BOILERS, FURNACES and

HEAT EXCHANGERS
VARDELLI SHANTHAN
MT21HPE001
 BOILER
 A boiler is an enclosed vessel that provides a means for combustion heat to be transferred into water until it
becomes heated water or steam. The hot water or steam under pressure is then usable for transferring the heat to a
process.
 According to ASME, a boiler is defined as “ a combination of apparatus for producing, furnishing or recovering
heat together with the apparatus for transferring the heat so made available to the fluid being heated and
vaporised.”
 The boiler system comprises of:
 Feed Water System: It provides water to the boiler and regulates it automatically to meet the steam demand.
 Steam System: It collects and controls the steam produced in the boiler. Steam is directed through a piping system to the point
of use.
 Fuel System: It includes all equipment used to provide fuel to generate the necessary heat. The equipment required in the fuel
system depends on the type of fuel used in the system.
 Boilers are classified as
 Fire Tube Boiler: It is a type of boiler in which hot gases passes through one or more tubes which are surrounded by water.
The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes, heating the water and ultimately creating steam.
Ex: Lancashire, Cochran, Cornish and Locomotive boilers.
 Water Tube Boiler: It is a type of boiler in which water is inside the tubes and hot gases surrounds them.
Ex: Babcock and Wilcox, Stirling boilers.
 Some other types of classifications are as follows
 Externally and internally fired
 Forced circulation and natural circulation
 High pressure and low pressure boilers
 Boiler Efficiency: Boiler efficiency is a measure of how effectively chemical energy in fuel is converted
into heat energy in steam. It is the ratio of useful output (steam) to the heat input (fuel).
Boiler efficiency = heat output / heat input

where
Q, rate of steam flow in kg/h
hg, enthalpy of saturated steam in kcal/kg
hf, enthalpy of feed water in kcal/kg
q, rate of fuel use in kg/h
GCV, gross calorific value in kcal/kg
 FURNACE
 A furnace is an equipment to melt metals for casting or heat materials for change of shape
(rolling, forging etc.) or change of properties (heat treatment).
 Classification:
Sources of energy losses in furnace
 For most heating equipment, a large amount of the heat supplied is wasted in the form of exhaust or flue gases. These
losses depend on various factors associated with the design and operation of the heating equipment.
 Waste-gas heat losses are unavoidable in the operation of all fuel-fired furnaces. Air and fuel are mixed and burned to
generate heat, and a portion of this heat is transferred to the heating device. When the energy transfer reaches its
practical limit, combustion gases are removed (exhausted) from the furnace via a flue or stack to make room for a fresh
charge of combustion gases. At this point, the exhaust flue gases still hold considerable thermal energy, often more than
what was left behind in the process. In many fuel-fired heating systems, this waste heat is the greatest source of heat loss
in the process, often greater than all the other losses combined.
 These furnace losses include:
• Heat storage in the furnace structure
• Losses from the furnace outside walls or structure
• Heat transported out of the furnace by the load conveyors, fixtures, trays, etc.
• Radiation losses from openings, hot exposed parts, etc.
• Heat carried by the cold air infiltration into the furnace
• Heat carried by the excess air used in the burners.
 HEAT EXCHANGERS
 A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between two or more fluids that are at different
temperatures while keeping them from mixing with each other or in direct contact.
 Types of Heat exchangers :
Some of the important types of heat exchangers are
1. Shell and tube heat exchanger
2. Compact heat exchanger
3. Double pipe type / simple heat exchanger
4. Plate and frame type heat exchanger
5. Regenerative type heat exchanger
 Applications: Heat exchangers are widely used in space heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, power
stations, chemical plants, petrochemical plants, petroleum refineries, natural-gas processing, and sewage
treatment. 
THANK YOU