Training Session on Energy

Equipment

Boilers & Thermic

Thermal Equipment/

Fluid Heaters
Boilers

www.energyefficiencyasia.org

1
 Training Agenda: Boiler

Introduction
Thermal Equipment/

Type of boilers
Boilers

Assessment of a boiler
Energy efficiency opportunities

2
© UNEP 2006
 Introduction

What is a Boiler?
Thermal Equipment/

• Vessel that heats water to become

hot water or steam
Boilers

• At atmospheric pressure water

volume increases 1,600 times
• Hot water or steam used to transfer
heat to a process

3
© UNEP 2006
 Introduction

STEAM TO
EXHAUST GAS VENT
PROCESS
Thermal Equipment/

STACK DEAERATOR

PUMPS

ECO-
Boilers

NOMI-
ZER

VENT
BOILER
BURNER
WATER
SOURCE
BLOW DOWN
SEPARATOR FUEL

BRINE

CHEMICAL FEED
SOFTENERS
4
Figure: Schematic overview of a boiler room © UNEP 2006
 Training Agenda: Boiler

Introduction
Thermal Equipment/

Type of boilers
Boilers

Assessment of a boiler
Energy efficiency opportunities

5
© UNEP 2006
 Types of Boilers

What Type of Boilers Are There?

Thermal Equipment/

1. Fire Tube Boiler

2. Water Tube Boiler
Boilers

3. Packaged Boiler
4. Fluidized Bed (FBC) Boiler
5. Stoker Fired Boiler
6. Pulverized Fuel Boiler
7. Waste Heat Boiler
8. Thermic Fluid Heater (not a boiler!)
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© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

1. Fire Tube Boiler

Thermal Equipment/

• Relatively small steam

Boilers

capacities (12,000
kg/hour)
• Low to medium steam
pressures (18 kg/cm2)
• Operates with oil, gas
or solid fuels

(Light Rail Transit Association) 7

© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

2. Water Tube Boiler

Thermal Equipment/

• Used for high steam

demand and pressure
requirements
Boilers

• Capacity range of 4,500

– 120,000 kg/hour
• Combustion efficiency
enhanced by induced
draft provisions
• Lower tolerance for
water quality and needs
(Your Dictionary.com) water treatment plant 8
© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

3. Packaged Boiler • Comes in complete

package
Thermal Equipment/

To • Features
Chimney
• High heat transfer
Boilers

• Faster evaporation
• Good convective
heat transfer
• Good combustion
Oil
efficiency
Burner
• High thermal
efficiency
(BIB Cochran, 2003) • Classified based on
number of passes
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© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

4. Fluidized Bed Combustion

Thermal Equipment/

(FBC) Boiler
• Particles (e.g. sand) are suspended in high
velocity air stream: bubbling fluidized bed
Boilers

• Combustion at 840° – 950° C

• Capacity range 0,5 T/hr to 100 T/hr
• Fuels: coal, washery rejects, rice husk, bagasse
and agricultural wastes
• Benefits: compactness, fuel flexibility, higher
combustion efficiency, reduced SOx & NOx
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© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

4a. Atmospheric Fluidized Bed

Combustion (AFBC) Boiler
Thermal Equipment/

• Most common FBC boiler that uses preheated

atmospheric air as fluidization and combustion air
Boilers

4b. Pressurized Fluidized Bed

Combustion (PFBC) Boiler
• Compressor supplies the forced draft and
combustor is a pressure vessel
• Used for cogeneration or combined cycle power
generation
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© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

4c. Atmospheric Circulating Fluidized

Thermal Equipment/

Bed Combustion (CFBC) Boiler

• Solids lifted from bed,
Boilers

rise, return to bed

• Steam generation in
convection section
• Benefits: more
economical, better space
utilization and efficient
combustion

(Thermax Babcock & Wilcox Ltd, 2001) 12

© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

5. Stoke Fired Boilers

Thermal Equipment/

a) Spreader stokers
• Coal is first burnt in suspension then in
Boilers

coal bed
• Flexibility to meet load fluctuations
• Favored in many industrial applications

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© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

5. Stoke Fired Boilers

Thermal Equipment/

b) Chain-grate or traveling-grate stoker

Boilers

• Coal is burnt on moving

steel grate
• Coal gate controls coal
feeding rate
• Uniform coal size for
complete combustion

(University of Missouri, 2004) 14

© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

6. Pulverized Fuel Boiler

Thermal Equipment/

• Pulverized coal powder blown with combustion

air into boiler through burner nozzles
Boilers

• Combustion
temperature at 1300
-1700 °C
• Benefits: varying coal
quality coal, quick
response to load
changes and high pre-
heat air temperatures Tangential firing
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© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

7. Waste Heat Boiler

Thermal Equipment/

• Used when waste heat

available at medium/high
temp
Boilers

• Auxiliary fuel burners

used if steam demand is
more than the waste heat
can generate
• Used in heat recovery
from exhaust gases from
gas turbines and diesel
Agriculture and Agri-Food engines
16
Canada, 2001 © UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

8. Thermic Fluid Heater

Thermal Equipment/

• Wide application for indirect process heating

• Thermic fluid (petroleum-based) is heat transfer
Boilers

medium
• Benefits:
• Closed cycle = minimal losses
• Non-pressurized system operation at 250 °C
• Automatic controls = operational flexibility
• Good thermal efficiencies
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© UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers 3. Heat transfer
through heat
8. Thermic Fluid Heater exchanged
Thermal Equipment/

User equipment
2. Circulated
to user 4. Fluid
returned to
Boilers

equipment
heater
Control
panel

Insulated
outer wall
1. Thermic
fluid heated Blower Exhaust
motor
in the heater unit
(Energy
Fuel oil
filter Machine India)
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© UNEP 2006
 Training Agenda: Boiler

Introduction
Thermal Equipment/

Type of boilers
Boilers

Assessment of a boiler
Energy efficiency opportunities

19
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a boiler

1. Boiler
Thermal Equipment/

2. Boiler blow down

Boilers

3. Boiler feed water treatment

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© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

1. Boiler performance
Thermal Equipment/

• Causes of poor boiler performance

-Poor combustion
Boilers

-Heat transfer surface fouling

-Poor operation and maintenance
-Deteriorating fuel and water quality

• Heat balance: identify heat losses

• Boiler efficiency: determine
deviation from best efficiency
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© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Heat Balance
Thermal Equipment/

An energy flow diagram describes geographically

how energy is transformed from fuel into useful
energy, heat and losses
Boilers

Stochiometric
Excess Air
Un burnt

Stack Gas

FUEL INPUT STEAM

OUTPUT

Convection & Blow Ash and Un-burnt parts

Radiation Down of Fuel in Ash 22
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Heat Balance
Thermal Equipment/

Balancing total energy entering a boiler against the

energy that leaves the boiler in different forms
Boilers

12.7 %
Heat loss due to dry flue gas

8.1 % Heat loss due to steam in fuel gas

1.7 %
100.0 % Heat loss due to moisture in fuel
BOILER 0.3 %
Fuel Heat loss due to moisture in air

2.4 % Heat loss due to unburnts in residue

1.0 %
Heat loss due to radiation & other
unaccounted loss
73.8 %
Heat in Steam

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© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Heat Balance
Thermal Equipment/

Goal: improve energy efficiency by reducing

avoidable losses
Boilers

Avoidable losses include:

- Stack gas losses (excess air, stack gas
temperature)
- Losses by unburnt fuel
- Blow down losses
- Condensate losses
24
- Convection and radiation © UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency
Thermal Equipment/

Thermal efficiency: % of (heat) energy input that is

effectively useful in the generated steam
Boilers

BOILER EFFICENCY
CALCULATION

1) DIRECT METHOD: 2) INDIRECT METHOD:

The energy gain of the The efficiency is the
working fluid (water and steam) different between losses
is compared with the energy and energy input 25
content of the boiler fuel. © UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Direct Method

Thermal Equipment/

Heat Input x 100 Q x (hg – hf) x 100

Boiler efficiency () = =
Heat Output Q x GCV
Boilers

hg -the enthalpy of saturated steam in kcal/kg of steam

hf -the enthalpy of feed water in kcal/kg of water

Parameters to be monitored:
- Quantity of steam generated per hour (Q) in kg/hr
- Quantity of fuel used per hour (q) in kg/hr
- The working pressure (in kg/cm2(g)) and superheat
temperature (oC), if any
- The temperature of feed water (oC)
- Type of fuel and gross calorific value of the fuel (GCV) in
26
kcal/kg of fuel © UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Direct Method

Thermal Equipment/

Advantages
• Quick evaluation
Boilers

• Few parameters for computation

• Few monitoring instruments
• Easy to compare evaporation ratios with
benchmark figures

Disadvantages
• No explanation of low efficiency
• Various losses not calculated

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© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Indirect Method

Thermal Equipment/

Efficiency of boiler () = 100 – (i+ii+iii+iv+v+vi+vii)

Boilers

Principle losses:
i) Dry flue gas
ii) Evaporation of water formed due to H2 in fuel
iii) Evaporation of moisture in fuel
iv) Moisture present in combustion air
v) Unburnt fuel in fly ash
vi) Unburnt fuel in bottom ash
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vii) Radiation and other unaccounted losses © UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Indirect Method

Thermal Equipment/

Required calculation data

• Ultimate analysis of fuel (H2, O2, S, C, moisture
content, ash content)
Boilers

• % oxygen or CO2 in the flue gas

• Fuel gas temperature in ◦C (Tf)
• Ambient temperature in ◦C (Ta) and humidity of air in
kg/kg of dry air
• GCV of fuel in kcal/kg
• % combustible in ash (in case of solid fuels)
• GCV of ash in kcal/kg (in case of solid fuels) 29
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Indirect Method

Thermal Equipment/

Advantages
• Complete mass and energy balance for each
Boilers

individual stream
• Makes it easier to identify options to improve
boiler efficiency

Disadvantages
• Time consuming
• Requires lab facilities for analysis

30
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

2. Boiler Blow Down

Thermal Equipment/

• Controls ‘total dissolved solids’ (TDS) in the

water that is boiled
Boilers

• Blows off water and replaces it with feed water

• Conductivity measured as indication of TDS
levels
• Calculation of quantity blow down required:

Feed water TDS x % Make up water

Blow down (%) =
Maximum Permissible TDS in Boiler water

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© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Blow Down

Thermal Equipment/

Two types of blow down

• Intermittent
Boilers

• Manually operated valve reduces TDS

• Large short-term increases in feed water
• Substantial heat loss

• Continuous
• Ensures constant TDS and steam purity
• Heat lost can be recovered
• Common in high-pressure boilers
32
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Blow Down

Thermal Equipment/

Benefits
• Lower pretreatment costs
Boilers

• Less make-up water consumption

• Reduced maintenance downtime
• Increased boiler life
• Lower consumption of treatment
chemicals
33
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

3. Boiler Feed Water Treatment

Thermal Equipment/

• Quality of steam depend on water

treatment to control
Boilers

• Steam purity
• Deposits
• Corrosion

• Efficient heat transfer only if boiler

water is free from deposit-forming
solids
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© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Feed Water Treatment

Thermal Equipment/

Deposit control
• To avoid efficiency losses and
Boilers

reduced heat transfer

• Hardness salts of calcium and
magnesium
• Alkaline hardness: removed by boiling
• Non-alkaline: difficult to remove

• Silica forms hard silica scales

35
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Feed Water Treatment

Thermal Equipment/

Internal water treatment

• Chemicals added to boiler to prevent scale
Boilers

• Different chemicals for different water types

• Conditions:
• Feed water is low in hardness salts
• Low pressure, high TDS content is tolerated
• Small water quantities treated
• Internal treatment alone not recommended
36
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Feed Water Treatment

Thermal Equipment/

External water treatment:

• Removal of suspended/dissolved solids and
dissolved gases
Boilers

• Pre-treatment: sedimentation and settling

• First treatment stage: removal of salts
• Processes
a) Ion exchange
b) Demineralization
c) De-aeration
37
d) Reverse osmoses © UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

Thermal Equipment/

a) Ion-exchange process (softener plant)

• Water passes through bed of natural zeolite of
synthetic resin to remove hardness
Boilers

• Base exchange: calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg)

replaced with sodium (Na) ions
• Does not reduce TDS, blow down quantity and
alkalinity

b) Demineralization
• Complete removal of salts
• Cations in raw water replaced with hydrogen ions
38
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

Thermal Equipment/

c) De-aeration
• Dissolved corrosive gases (O2, CO2)
Boilers

expelled by preheating the feed water

• Two types:
• Mechanical de-aeration: used prior to addition
of chemical oxygen scavangers
• Chemical de-aeration: removes trace oxygen

39
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

Thermal Equipment/

Mechanical
Vent
de-aeration
Spray
Boilers

Boiler Feed Nozzles • O2 and CO2 removed by

Water
Stea
heating feed water
Scrubber m
Section • Economical treatment
(Trays) process

Storage • Vacuum type can reduce

Section O2 to 0.02 mg/l
De-aerated • Pressure type can
Boiler Feed
Water reduce O2 to 0.005 mg/l
( National Productivity Council) 40
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

Thermal Equipment/

Chemical de-aeration
• Removal of trace oxygen with scavenger
Boilers

• Sodium sulphite:
• Reacts with oxygen: sodium sulphate
• Increases TDS: increased blow down
• Hydrazine
• Reacts with oxygen: nitrogen + water
• Does not increase TDS: used in high pressure
boilers 41
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

Thermal Equipment/

d) Reverse osmosis
• Osmosis
Boilers

• Solutions of differing concentrations

• Separated by a semi-permeable membrane
• Water moves to the higher concentration

• Reversed osmosis
• Higher concentrated liquid pressurized
• Water moves in reversed direction 42
© UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

External water treatment

Thermal Equipment/

d) Reverse osmosis
Pressure
Boilers

Feed Fresh Water

Water
More
Concentrated
Solution
Concentrate Water Flow
Flow

Semi Permeable 43
Membrane © UNEP 2006
 Training Agenda: Boiler

Introduction
Thermal Equipment/

Type of boilers
Boilers

Assessment of a boiler
Energy efficiency opportunities

44
© UNEP 2006
 Energy Efficiency Opportunities

1. Stack temperature control

2. Feed water preheating using
Thermal Equipment/

economizers
3. Combustion air pre-heating
4. Incomplete combustion
Boilers

minimization
5. Excess air control
6. Avoid radiation and convection
heat loss
7. Automatic blow down control
8. Reduction of scaling and soot
losses
9. Reduction of boiler steam
pressure
45
10. Variable speed control © UNEP 2006
 Energy Efficiency Opportunities

1. Stack Temperature Control

Thermal Equipment/

• Keep as low as possible

• If >200°C then recover waste heat
Boilers

2. Feed Water Preheating

Economizers
• Potential to recover heat from 200 – 300 oC flue
gases leaving a modern 3-pass shell boiler

3. Combustion Air Preheating

• If combustion air raised by 20°C = 1% improve
thermal efficiency 46
© UNEP 2006
 Energy Efficiency Opportunities

4. Minimize Incomplete Combustion

Thermal Equipment/

• Symptoms:
• Smoke, high CO levels in exit flue gas
Boilers

• Causes:
• Air shortage, fuel surplus, poor fuel distribution
• Poor mixing of fuel and air
• Oil-fired boiler:
• Improper viscosity, worn tops, cabonization on
dips, deterioration of diffusers or spinner plates
• Coal-fired boiler: non-uniform coal size
47
© UNEP 2006
 Energy Efficiency Opportunities

5. Excess Air Control

Thermal Equipment/

• Excess air required for complete combustion

• Optimum excess air levels varies
Boilers

• 1% excess air reduction = 0.6% efficiency rise

• Portable or continuous oxygen analyzers
Fuel Kg air req./kg fuel %CO2 in flue gas in practice
Solid Fuels
Bagasse 3.3 10-12
Coal (bituminous) 10.7 10-13
Lignite 8.5 9 -13
Paddy Husk 4.5 14-15
Wood 5.7 11.13
Liquid Fuels
Furnace Oil 13.8 9-14
48
LSHS 14.1 9-14
© UNEP 2006
 Energy Efficiency Opportunities

6. Radiation and Convection Heat

Thermal Equipment/

Loss Minimization
• Fixed heat loss from boiler shell, regardless of
Boilers

boiler output
• Repairing insulation can reduce loss

7. Automatic Blow Down Control

• Sense and respond to boiler water conductivity
and pH
49
© UNEP 2006
 Energy Efficiency Opportunities

8. Scaling and Soot Loss Reduction

Thermal Equipment/

• Every 22oC increase in stack temperature = 1%

efficiency loss
• 3 mm of soot = 2.5% fuel increase
Boilers

9. Reduced Boiler Steam Pressure

• Lower steam pressure
= lower saturated steam temperature
= lower flue gas temperature
• Steam generation pressure dictated by process
50
© UNEP 2006
 Energy Efficiency Opportunities

10. Variable Speed Control for Fans,

Thermal Equipment/

Blowers and Pumps

• Suited for fans, blowers, pumps
Boilers

• Should be considered if boiler loads are

variable

11. Control Boiler Loading

• Maximum boiler efficiency: 65-85% of rated load
• Significant efficiency loss: < 25% of rated load

51
© UNEP 2006
 Energy Efficiency Opportunities

12. Proper Boiler Scheduling

Thermal Equipment/

• Optimum efficiency: 65-85% of full load

• Few boilers at high loads is more efficient than
large number at low loads
Boilers

13. Boiler Replacement

Financially attractive if existing boiler is
• Old and inefficient
• Not capable of firing cheaper substitution fuel
• Over or under-sized for present requirements
• Not designed for ideal loading conditions 52
© UNEP 2006
 Training Session on Energy
Equipment


Thermal Equipment/

Boilers & Thermic

Fluid Heaters
Boilers

THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION

53
© UNEP GERIAP
 Disclaimer and References

• This PowerPoint training session was prepared as part of

the project “Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction from
Thermal Equipment/

Industry in Asia and the Pacific” (GERIAP). While

reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the
contents of this publication are factually correct and
Boilers

properly referenced, UNEP does not accept responsibility

for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall
not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned
directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the
contents of this publication. © UNEP, 2006.
• The GERIAP project was funded by the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
• Full references are included in the textbook chapter that is
available on www.energyefficiencyasia.org 54
© UNEP 2006