Low NOx Technology Seminar

Sponsored by
The Gas Company
April 30 th, 2003
Downey,CA
David Thornock

Johnston Burner Company

Presentation Overview
• Who is Johnston Burner Company
• Overview of the FIR Burner
– Burner design
– Demonstrations and Installations
• Summary

Johnston Burner Company

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 Johnston Burner Products
• “AR” Burner
– Low NOx – 30-25 PPM
NOx on NG • “J” Burner
– Standard – 60-80 PPM NOx – Standard – 60-80 PPM NOx
on NG on NG
• “A” Burner
– Low NOx – 30 PPM NOx • “FIR” Burner
on NG
– Low NOx – Under 9 PPM
– Standard – 90-110 PPM
NOx on NG (Gas only
NOx on NG
burner)
• “S” Burner
– Low NOx – 30 PPM NOx
on NG
– Standard – 90-110 PPM
NOX on NG
Johnston Burner Company

FIR BURNER
Johnston Burner Company
• Burner was developed at the
Gas Technology Institute
• Licensed Technology to
Johnston Boiler Co. for
Firetube Market
• Funded by SMP, GRI,
SoCalGas, and DOE
• Retrofit or new
• Premixed staged combustion
• Forced internal recirculation
• No efficiency loss
• Lowest cost premium

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 Johnston’s FIR Burner
• The FIR Burner was chosen to address the
Under 20 PPM to Under 9 PPM NO x
requirement
• Gas only applications
• Targeted towards the non-attainment areas
like California, Texas, and isolated areas on
the east coast
• We are using the FIR burner for new and
retrofit applications
Johnston Burner Company

FIR Burner Cross Section

High Velocity Premixed Nozzle

Pilot
Assembly

Gas
Supply
Recirculation Sleeve

Air
Inlet

Johnston Burner Company

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 FIR Burner Mechanics
High Velocity Premixed Nozzle

Flue Gas Recirculation

Recirculation Sleeve

Johnston Burner Company

FIR Burner Installations

• The FIR Burner has been installed and tested on 3

different Firetube Boilers
– Vandenberg AFB 50 hp Kewanee
– GTI’s Laboratory 250 hp Johnston 2-pass Ohio Special
– Fullerton College (2) 250 hp Johnston 4-pass boilers
• An 800 hp FIR burner has been tested at Johnston
and we are now in the process of building and
testing a 900 hp

Johnston Burner Company

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 VANDENBERG AFB
DEMO

Firetube Boiler
20 vppm NOx

Johnston Burner Company

FIRETUBE BOILER
DEMONSTRATION
• SITE: Vandenberg AFB in
Santa Barbara County,
California
• Pilot site for ENVVEST
program (EPA/DoD
partnership to achieve
regulatory compliance via
pollution prevention)
• 45 firebox and firetube
boilers located at site

Johnston Burner Company

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 FIR Firetube Boiler
Demonstration
• BOILER: 2.5 X 106 Btu/h
Kewanee firetube
• Burner fabricated by
Detroit Stoker Company

• >1800 hours unattended operation

for >2300 cycles
• Meets all emissions targets
• Continue to monitor and address
long-term reliability

Johnston Burner Company

Firetube Boiler:
NOx BEFORE AND AFTER
100

80
Uncontrolled
NOx, vppm

60

40

20 with FIR burner

0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5

Firing Rate, X 106 Btu/h

Johnston Burner Company

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 FIR BURNER

Johnston Burner Company

The FIR Burner on

Johnston’s 2-Pass Ohio Special

• Challenging application because of the

Boiler design
– A 70 hp boiler that is fired at 250 hp
– Typically a smaller furnace
– Typically a larger pressure drop

Johnston Burner Company

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Installed at GTI’s Lab running at 250 hp 4.2% O2 and 11 PPM NO x

Johnston Burner Company

Johnston Burner Company

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 Fullerton College
• (2) 250 hp boilers used for heating
• 15# steam design
• Gas firing only
• Requires under 12 ppm NOx

Johnston Burner Company

Fullerton College

Johnston Burner Company

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 Fullerton College

Johnston Burner Company

Fullerton College
• Load Requirements
– Seasonal heating load with winter the highest
and summer non-existent
– Early morning largest day load
– Load tapers off in the afternoon and evening

Johnston Burner Company

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 Fullerton College
Operating Results
NOx Performance Comparison

100.0

90.0
NOx Corrected to 3%O2 (PPM)

80.0

70.0

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0 Old Kewanee 200hp

20.0 New Johnston 250 hp

10.0

0.0
Min 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Firing Pin Number

Johnston Burner Company

Fullerton College
Operating Results
Oxygen Performance Comparison

8.0

7.0

6.0
( % by volume Dry)..

5.0
Oxygen

4.0

3.0

2.0
Old Kewanee 200hp
1.0 New Johnston 250 hp

0.0
Min 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Firing Pin Number

Johnston Burner Company

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 Fullerton College
Operating Results
Stack Temperature Comparison
400.0
Stack Temperature (F) ...

350.0

300.0

250.0

200.0

150.0

100.0

Old Kewanee 200hp

50.0
New Johnston 250 hp
0.0
Min 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Firing Pin Number

Johnston Burner Company

Fullerton College
Operating Results
Efficiency Comparison
86.0

85.0
Efficiency (%)

84.0

83.0

82.0

Old Kewanee 200hp

81.0
New Johnston 250 hp

80.0
Min 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Firing Pin Number

Johnston Burner Company

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Thermal Efficiency and Excess Air
84.5

84.0

Boiler Thermal Efficiency 83.5

83.0

82.5

82.0 250 Hp Johnston Boiler

Operating at 10 psig

81.5

81.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Excess Air (%)

Johnston Burner Company

Dry Gas Loss and Excess Air

300,000
Dry Gas Incremental Energy Loss

250 Hp Johnston Boiler

250,000
Operating at 10 psig

200,000
(Btu/hr)

150,000

100,000

50,000

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Excess Air (%)

Johnston Burner Company

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 Summary
• The FIR Burner is an Efficient solution for
Firetube Boiler Low NOx applications
(under 10 ppm)
– Burner operation at 4% O2 through travel
– Simple controls
– Standard boiler packages
• The FIR burner optimizes energy use:
– No external FGR
– No need for large hp fans to push extra FGR or
Excess Air

Johnston Burner Company

Summary
• The FIR burner has now been demonstrated
for small firetube boiler applications
50 – 250 hp
• Will be extended to 1000 hp this summer
and installed in Houston
• GTI and Johnston Burner company are
committed to move the FIR Burner and all
of its benefits into the firetube market place

Johnston Burner Company

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