12/25/2011

Prof. Osama El Masry

The following specifications are required to provide full

information about a boiler.
(a) Steam pressure,
(b) Steam quality or the superheat temperature,
(c) Type of fuel used,
(d) Type of draught used, and
(e) The firing method.

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• Direct method – ―Input-Output method‖

The energy gain of the working fluid (water
and steam) is compared with the energy
content of the boiler fuel
• Indirect method – ―Heat Loss method‖
The efficiency is the difference between the
losses and the energy input

Advantages of direct method:

 Plant people can evaluate quickly the efficiency of boilers
 Requires few parameters for computation
 Needs few instruments for monitoring

Disadvantages of direct method:

 Does not give clues to the operator as to why efficiency of system is lower
 Does not calculate various losses accountable for various efficiency levels

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• When water is boiled in the boiler, the

concentration of the dissolved solids tend to
increase in the boiler.
• When their concentration reach a level, their
solubility in the water is exceeded and they
deposit from the solution.
• The deposits also lead to scale formation
inside the boiler, resulting in localized
overheating and finally causing boiler tube
failure.

 Kinds of blow down – intermittent blow down and

continuous blow down

Benefits of Blowdown
Significant reduction in treatment and operational costs that
include:
– Lower pre-treatment costs
– Less make-up water consumption
– Reduced maintenance downtime
– Increased boiler life
– Lower consumption of treatment chemicals

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All natural waters contain dissolved gases in

solution. Certain gases, such as carbon
dioxide and oxygen, greatly increase
corrosion. When heated in boiler systems,
carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) are
released as gases and combine with water
(H2O) to form carbonic acid, (H2CO3)
 Removal of dissolved gases, such as oxygen
and carbon dioxide, is called as de-aeration
 Two types of de-aeration – Mechanical &
Chemical

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The quantity of dry saturated steam that could

be generated by the boiler per unit time from
water at 100 C (at a pressure corresponding to
100 C saturation temperature) is known as 
equivalent evaporation. The quantity of heat
supplied by the boiler to each kg of steam is
2256.1 KJ under the above – mentioned
conditions.

• Consider a boiler generating m, kg of steam per hour at a

pressure p and Temperature T .

Let h = enthalpy of steam per kg under the generating conditions

Then h = hf +hfg for dry saturated steam at pressure p
h = hf+ xhfg for wet steam at pressure p with dryness x
h = hf+x hfg+Cp (Tsup – Ts) steam at pressure p and
temperature Tsup
Let hf1 =Specific enthalpy of water at given feed water
temperature.

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Then the heat gained by the steam from the boiler per unit time
=ms (h-hf1), kJ
 The equivalent evaporation from the definition is obtained as

me = (1)

me/ms = (2)

 The boiler efficiency is the ratio of heat absorbed by

the steam from the boiler per unit time to the heat
liberated by the combustion of fuel in the furnace
during the same time.
Boiler efficiency= (3)
where
ms = Mass of steam generated in kg./hr.
mf = Mass of fuel burned in kg./hr.
C.V. = Calorific value of fuel in KJ/Kg.

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 The boiler efficiency is the ratio of heat absorbed by

the steam from the boiler per unit time to the heat
liberated by the combustion of fuel in the furnace
during the same time.
Boiler efficiency= (3)
where
ms = Mass of steam generated in kg./hr.
mf = Mass of fuel burned in kg./hr.
C.V. = Calorific value of fuel in KJ/Kg.

Heat supplied by fuel is given as:

a. Heat used to generate steam
b. Percentage heat loss due to dry flue gas
c. Percentage heat loss due to evaporation of moisture present in fuel
d. Percentage heat loss due to incomplete combustion
e. Percentage heat loss due to unburnt fuel
f. Percentage heat loss due to radiation and other unaccounted loss

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The various ways in which heat is lost plant are listed below:
(a) Heat used to generate steam
Q1=ms(h-hf)

(b) Heat lost to flue gases.

Q2=mg Cpg(Tg-Ta)
Where
mg = Mass of gases formed per kg of fuel.
Cpg = Specific heat of gases
Tg =Temperature of the gases C.
Ta = Temperature of air entering the combustion chamber of the boiler.

(c) Heat carried by the steam in the flue gases,

Q3=m3(hg1-hf1)
where
m3 =Mass of steam formed per kg of fuel due to the
combustion of H2 in the furnace
hf 1 =Enthalpy of water at boiler house temperature.
hg1 =Enthalpy of steam at the gas temperature and at a partial
pressure of steam vapor in the gas .

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(d) Heat Loss Due to Incomplete Combustion

If the carbon burns into CO instead of CO2 it is known as
incomplete combustion. One kg. of carbon releases 10132 KJ
of heat if burns to CO whereas it can release 33829 KJ if it
burns to CO2 .The heat loss due to incomplete combustion of
one kg of carbon is 33829-10132 =23697 KJ. The presence of
CO in the flue gases indicates incomplete combustion of fuel.

If the percentages of CO and CO2 in flue gases by volume are

known, then carbon burnt to CO instead of CO2 per kg of fuel
is given by
Mass of carbon burnt to CO =

(d) Heat Loss Due to Incomplete Combustion (cont.)

Where CO and CO2 are expressed as % by volume in flue
gases and C as the fraction of carbon in one kg of fuel.

Heat lost due to incomplete combustion of carbon per kg of fuel

= x 23697

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(e) Heat Lost Due to Unburnt Fuel

Small particles of carbon falls through the grate bars or

carried with the fly ash and clinker. The heat loss due
to unburnt fuel is given by
Q5=mf1 x C.V.
Where mf1 is the mass of unburnt fuel per kg of fuel
used

(f) Convection and Radiation Losses

heat is lost to the atmosphere by convection and radiation. The
total of the heat losses given by the above equations and the
heat gained by the steam per kg of fuel is deducted from the
heat released per kg of fuel. This difference is accounted for as
heat loss by convection and radiation.

Q6= Qs-(a+b+c+d+e)
Heat balance can also be worked out on minute or hour
basis from a knowledge of fuel burnt per hour and the steam
generated per hour.

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 Heat Balance Sheet is a systematic representation of

heat release and heat distribution on minute, hour or per
kg of fuel basic. Performance of heat balance sheet is
shown in table.

Boiler Heat Balance Sheet

Heat kJ % Heat Utilization kJ %

supplied

Heat
supplied by a) Heat used to generate
Qs=mf x C.V. 100% Q1=ms(h-hf) x100
fuel steam

b) Heat carried by dry

Q2=mg Cpg(Tg-Ta) x100
flue gases
c) Heat carried by steam
Q3=m3(hg1-hf1) x100
in flue gases
d) Heat lost due to
Q4=mf x x23697
incomplete combustion x100
e) Heat lost due to
Q5=mf1 x C.V. x100
unburned fuel

f) Heat unaccounted for Q6= Qs-(a+b+c+d+e) x100

Total 100%

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Boiler efficiency is improved by the reduction of the

losses
 Stack temperature - The stack temperature
should be as low as possible.
 Feed water pre-heating using economiser –
every 5 oC in feed water temperature, efficiency
improvement by 1%
 Combustion air pre-heat – Every 20 oC rise in
air temperature, efficiency improvement by 1%
 Incomplete combustion

 Excess air control - 5% reduction in excess air

increases boiler efficiency by 1%
 Radiation & convection losses
 Automatic blow down control
 Reduction of scaling and soot losses - It is
estimated that 3 mm of soot can cause an
increase in fuel consumption by 2.5%

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 Reduction in boiler steam pressure

 Variable speed control for fans, blowers &
pumps
 Effect of boiler loading & efficiency
 Proper boiler scheduling
 Boiler replacement

1. Monitoring Steam Traps

◦ Condensate Discharge

2. Avoiding Steam Leakages

• Leakage from a 3 mm dia hole on a 7 kg/cm2
steam pipeline, wastage of 33 kL of fuel/year

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3. Providing Dry Steam for Process

• Best steam for industrial process heating is dry
saturated steam.
• Wet steam reduces total heat in steam.
• Wet steam reduces heat transfer rate by
forming a wet film and also overloads the traps
and condensate system.
• Progressive condensation as steam flows in
pipelines, due to poor insulation.
• Installation of steam separators in steam lines.

4. Utilising steam at lowest acceptable

pressure for the process
• Latent heat of steam increases with reduction in
steam pressures.
• Also lower the steam pressure, lower is the
steam temperature.
• There is a limit to the reduction of steam
pressure.

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5. Proper Utilisation of Directly Injected

Steam
• Heating of liquid by direct injection of steam is
most desirable.
• No condensate recovery system required,
heating is quick, and sensible heat in steam is
also utilised, thus it is thermally efficient.
• Ideally injected steam should condense
completely.
• Some processes, dilution and agitation are not
accepted.

6. Minimising Heat Transfer Barriers

• Air is 1500 times more
resistant to heat
transfer than steel and
13,000 times more
resistant than copper.

• Air is probably the best

heat insulator ever
known.

• Hence, air trapping is

very essential.

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7. Condensate Recovery
 For every 6 oC rise in boiler feed water
temperature, approximately about 1 % saving in
fuel can be envisaged.
 With good condensate recovery system,
appreciable amount can be saved for water
treatment.

8. Insulation of Steam Pipelines and Hot

Process Equipments
 Heat is lost due to convection and radiation from
steam pipelines and hot process equipments.
 Provide easily detachable insulation covers for
flanges and valves.
 Various Insulation materials used are Cork, Glass
wool, Rock wool and Asbestos.

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9. Flash Steam Recovery

 Flash steam is produced when condensate at a high
pressure is released to a lower pressure and can be
used for low pressure heating.
 Flash steam quantity = S1—S2
L2
Where: S1 is the sensible heat of higher pressure
condensate.
S2 is the sensible heat of the steam at lower
pressure (at which it has been flashed).
L2 is the latent heat of flash steam (at lower
pressure).

 Flash steam can be used on low pressure

applications like direct injection.
 The demand for flash steam should exceed its
supply to avoid build up of pressure in the flash
vessel.
 The flash vessel should allow considerable drop in
velocity for the condensate to fall to the bottom of
the vessel.
 The height of flash vessel should be sufficient
enough to avoid water being carried over in the
flash steam.

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