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4P570 Energy Conversion 2 October 2003

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2 October 2003
As a result of the course

4P470 Energy Conversion

Heat exchangers and Boilers

Thijs Paes
Liselotte Verhoeven
Gert Witvoet
Surjo Adabi
Johan Kunnen

4P570 Energy Conversion 2 October 2003

Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
1.1
1.2
1.3

HEAT EXCHANGERS
DOUBLE PIPE HEAT EXCHANGERS
SHELL-AND-TUBE HEAT EXCHANGERS

CHAPTER 2
2.1
2.2
2.3

INTRODUCTION

HEAT EXCHANGER DESIGN

INTRODUCTION
THE DOUBLE-PIPE HEAT EXCHANGER
SHELL-AND-TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER

CHAPTER 3

FOULING OF HEAT CHANGERS

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3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PHENOMENON
3.3 FOULING, AN OVERVIEW
3.4 INFLUENCES ON FOULING
3.5 THE IMPORTANCE OF FOULING
3.6 FOULING SOLUTIONS IN PRACTICE
3.6.1 AUTOMATIC TUBE BRUSHING (ATB)
3.6.2 THE SPIRAL HEAT EXCHANGER
3.6.3 DEPOSIT DETERMINED, FOULING REDUCING MORPHOLOGY (DDEFORM)
3.7 IN CONCLUSION

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CHAPTER 4

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BOILERS

4.1 TYPE OF BOILERS

4.1.1 THE CONSTRUCTION
4.1.1.1 The fire tube boiler
4.1.1.2 The Water Tube Boiler
4.1.2 ONCE-THROUGH BOILERS
4.3 ENERGY SOURCE
4.4 MATERIAL
4.4 PRESSURE DROP INSIDE THE TUBE
4.4.1 FRICTION
4.4.2 ACCELERATION
4.4.3 HYDROSTATIC HEAD
4.5 MAINTENANCE
4.5.1 SCALING AND SLUDGE
4.5.2 Mechanism of scale formation

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CHAPTER 5 AN INDUSTRIAL BOILER IN PRACTICE

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5.1 AN POWER PLANT BOILER

5.2 BOILERS AT THE TUE
5.3 EMISSIONS
5.3.1 REGULATIONS
5.3.2 NOX-EMISSION
5.3.2.1 NOx-reduction strategies
5.3.2.2 NOx-reduction measures
5.3.3 SO2-EMISSION
5.3.3.1 Wet scrubbers
5.3.3.2 Dry scrubber

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LITERATURE

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Chapter 1 Introduction
By Thijs Paes
This lecture deals with the practical use and applications of heat exchangers and boilers. These two
appliances have much in common, since heat exchangers are vital parts of boilers, and in addition,
boilers are the oldest and still one of the most common applications of industrial heat exchangers
[1.1].
These two devices will be discussed separately, although. After an exposition of all different types
of heat exchangers and examples of their usage, an overview about what has to be dealt with when
one of these types needs to be installed and how to maintain it, will follow. After this, the same
will be done for boilers.
1.1

Heat Exchangers

Heat exchangers can be described by reversing its two terms: they include all devices that are
designed for exchanging heat. This is a very broad category of devices so first a restriction has to
be made. Only heat exchangers that are meant to exchange heat between two fluids are taken into
account. These fluids can be gasses as well as liquids.
It is still difficult to have an overview, and a classification needs to be made. It is possible to
classify heat exchangers in a number of ways.
1) A classification of heat exchangers depending on the basic of the fluid paths through the heat
exchanger.
Difference is made between a parallel flow, counter flow and cross flow. Parallel flow are
those devices in which the warmed and cooled fluids flow past each other in the same
direction, in contrast with the counter flow where these two flow in the opposite direction. In
case of a cross flow, fluids flows pass at right angles to each other. An example of this type is
the heat exchanger in figure 1 [2]. This is a heat exchangers that is found on the top buildings
and is for instance needed for air conditioning inside. Here a fluid is leaded between the plates
at the top of the heat exchanger and flows horizontally. Air is blown vertically against the
plates to cool the fluid inside.

Fig. 1.1: cross flow air to liquid heat exchanger

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2) The second classification made, is depending on the state of the media in the heat exchanger.
Liquid-to-liquid exchangers are those in which two liquids interact. Also gas-to-gas heat
exchangers like air preheaters in steam plants and helium-cooled reactor gas turbine plants
have to be mentioned. These devices operate with heat transfer coefficients that are between
ten and one hundred times lower than the coefficients of liquid-to-liquid exchangers. Gas-togas exchangers are general much larger and heavier if a same amount of transferred heat is
demanded.
A third type is the liquid-to-gas heat exchanger (or vice versa), usually water and air are used,
for instance in automotive radiators. Another example was seen in figure 1. Because of the
lower heat transfer coefficients on the gas-side there are usually fines placed on the exchanging
surfaces.
3) A third classification method is based the purpose of heat exchanger. In difference with the
other classifications, this is not a designers choice but a direct demand to fulfil the need for
lets say an evaporator. So any demand based on this classification is generally a starting point,
from which the designer needs to make decisions about the other classifications, like the choice
between counter flow or cross flow.
Some other examples of purpose classification are briefly the cooler, which cools liquids or
gases by means of water, the chiller, which cools a fluid with a refrigerant such as freon, to
below a temperature that would be obtainable if water was used, and condensers, that
condenses a vapour, often in the presence of a non-condensable gas (only shell tube
condensers; classification on where condensation occurs: horizontal in-shell, vertical in-shell,
horizontal in-tube and vertical in-tube)
4) The last classification is actually the most important choice of the designer of a heat
exchanging system. This is the choice what kind of construction he is going to use. Below are
discussed the two most common options: double pipe heat exchangers and shell-and tube heat
exchangers.
1.2

Double pipe heat exchangers

The double pipe heat exchangers are quite simple exchangers to analyse. This will be seen in
Chapter 2. There are two possibilities: the use of a counter flow or parallel flow such as described
in the first classification method. In figure 1.2 [1.1] the development of the temperatures can be
seen. From this easily can be concluded that the counter flow is in any case more efficient than the
parallel flow since the pipe fluid gets further cooled using this counter flow. While the
temperatures T (of the cooled fluid) and t (of the warmed fluid) in the parallel flow heat exchanger
can only approach each other, they can pass each other in the counter flow (Tout < tout) and in this
case there has to be more heat been transferred.
This explains why in practice only counter flow will be seen in case of the double pipe heat
exchangers. But there is one other advantage for the counter flow, since the maximum temperature
differences between the two flows are much smaller, they suffer less thermal forces.

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Fig. 2.1: counter flow verses parallel flow [1.1]

Double pipe exchangers are mostly built of common water tubing. The use of two single flow
areas leads to relatively low flow rates and moderate temperature differences
A straight double pipe heat exchanger as seen in the diagrams will not appear in practice. Most
common are U-type or hairpin constructions. Due to the need of a removable bundle construction
and the need for the ability to handle differential thermal expansions the exchanger is implemented
in two parts. In figure 1.3 the fluids enter and leave the exchanger by the four nozzles on the right
while the exchanger can freely expand to the left which makes the of expansion joints to the other
machinery superfluous and makes demounting much easier.

Fig. 1. 3: U-type or hairpin construction for a double pipe heat exchanger

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Fig. 1.4: practical example: series of U-type constructions

1.3

Shell-and-tube heat exchangers

Because of the many advantages, most liquid-to-liquid exchangers are shell and tube. The high
flow rates and heat transfer rates as well as the numerous parameters for the designer to choose
make this type to be more suitable for most applications than a double pipe heat exchanger.
The disadvantages are however also that the numerous parameters make it difficult to find an
optimal design and the intricate geometry makes exact calculations impossible and in use it leads
to pressure drops that have to be compensated by the use of a pump.

Fig. 1.5: cross section of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger

Figure 1.5 shows the design of a standard shell-ad-tube heat exchanger. It consists of a shell on the
outside and tubes placed inside the shell, these are made of standard steel or wrought-iron pipe and
their thickness depends on the operation pressure. The tubes are attached on front and rear ands in
tube sheets and by baffles which are also be placed to redirect the shell fluid past the tubes to
enhance heat transfer. The so-called channel covers gather on both ends the fluid in the tubes. The
nozzles are the inlet and outlet ports in the shell.

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Fig. 1.6:. Shell-and-tube-heat exchanger with one shell pass and one tube pass; cross- counterflow operation.

Differences in types of shell-and-tube heat exchangers are based on the flows inside the shell and
tubes. In figure 1.6 a heat exchanger with one shell flow pass and one tubes flow path can be seen.
The baffles lead the shell flow in such a way along the tubes that this type is a cross flow device.
So this type could by classified as a Shell-and-tube-heat exchanger with one shell pass and one
tube pass; cross- counterflow operation. Thus, only the directions of flows make these devices
very complicated to make estimations to determine the amount of heat transfer, while still other
parameters like sizes are still not taken into account.
To get a better overview of possibilities for designers, a set of standards has been introduced in the
1940s. These define the heat exchanger style, machining and assembly tolerances to be employed
in the manufacture of a given exchanger. The association TEMA, which stands for Tubular
Exchanger Manufacturers Association, made up and controls these standards. The New Yorkbased association was formed by a group of heat exchanger manufacturers and their specifications
comprise industry standards that directly relate to recognized quality practices for manufacturing.
Vendors who build to TEMA standards can be competitively compared because tolerances and
construction methods should be very similar for a given design
Also a numbering and type designation has been introduced to TEMA. A certain sequence of
parameters, describes every shell-and-tube heat exchanger, including:
Size of shells and tube bundles
Inside diameter of the shell in inches
Tube length
Type designation by letters describing stationary head, shell and rear head
The designation code can be made with use of a table including three columns, see table 1 [2].
Three letters, one from each column, determine the type of certain shell-and-tube heat exchanger.

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Table 1.1: TEMA designation

As an example the heat exchanger in figure 1.7 has a front head type A, because of the
demountable end plate to make cleaning possible. There is a one pass shell fluid path, so this leads
to type E and the rear end is an externally sealed floating tubesheet, type W. So this specimen is to
be described by AEW.

Fig. 1. 7: TEMA designation example: AEW

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Chapter 2 Heat exchanger design

By Liselotte Verhoeven (475117)
2.1

Introduction

First the double-pipe heat exchanger will be discussed. This heat exchanger is very simple and
its working principle is easy to understand. Some formulas will be presented used in global
designing. These formulas will not be derived and their only purpose is to give an idea of which
parameters play an import role in heat exchanger design.
Secondly the shell-and-tube heat exchanger will be discussed. This heat exchanger is frequently
used in practice in big installations as well as in small installation. The wide range in
dimensions will be made clear.
2.2

The Double-Pipe Heat exchanger

Heat exchangers can be classified in a number of ways, depending on their construction or on

how the fluids move relative to each other through the device. Now there will be looked at one
particular heat exchanger to go a little deeper into the working principles and the practical
utilizations.
A double-pipe heat exchanger consists of two concentric pipes or tubes. The outer tube is called
the annulus. In one of the pipes a warmer fluid flows and in the other a colder one.
Due to the temperature difference between the fluids heat is transferred. By the word fluid all
substances that can flow is meant. So the word fluid means not only liquids but also gases. In
this part there will be looked at a double-pipe heat exchanger with parallel flow. This means
that the hot fluid and the cold fluid flow in the same directions. There are also counter flow heat
exchangers. In this situation the hot fluid and the cold fluid flow in opposite directions.
Schematically a double pipe heat exchanger with parallel flow is drawn in figure 2.1.

Cold fluid in

II
Cooled fluid out

TcI
ThII
Hot fluid in

ThI
TcII
Warmed fluid out

Fi
g. 2.1: A double pipe heat exchanger with parallel flow

To understand what factors influence the dimensions of this heat exchanger when a certain heat
rate is expected some simple equations will be examined.

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First a simple heat balance:

q = m& h c h (ThI ThII ) = m& c c c (TcII TcI )

(2.1)

With:
qh = heat transferred from the hot to the cold fluid (kW)
m& h = mass flow of the hot fluid (kg/s)
ch = specific heat of the hot fluid (kJ/kg/C)
ThI = hot fluid at position I (C)
ThII = hot fluid at position II (C)
The subscript c stands for cold.
But also the next equation is valid:
q = U A LMTD

(2.2)

With:
q = the heat transferred between the hot and the cold fluid (kW)
U = the overall heat transfer coefficient (kW/m2/C)
A = the heat transferring surface (m2)
LMTD = the log mean temperature difference

For the log mean temperature difference for parallel flow the following can be written down:
LMTD =

LMTD =

T II T I
T
ln II
T I
(ThII TcII ) (ThI TcI )
T TcII
ln hII
ThI TcI

(2.3)

(2.4)

The next figure will show how the temperature of the hot and cold fluid changes along the
length of the pipe.

Fig. 2.2: The course of the hot and the cold fluid along the length of the pipe

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When the heat is transferred from the warmer fluid to the colder fluid it encounters resistances
that will create several losses. There will be losses when the heat in the fluid transfers in
direction of the wall, when the heat is transferred through the wall and when the heat is
transferred from the wall to the flow in the annulus. In other words there will be a tube-film
resistance, a tube-wall resistance and an annulus-film resistance. These losses are encountered
for in the overall heat transfer coefficient U. When this coefficient is known and it is known
what the several temperatures at the beginning and the end are or must be (material boundaries)
a heat-transferring surface can be calculated for a desired heat rate.
D
D
1
1
1
=
+ 0 ln 0 +
U hi ( Ai Ao ) 2 k
D i h0

(2.5)

Frequently it is wanted to get an idea of how big a heat exchanger will be for a certain
performance. Size is one of the main factors in costs. The following properties must be known
to perform a global calculation of the dimensions of a double-pipe heat exchanger with parallel
flow.
-The required cooling down or heat up of the pipe fluid
-The temperatures of both fluids when entering the double-pipe heat exchanger
-The mass flows and heat capacity of both fluids the required heat rate can now be calculated
due to the heat balance equation (2.1)
-The LMTD can now be calculated; all the temperatures are known
-An estimate of the overall heat coefficient; this is very difficult. U depends, as one can see in
equation (2.5), on inner and outer diameters, convection coefficients of both fluids and the
transfer coefficient of the wall of the pipe (depending on wall thickness and material properties).
There are tables that can help make a good estimate for this parameter. Nevertheless has this
parameter a great influence on the size of a heat exchanger and estimates must always be done
with great care.
Now with the help of equation (2.2) the heat transferring area can be calculated. Knowing the
heat transferring area gives a relation between the diameter of the pipe and the length of the heat
exchanger. This gives a rough idea of the dimensions that can be expected.
L=

A0
OD p

(2.6)

OD p = The outer diameter of the pipe

The next figure (Fig. 2.3) depicts what is called a hairpin exchanger, in which two double-pipe
exchangers are connected at one end with U-shaped connectors. The inner tube is very long and
is bent into a U-shape. The shell or outer tube is bolted to a connector at the end and completely
encloses the inner tube

Fig. 2.3 Hairpin heat exchanger

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Double-pipe heat exchangers are inexpensive and easily maintained. They are primarily for low
flow rates and are well adapted to high temperature and high pressure due to their relatively
small diameters. Because of the small amount of heat-transfer surface per section, double-pipe
heat exchangers are generally found in small total-surface requirement applications.
2.3

shell-and-tube heat exchanger

Where a high flow rate is involved, the number of double-pipe exchangers required becomes
prohibitive, both in ground area required and in funds expended. When high heat-transfers rates
are required, an alternative apparatus, known as a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, can be used.
A shell-and-tube exchanger consists of a large-diameter pipe (on the order of 12 nominal to 24
nominal and larger), inside a number of tubes is placed (ranging from about 20 to over 1000
tubes!). One fluid is directed through the tubes, and another inside the shell but outside the
tubes. Several constructions are possible, but they wont be discussed here. Baffles are used to
direct the shell fluid past the tubes in such a way that heat transfer is enhanced. Turbulence is
caused, and higher heat transfer coefficients, and hence higher rates, result. There are several
types of baffles. In the picture below segmental baffles are used.
In the figure below the working principle of a shell-and-tube exchanger is graphically
explained.

Figure 2.4 A shell and-tube heat exchanger

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To show the difference in the size of these heat exchangers a couple of illustrations are given
below.

Figure 2.5: A big shell-and-tube

Figure 2.6: The tubes of a very small shell- andtube

In the following table the range of dimensions of several parts of a shell-and-tube heat
exchanger is presented.
Range of dimension
Heat transfer area
0.1 100.000 square meters
Pressure
Deep vacuum over 1000 bar
Temperature
0 1400 Kelvin
Diameter of the tubes 6,35 50,8 millimeters
Diameter of the shell 50 millimeter 3,05 meters
Number of tubes used 20 - 1000
Table 2.1: Range of dimensions

One can clearly see the many possibilities with the shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The key to
such flexibility is the wide range of materials of construction, forming and joining methods, and
design features that can be built into these heat exchangers. Because of this flexibility the shelland-tube heat exchanger is frequently used. In big installations and in small ones.
Another big factor in heat exchanger design is of course costs. The three main relevant factors
that have the greatest effect on size and therefore on costs are:
-Pressure drops
-Log Mean Temperature Difference
-Fouling factors
They will be discussed one by one.
Pressure drops If unrealistically low allowable pressure drops are imposed, the designer is
forced to use lower fluid velocities to maintain the pressure drops limitations. Lower velocities
can result in a large heat exchanger. Higher pressure drops result in a smaller heat exchanger,
but a pumping device is needed to maintain this high pressure drop. This pumping device needs
energy and so operating costs must be calculated in the overall cost for the heat exchanger. Only
by considering the relationship between operating costs and investments can the economical
pressure drop be determined.
Log Mean Temperature Difference The size, or surface, of a heat exchanger is inversely
proportional to the overall heat-transfer coefficient and the corrected LMTD. When looking at a

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shell-and-tube heat exchanger a so-called corrected LMTD must be used instead of the LMTD
presented earlier when the double-pipe heat exchanger was discussed.
Assuming that reasonable temperatures have been specified, a designer should try to maximize
the product of the heat-transfer rate and the LMTD.
Fouling factors This wont be discussed here. My colleague Gert has discussed this subject
extensively. A reference is made to his paper.
The following figure (Fig. 2.7) shows the relation between the total tube area and the shell
diameter for several lengths of the heat exchanger. It can be seen that for the same total tube
area the diameter decreases when the length of the heat exchanger is increased. This is a logical
relation.

Figure 2.7: Diameter of the shell versus the total tube surface

The following figure shows the relation between the surface of a single shell and the costs in
dollars per square feet. As one can see the costs are going down exponentially with the increase
of the surface. So bigger shell-and-tube heat exchangers are cheaper per square feet than small
ones. It must be said that this figure is quite an old figure, namely from 1979. A recent figure
involving costs and dimensions could not be found. It is very difficult to get hold on such
numbers. Almost every heat exchanger is custom made and companies dont posses such things
as price lists for complete heat exchangers and the time was to short to get the information of
the companies. But the figure will give a fairly good impression of how the relations are.

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Figure 2.8: The relation between shell surface and costs [1979]

The final subject that is discussed here is the efficiency of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger. This
of course is also an important parameter in heat exchanger design. Efficiency stands for the part
of the maximum possible heat transfer that is transferred in reality. Efficiency says something
about energy losses and so a link to costs can be made. Low efficiency means higher operating
costs.
The effectiveness Number of Transfer Units method of analysis is discussed. The NTU is a
dimensionless parameter used widely in analysis of heat exchangers. Besides the NTU the ratio of
capacitances is needed to retrieve the effectiveness e.

Number of Transfer Units :

UA
m c p min

(2.7)

Ratio op capacitances :
m c p min

( )
(m c p )max

(2.8)

To give an idea of how an effectiveness calculation is performed a example is presented. The

following table shows the properties of both the shell and the tube fluid. The raw water is the
cooling fluid as one can see.
Distilled water - shell
77,000
Mass flow (kg/hour)
4179
Capacitance (J/kg/K)
Inlet temperatures (degrees Celsius) 43
Table 2.2: Properties of the shell and tube fluid

Raw water - tubes

68,000
4181
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The overall heat transfer coefficient U and the area required for the heat transfer are as follows.
U = 1987.3 W/m2/K
A = 65.4 m2
With the formula for the number of transfer units and the ratio of capacitances the following
numbers are retrieved.
NTU = 1.64
Ratio of capacitance = 0.883
From the following figure the effectiveness can be retrieved. On the horizontal axis the NTU
values are placed and on the vertical axis the effectiveness can be retrieved. Each line represents
a ratio of capacitance.

Figure 2.9 Effectiveness vs. number of transfer

units for a shell-and-tube exchanger having one
shell pass and any integral multiple of two tube passes.

With the calculated NTU and the ratio of capacitance an effectiveness of 0.58 is retrieved. This
means that 58 percent of the maximum heat transfer is transferred in reality. With the real heat
transfer the end temperatures of the fluids can be calculated. This can be done by the heat
balance presented in equation (2.1).

q max = m& c p

)min (T1 t1 ) = 711MW

q = q max = 412 MW

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Chapter 3 Fouling of Heat Changers

By Gert Witvoet
In an answer to the proceeding chapters, this chapter will discuss the main difficulty among heat
exchangers, fouling. A short description and analysis of this problem will be given, after which
some examples from the field about prevention and removal will be discussed.
3.1

Introduction

Unfortunately nothing in this world is perfect. Cars arent perfect, women arent perfect, not
even life is perfect. And although heat exchangers may seem to be quite close to being perfect,
theyre far from that. Using a heat exchanger brings a lot of problems, which can cost lots of
money. During usage they will get dirty, and they need some amount of maintenance. This so
called getting dirty has a name: the fouling of a heat exchanger.
3.2

Description of the phenomenon

What exactly is fouling? According to Garrett-Price (1985) fouling is generally defined as the
forming of deposits on heat transfer surfaces, which interferes with heat transfer and/or fluid
flow. In other words, by using a heat exchanger small layers of insulating material will be
formed on the heat transferring surfaces of that heat exchanger. The influence of this layer is
two-sided:
1) The layer has a high thermal resistance, higher then any other part of the heat exchanger,
thereby increasing the total thermal resistance. This will decrease the amount of heat
transferred through the surfaces and reduces the efficiency of the heat exchanger.
2) The presence of a layer will decrease cross-sectional flow area of the medium. To
achieve the same throughput through this smaller area, theres a bigger pressure drop
needed. Additional pumping is needed, increasing to total amount of energy added to the
system, decreasing the efficiency.
So fouling is a absolutely not-wanted phenomenon. The problem is that the heat exchanger that
doesnt suffer from fouling still has to be invented. Furthermore fouling is extremely difficult to
describe. Thats why recent years theres a lot of emphasis on the analysis of this problem.
3.3

Fouling, an overview

Not two heat exchangers are the same and the same is valid for fouling. To understand the
phenomenon better, it is important to understand that there are six types of fouling. These types
are:
1) Precipitation fouling
Also called crystallization fouling. A fluid or gas used in a heat exchanger can contain
dissolved inorganic salts. Given certain conditions, theres a maximum amount of salt
that can be dissolved in this fluid or gas. When the process conditions inside the heat
exchanger differ from the conditions at the entrance, supersaturation may occur. This
means that part of the dissolved salt will crystallize on the heat transfer surface. Figure
3.1 gives a clear example.

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Figure 3. 1 Percipitation fouling

2) Particulate fouling
This is when the gas or fluid inside the heat exchanger contains small particles which
will attach to the heat transfer surface. Examples are dust or sand. The deposition occurs
mostly as a result of gravity.
3) Chemical reaction fouling
This type of fouling considers the deposits that are formed as a result of chemical
reactions within the fluid. The heat transfer surface itself is not consumed in the
reaction, although it could operate as a catalyst. This type is a common problem in for
example petroleum refining or polymer production.
4) Corrosion fouling
This fouling is also caused by some chemical reaction, but this time the surface is a
reactant and will be consumed. The surface reacts with the fluid or gas to form corrosion
products on itself. The rusting of steel parts is a well-known example, as can be seen in
figure 3.2.

Figure 3. 2 Corrosion fouling

5) Solidification fouling
When the heat transfer surface is low enough, a fluid flowing through a heat exchanger
can actually freeze at the surfaces. In case of a multicomponent fluid, its the high-

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melting point constituent that will solidify. This is easy to imagine for fluids, like water
cooling, but in practice this phenomenon can also occur when the medium is a gas.
6) Biological fouling
Its also possible for biological micro- and macro-organisms to stick to the heat transfer
surface. In this case not only the attaching of the material is a problem, but also its
growth. In many cases this will result in a slime layer. This can be seen in figure 3.3.

Figure 3. 3 Biological fouling

To understand more about the influence of fouling on the performance of a heat exchanger, one
must consider the heat transferred q:
q = U AO LMTD
Here LMTD stands for the Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference, AO is the outer surface
area and U stands for the overall heat transfer coefficient. The influence of fouling can be seen
in the coefficient U. In the past various equations for U have been developed to capture fouling
factors, but the most widely used is this:
R
1
R R
1
1
=
+
+ W + F , I + F ,O
U AO hO AO hI AI AW AI
AO
The term inside the first brackets stands for the ordinary heat coefficient, when there is no
fouling (or for an unused heat exchanger); h stands for the convective heat transfer coefficient,
RW and AW are thermal resistance resp area of the wall. The second term is the extra term
because of fouling. Here RF is the fouling resistance. The indices I and O stand for inner and
outer surfaces.
Its clear to see that for increasing fouling factors, the thermal coefficient U will drop, causing
the transferred heat q to drop too. One way to compensate this effect is to overdimensionize the
heat exchanger, that is increase the heat transfer area. One disadvantage is of course that this
will result in a more expensive device.

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Influences on fouling

Choosing a fouling factor is a rather arbitrary business. In practice, values provided by the
Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association (TEMA) are used. These values are based on
experiences, and are only dependent on the fluid used. An example is given in figure 3.4.

Figure 3. 4 Some values from TEMA standards

Although there are such tables for various temperatures and velocities of the medium, the real
velocity- and temperature-dependency of the fouling factors is unknown. Besides that, fouling
factors are time-dependent and will always increase with time. The way it increases depends on
the specific situation. It could increase linear with time, or increase asymptotically to a certain
limit. The latter case isnt as worse as the linear case. When time increases, fouling resistance
will reach some constant value. This means that one can design a heat exchanger in such a way,
that this constant resistance is compensated. In the linear case it is necessary to periodically
clean the heat exchanger, or else the fouling resistance would reach the sky.
In most cases there is also an initial induction period; for a clean heat exchanger with initial
fouling factor zero there is a certain time interval for which the fouling resistance is very low.
This is illustrated in figure 3.5.

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Figure 3. 5 Linear increase with induction time

Of course there are even more parameters that can influence the fouling factor. In general, the
following conditions are known for their influence:
1) Velocity of the medium
Increasing medium velocity will in general increase the release rate and therefore
decrease fouling.
2) Temperature of the bulk fluid
Especially precipitation and chemical reaction fouling can depend strongly on bulk
temperature, but both in a different way.
3) Temperature of the heat transfer surface
Lowering this temperature may increase solidification or even precipitation fouling.
Other fouling mechanisms may increase with increasing temperature.
4) Surface material
The amount of corrosion is strongly dependent on the choice of the surface material.
Surface material may also influence biological fouling, e.g. copper is more sensitive to
biological fouling then most other materials.
5) Surface structure and roughness
Of course rough surfaces promote the attachment of any particle. A rough surface also
means more area for corrosion or chemical reaction.
6) Heat exchanger configuration
From experience its known that shell-and-tube heat exchangers are more sensitive to
fouling than for example a plate-and-frame or double-piped heat exchangers. This is
mostly because velocities and turbulence levels are higher for the latter one.
Disadvantage of these heat exchangers is that theyre far more bigger than a shell-andtube with the same capacity.
Its clear that the precise influence of each of these conditions on the fouling factor depends on
the type of fouling. In some cases this precise influence isnt known yet, and theres still a lot of
research done. Still, understanding the impact of these conditions on the fouling resistance is
essential to actually control fouling-phenomena, and thereby control the costs. In the design of a
new heat exchanger, one must be aware of all the mentioned conditions and other influences of
fouling factors, and choose those conditions that will result in as less fouling as possible. One
must also be aware that it must be possible to clean a heat exchanger once in a while, which will
have impact on the chosen construction.

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3.5

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The importance of fouling

After the previous description of fouling, one can ask how important the whole issue really is.
Does fouling actually have a major impact on a heat exchanger and does it actually occur that
often?
Since everything in this world is all about money, these questions will also be answered by
expressing the impact of fouling in money. Actual costs e.g. for removing fouling effects for a
specific heat exchanger are unfortunately not available, but there are some data about the total
amount of costs of entire industries.
First of all, fouling costs can be separated according to how they are generated. Roughly taken,
there are four types of costs:
1) Additional capital costs or costs for special design considerations
Lots of costs in using heat exchangers can be prevented in the R&D departments of a
company. Especially when it comes to fouling. A good design can reduce the effects of
fouling and thereby the operational costs of the heat exchanger. But of course research
and design costs money.
A way to prevent fouling is to choose a bigger heat transferring surface then needed, as
discussed before. The heat exchanger will become bigger and heavier, and thereby also
more expensive.
2) Energy costs
A heat exchanger that suffers from fouling needs additional energy to keep operating at
the same level. This is because the fouling layer decreases the amount of heat transferred
as well as it increases the amount of pressure drop needed to maintain the same
throughput through the smaller cross-section. All this additional energy is pure loss.
3) Maintenance costs
A fouled heat changer has to be cleaned once in while, in order to keep the energy
needed for operation low. This cleaning can be online or offline, mechanical or
chemical, etc. Sometimes its needed to replace some parts of the heat exchanger, for
instance because of corrosion.
4) Costs of loss production or shutdown costs
When a heat exchanger is cleaned or maintained offline, there is no production. No
production means no income, so this is considered a loss. The effect of this shutdown
depends on the normal plant capacity and the length of the shutdown.
In recent years many research has been done to know more about the magnitude of the costs
mentioned above. These amounts were presented in total fouling costs of a complete industry or
a country. Two results from history are presented in the following table.
Cost component
Capital costs
Energy costs
Maintenance costs
Loss production
Total

U.S. (1982)
$ 960 - 1280 million
$ 700 - 3500 million
$ 2000 million
$ 200 million
$ 3860 6980 million

U.K. (1978)
100 million
60 million
80 million
60 million
200 million

These are of course enormously high amounts. But it gets even worse when you compare these
results with the total heat exchanger sales. For example, sales in the U.S. in 1981 totaled $ 1.5
billion, or $ 1500 million. This means that fouling costs double the sales by far! And thereby the
importance of fouling analysis is shown.

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Of course research has done a great thing in recent years, decreasing the amounts of costs
compared to the amounts of 20 years ago. Still, fouling stays a big problem in industry.
The precise moment to clean a heat exchanger also strongly depends on the costs, of course. In
the figure below this is illustrated for a simple example for a heat exchanger with a linearly
increasing fouling factor, thus linearly increasing energy costs. The heat exchanger is
periodically cleaned offline. A cleaning operation takes a certain amount of money, so when
time increases this amount per unit time will drop. The right time to clean the exchanger is
when the sum of the two is at its minimum:

Figure 3. 6 Simple example of choosing the cleaning moment

3.6

Fouling solutions in practice

Various manufacturers have dealt with fouling in recent years, and many so called solutions
have been introduced. New cleaning techniques, new cleaning chemicals or even new heat
exchanger designs. In this paragraph some of these solutions will be discussed. Of course its
impossible to discuss all the developments of recent years. The main focus here is just to give a
small idea of
3.6.1

Automatic Tube Brushing (ATB)

When it comes to cleaning of a heat exchanger, there are to ways to do this: offline and online.
The advantage of online cleaning is that the heat exchanger will not have to be shut down, and
thereby shutdown costs are reduced. This is why online maintenance is often more preferred
and therefore all kinds of online cleaning methods were developed in recent years.
One method to remove foulants, developed by a firm called Advanced Heat Transfer
Technologies, is the Automatic Tube Brushing (ATB). The operating principal will explained in
the light of the following picture.

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Figure 3. 7 The principal of the ATB system

The system can be applied to almost any heat exchanger and consists of two main parts. The
first is a small nylon bristle brush (white part on the right, within the yellow tube), which is
inserted into each tube of the heat exchanger. The size of the brush is chosen in such a way that
there is an appropriate fit within the tube. The second part is a special plastic cage (blue part on
the left), which is installed at each side of the exchanger tubes. When the exchanger fluid flows
through the tubes it takes the brush with it from the cage on the one side to the other one. By
reversing the flow direction, the brush will then be taken to other side again. This way the brush
moves back-and-forth through the tubes, thereby removing all kinds of foulants.
The turning of the flow is done by a third component, a special valve, which is activated by an
automatic control panel. This valve normally turns the flow like two or three times a day,
depending on the severity of the fouling in the heat exchanger.

Figure 3. 8 The installation of ATB

The big advantage of the ATB system lies in the fact that after installation no more extra
maintenance is needed, so the shutdown and maintenance costs almost disappear. The system
keeps the fouling factor of the heat exchanger at a constant low value. In practice, fouling
factors of 5 till 10 times lower than without ATB are reported. This way also energy costs are
minimized. Furthermore no chemicals are needed to clean the heat exchanger, which is an
advantage for the environment.

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The disadvantage of the system lies mostly in the installation, which is rather time consuming
for big heat transfers and also rather expensive because, partially because of the needed control
unit and valves. Capital costs will rise, but a bigger reduction in other costs can be achieved!
3.6.2

The Spiral Heat Exchanger

A spiral heat exchanger isnt so revolutionary as it may sound. It has been used for over 60
years in for example asphalt heaters. Later it was discovered that the concept could well be used
in other big industries in order to reduce fouling effects.
A spiral heat exchanger is composed of two long flat plates, which are wrapped around a center
tube, to form two concentric spiral channels. This is illustrated in figure 3.9 and 3.10.

Figure 3. 9 A spiral heat exchanger

Figure 3. 10 Close up

The hot flow enters the heat exchanger in the center, spirals outwards through the long flat
channel to leave the exchanger in tangential direction. The cold fluid enters tangential, flowing
through the long flat channel to leave in axial direction. This way a counterflow is created,
which maximizes heat transfer.
Why is this concept a good alternative for ordinary shell-and-tube heat exchangers when it
comes to fouling? This is mainly because the curved form of the channels will create turbulence
at any point in the flow, even with low velocities. The same curved form causes high shear rates
at the walls. These two effects can prevent particles from clinging to the wall.
The second reason lies in the fact that the spiral heat exchanger is just single-channeled. In
ordinary multiple-channel heat exchangers, when some foulant does manage to stick to the wall
of a channel, the flow is restricted in that channel and will divert to less fouled channels. The
velocity in the fouled channel will thereby be reduced, causing even more foulant attachment to
the walls. In spiral heat exchangers, in contrast, there is only one channel, so when some foulant
does attach, the flow still has to go through. The velocity will locally increase, as will the shear
rate, thereby removing the foulant again.
Because of these effects, a spiral heat exchanger will be able to operate three to four times
longer as a shell-and-tube heat exchanger before cleaning is necessary. Cleaning will still be
needed though, as for every heat exchanger. This cleaning can be done rather easy, as can be
seen on figure 3.9: on both sides theres a big cover that can easily be removed to access to heat
transferring channels. Spraying some pressure washer will then clean the inside of the device.
3.6.3

Deposit Determined, FOuling Reducing Morphology (DDEFORM)

A final recent development is the DDEFORM, a design by co-operating Universities and

laboratories (Aerodynamics Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens, the

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Experimental and Computational Laboratory for the Analysis of Turbulence (ECLAT) of

Kings College London, GRETh and the PPC of Greece). The design is based on computational
fluid dynamics calculations, experiments from the laboratory and observations from industry.

Figure 3. 11 A DDEFORM vs. a common heat exchanger

Special about the design is the shape of the tubes of the heat exchanger, as shown in figure 3.11.
This design is based on morphology (study of shape and form) of the first stages of deposit
formation (that explains the name), which is too complicated to discuss here. What matters, is
that the surface is created in such a way that the attachment of foulants is made very hard,
thereby reducing fouling rates, partially because of the reduced frontal area. The elliptic form is
furthermore responsible for a reduction of needed pressure drop. This is the reason that with this
special shape, the tubes can be placed closer to each other, increasing the heat transferring
surface. So not only fouling can be reduced, also the efficiency of the heat exchanger can be
improved.
The DDEFORM is still a concept and still has to prove itself in industry.
3.7

In conclusion

Fouling is a serious problem in industries dealing with heat exchangers. Its a source of many
expenses and thats why lots of effort is made to reduce this. The mentioned examples illustrate
to possibilities in research. In recent years lots of progress is already made, what gives hope for
the future.
As long as research on fouling continues, we may someday be able to fully control fouling. And
make this world a little bit more perfect

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Chapter 4 Boilers
By Surjo Abadi (467017)
4.1

Type of boilers

Boilers can be classified in various ways; depending on firing method used, fuel fired, field of
application, type of water circulation employed, and pressure of steam etc
4.1.1

The construction

Depending on their construction boilers can be divided into

- Fire tube boilers
- Water tube boiler
4.1.1.1 The fire tube boiler
Fire tube boilers have been used in various early forms to produce steam for industrial purposes.
Figure 4.1 shows how a simplified of fire tube boilers works.

Fig 4.1

The fire tube boiler is a special form of the shell-tube type boiler. A shell type boiler is a closed
, usually cylindrical , vessel, or shell that contain water. Hot gases pass through the tubes during
the heat transfer process. The shell boiler evolved into modern forms such as the electric boiler
, in which heat is supplied by electrodes embedded in the water ( fig 4.2 )

Fig 4.2

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4.1.1.2

4P570 Energy Conversion 2 October 2003

The Water Tube Boiler

The difference between fire tubes and water tubes is simply ; water flows through water tubes
instead of fire. (fig 4.3 )

Fig. 4.3
The advantage of the water tube boiler is , it can works in high steam pressure and capacities.
With higher steam pressure and capacities, fire tube boilers would need large diameter shell.
With such large diameter, the shell would have to operate under such extreme pressure and
thermal stresses that their thickness would have been too large.

The Steam pressure

Depending of the steam pressure boilers can be divided into
- low pressure more less 1,5 bar
- medium pressure , from 1,5 20 bar
- high pressure , higher than 20 bar
Water circulation
Boiler can be classified base on water circulation ;
- natural
- forced
- once-through
Water circulates from the steam drum via downcomer pipes to a bottom header, up the water
tubes ( which act as rises ) , where it partially boils , and back to the steam drum.
S = heated riser tubes
Q = heating
F = downcomer

V = header

Fig. 4.4

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The density of the saturated water in downcomers is greater than the average density of the two
phase-mixture in the risers. Natural circulation is dependent upon the difference
these two densities and the height of the drum above the bottom headers.
But some of this process is required additional help by pumping the single phase flow. Such that
process is called forced-circulation.
4.1.2

Once-Through Boilers

The once through boiler is the only type suited to supercritical pressure operation ( above 220
bar, for steam ) because the latent heat beyond the critical point is zero ( fig1.5 ) and liquid and
vapor are one and the same, so no separation drum is needed

Fig 4.5

black dot lines once-through boiler; black solid subcritical boiler

evaporator

Steam to
turbine
Heat
Water from
condenser

Fig 4.6: schematic diagram of once-through boiler

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4.3

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Energy Source

Boiler can be also classified by their energy source;

1. Coal
2. Liquid Fuel
3. Gas
4. Biomass
5. Geothermal
6. Nuclear
4.4

Material

A boiler is classified as a fired pressure vessel. Parts of the boiler that are subjected to high
internal pressure of steam or water are referred to here as pressure parts. Tubes, drum, and
headers are examples of pressure parts. Other component likes burner etc, are not subjected to
such internal pressure. As such they are classified as nonpressure parts. Selection of materials
for pressure parts of a boiler and their mechanical design and construction are important aspect
of a boiler design.
There are several factors that should be taken account for material selection.
They are:
- Mechanical properties
Mechanical properties such as ultimate tensile strength , yield strength , creep strength, creep
rupture strength, ductility, and toughness are required to be considered for boiler construction
- High temperature properties
a) creep , it becomes important in boilers at operating of 450 650 C. Creep can take place and
lead to fracture at an extended static load much lower than that will cause yielding or
breakage when the load is of short duration.
b) Creep and Fatigue Interaction, when materials are exposed to cyclic loadings while
operating at temperatures within their creep range, the creep reduce their fatigue life.
-Manufacturing method
Welding, cold forming, hot forming, and expanding are some of the modern manufacturing
methods used to fabricate a particular material into required shapes. A consideration of these
methods is important, as the least expensive fabricated product with adequate properties rather
than the cheapest steel should dictate the choice.
- Weldability
Weldability of material is important manufacturing consideration. Welding problems that have
to be overcome include :
a) solidification cracking
b) heat affected zone liquefaction cracking
c) hydrogen induced cracking
d) lamellar cracking
e) reheat cracking

-Scaling resistance
Need for scaling resistance at maximum surface temperature

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For example the tubes and headers from which power station boilers are assembled must be
strong enough to resist internal pressure and system forces, and corrosion both from the water
side and the heat transfer medium, which may be water, steam, flue gas, carbon dioxide, helium
or sodium. Carbon steel have neither the strength nor the corrosion resistance required to
operate at the higher temperature and their resistance is improved by alloying. Table 1.2 shows
list of alloys used in boiler construction
Table 4.2: Materials used for boiler tubes

Component

Unit type

Economizer

Conventional
AGR
HTR
Fast Reactor

Evaporator

Conventional
HTR
AGR
AGR
Fast Reactor
PWR

Temperature
range
250 350

250-350

350

350
280

Heat transfer
fluid
Flue gas
CO2
He
Na
Flue Gas
He
CO2
CO2
Na
Water

Type of steel

Carbon/manganse
2.25% Cr, 1 % Mo

Carbon/manganese
9% , 1% Mo

-Design Method
Most of the methods include materials selection are standardised. In USA the method uses
ASME, and TRD in Germany, BS in UK, and IBR in India
4.4

Pressure drop inside the tube

The pressure drop through any section may be written as

P = Pfric + Pst + Pacl
4.4.1

Friction

Pfric = pressure drop is caused by friction. The hydrodynamic resistance in a tube may be due
to friction in a straight length. In case of subcooled water the frictional pressure drop is given

subcooled
Pfric
= f

m2
l
2 d

m = mass velocity in the tube

f = the friction coeficient should be taken from the moody diagram
d = its surface roughness
= density of water

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l = length of the pipe

For steam water mixture
2 phase
fric

m2
= f
l 1 + x 1 1 x 1(K 1)
2 d

s
s

The coefficient K depends on the volume ratio of steam and water , which given as
= [(1 x ) s / ( x. )]
K = 1 + 0.98 < 0.4
1
2.97 0.66 + 1
= 1
K
6.(1.83 0.66 + 1)(3.43 0.66 + 1)
For > 0.4
If the steam flows at very high velocity in the core and water creeps along the wall
We use separated equation

2 phase
Pfric
= f

m 2 .x 2
1
l

2 s d 1 (1 E )f E e

(1 x) s 1.19
)
x
E lies between 0 and 1

f = 1 (1 +

4.4.2

Acceleration

The pressure drop due to acceleration is found by integrating over the section over which the
steam fraction changes from x1 to x2
x2
(1 x )
Paccl = m
+
s (1 )
2

x2

4.4.3

x1

Hydrostatic Head

The hydrostatic head is given as

Pstatic = [ (1 ) + s ]g sin .l

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4.5

Maintenance

4.5.1

Scaling and sludge

Scaling is the deposit of thermally nonconducting solids inside the tube. Scaling is objectionable
because it interferes with normal heat flow through the boiler metal and may lead overheating.
In addition scale may create other probles like
1. waste of fuel
2. loss of boiler output
3. maintenance problem for removal of scale
In figure 4.7 can be seen the relation betweet cost and thickness of scale

Fig. 4.7

Scaling is caused by the precipitation of calcium and other salts of limited solubility, scale, in
addition to its high insulating value, progressively narrows pipe internal diameters and roughens
tube surfaces, thereby impeding proper flow.
4.5.2

Mechanism of scale formation

If the boiler makeup water is not softened, the dissolved bicarbonates break down to carbonates scales

Ca(HCO3)+ Heat = CaCO3 + H2O + CO2 ( calcium carbonate scale )

Mg(HCO3)2 + Heat = MgCO3 + H2O + CO2 ( magnesium bicarbonate scale )
T

Fig 4.2
Temperature distribution in the pipe without scale ( a) and with scale (b)

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Scale is a relatively hard and adherent deposit, while sludge is softer and can be easily
dislodged. The buildup of scale ia most severe in most high heat flux areas. Scale buildup is
associated with compound whose solubilities decrease with increasing temperature. Conversely
sludges are precipitated directly from the boiler water when their solubilities are exceeded.
Scale and sludge increase the resistance to heat transfer and decrease U (Q = U.A.T). Most
important problem , sludge and scale raise the tube temperature.
The formation of scale can be prevented by proper treatment of boiler water. It can be removed
by chemical cleaning or by mechanical during the maintenance.

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Chapter 5 An industrial boiler in practice

By Johan Kunnen (492061)
In this chapter first a power plant boiler will be discussed. Than a boiler from the University
will be considered. Than the NOx and the SO2 emissions will be discussed.
5.1

An power plant boiler

An industrial boiler can be found in a large range of applications. The largest boilers can be
found in Power Stations. These large boilers are mostly coal-fired systems. The power of such
large power stations is 150+ MW. The boiler in such a large facility is cubic in shape and of
typical dimensions 18m wide, 40m long and 60m high. In the figure below a large boiler is
shown.

Fig. 5.1: Coal fired steam boiler at the Alcao Power plant in Anglesea, Australia

The steam leaves the boiler for the steam turbines. The flames in the boiler reach temperatures
close to 2000C. The boiler pressure may typically be 100-150 bars and be at a temperature of
500-550C. The boiler shown in the figure above produces steam at 104 bar and 538C [5.1].
A 660 MW system converts over 2 million liters of water into steam an hour. This is done in
more than 450 km boiler tubes [5.2]. In the figure below the inside of a boiler is shown.

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Fig. 5.2: Inside the boiler

The fuel consumption of such a boiler is enormous. It consumes 250 tons of coal an hour. This
is around 70 kg/second. The total efficiency of a power station, this means from the energy in
the coal to electrical energy is in the order of 35-40 %. The purchasing costs of a large coal fired
steam boiler are in the order of 30-40 euro/kW [5.3].
5.2

Boilers at the TUE

Boilers are not only used in large industrial plants to create steam. Boilers are also used for
other applications. In the ketelhuis (boiler home) at the university there are 5 boilers. These
boilers do not create steam; they provide the water, which is used to heat the buildings. The
water they provide is heated from temperatures of 120 C up to 180 C, which means the water
will have pressures up to 10 bars [5.4].
The total capacity of these 5 boilers together is 56 MW [5.5]. One of these boilers is build by
Bronswerk N.V. (www.bronswerk.nl) in Rotterdam. This gas-fired boiler has a capacity of 14
MW. Although it is capacity is considerably less than the previous discussed coal fired system,
it is still more than 6 meters high, 4 meters wide and 6 meters long. The amount of gas
consumed depends on the load of the boiler. With full load the boiler consumes around 1300
m3/hour of gas [5.6]. The empty weight of the boiler is 40.000 kg and it can contain 9.000 liters
of water. The water used in the boiler is treated before it enters the system. It is dehardened and
a substance is being added which binds oxygen. This substance prevents corrosion in the
system. The boiler can heat up to 255 m3 of water an hour. In the boiler the water flows through
pipes with a diameter of 63.5 mm. The pipes are 2.9 mm thick. The heat exchange surface is
440 m2. The total length of pipes in the boiler is thus 2.2 km.
There are a few instructions for the maintenance of the boiler. The maintenance of the boiler can
be divided in maintenance on the burner and the rest of boiler [5.7]. Every year a burning
rapport has to be made. For this rapport the performances of the burner are tested each year.
Typical measurements involve consumptions, emissions and temperatures. The burner is the
part of the boiler, which causes the most problems. Because of this the boiler is inspected and
cleaned two times a year. The rest of the boiler, the pipes, is cleaned only once a year. This is
sufficient for the boiler to perform properly.
Every two years the boiler also has to be inspected and certificated by the Stoomwezen-Lloyds
Register. During this inspection a number tests take place. One of these test is as followed. The
machine is disconnected from the water circuit. Also al the safety measures are decoupled. Then
the boiler is put under a pressure of 25 bars. In this way leakages are being tracked down.
During this testing also the thickness of the boiler wall is being measured with the help of x-ray
device.

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4P570 Energy Conversion 2 October 2003

Every month there also a number of other test has to be done by the personal of the Housing
Service (Dienst Huisvesting). The low-water security system has to be tested. It is very harmful
for the boiler if it contains too little water. Than the temperature in the boiler could rise to
dangerous values. In that case the pipes of the boiler could melt down or the boiler could
explode. Other safety-measures that have to be checked monthly are the flame-safety, the
pressure over the boiler, the temperature-safety and the flow-safety. The cleaning costs of the
burner are 4000-5000 euros a year. The costs for cleaning the pipes and the walls are around
3500 euros a year. The total cleaning cost for the rest of the burner is 1000-2000 euros a year.
5.3

Emissions

5.3.1

Regulations

There are different environment-problems to which an industrial boiler contributes. Two of

these problems are: smog and the acidification of the environment. These problems are among
others caused by emissions of SO2, NOx and Fly ash in the flue gases. In the table below the air
emission-rates of these products are showed for a typical coal fired steam generator [5.8]. These
values are for a moderate size boiler.
Typical Air Emissions
For a Coal-fired Steam Generator of
75 MW
Constituent
Uncontrolled Emissions rate
SO2
0.63 ton/hr
NOx as NO2 ( Includes Low NOx burners)
0.05 ton/hr
Fly ash
1.50 ton/hr
Table 5.1

In 1990 the governments of the different countries in the European Community have made
programs for reducing the amount of NOx and SO2 emissioned. These programs contain the
maximum amount emission that may be thrust out for each country each year. They also contain
a time schedule. The maximum amount of emission has to become less every year. In the table
below the schedules for SO2 in The Netherlands and the whole European Community is given
[5.9].
SO2
Year
NL
EU

Emissions
1980
299
14430

1993
180
11065

Max emissions (1000 tons/year)

1998
2003
120
90
8402
6140
Table 5.2

In order to reach these requirements a number of measures were taken by the government.
Among others, laws were made involving the maximum amount of emission for a boiler and
other polluting machinery. In order to control the amount produced the emissions have to be
monitored. By law it is required for machinery bigger as 300 MW to monitor the emissions
continuous. For equipment smaller than 300 MW measures have to be taken on a regally basis.
In the table below the maximum allowable emission values are given [5.9].

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Emission
SO2 (Solid Fuels)
SO2 (Liquid Fuels)
SO2 (Refineries)
NOx (Solid and Liquid Fuels)

NOx (Natural Gas)

Dust (Solid and Liquid Fuels)

Guideline 2001 [mg/m3]

850 ( < 100 MW)
200 ( > 100 MW)
850 ( < 100 MW)
200 ( > 300 MW)
450
400 ( < 100 MW)
300 ( 100-300 MW)
200 ( > 300 MW)
150 ( < 300 MW)
100 ( > 300 MW)
50 ( < 100 MW)
30 ( > 100 MW)
Table 5.3

Smaller systems, which are running on gases or liquids, are allowed to have larger emissions
than larger systems. As a result for smaller systems do not required to treat their flue gases
afterwards. Because of the evermore-stricter laws the amount of exhausted emissions by the
large industrial systems have decreased very much. As can be seen in the table below [5.9].

SO2
NOx

1980
299
120

1997
54
53

Table 5.3

5.3.2

NOx-emission

The emission of NOx is one of the major sources for acidification and smog. NOx formation in
a boiler can occur in two ways. NOx is mainly formed in the boiler during the combustion
process. During the combustion process oxidation of nitrogen that is available in the supplied
air is taking place. The NOx formed in this way is called thermal NOx. The rate of the oxidation
depends on the temperature and off course the amount of Oxygen available [5.10], [5.11].
It is also possible for NOx to be formed in a different way. The NOx formed in this way is
called Fuel NOx. In this case NOx is formed because of the nitrogen that is organically bonded
in the fuel. Coal contains relatively large amounts of nitrogen. As a result around 80 % of the
NOx formed in a coal boiler will be Fuel NOx. The amount of fuel NOx formed does not
depend on the temperature, but on the amount of oxygen available.
5.3.2.1 NOx-reduction strategies
There are different strategies to reduce the amount of NOx. Lowering the temperature of the
combustion can reduce the forming of thermal NOx. The lower temperature makes nitrogen and
oxygen less reactive with each other. Especially if peek temperatures occur during combustion
NOx will be formed. Peek temperatures may occur when fuel and air are not properly mixed.
By controlling the mixing process in the right way the combustion can be made more uniform.
Thus preventing the appearance of peek temperatures and thus limiting the production of NOx.
The forming of NOx will also be decreased if the oxygen concentration is limited.
Thermal NOx is formed because of the amount of nitrogen and other pollution in coal. These
amounts depend on the place where the coal is found. The figure below shows the amount of
NOx formed by a burner with coal from different mining sites in the USA [5.11].

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4P570 Energy Conversion 2 October 2003

Mahoning # 7A
Coal

NOx concentration [ppm]

350
300
250

Ohio
Horizontal
Coal

Illinois # 6
Coal

200
150
100
50
0

Fig. 5.3

Although it is not a real solution, emissions of NOx can be reduced if a coal from a different
mine is used. The amount of fuel NOx can also be reduced if the amount of oxygen available
during the combustion process is limited.
5.3.2.2 NOx-reduction measures
An example of an application that uses the techniques of lowering combustion temperature and
lowering oxygen levels is the Overfire Air System (OFA) for a coal-fired steam boiler. Overfire
Air is also referred to as Two Stage combustion. The estimated costs of a UFA-system are
250,000 euro [5.12]. If an OFA-system is used part of the combustion air (typically 10-25 %) is
diverted and introduced downstream [13]. The total process is as followed: Primary air (7590%) is mixed with the fuel. Thus a fuel-rich, oxygen deficient zone is created.
During its combustion a relatively low temperature occurs and therefore moderate amounts of
fuel NOx are formed. During the secondary stage of the combustion the diverted air is injected
above the combustion zone through a special wind-box with air introducing ports and/or
nozzles. Combustion is completed at this increased flame volume. Again the relatively lowtemperature secondary-stage combustion limits the production of thermal NOx. Also the
efficiency of the boiler is increased because the design of the system provides an almost
complete burnout of the fly and bottom ash carbon. The efficiency of a boiler containing the
OFA-system is projected to be increased 5%. The increase of efficiency could lead to savings of
around 1500 tons of coal/year for one moderate boiler [5.12]. Which means savings of around
60,000 euro for each boiler each year. The emission reduction should be at a level proportional
to the efficiency increase. This would also mean each boiler would thrust out in the order of
1,000 tons of SO2 and 1,000 tons of NOx a year.
Another way to reduce NOx production is by Flue Gas Re-circulation [5.14]. Using this
technology means that 20-30 % of the flue gases with a temperature of 350-400C is recirculated and mixed with the combustion air. The resulting dilution in the flame decreases the
temperature and the availability of oxygen. As a result the formation of thermal NOx is reduced.
For a coal boiler the amount of NOx reduction is limited if only flue gas re-circulation is used (
< 20 %). This is due to the low ratio of thermal NOx in the total NOx emissions. If the amount
of re-circulation gases is increased to much the flame can become instable. Also the increased
flow of gases through the boiler may affect the performances.

41

5.3.3

4P570 Energy Conversion 2 October 2003

SO2-emission

SO2 is formed during the combustion process. When fuel that is containing sulfur is being
burned the sulfur is being burned as well to form SO2. Especially when coal is being used as a
fuel, SO2 will be formed. Coal contains large amounts of sulfur. Typical sulfur amounts are 2.53 % [5.8]. In order to reduce the amount of emissions, desulfurization of the flue gases has to
occur. The desulfurization of the flue gases is usually done in a scrubber. There are two types of
scrubbers, wet scrubbers and dry scrubbers.
5.3.3.1 Wet scrubbers
Before the flue gases enter the scrubber, the gases are filtered. The gases are filtered off the fly
ash. After the filtering the flue gases enters a large vessel, this is the spray tower or absorber.

Fig. 5.4: A wet scrubber

There the gases are sprayed with water slurry, which is containing approximately 10% lime or
limestone. The calcium in the slurry reacts with the SO2 to form calcium sulfite or calcium
sulfate. A portion of the slurry from the reaction tank is pumped into a thickener, where the
solids settle before going to a filter for final dewatering to about 50 percent solids. The calcium
sulfite waste product is usually mixed with fly ash and disposed of in landfills. Alternatively,
gypsum can be produced from the waste. Gypsum is a useful by-product. The efficiency of a
wet scrubber can be up to 90-95 % and higher. There have been reports of efficiencies of
99,99% of removal. The total costs of a wet scrubber are around 60-130 euro/kW [5.15].

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4P570 Energy Conversion 2 October 2003

5.3.3.2 Dry scrubber

In dry scrubbers, calcium hydroxide slurry is introduced into a spray dryer tower. The slurry is
atomized and injected (close to saturation) into the flue gases. There, the droplets react with SO2
as they evaporate in the vessel. The resulting dry by-product is collected in the bottom of the
spray dryer and in a filter.

Fig. 5.5

These byproducts are the same as when wet scrubbing is used. The efficiency of a dry scrubber
is less than for a wet scrubber. Typical values are 70-90 %. The capital costs of a dry scrubber
system are 100-150 euro/kW [5.16]. A dry scrubber system is simpler and easier to operate and
maintain.

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4P570 Energy Conversion 2 October 2003

Literature
The following literature was used for Chapter 1:
[1.1]
[1.2]

William S. Janna, Engineering heat transfer, 2nd ed., London : Van Nostrand
Reinhold, 2000
Arthur P. Fraas, Heat exchanger design, 2nd ed., Chichester : Wiley-Interscience,
1989

The following literature was used for Chapter 2

[2.1]
[2.2]
[2.3]
[2.4]

Process heat Exchange, edited by Vincent Cavaseno and the staff of Chemical
Engineering, 1979, New York.
The CRC Handbook of Thermal Engineering, editor-in-chief Frank Kreith, 2000,
U.S.A.
Engineering Heat Transfer, by William S.Janna, 2000, U.S.A.
The Internet site of API Heat Transferworld leaders in heat transfer technology

The following literature was used for Chapter 3

[3.1]
[3.2]
[3.3]
[3.4]

[3.5]

Fouling of Heat Exchangers

B.A. Garrett-Price et al.
1985 (New Jersey)
Heat Exchangers; Selection, design and construction
E.A.D. Saunders
1988 (New York)
A New Heat Exchanger Design
www.eee.kcl.ac.uk/mecheng/sb/fouling/DDEFORM_HX.pdf
No More Fouling: The Spiral Heat Exchanger
http://www.process-heating.com/CDA/ArticleInformation
/coverstory/BNPCoverStoryItem/0,3154,18383,00.html
Automatic Tube Brushing (ATB) Systems
http://www.fbhx-usa.com/ATB1.html

The following literature was used for Chapter 4

[4.1]

Basu Prabir, Kefa Cen , Jestin Louis , Boilers and Burners , Springer Verlag New York
2000

[4.2]

Wakil-El M M , Power Plant Technology, McGraw-Hill, London, 1984

The following literature was used for Chapter 5

[5.1]
[5.2]
[5.3]
[5.4]

Alcoa in Australia
http://www.alcoa.com/australia/en/info_page/boiler.asp
Vales Point Power Station
http://www.de.com.au/Online/Default.asp?DeptID=192
Babcock & Wilcox News
http://www.babcock.com/pgg/pr/bwbcpuch.html
Archive Housing Service TU/e:
Drawing 21B67016:
Heetwaterketel 20 samenstellingtekening

44

[5.5]
[5.6]
[5.7]
[5.8]
[5.9]
[5.10]
[5.11]
[5.12]
[5.13]
[5.14]
[5.15]
[5.16]

4P570 Energy Conversion 2 October 2003

Archive Housing Service TU/e:

Bedrijfs- en bedieningsvoorschriften betreffende heetwaterinstallatie in gebouw Ceres.
Archive Housing Service TU/e:
Stookrapport ketel 8, 5-10-2000
R.J.M. Van Herk, Maintenance operator of the Housing Service at the TU/e
Air pollution control for industrial boiler systems.
http://www.babcock.com/pgg/tt/pdf/BR-1624.pdf
Overzicht van EU-beleid
http://eu-milieubeleid.nl/ch06.html
B&Ws Experience reducing NOx-emissions in Tangentially Fired Boilers
http://www.babcock.com/pgg/tt/pdf/BR-1726.pdf
B&Ws Low NOx Burner operating Experience
http://www.babcock.com/pgg/tt/pdf/BR-1684.pdf
Advanced Overfire Air System for Stoker Boilers and furnaces
http://www.oit.doe.gov/inventions/factsheets/berkau.pdf
Air staging for NOx control (Overfire Air (OFA) or two-stage combustion)
http://www.iea-coal.org.uk/CCTdatabase/airstag.htm
Flue gas re-circulation for NOx control - Clean Coal Technologies
http://www.iea-coal.co.uk/site/database/cct%20databases/fgr.htm
Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization
http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/em/power/EA/mitigatn/aqsowet.stm
Dry Flue Gas Desulfurization
http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/em/power/EA/mitigatn/aqsodry.stm