2019 International Conference on Computing, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies – iCoMET 2019
Optimization of Fuel in Saturated Steam Boiler
through Preheating of Controlled Air-Fuel Mixture
Uzair Ibrahim*
Dept. of Chemical and Material Engineering
National University of Sciences and Technology
Islamabad, Pakistan
Uibrahim_che07@scme.nust.edu.pk
Abstract— Energy saving is an important concern in every
industrial process that could be achieved by fuel optimization.
Significant part of operating cost of any industrial process is
associated with the fuel consumption. Therefore, a little
optimization in fuel consumption can lead to a significant energy
saving and lower operational costs along with reduced
greenhouse gas emissions. In this study the goal of fuel
optimization has been achieved by improving the efficiency of the
boiler. The air to fuel ratio has been optimized along with pre-
mixing of air and fuel before it is introduced to the furnace. The
boiler assembly has been modified by adding an air preheater
that preheats the air- fuel mixture to 93oC. The use of preheated
air-fuel mixture at this temperature improves the boiler
efficiency by 4%. Simulation on ASPEN HYSYS® was
performed to validate all the results and it also showed 4.92%
reduction in fuel demand, thus making the process more
economical.
Keywords—Optimization; Boiler Efficiency; Air-Fuel Mix-
ture; Air Preheater; Air to Fuel Ratio; Flue Gases
I. INTRODUCTION
High efficiencies and low greenhouse gas emission along
with energy saving are the main goals of boiler optimization.
Steam boilers are used in most of the industrial processes
including power plants, food industry, pharmaceuticals, fer-
tilizers and refineries etc., [1]. Around 78% of these boilers use
natural gas as fuel for production of steam. According to a
survey, more than 50,000 industrial boilers are operating in the
United States that accounts for approximately 30% of the total
operating cost of a process. Moreover, the flue gases produced
as a result of fuel burning are the prominent source of
greenhouse gases. Therefore, optimization of fuel in boiler is
important for protecting the environment and reducing the
energy consumption [2].
Fire tube boilers are extensively used in industry for steam
generation and heating purposes, making it one of the most
energy consuming equipment [3]. Most of the fire tube boilers
utilizes 75-80% of fuel supplied to furnace while rest is lost as
unburnt fuel in flue gases, making the process highly energy
intensive. This also results in the production of the flue gases
with high carbon and NOx content. Since both the fuel and flue
gases are in same phases, it is not possible to completely
recover the fuel from the stack flue gases. Therefore, one of the
978-1-5386-9509-8/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
Sarah Farrukh
Dept. of Chemical and Material Engineering
National University of Sciences and Technology
Islamabad, Pakistan
sarah@scme.nust.edu.pk
way to ensure optimization of fuel is to improve the efficiency
of the fire tube boiler to get maximum fuel combustion.
Many studies are conducted to improve the efficiency of
industrial boiler that will also reduce the fuel consumption thus
making the process more economical and environmental
friendly [4]–[9]. Multi-objective optimization method via
genetic algorithm can be used to optimize a fire tube steam
generator [10]–[12]. Air to fuel ratio plays a significant role in
combustion process. Considering the importance of complete
combustion in boiler furnace Santso et al. designed a fuzzy
logic controller that regulates the air to fuel ratio (AFR) to
ensure complete combustion [13]. Excess air is one of the
reason of energy losses in boiler, since it reduces the flame
temperature and increases the amount of flue gases produced
[14]. Therefore the optimization of excess air can significantly
improves the boiler efficiency and can reduce the production
flue gases. For that purpose a fuzzy logic controller will
provide better control than a classical PI controller [15]. To
further improve the performance of steam boilers a genetic
fuzzy controller can be utilized to control steam/water temper-
ature in addition to water level. Hassanein et al. showed that
the use of a genetic fuzzy controller gives reliable dynamic
performance in fire tube heat boiler [16]. Similarly, the overall
performance of a steam boiler can be enhanced by minimizing
its total life-cycle costs using linear programming models [5].
These models are developed to increase the savings up to 30%
by determining the optimum design parameters of a steam
boiler working on different fuels and steam demands. In
boilers, most of the energy is lost in the waste streams such as
boiler blow down and stack flue gases. The fuel can be
optimize by reducing the energy losses in waste streams.
Vandani et al. conducted a details energy and exergy analysis
on boiler blow down recovery [17]. GA and PSO optimization
algorithms were used to increase the efficiency of the whole
system. The utilization of a pressure vessel for blow down
recovery resulted in increased net power of 0.72% along with
an increase in energy and exergy efficiency of the system by
0.23% and 0.22%, respectively. Moreover, mathematical
models are also developed to optimize the energy losses in
boilers working together in unison at different heat loads [18].
An optimum air to fuel ratio is needed in the furnace to attain
complete combustion. Excess air is supplied to the furnace for
rapid combustion of fuel, however if the amount of excess air
exceeds the optimum point it reduce the boiler efficiency.
 Therefore, optimization of excess air in air-fuel mixture is
very important. Different methods are used to optimize the air
to fuel ratio, thus improving the thermal efficiency and
environmental performance of steam boilers [14]. In addition
to amount, the temperature of air-fuel mixture (or excess air)
effects the efficiency of boiler. Excess cold air entering the
combustion chamber results in an increase of carbon monoxide
(CO) emission due to quenching of combustion and combus-
tion products, serving as an indication of poor combustion
efficiency [19]. It was found that supply of hot combustion air
to the furnace increases the furnace temperature as well as its
efficiency [20], [21]. In fact with every 20oC increase in
temperature of combustion air, the efficiency of the boiler
increases by 1% [22]. Therefore, preheating of air-fuel mixture
can be utilize to achieve high combustion efficiencies and
reduced CO emissions.
In this study, the efficiency of the process is increased by
utilizing the energy of stack flue gases emitted from the outlet
of boiler economizer. As mentioned above, preheating of
combustion air can improve the efficiency of the boiler
therefore, an air preheater is designed to preheat the air-fuel
mixture to 93oC. Moreover, air and fuel is uniformly mixed
prior to combustion and an optimum air to fuel ratio is also
determined through ASPEN HYSYS® to ensure maximum
combustion. Thus, by mixing of air and fuel along with
preheating of air-fuel mixture, efficiency of boiler is increased
while utilizing most of the fuel energy. Simulation of the
process was also performed on ASPEN HYSYS® to verify the
results.
II. PROCESS DESCRIPTION
A fire tube boiler is currently producing 9 ton/hr of
saturated steam at 184oC and 11 bar. Figure 1 shows the
process flow diagram of the boiler.
Fig. 1. Process Flow Diagram
5943 kg/hr of steam condensate at 86.4oC from the industry
along with 3500 kg/hr of makeup water at 25oC is fed to the
deaerator. 557 kg/hr of saturated steam at 184oC is injected in
deaerated to remove the unwanted gases from the water. The
addition of steam reduces the solubility of gases in water, as a
result the gases are separated from liquid and then removed
through the vent. The deaerated water enters the economizer
where it is heated to 140oC using the heat of flue gases coming
from the boiler. During the heat exchange, the temperature of
water in the shell side is increased from 100oC to 140oC and
flue gases are cooled from 292oC to 159oC in the tube side of
economizer. This water (Boiler Feed Water BFW) then enters
the boiler where it converted to saturated steam at 11 bar
pressure using the combustion heat of natural gas. To remove
the dissolved solids from BFW, chemical water is also added in
the boiler. The operations in boiler produced 9557 kg/hr of
steam while the remaining water along with solids is
blowdown at a rate of 443 kg/hr. In furnace, natural gas used as
the fuel is burn in the presence of 15% excess air producing
flue gases that flow in the tubes of the fire tube boiler. The heat
of the flue gases is used to produce steam and the flue gases
leave the boiler at 292oC and enters the economizer from where
it is exhausted at 153oC after transferring heat to BFW.
The fire tube boiler assembly proposed for optimize fuel
consumption has an air-fuel mixer followed by an air preheater
installed in the original assembly as shown in Fig.2.
Fig. 2. Proposed Process Flow Diagram
In the proposed assembly, the air and fuel streams are first
mixed together to make a homogenous mixture. The air to fuel
ratio is also modified and 10% excess air is used instead of
15%. The air-fuel mixture is preheated to 93oC in air preheater
and then fed to furnace. The temperature of flue gases is
reduced from 153oC to 102oC which is above the condensation
point of flue gases. This new assembly improves the boilers
efficiency to 83%.
III. SOFTWARE
Fig.3. shows simulation of the process performed on
ASPEN HYSYS®.
 TABLE I. COMPONENT SELECTED FOR SIMULATION

No. Component Formula Type

1 Methane CH4 Pure Component
2 Ethane C2H6 Pure Component
3 Oxygen O2 Pure Component
4 n-Hexane C6H14 Pure Component
5 Nitrogen N2 Pure Component
Carbon
6 CO Pure Component
monoxide
7 Water H2O Pure Component
8 Carbon dioxide CO2 Pure Component
9 Argon Ar Pure Component
10 Hydrogen H2 Pure Component

Fig. 3. ASPEN HYSYS based Simulation of Process TABLE II. COMPOSITION OF BOILER FUEL

No. Component Formula Mass

The process was simulated on ASPEN HYSYS® that is a percentage
simulation software used to mathematically model the chem- 1 Methane CH4 63.02
ical processes. It is used in chemical engineering to solve
complex process problems being heat and mass transfers, mass 2 Nitrogen N2 29.71
and energy balances, vapor-liquid equilibrium, chemical 3 Carbon dioxide CO2 0.36
kinetics, equipment designing etc,. In ASPEN interface, 4 Ethane C2H6 1.08
energy, material and work streams are used to link different
unit operations and processes that are designated by blocks. 5 n-Hexane C6H14 0.011
ASPEN holds a diverse database of physical, chemical and 6 Argon Ar 1.8
thermodynamic properties for a number of chemicals that
allows the user to pick any chemical species to perform
calculation. Simulation on ASPEN HYSYS® can be performed η = Q ∗ (H − h)/q ∗ GCV
by specifying (1) any three parameters of inlet streams like
where,
temperature, pressure, composition (2) Operating conditions of
unit operations and (3) Heat or work performed on blocks [23]. η = Thermal efficiency of boiler
Optimization, designing and modeling of any chemical process
can be performed on ASPEN HYSYS®. Q = Mass of boiler feed water (kg/hr)

For our case, “Peng Robinson” was selected as fluid
package for steam production. This package was selected
because of the presence of water along with flue gases
containing ethane, methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen,
carbon monoxide etc. It is best suited fluid package for high
pressure water system and hydrocarbons. Table I shows the
components selected for simulation.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
For the production of saturated steam at a pressure of 11
bar, natural gas mixed with combustion air is used as a fuel.
Table II shows the composition of natural gas used as fuel.
The current boiler assembly utilizes 772 kg/hr of fuel with
15% excess air to produce 9557 kg/hr of saturated steam from
BFW entering at 140◦C. Thermal efficiency of current fire tube
boiler was found to be
H = Enthalpy of steam (kJ/kg)
h = Enthalpy of boiler feed water (kJ/kg)
q = Mass of fuel (kg/hr)
GCV = Gross Calorific Value of fuel (kJ/kg)
η = 10000 ∗ (2779.66 − 589.2)/772 ∗ 35103
η = 79%
In the proposed assembly 734 kg/hr of fuel in used instead
of 772 kg/hr. Instead of introducing fuel and air as separate
streams, both air and fuel are mixed together to form a
homogenous mixture. Using ASPEN HYSYS it was found that
using 10% excess air improves the quality of fuel gas along
with an increase of 1% in boiler efficiency. The composition of
flue gas produced with 10% excess air is shown in table III.
 TABLE III. COMPOSITION OF FLUE GAS η = Q ∗ (H − h)/q ∗ GCV
No. Component Formula Mass where,
percentage
1 Methane CH4 0.92 η = Thermal efficiency of boiler
2 Nitrogen N2 75.27 Q = Mass of boiler feed water (kg/hr)
3 Carbon dioxide CO2 7.77 H = Enthalpy of steam (kJ/kg)
4 Oxygen O2 1.57 h = Enthalpy of boiler feed water (kJ/kg)
5 Carbon monoxide CO 1.06 q = Mass of fuel (kg/hr)
6 Argon Ar 0.12
GCV = Gross Calorific Value of fuel (kJ/kg)
7 Water H 2O 15.29

The energy released during combustion of natural gas was η = 10000 ∗ (2779.66 − 589.2)/734 ∗ 35920
found using GCV of fuel. η = 83%
In the proposed assembly, 734 kg/hr of fuel is consumed
Q = 0.88 ∗ q ∗ GCV instead of 772 kg/hr. the reduction in the fuel consumption is
achieved by adjusting the air to fuel ratio and installing an air
where, preheater. Air preheater has enhanced the boilers efficiency by
3% while the optimization of air-fuel ratio has improved the
Q = Energy released by fuel (kJ/hr) boilers efficiency by 1%. Overall, the proposed assembly has
q = Mass of fuel (kg/hr) improved the efficiency of boiler by 4%. Moreover, most of the
energy is extracted from the flue gases before it is wasted. The
GCV = Gross Calorific Value (kJ/kg) extraction of flue gas energy and increased boiler efficiency
has reduced the fuel consumption by 4.92%.
Q = 0.88 ∗ 828 ∗ 35920
V. CONCLUSION
Q = 2.32X107kJ/hr In this study, the objective of fuel optimization is achieved
A part of this heat energy is utilized to convert 9557 kg/hr by increasing the efficiency of fire tube boiler and extracting
of BFW to saturated steam. Flue gases holding rest of energy the maximum energy from stack flue gases. The air-fuel
leaves the boiler at 292◦C. These flue gases exchange heat with mixture is introduced to furnace instead of separate air and fuel
BFW in the economizer and leaves the equipment at 153◦C. streams. Moreover, the air to fuel ratio is also optimized by
The heat exchange between BFW and flue gases in economizer reducing the excess air from 15% to 10%, thus improving the
is quality of flue gases. An air preheater is also proposed that
consumes the energy of stack flue gases to preheat the air-fuel
Q = m ∗ Cp ∗ δT mixture to 93oC. The use of preheated air fuel mixture at
where, modified air to fuel ratio improves the boiler efficiency by
4%. The improved efficiency has resulted in optimization of
Q = Heat released (kJ/hr) fuel consumption by reducing the fuel need by 4.92%. Thus,
m = Mass flow rate of flue gases (kg/hr) installing air preheated coupled with modified air to fuel ratio
has increased the boilers efficiency by reducing the fuel
Cp = Specific heat capacity (kJ/kg.K) consumption and extracting the maximum energy from stack
flue gases.
δT = Temperature difference (K)

Q = 1.01X106 kJ/hr
δT = m ∗ Cp/Q
This heat is utilized in air preheater to increase the air-
fuel mixture temperature from 27oC to 93oC, thus improving
the efficiency by 3%. The flue gases exit the air preheater at
102oC. Thus the flue gases are exhaust at 102oC above its
condensation point.
The efficiency of proposed boiler was found to be
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