Boiler Efficiency What is it?

Constantly rising fuel prices, a depressed market and increasingly stringent

pollution norms are urging all of us in utility management to take a closer look at
the operating efficiency of our equipment. Modern steam boilers, hile more
efficient in design than older boilers, are also surprisingly difficult to operate at
optimal efficiencies. !he reasons for this are many " a fiercely competiti#e $and
therefore price oriented% boiler manufacturing sector, our hesitation in orking
ith instrumentation and the inherently comple& process of combustion are 'ust a
fe. (n addition, the design of modern boilers has also placed certain special
demands on operating parameters.
)lmost all"utility managers ha#e a fair idea of their
efficiency, because they kno ho much fuel is
consumed, and roughly ho much steam they
generate. *oe#er, the actual amount of steam
generated can #ary substantially from the +guess,,
and the utilisation of the steam is another area here
astage can occur. (f e are to increase the
efficiency of our boilers, knoing e&actly hat-s
happening is crucial. !he basic requirement for
impro#ement is to kno e&actly here e are today, here e ant to be, and a
plan for ho to get there.
Indirect Efficiency Calculation & BS845
!he method most standards $including (./012, B./31 etc.% follo is the indirect
efficiency calculation method. (n this method, each loss is indi#idually calculated,
and the sum of these losses is then subtracted from 455 to gi#e efficiency 6.
.o, % Efficiency = 100 - (sum of all losses
!his method has one big ad#antage " since each loss is indi#idually measured,
e ha#e quantitati#e data hich e can use to actually reduce an indi#idual loss,
thereby increasing efficiency. .o this method tells us here e are, and ho to
get here e ant to be.
(n a typical oil fired boiler, there are three losses to consider 7
1! "oss due to #ater and $ydro%en in fuel7 !his is the difference beteen 8C9
and :C9 of a fuel, and needs to be considered if efficiency is calculated on 8C9.
:ot much can be done to reduce this loss, as it is a function of fuel constituents
alone.
&! Stac' loss7 (mproper combustion is responsible for this loss. (n most burners,
the manufacturer specifies a minimum le#el of e&cess air required to ensure that
complete combustion of the fuel takes place. *oe#er, typically, e&cess air le#els
are higher than this specification, so fuel is being spent to heat air from ambient
to flue gas temperature. ;urther, since the amount of air required depends on
amount of fuel $hich in turn depends on load on the boiler%, it #aries
continuously, making it that much more difficult to ensure that the e&cess air
le#els are kept ithin specified le#els. !his loss presents the greatest opportunity
for energy conser#ation schemes, hether manual or through automation. .tack
loss can increase if the damper is not correctly positioned, or if the burner
no<<les need cleaning, or in the case of oil, e#en if oil temperature is not
controlled.
(! )adiation loss7 !his is a function of temperature gradient beteen the boiler
ater and the ambient, quality of insulation and surface area of the boiler. (t is
typically specified by the boiler manufacturer at full load conditions $say 46 for a
packaged boiler%. *oe#er, since it is a constant loss, at half load it ill be
double as a percentage. )ccordingly, if steam flo is knon, e can ork out the
instantaneous radiation loss. $(nterestingly all our =bigger- competitors quote this
loss as 46 e#en though their boiler surface areas are much more than ours%
(n alternati#e fuels, other losses need to be considered such as ash bed losses in
coal fired boilers or combustibles losses in husk fired boilers.
Boiler efficiency and *lo#do#n
Most standards for computation of boiler efficiency, including B./31 and (./012
are designed for a spot measure of boiler efficiency. (n#ariably, they ask that the
blodon #al#e be kept shut throughout the efficiency determination process,
and therefore remo#e blodon from the perspecti#e. *oe#er, depending on
feed ater quality, boiler blodon can be beteen > and 1 6 of steam
generation, and is a huge loss by itself. )s utility managers, e are not really as
interested in the absolute #alue of efficiency as per some specified method, but
more in the steam?unit fuel figure. )ccordingly, the blodon loss is of utmost
importance in reduction of a boiler-s operating cost.
+irect Efficiency Calculation
;ormal methods of boiler efficiency determination can be classified as either
direct or indirect. (n the direct method, efficiency is calculated by di#iding energy
deli#ered by the boiler by energy input as fuel, using the equation 7
6 Efficiency @ ; $hs " h%
:C9 A f
here ; @ .team generation in Bg?hr
hs @ enthalpy of steam at operating
pressure in Bcal?Bg
h @ enthalpy of feed ater in Bcal?Bg
:C9 @ :et calorific #alue of fuel in Bcal?Bg
f @ actual fuel flo in Bg?hr
!his method is a little more complete, in that it actually tells you ho much steam
you are getting, #s. ho much fuel is used. !his is hat e are really interested
in. *oe#er, there are still a fe more factors to consider.
,$at else can #e do-
)s seen in the abo#e equation, the enthalpy of feedater is subtracted from the
enthalpy of steam, as the enthalpy of feedater is not really imparted by the fuel.
*oe#er, to loer steam costs, e need to ma&imise this a C degree rise in
feedater temperature leads to a 46 reduction in fuel costsD (s the ma&imum
possible condensate being returned? (s the feed tank lagged and is de"aeration
achie#ed thermally? (s blodon being optimised?
)nsering all these questions can help us to optimise the efficiency, not of the
boilers, but of steam generation.
)eferences
4. (ndian .tandard (./0127 4EE0 for assessment of Boiler Efficiency
>. British .tandard B./317 Fart 47 4E/0 for assessment of thermal performance
2. (mpro#ing Boiler Efficiency " .am 8. Gukelo