A furnacethat is, a fired heateris a device used to heat up chemicals or chemical mixtures.

Fuel Heat Value

Different fuels release different amounts of heat energy as they are burned. The heat energy released, referred to as the heat value, is measured in British thermal units per cubic foot.

 Fuel System Located under or on the side of the furnace is a complex network of lines that provides fuel gas and air to the burners. Furnaces can be classified by several features: type of draft, number of fireboxes, number of passes, volume occupied by combustion gases, and shape

 Number of Fireboxes A furnace can have one or two fireboxes. A double-firebox furnace has a center wall that divides two combustion chambers. Hot gases leaving the two chambers meet in a common convection section.

 Number of Passes The chargethat is, flowentering a furnace is often split into two or more flows called passes. These passes usually are referred to as the east, west, north, or south pass. As the names suggest, each goes to a specific section of the furnace before they all enter a common discharge header. Furnace operators balance the flow rate of these passes equally before starting the furnace. Balanced fluid flow is critical during furnace operation. Another critical factor to be considered is the composition of the charge. The components that make up the charge must remain consistent throughout the duration of the run or variations in operating conditions will occur. This could involve pressure, temperature, flow, and analytical variations to both the charge and furnace operation

 Direct Fired and Indirect Fired Furnaces are classified as direct fired or indirect fired. The class is based on the volume occupied by combustion gases. In direct-fired furnaces, the combustion gases typically fill the interior. Direct-fired furnaces heat

 Cabin Furnace The cabin furnace is a very popular direct-fired heater used in the chemical processing industry for large commercial operations. Most cabin furnaces (Figure 10.10) are located above the ground, making it possible to drain the tubes and provide easy access to the burners, which can be located on the bottom, sides, or ends. Radiant tubes may be configured in a helical or serpentine layout. The radiant section in a cabin furnace is designed to contain the flames while avoiding direct contact with the tubes. Cabin furnaces have several advantages. They can accommodate radiantwall and end-firing burner designs. Their tubes can be drained, and their two-phase flows are less severe than a single-phase flow would be.

 Compared with other designs, cylindrical furnaces cost 10 to 15% less to construct, require less space and money to operate, have a higher firebox, have more parallel tube passes, and have higher flue gas velocity. A major disadvantage of cylindrical furnaces is that they have a lower efficiency than other designs because stack temperatures are higher.

 A space of 1.5 to 2 feet is considered to be a safe distance between the open flames and the radiant tubes. The burners flame pattern should be less than 60% the height of the firebox.

 Feed is introduced into a box furnace through the convection section and moves toward the firebox.

Excess airflow will decrease furnace temperatures around the burners and force the automatic controls to increase natural gas flow rates to the burner, wasting money. As hot combustion gases rise, cooler air is e ntrained causing the temperature to decrease. Excess air enhances this process. When excess air is increased to the burner through the primary and secondary air registers, a temperature shift occurs as heat is moved away from the burners. Higher temperatures are found in the upper section of the firebox due to the reduced heat transfer in the lower section of the firebox. Temperatures in the convection section and stack will also rise significantly. This will reduce the amount of heat available for heating the hot oil and more fuel will be burned in order to maintain process specifications. To be on the safe side, more air than is theoretically required for combustion is used. When this occurs it is referred to as utilizing excess air. The percentage of excess oxygen by volume in the flue gas can be measured using a graph. Each fuel has its own plotted curve graph. Suppose for example that the oxygen analyzer digitally indicates an O2 reading of 3% by volume in the stack. The curve in Figure 10.3 shows this to be equal to 10% excess air for natural gas. Air can enter the furnace through: Open peepholes Leaks in furnace casing or joints Damaged header box gaskets Burners that have gone out It is important to recognize the position of the measurement, either near the burner or in the stack. Large leaks in the furnace can indicate high levels of oxygen in the system