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IntelligentControlofFBCBoilers
04/01/2012|RogerLeimbach,MetsoAutomation
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Optimizing combustion control is critical to reducing emissions and increasing plant operating efficiency, particularly for fluidized bed combustion (FBC) boiler plants burning
biomass fuel that has unpredictable moisture content. The secret: measuring actual energy flow.
Plantdesignersmustdifferentiatesolidfuelcombustionapplicationssuchasfluidizedbedcombustion(FBC),gratefiring,andpulverizedcoalbecauseeachrequires
uniquecontrolstrategies.Itisalsoimportanttodevelopcontrolstrategiesforeachapplicationthataresimpletoimplementandsupportinthefield.Thesestrategies
shouldalsobeeasytounderstandbyplantstaff,andequipmentmaintenanceshouldnotrequireahighlevelofinstrumentationandcontrolexpertise.
Thecontrolsystemstrategyemployedmustalsobecompatiblewiththeoverallboilercontrolsystemstrategy,notbeplatformrestricted,andnotbesolelydependent
uponmassfuelflowtofunctionproperly.Itisourexperiencethatthebestperformingcontrolssystemsarebasedonthemeasurementofactualenergyflow,whichis
describedinmoredetaillaterinthisarticle.
Theboilercontrolstrategymustalsobecapableofdynamicoperationsothatchangingloadatmaximumratewillnotcauseboilerupsetsorinstability.Thiswell-
knownstrategyusestheboileroutputplusthederivativeofboilerdrumpressuretopredicttheenergyrequiredtochangetothenewloadsetpoint(seeDrum
PressuretheKeytoManagingBoilerStoredEnergyintheJune2007issueofPOWER).Furthermore,anonregenerativefeedforwardsignalshouldbeusedto
determinetheoverallfiringratedemand.Thecontrolsystemshouldbeabletoruninautomaticgenerationcontrol(AGC)orcontinuouslyatdesignload.AGCis
importanttoallutilitiesthathaveremotelydispatchedplants,anditisnowexpectedtobeanintegralpartofboilerandturbinecontrolsystems.Asoneutility
engineerrecentlytoldme,Wewontbuilditifwecantdispatchit.
Thesidebardescribestwo100-MWnetbiomassplantsnowunderconstructionforwhichMetsosuppliedtheboilerislandandintegratedcontrolsystemwithfeatures
describedinthisarticle.FormoreinformationonFBCstrategieswhenburningbiomass,seetheOctober2010article,FBCControlStrategiesforBurningBiomassin
thePOWERarchivesatwww.powermag.com.
ConventionalBoiler-TurbineCoordination
Inmanyindustrialinstallationstherearemultipleboilerssupplyingsteamtoaprocessand/orsteamturbinesdrivingelectricgenerators.Theturbinescanbe
connectedtoasteamnetworkandoperateinbackpressuremodeorcondensingmode.Thereareasmanydifferentcombinationsasthereareplants.However,what
istypicallymissingisthecoordinationoftheturbinesandsteamhostswiththeboilers.Theneedtobalanceoperationofthenumerousboiler-turbineconfigurations
mustalsobeaddressedinanyrobustindustrialcontrolsystemstrategy.
Thenormalapproachforaplantwithmultiplesteamturbinesfedfromacommonsteamheaderthatsfedbyoneormoreboilersistocontroltheheaderpressure.In
toomanycases,theturbinesandpressure-reducingstationsareoperatedinpressuremode(sometimescalledturbinefollowmode).Inthiscase,eachboilersfuel
flowrateiscontrolledtoproducethenecessarysteamflowandthesteamheaderpressureismaintainedbythegovernorvalvesofeachturbine.
Thecontrolstrategyforthisindustrialsystemisstraightforward.Theboilerdemandshouldbebaseduponsteamheaderpressureandafeedforwardsignal,whichis
dividedamongthevariousboilersaccordingtotheirrelativesizeandefficiency.Thecontrolsystemshouldallowformanualbiasbytheoperationofindividualboiler
demands.
Thenonregenerativefeedforwardshouldbetheprimarycontrolfortheboiler.Thepressurecontrolshouldprovideminimalintegralaction.Integralcontrolshouldbe
usedsparinglyintheboilerdemand.Thefeedforwardshouldnotbesteamflow,asthisisaregenerativefeedforwardbecauseregenerativefeedforwardsinthe
controlsystemofasolidfuelfiredboilertendtodrivethedemandinthewrongdirectionwhenanupsetoccursoriffuelqualitychanges.Inotherwords,aboiler
upsetconditionwillcausethepressurecontroltoopposethecorrectivechangeintheboilercontrolsandcausefurtherupsetsanddestabilization(Figure1).
1.Robustindustrialboilercontrolstrategy.Anadvancedboilercontrolinan
industrialconfigurationwiththeenergyflowcomputationandboilercontrolsystem
optimizerhastheabilitytoaccuratelycontroltheoutputbecauseitknowstheinput
energyflow.Notethateachboilerontheheaderhasaparticipationalgorithm,which
allowsforapportioningthedemandaccordingtoitsindividualsize,efficiency,and
response.Also,theoperatorhastheabilitytomanuallybiasthefiringrateofeach
boiler,ifrequired.Source: Metso Automation
FBCBoilersAreUnique
FBCboilersareusedforawidevarietyofmostlyindustrialapplications,withseveralboilersworkingtogetheronsophisticatedsteamnetworksthathaverapidly
changingdemand.Theboilersactinginparallelcanalsobeuncontrolled,wheretheboilersteamproductioniscompletelydependentupontherateofwastefuel
supply,whichmaynotbemeasurable.
FBCboilersalsoarelikelytouserelativelyhard-to-burnfuelssuchascombinationsofbiofuelsandwastecoal,allofwhichwillhaveawiderangeofpossiblefuel
constituentsandmoisturecontent.Biofuelsarenotnecessarilyhomogeneous;oftentheyareamixtureofdifferentfuelssuchasbark,forestcuttings,agriwaste,and
wastebuildingmaterials.AtypicalFBCwillfireawiderangeofsolidfuelstominimizeoverallplantfuelcost.
FBCboilersburningthesefuelsrequireamuchdifferentapproachtoboilercontroldesign.Forexample,thefluidizedbedofsandandashwithinthefurnacehasa
verylargeinertia,limitingthedynamicsoftheboiler.Ontheotherhand,thelargefluidizedbedofsandandashenablestheFBCboilertoburnupto60%high-
moisture-contentfuels.Whilethefuelpropertiesmaychangequickly,thefuelalsoburnsrelativelyfast,eventhoughthereisstillawiderangeinthefuels
combustibility(thetimetoevaporatethewater,pyrolyzethesolidfuel,andcompletecombustion).
HowquicklythecombinationoffuelsisfedintotheFBCistheresponsibilityofthefuelfeedsystemcontrols,acriticalfunctionoftheoverallcombustioncontrol
system.Thefuelfeedsystemmustbecapableofhandlingmultifuelcombustionbecausetheheatingvalueandbulkdensityoftheindividualfuelswillvarygreatly.
Evenso,thetotalenergyflowmustbemaintainedataconsistentratetomakesureheadersteampressureismaintainedatsetpointandenergyflowoutoftheboiler
isatrequireddemand.Changesinenergyflowtotheboilercancausefluctuationsincombustionandsteamproduction.Ifnotpreciselycontrolled,thesefluctuations
willreducepowergenerationandcanriskplantavailability.
FBCboilersdonotproducehighlevelsofemissions,suchasSOxandNOx.However,thosethatfirecoalrequirelimestoneasanadditivetocaptureSOx.Limestoneis
expensivetouseandisanexpensetooveralloperationsthatcanreachseveralmilliondollarseachyear,dependinguponthesizeoftheboiler.BecauseFBCboilers
operateatlowertemperatures,NOxproductionfromanFBCboilerisminimal,butifthebedtemperaturerisesabovetheNOxthreshold,moreammoniaisrequired
asamediatingadditive.Theseemissionsareallbedtemperaturesensitiveandrequireextremeoptimizationtomaintainlowlevelsofemissions.Thus,fuelcontrol
withoutanycompensationforchangesinmoisture,composition,orheatingvalueisproblematic.
HowtoManageEnergy
TheFBCiscapableofmultifueloperationbecausethecontrolstrategyincludesacomputationcalledtheFuelPowerCompensator(FPC).TheFPCwasdevelopedfor
theworldslargestbiomass-firedboiler,AlholmensKraftPowerStation,a240-MWunitoperatinginFinlandsince2002.Thisunitcanreliablyburnanycombinationof
biomassandcoal.Itsbiomassisacombinationofpeat,bark,andwoodresidue.Coalisthebackupfuel.
ThecontinuousmeasurementofoxygenconsumptionbytheactualfuelconsumedandtheboilerenergybalancecalculationsaretheessenceoftheFPC.Oxygen
consumptionisestimatedbytheexcessairratioandcombustionairflow.Bothcomputationsarerequiredbecausetheenergybalancecalculationisbasedupon
averagesandisrelativelyslow,butitisveryaccurate.Theoxygenconsumptioncalculationisrelativelyfast,oftentakingmilliseconds,butithaserrorsbecauseofthe
transportdelayfromcombustiontooxygenmeasurement.Combiningthetwomeasurementsprovidesanaccurateviewofwhatishappeninginthefurnaceinreal
time(Figure2).
2.Bestofbothworlds.Somecombustioncontroldesignsuseairflow
(asaproxyforoxygenflow)andanair/fuelratiotoestimatethe
energyenteringaboileraprocessthatisfastbuterror-prone.Others
measuretheactualfuelconsumedaslowbutaccurateapproach.In
combination,amuchmoreaccurateestimateoftheenergyentering
theFBCboilerispossible.TheFuelPowerCompensatorcomputesthe
energyinputbymeasuringoxygenconsumptionandmassbalance.
Theresultisusedbythefuelcontrol,airflowcontrol,andsteam
temperaturecontrolloops. Source: Metso Automation
TheFPChasbeenusedonmanymultifuelboilerswithexcellentresults.Forexample,Figure3isastripchartofseveralperformanceparametersoftheAlholmens
biomassplant,whichusestheFPCalgorithms.
3.Well-controlledNordicbiomassplant.The240-MWAlholmens
KraftPowerStationisthelargestbiomasspowerplantintheworld
andburnsacombinationofcoalandwastebiomassfuels.Theplant
usestheFuelPowerCompensator(FPC)tooptimizeFBCboiler
performance.Inthisrecording,theoperatorismanuallyaddingcoal
in10%to15%stepswhilethefuelcontrolisrespondingtotheFPC
anddrivingthebiomassflowdownwardtomaintainconstantenergy
output.Notehowthesteamflowremainsunchangedduringthefuel
TwoFluidizedBedBoilersUnderConstructionintheU.S.
Metsohassoldacomplete100-MWnetbiomassboilerislandandplantautomationsystemtotwowoodbiomassplantsintheU.S.Bothprojectsareunder
constructionandwillsoonsharethetitleoflargestbiomassplantsintheU.S.
TexasWoodFiresFuture
Record-Holder
TheNacogdochesGeneratingFacilityisownedandoperatedbySouthernPower,asubsidiaryofSouthernCo.SouthernPowerisamongthelargestwholesaleenergy
providersintheSoutheast,meetingtheelectricityneedsofmunicipalities,electriccooperatives,andinvestor-ownedutilities.Powerfromthisnewplant,locatednear
SaculinNacogdochesCounty,Texas,willbesoldtoAustinEnergy,themunicipalutilityownedbytheCityofAustin,undera20-yearcontract(Figure4).
4.Newtitleholder.Whenstartupiscompleted
laterthisyear,the100-MWNacogdoches
GeneratingFacilitywillbecomethelargest
biomass-firedpowerplantintheU.S.Courtesy:
Southern Power
ThebubblingbedboilerisdesignedtoburnaboutonemilliontonsofcombustibleforestresiduefromthewoodedareasofEastTexas,woodprocessingresidues,and
cleanmunicipalwoodwasteannually.Thebiomassfuelwillbesourcedwithina75-mileradiusoftheplantandwillnormallybedeliveredbytruck.Thefuel-handling
systemconsistsofthreetrucktippers,twosetsofscreensandhogs,anautomaticstacker/reclaimersystem,andamanualstacker/reclaimersystemtomaintaintwo
15-dayfuelstoragepiles.
Bubblingfluidizedbedboilersarewell-suitedtoburnhigh-moisture-contentfuelssuchasbiomassandaregenerallysimplertooperatethanaconventionalsolid
fuelburningboiler,asthetemperatureofthe6-foot-deepsandbedcanbecontrolledthroughcombustionairstaging.Theboilerproducessuperheatedsteamthatis
usedinasinglesteamturbinewithfourstagesoffeedwaterheating.Thesteamturbineexhaustsaxiallyintothecondenser.Awetevaporativecoolingtowerprovides
condensercooling.Theboilergassideisequippedwithabaghouseforparticulatemattercontrolplusanaqueousammoniainjectionselectivenoncatalyticreduction
systemforNOxcontrol.
AmericanRenewableshandleddevelopmentandinitialplanningfortheNacogdochesprojectandsoldittoSouthernPowerin2009.Constructionoftheplantbegan
in2009;commercialserviceisscheduledtobeginlaterthissummer.
WasteWoodNotWastedbyFloridaPlant
TheGainesvilleRenewableEnergyCenter(GREC)willsupplyelectricitytoGainesville(Fla.)RegionalUtilities(thecity-ownedutility)undera30-yearpowerpurchase
agreement.AswiththeNacogdochesGeneratingFacility,theboilerwillusebubblingfluidizedbedtechnologyandannuallyburnaboutamilliontonsofwastewood
fromloggingandmillsaswellasurbanwoodwastefromclearing,treetrimming,andpalletsallsourcedfroma75-mileplantradius.
GainesvilleRenewableEnergyCenterLLCwasdevelopedbyAmericanRenewables.ZachryEngineeringCorp.isprovidingdesignengineeringandprocurement
servicesaspartoftheengineering,procurement,andconstructionteam.FagenInc.istheconstructioncontractorforbothprojects.Commercialoperationofthis
$500millionFloridaplantisscheduledforlate2013.
OptimizeFBCBoilerOperation
Therearemanydifferenttypesofoptimizationprogramsavailablethatarebaseduponmodelpredictivecontrol,fuzzylogic,andneuralnetworks.Wesuggestthat
youselectatechnologythatmeetsthecontrolstrategyobjectivesoftheplant,asdiscussedabove.Theselectionshouldmeshwiththeexistingcontrolsystemand
providebiasestosetpointsinthecontrolsystem.ItshouldalsobecapableofrunningonaPCoronthecontrolsystemcontroller.Thebestselectionwillusestandard
and/orexistingprocessinstrumentationintheplant,suchasoxygenanalyzers,flowandpressuretransmitters,andonlineemissionanalyzers.
Figure5providesanoverviewofthebasiccontrolsusedonatypicalFBCboiler.Theloadiscontrolledbythesteamdemandintheformofanon-regenerative
feedforwardbaseduponsteamflow,steamheaderpressure,andsteamheaderpressuresetpoint.Theseareincorporatedintheboilerdemandcalculationthat
includesdynamiccompensation,arequirementforAGC.Whiletheboilerintegratesthedifferencebetweentheenergyinputandenergyoutputoftheboiler,the
pressureerrorisprimarilyonlyaproportionalprocess.ThelongFBCboilertimeconstantdoesnotpermitpressurecontroltooperateasanintegralcontrol.The
changeinboilerdemandisdueprimarilytothechangeinthefeedforward.Otherchangestoboilerdemandresultfromfuelqualitychanges.
5.BasicFBCboilercontrols.ThisisatypicalcontrolstrategyforanFBCboilerwitha
gasrecirculationfan.Ifasteamturbineisconnectedtotheheader,amorecomplex
demandcomputationinvolvingthesteamturbinefirst-stagepressureandsteamflows
isemployed.Thebiggestdifferencebetweenthiscontrolsystemandthatusedina
conventionalsolidfuelburningplantisthebedtemperatureandfuelfeedcontrol
loops.Inthisdesign,thefueldemandsignalgoestothefuelfeedercontrol(11)andthe
airflowcontrol(3),whereexcessairisusedtotrimairflowdemandtothesecondaryair
control(6)andtheprimarycontrol(7).Theratioofsecondarytoprimaryairissetby
theoperatorortheoptimizercontrol(5).Theinduceddraftfancontrolsfurnace
pressureaccordingtoafeedforwardfromtheairflowdemand(8).Bedtemperature
controlismaintainedbyrecirculatingfluegasintothebed.Thefluegastendstoslow
6.Fuzzylogictheclearwinner.Theobjectiveofadvancedbed
temperaturecontrolisstablebedtemperature.InthisFBCboilertest,
theaveragebedtemperaturerecordedduringaone-weekreference
period(upperline)iscomparedwiththeperformanceofthesameFBC
duringanotherone-weektestperiod,butrunningwithadvancedbed
temperaturecontrolalgorithms(lowerline).Source: Metso Automation
ThemostuniquecontrolloopassociatedwithaFBCboileristhebedtemperature.Thebediscomposedofmanytonsofhotsandandashthatisfluidizedbyprimary
air.Thefluidizationprocessisveryimportanttothecontrolofemissionsandtominimizinglimestoneconsumptioninacoal-firedFBC.Furthermore,bedtemperature
isafunctionoffuelqualityandchangingboilerloadbecauseitisafunctionofthethermalbalanceofthebed.Thisisperfectfortheapplicationofafuzzylogic
controller,whichisoutsidethescopeofthisarticle.Nevertheless,itcanbesaidthattheseadvancedcontrolfunctionsworkextremelywellinabiomassplantwhere
thefuelconstituentsandmoisturecontentareunpredictable(Figure6).
Roger Leimbach(roger.leimbach@metso.com)is director of sales and marketing for Metso Automation USA Inc.
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