Process Heating: Combustion Efficiency

Fundamentals of Combustion
During the combustion of fossil fuels, hydrocarbon molecules such as methane, CH4, are combined with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water in an exothermic reaction. The simplified combustion equation for the combustion of natural gas is: CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H20 The ratio of the mass of combustion air, mca, to the mass of natural gas, mng, is called the air fuel ratio, AF. Using the simplified combustion equation above, the air fuel ratio for stochiometric (complete) combustion, AFs, can calculated to be about: AFs = (mca/mng)stoch = 17.2 In practice, incomplete mixing of air and natural gas requires that excess air, EA, be supplied. Excess air is defined as: EA = mca,actual / mca,stoch - 1 If the supply of combustion air is insufficient to combust all of the fuel, then uncombusted fuel will go up the stack reducing the combustion efficiency and increasing hydrocarbon emissions that cause smog. Too much air reduces the combustion temperature and the combustion efficiency. For most applications, exhaust gas oxygen levels of about 2% and corresponding excess air levels of about 10% are optimum. North American burner recommends about 20% excess air (Low Emissions Gas Burner, Bulletin 4452, North American Manufacturing Company, March, 2005). However, some drying or solvent evaporation applications may require higher levels of excess air. The actual air/fuel ratio, AF, can be written as: AF = (1+EA) x AFs From an energy balance on the combustion process, the combustion temperature, Tc, can be calculated as: Tc = Tca + hr / [cpp x {1 + (mca/mng)] Tc = Tca + hr / [cpp x {1 + (1+EA) x AFs] where cpp is the specific heat of products of combustion, Tca is the temperature of the combustion air before entering the burner and hr is the heat of reaction of the fuel. The heat of reaction, hr, is the useful heat transferred from the combustion chamber during the combustion reaction. The heat of reaction depends on the phase of the water in the exhaust gasses. If water leaves as a vapor, it carries away the heat required to vaporize the water and less useful heat is available for the process. In this case, the heat
1

of reaction equals the lower heating value (LHV) of the fuel. If water leaves as a liquid, more useful heat is available to the process and the heat of reaction equals the higher heating value (HHV) of the fuel. The heating values of natural gas are shown below: LHVng = 21,500 Btu/lbng HHVng = 23,900 Btu/lbng

The dew point temperature of water in exhaust gas is about 140 F. Because most exhaust gas streams are above this temperature, the heat of reaction is generally the lower heating value of the fuel. The steady-state efficiency of combustion is the ratio of the useful heat delivered to the process to the heat content of the fuel. Using the preceding equations, the combustion efficiency is: Eff = [{1 + (AF)} x cpp x (Tc-Tex)] / HHV Eff = [{1 + (1+EA) x (AFs)} x cpp x (Tc-Tex)] / HHV Thus, the combustion efficiency can be determined as a function of only three variables that must be measured: excess air, EA, the temperature of the combustion air before it enters the burner, Tca, and the temperature of the exhaust gasses, Tex. These variables are measured by combustion analyzers. Excess air, EA, is determined by the ratio of O2 and CO2 (or CO) in the exhaust gas. The equations to determine combustion efficiency can be entered into a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet, CombEff.XLS, is shown below. CombEff.XLS
Input Data EA = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) Tca = temperature combustion air before burner (F) Tex = temperature exhaust gasses (F) Constants for Natural Gas LHV = lower heating value (Btu/lb) HHV = higher heating value (Btu/lb) cpp = specific heat of products of exhaust (Btu/lb-F) Tdpp = dew point temp of H20 in exhaust (F) Afs = air/fuel mass ratio at stochiometric conditions Combustion Efficiency Calculations hr = heat of reaction = (if Tex<140 then hr=HHV else hr = LHV) Tc = temp combustion (F) = Tca+hr/[(1+(1+EA)(Afs))cpp] Efficiency = [1 + (1+EA)(AFs)]*cpp*(Tc-Tex)/HHV

0.50 70 350

21,500 23,900 0.260 140 17.20

21,500 3,156 81.8%

The percent fuel savings from improving combustion efficiency is:

Percent fuel savings = (Effdesired Effactual) / Effdesired x 100 The quantity of excess air in the combustion gasses is sometimes expressed as fraction oxygen. For methane (natural gas) the conversion between fraction oxygen, FO2, and excess air, EA, are: FO2 = 2 EA / (10.52 + 9.52 EA) EA = 10.52 FO2 / (2 9.52 FO2) In engineering practice, the combustion efficiency is sometimes called available heat. A chart showing natural gas combustion efficiency (available heat) as a function of exhaust gas temperature and excess air is shown below.

Source: Process Heat Tip Sheet #2, U.S. Department of Energy, DOE/GO-102002-1552.

Fuels
HHV Methane Natural gas Acetylene Ethylene Ethane Propylene Propane Butane CH4 .65CH4 +.08H2 + .18 N2 + . 03O2+.6CO2 C2H2 C2H4 C2H6 C3H6 C3H8 C4H10 LHV Stoichiometric Fuel Air Ratio 17.2

Octane (Gasoline) Diesel Coal

C8H18 C12H26 .82C + .05H20 + .02H2+.01O2 12.25

Combustion Efficiency At Part Load

As demonstrated in the preceding discussion, combustion efficiency is a function of the temperature of the exhaust gas and the quantity of excess combustion air. When combustion burners are modulated to less than full load, these variables often change from their full-load values and the combustion efficiency can increase or decrease accordingly. In many cases, the temperature of exhaust gasses decreases when the burners are at lowfire because the residency time of exhaust gasses in the heat exchanger increases. If a proper air/fuel ratio is maintained at low fire, combustion efficiency can increase as demonstrated in the following case study.
The boiler has an oxygen sensor on the flue stack, which regulates the air/fuel ratio to maximize boiler efficiency. Despite this control feature, the temperature of flue gas was about 600 F. This is unusually high; normal stack temperatures are about 400 F. After discussions with management, we concluded that the reason for the elevated stack temperatures must be insufficient heat transfer area inside the boiler. Management agreed with this assessment. During our visit we measured the temperature of the exhaust in the flue stack, Ts, and the boiler efficiency, E, at different pressures and loading levels. The readings are shown in the following Table 6.1. Table 6.1. Measured stack temperatures, Ts, and efficiency, E, of the fire-tube boiler. Boiler Pressure High Fire Medium Fire Low Fire 100 psig Ts=620 F; E = 75.6% Ts=550 F; E=76.0% Ts = 400 F; E=78.8 % 70 psig Ts = 380 F; E=84.0 %

Similarly, for boilers with step or modulation control, combustion efficiency generally improves when the boiler is operated at part load because the ratio of heat exchanger surface area to heat input increases. A typical curve showing combustion efficiency as a function of part-load ratio is shown below (ASHRAE 2000, HVAC Systems and Equipment Handbook, Pg 27.6). A curve fit gives the following relation: Effpl = Efffl + .055/.75 (1-PLR)

(Source: ASHRAE 2000, HVAC Systems and Equipment Handbook, Pg 27.6) However, combustion efficiency can also decline at part load if the quantity of combustion air is not decreased proportionately with the quantity of fuel. Check the burner to determine the type of part-load combustion air control. In some older burners, the quantity of combustion air is not decreased at part-load conditions. These burners are excellent candidates for updated combustion air controls. Other burners have a mechanical arm that varies the position of a damper on the combustion air supply duct according to the position of the inlet fuel valve. Although mechanical controls can do an acceptable job of varying the supply of combustion air, the best controls use flue gas sensors and direct digital controls to precisely modulate the quantity of combustion air to maintain optimum efficiency.

Linkage and O2 Trim Combustion Controls

The fuel-to-air ratio in most boilers is controlled by a mechanical linkage which attempts to maintain a constant fuel-to-air ratio across the entire firing range. Unfortunately, mechanical linkages are seldom able to do this. We regularly measure different fuel-toair ratios at low, medium and high fire. In these cases, we recommend that the linkage be adjusted to generate 10% excess air at one firing rate, and greater than 10% excess air at the other firing rates. 10% excess air can be maintained across all firing rates by installing independent digital controls on the combustion air and gas supply lines, which are controlled to maintain 10% excess air. This type of control is sometimes called oxygen trim or O2 trim. The following costs were supplied by Jim Turton at Ballanger Company (513) 271-3915, which is a local supplier of Cleaver Brooks boilers. O2 trim controls cost between $12,000 and $15,000. To retrofit an existing boiler with O2 trim controls, about 2 days

labor would be required at about $750 per day; for a total of about $1,500 in labor costs. In addition, the controls need to be checked and calibrated every few months and each calibration takes a couple of hours. Thus, if an O2 trim package is calibrated 3-4 times per year, and each calibration takes about 2-3 hours, the maintenance and calibration costs about $1,000 per year.

Oxygen Enhancement
When atmospheric air is used in combustion, the nitrogen in the air is largely inert. However, this does not mean that it has no effect on combustion. The energy released during the combustion reaction is absorbed by the products of combustion. The nitrogen in the products of combustion absorbs a portion of the heat of combustion and lowers the adiabatic combustion temperature. The reduced combustion temperature reduces the efficiency of combustion. Burning pure oxygen instead of atmospheric air eliminates the dilutive effects of nitrogen. This increases the combustion temperature and the efficiency of combustion. Using the method developed earlier, the air to fuel ratio for stochiometric combustion of methane with oxygen combustion is: CH4 + 2 O2 > CO2 + 2 H2O Mair / Mfuel = (2 x 2 x 16) / (12 + 4) = 4.0 This value can be used in conjunction with the previous simplified equations for combustion temperature and efficiency of combustion with oxygen. Combustion efficiencies calculated using the simplified method compare well with values from the graph below. The primary reason for the small discrepancies between the simplified method and the graph shown below is that the simplified method is based on combustion of pure methane while the graph below is for natural gas, which includes a small percentage of other hydrocarbons in addition to methane.

Pollution Control
Primary air pollutants include VOCs, NOx and SOx. When fuel is burned with insufficient oxygen, unburned hydrocarbons are carried out in the exhaust. Visually, unburned hydrocarbons appear as smoke or sooty exhaust. When unburned hydrocarbons collect in an exhaust stack, they become a serious fire hazard. Primary indicators of unburned hydrocarbons are CO and H2, which increase exponentially with insufficient oxygen. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are another class of carbon compounds released during incomplete combustion. VOCs and O3 (Ozone) react with sunlight to cause visual smog which is also a health hazard.

Nitrous oxides (NOx) are created when the nitrogen in air reacts with oxygen at high temperatures. The quantity of NOx produced increases with temperature (see figure below). Thus, a drawback to preheating combustion air is increased NOx formation.

Source: Combustion Fundamentals, Klassen, 2003 Gas Machinery Research Council. Low NOx burners can reduce NOx formation. In addition, flue gas recirculation, in which flue gas is injected into the combustion process to preheat the air and fuel can also substantially reduce NOx formation (A Novel Method of Waste Heat Recovery from High Temperature Furnaces, Arvind Atreya, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, ACEEE Industrial Energy Efficiency, 2007) Sulfur oxides (SOx) are created when the sulfur in fuel reacts with oxygen. SOx reacts in the atmosphere with water to form sulfuric acid and is a principle component of acid rain. The quantity of SOx created is largely a function of the sulfur content of the fuel. Coal has relatively high levels sulfur, while natural gas has virtually none.

How To Look At A Flame And Know If Its Right

(Source: CEC Combustion Services jpivarski@combustionsafety.com) Looking at a flame and understanding whats going on is more an art than a science. There are however a few basic rules of thumb that can help you to know whats going on. When you look at a flame you generally need to be looking at a flame moving towards you. Its not a guarantee that you will even have a site port that will allow you to do this. If you find such a port, first wave your hand around it to make sure theres no flue gas leakage. Then with a gloved hand you push on the glass a little to make sure it does not break easily. Then with safety glasses on and a long sleeved shirt, go ahead and look. Youll be looking for a few basic things like color.

For stoichiometric (Perfect) combustion, youll want to see a nice rich blue with little orange or yellow tips. If you see a very pale blue, and if its noisy and appears to have a lot of energy and sharp edges, its probably too lean of a mixture. If the flame is fat, lazy and bright yellow or orange youre way too rich.

10

Example Recommendations

11

AR X: Specify O2 Trim Controls on New Boilers

ARC: 2.1233.1 Natural Gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) Dollars 3,387 mmBtu 433,600 $32,384 Project Cost Simple Payback Capital Other Total $28,000 None $28,000 10 months

Analysis The plants existing boilers use linkages that connect natural gas supply valves with combustion air inlet dampers. In such a configuration, combustion air intake is controlled based on natural gas input to the boilers. The following table and graph shows the exhaust gas temperature, excess air, and combustion efficiency of Boiler #2, which is a 100-hp boiler, at different firing rates. Air/fuel ratio is not constant over the firing range, but rather increases as firing rate decreases.

High Fire Performance

Exhst. Temp 457 F Excess Air 45% Comb. Eff. 79.3%

Medium Fire Performance

Exhst. Temp 412 F Excess Air 54% Comb. Eff. 80.0%

Low Fire Performance

Exhst. Temp 394 F Excess Air 88% Comb. Eff. 78.6%

Boiler #2 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Low 1 Medium 2
Firing Rate
Excess Air Exhaust Temp

500
Exhaust Gas Temperature (F)

450 400 350 300 250 200 150 High 3

The optimal excess combustion air in a gas heating system for energy efficiency and pollution prevention is about 10% (Guide to Industrial Assessments for Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency, EPA/625/R-99/003), which yields an O2 content of 1.7% in the exhaust gasses. Higher levels of excess air dilute the combustion stream and decrease the quantity of useful heat available to the process.

Excess Air

12

An emerging technology in fuel-fired energy systems is O2 trim combustion controls, which controls combustion intake air based on air/fuel ratio of combustion. Such a system consists of a gas monitoring probe inserted in the exhaust stack, measuring realtime oxygen content of exhaust gasses. The probe is linked to a control that automatically opens or closes the combustion air inlet damper to maintain a desired excess air level at all times. The desired excess air level, or O2 content, can be digitally programmed into the control system. Management is considering replacing the existing six 100-hp boilers with two 300-hp boilers. If done, specifying an O2 trim on the boilers would be very economical. Although an O2 trim specification would increase the cost of the new system, the energy cost savings over the life of the system would be magnitudes higher than the additional upfront cost. Efficiency measures such as an O2 trim are most economical when implemented at the construction stage of a project. Recommendation We recommend specifying an O2 trim on the two new 300-hp boilers, if installed. We recommend programming the O2 trim to maintain 10% excess air, which yields an O2 content of 1.7% in the exhaust gasses. Estimated Savings In the Steam System Analysis section of the report, we calculated that the plants boilers operate at about 53% of full-fire on average. According to the plants boiler technician, Boiler #2 performs very similarly to the other five 100-hp boilers. Thus, we assume that each 100-hp boiler, on average, operates at about 54% excess air with a stack temperature of about 412 F, which is how Boiler #2 operates at medium fire. This yields a combustion efficiency of 80.0%. To find the efficiency improvement from reducing excess air from 54% to 10%, we used the simulation software program HeatSim (Kissock and Carpenter, 2005), which can be downloaded free of charge off of the UDIAC website www.udayton.edu/udiac. HeatSim models a boiler as a heat exchanger and uses fundamental combustion equations and heat exchanger equations to find the change in heat transfer and efficiency from reducing boiler excess air. The combined rated heat input to the plants six 100-hp (4.2 mmBtu/hour) boilers is: 4.2 mmBtu/hour-boiler x 6 boilers = 25.2 mmBtu/hour The HeatSim output screen below shows the efficiency improvement and energy savings from operating the same steam heat load at 10% excess air instead of 54% excess air. The input values are either defined earlier in this AR or in the Steam System Analysis section of the report.

13

According to HeatSim, the efficiency of the boilers would rise from 80.0% to 82.7%, and fuel savings would be about 0.438 mmBtu per hour. Annual natural gas savings would be about: 0.438 mmBtu/hour x 8,760 hours/year = 3,837 mmBtu/year 3,837 mmBtu/year x $8.44 /mmBtu = $32,384 /year The total reduction in CO2 emissions would be about: 3,837 mmBtu/year x 113 lb CO2/mmBtu 433,600 lb CO2 /year Estimated Implementation Cost According to the plants boiler provider, the additional cost of including an O2 trim on a new boiler is about $14,000 per boiler. The additional cost for two boilers would be about: $14,000 /boiler x 2 boilers = $28,000 Estimated Simple Payback ($28,000 / $32,384 /year) x 12 months/year = 10 months

14

AR X: Adjust 250-hp Boilers Burner to 10% Excess Air at High Fire

ARC: 2.1233.1 Natural Gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) 841 mmBtu 95,000 Dollars $7,098 Project Cost Capital Other Total None None None Simple Payback Immediate

Analysis The plants existing boilers use linkages that connect natural gas supply valves with combustion air inlet dampers. In such a configuration, combustion air intake is controlled based on natural gas input to the boilers. The following table and graph shows the exhaust gas temperature, excess air, and combustion efficiency of the plants 250-hp boiler at different firing rates. Air/fuel ratio is not constant over the firing range, but rather increases as firing rate decreases.

High Fire Performance

Exhst. Temp 531 F Excess Air 32% Comb. Eff. 78.3%

Medium Fire Performance

Exhst. Temp 463 F Excess Air 56% Comb. Eff. 78.4%

Low Fire Performance

Exhst. Temp 352 F Excess Air 115% Comb. Eff. 78.7%

250-hp Boiler 140% 120% 100%

Excess Air

600 550 450 400 350 300 250 200 Low 1 Medium 2
Firing Rate
Excess Air Exhaust Temp Exhaust Gas Temperature (F)

500

80% 60% 40% 20% 0% High 3

150

The optimal excess combustion air in a gas heating system for energy efficiency and pollution prevention is about 10% (Guide to Industrial Assessments for Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency, EPA/625/R-99/003), which yields an O2 content of 1.7% in the exhaust gasses. Higher levels of excess air dilute the combustion stream and

15

decrease the quantity of useful heat available to the process. Boiler service technicians generally calibrate excess air with burners at high fire. If the 250-hp boiler were calibrated to 10% excess air at high fire, excess air would decrease at all firing rates without the possibility of falling below 10%. Recommendation We recommend requesting the plants boiler service technician adjust the 250-hp boilers burner to 10% excess air at high fire. Thus, excess air should decrease over the boilers entire firing range. We also recommend doing the same for the 100-hp boilers if they do not plan to be replaced with new boilers. Estimated Savings In the Steam System Analysis section of the report, we calculated that the plants boilers operate at about 53% of full-fire on average. Thus, we assume that the 250-hp boiler, on average, operates at about 56% excess air with a stack temperature of about 463 F, which is how it operates at medium fire. This yields a combustion efficiency of 78.4%. From the above chart, excess air seems to vary rather linearly with excess air. Thus, if the excess air at high fire decreased 22 percentage points to 10%, we assume that excess air at medium fire would also decrease 22 percentage points to 34%. To find the efficiency improvement from reducing excess air from 56% to 34%, we used the simulation software program HeatSim (Kissock and Carpenter, 2005), which can be downloaded free of charge off of the UDIAC website www.udayton.edu/udiac. HeatSim models a boiler as a heat exchanger and uses fundamental combustion equations and heat exchanger equations to find the change in heat transfer and efficiency from reducing boiler excess air. The HeatSim output screen below shows the efficiency improvement and energy savings from operating the 250-hp boiler at 10% excess air instead of 54% excess air. The input values are either defined earlier in this AR or in the Steam System Analysis section of the report.

16

According to HeatSim, the boiler efficiency would rise from 78.4% to 79.9%, and fuel savings would be about 0.096 mmBtu per hour. Annual natural gas savings would be about: 0.096 mmBtu/hour x 8,760 hours/year = 841 mmBtu/year 841 mmBtu/year x $8.44 /mmBtu = $7,098 /year The total reduction in CO2 emissions would be about: 841 mmBtu/year x 113 lb CO2/mmBtu 95,000 lb CO2 /year Estimated Implementation Cost Requesting the plants boiler service technician adjust settings on the boiler would require no significant cost. Estimated Simple Payback Immediate

17

AR X: Recalibrate Boiler Air/Fuel Ratio to 10% Excess Air at Medium Fire

ARC: 2.1233.2 Natural Gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) Dollars 799 mmBtu 90,300 $5,769 Project Cost Capital Other Total None None None Simple Payback Immediate

Analysis The optimal excess air in a gas heating system for energy efficiency and pollution prevention is about 10% (Guide to Industrial Assessments for Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency, EPA/625/R-99/003). Higher levels of excess air dilute the combustion stream and decrease the quantity of useful heat available to the process. In addition, higher excess air levels cause the combustion stream to flow at higher velocities, thereby reducing the heat transfer rate within the boiler. Two boilers provide process heat to the plant. The large boiler, rated at 8.7 mmBtu/hour, is the plants primary boiler. The small boiler, rated at 6.5 mmBtu/hour, is the backup boiler and only provides process steam about one day per month, according to maintenance. Otherwise, it is kept warm on standby. During our visit, the small boiler provided process steam and the large boiler was on standby. Controls on the boilers modulate natural gas and air intake to maintain the pressure at about 105 psig. When the small boiler was operating at medium fire, we measured its stack temperature and excess air content to be 526 F and 38%, respectively. The boiler was then turned down to low fire, and its stack temperature and excess air content became 486 F and 77%, respectively. This indicates that the boilers controls do not maintain constant excess air at varying firing rates. The control arrangement may be such that excess air is optimized at high fire, but control effectiveness decreases at lower firing rates. Recommendation According to maintenance, a boiler service contractor periodically performs a check-up on the plants boilers. We recommend asking the contractor to measure the excess air on both boilers at varying firing rates. We then recommend requesting the contractor to adjust the linkages so that excess air is at 10% at medium fire, which is the boilers most common firing rate. Estimated Savings According to the Utility Analysis section of the report, 25,121 mmBtu of natural gas was consumed by the plant in 2004. In addition, 13% of total usage is attributed to facility use and 62% is production dependent. We assume all facility and production dependent gas use is attributed to the boilers. If so, the annual natural gas consumption by the boilers is about: 25,121 mmBtu/year x (13% + 62%) = 18,841 mmBtu/year

18

According to management, the plant operates 24 hours per day, 5 days per week, 50 weeks per year, for a total of 6,000 hours per year. Thus, the average hourly natural gas consumption is about: 18,841 mmBtu/year / 6,000 hours/year = 3.14 mmBtu/hour Since the large 8.7 mmBtu/hour boiler is the primary boiler, we estimate the average fraction of full load at which the boiler operates is about: 3.14 mmBtu/hour / 8.7 mmBtu/hour = 0.36 According to maintenance the boiler feedwater temperature is about 180 F. The temperature of 105 psig steam is 341 F and the enthalpy is 1,191 Btu/lb. We measured the room air temperature used for combustion to be 66 F. Our spreadsheet program, CombEff.XLS, calculates the change in efficiency by adjusting the amount of excess combustion air. The method accounts for the increased temperature of combustion and the increased heat transfer within the boiler. It does so by modeling the boiler as a parallel-flow heat exchanger, and calculates efficiency improvement using the LMTD heat exchanger method. We assume the stack temperature and excess air in the large boiler is the same as in the small boiler. For the simulation, we took the average of the measured values between high and low fire, which were 506 F and 54%. The calculations below, from CombEff.XLS, show the boilers current efficiency and the efficiency if excess combustion air were lowered to 10%.

19

Input Data Ta = temperature combustion air before burner (F) Tex = temperature exhaust gasses (F) EA = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) Qng (mmBtu/h) = heat input to burner Percent rated input Tw1 (F) Tw2 (F) (for either "Steam" or "HotWater") EAn = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) "Steam" or "HotWater" If "Steam" then enter enthalpy of sat steam leaving boiler, hw2 (Btu/lb) Constants (for Natural Gas) LHV = lower heating value (Btu/lb) HHV = higher heating value (Btu/lb) Cpex = specific heat of products of exhaust (Btu/lb-F) Tdpp = dew point temp of H20 in exhaust (F) AFs = air/fuel mass ratio at stochiometric conditions Calculated Values Tc (F) = temp combustion = Ta+LHV/[(1+(1+EA)(Afs))cpp] Qlat (Btu/lb) (Qlat = HHV - LHV if Tex < 140 F, else Qlat = 0) eb = [{1 + (1+EA)(AFs)}*Cpex*(Tc-Tex) + Qlat] /HHV Q (Btu/h) = Useful heat transferred to water = Qng x 10^6 x Effc T1 (F) = Tc - Tw1 T2 (F) = Tex - Tw2 T T Tlm (F) = ( T2- T1) / ln( 2 / 1) UA (Btu/h-F) = Qu / ( Tlm (F)) Tcn (F) = new temp combustion = Ta+LHV/[(1+(1+EAn)(Afs))Cp ] ex 4/5 UAn (Btu/h-F) = UA [{1 + (1 + EA,n) AFs} / {1 + (1 + EA) AFs}] ebn (with EAn but Tex const) = [1 + (1+EAn)(AFs)]*Cpex*(Tcn-Tex)/HHV T1n (F) = Tcn - Tw1 Guess current T2n (F) (lower than 2.) T This should equal zero if 2n is correct T Tex,n (F) = 2n + Tw2 T ebn = [1 + (1+EAn)(AFs)]*Cpex*(Tcn-Texn)/HHV Qng,n (mmBtu/h) = Qu / (ebn x 10^6)

66 506 0.54 8.700 0.36 180 341 0.10 Steam 1191

21,500 23,900 0.260 140 17.20

3,074 0 76.8% 2,405,399 2,894 165 953 2,525 4,217 1,951 80.4% 4,037 176.1334 0 517 80.2% 3.000

Based on these results, we estimate that the boilers efficiency would increase from 76.8% to 80.2%. If the boiler operates at an average efficiency of 76.8% throughout the year, its useful energy output is about: 18,841 mmBtu/year x 76.8% = 14,470 mmBtu/year To meet this energy requirement with an 80.2% efficiency boiler, the required input would be about: 14,470 mmBtu/year / 80.2% = 18,042 mmBtu/year The annual natural gas savings would be about: 18,841 mmBtu/year 18,042 mmBtu/year = 799 mmBtu/year 799 mmBtu/year x $7.22 /mmBtu = $5,769 /year The total reduction in CO2 emissions would be about: 799 mmBtu/year x 113 lb CO2/mmBtu 90,300 lb CO2 /year Estimated Implementation Cost Negligible. Estimated Simple Payback Immediate
20

AR X: Reduce Excess Combustion Air in Boilers

ARC: 2.1233.2 Natural Gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) Dollars 1,064 mmBtu 120,200 $9,225 Project Cost Capital Other Total None None None Simple Payback Immediate

Analysis According to the EPA document Guide to Industrial Assessments for Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency (EPA/625/R-99/003) the optimal excess air in a gas heating system for energy efficiency and pollution prevention is about 10%. Higher levels of excess air dilute the combustion stream and decrease the quantity of useful heat available to the process. In addition, higher excess air levels cause the combustion stream to flow at higher velocities, thereby reducing the heat transfer rate within the boiler. Two boilers, each rated at 7.3 mmBtu/hour input, provide steam for plant space heating. Controls on each boiler modulate natural gas and air intake to maintain the pressure at about 8 psig. According to maintenance, only one boiler runs at a time, and the operation schedule alternates between the two. We measured the boiler stack temperature and excess air content to be 367 F and 102%, respectively, at high fire. If excess air were decreased, the boilers would operate more efficiently and less gas would be needed. Recommendation According to maintenance, a boiler service contractor performs a check-up on the plants boilers before each heating season. We recommend asking the service contractor to adjust the controls on the boilers so that the excess combustion air is reduced to 10% for all firing rates. Estimated Savings According to maintenance, the boiler was operating at high fire during our visit, thus we assume its input was 7.3 mmBtu/hour. According to maintenance, nearly 100% of the condensate is returned in the steam system, thus we assume the feedwater temperature is about 200 F. During our visit, the boiler generated steam at 8 psig (enthalpy = 1,158 Btu/lbm, temperature = 233 F). Our spreadsheet program, CombEff.XLS, calculates the change in efficiency by adjusting the amount of excess combustion air. The method accounts for the increased temperature of combustion and the increased heat transfer within the boiler. It does so by modeling the boiler as a parallel-flow heat exchanger and calculates efficiency improvement using the LMTD heat exchanger method and assuming that the heat transfer coefficient, UA, is constant. The calculations below, from CombEff.XLS, show the boilers current efficiency and the efficiency if excess combustion air were lowered to 10%.

21

Calcs Efficiency Gain From Decreasing Excess Air in Boilers (PF) Input Data Tca = temperature combustion air before burner (F) Tex = temperature exhaust gasses (F) EA = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) Qng (mmBtu/h) = heat input to burner Tw1 (F) Tw2 (F) (for either "Steam" or "HotWater") EAn = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) "Steam" or "HotWater" If "Steam" then enter enthalpy of sat steam leaving boiler, hw2 (Btu/lb) Constants (for Natural Gas) LHV = lower heating value (Btu/lb) HHV = higher heating value (Btu/lb) cpp = specific heat of products of exhaust (Btu/lb-F) Tdpp = dew point temp of H20 in exhaust (F) Afs = air/fuel mass ratio at stochiometric conditions Calculated Values hr (Btu/lb) = heat of reaction = LHV if Tex > 140 else HHV Tc (F) = temp combustion = Tca+hr/[(1+(1+EA)(Afs))cpp] Effc = [1 + (1+EA)(AFs)]*cpp*(Tc-Tex)/HHV Qu (Btu/h) = Useful heat transferred to water = Qng x 10^6 x Effc dt1 (F) = Tc - Tw1 dt2 (F) = Tex - Tw2 dtlm (F) = (dt2-dt1) / ln(dt2/dt1) UA (Btu/h-F) = Qu / (dtlm) Tcn (F) = new temp combustion = Tca+hr/[(1+(1+EAn)(Afs))cpp] Effcn (with EAn but Tex const) = [1 + (1+EAn)(AFs)]*cpp*(Tc-Tex)/HHV dt1n (F) = Tcn - Tw1 Guess current dt2n (F) (lower than dt2.) This should equal zero if dt2 is correct Texn (F) = dt2n + Tw2 Effcn = [1 + (1+EAn)(AFs)]*cpp*(Tcn-Texn)/HHV Qngn (mmBtu/h) = Qu / (Effcn x 10^6)

70 367 1.02 7.300 200 233 0.10 Steam 1158

21,500 23,900 0.260 140 17.20

21,500 2,383 78.4% 5,723,887 2,183 134 734 7,794 4,221 83.5% 4,021 17 0 250 86.1% 6.652

According to these calculations, the boilers efficiency would increase from 78.4% to 86.1%. We assume this would be true throughout the entire heating season for both boilers. According to the Utility Analysis section of the report, about 77% of the plants annual natural gas use, or 11,883 mmBtu is used for space heating. Assuming the boiler operates at 78.4% efficiency throughout the year, its useful energy output is about: 11,883 mmBtu/year x 78.4% = 9,316 mmBtu/year To meet this energy requirement with an 86.1% efficiency boiler, the required input would be about:

22

9,316 mmBtu/year / 86.1% = 10,819 mmBtu/year The annual natural gas savings would be about: 11,883 mmBtu/year 10,819 mmBtu/year = 1,064 mmBtu/year 1,064 mmBtu/year x $8.67 /mmBtu = $9,225 /year The total reduction in CO2 emissions would be about: 1,064 mmBtu/year x 113 lb CO2/mmBtu 120,200 lb CO2 /year Estimated Implementation Cost Requesting the boiler service contractor adjust intake air controls involves no implementation cost. Estimated Simple Payback Immediate

23

AR X: Reduce Excess Combustion Air in Boiler

ARC: ? Natural Gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) Dollars 93 mmBtu 10,500 $729 Project Cost Capital Other Total None None None Simple Payback Immediate

Analysis During our visit, we measured the temperature and quantity of excess air in the exhaust gasses of the primary boiler. The temperature was about 433 F. The exhaust gasses contained about 29% more air than is required for stoichiometric combustion. The ideal amount of excess air is 10%. Recommendation We recommend asking your boiler maintenance contractor to slightly reduce the quantity of combustion air supplied to the boiler so that the boiler operates at 10% excess air at high fire. Estimated Savings Our spreadsheet program, CombEff.XLS, predicts combustion efficiency as a function of excess air, exhaust temperature and intake air temperature. The program shows that the efficiency of combustion with 30% excess air is about 80.0%. This compares well with the 81% combustion efficiency calculated by our efficiency instrument. The input data, constants, equations and output are shown below.
Input Data EA = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) Tca = temperature combustion air before burner (F) Tex = temperature exhaust gasses (F) Constants (for Natural Gas) LHV = lower heating value (Btu/lb) HHV = higher heating value (Btu/lb) cpp = specific heat of products of exhaust (Btu/lb-F) Tdpp = dew point temp of H20 in exhaust (F) Afs = air/fuel mass ratio at stochiometric conditions Calculated Values hr = heat of reaction = (if Tex<140 then hr=HHV else hr = LHV) Tc = temp combustion (F) = Tca+hr/[(1+(1+EA)(Afs))cpp] Efficiency = [1 + (1+EA)(AFs)]*cpp*(Tc-Tex)/HHV 0.29 69 433

21,500 23,900 0.260 140 17.20

21,500 3,635 80.8%

If the quantity of excess air was reduced to 10%, the efficiency of the boiler would increase to about 82.1% as shown below.

24

Input Data EA = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) Tca = temperature combustion air before burner (F) Tex = temperature exhaust gasses (F) Constants (for Natural Gas) LHV = lower heating value (Btu/lb) HHV = higher heating value (Btu/lb) cpp = specific heat of products of exhaust (Btu/lb-F) Tdpp = dew point temp of H20 in exhaust (F) Afs = air/fuel mass ratio at stochiometric conditions Calculated Values hr = heat of reaction = (if Tex<140 then hr=HHV else hr = LHV) Tc = temp combustion (F) = Tca+hr/[(1+(1+EA)(Afs))cpp] Efficiency = [1 + (1+EA)(AFs)]*cpp*(Tc-Tex)/HHV

0.10 69 433

21,500 23,900 0.260 140 17.20

21,500 4,220 82.1%

According to billing data, the energy content of the diesel fuel input to the boiler during the last year was 5,885 mmBtu. (5,885 mmBtu/hr) x (1 80.8% / 82.1%) = 93 mmBtu/yr 93 mmBtu/yr x $7.84 /mmBtu = $729 /year The CO2 emission savings would be about: 93 mmBtu/year x 113 lbs CO2/mmBtu 10,500 lbs CO2 /year Estimated Implementation Cost According to management, the boiler is maintained by a contractor. The cost of asking to the contractor adjust the quantity of combustion air during a regularly scheduled maintenance call would be negligible. Estimated Simple Payback Immediate

25

AR X: Adjust Air/Fuel Ratio to Improve Boiler Efficiency

Natural Gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) 736 MBtu 84,640 Dollars $4,247 Project Cost $500 Simple Payback 1 month

Analysis A natural-gas fired boiler rated at 2.1 MBtu per hour supplies 100 psig steam for process heating. The boiler has two modes of firing, high fire and low fire. During our visit, the boiler ran on low fire most of the time. We measured the exhaust stack temperature of the boiler to be about 670 F. In addition, data from measurements performed by a boiler maintenance contractor on 11/01/2001 are shown in the table below. These measurements are consistent with the measurements we took using our combustion analyzer, and are very troubling. Stack Temp Ambient Temperature O2 CO2 CO Excess air Efficiency 11/01/2001 12:38 pm 598 F 96.5 F 9.0 % 6.7 % 0% 67.3% 75.7% 11/01/2001 12:41 pm 551 F 96.5 F 9.2 % 6.6 % 0% 70.0 % 74.4 %

Most boilers are designed to operate at stack temperatures less than 100 F above the temperature of the steam and with about 10% excess air. The elevated stack temperature and percent O2 in the flue gas of your boiler most likely indicates insufficient heat transfer across the heat exchanger due to fouling of the heat exchanger surfaces, and/or the air/fuel ratio is too high, resulting in excess pressure drop (draft) and exhaust flow rate across the heat exchanger. Recommendation First, we strongly recommend that you contact a competent boiler service company and reduce the air/fuel ratio. The optimum amount of O2 in the flue gas for a natural gas boiler is about 2.2%, which corresponds to 10% excess air. In contrast, the oxygen content of your flue gas is 9%, which corresponds to 67% excess air! Reducing the amount of excess air will decrease the draft across the heat exchanger, lower the exhaust temperature and significantly increase the efficiency of the boiler. Once the air/fuel ratio is properly adjusted, the stack temperature should decrease to less than 100 F above the temperature of the steam. The temperature of saturated steam at 100 psig is about 337 F. Thus, the stack temperature should be less than about 440 F. If it isnt, it is probably indicative of fouling and/or deposits on the heat exchanger surfaces. In this case, we recommend cleaning and descaling the heat exchange surfaces. In addition, water treatment practices should be reexamined.

26

Estimated Savings Currently, the combustion efficiency of the boiler is about 75%. If the boiler were operating properly with 2.2% O2, 10% excess air, and an exhaust temperature of about 440 F (net stack temperature of 360 F assuming 80 F ambient air temperature) the efficiency would be about 82.2%. According to management the boiler operates for about 8,000 hours per year. Assuming that, on average, the boiler is 50% loaded, the savings from adjusting the boiler would be about: 2.1 MBtu/hr x 50% x 8,000 hr/yr = 8,400 MBtu/yr 75% = 736 MBtu/yr 8,400 MBtu/yr x 1 82.2% 736 MBtu/yr x $5.77 /MBtu = $4,247 /yr Estimated Implementation Cost We estimate hiring a boiler service company to optimize the combustion efficiency would cost less than $500. Estimated Simple Payback $500 / $4,247 /year x 12 months/year = 1 months

27

AR X: Reduce Boiler Pressure to Improve the Efficiency of the Fire Tube Boiler
Natural Gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) 1,004 MBtu 11,245 Dollars $3,333 Project Cost None Simple Payback Immediate

Analysis and Recommendation Steam is supplied to the plant from two boilers for process and space heating. One boiler is a water tube boiler generating steam at 135 psig. It is rated at 40,000 pounds per hour. The other is a fire tube boiler generating steam at 95 psig. It is rated at 8,800 pounds per hour. The fire-tube boiler supplies steam to the plant during the second shift and during the weekend for space heating purposes. Management estimates that the fire-tube boiler is about 75% loaded during these times. The boiler has an oxygen sensor on the flue stack, which regulates the air/fuel ratio to maximize boiler efficiency. Despite this control feature, the temperature of flue gases were about 600 F. This is unusually high; normal stack temperatures are about 400 F. After discussions with management, we concluded that the reason for the elevated stack temperatures must be insufficient heat transfer area inside the boiler. Management agreed with this assessment. During our visit we measured the temperature of the exhaust in the flue stack, Ts, and the boiler efficiency, E, at different pressures and loading levels. The readings are shown in the following Table 6.1. Table 6.1. Measured stack temperatures, Ts, and efficiency, E, of the fire-tube boiler. Boiler Pressure High Fire Medium Fire Low Fire 100 psig Ts=620 F; E = 75.6% Ts=550 F; E=76.0% Ts = 400 F; E=78.8 % 70 psig Ts = 380 F; E=84.0 % Management suggested that in the past, this boiler was successfully operated at 70 psig during second shift. We recommend doing this again to increase the efficiency of the boiler and reduce the amount of natural gas consumed by the boiler. Management also expressed concern that the boiler could not generate enough steam at a set-point pressure of 70 psig. This would not be the case. In fact, the boiler would be able to generate more steam at 70 psig than it can at 100 psig. In addition, we asked a boiler expert if running the boiler at a lower set-point pressure would harm the boiler. The boiler expert assured us that this is not the case. Estimated Savings Management estimates that, on average, the fire-tube boiler is about 75% loaded. If so, this would mean that the fire-tube boiler uses about half of all natural gas to both boilers. Thus, we estimate that the fire tube boiler is closer to 50% loaded. From Table 6.1, the boiler is about 76% efficient when 50% loaded and operating at 100

28

psig. We were unable to record the efficiency of the boiler at medium fire when operated at 70 psig. However, using the efficiency trend from operating the boiler at 100 psig, we estimate that the boiler would be 81% efficient if operated at 70 psig. The fire-tube boiler runs from about 2 pm to 11 pm for five days per week. The enthalpy of water at 50 F is about 18 Btu/lb and the enthalpy of saturated steam at 100 psig is about 1190 Btu/lb. Thus, the energy consumption of the boiler operating at 100 psig during second shift is about: 8,800 lb/hr x 50% x (1,190 18) Btu/lb x 9 hr/dy x 5 dy/wk x 50 wk/yr / 76 % = 15,267 MBtu/yr The enthalpy of saturated steam at 70 psig is about 1,185 Btu/lb. The energy consumption of the boiler operating at 70 psig during second shift would be about: 8,800 lb/hr x 50% x (1,185 18) Btu/lb x 9 hr/dy x 5 dy/wk x 50 wk/yr / 81 % = 14,263 MBtu/yr The savings would be about: 15,267 MBtu/yr - 14,263 MBtu/yr = 1,004 MBtu/yr 1,004 MBtu/yr x $3.32 /MBtu = $3,333 /yr These savings are conservative since we did not include weekend operation of boiler for space heating. To verify our assumptions, we cross check with utility data. Based on these estimates, the fire-tube boiler would consume about 15,267 MBtu/yr / 50,442 MBtu/yr = 30% of all natural gas. The percent savings from operating at a lower pressure would be about: 1,004 MBtu/yr / 15,267 MBtu/yr = 6 % Estimated Implementation Costs None. Estimated Simple Payback Immediate.

29

AR X: Reduce Air Flow Through Dispatch and Jenson Ovens

ARC: ? Natural gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) Dollars 327 mmBtu 37,000 $2,564 Project Cost Capital Other Total None None None Simple Payback Immediate

Analysis The Dispatch oven is equipped with an exhaust air fan which forces air out of the oven and draws an equal amount of air in through an open grate. The exhaust duct is equipped with a damper, which is currently set to 100% open. If the damper were partially closed, the quantity of air heated by the oven would be reduced, which would improve the efficiency of the oven and decrease gas use. However, it is important to maintain enough air flow through the furnace so that fumes emitted by the products do not accumulate inside the furnace and cause an explosive situation. The Jenson oven has a similar configuration, but is about twice as big and has a burner with about twice the capacity of the Dispatch oven. Recommendation We recommend slightly closing the exhaust dampers to reduce airflow through the Jenson and Dispatch ovens. We recommend that the dampers be closed no more than 25% in order to maintain sufficient airflow though the ovens. Estimated Savings The indoor air temperature in the plant is about 70 F. We measured the temperature of the walls and top of the oven during operation, and found that they were at about 75 F. Thus, we assume that energy loss through the shell of the oven is negligible. According to management, the Dispatch oven operated at about 250 F for about 70 hours per week during the past year. The product of the density and specific heat of air is about 0.018 Btu/ft3-F. In the Major Gas Using Equipment section of the report, we estimated that the Dispatch oven used about 875 mmBtu/yr of natural gas. If so, the average flow air flow rate through the oven is about: 875 mmBtu/yr / (60 min/hr x 70 hr/wk x 50 wk/yr x 0.018 Btu/ft3-F x (250 70) F) = 1,286 ft3/min We estimate that the motor on the exhaust fan is about 1-hp. According to the 2000-2001 Grainger Catalog pg. 3666, 1-hp double-inlet blowers similar to the blower on the oven generate about 1,300 cfm at 1.125 in wg static pressure. Thus, this flow rate appears to be reasonable. According to management, the Dispatch oven will operate for about 35 hours per week during the coming year. If the flow were reduced by 25%, the savings would be about: (1,286 ft3/min x 60 min/hr x 35 hr/wk x 50 wk/yr x 25%) x 0.018 Btu/ft3-F x (250 70) F = 109 mmBtu/yr

30

The Jenson oven has a similar configuration, but is about twice as big and has a burner with about twice the capacity of the Dispatch oven. Thus, we estimate that the savings from reducing the flow of air through the Jenson oven by 25%, would be twice as much as the savings from reducing the flow of air through the Dispatch oven by 25%. If so, the total savings would be: 109 mmBtu/yr + (2 x 109 mmBtu/yr) = 327 mmBtu/yr 327 mmBtu/yr x $7.84 /mmBtu = $2,564 /yr This would reduce CO2 emissions by the electric utility by about: 327 mmBtu/year x 113 lbCO2/mmBtu 37,000 lb CO2 /yr Estimated Implementation Cost According to the facilities manager, the cost of adjusting the exhaust damper would be negligible. Estimated Simple Payback Immediate

31

AR X: Recalibrate Boiler Air/Fuel Ratio to 10% Excess Air at Low Fire

ARC: 2.1233.2 Natural Gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) Dollars 587 mmBtu 66,300 $4,309 Project Cost Capital Other Total None None None Simple Payback Immediate

Analysis A service contractor maintains the plants boilers. The service contractor measured exhaust gas temperature, percent oxygen and percent excess air for the Hurst boiler at high, medium, and low fire. We calculated the combustion efficiency based on these data. The results are shown in the table below. The Hurst boiler is only used as a backup. Combustion data from the Johnston boiler, which operates most of the time, were not available. We assume that these data are also representative of the Johnston boiler.
Firing Rate High Medium Low Exhaust Gas Temperature 433 F 374 F 335 F Percent O2 In Exhaust 6.1% 6.5% 8.6% Percent Excess Air 38.0% 42.0% 65.0% Combustion Efficiency 80.5% 81.8% 81.8%

The optimal excess combustion air in a gas heating system for energy efficiency and pollution prevention is about 10% (Guide to Industrial Assessments for Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency, EPA/625/R-99/003). Higher levels of excess air dilute the combustion stream and decrease the quantity of useful heat available to the process. The data in the table indicate that the quantity of excess air increases as firing rate decreases. Thus, it appears this boiler was calibrated to operate most efficiently at high fire. However, as explained in the Steam System Analysis section of the report, the average natural gas demand of the Johnston boiler is less than its minimum natural gas input. Thus, the burner cycles off and on at minimum fire to maintain a set steam pressure. Calibrating the boiler to use minimum excess air at low fire, rather than high fire, would increase the efficiency of the boiler. Recommendation We recommend requesting the contractor to recalibrate the boiler to use 10% excess air at low fire where the boiler operates most often. Estimated Savings To calculate savings from reducing excess air to 10%, we used the Department of Energy process heating simulation software PHAST, which can be downloaded from DOEs website www.oit.doe.gov. The figure below shows that current combustion efficiency is 82.9%, and that reducing excess air to 10% would increase combustion efficiency to 85.7%.

32

PHAST Results from Reducing Excess Air According to the Steam System Analysis, the Johnston boiler operates at 6.27 mmBtu/hr input for about 40% of plant operating time. Using the results from PHAST, the average hourly heat transferred to water/steam is about: 6.27 mmBtu/hour x 40% x 82.9% = 2.08 mmBtu/hour If excess air was reduced, causing combustion efficiency to increase to 85.7%, the percentage of time the boiler would need to fire in order to transfer 2.08 mmBtu/hr to water/steam would be about: 2.08 mmBtu/hour / (6.27 mmBtu/hour x 85.7%) = 38.7% According to management, the plant operates about 7,200 hours/year. Thus, annual natural gas savings would be about: 6.27 mmBtu/hour x 7,200 hours/year x (40% - 38.7%) = 587 mmBtu/year 587 mmBtu/year x $7.34 /mmBtu = $4,309 /year The total reduction in CO2 emissions would be about: 587 mmBtu/year x 113 lb CO2/mmBtu 66,300 lb CO2 /year Reducing excess air would also cause the boiler to fire for less frequently. Doing so would cause draft loss to increase if AR X was not implemented. Hence, we encourage AR X to be implemented in order to realize the full savings potential. Estimated Implementation Cost Requesting a boiler contractor to adjust controls on a regularly scheduled visit requires no significant cost.

33

Estimated Simple Payback Immediate

34

AR X: Recalibrate Furnace Air/Fuel Ratio to 10% Excess Air

ARC: 2.1233.2 Natural Gas Annual Savings Resource CO2 (lb) Dollars 26,143 mmBtu 2,954,000 $222,216 Project Cost Capital Other Total $2,500 $1,230 $3,730 Simple Payback 1 month

Analysis We measured excess air in the exhaust gasses of one of the plants aluminum pot furnaces to be 95%. The optimal excess combustion air in a gas heating system for energy efficiency and pollution prevention is about 10% (Guide to Industrial Assessments for Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency, EPA/625/R-99/003). Higher levels of excess air dilute the combustion stream and decrease the quantity of useful heat available to the process. The pot furnace burners are North American brand burners. According to manufacturer literature, the burners are capable of varying combustion air intake over their firing range. Therefore, excess air should stay relatively constant when the burner is controlled properly. Maintenance showed us the intake air adjustment controls on the furnaces, which can be manually tuned by plant maintenance. The following table shows the rated input of each furnace type, estimated average natural gas consumption, and the percentage of average consumption to the rated input, based off of values as derived in the Process Heating Analysis section of the report.
Rated Input (mmBtu/hr ) 8.7 8.7 1.5 1.5 0.75 Estimated Average Consumption (mmBtu/hr) 2.18 0.44 0.54 0.54 0.27 Percentage (Avg. Cons. / Rated Input) 25% 5% 36% 36% 36%

Furnace Type Reverb (Prod. Time) Reverb (Non-Prod. Time) Aluminum Melting Aluminum Pot Zinc

To achieve maximum energy efficiency, furnaces should be calibrated at their average firing rate where they operate most often. Based on the percentages in the table shown above, the furnaces seem to operate mostly in the low-to-medium firing range. Recommendation We recommend recalibrating the air/fuel ratio on each of the plants furnaces to 10% excess air at their average firing rates, which are low-to-medium. Calibrating would involve one technician taking a real-time combustion gas analysis while another technician adjust intake air controls until 10% excess air is reached. A combustion gas analysis can be done with a combustion analyzer probe. Online literature from the burner manufacturer, North American (namfg.com), recommends burners operate at around 20% excess air, which is close to our recommendation.

35

Estimated Savings Definition & Derivation Combustion efficiency is defined as the ratio of heat transferred to metal to the total fuel energy supplied. To calculate combustion efficiency, adiabatic combustion temperature, Tc, must first be calculated, which is a function of combustion air inlet temperature, Ta, and excess combustion air, EA. Constants in the calculation are natural gas lower heating value (LHV = 21,500 Btu/lb), stoichiometric air/fuel ratio for natural gas combustion (AFs = 17.2 lb-air/lb-ng), and natural gas specific heat (Cp = 0.26 Btu/lb-F). The following equation calculates adiabatic combustion temperature, Tc. Tc = Ta + LHV / [{1 + (1 + EA) AFs} Cp] The heat transferred to metal, Qtrans, is a function of natural gas mass flow rate, mng, air mass flow rate, mair, combustion temperature, Tc, and exhaust gas outlet temperature, Tex. The following equation calculates heat transferred to metal, Qtrans. Qtrans = (mng + mair) Cp (Tc Tex) The total fuel energy supplied, Qsupp, is equal to natural gas mass flow rate, mng, and higher heating value of natural gas (HHV = 23,900 Btu/lb). Qsupp = mng HHV Thus, combustion efficiency, , is calculated as: = Qtrans / Qsupp = [(mng + mair) Cp (Tc Tex)] / [mng HHV] The mass terms cancel, and combustion efficiency, , becomes a function of excess air. = [{1 + (1 + EA) AFs} Cp (Tc Tex)] / HHV From this equation and the equation for combustion temperature, Tc; combustion efficiency, , is purely a function of excess air, EA, inlet combustion air temperature, Ta, and exhaust gas outlet temperature, Tex. This method for calculating combustion efficiency has been incorporated into the process heat simulation program HeatSim (Kissock and Carpenter, 2001) which can be downloaded free of charge off of the UDIAC website at www.udayton.edu/udiac. Aluminum Pot Furnaces Each aluminum pot furnace is equipped with a recuperator that transfers energy from exhaust outlet gasses to the inlet combustion air. We measured plant air temperature near the combustion air inlet to be 100 F and measured inlet combustion air temperature of one pot furnace to be 615 F after being preheated. We measured exhaust gas temperature to be 950 F at the outlet of the recuperator after transferring heat to combustion air. In addition, we measured 95% excess air in the exhaust. We could not measure the

36

temperature of exhaust gasses immediately after leaving the furnace and before entering the recuperator. However, the temperature gain of combustion air in a recuperator is about equal to temperature lost from exhaust gasses since the two streams have nearly the same mass flow rate and specific heat. The temperature gain of combustion air is about: 615 F 100 F = 515 F If the exhaust gasses lose 515 F through the recuperator, their temperature immediately after leaving the furnace is about: 950 F + 515 F = 1,465 F The following HeatSim output screens show the current furnace combustion efficiency with recuperator, and the combustion efficiency if no heat were reclaimed and inlet combustion air temperature was 100 F.

Pot Furnace Efficiency with Recuperator Recuperator

Pot Furnace Efficiency without

These calculations indicate that the aluminum pot furnace is 58.0% efficient, and would be 38.7% efficient without a recuperator. Thus, the recuperator increases the efficiency by about 19%. Reverb Furnace Management monitored natural gas consumption of the reverb furnace to be 2.18 mmBtu/hr on average during production time. To calculate reverb furnace efficiency, we consider the two major heat sinks associated with the furnace: the aluminum inside of the furnace and the plant atmosphere to which the furnace emits heat. The remaining furnace heat is lost through the stack, and is not considered useful. According to last years production records, the company purchased about 10,825,000 pounds of raw material. According to management, about 65% - 70% of total raw material is melted in the reverb furnace. Assuming 65%, the average hourly mass of aluminum loaded into the reverb furnace during the plants 5,400 annual production hours is about: (10,825,000 lbs/year x 65%) / 5,400 hours/year = 1,303 lbs/hour

37

Aluminum has a specific heat of 0.215 Btu/lb-F and a latent heat of melting of 138 Btu/lb. We measured the average plant temperature to be 95 F. Thus, the heat required to melt 1,253 lbs/hour of aluminum to 1,350 F is about: 1,303 lbs/hour x [0.215 Btu/lb-F x (1,350 F 95 F) + 138 Btu/lb] = 531,396 Btu/hour To calculate shell heat loss from the reverb furnace, we entered reverb furnace dimensions and temperatures into HeatSim. (Shell loss is discussed in greater detail in AR X.) According to HeatSim, 256,131 Btu/hour is attributed to reverb furnace shell loss.

Reverb Furnace Shell Loss Dividing useful heat output by total heat input, the efficiency of the reverb furnace is about: (531,396 Btu/hr + 256,131 Btu/hr) / [2.18 mmBtu/hr x (106 Btu /mmBtu)] = 36.1% According to the digital monitor on the reverb furnace, aluminum temperature inside the furnace was 1,350 F and exhaust gas temperature was about 1,900 F during our visit. The HeatSim output screen below shows that about 54% excess air would result in 36.1% combustion efficiency. Thus, we assume the reverb furnace operates with 54% excess air.

Reverb Furnace Efficiency During Production Time

38

Management indicated the set-point temperature of the aluminum inside the furnace is turned down to 1,200 F during non-production time. Thus, we estimate exhaust temperature is about 150 F lower than during production time. If so, exhaust gas temperature is about 1,750 F. Assuming excess air is also 54% during non-production time, combustion efficiency is about 40.6%.

Reverb Furnace Efficiency During Non-Production Time On average, reverb furnace efficiency is about: [36.1% x (4.5 dys/wk / 7 dys/wk)] + [40.6% x (2.5 dys/wk / 7 dys/wk)] = 37.7% Aluminum Melting Furnaces Although we could not analyze the exhaust gasses of any melting furnace, we know the exhaust gas temperature is close to the pot furnace exhaust gas before entering the recuperator. We assume the melting furnaces are calibrated similarly to the pot furnace we analyzed. If so, excess air content would also be about 95%, and the combustion efficiency would be about 38.7%, which is the efficiency of a pot furnace without a recuperator. Zinc Furnaces The digital controls on the zinc furnaces indicate the zinc temperature inside the furnace is about 830. The temperature of aluminum in the pot furnaces is 1,250 F and stack temperature is about 1,465 F, which is a difference of 215 F. Assuming the exhaust gas temperature of the zinc furnaces is also 215 F greater than the zinc, the exhaust gas temperature is about: 830 F + 215 F = 1,045 F We could not measure excess air in the exhaust gasses; however, we assume the melting furnaces are calibrated similarly to the pot furnace. If so, excess air content is about 95%. The HeatSim output screen below shows the combustion efficiency of the zinc furnaces is about 54.4%.

39

Zinc Furnace Combustion Efficiency

In the proceeding analysis, we assumed the pot furnaces, melting furnaces, and zinc furnaces were all calibrated similarly, thus operate at about 95% excess air. We assumed the reverb furnace operates at 50% excess air. With these excess air values, we calculated combustion efficiency of each furnace using HeatSim (Kissock and Carpenter, 2005), which can be downloaded free of charge off of the UDIAC website www.udayton.edu/udiac. To determine savings, we calculated the combustion efficiency of each furnace operating at 10% excess air, as shown in the following HeatSim output screens.

Pot Furnace Combustion Efficiency Efficiency With 10% Excess Air

Melting Furnace Combustion With 10% Excess Air

40

Reverb Furnace Combustion Efficiency Efficiency During Production Time With 10% EA 10% EA

Reverb Furnace Combustion During Non-Production Time With

Zinc Furnace Combustion Efficiency With 10% Excess Air The following table summarizes the annual natural gas used by each group of furnaces, their current combustion efficiency, their combustion efficiency at 10% excess air, and annual natural gas savings. Values associated with current furnace operation were taken from the Process Heat Analysis. Annual natural gas savings was calculated using the following equation. NG Savings = Current Gas Use x (1 Current Efficiency /New Efficiency)
Annual Natural Gas Use (mmBtu/year) 37,908 12,243 1,373 33,113 14,580 99,217 Current Combustion Efficiency 58.0% 36.1% 40.6% 38.7% 54.4% Combustion Efficiency at 10% Excess Air 71.5% 51.0% 54.2% 60.4% 69.5% Annual Natural Gas Savings (mmBtu/year) 7,157 3,577 345 11,897 3,168 26,143

Furnace Type Aluminum Pot Reverb (Prod. Time) Reverb (Non-Prod. Time) Aluminum Melting Zinc Total

According to the table, about 26,143 mmBtu per year could be saved from reducing excess air. Cost savings would be about: 26,143 mmBtu/year x $8.50 /mmBtu = $222,216 /year The total reduction in CO2 emissions would be about: 26,143 mmBtu/year x 113 lb CO2/mmBtu 2,954,000 lb CO2 /year Estimated Implementation Cost

41

A combustion flue gas analyzer capable of analyzing exhaust streams up to about 1,800 F costs about $2,500. We estimate it would take two maintenance workers about hour to calibrate a furnace. The plant has approximately 41 furnaces. At a labor rate of $30 per hour, the maintenance cost of calibrating the furnaces would be about: 2 workers x hour/furnace x 41 furnaces x $30 /worker-hour = $1,230 Total implementation cost would be about: $2,500 + $1,230 = $3,730 Estimated Simple Payback ($3,730 / $222,216 /year) x 12 months/year = 1 month

42

AR X: Convert Forehearth to Oxy-fuel Burners

Energy Fuel (mmBtu) 114,730 Annual Savings Elec (kWh) CO2 (lbs) 7,751,00 -2,266,397 0 Dollars ($) $714,721 Project Cost ($) Payback $2,000,00 34 months 0

Analysis The forehearth currently uses atmospheric air to mix with natural gas for combustion. The plants melting furnaces were recently retrofitted with oxy-fuel burners, which use pure oxygen to mix with natural gas for combustion. Oxy-fuel is more energy-efficient and provides a higher flame temperature than burners that use atmospheric air because atmospheric air contains nitrogen which does not contribute to the combustion chemical reaction but only acts as a heat sink. Oxygen is produced in an oxygen plant and sent to the melting furnaces. Within the next year, the forehearth will be rebuilt. According to management, it is possible to retrofit the forehearth with oxy-fuel burners during rebuild. Recommendation We recommend converting the forehearth to use oxy-fuel burners during rebuild and expanding the oxygen plant to provide for oxy-gas for the forehearth. Estimated Savings The temperature of exhaust from the forehearth is about 2,700 F. The spreadsheet below is an output screen from CombEff.xls for the combustion of atmospheric air with natural gas. CombEff.xls incorporates combustion chemical equations and heat energy balances to calculate combustion efficiency. According to the spreadsheet, the combustion efficiency in the forehearth is currently about 28.0%.
Input Data EA = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) Tca = temperature combustion air before burner (F) Tex = temperature exhaust gasses (F) Constants (for Natural Gas) LHV = lower heating value (Btu/lb) HHV = higher heating value (Btu/lb) Cpp = specific heat of products of exhaust (Btu/lb-F) Afs = air/fuel mass ratio at stochiometric conditions Calculated Values Tc = temp combustion (F) = Tca+LHV/[(1+(1+EA)(Afs))Cpp] Efficiency = [1 + (1+EA)(AFs)]*Cpp*(Tc-Tex)/HHV 0.20 70 2,700

21,500 23,900 0.260 17.20

3,891 28.0%

43

The graph below demonstrates the combustion efficiency improvement from using pure O2 as the oxidizer in natural gas combustion. According to the graph, the forehearth combustion efficiency would increase to about 67%.

Source: North American Combustion Handbook 3rd ed. North American Manufacturing Company. 1995 According to managements records, the forehearth uses about 197,100 mmBtu per year. Thus, the annual natural gas savings would be about: 197,100 mmBtu/year x [1 (28% / 67%)] = 114,730 mmBtu/year 114,730 mmBtu/year x $7.00 /mmBtu = $803,110 /year This would reduce CO2 emissions by about: 114,730 mmBtu/year x 113 lb CO2/mmBtu 12,964,000 lb CO2 /year To generate oxygen for oxy-fuel, additional electrical energy would be needed. The annual natural gas used in the forehearth would be about: 197,100 mmBtu/year 114,730 mmBtu/year = 82,370 mmBtu/year

44

The higher heating value of natural gas is about 23,900 mmBtu/lb. For stoichiometric combustion, four lb of oxygen is needed for one lb of natural gas. If the forehearth operated at 20% excess oxygen, the annual mass of oxygen used would be about: 82,370 mmBtu/year x 106 Btu/mmBtu x (lb-NG /23,900 Btu) x 4 lb-O2 /lb-NG x 120% = 16,542,929 lb/year At standard conditions, the density of oxygen is 0.0827 lb/ft3. Thus, the annual volume of oxygen used by the forehearth would be about: 16,542,929 lb/year / 0.0827 lb/ ft3 x (mcf /1,000 ft3) = 200,035 mcf/year According to the Melter Efficiency Analysis section of the report, about 11.33 kWh of electricity is needed to produce 1 mcf of oxygen. Thus, the annual increase in electrical energy consumption would be about: 200,035 mcf/year x 11.33 kWh/mcf = 2,266,397 kWh/year 2,266,397 kWh/year x $0.039 /kWh = $88,389 /year This would increase CO2 emissions by about: 2,266,397 kWh/year x 2.3 lb CO2/kWh 5,213,000 lb CO2 /year The net annual savings would be about: $803,110 /year $88,389 /year = $714,721 /year The net reduction in CO2 emissions would be about: 12,964,000 lb CO2 /year 5,213,000 lb CO2 /year 7,751,000 lb CO2 /year Estimated Implementation Cost According to management, it would cost about $2,000,000 to convert the forehearth to use oxy-fuel and expand the oxygen plant to provide enough oxy-gas. Estimated Simple Payback ($2,000,000 / $714,721 /year) x 12 months/year = 34 months

45

AR 6: Convert Two Smelters Gas Burners from Atmospheric Combustion to Oxy-fuel Combustion
ARC: 2.1126.1 Natural Gas Oxygen Total 7,771 mmBtu 391 Annual Savings CO2 Resource Dollars (tonnes) 7,771 mmBtu 391 $75,942 -$66,052 $9,890 $100,00 $50,000 $150,000 182 month 0 Project Cost Capital Other Total $100,00 $50,000 $150,000 0 Simple Payback

Analysis Smelters No. 3 and 600 currently use atmospheric air for combustion. Smelters No. 1 and No. 2 have been retrofitted with oxy-fuel burners, which mix pure oxygen with natural gas for combustion. Oxy-fuel is more energy-efficient and provides a higher flame temperature than burners that use atmospheric air because atmospheric air contains about 79% nitrogen. The nitrogen does not contribute to the combustion chemical reaction, but it does act as a heat sink and lowers the temperature of combustion. Management is considering retrofitting the No. 3 and 600 smelters to oxyfire and asked us to estimate savings.

46

Smelter No. 3 Recommendation Based on the analysis below, retrofitting smelters No.3 and 600 atmospheric burners to use oxy-fuel burners, would reduce operating costs. However, the investment is substantial and the pay back is long. Estimated Savings The temperature of exhaust from smelters No. 3 and 600 is about 2,550 F. We assume the excess air for smelters No. 3 and 600 is about 5 percent. The combustion equation for the combustion of natural gas is: CH4 + 2(O2 + 3.76 N2) CO2 + 2 H20 + 7.52 N2 The ratio of the mass of combustion air, mca, to the mass of natural gas, mng, is called the air fuel ratio, AF. Using the combustion equation above, the air fuel ratio for stochiometric (complete) combustion, AFs, are about: AFs = (mca/mng)stoch = 17.2 lb-air/lb-ng Excess air is defined as: EA = mca,actual / mca,stoch - 1 Thus, the actual air/fuel ratio, AF, can be written as: AF = (1+EA) x AFs From an energy balance on the combustion process, the combustion temperature, Tc, can be calculated as: Tc = Tca + hr / [cpp x {1 + (1+EA) x AFs] where cpp is the specific heat of products of combustion, Tca is the temperature of the combustion air before entering the burner and hr is the heat of reaction of the fuel. The heat of reaction, hr, is the useful heat transferred from the combustion chamber during the combustion reaction. In this case, the heat of reaction equals the lower heating value (LHV) of the fuel because the exhaust gas streams are above 140 F. The heating values of natural gas are shown below: LHVng = 21,500 Btu/lbng HHVng = 23,900 Btu/lbng

The steady-state efficiency of combustion is the ratio of the useful heat delivered to the process to the heat content of the fuel. Using the preceding equations, the combustion efficiency is:

47

Eff = [{1 + (1+EA) x (AFs)} x cpp x (Tc-Tex)] / HHV Where Tca is the temperature of the combustion air before it enters the burner, and Tex is the temperature of the exhaust gasses. The spreadsheet below is an output screen from CombEff.xls for the combustion of atmospheric air with natural gas. CombEff.xls incorporates combustion chemical equations and heat energy balances to calculate combustion efficiency. The current efficiencies of smelters No. 3 and 600 are calculated to be about 39 % as shown in the table below.
Input Data EA = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) Tca = temperature combustion air before burner (F) Tex = temperature exhaust gasses (F) Constants (for Natural Gas) LHV = lower heating value (Btu/lb) HHV = higher heating value (Btu/lb) cpp = specific heat of products of exhaust (Btu/lb-F) Tdpp = dew point temp of H20 in exhaust (F) Afs = air/fuel mass ratio at stochiometric conditions Calculated Values hr = heat of reaction = (if Tex<140 then hr=HHV else hr = LHV) Tc = temp combustion (F) = Tca+hr/[(1+(1+EA)(Afs))cpp] Efficiency = [1 + (1+EA)(AFs)]*cpp*(Tc-Tex)/HHV 0.05 70 2,550

21,500 23,900 0.260 140 17.20

21,500 4,409 38.5%

The use of oxy-fuel would reduce the air fuel ratio for stochiometric (complete) combustion to 4 lb-oxygen/lb-ng by eliminating nitrogen in the combustion equation above. The spreadsheet below shows the efficiency of the smelters with oxy-fire burners would increase to about 76%, assuming an oxygen fuel ratio of 4 lb-oxygen/lb-ng and that the excess air for combustion remains the same at 5%.

48

Input Data EA = excess air (0=stoch, 0.1 = optimum) Tca = temperature combustion air before burner (F) Tex = temperature exhaust gasses (F) Constants (for Natural Gas) LHV = lower heating value (Btu/lb) HHV = higher heating value (Btu/lb) cpp = specific heat of products of exhaust (Btu/lb-F) Tdpp = dew point temp of H20 in exhaust (F) Afs = air/fuel mass ratio at stochiometric conditions Calculated Values hr = heat of reaction = (if Tex<140 then hr=HHV else hr = LHV) Tc = temp combustion (F) = Tca+hr/[(1+(1+EA)(Afs))cpp] Efficiency = [1 + (1+EA)(AFs)]*cpp*(Tc-Tex)/HHV

0.05 70 2,550

21,500 23,900 0.260 140 4.00

21,500 15,972 75.9%

The graph below demonstrates the combustion efficiency improvement from using pure O2 as the oxidizer in natural gas combustion. According to the graph, the efficiency is about 69% for a flue gas exist temperature of 2,550 F. This number is comparable to our calculated efficiency of 76%. For this analysis, the calculated efficiency of 76 % will be used.

49

Source: North American Combustion Handbook 3rd ed. North American Manufacturing Company. 1995 According to managements records, smelters No.3 and 600 use about 15,144 mmBtu per year. Thus, the annual natural gas savings would be about: 15,144 mmBtu/year x [1 (39% / 76%)] = 7,373 mmBtu/year 7,373 mmBtu/year x $10.30 /mmBtu = $75,942 /year The annual natural gas used in smelters No.3 and 600 would be about: 15,144 mmBtu/year 7,373 mmBtu/year = 7,771 mmBtu/year For stoichiometric combustion, four lb of oxygen is needed for one lb of natural gas. If smelters No.3 and 600 operated at 5% excess oxygen, the annual mass of oxygen used would be about: 7,771 mmBtu/year / 23,900 Btu/lb-NG x 4 lb-O2 /lb-NG x 105% = 1,365,615 lb/year At standard conditions, the density of oxygen is 0.0827 lb/ft3. Thus, the annual volume of oxygen used by smelters No.3 and 600 would be about: 1,365,615 lb/year / 0.0827 lb/ ft3 / 100 ft3/ccf = 165,129 ccf/year According to the billing statements provided by management listed in the table below, the total cost of oxygen is $0.40 /ccf.
Volume O2 SCF 12/20/2007 91600 12/10/2007 313300 11/21/2007 140300 10/22/2007 255400 10/3/2007 374800 9/23/2007 404500 Total 1579900 Avg. Cost per CCF Date Total Cost O2 ($) $459.17 $1,209.61 $624.02 $1,016.00 $1,417.78 $1,518.32 $6,244.90 $0.40

Thus, the annual cost of oxygen would be about: 165,129 ccf/year x $0.40 /ccf = $66,052 /year The net annual savings would be about: $75,942 /year $66,052 /year = $9,890 /year This would reduce plant CO2 emissions by about:

50

7,373 mmBtu/year x 117 lb CO2/mmBtu / (2,205 lb/tonne) 391 tonnes-CO2 /year These results shown above are based on our understanding of the processes. However, we note that from September to December, total expenditures for oxygen for the two current oxy-fire burners were about $6,245, which suggests an annual cost for oxygen of about $25,000. We estimate that the annual cost of oxygen for two additional burners would be about $66,052 per year. We dont understand the nature of this discrepancy. Thus, we suggest that you review our analysis carefully before using it to make investment decisions. Estimated Implementation Cost According to management, it would cost about $150,000 to convert smelters No.3 and 600 to use oxy-fuel. We assume that $100,000 would be material and $50,000 would be labor. Estimated Simple Payback ($150,000 / $9,890 /year) x 12 months/year = 182 months

51