BOILER:

Boiler is basically a closed vessel into which water is heated until the water is
converted into steam at required pressure. The basic working principle of boiler is simple and
easy to understand. The boiler is essentially a closed vessel inside which water is stored. Fuel
(generally coal) is bunt in a furnace and hot gasses are produced. These hot gasses come in
contact with water vessel where the heat of these hot gases transfer to the water and
consequently steam is produced in the boiler. Then this steam is piped to the turbine of
thermal power plant. The percentage of total heat exported by outlet steam in the total heat
supplied by the fuel is called steam boiler efficiency.
Steam boiler efficiency (%) =

heat exported by outlet steam

heat supplied by the fuel

X100

It includes with thermal efficiency, combustion efficiency & fuel to steam

efficiency. Steam boiler efficiency depends upon the size of boiler used. A typical efficiency
of steam boiler is 80% to 88%. Actually there are some losses occur like incomplete
combustion, radiating loss occurs from steam boiler surrounding wall, defective combustion
gas etc. Hence, efficiency of steam boiler gives this result.
There are mainly two types of boiler water tube boiler and fire tube boiler.
In fire tube boiler, there are numbers of tubes through which hot gases are passes by and
water surrounds these tubes. Where as in water tube boiler the water is heated inside tubes
and hot gasses surround these tubes.
In our co-gen the type of boiler we use is the water tube boiler and its specifications are as
follows:
Capacity
:
190 TPH
Make
:
I.J.T (ISGEC)
Type
:
Water tube, Travelling grate, Multi-fuel, Top supported.
2
Operating pressure :
114 kg/ cm
Operating temperature:
No. Of Drums
:
Design drum pressure :

5425/-3
1
2
134 kg/ cm

The boiler includes the following major components:

1. Deaerator
2. BFP
3. Furnace
4. Economiser
5. APH
6. Steam drum
7. Modular bank
8. Fuel feeders
Boiler

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9. ID, FD and SA fans

10. ESP
11. Super heaters
12. Feed water controlling system
Deaerator:
A deaerator is a device that is widely used for the removal of oxygen and other
dissolved gases from the feedwater to steam generating boilers. In particular, dissolved
oxygen in boiler feedwater will causes serious corrosion damage in steam systems by
attaching to the walls of metal piping and other metallic equipment and forming oxides (rust).
Dissolved carbon dioxide combines acid that causes further corrosion. Most deaerators are
designed to remove oxygen down to levels of 7 ppb by weight (0.005

cm 3 /L or less as

well as essentially eliminating carbon dioxide. There are two basic types of deaerators, the
tray-type and the spray-type. In cogen we use spray cum tray type deaerator. The tray-type
(also called as cascade-type) includes a vertical domed deaeration section mounted on the top
of a horizontal cylindrical vessel which serves as the deaerated boiler feedwater storage tank.

The typical horizontal tray-type deaerator has a vertical domed deaerator section
mounted above a horizontal boiler feedwater storage vessel. Boiler feedwater enters the
vertical deaerator section above the perforated trays and flows downward through the
perforations. Low-pressure deaeration steam enters below the perforated trays and flows
upward through the perforations. Some designs use various types of packing material rather
than perforated trays, to provide good contact and mixing between the steam and the boiler
feedwater. The steam strips the dissolved gas from the boiler feedwater and exits via the vent
at the top of the domed section. Some designs may include a vent condenser to trap and
recover any water entrained in the vented gases. The vent line usually includes a valve and
just enough steam is allowed to escape with the vented gases to provide a small and visible
telltale plume of steam.
Boiler

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The deaerated water flows down into the horizontal storage vessel from where it is
pumped to the steam generating boiler system. Low-pressure heating steam, which enters the
horizontal vessel through a sparger pipe in the bottom of the vessel, is provided to keep the
stored water feedwater warm. External insulation of the vessel is typically provided to
minimize heat loss.
Specifications:
Type

spray cum tray

Capacity

228 TPH

Outlet water temp (operating)

130C

Operating pressure

3
2.75 kg cm

Oxygen content in deaerated water

0.007 PPM

Design pressure/temp

3
4.0 kg/ cm &full vacuum/150C

Storage tank capacity

68.85 Cu.M

Boiler Feedwater Pump:

A boiler feedwater pump is a specific type of pump used to pump feedwater into the boiler.
The water to the BFP is supplied by the deaerator and BFP will pumps the same to the HP
heaters. These pumps are normally high pressure units that take suction from the deaerator
and can be of the centrifugal pump type or positive displacement type. Feedwater pumps
range in size up to many horsepower and the electric motor is usually separated from the
pump body by some form of mechanical coupling. Large industrial condensate pumps may
also serve as the feedwater pump. In either case, to force the water into the boiler, the pump
must generate sufficient pressure to overcome the steam pressure developed by the boiler.
This is usually accomplished through the use of a centrifugal pump. Another common form
of feedwater pumps run constantly and are provided with a minimum flow device to stop
over pressuring the pump on low flows.
Specifications:
Pump manufacturer

KSB pumps ltd.

Model/size

HGB 3/15

No. of stages

15

Design flow when bleeding valve is closed :

Boiler

3
84.50 m /hr

Page 3

Bleeding water flow

20.00 m

Bleeding water pressure

2
40.00 kg/ cm

MCR flow

76.80 m

Fluid temp at MCR & DESIGN flow

130C

Fluid density

934.60 kg/ m

Pump speed

2980-2 pole motor

Minimum safe operating speed

1450 rpm

/hr

/hr

Time allowed to attain minimum safe speed :

5-8 sec

Suction pressure

3.77 kg/ cm

NPSH available at pump suction flange inlet :

10.85m

Furnace:
Furnace is closed structure which has sufficient open space for bagasse combustion. And
there should be adequate arrangements to accommodate the boiler auxiliaries. The boiler
furnace auxiliary equipment includes bagasse feeders discharge chute, travelling grate which
is a platform for bagasse combustion, S.A air nozzles water wall tubes and super heater coils
at the top.
Specifications:

Boiler

Width

10824 mm

Depth

6248 mm

Height

22600 mm

Tube size

OD 63.5x4.5 thk

No. of front wall tubes

120

No. of left side wall tubes

72
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No. of right side wall tubes

72

No. of rear wall tubes

120

Design pressure of water wall

134 kg/ cm

Design temperature of water wall

360 C

Economiser:
An economiser is a mechanical device which is used as a heat exchanger by
preheating a fluid to reduce energy consumption. In a steam boiler, it is a heat ex-changer
device that heats up fluids or recovers residual heat from the combustion product i.e. flue
gases in thermal power plant before being released through the chimney. Flue gases are the
combustion exhaust gases produced at power plants consist of mostly nitrogen, carbon
dioxide, water vapour, soot carbon monoxide etc. Hence, the economiser in thermal power
plants is used to economise the process of electrical power generation, as the name of the
device is suggestive of. The recovered heat is in turn used to preheat the boiler feed water,
which will eventually be converted to super-heated steam. Thus, saving on fuel consumption
and economising the process to a large extent, as we are essentially gathering the waste heat
and applying it to, where it is required. Nowadays however, in addition to that, the heat
available in the exhaust flue gases can be economically recovered using air pre-heater which
are essential in all pulverized coal fired boiler.
Principle of Operation:
The flue gases coming out of the steam boiler furnace carry a lot of heat. Function of
economiser in thermal power plant is to recover some of the heat from the heat carried away
in the flue gases up the chimney and utilize for heating the feed water to the boiler. It is
simply a heat ex-changer with hot flue gas on shell side and water on tube side with extended
heating surface like Fins or Gills. Economisers in thermal power plant must be sized for
the volume and temperature of flue gas, the maximum pressure drop passed the stack, what
kind of fuel is used in the boiler and how much energy needs to be recovered. Out, of these 3
major heat ex-changer components, only the economizer operates with, zero fuel
consumption, and thus it is one of the most vital and economical equipment in a thermal
power plant.
Steam Drum:
A steam drum is a standard feature of a water-tube boiler. The drum stores the steam
generated in the water tubes and acts as a phase-separator for the steam/water mixture. The
difference in densities between hot and cold water helps in the accumulation of the "hotter"Boiler

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water/and saturated-steam into the steam-drum. The separated steam is drawn out from the
top section of the drum and distributed for process. Further heating of the saturated steam will
make superheated steam and used to drive steam turbine. Saturated steam is drawn off the top
of the drum and re-enters the furnace in through a superheater. The steam and water mixture
enters the steam drum through riser tubes, drum internals consisting of demister separate the
water droplets from the steam producing dry steam. The saturated water at the bottom of the
steam drum flows down through the downcomer pipe, normally unheated, to headers and
water drum. Its accessories include a safety valve, water-level indicator and level controller.
Single drum boiler are used mainly for the power plants. The pressure limit for single drum
boilers is higher than that of the bi drum boilers as the stress concentration is reduced to a
greater extent. There exists only one drum and the downcomers are welded to it.
Specifications:
Inside diameter

1372 mm

Shell thickness

95 mm

Drum length

9960 mm

Material

SA 516 Gr. 70

Design pressure

2
134 kg/ cm g

Design temperature

332 C

Water holding capacity

3
15.70 m

Superheaters:
A superheater is a component of a boiler unit that superheats steam, that is, heats steam above
its saturation temperature. The steam passes inside the steam drum on to the superheater
coils, a set of tubes in the furnace. Here the steam picks up more energy from hot flue gases
outside the tubing and its temperature is now superheated above the saturation temperature.
The superheated steam is then piped through the main stream line to the valves before the
high pressure turbine.
Boiler

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Specifications:
Primary super heater 1 & 2:

Unit
Method of support

PSH-1

PSH-2

Top

Top

Pitch along gas flow

mm

96

96

Pitch across gas flow

mm

110

110

No. of tubes across gas flow

84+12 (plugged)

96

No. of tubes along gas flow

16

10

134

134

Design pressure

Kg/ cm

Design temperature
i.

Part A

401

476

ii.

Part B

418

489

Secondary super heater:

Boiler

Method of support

Top

Pitch along gas flow

96 mm

Pitch across gas flow

132 mm

No. of tubes across gas flow

80

No. of tubes along gas flow

Design pressure

134

2
kg/ cm g

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Design temperature
i.

Part A

533C

ii.

Part B

586C

Air Preheater (APH):

An air preheater (APH) is a device designed to heat the air for combustion before enters in
the boiler, with the primary objective of increasing the thermal efficiency of the process. The
purpose of the air preheater is to recover the heat from the boiler flue gas which increases the
thermal efficiency of the boiler by reducing the useful heat lost in the flue gas. As a
consequence, the flue gases are also conveyed to the flue gas stack or chimney at a lower
temperature, allowing simplified design of the conveyance system and the flue gas stack. In
our co-gen the air from the FD fans and SA fans is preheated before giving it to the furnace.
At this instance the heat exchange will be done between the flue gas and the combustion air.
Specifications:
Air temp at inlet

33C

Air temp outlet

207C

No. of blocks

Size of tube

OD 63.5 x 2.3 thk

Pitch across air flow :

90 mm

Pitch along air flow

80 mm

Air temp at inlet

33C

Air temp outlet

207C

Specifications:

Boiler

Page 8

No. of blocks

Size of tube

OD 63.5 x 2.3 thk

Pitch across air flow :

90 mm

Pitch along air flow

80 mm

ID Fans:
Capacity

403020 m

Motor

520 KW

/hr

Induced draft (ID) fans are placed at the outlet of the boiler system and exhaust all gaseous
combustion products, or flue gas, from the boiler by creating a negative pressure or suction
within the furnace. These fans handle hot flue gas, they are generally more susceptible o
erosion and corrosion even with particulate removal equipment (ESP). If greater wear
resistance is necessary, a modified radial, forward-curved, or backward-inclined blading can
be used at the expense of efficiency loss.
Specifications:
Fan type/ Model

horizontal, radial

Site elevation

191.33m above mean sea level

Ambient temperature

30 C (for design)

Relative humidity

85% (for performance)

Impeller type and mounting :

centrifugal, backward curved, directly coupled

Type of control

VFD

Fan speed

740 rpm (design)

Fan speed with VFD

613 rpm (operation)

Volume flow

72.90 m

Pressure at inlet of IGV

-238 mmwc

Pressure at outlet of fan

20 mmwc

Total efficiency with VFD

79.30 %

Total head developed by fan :

Boiler

/sec

268 mmwc
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FD Fans:
Capacity

97668

Motor

110 KW

Forced draft (FD) fans supply the air necessary for fuel combustion by pushing the air
through from the bottom of the furnace. The air supplied by the FD fans is generally
preheated in APH. These fans are typically the most efficient fans in the power plant because
they have the cleanest operating environment. Typically, these fans are centrifugal fans
utilizing radial airfoil blading or variable pitch axial fans.
Specifications:
Fan type/ Model

horizontal, radial

Site elevation

191.33 m above mean sea level

Ambient temperature

30 C (for design)

Relative humidity

85% (for performance)

Impeller type and mounting :

centrifugal, backward curved, directly coupled

Type of control

VFD

Fan speed

980 rpm (design)

Fan speed with VFD

867 rpm (operation)

Volume flow

22.84 m

Pressure at inlet of IGV

-20 mmwc

Pressure at outlet of fan

200 mmwc

Total efficiency with VFD

82.20 %

Total head developed by fan :

/sec

235 mmwc

SA Fans:
Capacity

3
62280 m /hr

Motor

180 KW

Secondary air (SA) fans are more important for the efficient combustion. It takes air from
ambient and gives it to the furnace where the fuel undergoes turbulence and rapidly moves all
over the furnace to gain the complete combustion effectively. The air supplied by the SA fans

Boiler

Page 10

is generally preheated by the APH and it will enter the combustion air from the sides of the
furnace.
Specifications:
Fan type/ Model

horizontal, radial

Site elevation

191.33 m above mean sea level

Ambient temperature

30 C (for design)

Relative humidity

85% (for performance)

Impeller type and mounting :

centrifugal, backward curved, directly coupled

Type of control

VFD

Fan speed

1480 rpm (design)

Fan speed with VFD

1299 rpm (operation)

Volume flow

3
15.22 m /sec

Pressure at inlet of IGV

-20 mmwc

Pressure at outlet of fan

615 mmwc

Total efficiency with VFD

81.90 %

Total head developed by fan :

645 mmwc

ESP:
Electrostatic precipitators have been used for over half a century to particulate emission in all
power plants. They have very high collection efficiency, sometimes exceeding 99% and
handle large exhaust gas volumes at high temperatures.
Usually the ESP contains six essential components, they are as follows:

Boiler

Discharge electrodes
Collection electrodes
Electrical systems
Rappers
Hoppers
Shell

Page 11

The basic process underlying ESP operation is that pollutant particles in a gas stream
are electrically charged (usually with a negative charge), which causes them to migrate
towards and attach themselves to collection plates or tubes that are oppositely charged. The
collection and discharge electrodes are then rapped which causes the particles attached to the
electrodes to fall into a collection hopper.
A high-voltage direct current is applied to a discharge wire (electrode), negatively
charging it. Voltage to the wire is increased until a corona (a visible electric discharge) is
produced around the wire. As the particle-laden flue gas passes through the corona, the
particles contained in the flue gas passes through the corona, the particles contained in the
flue gas become negatively charged. Because the discharge electrodes are negatively charged
and the collecting electrodes are positively charged, a strong electric field is created between
them. This electrical field propels the negatively charged particles toward the positively
charged collection electrodes, where the particles attach themselves.

Specifications:
Gas flow rate at ESP exit

138 m

/sec (operating)

3
155 m /sec (design)

Operating temp at ESP exit

Boiler

150 C (operating)
Page 12

160 C (design)
Flue gas density at ESP inlet

3
0.7505 kg/ m (operating)

0.7336 kg/ m
Design temperature (mechanical)

250 C

Design pressure (mechanical)

400 mmwg

No. of rappers

54 sets

No. of collecting electrodes plates per field :

(design)

288 nos

No. of working rows of collecting electrodes per field:

Boiler

36 nos

Page 13