THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION AND UTILIZATION

THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION AND UTILIZATION

STEAM GENERATORS/BOILERS:
→ Steam generators are designed to produce steam for process requirements, for
process needs along with electric power generation, or solely for electric power
generation.

→ The goal is the most efficient and reliable boiler design for the least cost.

→ Range of boilers, from small-scale heating systems to large-scale utility boilers.

→ In the industrial market, boilers have been designed to burn a wide range of fuels and
operate at pressures up to 12.4 MPa (1800 psia) and steaming rates extending to 455,000
kg/h (1,000,000 lb/h).
→ Shop-assembled boilers (package boilers range in capacity from 4545 kg/h (10,000
lb/h) to about 270,000 kg/h (600,000 lb/h). These units are designed for operation at
pressures up to 11.4 Mpa (1650 psia) and 783 K (950°F).
 BOILERS
→ Boilers designed for service in electric power utility systems operate at both
subcritical-pressure (pressures below 22.1 MPa [3205 psia]) and supercritical-
pressure steam conditions.

→ Subcritical-pressure boilers range in design pressures up to about 18.6 MPa (2700

psia) and in steaming capacities up to about 2,948,350.4 kg/h (6,500,000 lb/h).

→ Supercritical-pressure boilers have been designed to operate at pressures up to

34.5 MPa (5000 psia).

→ The 24.1 MPa (3500 psia) cycle has been firmly established in the utility industry,
and boilers with steaming capacities up to 9,300,000 lb/h or 4,218,409 kg/h and
superheat and reheat temperatures of or 540.85 oC 814 K (1005°F) are in service.
 Boiler Design Issues
→ Boiler design involves the interaction of many variables:

√ water-steam circulation,

√ fuel characteristics,

√ firing systems and heat input,

√ heat transfer.

→ The furnace enclosure is one of the most critical components of a steam generator
and must be conservatively designed to assure high boiler availability.

→ The furnace (Both combustion and heat transfer to the boiling water occur)
configuration and its size are determined by combustion requirements, fuel
characteristics, emission standards for gaseous effluents and particulate matter, and
the need to provide a uniform gas flow and temperature entering the convection zone
to minimize ash deposits and excessive super-heater metal temperatures.
 Circulation and Heat Transfer
→ Circulation, as applied to a steam generator, is the movement of water or steam or a
mixture of both through the heated tubes.

→ The circulation objective is to absorb heat from the tube metal at a rate that assures
sufficient cooling of the furnace-wall tubes during all operating conditions.

→ The rate of heat transfer from the tubes to the fluid depends primarily on turbulence
and the magnitude of the heat flux itself.

→ Turbulence is a function of mass velocity of the fluid and tube roughness.

→ Turbulence has been achieved by designing for high mass velocities, which ensure that
nucleate boiling takes place at the inside surface of the tube.

→ If sufficient turbulence is not provided, departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) occurs.

DNB is the production of a film of steam on the tube surface that impedes heat transfer
and results in tube overheating and possible failure.
 BOILERCLASSIFICATION
By Application: (Utility, Marine, or Industrial boiler).
Utility boilers:
Are the largest seam generators used in power plants generating 500–1000 MW of electricity. They
are generally fired with pulverized coal.
√ Utility boilers generate high pressure, high temperature superheated and reheat steam; typical
parameters are 16.55 Mpa or 2400 psig, 1000 F or 537.8 oC A few utility boilers generate
supercritical steam at pressures in excess of 3500psig, 1100 F.
Industrial boilers:
Used in cogeneration plants generate low pressure steam at 150 psig (1.0342 Mpa) to super-heated
steam at 1500 psig (10.342 Mpa) at temperatures ranging from 700 to 1000 F (371.1 – 537.8 oC).
√ Cogeneration is an energy conversion process wherein heat from a fuel is simultaneously
converted to useful thermal energy (e.g., process steam) and electric energy.
 By Pressure:
Low to medium pressure, high pressure, and supercritical pressure. Process plants
need low to medium pressure steam in the range of 150–1500 psig (1.034 -10.34
Mpa), which is generated by field-erected or packaged boilers, whereas large utility
boilers generate high pressure (above 2000 psig) or 13.79 Mpa and supercritical
pressure steam.

By Circulation Method: (Natural, controlled, or combined circulation.

Natural circulation is widely used for upto 2400 psig/16.55 Mpa steam pressure.
There is no operating cost incurred for ensuring circulation through the furnace tubes,
because Gravity aids the circulation process. Controlled and combined circulation
boilers use pumps to ensure circulation of a steam–water mixture through the
evaporator tubes. Supercritical boilers are of the once through type. It may be noted
that once-through designs can be employed at any pressure, whereas supercritical
pressure boilers must be of a once-through design.
By Firing Method: Stoker, cyclone furnace, fluidized bed, register burner, fixed or
moving grate.

By Construction: Field-erected or shop-assembled. Large industrial and utility

boilers are field-erected, whereas small packaged fire tube boilers up to 90,000lb/h or
40,823.3 kg/h capacity and water tube boilers up to 250,000lb/h or 113,398 kg/h are
generally assembled in the shop.

By Slag/waste M. Removal Method: Dry or wet bottom, applicable to solid-fuel-fired

boilers.

By Heat Source and Fuel: Solid, gaseous, or liquid fuels, waste fuel or

Waste heat. The type of fuel used has a significant impact on boiler size. For
example, coal-fired boiler furnaces are large, because a long residence time is
required for coal combustion, whereas oil- and gas-fired boilers can be smaller.