentration is expressed in grams per gram (g/g), kilograms per kilograms (kg/kg), etc. Pressure: Pressure is defined as Force per Unit Area. i.e. pressure = force / area In practice it is expressed or measured in following units: 5

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach N/m2 or Pascal ; Kg/cm2 ; Lb/in2 ; bar (1 bar=105N/m2); height of liquid column (Normally water & Mercury) Atmospheric Pressure: The atmosphere, surrounding the earth, exerts a pressure on its surface equivalent to the weight of air acting over unit area of the earth's surface and it is known as atmospheric pressure. At sea level, the weight of air over a weight of unit area of earths surface is equivalent to weight of a column of 76 cm (760 mm) of mercury column (Hg) at 00C. It is taken as the standard barometric pressure. This is also known as a physical atmosphere or barometric atmosphere. The density of mercury is 13. 595 grams per cubic centimeter Therefore standard barometric pressure = 76 x 13. 595 = 1033. 32 grams / sq. cm. i.e. 1.03322 kg/sq.cm 1 ata = 1 metric or technical atmosphere (1 kg/cm2 ab.) = 760 /1.0332 =735.6 mm of Hg Pressure is also measured in the unit of mm of water column. One Atmospheric pressure is equivalent to 760x13.595mm of water column. That is 10332.2mm of water. This is 10.332 meter of water. 1kg/cm2 = 735.6mm of Hg = 735.6x13.595 = 10meter of water We know that the atmosphere exerts pressure as mentioned. However, if we take a pressure gauge in our hand, it reads Zero, even though the atmospheric pressure is present. Thus pressure Gauge measures the pressure with reference to Atmospheric pressure. The pressure indicated by the gauge above atmosphere is known as gauge pressure. The pressure indicated by the gauge when the system pressure is less than atmospheric is termed as Vacuum, which is generally measured in mm of water or mercury column and the gauges are known as vacuum gauges.
Pressure Gauge Reading Absolute Pressure = Atm. Pressure + Gauge Pressure Gauge Pressure Atmospheric Pressure 1.0332 kg/cm2
Vacuum = Atm. Pressure - Absolute Pressure
Vacuum Gauge Pressure Absolute Pressure = Atm. Pressure - Vacuum
Absolute zero Pressure
Thus the Absolute pressure = Atmospheric pressure + Gauge pressure Or Absolute pressure = Atmospheric pressure Vacuum
Properties of Gases: The Kinetic Molecular Theory The Kinetic Molecular Theory is the basis of the many properties of gases. The five postulates to the Kinetic Theory are as follows: Gases are composed of molecules whose size is negligible compared to the average distance between them. Molecules move randomly in straight lines in all directions and at various speeds. The forces of attraction or repulsion between two molecules in a gas are very weak or negligible, except when they collide. When molecules collide with one another, the collisions are elastic; no kinetic energy is lost. 6

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach The average kinetic energy of a molecule is proportional to the absolute temperature.
Boyle's Law Boyle's Law states the volume of a definite quantity of dry gas is inversely proportional to the pressure, provided the temperature remains constant. Mathematically Boyle's law can be expressed as P1V1 = P2V2 Charles's Law Charles's Law can be stated as the volume occupied by any sample of gas at a constant pressure is directly proportional to the absolute temperature. V / T =constant Note: Charles's Law is fairly accurate but gases tend to deviate from it at very high and low pressures. NTP NTP stands for Normal Temperature and Pressure. NTP is 0o Celcius and 1 atmospheric pressure. Gases properties can be compared using NTP as a reference. Combined Law The combined gas law is a combination of Boyle's Law and Charles's Law; hence its name the combined gas law. In the combined gas law, the volume of gas is directly proportional to the absolute temperature and inversely proportional to the pressure. This can be written as PV / T = constant. Therefore we can write P1V1 / T1 = P2V2 / T2. Ideal Gas Law The ideal gas law is a combination of all the gas laws. The ideal gas law can be expressed as PV = mRsT. P is the absolute pressure in kPa V is the volume in m3 m is the mass of the gas in kg Rs is a constant in kJ/ kg K T is the temperature in Kelvin
This equation is known as Characteristic equation of a gas. Sometimes R is called the Characteristic or specific gas constant. Universal gas constant: If the molecular mass of any gas is multiplied by its specific gas constant Rs it will be found that the product is the same for all gases. This constant is termed as Universal gas constant. For SI system the value of universal gas constant is 8.3143 kJ/ kmol K. Thus Ru = MRs = 8.3143, kJ/kmol K. Where M is the molecular mass of the gas in kg/ kmol. [It should be noted that in any calculations involving the gas laws, absolute pressures and absolute temperatures must be used.] Avogadro's Law: At a given temperature and pressure, equal volumes of gas contain equal numbers of moles. 7

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach For example, It has been found that at NTP, 22.4 m3 of Hydrogen gas has a mass of 2 kg, therefore 1 kmol of Hydrogen. As per Avogadros Law, at NTP 22.4 m3 of all other gas will have the corresponding mass of 1 kmol of that gas. Temperature: Temperature is the measure of the relative warmth or coolness of an object. The temperature of a substance does not measure its heat content but rather the average kinetic energy of its molecules resulting from their motions. A one-pound block of iron and a two-pound block of iron at the same temperature do not have the same heat content. Because they are at the same temperature the average kinetic energy of the molecules is the same; however, the two-pound block has more molecules than the one-pound block and thus has greater heat energy. For measurement of Temperature there are two scales of measurements, one is Fahrenheit and the other is Centigrade or Celsius. The arbitrary reference taken is the freezing point of water under atmospheric conditions. This point at which water freezes to a solid state is considered as ZERO in Celsius or Centigrade Scale. Again the point of reference of water boiling at atmospheric condition and transforming to vapor stage is taken as 100 in Celsius or Centigrade Scale. In the Fahrenheit Scale the point corresponding to temperature at freezing of water is taken as 32, for water boiling point as 212 In MKS systems, the unit of temperature is In FPS system the unit of temperature is degree Centigrade (C) degree. Fahrenheit (F)
In SI system the unit of temperature is degree Celsius (C) 10 Centigrade = 10 Celsius. A temperature reading on one scale can be converted into a reading on the other scale by the following formula: C/100 = (F-32)/180 or C=5/9 (F-32) or F= 1.8C+32 where, C is temperature in Celsius or Centigrade and F is temperature in Fahrenheit. Absolute temperature scale: We know that temperature is the effect causes by internal energy of a substance due to random motion of molecules of a substance. A body that is hotter has its molecules moving more vigorously than that of a body which is colder. Thus, there can be a state when there is absolutely no random motion of the molecules of a substance. There is one particular temperature at which the molecular random motion of each substance totally stops. This temperature is called Absolute Zero because there can not be a temperature lower than this (since the molecules can not be more stationery than being in no motion at all). Absolute zero is the temperature at which all vibratory, translatory and rotational motions of the molecule of a substance is supposed to cease i.e. when internal energy becomes zero. A gas on cooling will contract in volume as the temperature falls. Charles found with perfect gases, the decrease in volume per degree Centigrade decrease in temperature is 1/273rd of its initial volume at 00C, pressure remaining constant. Thus, the volume of gas will be zero at temperature 2730C. This temperature 2730 C below 00 C (or -2720C) is called the Absolute Zero of temperature. The absolute temperature is the temperature measured above the point of Absolute Zero. Absolute temperature is expressed by the capital latter K and the scale using the Absolute Zero is called Kelvin Scale. By adding 273 to the temperature in degree Centigrade we get the temperature in degrees of the Kelvin scale or 0K. Temperature K = Temperature 0C+ 273 i.e. K = C + 273 8

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Absolute temperature in degree Fahrenheit is known as degree Rankine or 0R and the Absolute Zero in degree Fahrenheit occurs at 4600F. Thus, Temperature 0R = Temperature 0F + 460 i.e. Work: If a mass is to be moved from one place to other, one has to apply force or spend energy. The Force applied to a body multiplied by the distance moved is the amount of work done or amount of energy spent. Work = Force x distance (traveled in the direction of force) Work only involves the useful part of a force, namely the part that is effective in causing the motion. [Suppose a pail of water weighing 7 N is carried over a distance of 10 m. In order to hold the pail up against gravity a vertical force of 7 N is exerted on the pail. The motion, however, is horizontal, and the force exerted does no work, even though one might get tired of holding the pail after a while.] In SI system, the unit for work done is Newton-metre (Nm), which is the product of a unit force (one Newton) acting through a 1-metre distance. This unit of work done is also called Joules (J). 1 J = 1 Nm 1 kg.m = 9.81 Nm = 9.81 Joules (J) Work can also be measured in foot pounds or Kg metres Power: Suppose a weight is lifted off the floor at a fixed a distance. The work done in this case would be the product of the force exerted times the distance covered, independent of how fast the weight was lifted. Now if the same weight is lifted faster that is in lesser period, then one might be tempted to say that more ``work'' is done. Actually the work done in both the cases is same and it is the Power that is different. The power exerted by a force is defined as change in work done over a period. Power exerted = work / time = force x distance / time = force x velocity. The SI Unit for Power is Watt. In other words Jules/sec = Watt. In British Units the Unit of Power is Horse Power or HP, which corresponds to a rate of work of 33000 ft-lb/min or 1 British HP = 746 Watts. But unless and other wise mentioned, HP should be considered as Metric HP 1 Metric HP = 75 kg m/ s = 735.75 Watts. Energy: In mechanics is defined as capacity of doing work. Units of Energy and Work are same. Energy exists in two forms, namely, Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy. Potential Energy is possessed by a body due to its position relative to other body or of parts of the same body under the action of a force or forces tending to alter their relative position. For example, a body which is allowed to fall towards earth may be made to do work; hence before it begins to fall it possesses potential energy, or energy due to its position relative to earth. PE=mgh R = F + 460
Gravitational Potential Energy PE=0 9

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach A compressed spiral spring has potential energy because if it is allowed to resume its unstrained form it can be made to do work. Likewise compressed air possesses potential energy. The energy stored in a piece of coal is potential energy, and under favourable conditions the atoms of the constituents of the coal and atoms of oxygen of the air will rush together and produce heat which may be converted into work. If a body of W kg weight is allowed to fall from an elevation L2 to an elevation L1, the change in potential energy. PE = PE2 - PE1 = W (L2 L1) The unit of potential energy is Kilograms meter (MKS) and Newton metre (SI) Kinetic Energy of a body is due to its being in motion with respect to another body. A kilogram of water at rest at a height of 100 metres above level of the sea possesses 100 kg.m of potential energy and if this water is allowed to fall freely to the level of the sea, without doing work on the way it will in every position of its fall possess 100 kg.m of energy, but as it descends its potential energy will diminish, and the remainder of 100 kg.m will be stored in water as kinetic energy. When the 1kg of water would have fallen 25 metres its potential energy would be reduced by 25 kg.m to be only 75 kg.m and its kinetic energy would then be 25 kg.m so that total is 75 kg.m (Potential Energy) + 25 kg.m (Kinetic Energy) = 100 kg.m. A body of weight w kg, moving with a velocity v possesses a certain amount of kinetic energy (KE) with reference to earth gravitational force, K.E = w. v2/2g. The unit of K.E. is also kg.m in MKS and Newton metre in SIS. Other forms of energy are also different manifestations of these two forms. For example Electricity stored in a Capacitor having a Capacitance of C Farads and charged to a Voltage of V Volts is a Potential Energy and its value is CV2 Joules. Similarly, the Energy in an Inductor having Inductance of L Henry (and passing an electrical current of I Amps)has a Kinetic Energy equal to LI2 Joules. All other forms of energy such as Magnetic, Light etc. are similarly explainable in terms of Potential or Kinetic Energy. Internal Energy: The molecules of all substances are continuously in motion. The movement of molecules is more in gases than in liquids. Even when a gas is stored in a closed vessel and is stagnant, that is not moving, it possesses a considerable amount of internal Kinetic Energy due to motion of its molecules within the limits of its containing vessel. In addition of the Internal Kinetic Energy substances also have Internal Potential Energy due to the relative position of their molecules. Thus, the Internal Energy, E of a substance may be defined as the algebraic sum of Internal Kinetic Energy and Internal Potential Energy of its molecules. The internal energy of substance increases with increases of temperature of substance due to increases of molecular activity. Thus Internal Energy is a function of Temperature and its value increases or decreases by adding heat to or subtracting heat from the substance. Mechanical Equivalent of Heat: Heat and Work are mutually convertible from one form into another. In a heat engine the heat produced by combustion of the fuel used is converted into the work done by the engine. When the brakes are applied to the wheels of a moving train, in order to bring it to rest, the kinetic energy of the train is converted into heat at the rubbing surfaces of the brake blocks and wheels, or if the wheels skid the heat is produced at the rubbing surfaces of wheels and rails. Careful experiments have shown that a certain definite number J or foot pound of work is equivalent to one unit of heat. In British Units J is 778 ft.lb. for 1 Btu. and in metric units, 4.187 Kilojoules = 1 Kilocalories & 1 Kilocalories = 427 kg-m 10

Heat and Heat Transfer Heat: Heat is believed to be a mode of motion. It is supposed that a body possessing heat has its particles or molecules in a state of motion, the rate of motion increasing as the body gets warmer and diminishing as the body cools. As to the character of motion of the molecules it may be imagined to be an oscillatory motion in the case of solids and liquids, but in the case of gases it is supposed to be a motion of translation. It is found that all the phenomenon of Heat may be explained by this theory. For example, it is well known that in general the effect of heat on matter is to enlarge it. A piece of iron when heated gets longer, wider and thicker (due to thermal expansion). Now it is natural to expect that if the molecule of iron have more motion as the iron gets hotter they will require more room and will therefore push one another further apart and consequently cause the whole body to get larger, just as a crowd of people take up more space when they jostle one another than they do when standing still or when jostling to a less extent. Different units of measurement of heat are as given bellow. In British System: British Thermal Unit (BTU): The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water through 1F is defined as a BTU. In MKS Units: Centigrade Heat Unit (CHU): The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water through 1C is defined as a CHU. The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilograms of water through 1C is defined as one Kilo-Calorie Since the amount of heat required per degree centigrade varies at different points on the temperature scale, a more precise definition is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kg of water initially at 14.5oC to 15.5oC while maintained at constant pressure of 760mm of hg. 1 Kcal = 2.205 CHU = 3.969 BTU The unit for heat in SI system is measured in Joules (J) 1 Kcal = 4187 Joules = 4.187 Kilo Joules Specific Heat of a substance may be defined as the amount of heat that must be supplied to the substance to raise the temperature of unit mass of the substance through one degree. When a body is heated, the heat energy is used to speed up the internal motion of its molecules and also to provide the work necessary to expend the body. In a solid or a liquid, the amount of expansion is very small and the work of expansion is similarly small. When a gas is heated, expansion is considerably more and values of specific heat will depend on nature of heating process i.e., whether the heating is at Constant Volume or at Constant Pressure. Thus gas has a two important types of Specific Heat, namely: (1) (2) Specific Heat at constant volume ( Cv) Specific Heat at constant pressure (Cp)
Specific Heat at Constant Volume: Consider 1 kg of gas being heated in a closed vessel so that no expansion of gas is allowed. The number of kcal required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of gas through 10C under these condition is called the Specific Heat at Constant Volume and is denoted by Cv. 11

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach In this case there is no work due to expansion of gas, because the gas is contained in closed vessel and all the heat supplied is used only to increase the Internal Energy i.e. Kinetic Energy and Potential Energy of molecules of the gas. Specific Heat at Constant Pressure: Consider 1 kg of gas being heated in a cylinder fitted with a movable piston which exerts a constant pressure on the gas. When the gas is heated it will expand and move the piston through some distance in this case. Therefore, in this case, in addition to the heat required for increasing the kinetic energy of the molecules, further heat must be added to perform the work of moving the piston through the distance. The Specific Heat at Constant Pressure is denoted by Cp. The value of the specific heat of gas at constant pressure will therefore always be greater than that at constant volume by the amount of expansive work done. The unit of specific heat in MKS System of units is kcal/kg 0C and in the SI system of units it is kJ/ kg K. Enthalpy (H)or Total Heat or Heat Content: Enthalpy is nothing but total heat energy content in a substance. It is denoted by H and is defined as follows: H = E + (PV/J) kcal Where, E is the Internal Energy, P is the Absolute Pressure, V is the Volume in m3 and J = 427 kg-m. HEAT TRANSFER: In Boiler heat energy is released from the combustion of fossil fuels and the heat is transferred to different fluids in the system and a part of it is lost or left out as unutilized. It is therefore essential to study the general principle of heat transfer for understanding the behaviour of boiler in relation to heat transfer during different conditions of operation. In Boiler generally the heat transfer takes place in all the three modes of heat transfer process namely Conduction, Convection and the Radiation. Conduction: Conduction is the process of transfer of heat through solids from one part of the body to the other, by physical contact, without the molecules moving, but imparting vibration from one molecule to the neighbouring one. In a Boiler the water tubes are exposed to fire. The heat travels by Conduction from outer surface to inner surface of water tubes and then transfers to water at centre of the tubes and in the drum from the water immediately in contact with inner surface of the tubes by convection. In a metal the heat transfer takes place by passing on heat from particle to particle by contact without any physical movement of the particles themselves. Convection: This process can occur only in fluids or gases. This process of heat transfer takes place when the molecules are displaced physically. The fluid or gas when heated expands, becomes less dense and raises up causing movement and allowing the colder and more dense gas or liquid to replace it. In the Boiler the heat from tube metal goes to water flowing inside. Similarly when gas or liquid is heated, it expands, becomes less dense and rises up causing movement and allowing the colder and denser gas or liquid to replace it. Mainly in Superheater, Reheater and Economizer the heat from hot gas is getting transferred to metal outer surface by way of convection process. Heat transfer by convection depends on the specific characteristics of the medium i.e. gas or liquid. Radiation: Heat when it travels from source to another substance through an empty space (often imagined as ether) or through vacuum or gas or air in straight lines, the process of heat 12

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach transfer is called radiation. The tube metal surface at the top of the furnace of a Boiler gets heat by way of radiation. We get heat from Sun by radiation. All substances emit heat energy by radiation depending on their temperature. HEAT TRANSFER CALCULATIONS The general equation for heat flow rate by any of the above three modes of heat transfer from one media to other may be written as q = US t Where q = heat flow rate in K.Cal/hr S = Surface area involved in the heat transfer in m2 t = Temperature difference causing heat flow in C U = Overall heat transfer coefficient in K.cal/m2/hr/C = 1/R where R is overall resistance Conduction: If a flat plate is heated on one side and cooled on other side, heat will flow from hot side to the cold. The heat flow rate q can be expressed as below: q = KS (t1 t2) / l Where q = rate of heat flow K.Cal/hr K = Thermal conductivity for 1 cm thickness K.cal/m2/hr/C S = Heating surface in m2 t = temperature difference causing heat flow (t1 t2) in C l = length or thickness of the plate in cm. K/l is expressed as conductance and hence l/K is the resistivity. Convection: Heat transfer by convection between a fluid and a solid such as in a boiler tube is expressed as below: qc = Uc S t .. (3) Where qc = rate of heat flow by convection in K.Cal/hr U = Convection film conductance in K.cal/m2/hr/C S = heat transfer surface in m2 t = temperature difference between fluid bulk temperature and solid surface temperature in C. Radiation: Radiation emitted by a body depends upon its surface area and temperature. The relationship between them is given by Stefan-Boltzman law q = S T4 q rate of heat flow Stefan-Boltzman constant S surface area of body T absolute temperature of the emitter For bodies other than black bodies whose emissivity will be less than 1, the formula will be changed as q = ES T4 where E is emissivity of the body If we consider two parallel planes of infinite size and they are black bodies, then heat transfer from the hot plane (at T1 K) to the other plane (at T2 K) is given by the formula q = S (T14 T24)
13

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach If all the radiation emitted by one does not fall on the other it is essential to introduce an angle factor in the formula In boiler the radiation becomes luminous by entrained particles such as pulverised coal, soot etc. and calculation of luminous radiation is complex. The gases such as oxygen and nitrogen absorbs or emit only slight amount of radiation. But water vapours, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide which are part of flue gases in the boiler also absorb and emit. They emit and radiate only in certain wave length bands that lie outside of the visible range and are called as non-luminous gas radiation.
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Properties of Steam
Specific Heat of water is the amount of heat that must be supplied to water to raise the temperature of unit mass of water through one degree. Specific heat of water is considered as 1 kcal/ kg 0C or 4.187 kJ / kg K, i.e. heat required for raising the temperature of 1 kg of water through 10C is 1 kcal. Enthalpy is a purely relative quantity, which is measured relatively from convenient datum condition. For steam, datum point is arbitrarily fixed as the condition of the water at 00C. Thus, the enthalpy of water at 00C is measured to be zero. The amount of heat absorbed by one kilogram of water being heated from the freezing point (00C) to the boiling point is known as the Enthalpy of the Saturated Water (sensible heat of water). It is called sensible heat as heat addition results in increase of temperature of water till it reaches the saturation and temperature and you can sense the increase in heat content. The temperature increases on the basis of the specific heat of water and the heat content of water at any temperature can be calculated with the formula; H = mCpt [H is heat added in kcal, m is mass of water in kg, Cp is the specific heat of water (1 kcal/ kg 0C) and t is the temperature increase. Heat energy in water at 00C is measured to be zero, therefore T = t] The saturation temperature or the boiling point of water is 1000C under atmospheric pressure. It can start boiling at higher or lower temperature depending on the pressure. In a pressurized boiler, the temperature of water is always more than 1000C as the saturation temperature is higher due to high pressure. This temperature can go as high as 374.140C at pressure 225.4 kg/cm2 abs. or 220.9 bar abs, which is known as critical pressure. Again in a condenser, which operates under vacuum, condensing steam can be as cold as 30 to 35oC. Effect of Pressure: The atoms and molecules of any matter are in a constant state of random vibrations and the vibrations amplitude increases with increase in temperature of the matter. Depending on temperature, the inter-atomic distance varies. When the inter-atomic distance is such that force of attraction between two atoms equals force of repulsion, a threshold state is reached when state of matter changes from Solid to Liquid. The matter no longer exhibits the property of elasticity and does not resist a change in its shape. At a further higher temperature the atoms and molecules reach a state of vibration when no cohesive forces exist between its atoms or molecules. At such a temperature the matter changes its state from Liquid to Vapour. This temperature is known as saturation temperature. When there is an external pressure in addition to the cohesive force between the atoms, it requires even more energy and therefore higher temperature to reach this threshold condition, when the atoms are ready to move away from each other. Therefore, higher the pressure, higher would be the saturation temperature When change of phase takes place between water to steam, the temperature remains constant at saturation temperature. Even if a single drop remains in water phase, whatever heat is being added, it would be used in changing phase. The heat added during this period can not be sensed and hence it is known as Latent heat of evaporation.
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The above diagram is known as temperature enthalpy diagram where the increase in temperature is plotted on the Y axis with addition of heat in the X axis at different pressure conditions. For example, ABCD is the temperature profile for a particular pressure, AEFG is temperature profile for higher pressure and AHIJ is for even higher pressure. Joining these points, we get a curve like above. If we take the first plotting, while heat is being added to water from point A, the temperature increases following the relation H = mCpT, until it reaches the boiling point at B. Enthalpy gained hf is known as sensible heat as we can sense the temperature rise. At point B, the water is called saturated water. The temperature at point B is known as Saturation temperature. When further heat is added, enthalpy increases and phase transformation starts, but the temperature remains constant at saturation temperature. Therefore the temperature/enthalpy line becomes parallel to X axis and remain so until all water molecules become steam molecules at point C. Enthalpy gained hfg is known as latent heat of evaporation. The steam at point C is known as dry saturated steam after it receives complete sensible heat hf and complete latent heat hfg. If further heat is added at this point, the temperature again starts rising and we get a plot CD. The steam at this condition is known as superheated steam. It is important to note that water starts becoming steam only after it receives the complete sensible heat and becomes dry saturated steam only after receiving the complete latent heat. If it receives less latent heat, then part of the water would convert into steam, but part will remain as water. At this condition, it is known as wet steam. From the temperature-enthalpy diagram in the previous note, it is evident that the latent heat of evaporation BC decreases as we go up the curve (as the pressure goes high). Higher the pressure, lower the latent heat of evaporation. If we note the specific volume of steam at different pressure from a steam table, we will find that as pressure goes up, the difference in density between water and steam decreases. At atmospheric pressure of 1.032 kg/ cm2, it expands 1603 times, whereas at critical pressure of 225.65 kg/ cm2, the density of water and steam becomes equal, and hence no expansion. Since the addition of latent heat does not result in increase in temperature, we can consider that this energy is being used to expand the volume. Now, the work done due to expansion against pressure (PV), will be more at atmospheric pressure and (when the expansion is more), but will become zero (V = 0) at critical pressure (when there is no expansion). Therefore steam will have zero latent heat of evaporation at critical pressure. Again if we refer the temperature-enthalpy curve, it is evident that the latent heat is the largest part of heat towards the base of the curve (corresponding to lower pressure). As the pressure increase and we go up the curve, the sensible heat increases and the latent 16

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach heat decreases. If we refer a standard steam table, we will see that up to the absolute pressure of 91 kg/ cm2, the latent heat is more than sensible heat, but when the absolute pressure increases beyond 92 kg/ cm2, the sensible heat becomes more than latent heat. Whereas, unless the steam is superheated to a very high temperature, the quantity of superheat is always less than sensible of latent heat. Therefore for low and medium pressure superheated steam, the latent heat is the largest. The latent heat is received by the steam after it reaches the saturation temperature and start boiling. In the deaerator and the economizer, the water temperature is always less than the saturation temperature of its corresponding pressure. The Approach point (difference between saturation temperature and the economizer outlet temperature) is never kept near zero, otherwise it would lead to steaming in Economizer. When the water enters the evaporator, it still requires a little amount of sensible heat to reach saturation temperature and start boiling. At this point of time, the latent heat is received and when the steam leaves the evaporator and goes to super heater, it is ensured that the steam becomes completely dry and saturated. Therefore the total latent heat of the steam is received in the evaporator. Steam Volume: If we refer the steam table, specific volume of saturated liquid at atmospheric pressure (1.013 bar absolute pressure), it is 0.001044 m3/ kg, where as the specific volume of steam is 1.673 m3/ kg, therefore it expands 1602.5 times. As the pressure increases, the density difference between water and steam decreases. At critical pressure and temperature the difference becomes zero. The latent heat becomes zero. Since the natural circulation is created through thermo-siphon action of water due to the density difference of steam and water, at critical pressure there is no natural circulation. Again, since latent heat is not needed, the water doesnt need to be circulated in an evaporator, where the latent heat is received in a steam generator. Therefore it requires a forced once through circulation. Dryness Fraction of Wet steam: The dryness fraction is the ratio of quantity of dry steam to the total quantity of dry steam and water in suspension. If x is the quantity of dry steam in a wet steam and y is the quantity of water in suspension in that steam, then the dryness fraction = x / (x + y) Once the complete sensible heat is received by the water and it attains saturation temperature, any addition of heat results into phase transformation. The quantity of water converting into steam depends on the amount of heat received at this point. For any pressure, from the steam table, the corresponding specific enthalpy of evaporation is the amount of heat which is required converting 1 kg of water into 1 kg of steam at that pressure. If it gets a fraction of that heat, corresponding fraction of conversion takes place. For example, if it receives 50% of the specific enthalpy of evaporation, only 50%, i.e. 0.5 kg of water will convert into steam and remaining would be water. Therefore the dryness fraction of wet steam is equal to the fraction of enthalpy of evaporation received by the steam after reaching saturation temperature. Super heated steam: When steam is heated further after it reaches dry saturated condition, the temperature again starts increasing. At this stage (CD), it is called superheated steam. In industrial steam generator, it is done by heating the steam coming out of the steam drum further in a superheater, where the temperature of the steam is raised beyond its saturation temperature. If the steam coming out of the drum remains wet, then the temperature will not rise until the complete steam becomes dry saturated. The temperature rise will again follow the relation H = mCpT, where the Cp of superheated steam can be taken as half of that of water, i.e. 2.09 kJ/ kg K For industrial process heating, the best quality of steam is Dry saturated steam: Steam is preferred as heat carrier for many reasons. It has a very high heat carrying capacity, i.e. at a given temperature; more heat can be carried by unit quantity of steam than any other media. In the water stage, it has the 17

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach second highest specific heat, which is only next to ammonia, considering every liquid in this world. The enthalpy of evaporation is highest amongst all liquids. Therefore once the steam attains dry and saturated condition, it contains the maximum amount of heat at that temperature. It is like a goods carrier, where you go on loading goods without increasing much weight. The weight can be compared with temperature in this case. It is the temperature which governs the cost of transport as weight governs the cost of transport in case of goods. For example saturated steam can be transported by carbon steel pipes which are less costly than high alloy steel pipes that are required to transport super heated steam. It is clean, non toxic and the raw material, i.e. water is abundantly available (2/3rd of the earth is covered by water). It does not need a motive force to travel, i.e. it does not require a pump or a compressor to move it from one point to other. It is a medium which can supply the maximum quantity of heat at a constant temperature. This is because of the very high enthalpy of evaporation (latent heat) in steam. At saturation temperature, heat can be drawn from dry saturated steam without any drop in temperature till the complete steam becomes hot water. For any other medium, for example air or oil, drawing heat would invariably result into drop in temperature in relation to H = mCpT. This unique characteristic make steam the only heating media that can be used in process heating where majority of the chemical processes take place at constant temperature. Steam Table: Various properties of saturated steam at different conditions are available in tabular form in a steam table. Steam tables are prepared both on the basis of pressure and temperature. In a pressure based steam table, 1 kg of water at 0oC is heated to saturated steam under different absolute pressure conditions and the following properties are tabulated. Temperature at which the boiling starts which is known as saturation temperature and denoted by ts; unit is 0C Volume in m3 of that 1 kg of water when it reaches ts this is known as specific volume of saturated water and denoted by Vf; unit is kg/ m3 Volume in m3 of 1 kg of dry saturated steam after it has received latent heat of evaporation and every water molecule has become steam molecule while the temperature remains constant at ts - this is known as specific volume of saturated steam and denoted by Vg; unit is kg/ m3 Enthalpy of 1 kg of saturated water, which is the total amount of heat that went into water while heating it from 0oC to ts this is known as specific enthalpy of saturated water and denoted by hf; unit is kcal/ kg Enthalpy of evaporation or latent heat required to convert 1 kg of saturated water to 1 kg of saturated steam this is known specific enthalpy of evaporation and denoted by hfg; unit is kcal/ kg Enthalpy of 1 kg of saturated steam, which is the total amount of heat that went into water while heating it from 0oC to saturated steam at ts this is known as specific enthalpy of saturated steam and denoted by hg; unit is kcal/ kg. hg = hf + hfg It also tabulates the specific entropy of water and steam For finding out the enthalpy of steam at different condition, we again have to refer the temperature- enthalpy graph and a steam table. 1. Enthalpy of Saturated water = m x hf 2. Enthalpy of Saturated steam = m x hg 3. Enthalpy of wet steam, with dryness fraction X = m x (hf + X x hfg) 4. Enthalpy of super heated steam = m x (hg + Cpt) Where, m = mass of water or steam in kg hf = specific enthalpy of saturated water in kcal/ kg (from the steam table for the corresponding pressure) 18

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach hfg = specific enthalpy of evaporation (latent heat) in kcal/ kg hg = specific enthalpy of saturated steam in kcal/ kg (hf + hfg) Cp = specific heat of super heated steam in kcal/ kg oC t = Final temperature of superheated steam saturation temperature in oC For finding out the volume of steam at different condition, we again have to refer the temperature- enthalpy graph and a steam table. 1. Volume of saturated water = m x Vf 2. Volume of saturated steam = m x Vg 3. Volume of wet steam, with dryness fraction X = m x X x Vg In 1 kg of wet steam with dryness fraction X, steam volume will be X kg and water volume would be (1-X) kg. If we refer the steam table, we will find the volume of (1X) kg of water would be negligible compared to volume of the steam part. That is why wet steam volume is considered to be only the volume contributed by the steam part. 4. Volume of super heated steam = m x (Vg x Tsup/ Tsat) [Temperature of dry saturated steam will increase when heated further and its volume would also increase following the relation of a perfect gas, i.e. V1/T1 = V2/T2, when pressure is constant. Steam generation in boiler is a constant pressure process. the saturation temperature and superheated temperature are to be considered in Kelvin since gas law is being used.] Where, m = mass of water or steam in kg Vf = Specific volume of saturated water Vg = Specific volume of saturated steam Tsup = Superheated steam temperature in Kelvin Tsat = Saturation temperature in Kelvin The velocity of steam in m/s (V) can be found out if we know the steam discharge in m3/s (Q) and cross sectional area (A) of steam pipe in m2. V = Q/ A When the discharge is given in kg/h, we can convert the same in m3/h, by multiplying it with the specific volume of steam (m3/ kg) corresponding to that pressure. Vg would be the specific volume, when the steam is dry saturated, XVg in case of wet steam with dryness fraction X, and (Vg x Tsup/Tsat), in case of superheated steam at temperature tsup. Steam from condensate: When condensate passes through a steam trap to atmospheric pressure, the following things are to be considered. Condensate at the upstream of the steam trap is saturated water at high temperature and pressure, specific enthalpy of which is hf (kcal/ kg) at corresponding pressure. If we refer a steam table, we will find the hf at higher pressure is more than the hf at atmospheric pressure (1.032 kg/ cm2). Therefore whenever the condensate is coming out of the steam trap, this additional heat will convert part of the water into steam, which is known as flash steam. We can find out the quantity of flash steam by considering total heat available in the condensate at higher pressure at the upstream of steam trap is equal to the heat available in the flash steam and balance condensate at atmospheric pressure. i.e. mw x hf1 (at higher pressure) = ms x hg (at atmospheric pressure) + (mw - ms) x hf2 (at atmospheric pressure). Both the flashed steam and the condensate will be at saturation temperature corresponding to atmospheric pressure, i.e. 100oC. It should be always kept in mind that the pressure column in the steam table refers to absolute pressure and not gauge pressure. Therefore, if the pressure given as gauge pressure, you have to convert it in absolute pressure, before referring steam table.
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Entropy of Water: It is an important thermodynamic property of a working substance, which increases with the addition of heat and decreases with its removal. The increase or decrease of entropy, when multiplied by the absolute temperature, gives the heat absorbed or rejected by the working substance. Q = x T or, = Q/T In general, addition of heat Q to one kg of water will cause its temperature to rise by T. where Cp= specific heat of water. Then Q = Cp. T = Cp (T / T) The total increase entropy of water from 0oC to a saturation temperature of T K can be obtained by integrating between temperature limits of 273 and T 2 - 1 = Cp
273 T
dT/T = Cp {loge(T)}T273
= Cp loge(T /273)
Entropy of water at 00C (freezing temperature T0 = 273 K) is taken as zero. Entropy of water at boiling temperature Ts is written as w w = Cp loge(Ts /T0) = Cp loge(Ts /273) This value can be obtained directly from the steam tables. Entropy of Evaporation (e): Heat addition during evaporation takes place at constant temperature if pressure is maintained constant. If the steam formed is wet, having dryness fraction x, Entropy of evaporation, e = xL / Ts If the steam formed is dry saturated, x=1, then the entropy of evaporation is e = L / Ts The value of e = s - w may also be obtained from steam table. Entropy of Dry Saturated Steam: The entropy s of dry saturated steam, reckoned from the freezing point of water (00C) is equal to the sum of water entropy (w) and evaporation entropy (e) s = w + e = Cp loge(Ts /273) + L / Ts The value of s may also be obtained directly from the Steam Tables. Entropy of Superheated Steam: Entropy of Superheated Seam is calculated as follows: sup = The total entropy of 1 kg of superheated steam reckoned above the freezing temperature of water. sup = Cpw loge Ts/ 273 + L / Ts + Cps loge Tsup / TS = w + e + Cps loge Tsup / TS = s + Cps loge Tsup / Ts Cps is the specific heat of superheated steam. Power generation cycle: Power is generated by steam with the help of Steam turbines, which convert the energy stored in steam into rotational mechanical energy. These machines are widely used for the generation of electricity in a number of different cycles, such as: Rankine cycle Reheat cycle Regenerative cycle The Reheat and Regenerative cycle is a variant of Rankine Cycle. In the steam turbine, the steam undergoes isentropic expansion at various stage of the turbine from high pressure to low pressure. The following schematic view shows a simplified flow diagram and the process characteristic curve in an entropy/temperature diagram to indicate the thermodynamic evolution of the process (Rankines Cycle).
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Basic thermodynamic process of a thermal power plant In the T-S diagram; 1 to 2: Isentropic expansion (Steam turbine) 2 to 3: Isobaric heat rejection (Condenser) 3 to 4: Isentropic compression (Pump) 4 to 1: Isobaric heat supply (Boiler)
When the line 1-2 drops below the saturation line; steam becomes wet. The dryness fraction of steam coming out of turbine should not fall below 0.88. There is heavy blade erosion due to the impact of water particles carried with the steam if the expanded exhaust steam is having a lower dryness fraction than that. Again the efficiency of the cycle depends on the maximum expansion of steam in the turbine, therefore longer the drop 1-2, higher the efficiency. Higher the degree of superheat, longer the drop would be without going below the saturation line. But, we can not increase the degree of superheat indefinitely due to metallurgical limitation. The inevitable effect of use of higher pressure in modern power plants is that, the saturation line is reached earlier during isentropic expansion as shown in the T-S diagram below
Therefore, the reheating is essential in high pressure Modern power plants to increases the life of the plant as shown below.
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In this arrangement steam expands from 1-2 in a high pressure turbine and the exhaust steam is again heated from 2-3 by the re-heater and the finally the steam is expanded in a low pressure turbine from 3-4, thus getting the maximum output from steam. The advantages claimed for the reheat cycle are higher thermal efficiency, reduced feed pump power, smaller condenser, smaller boiler, long life of turbine and less handling of fuel and firing equipment Throttling: When steam is forced through a small orifice under pressure, the steam is said to be throttled. Throttling process occurs when steam passes through a partially open valve. At the orifice, eddies are formed which eventually reconvert kinetic energy into heat at the lower pressure, So that throttling is always a wasteful operation which lowers the quality of heat. There is no change of potential energy, no external work is done and if the pipe is well lagged there is no heat transferred. This process is also called constant enthalpy process. Since no work is done during the expansion, the enthalpy remains constant. During the process of throttling the temperature of the steam is slightly reduced but this is compensated by the heat produced due to the friction offered throttling the steam by the surface of the very small orifice through which the steam has to pass. This heat due to friction, dries the steam ( i.e. increases the dryness fraction of wet steam ) and once the steam becomes completely dry it will be superheated by further throttling.
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Combustion of Fuel
Classification of Fuels Fuels are classified into three main groups: Solid fuels Liquid fuels Gaseous fuels
The choice of fuel depends upon its availability, cost and its efficiency. Therefore the selection of fuel is very crucial. Many times fuels such as Bagasse, Rice husk, Coconut shell are cheaply available which gives less steam cost even if the efficiency is low. The low cost of steam reduces the production cost, which results in increase in the overall profitability of the enterprise. Solid Fuels Coal: Various types of coal are Peat, Lignite, Anthracite and Bituminous. In India, commercial classification of coal includes Coal-A, Coal-B, Coal-C, Coal-D & Coal-E. Some residues can be used as fuel substitutes, for example: In Sugar Industry: Bagasse In Rice/Dal Mills: Husk In Solvent Extraction Plants: Shell of seeds Other Agricultural Wastes Peat: It contains high percentage of moisture (90%) and small percentage of volatile matter and carbon. It is not suitable for boilers as it contains high percentage of moisture. It is sun dried to remove the greater part of moisture. Lignite: it also contains high percentage of moisture (30 to 45%) but can be dried just by exposing to air. It is brown in color and exhibits a woody structure. It contains 6 % moisture when dried. Therefore it can be used as fuel in pulverized form. Bituminous Coal: It is most popular form of coal used for various purposes. It has high caking power. The ash content varies from 6 to12%. Fusion temperature of its ash is around 1093 C and the moisture content is very low. Sub-bituminous coal is similar to lignite. Semi-bituminous coal is intermediate between anthracite and bituminous coals in properties and used widely in boilers. Anthracite Coal: It contains high % of carbon and the percentage of volatile matter is below 8 %. Pulverization of anthracite is difficult and costly. Properties of semi anthracite coal lies between anthracite and bituminous. The common coals used in Indian industry are bituminous and sub-bituminous coal. The gradation of Indian coal based on its calorific value is as follows: Grade A B C D E F G Calorific Value Range (in kCal/Kg) Exceeding 6200 5600 6200 4940 5600 4200 4940 3360 4200 2400 3360 1300 2400
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Typical Analysis of Blended Coal (Air Dried basis): Carbon Hydrogen Sulphur Moisture Oxygen Nitrogen Ash GCV VM 31.10 % 2.94 % 0.37 % 5.22 % 6.71 % 0.75 % 52.91 % 2852 kcal/ kg 19.08 %
Some other solid fuels: Baggasse: Baggasse is the refuse of sugarcane from which the juice is extracted in sugar mills. Bagasse is bulky tenacious and fibrous. Bagasse contains 30 to 50% wood fibre, 01 to 10% sucrose, & 40 to 60% moisture. The C.V. of Bagasse with 54% moisture is about 2222 kcal/kg. For better burning, preheated air (at 204C) is used. Rice Husk: Husk is a bye-product of agriculture crop and which is the outer covering of rice, groundnut etc. During husking operation, husk is separated from rice or ground nuts and hence readily available on site. It has got very little value except for using it as fuel for Boiler. The C.V. of husk is about 3055 kcal/kg. In Lancashire or marine boilers, husk is fired straight. It is available in considerable quantity from rice mills and is cheap fuel. It is also easy to handle and by burning husk, problem of disposing it, is also getting solved. Similarly, ground nutshells, cotton field wastes etc. also can make good fuel for boilers. Liquid Fuels: The liquid fuel used for firing in boilers is mineral oil obtained from many hundreds of feet beneath the earths surface. As coal is, generally, regarded, as having been formed from vegetable matter, trees and other plant life, Mineral Oil is believed to have basically originated from marine life. As oil comes from the well it is known as crude petroleum or Crude. It varies considerably in its composition and characteristics according to the part of the world from which it is obtained. Crude is a mixture of many constituent oils. Some of these oils evaporate at a low temperature and under ordinary atmospheric conditions would evaporate into the air to form an explosive mixture. Crude oil is taken to refinery where it is refined or distilled. In this process the lighter or thinner oils such as benzene, petrol, paraffin, gas oil etc. are successively boiled off and separated. The heavy residue or so-called black oils are used as fuel oils in boilers. These are the oils, which are used for steam generation in power stations. Naphtha: Naphtha is a petroleum product. It is very light and easily evaporates even in atmospheric conditions. Naphtha firing is to be done with utmost care, as it is susceptible for explosions. It has density of about 0.7 and a calorific value of about 11000 kcal/kg air atomization is adopted for firing Naphtha. Naphtha is very costly and availability is very less. It is mainly used in fertilizers as feed stock or in Gas Turbines as a fuel Light diesel oil/High speed diesel oil: It is heavier than Naphtha. It does not evaporate in atmospheric conditions as Naphtha. But it does not require any preheating since its viscosity is low and is very light and 24

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach flowable even in atmospheric conditions. Because of high cost it is not economical to fire in Boiler on a continuous basis. High speed diesel oil is lighter and cleaner than LDO. Since it is clean and lighter, HSD is used for firing of igniters. It is not usual practice to fire HSD in boilers. It is exclusively used for surface transport and agricultural purpose. It is also not economical since the cost of HSD is more than LDO. Heavy Furnace oil: HFO is a heavy residual oil. The viscosity is very high at room temperature conditions. Hence it requires preheating to ensure its flowability. It is difficult to handle. Heavy oil storage tanks are provided with preheating arrangement and the tank heating is done by steam coil heaters to maintain oil temperature around 65 to 70C. The tanks are to be insulated. Further preheating is required to be done before it is fired in boilers, in order to ensure proper firing of oil. HFO is cheaper compared to all other petroleum products and is economical for continuous firing in a liquid fuel fired boiler. LSHS (Low Sulfur Heavy Stock) It is a liquid fuel, which is very widely used nowadays in many of the high-pressure boilers. As the name indicates the sulfur content of this fuel is very low in the order of 1.2 to 1.5% by weight. a. LSHS solidifies even at 60C. When it solidifies it looks like wax, which is soft and pasty. b. But it starts melting and become flowable at 70C or 75C and can be easily pumped. c. Steam tracing or electric heating is required for the lines carrying LSHS, invariably, during all the seasons, to improve its flowability. d. LSHS is clean oil but its lubricating properties are poor and hence wear and tear of pump gears is more. e. LSHS costs less than the furnace oils and it has got no other usage except burning in a furnace. f. The calorific value of LSHS is about 10000 kcal/kg. In any type of fuel oil, sulfur (S) is harmful as it combines with moisture & forms sulphurous & sulfuric acids which cause corrosion in the low temperature zone equipment in the boiler mainly, it adversely affects APH tubes, ducts, ID Fans runners etc. TYPICAL SPECIFICATION OF FUEL OILS Properties Density (Approx. g/cc at 15C) Flash Point (C) Pour Point (C) G.C.V. (kCal/kg) Sulphur % Wt. MC % Vol. Ash % Wt. Furnace Oil 0.890.95 LS.H.S. 0.880.98 L.D.O. 0.850.87
66 20 10,500 Upto 4.0 1.0 0.1
93 72 10,600 Upto 0.5 1.0 0.1
66 18 10,700 Upto 1.8 0.25 0.02
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Gaseous Fuels LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Butane Propane Biogas Natural Gas Re-former Gas Producer Gas
LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas): It refers to gaseous compounds containing C3 and C4 hydrocarbons i.e. propane, butane, propylene, butylenes and the isomers of the C4 compounds that can be liquefied by applying moderate pressure. It has NCV of 10750 Kcal/Kg. Natural gas: It is made up mainly of the paraffin compounds, methane a small amount of propane, ethane, butane and other light hydrocarbon plus some nitrogen and oxygen. It has NCV of 8850 Kcal/Kg.
COMBUSTION Combustion Principles All fuels contain combustible elements such as carbon, hydrogen, Sulphur etc., which readily combines with oxygen gives heat during combustion. It is always necessary to supply sufficient air for the complete combustion of fuel and so it is necessary in all design of combustion equipment to calculate the mass of air required for the complete combustion of the fuel. If the air supplied is insufficient then some of the carbon will be burned to carbon monoxide instead carbon dioxide and this will reduce the amount of heat produced during the combustion in addition to the pollution caused by carbon monoxide. Combustion Products: When fuel is completely burnt, the carbon content in the fuel becomes carbon dioxide and the hydrogen gets converted to steam (water vapor), the sulfur content in the fuel becomes Sulphur dioxide. The nitrogen in the fuel remains as it is and is exhausted along with the combustion products. Combustion Efficiency: The term combustion efficiency measures the effectiveness of the combustion reaction. Heat released during the combustion Combustion Efficiency = ---------------------------------------------------Heat contained in the fuel. The combustion efficiency can also be expressed in terms of utility of carbon dioxide of the fuel in the following way. % Carbon dioxide in flue gas x 100 Efficiency = -----------------------------------------------------------------------------% Carbon dioxide in flue gas for Stoichiometric air quantity The inclusion of latent heat in the calculation of the efficiency gives the gross efficiency. Factors affecting Combustion 1. Moisture content in the fuel should be low since it yields to in latent heat loss. 26

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach 2. The Sulfur content in fuel should be low, during combustion the sulphur converts to sulphur dioxide (SO2) which then converts to SO3 and further combines with water vapor to form sulfuric acid, which causes cold end corrosion. 3. Efficiency increases with lowering in exhaust gas temperature and decreases with increase in air fuel ratio. 4. Considerable fuel saving can be affected by preheating the combustion air with the help of Recuperator and Regenerator. Generally the air supplied to the combustion chamber is preheated which causes the following effects: a) Saving in fuel Consumption. b) Increase in flame Temperature. c) Improvement in Combustion d) Reduction in Initial heating time. e) Reduction in soot Deposits. Generally fuel loss due to soot is about two times that of scale. It is seen that the soot of 2mm thickness increases the fuel consumption by 32%. We have seen that fuel and oxygen are essentially required for creation of fire. When fuel burns with bright flame and produces heat, it is called the combustion. For good combustion three entities, each spelt to begin with a T, are essential and they are Temperature, Time and Turbulence In order to ignite the fuel, it is to be heated to a required minimum Temperature. This temperature at which the fuel can catch fire is called the Ignition Temperature of the fuel. There should be sufficient Time for the combustible matter to react with oxygen and complete the process of chemical reaction of oxidation to take place. Finally to enable perfect burning, the fuel is to thoroughly get mixed with combustion air, where from it can get required oxygen. Unless the combustion air creates a sort of Turbulence this kind of molecule to molecule mixing can not take place. It is customary to call Temperature, Time and Turbulence as three Ts necessary for efficient combustion. A good contact between fuel particles and air is also necessary and hence some people consider touch (Contact) as a fourth T necessary for efficient combustion. Heat from combustion: We get the heat from fuel by burning them. We call it burning, which actually is a vigorous chemical reaction of primarily Hydrogen and Carbon constituents of fuel, which chemically reacts with oxygen and release enormous, exothermic heat energy. Two major ingredients of a majority of the fuels are Carbon and Hydrogen. Carbon burns to form Carbon-di-oxide and Hydrogen turns to water on reacting with Oxygen. In some fuel, like furnace oil, coal, etc., Sulphur is present in small percentage. Sulphur also reacts with Oxygen to become Sulphur-di-oxide, which is also an exothermic reaction Majority of the Fuels consist of Hydrogen gas as one of the constituents. When the combustion takes place, the Hydrogen (H2) in fuel burns to form moisture (H2O). The moisture produced, evaporates and rises, as superheated steam absorbing a part of the heat from the combustion of fuel. That is a part of the heat value of the fuel is spent in converting hydrogen into moisture and in evaporating and superheating. And the quantity of heat spent in this process is not available for any other useful purpose. GCV (Gross Calorific Value) is the gross or the total heat liberated by one kilogram or one cubic meter of fuel, when completely burned out to ash. Whereas NCV (Net Calorific Value) is net of the heat liberated per kilograms or per cubic meter of fuel, after supply of the enthalpy necessary to vaporize the steam formed by combustion of hydrogen in the fuel. Here the enthalpy referred to is the heat absorbed for the evaporation of dry saturated steam at 288 K. 27

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Since Carbon, Hydrogen and Sulpur are the three constituents in fuel giving heat; GCV is the sum of total heat given by each of these constituents. Calorific value of Carbon is 8084 kcal/ kg That means, when 1 kg of Carbon reacts with Oxygen to become Carbon-di-oxide, total heat evolved will be 8084 kcal. Similarly, Calorific value of Hydrogen is 28922 kcal/ kg Calorific value of Sulfur is 2224 kcal/ kg Now in fuel, the three constituents are in different fraction. If we consider that C kg is Carbon fraction, H kg is the Hydrogen fraction and S kg is the Sulphur fraction in 1 kg of fuel then, GCV = 8084 C + 28922 {H-O/8} + 2224 S kcal/Kg Why Hydrogen fraction has been taken as H O/8 kg? O kg is the mass of Oxygen in the fuel. When Oxygen is present in the fuel itself as one of the constituent, it will react with Hydrogen and consume part of Hydrogen, which will not be available during combustion. If we consider the chemical reaction: 2H2 + O2 = 2H2O Which means 2 molecules of H2 will react with 1 molecule of O2 and become 2 molecules of water. This we can also consider as 2 x 6.023 x 1026 molecules (2 kmol) of H2 will react with 1 x 6.023 x 1026 molecules (1 kmol) of O2 and become 2 x 6.023 x 1026 molecules (2 kmol) of water Since the mass of kmol of these gases are the molecular masses in kg; 4 kg of H2 will react with 32 kg of O2 and become 36 kg of water, or, 1 kg of H2 will react with 8 kg of O2 and become 9 kg of water Therefore 1 kg of Oxygen will consume 1/8 kg of Hydrogen For NCV calculation, the moisture resulted (9H in kg) from the reaction of H2 and O2 and the fraction of moisture already present (Mm in kg) as a constituent of fuel, will take away heat of evaporation at 15oC NCV = GCV (Mm + 9H) x 589 kcal/ kg Appx. Formulae for calculating NCV of solid and liquid fuels:
NCV = GCV 52.5 H

Where, GCV = Gross Calorific Value NCV = Net Calorific Value in Kcal/Kg H = % of total hydrogen of coal, including hydrogen of moisture content. For Gaseous fuels
NCV = GCV 4.7 V

Where V = Volume % of total hydrogen of gaseous fuel including the hydrogen obtained from other combustible components and also water vapor in gas. Table 1: Calorific value of fuels SR FUEL APPROX HEATING VALUE KCAL/KG Dry state FOSSIL FUELS 1 2 3 4 Coal Coke Charcoal Carbon 4000-7000 6500 7000 8000 28

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Fuel oil Kerosene and diesel Petrol Paraffin Natural gas Coal gas Electrical (Kcal(KW) Bio gas(Kcal/cu mtr) (12 kg of dung produces 1 m3 gas) Table 2: Fuel Handling Considerations FUEL OIL ACTION REQUIRED AND CARE TO BE TAKEN Keep proper check on the grade of Fuel been received Do regular testing of Fuel in lab Maintain record of, during which period, fuel grade is inferior Issue notices to the Fuel purchase Dept. and the persons responsible Keep proper check on the quantity of Fuel been received Keep a check on the Deviation Report Maintain proper reports of Fuel delivery List down the period and persons responsible for shortages Issue notices and take action against persons and Dept. responsible for shortages and spillage Warning to Contractor Warning to Driver Avoid contact of Fuel with water and keep the joints sealed 9800 10000 10800 10500 8600 4000 860 4700-6000
Calculation of Air: Stoichiometric combustion of a fuel is defined as the process of complete combustion to the products of combustion with evolution of heat. One of the most important aspects in combustion of fuel is to achieve complete combustion of the fuel. Complete combustion is achieved when all molecules of C, H2 and S in fuel get fully oxidized and become CO2, H2O and SO2 respectively, releasing the total heat value of these constituents. The theoretical amount of air required to achieve complete combustion is known as stoichiometric air. To calculate the amount of this air, we first need to go through various chemical reactions that are taking place during combustion. a) Carbon to carbon dioxide (Complete combustion) C+O2=CO2; which means 12 kg C + 32 kg O2 = 44 kg CO2, or, 1 kg C +2.67 kg O2=3.67 CO2 1 kg of Carbon needs 2.67 kg of oxygen to produce 3.67 kg of carbon dioxide. b) Carbon to carbon monoxide (Incomplete combustion) 2C+O2 = 2CO + 2430 kcal per kg of carbon, or, 24 kg C + 32 kg O2 = 56 kg CO or, 1 kg C+1.33 kg O2 = 2.33 kg CO + 2430 kcal i.e. 1 kg of carbon will require 1.33 kg of oxygen and produces 2.33 kg of CO, and more importantly evolves only 2430 kcal per kg of carbon burnt. c) Hydrogen to Water 29

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach 2H2 + O2 = 2H2O, or, 4 kg H2 + 32 kg O2 = 36 kg H2O, or, 1 kg H2 + 8 kg O2 = 9 kg H2O d) Sulphur to Sulphur di-oxide S + O2 = SO2 32 kg S + 32 kg O2 = 64 kg SO2 1 kg S + 1 kg O2 = 2 kg SO2 i.e. 1 kg of S needs 1 kg of O2 and produces 2 kg of SO2. Now if we consider 1 kg of fuel with C kg of Carbon, H kg of Hydrogen, S kg of Sulphur and O kg of Oxygen, amount of Oxygen required for complete combustion of this fuel would be (2.67C + 8H + S O) kg per kg of fuel. Here the quantity of Oxygen which is already present in the fuel will not be required to be taken from atmospheric air. Quantity of Oxygen available in atmospheric air is considered to be 23% by mass and remaining 77% by mass of Nitrogen. Thus the theoretical minimum air required for complete combustion can be found from this formula, which is also known as the Dulongs Formula, which states Ta = (2.67C + 8H + S O) x 100/ 23 kg per kg of fuel. Flue gas Composition: It has been seen from the above discussion that an adequate supply of oxygen is essential for complete combustion. If the combustion is complete then and then only maximum heat is available from a given fuel. The theoretically exact amount of oxygen required can be calculated with the help of Dulongs combustion equations. But the assumption that the air or oxygen just equal to the theoretical amount will lead to Stoichiometric combustion presupposes ideal conditions. In practice air or oxygen in excess of the theoretical amount has to be supplied to approach conditions of Stoichiometry. This leads to the Excess Air factor, which is defined as the percentage of air required in excess of the theoretical minimum air for complete combustion. You should note that the amount of Oxygen coming with the excess air will not be physically consumed but it would ensure that all molecules of C, H and S would be fully oxidized evolving maximum heat. Therefore after complete combustion, the same amount of Oxygen would be present in the flue gas as free Oxygen. The quantity of Excess Air is one of the most important aspects in optimizing the combustion efficiency. If you provide less than optimum excess air, you are sure to lose because of incomplete combustion. But again, if you provide more air than what is needed, it will add up to your stack loss, which is the largest as we will see during performance analysis of boiler and furnace. Relation between volume and mass: One very important aspect of combustion one needs to understand is the relation between mass of constituents in the fuel and air and the volume of constituents in the flue gas. The ultimate analysis of fuel gives you the fuel composition on mass basis. The theoretical air and the excess air are also considered on mass basis. Whereas the flue gas analysis is done on volumetric basis. These may lead to some confusion in correlating the combustion constituents (in fuel and air) with the combustion product (flue gas). For example, we do not get an idea about the percentage excess air, when someone measures percentage of Oxygen or CO2 in the flue gas. Conversion from volumetric to mass basis composition always helps to understand such relation. Calculation of Excess Air: To calculate heat loss with dry flue gas through stack, we need to know the mass of dry flue gas. Since we do not want incomplete combustion and resulting CO loss in flue gas, we are adding adequate excess air. It should be always kept in mind that while 30

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach countering CO loss, excess air also increases the mass of dry flue gas and therefore contributes to the major heat loss. As an energy manager, our primary responsibility is to ensure that optimum air is supplied for the combustion. The optimum excess air level should be worked out by keeping the sum of loss due to incomplete combustion and dry flue gas loss to a minimum. The combustion efficiency will increase with increased excess air, until the heat loss in the excess air is larger than the heat provided by more efficient combustion. Excess air control can be done by monitoring O2, CO2 and when large quantity of fuel is used then CO. Carbon dioxide content in the flue gas is an important indication of the combustion efficiency and we are controlling combustion by monitoring CO2 percentage in the flue gas. An optimal content of CO2 after combustion is approximately 12-13% for bituminous coal, 10 - 11% for natural gas, and approximately 13 - 14% for light oils. From the CO2% monitored in the flue gas, and the chemical analysis of the fuel, we can calculate and adjust the excess air and therefore control the mass of dry flue gas. We have seen in the combustion chapter that if excess air percentage and fuel analysis is known, we can find out the mass of dry flue gas. If there is no Sulphur in the fuel, then excess air can be found out from CO2% from the following relation: % Excess air supplied (EA) = 7900 x [(CO2%)t - (CO2%)a] / (CO2%)a x [100 (CO2%)t ] Here (CO2%)t is the % theoretical CO2 on dry volume basis in the flue gas, and (CO2%)a is the % actual CO2 on dry volume basis in the flue gas In order to find out the theoretical CO2, we have to consider complete combustion is taking place with the theoretical air only. Considering no Sulphur in fuel, the total dry flue gas consists of only N2 from theoretical air and CO2 from the Carbon in fuel Again, from the reaction C + O2 = CO2, we can see that for every kmol of Carbon, there is one kmol of CO2 in the flue gas, % theoretical CO2 on dry volume basis; (CO2%)t = kmol of C/ (kmol of N2 + kmol of C) kmol of C = mass of Carbon per kg of fuel/ 12 (molecular mass of Carbon) kmol of N2 = 0.77 x mass of theoretical air / 28 (molecular mass of Nitrogen) + Mass of Nitrogen per kg of fuel/ 28 (in case of Nitrogen in fuel analysis) After we calculate % Excess air supplied (EA) as shown above, we have to first calculate mass of Actual Air = (1 + EA/100) x Theoretical Air. We know that the mass of theoretical air can be calculated from the Dulongs Formula: (2.67C + 8H + S - O) x 100/ 23 Now the dry flue gas would consist of: Nitrogen from the actual air + Nitrogen from fuel + CO2 from combustion of fuel + O2 from excess air Nitrogen from the actual air = 0.77 x mass of actual air Nitrogen from fuel = mass of N2 from fuel analysis CO2 from combustion of fuel = 3.67 x mass of Carbon from fuel analysis O2 from excess air = 0.23 x mass of excess air
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach In case of Sulphur present in the flue gas, we need to calculate the mass of excess air from % of O2 in the flue gas from the following relation: % Excess air supplied (EA) = (O2 x 100) / (21 - O2) The recommended excess air for various fuels is shown below: Table 2: Recommended Excess Air FUEL OIL COAL NATURAL GAS DRY BAGASS E WET BAGASS E Flue gas analysis: While selecting sample points for flue gas analysis, take care of the following points: Choose a point close to the furnace exit Avoid sampling at points of air infiltration Avoid sampling at dead pockets like bends or immediately downstream of dampers Use the same point where exit temperature in measured for heat balance calculations. Take care that the atmospheric air does not enter in the sample collecting bag while taking the sample Remove air present in the pipe by pumping before actually taking the sample Excess Air Recommended 15% 25% 10% 30%
45%
The portable analyzer uses the chemical absorption method. It is quite handy and simple to operate. A sample of flue gases is sucked or aspirated through a filter into the analyzer containing caustic soda solution. The change in volume is directly read off on a calibrated scale in terms of percentages of carbon dioxide. The Orsat apparatus, though fairly accurate, is bulky and needs a skilled operator. A similar apparatus for measuring oxygen using a solution of alkaline pyrogallol is also available. Combustion Control Combustion control satisfies the firing rate demand by supplying both air and fuel at the optimum air/fuel ratio. If excess air is present, energy is lost heating the excess. More fuel must be burned to meet the firing rate demand. If insufficient air is present, then not all fuel is completely burned. Again, more fuel is required in order to satisfy the energy requirement. Both of these conditions result in reduced boiler efficiency. A fuel rich combustion mixture is a hazardous condition. If it suddenly mixes with a stream of fresh air, it may auto-ignite resulting in an explosion. Modern control systems monitor fuel and air flow and insure that sufficient air is always present. The heat loss in the flue gases is minimum for a certain excess air factor for each fuel. For values of x less than this the loss is more due to incomplete combustion. For values greater than this it is more because of larger flux of the flue gases. Fig. 4 illustrates this for a boiler. The boiler efficiency is maximum within small excess air factor. 32

Total heat Loss High Stack Loss Max. Efficiency Com bust ion Unburrned Fuel
Total Air in percentage Theoretical Quantity Combustion triangles The concentrations of CO2, SO2, O2 and possibly CO, which are measured in the waste gas, always occur in a defined ratio which can be calculated by the combustion equation. For monitoring the combustion process it is therefore sufficient to monitor either the CO2 or the O2 concentration. If both values are measured, the so-called "combustion triangles" can be used to check whether the flue gas still contains unburned gases. The combustion triangle according to Bunte serves here as an example: the Bunte triangle is described in a square with lateral lengths of 21 divisions. The CO2+SO2+O2 content is plotted over the horizontal axis, the CO2+SO2 content over the vertical axis. The diagonal of this square, drawn from the left bottom to the right top, is the CO2max line and forms together with the horizontal and vertical axes the so-called "Bunte triangle". If one draws a horizontal line through the point of the maximum CO2 content of a fuel and connects the point of intersection of this horizontal line and the diagonal with the right-hand bottom corner of the square, one attains the line of complete combustion for that fuel. The lines of the complete combustion of various fuels are plotted in the Bunte triangle.
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20 18 16 14 12 10 lignite hard coal
CO2 + SO2
O2
CO2 + SO2
heavy fuel oil natural gas Ruhr gas
8 6 4 2 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
CO2 + SO2 + O2
Combustion triangle according to Bunte The following values are attained as a result in the example of lignite: The measured CO2 value is 13%. A value of 19.8 % for CO2+SO2+O2 has been determined by means of the Orsat apparatus. The O2 content is 19.8 % - 13 % = 6.8 %
The point for CO2 + SO2 + O2 is exactly on the line marking the complete combustion for lignite.
If this point is on the left of this line, the flue gas contains unburned gases.
If this point is on the right of the line, this is due to a measuring error.
The advantage of the combustion triangle is that it allows easy checking of the correctness of combustion control during operation without. In case of combined-fuel combustion, the combustion triangle can not be applied due to the different CO2max values of the fuels. Dew point If a fuel contains sulfur (S), this sulfur reacts with the oxygen of the air and forms sulfur dioxide (SO2). However, a part of the sulfur combines with the free oxygen of the excess air into sulfur trioxide (SO3). Although this is just a very small SO3 portion, sulfuric acid in vapor state emerges from SO3 together with the water vapor in the flue gas at temperatures of approximately 500 C. This sulfuric acid can already reach the saturation limit at approximately 250 C.
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach If the flue gas is further cooled down or hits against a colder heating surface, the sulfuric acid starts condensing at a certain temperature, the so-called "acid dew point", so that heating surfaces or walls are corroded by acid. This process is referred to as "low temperature corrosion". In case of sulfur oil firing, the acid dew point can already be at temperatures of 130 C 150 C. Apart from the acid dew point, there is also the so-called water dew point of the flue gases. This is the temperature at which the condensation of water contained in flue gas starts. In case of the usual water vapor concentrations in flue gas, the water dew point is approximately 60 C; the dew point of sulfurous acid (H2SO3) differs only little from that. Particularly during start-up and shutdown operations of the plant, there is the danger of temperatures falling below the dew point, especially at the "cold" sections of feedwater and air heaters. It is therefore important to keep air and feedwater inlet temperatures as high as possible. Flue gas monitoring Incomplete combustion can easily be recognized by the dark-colored smoke plume of the chimney. The combustion is monitored by means of measuring instruments which establish the O2 and/or CO2 contents of the flue gases. The unburned combustible gases CO + H occurring in case of air shortage are also measured. The CO2 content decreases if CO forms; this might be mistaken as an exceedingly high excess air ratio. O2 measurement, in contrast, is unambiguous; here, however, the small measuring range of the O2 measuring instrument must be designed for the small amounts of excess air of modern furnaces and is often not sufficient during start-up operation. Inleaking air deteriorates the boiler efficiency and distorts the measuring result. Especially at the air heater a certain amount of inleaking air cannot be avoided for design reasons so that the measurement of the flue gas composition for monitoring the combustion control has to be made upstream of the air heater. For this, network measurement should be carried out at least every now and then to adjust the sampling point of the measuring probe of the continuously connected measuring instrument as exactly as possible to a mean value so that no flue gas streak is caught which would cause a distortion of measuring results.
35

Steam Generating System

In industrial heating, steam is being used most extensively, from process heating to power generation. When it comes to heat transfer, nothing can match steam. The steam is generated by evaporating water with the heat available, either from combustion of fuel or some other source like waste heat from an exothermic chemical process, etc. Heat generated by Nuclear Fission is also used these days. The equipment used for generating steam is called a Boiler. Does that mean that a kitchen bowl, or a tea kettle, which are used Boiler? to boil water to steam is also a boiler? By definition, Boiler is a closed vessel, which generates steam under pressure. We know that being a closed vessel, generating steam under pressure is something critical, which makes a boiler different than a tea kettle above. In industry, for various processes, heating is done at various temperatures and not just at 100oC. We know from the property of steam that the temperature of steam varies with the pressure under which the steam is being generated. Again for power generation, one needs pressurized steam to expand in the turbine. A boilers primary job is to produce steam at required pressure and temperature. Since it is generating steam under pressure, it is also potentially dangerous equipment. As most of the boiler use the heat produced by combustion of fuel to generate steam, we can say that In order to achieve optimized Boiler performance, one need to ensure maximum extraction of heat from the fuel and then transfer maximum extracted heat to water and steam without causing any accident. The primary requirement of an industrial boiler is to generate steam in large quantities. To produce large quantity of steam, one should transfer large quantity of heat into water. To achieve that one would also need more surface area through which heat is to be transferred from heat source (usually hot flue gas from combustion of fuel) to water. It is primarily this need of accommodating more and more heat transfer area in a limited space that has initiated the design advancement of a boiler. Based on the heat transfer mode, boilers are classified as two types. One is the Fire tube Boiler and the other is the Water tube Boiler. In a Fire Tube Boiler, the hot flue gas passes through the tubes and water remain outside the tube. Heat is transferred from inside the tube to water outside the tube. Fire tube boiler is usually preferred where the steam pressure required is less than about 30 kg/cm2(g) and steaming rate is lesser than 30 t/hr. Above this limits, water tube boilers are more economical. Fire Tube Boiler
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach In a Water Tube Boiler, water circulates through tubes and heat source is outside. Heat is transferred from outside the tube to water inside the tube. Where large quantity of steam is required, at high pressure Water Tube type Boiler is preferred. In power plants, normally, high pressure water-tube type boilers are used, where capacity rages from 30 to 650 t/hr, having pressure & temperature up to 160 kg/ cm2(g) and 540 0C respectively. Flexibility in design is more but requires stringent water quality control since water side cleaning is a complicated and time taking process. Water Tube Boiler If we take a complete steam generating system and break it into various sub systems, we can have a better understanding of the overall system. For this purpose let us take a steam generating system of a Power Plant, which is comprised of most of the sub-systems. Let us follow the water route while it is being converted into steam while passing through various components of a steam generating system and thereby go though various sub-systems.
Feed Water System: Properly treated Feed Water first comes to equipment known as Deaerator, where dissolved Oxygen gets removed. Feed water is added as make up water to the condensate, which is being circulated back to the system. Deaeration is done by heating up the water by auxiliary steam, which we sometime call Pegging Steam.
37

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach The deaerator column is a cylindrical vessel provided with hollow
(a) Perforated, horizontal trays arranged one above the other. (b) Water distribution device at the top. (c) Steam distributor at the bottom. Feedwater enters the deaerator from the top and is evenly distributed, by means of the distributing device, into the perforated trays fitted at the bottom. The trays or the spray nozzle atomises the water and with the pegging seam the water gets heated up to a temperature close to its boiling point and the gases dissolved in it are transferred to the gas phase. These gases together with noncondensing vapour are vented into the atmosphere through a vent valve or pass into a vent condenser where the steam is condensed and the gases are vented. It is important to maintain a continuous stream of steam, coming out of the vent to ensure that the Deaerator is always remain filled with steam. This would in turn ensure that the partial pressure of O2 is least inside the Deaerator and therefore reducing the solubility of O2 in water further. The Deaerator is usually placed at an elevation to ensure required NPSH for the BFW pump. The heat received by feed water in the Deaerator is part of the sensible heat received in the cycle, which we can compare with a temperature enthalpy curve. From the Deaerator, the feed water goes to the Boiler Feed Pump, which pumps the feed water at high pressure into th Evaporator (Circulating water & steam system). But at this point the temperature of the water is much less than saturation temperature. Therefore a lot of sensible energy is still required by the water before it reaches the saturation temperature and evaporation would start. So it is first taken inside the flue gas path where the gas is about to be released in the atmosphere through chimney at a high temperature (and therefore having a lot of heat energy) to increase the feed water temperature in an Economizer. Now the heated feed water enters the Evaporator through steam drum, where water will be circulated while getting evaporated. The water circulates usually due to thermo-siphon action and known as natural circulation. This can be understood from the figure below.
38

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Heat from the hot flue gas is received by the riser, where steaming takes place and therefore riser contains mixture of water and steam, whereas the down comer contains denser water. Due to the density difference in the two columns, circulation takes place in the evaporator. In some evaporator system, where the geometry does not allow the natural circulation, or where the density difference is less due to high pressure (at 175 bar pressure and above, steam and water density difference is not sufficient to induce natural circulation), the circulation is maintained with a pump, which is called forced or assisted circulation. In the Evaporator section, the water receives the remaining amount of sensible heat and total latent heat of evaporation and finally steam leaves the Evaporator from the steam drum and enters the (Steam system) Superheater section. It will not be incorrect if we say that maximum heat input is taking place in the Evaporator section since it is getting the latent heat, unless, of course the pressure is very high. The steam should be completely dry and saturated before it enters superheater, otherwise, instead of raising the temperature of steam beyond saturation temperature in the superheater, remaining water would first get converted into steam and then only the temperature would rise. A number of water separators are used in the steam drum to ensure that. In the superheater, the temperature of steam is raised by further heating. The final temperature is usually controlled by water spraying through attemperator, which is placed before the final superheater. The superheated steam then goes to the turbine, which expands in the turbine section and rotates the turbine blade. In some power plants, where multiple pressure turbine section is available, the expanded team, which is at lower pressure and temperature, is further brought back to the boiler section. This part is known as Reheater and steam gets further superheated in this section before it enters the MP or LP stage of the turbine. From the final turbine stage, the exhaust steam (which is partially wet now) goes to the Condenser, where the latent heat is removed by cooling water circulation and the condensed water (condensate) is circulated back (Condensate System) to the Deaerator with the help of condensate extraction pump. It would be interesting to know that the steam enters the condenser usually at temperature of 40 to 45oC (cold steam). This is because the condenser operates under vacuum to extract maximum work output from the turbine. If we refer the steam table, we can confirm this fact. When we are discussing fired boilers, the heat source is combustion of fuel. The fuel can be of solid, liquid or gaseous type and the combustion takes place in an enclosed section known as the furnace. The first thing the furnace would need is the fuel, which has to be brought from the place it is stored (Fuel system, which is not shown in the above system diagram). Before it enters the furnace, the fuel might require some preparation. For example, in Pulverized coal fired boiler in the thermal power plant, coal has to be ground into fine talcum powder consistency and therefore crusher and pulverizing mills are used. For liquid fuel system, the fuel should be atomized (broken into fine particles to increase surface area), which is done by steam or air atomizer. Some liquid fuels require certain temperature to retain proper viscosity and therefore suitable heater would be there. For gaseous fuel, however, such preparations are not required and only the pressure is to be maintained. In the furnace, fuel requires air and ignition temperature for combustion. The air is one thing, which is available in the nature for free. However, it is still required to be brought inside the furnace. Once combustion takes place, the furnace gets filled with the product of combustion, i.e. flue gas and this flue gas again is required to be taken out of the system to allow entry of further air. The system which handles the air and flue gas is called Draught System. The draught system is generally of three types:
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Forced Draught: Where the air is being pushed into the furnace with the help of a fan known as FD fan, which is located before the furnace. It pushed the air, which in turn pushes the flue gas inside the furnace till it is taken out of the system through the chimney. Induced Draught: Where the flue gas from the furnace is sucked and taken out of the system through the chimney. The fan used in this system is called ID fan and it is located just before the chimney, after the Economizer and Air pre-heater in the flue gas system. Vacuum created by the ID fan sucks in Atmospheric air into the furnace for the combustion. Balanced Draught: Both FD and ID fans are used in this system. In this system, the furnace pressure is maintained a little on the negative side. There is of course the Natural Draught system, which uses the chimney height and higher temperature of the flue gas getting released from the chimney, to create the required draught pressure. But due to the high temperature of flue gas exiting from the chimney, heat loss is staggering. In the system schematic shown here, we are using a Balanced Draught, where the air is pushed inside the furnace by the FD fan. But before it goes to the furnace, the air is first taken inside the flue gas path through an Air Pre-heater, where the air is heated by using the residual heat of the flue gas remaining after it passes the economizer. The heated combustion air increases the combustion efficiency and also further reduces the exit gas temperature. After Air Preheater, heated air is taken inside the furnace. Inside the furnace, after combustion takes place, tremendous amount of heat is being released. The schematic diagram may not represent it properly, but some of the superheater and reheater sections are kept in the furnace to take advantage of the radiation heat transfer. The hot flue gas leaves the furnace and passes through various sections of Superheater, Reheater, Economizer and Air Pre-heater, while gradually getting cooled. After the preheater, the exhaust flue gas is taken out of the system by the ID fan and discharged into the atmosphere through a chimney. Boilers and IBR: As per the Indian Boiler Act & Regulations (IBR), a boiler may be defined as a closed vessel with a capacity of 22.75 liters or more in which water is converted into steam for external use, under pressurized condition. The term boiler includes all such mountings fitted to the vessel, which remain wholly or partly under pressure when steam is shut off. IBR is an Indian regulatory code governing the construction and operation of Boilers to ensure safety for prevention of loss of lives and properties. However this code is no way bears any guidelines for efficiency, MCR and other operational parameters. Central Boiler Board is a central authority, which formulates and amends the regulations governing boilers to keep pace with technological advancement and oversees that the stipulated rules framed by the different State Governments and regulations under IBR are strictly followed by all concerned authorities. The Indian Boilers Act, 1923 is enacted by the parliament and administered by the all State Governments through Chief Inspector of Boilers, as the subject "Boiler" comes under the concurrent list of the constitution of India. The State Level Regulatory Bodies under the Chief Inspector of Boilers, in every state, are solely responsible for implementation of various regulations of the Indian Boiler Regulation (IBR) concerning all types of boilers for their manufacture, erection, operation and maintenance. During manufacture and erection the CIB inspects various stages and finally issues manufacturing certificates in statutory formats and if any owner of a boiler intends to run it, he has to apply to the CIB with manufacturing certificates for registration of the same. For boiler under use, CIB will inspect it once in a year in normal condition. However, in emergency the frequency of inspections may increase. The State Directorate of Chief Inspector of Boilers also governs the quality and capability of personnel handling jobs of manufacturing, maintenance and operating. Welders deployed in manufacture and maintenance and repairs of pressure vessels are also covered under such rules. The state Chief Inspector of Boilers is authorized to conduct regular examinations for testing and certifying candidates working on boiler or a pressure vessel.
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach THE INDIAN BOILERS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2007 Some of the significant Changes: The definition of boilers: In new act it is a pressure vessel in which steam is generated for use external to itself by application of heat which is wholly or partly under pressure when steam is shut off but does not include a pressure vessel : i) with capacity less than 25 litres (such capacity measured from the feed check valve to main steam stop valve) ii) with less than one kilogram per centimeter square design gauge pressure and working pressure, or iii) in which water is heated below one hundred degree centigrade. The definition of Steam Pipe: In old act it is a pipe line through which steam passes from boiler to a prime mover or other user or both. Of course there were limitations to pressure or diameter (3.5 kg/ cm2 and 250 NB). In new act, it means any pipe through which steam passes. The pressure and diameter limitation will be there. Introduction of third party inspecting bodies besides Boiler Directorate: i) Competent Person ii) Competent Authority iii) Inspecting Authority Periodicity of certificate issued to boiler users after carrying out statutory inspection. Till now the certified period to use the boilers was for twelve months whatever may be the size and running condition of boilers. Now it will vary from 12 months to 48 months depending upon various factors to be outlined by the Indian Boiler Regulation. Stricter penal measures: The new act has introduced heavy penalty for various offences For running of boilers without certificate there was a fine of five hundred rupees earlier, now it has become one lakh rupees. In section 24 for other penalties like a) Failing to engrave the registration number b) Illegal repairs c) Fails to report accident d) Tempering with safety valves e) Allowing any person to go inside boiler without effective disconnection In old act it was a fine of five hundred rupees. Now it is revised to punishable with imprisonment which may extend to two years or with fine which may extends to one lakh rupees or with both. In section 25 for offence of tempering registration mark, the fine may extends to one lakh rupees Technological Development in Boilers: Heat Recovery Steam Generator in Power Plant: The HRSG [Heat Recovery Steam Generator] is a system that generates steam from a primary source of heat, like gas turbine exhaust, or the waste Incinerators etc. The main function of the HRSG is to serve as the link between two different thermodynamic cycles. These are: The gas turbine cycle (Brayton) and The water steam cycle (Rankine). These two cycles conform what is called a combined cycle. 41

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach To efficiently mate the Rankine steam cycle with high-temperature gas turbines, HRSGs are developed to operate at substantially higher flue-gas temperatures. New HRSG designs also are required to match each incremental jump in gas-turbine size as combined cycle units grow larger and larger. Perhaps the most important development in HRSG design is the move from single to dual-pressure steam production. This change, which enabled lower stack temperatures and thus greater recovery of thermal energy from the gas turbine exhaust, increased thermal efficiency of a combined-cycle plant by nearly four percentage points. Later designs has gone one step further, from dual to triple-pressure steam production, and yielded approximately one more percentage point gain for the overall cycle. Today, most of the HRSGs for large combined cycle power plants are designed for triple pressure reheat steam systems to maximized efficiency. Importance of Pinch Point and Approach Point in HRSG Unlike conventional steam generators, where the inlet gas temperatures are very high namely adiabatic combustion temperatures of the fuel fired (1600-1800oC), the gas turbine exhaust inlet gas temperature to the HRSGs is very low, on the order of 500 - 580 oC. This creates a problem. We cannot arbitrarily assume an exit gas temperature to determine the steam flow. There are a few reasons for this, such as the low ratio of gas/steam and capacity of heat sink in the form of economizer. A lot of energy is transferred to the steam before the flue gases enter the economizer, while in HRSGs, it could be very small due to the low inlet gas temperature. This in turn affects the energy absorbed in economizer and hence the HRSG exit gas temperature. Hence gas/steam profiles cannot be easily predicted.
The pinch point is the difference between the gas temperature leaving the evaporator and the saturation temperature, while approach point is the difference between the water temperature leaving the economizer and saturation temperature. Approach point is used in the sizing of the Economizer. A good approach point is between 10C-15C. This temperature will guarantee that no steaming will occur in the economizer section. Pinch is used in sizing the heat transfer surface area of the HRSG. It is desirable to make the pinch point as small as possible with out making the cost of the HRSG too high. Pinch and approach points are to a great extent dependent on the inlet gas temperature and whether the evaporator is bare or finned. With single pressure or even multiple pressure HRSGs, an option to improve energy recovery is to use lower pinch and approach points. A Typical exhaust gas/steam cycle temperature profile "Q-T diagram" for three-pressure system is given below indicating Gas turbine exhaust gas temperature, the highest pressure level, superheated steam temperature, minimum temperature difference (pinch point), approach temperature difference, stack gas temperature, reheat steam temperature, etc.
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Heat Transfer and Tube Finning The temperature differential between the flue gas, steam and water, especially around the back end of the evaporators, is very poor. The situation is compounded by the poor heat transfer coefficient on the flue gas side. Water side and steam side coefficients are much better as will seen in the Table below. Typical HRSG Heat Transfer Coefficients Section of Flue Gas Water in Water in HP Steam HRSG Economiser Evaporator 500 2500-10000 1000 Heat Transfer 50 Coefficient (W.m-2.K-1) It follows from this that tube wall temperatures tend to run quite close to the water and steam side temperatures. Even when temperature differentials are at their highest, the heat transfer rates are very modest. For example with a 100C difference the flue gas, as at the beginning of an HP evaporator, the actual heat transfer rate will not be much more than 5-10 kW.m-2. This compares with peak heat transfer rates in pulverized boilers which can be well over 200 kW.m-2. Given such poor flue gas side heat transfer rates, tubes must be of small diameter, with tight spacings and be of the finned type to provide sufficient heat transfer area. The only section of the HRSG which might not use finned tubes is the HP superheater where there might be a possibility of oxidation of the finning. High efficiency finning is desirable as this reduces the size of the HRSG. Fin material with a high conductivity is needed. Fin shape and pitch are also critical due to the need to prevent excessive pressure drops through the system, otherwise gas turbine output will suffer. The overall pressure drop across the whole HRSG should not be much more than 25 mbar. A potential problem with finning, where different types of materials are employed, is expansion differences leading to thermal fatigue. Classification of HRSG There are a few variants to the basic design of the HRSG. These variants define the type of HRSG and the variant is determined by a specific aspect of the HRSG operation. These are as below: Horizontal or Vertical design Circulation - Natural, Forced, assisted Circulation or once through Supplementary fired, and Auxiliary fired. Single, Dual or Triple pressure levels 43

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Horizontal or Vertical design The vertical or the Horizontal design is basically the particular manufacturer's design feature. In the Horizontal design the exhaust hot gases from the primary heat source flow in a horizontal direction over the exchanger tubes. In a vertical design the gases flow in a vertical direction [bottom to top] over the exchanger tubes. Though both designs work equally effectively, certain countries have preference for one over the above. Vertical designs, which have originally been developed in Europe, offer a smaller footprint and are less vulnerable to thermal cycling problems than the horizontal designs commonly applied and originated in North America. Horizontal vs Vertical HRSG (some of the important comparisons)
Surface Area for equal Output
Plot Plan Area for equal Output
Emission control
Horizontal HRSG Similar, except the re-heater and super heater section which might require slightly more heating surface area mainly due to less advantageous flue gas flow distribution with regard to temperatures and mass flow Up to 30% more, mainly due to the opening angle of the inlet duct and the stack, and if supplementary firing systems, SCRs, CO Catalysts, etc. are required Requires more HRSG length
Vertical HRSG Base
Base
Supplementary Firing HRSG enclosure/Boiler house Regular Inspections
Readily installed in the HRSG inlet duct or within the boiler surface area Free standing, self supporting enclosure Headers and surfaces not easy to access
Requires more HRSG height, cleaning of downstream fouled surfaces has to be carried out carefully, not to poison the catalyst. Readily installed in the HRSG inlet duct, difficult to install within the boiler surface area Attached to and supported by the HRSG structure, light enclosure Header and surface inspection carried out accessing through manholes without requirement for additional auxiliaries
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Circulation As the HRSG exchanger tubes are constantly exposed to the hot gases from the primary heat source, the tubes cannot be dry at anytime. Hence there is need to keep the water circulating all the time through the various exchangers. This can be Natural, Forced, Assisted or Once through flow. In the vertical HRSG design where the exchanger tubes are horizontal, often forced circulation is deployed. These days there are vertical HRSGs with natural circulation also. On the other hand, the horizontal HRSGs with vertical exchanger tubes deploy natural circulation as the norm. Natural Circulation:

Natural Circulation The circulation arises from the density difference between water and steam. It normally includes a drum.
Forced Circulation:
Forced Circulation The circulation arises from the work done by a water circulation pump. It normally includes a drum.
The Assisted Circulation Similar to forced circulation The circulation arises from the work done by a water circulation pump that is only in service during the start-up of the HRSB. Applies normally for vertical HRSB types. 45

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach It normally includes a drum.
The Once Through Flow

The circulation arises from the weight force of the water entering the boiler at a very high point. It normally has no drum. There is no recirculation taking place in the evaporator.
Supplementary-fired, and Auxilliary fired If the heat from the primary source is not adequate to meet the specific plant requirements, then supplementary firing is required in the HRSG using some burner system. In the supplementary fired HRSG heat from the primary source and from the burner are always available. Auxiliary firing will be required if the HRSG is to produce steam for the plant even when the primary heat source is not available. Per ASME Power Test Code 4.4, the HRSG efficiency is defined as: E= (energy to steam/water/fluids)/[exhaust gas flow x enthalpy + fuel input on LHV basis] Compared to an unfired HRSG, the fired unit is more efficient for the following reasons: Addition of auxiliary fuel reduces the effective excess air in the exhaust gases, as no air is added. The fuel utilizes only the excess oxygen in the turbine exhaust. This is opposite to what happens in a steam generator, where with increase in excess air, the heat losses are more and thus efficiency is reduced. With increased steam generation, usually the exhaust gas temperature decreases in a single pressure system. This is due to the increased ratio of steam/gas. In a conventional steam generator, the gas/steam ratio is nearly constant, while in a HRSG, exhaust gas flow remains the same, while the steam generation increases due to auxiliary firing. The increased water flow through the economizer (with gas flow remaining same) can pull the gas temperature further down due to the increased duty. But in practice, it has been found that the heat rate increases with auxiliary firing. Radiation heat pick up in the HRSG designed to utilize low grade heat is poor and thus contributes to the decrease of the overall efficiency of the power plant. It is therefore prudent to use duct firing as Supplementary firing instead of auxiliary firing only to augment power generation at the time of need. Single, Dual or Triple pressure levels HRSGs, may have single or multiple pressure levels, to suit a specific plant requirement. The pressure and flow values are dictated by the downstream equipment's requirement. There are obvious differences in HRSGs from a coal fired or oil fired steam plant. The HRSG does not have 46

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach a furnace and all the heat coming from a Gas Turbine exhaust. Where in conventional boiler, the superheater is located after the evaporator, in an HRSG, the evaporators are located at downstream of superheater and reheater. In a triple pressure HRSG, there are actually three sets of evaporators, an HP set, an IP and an LP set. There are also separate sets of HP, IP and LP economizers. In an conventional fired boiler, although there are HP, IP and LP steam turbines, all the evaporation takes place at just one very high pressure. These differences can be traced back to heat transfer consideration, which dominates the HRSG design. The temperature in the furnace of a conventional coal or oil fired steam plant is around 2000oC, and in the superheater and reheater region, temperatures run between 800 to 1400oC. It is a truism for both gas and steam turbines, that to attain the highest practicable efficiencies, the turbine entry temperature needs to be as high as possible. Steam temperatures of most HRSG units lie in the range of 480 to 530oC, to make use of a steam temperature of the order of 500oC or more, the steam must be expanded through an adequate pressure ratio. Since the pressure in condenser is more or less fixed, this requires an adequate steam pressure into the turbine. For an HRSG equipped with a superheater and a reheater these days, the pressure is more than 120 bar. Generating steam at this pressure has a huge impact on HRSG design, basically because much of the heat uptake happens at the evaporator due to the higher requirement of latent heat. Since the saturation temperature increases with the increase of pressure, the water side has to be raised to a very high temperature to the extent of 300 320oC. Given that the flue gas entering an HRSG is around 600C, and the bulk of the heat uptake occurs at around the boiling point, this would mean that the temperature of the flue gas going up the stack would be just over 300C. In other words, about half of the available heat in the flue gas would be lost up the stack, in a HRSG that produced steam at just one very high pressure, as in a pulverized fuel boiler. This problem is overcome by installing a further set of evaporators, economizers and superheaters in the HRSG, down stream of the high pressure steam. This additional set produces steam at a much lower pressure, somewhere between 4 and 10 bar, the actual value being that which corresponds to the exit pressure from the HP turbine, or if the plant is fitted with a reheater, the IP turbine. As the boiling point of water at this sort of pressure is in the range of 140C-180C low temperature heat in the flue gases can be picked up quite easily. In addition some superheating of the LP steam is done with the aim of matching the temperature of the cold steam from the HP or IP turbine. It is then possible to merge the steam from these two different systems and put them to the LP turbine. Steam, for deaeration, at an even lower pressure, can also be raised using the last vestige of heat in the flue gases. To summarise in a modern HRSG steam would be raised at three different pressures with separate evaporator and pumping circuits for each. This is in complete contrast to a pulverized fuel steam plant, where all the evaporation takes place at one very high pressure. Another difference is that feedheaters, of the type used on conventional pulverized fuel plant, using steam extracted from the turbines are not used on HRSG systems. This would simply raise the water temperature at the inlet to the economizers, and would reduce the amount of heat, which could be transferred from the flue gases. Super Critical Boiler: Two factors, namely the necessity to reduce emission of CO2 (Green House Gas) and ever increasing cost of fuel have always attracted the attention of the designer. In order to achieve these two objectives, the designers have taken steps to increase the thermal efficiency & power cycle by adopting the usage of Super Critical Pressure steam. A super critical boiler is one, which operates above the critical steam pressure of 229 kg/cm2(g) at 3740 C. At this critical pressure, steam and water are at the same density, which means steam, is as compressed as water and at a temperature of 3740 C, water does not require any latent heat to become vapour from fluid. When such substance is heated above the critical temperature, dry superheated steam is produced, which is very suitable for driving turbo generators. In super critical boiler, are provided with only pre-heater and super heaters and there is no boiler drum. Also, the super critical pressure boilers are of once through, forced circulation type. 47

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach The Advantages of Super Critical Boiler over Sub Critical Boiler: a) The heat transfer rate is very high. (Typically, the heat transfer co-efficient in sub-critical boiler is 400 kcal/m2.hr.C, while that in super-critical boiler is 50000 kcal/m2.hr.C). b) By using super critical boiler, steam efficiency of power plant can be as high as about 40 to 42%. c) Due to absence of steam-water mixture (no two-phase effect), there is very less erosion and corrosion. d) The overall operation is very easy. e) The turbo generator connected to super critical boiler can easily attain peak-loads. Fluidized Bed Combustion: When air or gas is passed through an inert bed of solid particles such as sand or crushed refractories supported on a fine mesh or grid the air will initially seek a path of least resistance, and pass upwards through the bed. With further increase in the velocity, the air starts bubbling through the bed and the particle attains a state of high turbulence. Under such conditions, the bed assumes the appearance of a fluid and exhibits the properties associated with a fluid and hence the name FLUIDISED BED. If the bed material in fluidized state is heated to the ignition temperature of the fuel and fuel is injected continuously into the bed, the fuel will turn rapidly and the bed attains a uniform temperature due to effective mixing. This, in short, is fluidized bed combustion (or FBC)
While it is essential that the temperature of the bed should be at least equal to ignition temperature of coal, it must not be allowed to approach the adiabatic combustion temperature (1600-1700C) to avoid melting of the ash. The combustion is carried out essentially at a temperature below ash fusion temp. This is achieved by extracting heat from the bed through heat transfer tubes immersed in the bed, as well as through walls of the bed. If the air velocity is too high the bed particles are entrained in the air stream and are lost. Hence air velocity is maintained between minimum fluidizing velocity and particle entrainment velocity. The integration of the fluidized bed combustion process with a boiler results in a system that has several advantages. The beginning: 0ne afternoon more than a decade ago, a British engineer named Douglas Elliott tapped a bit of coal, ground to crumbs in a kitchen blender, into a tin can mounted on the wall. Below the can was an ordinary small open fireplace ordinary, that is, at a casual glance. 48

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach For instead of burning coals, a red- hot bed of sand gently undulated like simmering lava. As the coal trickled out of the can onto the glowing bed below, each crumb exploded into flame with a pop and a blue-white flare. It burned only about two pounds of coal an hour, but the little fireplace glowed fiercely, delivering much more warmth than its size suggested. The fireplace, at Aston University in Birmingham, England, was no mere conversation piece. It was a simple, striking demonstration of a concept called fluidized bed combustion. Some say that FBC will transform the use of humanity's oldest technology fire. Like any combustion system, the end product of FBC is heat, which can generate hot water or steam or run turbines to produce electricity. Unlike other systems, however, FBC boilers can burn low-grade fuels, everything from high-sulfur coal to rice hulls. Suitably designed, an FBC system can use soaking wet coal mixed with rock. The Technology Development: FBC in its various forms offers a technology that can be designed to burn a variety of fuels, efficiently and in an environmentally acceptable manner, for a variety of applications. There are two main derivatives of the technology, namely bubbling (BFBC) and circulating (CFBC) and both of these can be either atmospheric or pressurized in operation. The original development of BFBC was for coal-fired power generation. Although some large coal-fired retrofit demonstration units have been built and operated successfully, it has been shown that the technology is better suited to smaller industrial applications, including units that fire biomass and wastes in conjunction with, or instead of, coal. The capacity of bubbling-bed installations during the past three decades has varied significantly. In the early 1980s, capacities tended to be relatively modest with many BFBC units being built in the range 3-40 MWth. A number of more recent units have fallen in the range 30-100MWth, with a relatively small number in the range 150-280 MWth. While a small number of large capacity plant have been built in Japan, Finland and Thailand, most continue to fall in the small-to-medium capacity range. For instance, by the early 1990s, China claimed to have more than 2000 bubbling fluidized beds in operation and, around the same time, India had around 200 in use. In both cases, the majority of plants were of the small-to-medium scale, a trend that largely continues. During the 1970s several engineering companies embarked on the development of CFBC technology, building on the concept of earlier bubbling bed combustion. During subsequent years, CFBC technology was developed further and commercial acceptability was achieved with remarkable rapidity. Technology variants were introduced by a number of commercial organisations and CFBC has become established as a versatile technology that can be designed to burn a range of coals, coal wastes, biomass and other feedstocks. Recently, there has been some shift from coal firing to use of alternative fuels such as petroleum coke and/or other waste-derived fuels, reflecting the usefulness of the technology for the environmentally acceptable disposal of such materials. In terms of individual plant capacity, the situation with CFBC plant has mirrored that of bubbling-bed installations in that the capacity range produced by the major manufacturers has been very wide, reflecting a diversity of end uses. To date, operating CFBC units range from a few MWth to 250MWe. The overall capacity of a site depends almost entirely on the various end uses. Thus, installations may generate electricity, produce steam and/or hot water, or both. Although PFBC based on bubbling-bed technology currently predominates, there is a potential alternative in the form of PCFBC. It is claimed that PCFBC technology could offer significant advantages over the present atmospheric pressure systems. Work is being carried out by several organisations with a view to developing a successful commercial-scale process. However, the technology has yet to be demonstrated at a significant scale. Operational Advantages of Fluidized Bed Combustion Boilers. Following are the main advantages of Fluidized Bed Combustion Boilers: a) Low NOx emission due to low temperature combustion (800-900C) NOx formation is avoided and adding limestone for high Sulphur fuels such as Lignites, Peats and High 49

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Sulphur Coal arrests SOx. Thus, expensive downstream scrubbing equipments are not necessary. b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k) l) m) n) o) p) q) r) s) t) Prevention of vitrification of ash particles causing them to be less than ash from fire or p.f. boilers. Minimal Instruments & Controls required. No flame monitoring system being necessary for monitoring the flame of boiler furnace. Unlike Pulverized Fuel Fired Boilers, no flame supporting and stabilizing firing of Secondary Fuel such as Oil is required. High availability and reliability with poor grade coal, Rated parameters are obtained faster and the time taken from the instant of lighting up is quite less. Wide Turn-down Ratio of 4 to 1 is achievable, due to which rated steam conditions are maintained down to very low loads and response to load variations is fast. Coal quality much inferior to the quality envisaged during design and wide fluctuation in quality can often be accommodated without sacrificing the generation or efficiency. Fluidized Bed Combustion Boilers can be designed to burn Waste Fuels such as bagasse, husk saw dust or washery middling. Reduction in Boiler efficiency with reduction in boiler load is much lesser as compared with other type of boilers. Boiler can be comfortably operated at low loads without any support fuel due to segmental air box and fuel combustion bed. Boiler start up (cold start)is fast. Hot start is faster due to heat retention in bed. Soot blowers are not required as it has minimum touching and slagging potential Operation is simple and generally there is lesser danger of explosion. Less of maintenance due to absence of moving parts. Low operation & maintenance cost. Bottom feeding system helps in ensuring uniform bed temperature and high efficiency even when the content of fines in the coal is very high. Compact design due to high heat transfer rate over a small heat transfer area immersed in bed. Low cost of steam generation. High efficiency (85-86%), use of low cost fuel, less maintenance cost, and negligible oil consumption reduce the cost of steam generation considerably. Thermally homogenous combustion, hence lower potential for local hot or cold spots.
u)
Classification of fluidized-bed boiler : Fluidized-bed boilers can be categorized into two main groups, depending on the mode of operation of the fluidized bed. These are: (a) Atmospheric Fluidized Bed (AFB) boilers and (b) Pressurized Fluidized Bed (PFB) boilers. Atmospheric Fluidized Bed boilers can be of two types: (a) Bubbling Fluidized bed combustors (BFBC) (b) Circulating Fluidized bed combustors (CFBC) A distinction can also be made on the basis of fluidizing velocity of air, which is the fundamental distinguishing feature of fluidized-bed-combustion units.
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach BFBC When a packed bed of small particles is subjected to an upward gas flow, the bed initially remains static but the pressure drop across it increases in proportion to the increasing gas flow rate. When the pressure drop across the bed particles equals the weight per unit area of the bed, the bed becomes suspended. The bed is then considered to be at minimum (or incipient) fluidization. Any further increase in the gas flow rate does not significantly affect the bed pressure drop. However, gas flow in excess of the minimum will, with the size of particles normally considered for BFBC applications, result in the formation of bubbles. At a fluidization velocity several times the minimum, the upward and sideways coalescing movements of the bubbles provide intense agitation and mixing of the bed particles. In this state the bed particles can transfer heat at very high rates from burning fuel to cooler surroundings. Within the system, the only significant pressure difference is the drop from the air distributor in the base to the top of the bed, as the weight of the bed particles opposes the rising fluidizing air. Bed particles are free to move around; the bed is fluidized although the particles remain in relatively close contact and are not carried upwards to any significant degree. Thus, the bed maintains a well-defined upper surface, with air bubbles passing through the bed bursting at the surface, much as boiling water appears. Fuel can be fed into and burned in the bubbling bed, this process being known as BFBC. In a BFBC system, the fuel is delivered into or onto the fluidized bed of inert particles, and burns by virtue of the oxygen within the fluidizing air and the temperature of the surrounding particles. If the upward air flow is turned off, the particles become static, i.e. they become defluidized or slumped, and settle down onto the supporting base plate, termed the air distributor. This plate both supports the static particles and also evenly distributes the fluidizing air across the whole base area of the particle containment. When the fuel being burned has only a low ash content, or if the ash is friable, the fuel ash may be either insignificant or become degraded by the action of the fluidized bed, such that it is substantially elutriated within the emergent flue gases. Alternatively, when a high-ash fuel is burned, especially one that leaves behind hard particles of ash, some of the ash remains in the bed. If the ash particles are a suitable size they will fluidize and will eventually replace the original inert particles. Excess fuel ash may need to be removed in order to maintain the designed bed depth. In order to burn the fuel efficiently and, in the case of limestone or dolomite, successfully retain sulphur dioxide (SO2), the bed particles need to be controlled in the temperature range 800-900C. During normal operation this temperature is achieved, and stabilized, by the opposing effects of the heat input from the burning fuel and outgoing heat in the flue gases, and heat transferred from the bed particles to water-cooled tubing and/or containment walls. In the case of a BFBC boiler, such tubes and walls form a part of the boiler construction. When BFBC is used for applications other than as a boiler, such as a hot gas furnace or incinerator, there are no such water-cooled surfaces; hence the bed temperature is stabilised by passing excess air through the bed. In the case of a boiler or a waste/bio-fuel to energy plant, the emergent flue gases are constrained to flow through or across conventional heat transfer surfaces so that they are cooled to below 200C before they leave the boiler and flow to atmosphere through the plant chimney. Hot gases from a furnace are usually used for process drying applications. At start-up, the bed particles have to be raised to a suitable ignition temperature for the intended fuel. In order to cater for various start-up requirements, many forms of start-up system have evolved, one of the most widely applied methods being the use of gas or oil burners preheating the ambient fluidising air and so preheating the bed particles. Alternatively, a light fuel oil can be used for the over-bed method. The core of the BFBC installation comprises the combustion chamber. For boiler systems, this generally features water-cooled walls and bottom section. The bottom section may be fully lined with refractory, as may the lower portion of the water wall panelling, as an anti-erosion measure. Combustion of fuel fed into the combustion chamber takes place primarily in the bubbling bed of sand or other inert material; depending on the particular design, the height when fluidized may be between 300mm and 1m. The grain size of the inert bed material falls generally within the range 0.3-2mm. BFBC boilers utilise various systems to remove excess bed material. This equipment can comprise a fully automated classifier system that extracts coarse particles from the bed and returns remaining useful bed material to the combustion chamber, or simply a 51

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach type of bed drain chute. Because of the low fluidizing velocities generally adopted and the low suspension density above the bed surface, conventional oil and/or gas burners can be installed in the freeboard of the furnace walls, allowing, when appropriate, full boiler output to be achieved with different types of fuels. Coal has long been an important fuel source, although latterly there has been a growing tendency to use other fuels, either alone or co-fired with coal. However, many BFBC combustors remain in use worldwide, fired on coal alone, especially in situations where other indigenous fuels are lacking. Practical experience over the past three decades confirms that BFBC technology can be well suited to the utilization of difficult fuels such as high-moisture fuels (e.g. wastes and sludges), high-ash fuels (e.g. some types of municipal solid waste and refuse-derived fuel) and low volatile fuels (including anthracite and petroleum coke). BFBC plant can generate a range of pollutants. However, pollutant emissions can be controlled by a variety of means, some specific to FBC technology and others that are essentially the same as those used in conventional combustion plant. The main environmental issues that require consideration with BFBC operations may vary but will include some or all of the following: oxides of nitrogen (NOx: NO+NO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), SO2, carbon monoxide (CO), dioxins and furans. In addition, control of particulates is necessary and, depending on the fuel types and the application, control of heavy metal release may be required. Although BFBC technology has faced increasing competition from CFBC in recent years, it has maintained an important position in the market. BFBC technology is well suited to smaller industrial applications as well as to the combustion of waste materials. Thus, BFBC plant continues to find wide ranging adoption in a number of important industrial areas. As well as in new applications, BFBC systems are often encountered as retrofit replacements for older, less efficient facilities. Compared with the latter, BFBC has several advantages. For instance, where replacing some stoker and grate-fired plant, BFBC often has increased ability to burn a wider range of fuel types, at an improved overall efficiency. Depending on the particular application/situation, BFBC plant can have lower capital and maintenance costs, and generate lower emission levels. As with many technological developments, there is often a tendency for first-generation plant to be less effective and more troublesome than later developments. This was the case with BFBC technology and some early units were characterized by problems such as erosion of inbed tubing and heat absorption surfaces. Further developments have introduced second generation BFBC, characterized by such features as: Highly-staged combustion air. The primary air can represent a varying percentage of the total air requirement. Secondary air is introduced at several levels above the bed, providing the balance of the combustion air, to reduce NOx levels. The adoption of air staging. This makes it possible to regulate the locations where combustion takes place within the furnace, the temperature, and the amount of fuel burnt within the bed and the freeboard. Velocity within the furnace is also controlled by air staging. Simplified turn-down operations, compared with earlier units. There is no need for partial bed slumping. Where low-grade fuels such as high-moisture-content sludges are used, there is no need for in-bed tubing to be utilized for heat transfer purposes. Where low-heating-value fuels are used, combustion efficiency is heavily dependent on maintaining intimate contact between the fuel particles and the heat transfer medium. Since primary air velocity is kept low (~1m/s), this ensures that the bulk of the fuel enters the bed, rather than progressing upwards in the air flow. CFBC Circulating fluidized beds are a development of bubbling-bed technology. As with the latter, air is blown through the bed. As this occurs, the air entrains with it a percentage of the solid particles from the bed. With a bubbling bed, when operating correctly, the majority of these particles fall back into the bed. However, if the velocity of the fluidizing air is increased above a defined level, entrained particles are carried upwards away from the bed surface and the distinct surface layer that characterized the bubbling bed operating at lower air velocities disappears. The combustion chamber is then filled with a turbulent cloud of particles that no 52

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach longer remain in close contact with each other. In a simple bubbling bed, this would constitute a significant disadvantage. However, this phenomenon can be harnessed usefully by arranging for the burning particles to be recovered from the air flow and fed back into the lower part of the combustion chamber. A circulating fluidized bed can be utilized to sustain combustion in a similar manner to a bubbling bed. Thus, the bed solids may be heated to incandescence and fuel fed into the combustion chamber where it burns in the fluidizing air. The turbulent contact between the fuel particles present and the bed solids stabilizes the overall temperature. This system is known as CFBC. The ability to capture elutriated solids and recirculate them to the combustion chamber is an inherent feature of CFBC design. However, solids collection in a CFBC system is different from techniques used in BFBC units in that the solids loading in the gas emerging from the combustion chamber is far higher and the hot solids themselves constitute a major heat transfer mechanism. In this respect, the emerging solids carry with them a significant portion of the heat released during combustion in the combustion chamber. This phenomenon has been addressed in a variety of ways by the different CFBC technology developers. CFBC units, whatever their origin, generally include some or all of the following elements: A furnace/combustion chamber in which the coal or other fuel is injected (often with limestone) and fluidized together with part of the recycled solids. Approximately 50% of the combustion air is introduced below the grid plate. As a result, combustion in the lower part of the bed is reducing, thus limiting the risk of nitrogen oxide (NO) formation. Additional combustion air is injected as secondary air at an appropriate point above the grid plate. A solids separation system, such as a cyclone or labyrinth separator, installed at the combustion chamber outlet in the high-temperature gases (~750-950C). It enables most of the solids leaving the chamber to be collected and re-injected into the system, allowing only a very small fraction of the ash produced to be carried by the discharged flue gas. An external heat exchanger. This may be fed by fluidized solids from the bottom of the cyclone that are cooled before being fed back into the furnace or other part of the solids recycle loop. The distribution between hot solids and recycled cooled solids keeps the combustion chamber temperature at the desired value. CFBC systems have an inherent advantage in that they are designed to increase solids residence times by allowing for recirculation of particles into and through the high-temperature combustion zones. This means that fuels ranging from anthracites to wood can be burned in appropriately designed CFBC systems at high combustion efficiencies - up to 99%. The ability of CFBC systems to operate on a wide range of fuel types has been confirmed through extensive operational experience. Most major suppliers have manufactured CFBC units that have been capable of operating with the major classes of fuel types. Although many CFBC units currently in commercial operation utilize a single fuel feedstock, there are many others that regularly co-fire mixtures of fuels. The high degree of fuel flexibility that characterises many designs of CFBC often allows a plant operator to select fuels on the basis of what may be currently available at an economic price and, where appropriate, to produce a fuel blend that combines several such elements. Often, a premium fuel may be co-fired with a low-grade feedstock such as paper mill or oil refinery wastes. Many CFBC units have proved to be capable of achieving relatively low levels of the primary pollutants NOx, SO2, CO and particulates. Sorbent is usually added to the system in order to control SO2 emissions, NOx levels are minimized by careful bed temperature control and other means, and solids passing through the system can be retained using conventional particulate control systems. However, achieving acceptable overall environmental performance in practice, as for BFBC, has often required considerable development effort by system developers. PFBC With bubbling-bed PFBC, the combustion process takes place within a pressure vessel and occurs at a pressure higher than atmospheric. There is a requirement to feed fuel into, and remove ash from, a system under pressure, and various arrangements have required development to meet these needs. Compared with competing systems, the one major advantage that PFBC has is that the hot combustion gases leave the combustor under pressure. Where this pressure can be maintained and the gases have been cleaned, they can be fed directly into a gas turbine. 53

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Other significant advantages include PFBCs fuel flexibility, its modularity and its suitability for retrofit applications. Although PFBC based on bubbling-bed technology currently predominates, an alternative, in the form of PCFBC, is also the focus of significant development efforts. PCFBC systems are some way behind bubbling-bed based systems in terms of their overall development and commercialization. It is expected that, once developed further, PCFBC systems, as with bubbling-bed technology, will have the potential to achieve very low levels of pollutants and high process efficiencies.
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Operation Overview
Introduction: Not many years ago boiler house was getting very little importance and was usually tucked away in some remote corner. Over the years the importance of the boiler has been realised and personnel operating this plant now need a high standard of skill and knowledge. This is mainly because major portions of the operating costs are incurred in the boiler plant. A boiler consumes a huge quantity of fuel, the cost of which has increased considerably. Every kJ of heat, which can be saved, lowers the cost and increases the efficiency of the station. To compile a detailed list of duties and responsibilities for personnel operating a boiler is difficult. Boiler operation often varies with the age and design of equipment, operating requirements, operating personnel changes and new concepts of how to treat recognized symptoms of trouble. A major responsibility of the operator is to keep the boilers in good operating condition. The primary concern in the operation of steam boilers, regardless of pressure or type, is safety. Like any pressure vessel, boilers represent potential risks to personnel and property. Good operating practices result in the maximum reliability and efficiency. In the interest of safety, manufacturers, engineering societies, and most, important, governmental jurisdictions have set forth rules for steam boiler operation and preventive maintenance. The engineers and boiler operators should be familiar with these rules specifically applying to their local situation. In short even the best made boiler, if not operated properly, will not give designed performance for desired life. The objectives of Operation Management: Following should be the objectives of Operation Management: a. b. c. d. Operation of units at minimum partial loading and maximum availability. Operation of units at rated parameters. Efficient Control of Water Chemistry. Operation of plant at minimum dematerialized water makeup, consumption, auxiliary power consumption and coal consumption. e. Operation of plant and accessories at optimum efficiencies in sustained manner. Practices adopted for achieving the above objectives are as follows:
a) Systematic monitoring and reporting systems for operation, maintenance & efficiency management. b) Daily coordination meeting with Head of department to discuss: Operational events and daily plan Analysis of abnormal events and remedial measures. c) Merit order rating Continuous monitoring of important operational parameters having cost implications. d) Minimum forced tripping e) Tripping Committee for analysis of cause. f) Feed back to / from other plants. g) Analysis of outages / categorizations. h) Easy availability of operating instructions, manuals and other literature to operating engineers and staff. i) Efficient up keep of instruments, auto loops, annunciations, protections and interlocks. j) Good house keeping. k) Good working environment. l) Proper training & awareness program. Key Operation Areas: There are eight primary areas of the boiler itself that should be examined or inspected regularly. 55

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Water level: The most important maintenance inspection is to check the boiler water level daily. Insufficient water causes pressure vessel damage or failure. At a minimum, steel in the pressure vessel could overheat. The condition could change the pressure withholding capabilities of the vessel, necessitating vessel repair or replacement. Boiler blow-down: Steam boilers should be blown down daily to maintain recommended dissolved solids levels and to remove sludge and sediment. As the boiler takes on makeup water the solids concentration builds up. Solids accumulate in either dissolved or suspended form. Unless they are controlled dissolved solids promote carryover of water with the steam causing water hammer and damaging piping, valves, or other equipment. Carryover also raises the moisture content in the steam, affecting proper operation of equipment that uses steam. Suspended solids, which cause sludge or sediment in the boiler, must be removed because they affect the heat transfer capabilities of the pressure vessel. Sludge buildup leads to problems ranging from poor fuel-to-steam efficiency to pressure vessel damage. Water column blow-down: Water columns on steam boilers should be blown down once each shift or at a minimum once a day. This action keeps the column and piping connections clean and free of sediment or sludge. The water column also must he kept clean to ensure the water level in the gauge glass accurately represents the water level in the boiler. The gauge glass connected to the water column are the only means of visually verifying boiler water level. The low-water cutoff should be checked once a week by shutting off the feed water pump and letting the water evaporate under normal steam conditions at low fire. The gauge glass should he observed and marked at the exact point at which the low water cutoff shuts down the boiler. The test verifies operation of the low-water cutoff under operating conditions. The low-water cutoff also should the removed and cleaned every six months. Water treatment: Proper water treatment prolongs boiler life and ensures safe and reliable operation. Treatment programs are designed around the quality and quantity of raw water makeup and system design. A qualified water management consultant should direct them. Flue gas temperature: Flue gas temperature is a good indicator of boiler efficiency changes. The temperature should be recorded regularly and compared to those of a clean boiler under the same operating conditions. Accurately determining the affect on efficiency requires that the firing rate and operating pressure be the same. A rise in flue gas temperature usually indicates dirt on the fireside of the boiler or scale on the waterside. As a rule of thumb a 40-deg F rise in temperature reduces boiler efficiency 1%. The cost of fireside cleaning should be compared to those of lower operating efficiencies to determine the minimum temperature rise at which the fireside should be cleaned. Other factors also affect flue gas temperature. For example, a rise in stack temperature may indicate a baffle or seal in one of the boiler's passes has failed. Waterside and fireside surfaces: Waterside and fireside surfaces should be inspected and cleaned annually. A visual inspection provides an early warning that the vessel needs repair or water treatment or that combustion needs adjustment. Inspecting and cleaning water-column connections should receive special attention. Soot in the breeching is a fire hazard and can cause severe combustion-related problems. Safety valves: Safety valves are the most important safety devices on the boiler. They are the last line of defense for protecting the pressure vessel from overpressure. Once a year, the operating pressure should be tested by bringing the relief valve to its setting. Valves should pop and reseat according to the valve stamping. Refractory: Refractory protects steel not in direct contact with the water from overheating. It also helps maintain proper burner flame patterns and performance. If the boiler remains on all the time, refractory should be inspected twice a year. If the boiler cycles more frequently or is turned on and off daily, refractory should be inspected more often. Heating and cooling refractory a lot shortens its life considerably. It cracks and eventually fails. Hot spots on the steel that the refractory protects indicate refractory or gasket failure. If a hot 56

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach spot is found, the cause should be determined and repaired immediately to prevent the steel from failing. Start-up Operation: After a boiler is has been properly cleaned and it has been ascertained that all debris is removed it is advisable to take the following steps for start-up of the boiler, which are expected to be generally in line with those recommended by the boiler manufacturer. However, the boiler manufacturers instructions must be adhered to: 1. It is to be ensured that no men are in the boiler; man and mud hole covers must be fitted in position. 2. It must be determined that all mountings and fittings are in position and the auxiliaries are in good working order. 3. Water must be filled just over the bottom nut of the gauge glass to allow for expansion of water when heated. 4. When raising steam in a cold boiler as the automatic controls are not available for service, the boiler must be manually operated until it carries certain pressure and then automatic devices may be cut in after ensuring that they are all tested and reliable. 5. Reliance must not be placed on automatic controls during critical stages of lighting up and bringing boiler on the line. Strict manual check-up and vigilance must be maintained. 6. During the period of raising steam, water level must be regularly observed through the water gauges directly fitted on the boiler, at frequent intervals. Until normal working conditions are reached, indirect water level indicator may not be relied upon. 7. No reliance should be placed on low water alarms; automatic feed water regulators etc. until the boiler steams steadily. However, they should not be neglected either. 8. When the pressure in the boiler is about 50 psig (3.5 kg/cm2) below the range pressure, the drains on stop valves should be opened after which the by pass or equalizer valve must be opened first and then the main stop valve opened only thereafter. 9. Preferably for a few hours the boiler should carry about 20 to 25 percent of full load until combustion conditions are stabilized. 10. After a new boiler is put in service in the manner stated above and after 300 working hours the boiler should be shut down for routine inspection. 11. All valves must be examined if they operate smoothly. 12. A tool should preferably be passed through the tube lengths specially those in radiant zone to ascertain that the passages are clean. 13. Brickwork must be examined and attended to where necessary. 14. Fuel firing equipments must be examined that they do not bind or touch anywhere and that they are free to take up the expansion. 15. It must be observed that the baffles are in position and not dislodged. 16. Soot blowers must be examined for accuracy of travel. 17. Internal baffles in drums should be dismantled and internal inspection should be carried out to detect the presence of oil sludge etc. or any other abnormality. 18. Follow-up all flanged joints of steam piping. Check if dampers are free to move and operating gear devices are in good order. 19. The boiler may then be put into service as directed by the manufacturers. After 1000 hours of service, the same exercise as mentioned above should be repeated. Good Practices for Normal Operation of Boilers: a. Proper records of all operations and inspections should be maintained. The records for boiler performance must show the time, boiler pressure, steam temperature at the inlet and outlet of superheater, rate of evaporation, rate of feed flow, feed water inlet and outlet temperatures, undue leakages from pump glands, draught readings at boiler economiser 57

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach and air heater exit, air and gas temperature at entry and exit of air heater, gas temperature at entry and exit of economiser, water temperature at entry and exit of economiser, current reading of forced secondary and induced draught fans, speed of the fan if variable type, quantity of raw water used, bearing temperature of fans, rate of consumption of fuel, CO2 and O2 readings, occurrence of water shortage in boiler, frequency of soot blowing, condition of feed water, chemical dozing, concentration of solids in water, frequency of blow down period, testing of alarms, and safety devices, leakages from valves and frequency of ash removal and name of persons responsible for boiler operation. b. The boiler house records hourly or per shift must be examined every day by the plant engineer and any departure from routine or significant event recorded like flue gas explosion or shortage of water in a boiler must be investigated and set right. c. If inaccuracy of the instrument is suspected they must be inspected and calibrated. d. To derate a boiler and to work it at turn down ratio the burner nozzle size is required to be reduced and an air blower of a smaller capacity provided to prevent excess air to ensure complete combustion, and which will prevent frequent on and off operation of a boiler which would create thermal shocks due to which the tube ends in the hot zone may leak. e. The burner assembly must be cleaned periodically and a consistent flame configuration maintained. f. The target must be 13 to 14% CO2 and no CO. g. Excess air is the cause of all ills and reduces efficiency. It is detectable by reduced CO2 level, or increased O2 level. h. If the burner is oversized the flame may be carried away from the confines of the furnace overheating the tube ends in the reversing chamber of a smoke tube boiler. i. Calorific value of CO is 2430 kcal/kg and that of C is 8084 kcal/kg. It means that incomplete combustion of Carbon resulting in formation of CO results in loss of 2430 kcal/kg out of available 8084 kcal/kg (meaning thereby that around 30% of available Calorific Value goes waste. Thus maintaining high CO2 level at the chimney base cannot be overemphasized.
Practical Hints for Successful Boiler Operation: a. High capacity of a boiler may operate very uneconomically at low loads. Hence large boilers should not be operated at very low loads, in general. b. After a boiler is in regular use exposed flanges should be lagged, instruments should be checked for accuracy against standard apparatus, feed water regulators, remote water level indicators and low water alarms inspected and adjusted and dowelling of all motors and bearings of fans, pumps and other auxiliaries attended to. c. The principal aim of a boiler operator is to operate a boiler safely as nearly as possible under design parameters as regards evaporation, steam pressure, final temperature and produce steam of required quantity and quality at lowest practical cost. d. Continuous supervision of boilers by the boiler house personnel is necessary and the personnel to attend a boiler are not allowed to leave the post for more than a few minutes at a time. Therefore for his personal comforts facilities must be provided in the boiler house. e. An operator must observe the water level in the gauge glass, blow down water column on each boiler after operating all the cocks and observe that the water smartly returns back in the glass. He should check the pressure in the gauge if it is within the operating limits. He should peruse the remarks column of the logbook if any abnormal condition had occurred in the last shift. f. Some of ideal conditions are under the control of boiler operators and other fall within the jurisdiction of steam users and other authorities.
g. The steam demand depends upon nature of plant using steam. In power stations and large industrial complex the load could be fairly constant for several hours and the fluctuations could be anticipated with regular frequency and approximate time of incidence. In case of rolling mills, steel plants electric traction etc. load is subjected to violent fluctuations depending upon the particular period of the day. 58

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach The boiler operator must get acquainted with the periodic variations of load and anticipate intermittent fluctuations and get ready to combat the load variations. Peak efficiency could be obtained in the range of 60 to 90 percent of rating. If the load is below 30 to 40 percent of rating 5 percent decrease in efficiency may be expected. The response to load variations depends upon method of firing fuel. In oil gas and pulverized coal firing, immediate control could be established within the range of operation of the supply source burner regulation. In automatic stoker firing, certain degree of flexibility is provided to control within the limits the rate of combustion by additional supply of fuel and air. When increased steam demand is expected, large bank of fire is built up and preparation could be made in advance for increase or decrease in load. Where load is likely to fluctuate, the design of the boiler must be such that it is capable of adjusting itself certain sporadic changes in load. For basic load changes concerned authorities have to decide on following factors: Accuracy of prediction of maximum steam demand, change of load variations, numbers of boilers in service, flexibility of combustion equipment and boilers, automatic control regulation, boilers on constant load and stand by units banked to meet fluctuations. However attempt to constantly follow erratic changes of load by boiler operators by constantly adjusting firing condition is not a good practice. Basically for load fluctuations instead of depending upon the storage capacity and competence of a boiler operator initial selection of the boiler, suitable size of furnace volume and firing equipment commensurate with available fuel need attention. Water content of a boiler is a useful storage of heat and a boiler having large water content will act as a steam accumulator and store and liberate heat in excess of the mean rate of generation corresponding to fuel consumption. Variations of output will affect the steam pressure, which should be suitable within the range of efficient performance of steam users. It should be the aim of a boiler operator to maintain boiler working pressure at the designed value which is achieved by balancing heat liberated in furnace and steam released from the boiler. 1. Besides the load fluctuations affecting the pressure in a boiler, certain other factors also cause variations in pressure which could be due to sudden changes in feed water temperature, soot blowing, changes in calorific value of fuel and intermittent feeding. To avoid thermal stresses, variations in feed water temperature should be avoided and feed water admitted at an even rate. Feed check valve should not be fully open or fully closed when a boiler is generating steam and this is the function of automatic feed water regulator. 2. Changes of characteristics of fuel could effect distribution of heat and require adjustment to draught control air distribution and CO2. 3. Incorrect feed temperature, excess air supplied to furnace, delayed combustion, deposits of soot, ash and other products of combustion, fouled economiser and rear pass of boiler, moisture carried by steam, low steam pressure, fouling of superheater tubes and discharge of steam from safety valve may cause variations in final steam temperature. 4. Low feed temperature, excess air supply, fouled economiser, fouled tubes in radiant heat zone, discharge of safety valves, delayed combustion etc. can raise super heater temperature. 5. Deposit of ash soot etc. on superheater elements, moisture in steam, low steam pressure can lower the superheat temperature. 6. The final steam temperature will be high when a boiler is initially lighted up on account of excess heat generated in the furnace to warm up the brickwork, structure casing etc. 7. Sudden increase of forced draught air may by radiation temporarily raise the steam temperature, which normally subsides when a boiler steams steadily. 8. During any emergency it is the duty of a boiler operator to minimize damage, stabilize operating conditions of the boiler and maintain maximum state of reliability.
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach 9. During any casualty it is advisable to put the boiler under manual control and observe the water gauge glass fitted directly on the boiler and which if not visible from firing floor level a man should be directed to stand near the gauge to give indication about the water level in the boiler. 10. If a water gauge glass bursts watch should be kept on the other gauge glass and in the meantime a new glass fitted with care. 11. A boiler must be cut out of service unless there is some reliable indication of working water level. 12. If a boiler tube bursts or heavy leakages noticed, the boiler must be placed under hand feed control and the automatic feed water regulator by passed. Further desirable steps are: I. Steps should be taken to reduce load and boiler taken out of service. The rate of firing should be reduced or the burners extinguished as the case may be and maximum induced draught capacity employed to minimize steam leakage into boiler room. II. To control casualty, close all dampers including forced and secondary ones, increase traveling grate to maximum speed after cutting out coal feeds draw ashes and fire from the hopper as fast as it is discharged, lift safety valves to relieve steam pressure, continue feeding the boiler by fully opening the feed check valve until the boiler is cooled. III. When the boiler pressure has fallen below the range pressure and fires are out, close the boiler stop valve. When the pressure has dropped to less than 50 psig so that there is not much danger of steam blowing in the boiler room, stop induced draught fan and try to locate the faults and then blow down water. IV. Do not continue to feed water if the cause is due to low water or if the steam leak is so large that water level cannot be maintained in the gauge glass. V. Inform the Boiler Inspector concerned within 24 hours of the mishap and do not clean the boiler or carry out any requirement as the evidence of the cause of accident will be destroyed unless suggested by the Inspector after the boiler is inspected by him and cleaned subsequently. Inspect other tubes for evidence of erosion by escaping steam or distortion due to heat. VI. If the brickwork is saturated with moisture it may have to be dried out after the boiler is repaired. VII. In minor flarebacks or puffs, if fire is not extinguished the burner need not be cut out but it must be ascertained if any damage is caused. VIII. In major flarebacks or flue gas explosions, the following is advisable: IX. Oil burners must be shutoff, close the main stop valve, adjust or stop feed pump to prevent high water in the boiler, speed up fans to clear the furnace and flue passages of unburnt oil and gases. Check spring tension of the burner shut off and solenoid valves. X. Inform the Government Boiler Inspector about the incident and after his inspection any damage to brickwork or any other structure should be repaired as suggested by him and then the boiler put into service. XI. To obviate flarebacks do not allow oil to accumulate in furnace. If burners accidentally get extinguished, shut off oil, purge furnace and setting of unburned oil and gases. Light the burner by torches and never attempt to light a burner from hot brick wall. Always stand clear when lighting a burner to avoid injury in case a puff occurs. XII. Panting of a boiler is caused due to inadequate air supply, which are in fact series of small puffs. If adequate air is not supplied it may lead to major flarebacks. XIII. Water in a boiler is normally maintained at about mid level of a gauge glass. If water goes out of sight at bottom nut of the glass low water casualty should be deemed to have occurred. If the water goes out of sight at the top nut of the gauge glass, high water casualty should be deemed to have occurred. XIV. By merely looking at the gauge glass it is often difficult to distinguish low or high water casualties, as the glass looks the same when empty or full. But if the droplets of 60

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach condensation are found tricking down from inside of glass, it is an indication of empty glass and absence of them indicates that the glass is full. To clear the doubts water gauge glasses must be tested. After trying the water gauges if the water level in a boiler is found low, shut off fire, close the feed check valve and never attempt to restore the water level, close stop valve, lift safety valves by hand to relieve the pressure, secure the fans, allow boiler to cool slowly and open superheater drains. XV. After the boiler is cooled, inspect the boiler if any damage is caused due to low water, informs the Boiler Inspector and get the boiler repaired as recommended by him. XVI. Low water level in a boiler is to be considered as a most serious lapse on the part of an operator as it damages the boiler and it is his main duty to maintain water level under any circumstances. Too much diversification of a boiler operators duties may cause low water in a boiler if too much reliance is placed on automatic appliances besides distortion, bulging and other defects, a boiler may explode causing serious damage to life, limb and property. XVII. When filling an empty boiler in a battery with those in service large quantity of water will flow in it, as its pressure is nil. In which case an operator must observe that the boilers in service are not robbed of their legitimate share of water or an accident due to shortness of water may be expected. XVIII. If a feed pump fails to deliver water in a boiler start stand by feed pump. If even the other pump cannot maintain the water level repeat the process as mentioned in case of low water in a boiler. XIX. If by accident water is fed in idle boilers, pump discharge may be low for the boiler in service. If a common pump is used for boilers in battery, check if feed check valve opening of the boiler concerned is adequate to admit water. XX. Failure of feed pump could be attributed to malfunctioning of constant pressure governor, air or vapour bound condition, feed temperature very high for which the pump is not designed or feed by gravity to suction side of the pump is low, faulty pump clearance and malfunctioning or improper setting of the speed limiting governor and no water in the feed tank. XXI. If power supply to fans, combustion equipments, fuel, feed and other auxiliaries fails, the boiler should be taken on hand control. The main induced draught damper should be opened sufficiently wide to obviate pressure in the furnace with consequent emission of smoke and forced draught dampers closed. XXII. Unburnt fuel from ash hoppers and in case where pulverized fuel is used from burner pipes and other places where fuel settles must be removed. XXIII. Auxiliary driving motors and gears should be reset in normal starting position so that they may start under minimum load condition. XXIV. When power is restored, close induced draught control damper and start forced draught fan and then other auxiliaries in turn and built load at minimum rate of evaporation consistent with stable combustion conditions, expansion of boiler components checked they are not fouled and load may be increased by increments and boiler placed on automatic control and then full load taken. XXV. If oil is found in oil heater drains, leakage of tubes is certain and the heater must be stopped immediately drain water diverted and a stand by heater started. Oil entering a boiler is very dangerous as it causes serious damage to boiler components on which it settles. XXVI. If water has entered fuel oil indicated by sputtering of the oil burner and if action is not taken immediately loss of fire, choked burners and flarebacks may occur. Practical Aspects of Operation: All too often, when a boiler problem occurs, the system is overlooked. The emphasis falls on the equipment and not the equipment's function in the overall system. An effective maintenance program must be based on an understanding of the entire system and the function of each 61

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach piece of equipment. Only an understanding of the system provides the means for preventing the causes of system-related problems and reducing the time spent on the symptoms. Operating conditions: Operating parameters of the boiler room system should be recorded daily. The data provide a means for evaluating boiler operation trends that affect efficiency, downtime, and maintenance planning. The following data should be recorded. Feed water pressure/temperature: Changes in feed water pressure affect the system's ability to maintain proper boiler water levels. A leaky check valve on a standby pump or a worn pump impeller may cause a pressure drop. Changes in feed water temperature are indicative of a problem in the deaerator, potential pump seal damage, loss in efficiency, dirty economizer, dirty lowdown heat recovery exchanger, or excessive or insufficient condensate returns. Boiler water supply/return temperatures: On hot water systems, supply and return temperatures to the boiler are a means for evaluating the system's effect on the boiler and vice versa. The desired operating temperature set point and temperature differential across the boiler should be evaluated against the system design to determine if a potential problem exists. High temperature differentials caused by excessive load or a control malfunction could cause thermal shock and subsequently pressure vessel damage. Makeup water use: Records of the amount of makeup water used help determine the presence of leaks or losses in the system. They also assist in developing a more effective chemical treatment program. Excessive water use indicates a change in system operation and, therefore, a change in efficiency. Steam pressure: Steam pressure operating set points usually are based on system design and type of steam use. Pressure changes are typically caused by problems with control settings, burner operation, boiler efficiency, or, most commonly, changes in steam demand. Leaks, noise, vibration, and unusual conditions: Checking for leaks, noise, vibration, and the like is a cost-effective way to detect system operational changes. For example, tightening connections repairs a small leak. By the time a leak becomes large, sealing surfaces usually are worn and major repairs are needed. Boiler Operation must focus on prevention to be an effective tool. Whether safety, cost, reliable operation, or all of these motivates such program, it is the best means of preventing common, boiler-related problems. Fuel Burning Poor combustion is unsafe and costly. Changes in combustion air temperature and barometric pressure, for example, impact burner performance (see table). Low excess air levels result in incomplete combustion, soot blowing, and wasted fuel. High excess air levels raise stack temperatures and reduce boiler efficiency. Maintaining steady excess air levels with oxygen trim system helps ensure optimum efficiency at all times. Visually inspecting combustion is the easiest way to detect changes that affect safety and efficiency. Changes in flame shape, color, and sound are among early indicators of potential combustion-related problems. Changes may be due to: Large fluctuations in ambient temperatures Changes in fuel temperature, pressure, heating value, or viscosity Linkage movement dirty or worn nozzle Dirty or distorted diffuser dirty fan Dirt on the boiler fireside Furnace refractory damage.
Visual combustion inspection should be compared to flame characteristics observed at similar firing rates with efficient combustion. However, combustion efficiency is verifiable only with a flue gas analyzer. Even if a flame appears to be good, it should be checked with an analyzer and adjusted once a month. Before initially lighting any type of fuel and before re-lighting what has been extinguished due to some cause, always scavenge the entire fire side of a boiler at an air flow not less than 50% percent of the normal full load air flow for a sufficient period and displace furnace volume three 62

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach times by fresh air. This will ensure that all combustible gases are removed from the boiler setting. In any case the period of purging combustible gases should not be less than five minutes. Failure to observe the above precaution may lead to flareback or explosion. Do not operate the boiler at excessively low rates as incomplete combustion and offensive smoke may result. Avoid firing at very high rates, as damage is likely to occur to the boilers, and the resultant incomplete combustion will give rise to black smoke and fly ash etc., which may be a nuisance to the surrounding locality. Solid Fuel Ignite fuel with live coals from the adjacent furnace or use light combustibles such as wood or rags. Do not use excessively volatile material, which would form an explosive mixture. When fuel is hand fired, feed the fuel little and often and make use of over fire air carefully to prevent the formation of smoke. After the fuel is charged, admit overtire air and then reduce it progressively. Before cleaning the fire, a good bed of hot fuel should be allowed to build up, and one-half of the fuel barred over to one side. The clinker, ashes etc., may then be removed after which green fuel is fired on the bare bars. Red-hot fuel should then be barred over to the freshly fired fuel, and then the process repeated for cleaning the other side of the fire. Pulverised Fuel Clean the burner of fuel incrustation, which may block the free flow of fuel and air to furnace. Check the burner box to ensure that all tube protector blocks are in place, so as to prevent any abrasive action on tubes. Establish a proper airflow through the furnace. The burner register should be throttled to improve flame stability. Open fuel feed to a steady minimum rate, ignite fuel and cut down to safe operating value. Invariably light each burner with a hand torch or special ignition equipment. If the minimum stable firing rate is too high to meet the steam demand, do not reduce the firing rate but have recourse to intermittent firing at the minimum rate. Pulverizing fuel equipment should be inspected for wear and tear. Worn out parts must be replaced in good time to ensure efficient operation. IMPORTANTCE OF COAL QUALITY ON BOILER OPERATION Effect of Moisture on Coal: Type of moisture a) Inherent moisture - Due to physical composition & hygroscopic characteristics. b) Free (surface) moisture - moisture added during mining, transportation, coal handling operation & due to rain.
1) 1% moisture reduce gross C.V. by about 1 %. 2) 1% moisture reduce the efficiency of boiler by 0.15 % on account of heat loss due to evaporation & superheating during combustion. 3) Wet coal reduces generation & results in to high fuel oil & auxiliary consumption. 4) Interruption in coal flow due to wet coal Unloading rate of wagon. Coal hang up in chutes, hoppers. 63

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Feeding rate of bunker. Frequent chockage of granulator / crusher. Output from coal mill reduce 3 to 4 % for every 1 % increase in moisture over 10%. Furnace temp. reduces - low flue gas exit temp. cause corrosion problem in the second pass of boiler. Moisture in coal added to increased freight charge to utilities / boards. 1% increase in moisture in coal increases coal consumption by 1.23 %.
5) 6) 7) 8)
Excess moisture in coal adversely affect handling operation from wagons, feeding rate to boiler, combustion efficiency & fuel oil consumption. The following measures can be taken to improve performance due to wet coal: 1) Covering of coal stock by preparing sheds for rainy seasons. 2) Covering coal hoppers for stock feeding with coal heaps. 3) Rubber lining on driving pulley & proper tension of conveyor belt to avoid slippage of conveyor belts. 4) Use hot air, flue gas or steam coils to heat up the wet coal to reduce moisture content. 5) Providing sufficient number of pocking holes to clear chockage from hopper and bunker. 6) Cleaning of pipe between bunker to variator & variator to mill by water jetting. 7) Use of polymer lines in transfer points, vibration trays, chutes. Use stainless steel lining on coal bunker bottom. 8) Increase inclination of bunker. EFFECT OF VOLATILE CONTENT : Indian Coal : 16 to 30 % ,less than 20 % is called low volatile content. Volatile matter in coal is important factor for selecting coal for use in boiler. Design of burners, combustion chamber of boiler. Flame size depend on V.M. content. High ash content results in low effective V.M. content. Low V.M. (16 to 17 %) Poor flame stability. Higher F.O. consumption. Tripping of unit on flame failure.
HARDGROOVE GRINDABILITY INDEX :

HGI of coal represents its easiness towards pulverization. Power consumption for pulverization. Measure of increase in surface produced by application of standard amount of work. Range from 20 to 100 for most of coal. G = 13 + 6.93 W
64

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Where W = grams of coal passing through 200 mesh sieve after 50 grams of coal size 16 30 mesh grind in standard mill for 60 revolutions. High value of HGI represents soft & easily grindable coal. Low value of HGI represents harder coal, more power consumption, wear & tear of mill components. Average value for Indian coal used for power station is 50 to 60.
HEATING VALUE OR CALORIFIC VALUE OF COAL: Calorific value of coal represents the amount of heat recovered per unit of coal when the product of combustion are cooled to its initial temp. of air fuel. Coal grade for Indian coal based on useful heat value is as follows GRADES A B C D E F G USEFUL HEAT VALUE Kcal / Kg. 6205 & above 5605 6200 4995 - 5600 4205 - 4990 3365 - 4200 2405 - 3360 1305 - 2400
Coal pricing board has fixed up an arbitrary formula for fixing price of high moisture coal. Hu = 8900-138 (A + M) Where A & M represents Ash & Moisture at 60 % & 40 C. EFFECT OF COAL SIZE: Coal received from collieries is steam / rom. Coal. Design of granulator / crusher to accept coal size up to 200 mm. Output from tippler reduced. Increase in F.O. consumption. SLAGGING OF ASH : Slagging & fouling are important characteristics from the view of boiler operation. Slagging is the deposition of ash in molten / semi molten state on surface of boiler. Fouling is the deposition of ash along the boiler path which reduces the heat transfer. Coal with ash fusion temperature less than 1150 oC has more problem of furnace slagging. ASH CONTENT: The amount of ash content can effect 1) Furnace slagging. 2) Fouling of heat transfer surfaces like superheater, reheater, economiser, air preheater. 3) Amount of unburnt carbon loss. 4) Influence the size of ash handling system. 5) Quantity of ash to be disposed off. 6) Soot blowing system operation cycle. 7) ESP performance. PROBLEMS DUE TO METALLIC SCRAP, STONES AND SHALES IN THE COAL: Large size of stones, shells, mine scrap, big iron lump received along with coal. Damage to conveyor belt, crusher (Granulator) R.C. Feeder, Mill components. 65

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach (a) Output of coal handling plant - Mill and tripping & excessive oil support. To separate out iron from coal various type of magnetic equipments are used. i) Suspended magnet. ii) Magnetic pulley. iii) Cross belt magnet. To remove Non-Ferrous metal content in coal & Non-magnetic crusher ring metal picks up at the conveyor belts after crushers (granulators) may be provided. Metal detector - Bypass valve arrangement.
(b) (c)
USE OF IMPORTED COAL With the liberalized policy of the Government and reduced customs duty, the usage of imported coal has become an attractive proposition for many plants, especially coastal ones as the cost per unit heat value has become comparable to Indigenous coal. Of course with high heat value and low ash content imported coal is a better proposition. The study of usage of Imported coal in Indian Power Industry may be analyzed for suitability. (a) in the existing plants (b) in the future plants
COAL QUALITY REQUIREMENT INDICES IN ADVANCED COUNTRIES Coal Property Excellent Good Fair-poor Coal Combustibility Fuel Ratio (FC/VM) < 2.0 2.0 - 2.5 > 2.5 Gross CV > 6000 6000-5500 < 5500 Volatile matter % > 25.0 25.0 - 20.0 < 20.0 Slagging Ash fusion temp ( deg. C) > 1250 > 1250 < 1250 (Oxidizing) Slagging Factor < 2.0 2.0 - 2.6 > 2.6 (base/acid) x S Base/acid < 0.4 0.4 - 0.5 > 0.5 Fouling Fouling Factor < 0.5 0.5 - 1.0 > 1.0 (base/acid) x Na2O Grindability Hardgrove grindability (HGI) Index > 45 45 - 40 < 40
COAL BLENDING Blending of imported coal with the indigenous coal may be considered. The performance of the blended coal cannot be entirely predicted by the arithmetical proportioning of the properties of the make up coal. The blending is a specialized, scientific technique. So the combustion and the fireside performance of coal obtained by blending cannot be predicted without the knowledge of the intricacies of the coal blending technology. Improper blending can be very harmful and may lead to slagging and frequent problems in the boiler resulting in more down time of boiler and consequently reduced PLF. Possibly in the depth study in blending may become useful in the usage of imported coal in the existing boilers. Fouling & Slagging: What is Slagging and fouling? It is melting or fusing of ash at very high temperature It is sticky and clings to heating surface in bulk, preventing heat transfer When molten slag cools and solidifies, becomes rock hard 66

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach When ash melts to glassy, sintering, cementing property it forms a hard layer and foul the metal surface
Why slagging take place? More the iron, calcium and sodium in ash, more the slagging Quartz and kaolinite Siliceous matters in ash cause slagging and fouling Slagging occurs, when ash is subjected to its fusion temperature Slagging take place on surfaces exposed to high radiant heat flux and gas temperature Slagging process hastens, when fuel is starving for oxygen Under Sizing of furnace may cause slagging and fouling Fusing of ash take place, If furnace temperature exceeds Initial Deformation range of ash Reducing atmosphere lowers the Initial Deformation Temperature Ferrous iron content (Fe2) increases and act as catalyst in substantially lowering IDT of ash When ratio of SiO2 to total oxides is high, slagging is less. At < 0.6 slagging high Delay in evacuation of bottom ash, results in build up of slag Design features of boiler furnace and bottom hopper When When percentage 3 to 8 8 to 15 15 to 23 Iron Oxide - Fe2O3 in Ash by weight is: -- Non- slagging -- Slagging to some extent -- High slagging property
slagging index of Ash is in the range of: 1230 to 1340 deg C -- Medium slagging property 1050 to 1230 deg C -- High slagging property < 1050 deg C -- Severe slagging property
Slagging Index Fs = (4 IDT + HT)/ 5 IDT Initial Deformation Temperature HT Hemisphere Temperature Effects of Slagging Heat transfer is drastically affected Corrosion due to bonded ash deposit lumps fallout to slag bath may cause accidents - Splashing of hot water in and around Occasionally resulting in back fire, causing fire accidents May cause damage to bottom hopper structures When slag bridges over hopper, build up will be very fast Very difficult to break and dislodging. To avoid slagging: Maintain optimum excess air and avoid reducing atmosphere Furnace design should be suitable to as fired fuel Design fuel firing equipment / coal Burners Bottom ash evacuation to be done regularly Change in fuel sourcing SECONDARY OIL CONSUMPTION No of trips / startups
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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Startup Time Bringing pulverizers quickly Systematic Startups Ignition Support Unit loads Low volatile coals Air distribution Flame sensing devices.
OPTIMASTION OF OIL CONSUMPTION One area in which energy conservationists very much worried is the oil consumption. Oil is mainly used for, 1. Start up purpose. 2. As an ignition support. Reasons For Higher Oil Consumption. a) b) Since oil is used for start up purpose the no of start ups / Trips directly increases or decreases the oil consumption. Analysis of the causes of the trip should give indication to repeated trips which can be avoided by taking suitable action. If the start up is done in a systematic and prepared way the time required to synchronize the unit and raise to stable load will be very less. This means the oil required will be very much less. All system should be ready prior to startup. Lighting up the unit and waiting for the system to get ready is one of the reasons for high oil consumption. Once the unit is lighted up coal mill have to be put in to service as quickly as possible. Operating the unit at a fairly high load will help in removing oil support . Continues oil support is one of the reasons for high oil consumption. With certain types of coal i.e. low volatile coal the turndown available may be less leading to oil support even at say 60 % load because of unstable flame. Keep the flame sensing devices clean and healthy so that this does not be a reason for a wrong indication of flame instability, leading to oil support.
c) d)
e)
Oil Firing Inspect and clean oil strainer, burner tips and check and adjust air registers and oil valves. If steam is not available to preheat oil, make use of an electric heater or any other heating device. Remove spilled oil, if any, from burners, boiler fronts, and furnace floor. Check draft and ascertain that the furnace is properly ventilated as stated above. Switch on oil and light one burner with a torch or other ignition contrivance by placing the torch near and just under the burner tip. If the oil spray does not ignite immediately i.e., five seconds after the valve is opened, or if the torch extinguishes before oil is lighted, remove torch, shut off oil and ventilate the lighting procedure. Stand clear of burners to avoid injury in case of back firing. Always use a torch or other ignition device for lighting burners. Do not attempt to light a burner from a hot furnace refractory, or from an adjacent operating burner. Make sure that there is an excessive draft before lighting additional burners. Do not allow oil to impinge excessively on brickwork or parts of the boiler. After igniting oil, the air register should be opened immediately to prevent incomplete combustion. Never throttle any oil valve beyond the least pressure serving any group of burners. Avoid operation at overrated capacity, since this will increase fouling of boiler and superheater surfaces. A number of boilers are equipped with fully automatic burner controls. Such controls incorporate many safety features, or ensure safe operation. Whenever automatic controls fail due to some 68

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach reason, the attendant must switch over to manual control. An attendant must study carefully, automatic controls as well as manual functions. Automatic controls are not automatic in maintenance, and their upkeep must be carefully attended to. It cannot be overemphasized that automatic controls are not a complete substitute for supervision, and that vigilance according to the conditions of working must be regarded as a pertinent rudiment of operation. The oil pump must be dismantled and the components checked for wear and tear, clearance, deformation, corrosion and erosion. A large increase in wearing ring clearance is the cause for inefficiency and the manufacturers instructions must be followed for replacements Now-a-days in oil firing there is a major problem of soot formation. To eliminate the problem following remedial measures are suggested 1] Removal of Water from Storage Tank every day: It is necessary to drain water from the bottom drain valve of the F.O. storage tank every day. This is not directly contributing to the Soot Formation but, if Water is not removed from the Oil before it is taken to the Day Tank, it will be carried over to Burner Nozzle. When Water becomes Steam, it occupies about 1500 to 1600 times more Volume, it damages the profile of Nozzle and Nozzle replacement comes often. If we dont replace the Nozzle then quality of combustion becomes poor and there are chances of Soot Formation. 2] Cleaning of Storage Tank once in 6 months Furnace Oil contains hard particles (Sediments) which settle over a period at the bottom and when it goes to the system, it deteriorates the quality of combustion. Bi-annual cleaning is recommended. 3] Installation proper filters in the line. It is generally suggested to install 40 mesh size filter at Storage tank; 80 mesh size filter at Day tank and 120 mesh filter before Burner. Hard particles if not filtered properly, De-shape the nozzle and quality of combustion deteriorates. 4] Furnace oil parameter: Furnace oil is to be checked for i) Asphaltnes content ii) Carbon residue iii) Ash content iv) Moisture v) Viscosity at 50C Soot formation, is if attributed to the fuel is generally due to chemical instability in carbon molecules such as Asphaltnes. The concentration of Asphaltanes gets varied if they are not in proper suspension. The limit of such Asphaltanes should be around 4% 5] Oil Temperature: It is suggested by HPCL to maintain temperature close to 120C in winter and 115 C in summer. 6] Oil pressure: The burner which we are having is pressure jet type and oil pressure plays an important role in atomizing the FO. The forward pressure should not be maintained below 22 Kg /cm. 7] Quality of nozzle: It has been observed that many times due to non arability of genuine nozzles, Similar nozzle available in the market is fitted which attributes to soot formation MAJOR PARAMETERS / FACTORS AFFECTING BOILER PERFROMANCE Modern thermal power systems mainly use the Rankine cycle. There are certain key parameters that directly affect the cycle efficiency. Of these some are dependent on the boiler capability to generate these parameters. Followings affect the cycle efficiency directly. SH outlet pressure. SH outlet temperature. RH outlet temperature. RH pressure drop. 69

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach RH spray SH spray. Blow down Auxiliary Steam
The turbine throttle pressure is the factor that affects the cycle efficiency. If the SH outlet pressure goes below the optimum throttle pressure i.e. the boiler is not able to generate the required pressure then SH outlet pressure becomes a limitation in cycle efficiency. Normally problems with safety valves may be reason for operating at low pressure. Also silica levels may also force to operate at low pressures. Leaking spray water lines , ineffective burner tilt, etc may be the reasons for temperature. These two factors directly effect the peak point of the Rankine cycle. a low
Higher reheat pressure drop reduces the pressure to the IP / LP turbine inlet thereby reducing the cycle efficiency. Since this is basically decided by the design of the reheater, system operators control on this is not very much. In most systems the RH spray is taken from Feed pump. Since this water directly goes into the reheater this bypasses the high pressure circuit this directly reduces the cycle efficiency. Maintaining RH outlet temperature at the rated value can reduce spray. If the RH inlet temperature is high then spray will be required for maintaining the RH outlet temperature. One reason for high RH inlet temperature is the passing of HP bypass valves. In most of the new power stations SH spray is taken from the feed pump discharge. This water bypasses the HP heaters. To that extent the extraction from HP turbine reduces leading to lower cycle efficiency. Blowdown quantity is a direct loss of energy. Proper maintenance of water regimes and close look at the water parameters can help in reducing this loss. Auxiliary steam is required for various purposes in an unit. The most efficient way is to use steam tapped of from the turbine extractions. Once the unit has reached stable load this aux. steam should be switched over to turbine extraction. AUXILIARY POWER REQUIRED FOR BOILER OPERATION For the coal to burn sufficient air is required. This air is supplied by the PA and FD fans. Similarly for evacuating the gases ID fans are required. These fans consume power. Apart from this for grinding the coal considerable amount of power is required. These four equipment constitute the bulk of the auxiliary power consumed in a boiler. Power is consumed for other minor equipments also. Since it is comparatively much less these are generally not considered. Saving in auxiliary power is a direct saving in the energy output of the plant. How to reduce this power and factors that cause increase in power is discussed here below. The power consumption basically depends on the type of auxiliary used. For example: a Tube mill consumes more than double the power of a bowl mill. a radial fans consume more power than axial fans. hydraulic couplings consumes less power than direct couplings. variable speed drives consumes much less power than ordinary drives.
So the basic pattern nature of the power consumption pattern is decided by the selection of the equipment. 70

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach MAJOR FACTORS AFFECTING AUXILIARY POWER ID FANS Air heater leakage Gas temperature Duct leakages Excess air Load/ plant heat rate Draught loss Air heater choking FD FANS Air heater leakage Wind box pressure Excess air Load / plant heat rate Pressure loss Air heater choking Scaph choking PA FANS Air heater leakage PA header pressure Mill air flow Pressure loss Air heater choking MILL Coal quantity. Gross calorific value Load / plant heat rate Coal moisture Hard Groove Index of coal Coal fineness Mill condition
Air heater leakage One of the biggest problems of having a regenerative AH is the leakage. This will affect the power consumption in all the three fans. So any reduction in AH leakage gives you a considerable saving in auxiliary power. For properly attending to the seals of an air heater you may require at shutdown. least one week
Following activities in such shut down can help to reduce AH leakage considerably. 1. Replace all damaged seals. 2. Set all the seals to the correct clearances. 3. Repair all static seals. From the operation point of view the main factor for leakage is the operation at higher PA header pressure. Keep the PA header pressure as low as possible. The basic method is to calculate the weight of gas entering and leaving AH. Since this is very tedious an approximate equation based on CO2 is used. Again since CO2 measurement 71

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach is also difficult the equation based on O2 is also used. For normal purpose this gives a fairly accurate results. Duct and ESP leakage: Heavy leakages are noticed in many units mainly because of erosion of duct parts. A simple walk down check-list can identify many of the leakages. In most cases this can be attended during a short shutdown. Other areas of leakages are generally seen in ESP manholes, hoppers etc. These leakages also mainly effect on ID fan power consumption. Gas Temperature: Higher gas temperature means the ID fans has to handle higher volume of flow and increased pressure drop , thereby increasing the power consumption. Excess Air: Excess air increases the quantity of total flue gases. This also leads to increase in power consumption. This increases the power requirement of both FD and ID fans. Plant Heat Rate: A higher plant heat rate means that for the same MW output more coal has to be fired , which means higher amount of air is required and higher amount of gases are produced. This leads to increase in power requirement in both FD & ID fans. Air heater Choking: In many plants it is seen that if proper care is taken not especially while cleaning the heater there is a good chance of AH choking. Choking results in increased pressure drops in flue gas, primary air and secondary air circuits. This leads to increased power requirement in all the fans. The chance of all the baskets getting choked are rare. If a particular section gets choked this can be easily identified by 1. Fluctuation in furnace draft 2. Fluctuation in AH current. 3. A booming but varying sound. The Frequency of this fluctuations is the same as the AH rpm. Cleaning or replacement of the baskets has to be done in this case. In some of the units choking of steam coil AHs were also noticed. This could lead to higher power of FD fans. Higher PA header pressure operation: PA header pressure is maintained at particular level to facilitate transport of pulverized coal. This is the primary requirement . But if you maintain a higher PA header than necessary it will 1. Directly increase the power of PA fan 2. Indirectly increase the power of PA fan leakage(Since air to gas DP is high.) and ID fan because of increased AH
For maintaining the optimum PA header pressure, it will be required to maintain all the mills in good condition. Even if one mill is bad it will call for a higher PA header pressure operation. Mill Air Flow: Higher mill air flow than necessary will load the PA fans more , leading to more PA fan power. Similarly running more number of mills will also increase PA fan power even though there is a corresponding decrease in FD fan power. Mill Power: Mill power is dependent on the following: 1. COAL QUANTITY: 72

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Lower CV of coal means higher quantity of coal to be ground. Mill power increases with the quantity of coal ground. 2. COAL HGI: The grindability of coal is determined by the grindability index. Higher number, the coal is softer and easy to grind. Softer coal require less power. the
3.
COAL FINENESS: If the classifier vanes are set to grind a higher fineness, it means that the recirculation of coal is more in the mill. More coal is ground again and again. This increases the power consumption. By proper measurement and adjustment of fineness this power can be controlled. MILL CONDITION: In many cases it has been seen that two mills taking the same coal load operates at different power levels. This is mainly due to the condition of the drives. This can be also taken as an indication for preventive maintenance.
4.
OPTIMIZATION OF AUX. POWER CONSUMPTION 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) No second auxiliary in service without adequate load requirement Appropriate numbers of mills in operation. VFD - with minimum possible speed w.r.t load Pumps liable for accumulation of air to be vented regularly as trapped air increases the power. Voltage should be constant. Proper alignment, lubrication & cooling Operating the unit at rated capacity Running the unit at rated power factor or improved power factor. Proper layout & location (near load center) Use of energy efficient motors, transformers & other equipments. Monthly targets to be fixed/ energy audits for auxiliary consumption. Appropriate control of water chemistry for reduction in make-up water. Controlling radiation /leakage & unaccounted losses Microprocessor controlled ESP for energy saving & emission control. Revamping & minor changes if required. Tighter process & combustion control.
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Efficiency of Steam Generating System

Introduction: Steam generating system efficiency is defined as the heat added to the working fluid expressed as a percentage of the heat in the fuel being burnt. In order to achieve economic optimization in Boiler operation, one needs to ensure maximum extraction of heat from the fuel and then transfer maximum extracted heat to water and steam without causing any accident. Not all boilers are created equal each boiler system has its own specific characteristics, be it a different design consideration, different fuels or different operating conditions. Approach towards economic optimization naturally differs from system to system. But the good thing is Every Boiler operates under the same fundamental thermodynamic principles. If we take two Steam generating systems, one with a capacity of 700 TPH steam at 510oC superheat and 110 bar pressure and another with a capacity of 8 TPH saturated steam at 12 bar pressure, the fundamental for heat utilization remains same. Steam generating system efficiency to the greater extent depends on the skill of designing but there is no fundamental reason for any difference in efficiency between a high pressure and low pressure boiler. Large boilers generally would be expected to be more efficient particularly due to design improvements. Steam generating system performance: The purpose of a steam boiler is to evaporate water by heat obtained by the combustion of fuel and the amount of water evaporated is therefore one of the quantities to be considered in dealing with the performance of a steam boiler. The amount of steam generated by the boiler in kilograms per hour at the observed pressure and temperature, quality of steam and feed water temperature is called Total Evaporation. The Evaporation Ratio or the Actual Evaporation (ma) is expressed in terms of kilograms of steam generated per kilogram of fuel used. i.e. Evaporation Ratio = (total evaporation per hour) / (fuel used per hour)
But the amount of water evaporated by a boiler is not a sufficiently definite measure of its performance because under different conditions as to temperature of feed water, and temperature and dryness of steam produced, a given evaporation will represent different amounts of heat utilized by the boiler. Therefore, to provide common basis for comparing the evaporative capacity of boilers working under different conditions, it is necessary that the water be supposed to be evaporated under some standard conditions. The standard conditions adopted are: feed water supplied to the boiler at 100o C and converted in to dry saturated steam at 100o C and the working pressure 1.01325 bar (atmospheric pressure at mean sea level). Under these conditions, the evaporation of 1 kg of water at 100o C requires 2257 kJ to be converted into dry saturated steam at 100o C, which is the enthalpy of evaporations of steam at 100o C. Equivalent Evaporation F&A 1000C: Equivalent evaporation can be calculated as under. Suppose, ma is the kg of steam generated per kg or sm3 of fuel (Steam to Fuel ratio, or, evaporation ratio) H = Enthalpy of 1 kg of steam produced under actual working condition in kJ, h = Enthalpy of 1 kg of feed water entering the boiler in kJ, Ls = Enthalpy of evaporation of 1 kg of steam at 100oC (2257 kJ), and me = equivalent evaporation in kg of water from and at 100oC per kg of fuel burnt. Then, me = ma (H-h) / Ls = ma (H-h) / 2257 74

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach The job of a boiler is to transfer the heat of the fuel into water and steam. The more it can transfer, more efficient the boiler is. We know efficiency is output/ input. Input in case of boiler is the heat energy going inside with the fuel. Out put is the heat energy that could be transferred into water and steam. Boiler efficiency can be calculated in two methods: 1. Direct Method 2. Indirect Method Direct Method; output over input: Input heat energy can be calculated once we know the CV of the fuel and the rate of fuel consumed by the boiler. Fuel flow measurement is one of the most important factors in assessing the performance of a boiler. For solid fuel this part gets tricky, as accurate measurement becomes practically difficult. However, for liquid and gaseous fuel, we can measure quite accurately. CV of fuel also creates some confusion. Which one to consider GCV or LCV? This can be covered if we indicate CV with efficiency, i.e. efficiency on GCV, or efficiency on LCV. It is obvious that efficiency on LCV would be always more than on GCV as the denominator (heat input) is less in the former. One can easily guess which efficiency would be referred by the manufacturer and which one should be considered by the user. In finding out efficiency in direct method, first we have to find out the evaporation ratio, i.e. how much steam is generated per kg or sm3 of fuel. For this, the most important thing is to accurately measure the steam flow. In absence of steam flow measurement, we can also consider the water flow. Then we need to find out how much heat is being transferred into 1 kg of water and steam. This is calculated from the specific enthalpy of the final steam coming out of the boiler and deducting the specific enthalpy of feed water going into the boiler (that is the amount of heat transferred inside the boiler). Therefore out put is found out by ma x (H h) Since in the output, we are considering ma, which the kg of steam generated per kg of fuel, in the input, we have to consider the heat going inside with 1 kg or 1 sm3 of fuel, which is nothing but the CV of fuel. Therefore Boiler efficiency = ma x (H h)/ CV One question comes to mind is that when we have an economizer, which enthalpy should we consider as feed water enthalpy - Economizer inlet or outlet? It should be noted that feed water enthalpy should be considered at economizer outlet, which is at higher temperature. Apparently in the above equation, if h increases, efficiency decreases, but we know that economizer increases the efficiency. What we need to keep in mind that when we are using economizer, the fuel consumption decreases and therefore ma increases. Now if we are in operation, the above efficiency calculation method can give us a quick way to assess performance, but it does not offer us much parameters to control or improve the performance as an energy manager. For that, the indirect method can be more effective Indirect Method: We know that what amount of energy is going inside the boiler must come out. A part of it will come out with steam (as output) and others as various heat losses. Therefore instead of measuring the heat out put in steam, if we measure the total heat losses and deduct it from the input, what we get is the output. If we take CV of fuel as 100% and then calculate various losses as percentage of CV as L1%, L2%, etc., then efficiency = 100 (L1 + L2 + ). What is the advantage in this method? 1. The biggest advantage is that in this method we are identifying and measuring the losses. If we can control these losses, performance and efficiency would naturally improve. 2. Accuracy in assessment increases. For example a 1% error in measurement accuracy would result into 1% error in efficiency in the direct method. If the actual boiler efficiency is 80%, then 1% error on the higher side would make it 80.8%. Whereas 75

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach in indirect method, if there is 1% error in measurement accuracy of the losses, the efficiency becomes 100 (20 20 x .01) = 80.2%, which is closer to actual. Various losses in a boiler: Heat is lost through various avenues in a boiler. Some are controllable and on some, we do not have much control. The actual job of an energy manager is to cut down the losses which can be controlled. To do that, first we need to know from where the heat is lost and how much. 1. Heat lost with dry flue gas through chimney (L1): Heat is lost through chimney of a boiler in many ways. This is by far the largest heat loss (nearly 50 60% of the total heat loss) and can be controlled to some extent. To appreciate the loss one should imagine that we are getting the air and fuel for combustion at ambient temperature and then heating up the product of combustion, i.e. flue gas to a high temperature and then letting it go through the chimney. The mass of flue gas per kg of fuel would depend on how much air we are using. And the heat lost with dry flue gas per kg of fuel burnt = mg x Cg x (Tg - Ta) mg = mass of dry flue gas per kg of fuel Cg = specific heat of flue gas; considered as 0.23 kcal/ kg oC Tg = Exit gas temperature; Temperature of flue gas going out of the Chimney Ta = Ambient temperature If we can control is the mass of flue gas and the exit gas temperature, we can lower this loss to a large extent. 2. Heat lost with vapour: This is another loss though chimney and on some part we do not have any control. This loss is due the presence of moisture in the flue gas. Moisture takes away heat from the flue gas and leave with the flue gas as superheated steam at the exit gas temperature. Since moisture can be present in flue gas from different sources, this loss is further specified as A. Heat loss due to moisture formed by combustion of Hydrogen in fuel B. Heat loss due to moisture present in fuel, and C. Heat loss due to moisture present in combustion air A. Heat loss due to moisture formed by combustion of Hydrogen in fuel (L2): We have seen in the combustion chapter that from combustion of every kg of hydrogen, 9 kg of moisture is formed. Now this moisture would first evaporate after taking the latent heat from the flue gas. Since vapor present in the flue gas is at partial pressure (partial pressure of water vapour = total pressure x number of moles of water vapour/ total number of moles of mixture of all gases in the flue gas), the latent heat of vapourization is considered to be 584 kcal/ kg. After becoming steam, this would further take away some heat to become superheated steam at a temperature equal to the exit gas temperature. Per kg of vapour this heat is considered as Cp x (Tg - Ta). Here Cp of superheated steam is taken as 0.45 kcal/ kg oC [We need some explanation here. From our knowledge of steam properties, we can identify Tg as Tsup and Ta as Tsat. Since at the chimney exit, the surrounding gas is at Tg, to maintain thermal equilibrium vapour would also get superheated up to that temperature. Again the steam is formed at a partial pressure, at which the saturation temperature is about 25oC, or nearly ambient. That is why Tsat is taken as Ta. Again Specific heat of superheated steam varies with pressure. It increases with the increase of pressure and decreases with the increase of degree of superheat. At the partial pressure of vapour Cp is to be considered as 0.45 kcal/ kg oC] Therefore the loss is calculated as 9H x {584 + 0.45 x (Tg - Ta)} kcal/ kg of fuel, where H is the mass of hydrogen per kg of fuel. This part of the heat loss can not be controlled by us unless we choose a fuel with less hydrogen. But then hydrogen contributes maximum in the heat value of fuel and therefore this loss becomes insignificant compared to that. We can only control the superheat by lowering the flue gas exit temperature, but then it is already in our priority list to lower the heat loss with dry flue gas. 76

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach B. Heat loss due to moisture present in fuel (L3): When the fuel is having moisture content, the same amount of moisture again would take away heat in the same fashion as the moisture formed by combustion of hydrogen. This loss is calculated as Mw x {584 + 0.45 x (Tg - Ta)} kcal/ kg of fuel, where Mw is the mass of moisture per kg of fuel. If we can control the moisture content in the fuel, we can control this loss. C. Heat loss due to moisture present in combustion air (L4): Combustion air taken from the atmosphere contains some water vapour, which is termed as humidity. This water vapour present at the ambient temperature Ta would become superheated at the exit gas temperature Tg, when it is coming out of the chimney with the flue gas. The heat loss would depend on the mass of vapour present in atmospheric air, or Humidity Factor, or Humidity Ratio, or Absolute Humidity, expressed in kg of water vapour per kg of dry air. Air conditions can be quickly characterized by using a special graph called a psychrometric chart. Properties on the chart include dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures, relative humidity, humidity ratio, specific volume, dew point temperature, and enthalpy
Locating air properties on a psychrometric chart
Psychrometric charts are available in various pressure and temperature ranges. Figure above is for standard atmospheric pressure and temperatures of 30o to 120 oF. Once we know the mass of vapour per kg of ambient air from the chart, total mass of vapour inside the boiler per kg of fuel can be calculated as, where Ma is the mass of actual air per kg of fuel and FH is the humidity factor. Therefore heat loss = Ma x FH x 0.45 x (Tg - Ta)} kcal/ kg of fuel. Typical values of mass of vapour that air contains are given below: DryBulb Temp C 20 20 30 40 Wet Bulb Temp C 20 14 22 30 Relative Humidity (%) 100 50 50 50 Kilogram water per Kilogram dry air (Humidity Factor) 0.016 0.008 0.014 0.024
77

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach 3. Heat Lost due to incomplete combustion (L5): We have seen in the Combustion chapter that if we use inadequate air for combustion, part of Carbon gets partially oxidized resulting CO in flue gas and a large part of the heat value of Carbon is carried away by the CO without getting released. Heat value of CO is considered to be 5744 kcal/ kg Heat loss would depend on the mass of CO in the flue gas generated per kg of fuel. Heat loss is calculated as MCO x 5744 kcal/ kg of fuel To find out the mass of CO in flue gas, we need to measure percentage volume of CO and CO2 in flue gas and the mass of Carbon in fuel. Since the total mass of Carbon is converted into CO and CO2, mass of CO can be calculated by multiplying Carbon mass with proportionate volume of CO. So MCO = {CO% / (CO% + CO2%)} x C This loss is most definitely controllable by using adequate air for combustion. 4. Heat lost due to un-burnt (L6): When we find un-burnt carbon in the fly ash or bottom ash, it means we are having an improper combustion and total heat value of the un-burnt carbon is lost. In this case the ash collected as bottom ash or fly ash would have some heat value depending on the un-burnt percentage in them. The loss can be calculated as Mash x GCV of ash, where Mash is the mass of ash collected per kg of fuel burnt. We can control this loss by ensuring proper combustion characteristics. 5. Heat Lost due to radiation and convection (L7): This loss is difficult to calculate and can be controlled to some extent with proper insulation. Energy managers however can use the following empirical formula to calculate the loss. Heat Loss LR in W/ m2 = 0.548 x [(Ts / 55.55)4 - (Ta / 55.55)4] + 1.957 x (Ts - Ta)1.25 x [(196.85 Va + 68.9) / 68.9] To use this formula we need to know Surface Absolute Temperature Ts in K, Ambient Absolute Temperature Ta in K, Wind velocity in m/ s Surface area of boiler AB in m2 From the above formula, the heat loss is calculated in W/ m2, i.e. J/ s per m2 area. We have to calculate total heat loss in kcal / hour, by LR x AB x 3600 (second to hour)/ 4.187 x 10-3 (J to kcal) = LR x AB x 0.86 We can find out the percentage loss per kg of fuel from fuel firing rate now. After calculating all losses, the indirect method of calculating efficiency would be this way Efficiency = 100% - 100 x (L1 + L2 + L3 + L4 + L5 + L6 + L7)/ CV Here CV (GCV or LCV) is taken as 100% input and all the losses are considered on basis of percentage of CV. Operational Factors: The losses over which the operator can exert a control are dry flue gas loss, carbon in ash loss and incomplete combustion (combustible in gas loss). Dry flue gas loss - % excess air and gas temperature at air heater outlet Carbon in ash loss - % excess air and p.f. fineness Combustible in gas loss excess air The boiler operation should be aimed at reducing the sum of above losses. The final gas temperature should be above flue gas dew point. It is important to remember that dew point for water vapour is not 100C but lower than this, because of partial pressure. Most coal fired boilers have specified air heater gas outlet temperature of the order of 130C being the minimum practical temperature which is consistent with minimizing air heater corrosion (higher than acid dew point). A high air heater gas outlet temperature reduces boiler efficiency drastically. (A 22C rise in air heater gas outlet temperature reduces boiler efficiency by 1%). 78

Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach Boiler operation should be aimed at minimizing the causes of high gas exit temperature which could be due to: Lack of soot blowing Deposits on boiler heat transfer surface High excess air Low final feed temperature Incorrect S/Air to P/Air ratio Blow Down Losses: Though blow down losses are not considered while calculating the boiler efficiency, it definitely adds up to the losses of valuable energy. The only way to control this loss is to adopt a good feed water treatment. Since TDS in boiler water limits the % blow down in a boiler, the less TDS enters the boiler with the feed water, the less blow down would be required. The blow down rate can be calculated as Blow Down % age = % age Make up x Feed Water TDS/ Boiler Water TDS If there is no flush steam recovery system then the loss comes to Bw x (hg h) kJ per hour Where, Bw = Blow down quantity in kg/ hr hg = Enthalpy of 1 kg of saturated steam produced under actual working condition in kJ, h = Enthalpy of 1 kg of feed water entering the boiler in kJ
79

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Improving Performance & Reliability of Boiler Analytical approach

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Vacuum Gauge Pressure Absolute Pressure = Atm. Pressure - Vacuum

Absolute zero Pressure

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Gravitational Potential Energy PE=0 9

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93 72 10,600 Upto 0.5 1.0 0.1

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NCV = GCV 4.7 V

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