Heat ~ Systems Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 151-157, 1987. Printed in Great Britain.

0890-4332/87 $3.00 +0.00 Pergamon Journals Ltd

BOILER F U E L SAVINGS BY HEAT RECOVERY AND R E D U C E D STANDBY LOSSES B. M. GraBs

Department of Fuel and Energy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, U.K.

(Receired I August 1986)

Almract--This paper is concerned with an investigation into the fuel savings that can be achieved in a fuel-fired package boiler by the use of an economiser which incorporates a flue damper, linked via a controller, to the burner. The fuel savings are accomplished by two means. I. By direct heat recovery from the flue gases leaving the boiler and 2. By a reduction in borer draught and cooling losses by closing the flue damper which is activated on burner shut down. These losses occur during normal burner cycling and standby

periods.

Experimental heat recovery data were obtained from a hot gas boiler simulation test rig, and shown to be dependent on the exhaust temperature, excess air level and boiler size. Standby savings were predicted from a boiler cooling model, based on measured boiler cooling rates and draught conditions. Details of the cooling model are given in the paper. The standby savings were found to depend on boiler operating time, the number of burner cycles during boiler operation and the boiler cooling rate time constant, burner purge time and flue gas damper delay time. Overall the fuel savings that can be achieved were found to be in the range 6-16% depending on the operating conditions prevailing, and additional tests on boilers confirmed these findings.

NOMENCLATURE
CV f m n N q q(t) Q t T r/ r
fuel calorific value fraction of original fuel saved boiler fuel consumption burner cycles/hour number of bours/day boiler operates boiler cooling rate boiler cooling rate as a function of time total heat saved time standby time boiler efficiency boiler cooling time constant

Subscripts 1, 2 without, with flue damper or economiser s,, s2 steady state without, with flue damper c, d, p, b cycle, damper delay, purge, firing (time) e, d, t heat recovery, damper, total (fuel savings) r, sb boiler running, standing-by t total/day
INTRODUCTION

In order to increase the efficiency of boilers and reduce fuel consumption, economisers are frequently fitted onto boiler exhausts to recover additional heat from the combustion products, and lower boiler exhaust temperatures. A conventional economiser can therefore be considered to be a heat exchanger, in which the heat recovered is transferred to the boiler return water or feedwater. The limitation on the heat recovered is governed by the dew-point of the combustion products, and the typical heat recovery is equivalent to a 3-5% fuel saving. In many cases, because of the low pressure drop constraints of the economiser design, the economiser has to incorporate extended surfaces so that it is not excessively large. The latter can lead to the economiser becoming expensive with excessively long pack-back periods. It has therefore become necessary to develop economisers that give enhanced fuel savings, in order for them to be economically viable, with realistic pack-back periods. The objective of this study was to assess the performance of an economiser
151

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B . M . GIBBS

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2 znsumt~

Fig. i. The Rondra Ecomat.

which was designed to given enhanced fuel savings by reducing the boiler standby losses, due to the inclusion of a motorised damper in the economiser. This paper presents the results of this investigation.
DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION OF ECONOMISER

The economiser is manufactured by Tubor Engineering of Switzerland, and comes under the trade name, Rondra-Ecomat. The conomiser, Fig. 1, consists of a cylindrical body with a central flue gas tube and with two headers at each end. Around the central flue tube is a bundle of smaller heat exchanger tubes which are located in a water-cooled cylindrical shell that is bounded by the inner flue tube and outer shell casing. The tubes are welded into position between two end plates. A damper is fitted into the conomiser gas exhaust which is designed to reduce draught losses when the boiler is on standby

ql

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Fig. 2. Boiler cooling with and without damper,

Boiler fuel savings

153

and the burner is not firing. A second damper is fitted into the central flue tube which diverts the hot combustion products through the smaller heat transfer tubes causing heat exchange to take place to the water flowing through the economiser shell. Both dampers are motor operated and linked to the burner via a controller. The operating sequence of the dampers is as follows, and is illustraed schematically in Fig. 2. 1. Prior to ignition of the burner, the flue gas damper and the bypass damper are set to the open position, and the system allowed to purge for a pre-set period of time. 2. The burner ignites, and the combustion products have unrestricted flow through the central flow tube until the flue gas temperature is achieved. The gas bypass damper now closes diverting the combustion products through the heat exchanger tubes in the economiser. The boiler water passing through the economiser shell will now be heated by the combustor products leaving the boiler. 3. When the burner shuts off, and the boiler is on standby, the flue gas damper and the bypass damper are shut after a pre-set delay time (which enables any residual gases to exhaust). Whilst the dampers are closed the draught heat losses through the boiler are diminished, resulting in a considerable reduction in boiler standby heat losses. M E A S U R E M E N T OF DIRECT HEAT RECOVERY FROM THE ECONOMISER

Boiler exhaust gas simulation test rig In order to be able to measure the direct heat recovery of the economiser over a wide range of typical boiler exhaust conditions (i.e. combustion products flowrates, boiler exhaust temperatures, boiler return water flows and temperatures), a boiler exhaust gas simulation test rig was built. This essentially consisted of a hot gas generator which provided a metered supply of heated air at temperatures between 150 and 450C. The hot gas generator was connected directly to the inlet side of the economiser by means of a 3 m long well-insulated duct. The economiser inlet and outlet gas temperatures were measured by means of suction pyrometers which were linked to an electronic digital temperature indicator and a chart recorder. The economiser was connected to a metered supply of hot water, and the water supply temperature could be varied between 35 and 80C. The inlet and outlet economiser water temperatures were measured by direct insertion mercury in glass thermometer, capable of an accuracy of +0.1C. In addition, thermocouples were also used for continuous water temperature measurements. During the tests the bypass damper was closed and the exhaust damper opened so that the hot air passed through the heat exchanger tubes located in the shell. The heat recovered in the economiser was measured over a wide range of hot gas flowrates and temperatures in order to simulate the exhaust conditions of a boiler in the size range 100-200 kW, which was the boiler size for which the economiser was originally designed. Calculation of the fuel savings from the measured heat recovery data Having measured the amount of heat that can be recovered by the boiler heat transfer surfaces it is now possible to predict the fuel savings that could be achieved if the economiser was coupled onto the outlet of, a boiler. In order to calculate the fuel savings, the following details of the boiler are required:
1. The fuel type, calorific value, stoichiometric air and waste gas 6owrates per unit mass or volume of fuel. 2. The boiler heat capacity expressed as the heat input to the water. 3. The boiler exhaust gas temperature. 4. The operating excess air level or ICO21 content. 5. The return boiler water temperature.

Calculation procedure. The above boiler data enable the fuel and waste gas flowrates, and boiler efficiency (~m) to be calculated. The heat recovered in the economiser can then be determined from the experimental data, using the known waste gas flowrate and temperature (corresponding to the simulated flow of hot gas at known temperatures in the experiment). The heat recovered is now used to obtain the new boiler efficiency, ~2, due to the addition of the economiser. Finally the fuel

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Fig. 3. Fuel savings due to heat exchange.

saving, f, can be calculated from the boiler efficiencies, using the relationship
= l ,I,/,12. (l)

Predicted fuel savings and boiler efficiencies. Figs 3 and 4 show the fuel savings and improved boiler eflicieneies that would be achieved if the economiser was fitted onto a boiler with a heat output of 100-200 kW, firing on a light fuel oil at an excess air level of between 20 and 40%, and an exhaust temperature between 200 to 350C. It can be seen from the calculated fuel savings and boiler effieieneies that:
!. In the normal flue gas temperature range 250/350C, likely to be experienced in practice, fuel savings between 4 and 8% are achieved depending on the operating excess air, and boiler capacity and flue gas temperature. 2. The higher the temperature difference between the return (boiler) water and flue gas, the higher is the fuel saving. Increasing the flue gas temperature from 250 to 350C doubles the heat that can be recovered (if the return water is at 55C). 3. Increasing the excess air from 20 to 40% results in an increase of about 10% in heat recovery and fuel savings. 4. Within the boiler range 100--200 kW, the 100 kW boiler would save about 35% more fuel than a 200 kW boiler using the same economiser.

ESTIMATION OF BOILER STANDBY SAVINGS DUE TO ECONOMISER FLUE GAS DAMPER The boiler standby savings can be estimated by an analysis of the burner cycles, and the boiler cooling behaviour with and without the damper (shown schematically in Fig. 2).

Boiler cooling behaviour without flue damper installed

The cooling behaviour of a boiler is best deduced from transient cooling tests by allowing the boiler to reach steady state conditions and then cutting the burner off. Several tests on a number of boilers were carried out and it was established that the transient cooling rate, Fig. 2, could best

Boilerfuelsavings
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be approximated by an exponential, first order, equation of the form

q(t ) = ql e-t/" + q,.

(2)

The total heat lost, Q,(t), at a time t after the burner has shut off is obtained by integrating equation (2), which yields

Ql(t) = ql~,(I - e -t/'') + q,,t. If t is greater than 10 time constants then Q,(t)~q,,t and the total heat lost will simply be the steady state draught losses. Boiler cooling behaviour with damper installed

(3)

(4)

The flue damper is activated automatically some t~ rain after the burner shuts down. The effect of the flue damper on the transient cooling behaviour is shown in Fig. 2. The overall effect is to reduce both the transient and steady state losses from the boiler. Again assuming exponential cooling behaviour, the total heat loss, Q2(t) at time t after the burner shuts offcan be shown, using the same procedure as previously, to be given by
Qz(t) =

[q:n(! - e -'/'') + q~,td] + [q2x2(e-t'/'2 - -#~2) + q~(t - td)].

(5)

During a long burner shut off period, say 10 min or more, typically at low load such as night time, the heat losses will be the steady draught losses with the flue damper activated, i.e. Q2(t) "~ q,2t. Overall heat savings due to flue damper This consists of two components, the heat saving during normal boiler operation when the burner will be cycling (Fig. 2) and the heat saving during boiler off periods or standby periods. Saving during boiler cycling, Q,. If the boiler operates for N h/day, and the burner cycles n times/h, then the total heat saving, Q,, will be given by the difference between the total losses with and without the flue damper, or Nn Q, = ---~[Q,(t) - Q2(t)l. (7) (6)

Standby savings. If the boiler is on standby for T h/day, then the total heat saving, Q,~, is given by the expression Q,, = IQ,(T) - Q2(T)I ~ Iq,, + q,21T.
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Total heat saved~day, Q,. The total heat saved/day will be the sum of the savings obtained during boiler cycling and boiler standby, or

Q, = Q, + Q~.
Fuel savings due to damper

(9)

If the original fuel consumption was m~ (mass or volumetric flowrate) then the fraction of the original fuel saved, fd, based on the total heat saved, Q,, will be given by
Q,
f ~ = m , CV~------~, "

(10)

Computed fuel savings using the boiler cooling model

Computations were carried out for an assumed boiler efficiency of 80% time constant of I min, burner purge time of 0.5 rain, and damper delay time of 0.5 rain. Steady state cooling losses were estimated from measurements to be 1.5 and 0.5% of the full load input, without and with flue damper respectively. Initial cooling loss was 4.5% of the full load input. All calculations were carried out by means of a computer programme. The computed fuel savings as a function of dimensionless firing time (equivalent to the fraction of a cycle that the burner fires) are shown in Figs 5 and 6. The influence of boiler operating time on the fuel saving is shown in Fig. 5 for a burner firing 15 times an hour. The fuel savings as can be seen from the figure can be substantial depending on the boiler operating time. As expected the longer the boiler is on stand-by the larger are the fuel savings. Thus a boiler operating for 12 h, firing typically for about one-third of a cycle has a fuel saving of 5.5% compared to 1.7% for 24 h operation. Decreasing the number of firing cycles per hour (n) increases the fuel saving, Fig. 6, but only by about 5-10%. If the burners are modulating then the fuel savings are even greater than those shown in Fig. 6, e.g. if a burner was operating on half-load, the fuel savings are double those shown in the figures. TOTAL FUEL SAVINGS

Prediction of fuel savings

In order to be able to predict the overall fuel savings that would be obtained by the installation of the economiser the interacting effects of direct heat recovery and standby heat savings have to be combined. This section shows how the fuel savings for this case can be assessed. It was shown earlier that the fuel saving, f~, due to the damper can be obtained from equation (10) providing the pertinent boiler data are known. The new fuel consumption, m 2, due to the damper would therefore be m2-- m,(l - f d ) . (11)

Boiler fuel savings

157

The boiler efficiency however is increased from r/i to r/2 by direct heat recovery, which results in the fuel consumption being further reduced to (c.f. equation 1)
t/Z, ffi trl2~l/?~2.

(12)

Hence the total fuel saved, f,, is obtained by combining equations (11) and (12), which yields:

/,

= l -

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f,)n,/~,.

(13)

Predicted totalfuel savings. In order to predict the fuel savings, all that are required are the boiler data, the boiler operating time and the estimated burner cycles and firing time. The fuel savings can then be obtained from graphical plots of boiler efficiency (Fig. 3) and computed standby savings, which can also be plotted graphically (Figs 5 and 6). The following example illustrates the fuel savings that can be achieved for a boiler tested with an 'Ecomat'. A 200 kW boiler with an operating efficiency of 79% operates for 12 h/day. The excess air level was assessed to be 40%, the boiler exhaust temperature 300C and the return water temperature 55C. Estimate the fuel savings if a Rondra Ecomat was fitted, assuming the burner averages 5 firing cycles/h and fires for one third of a cycle.
From Fig. 4, #2 = 0.835 From Fig. 6, fa ffi 0.059 at # = 0.8 at , = 0.79

therefore fd ffi 0.059 X 0.8/0.79

Equation (13) ~ = 1 - (1 - 0.0597) x 0.79/0.835 ffi 11.04%. Note that this fuel saving is about twice that achieved with heat recovery alone. If the boiler was operating for 24 h continuously, the fuel savings are about 8%. In addition if the burner was of the modulating type, the savings are likely to be even greater since the standby savings were calculated on a full-load basis. Actualfuel savings.The actual fuel savings that have been obtained in practice have been found to be in the approximate range of 6-16% according to the boiler and operating conditions prevailing. These fuel savings were determined in long duration tests,covering periods of time from 3 months to a fullheating year. Fuel savings were deduced after making allowances for differences in degree-days during comparable monitoring periods. Further details of these can be found elsewhere. In shorter tests, comparisons of fuel consumption have been made, on a daily basis, by comparing performance with and without the economiscr in circuit for identical degree days. The boiler cycles and temperatures (water, flue gas) being recorded continuously throughout the tests. The fuel savings were found to be within 10% of those predicted by the 'fuel-savingsmodel' and in nearly all cases were under rather than over-predicted. Fuel savings of about 6-14% were obtained in these tests. CONCLUSIONS I. The fuel savings that can be achieved in a fuel fired package boiler by the use of economisers can be considerably enhanced if they incorporate a flue damper, that is designed to reduce boiler standby losses. Overall fuel savings in the range of 6-16% could be expected depending on the boiler exhaust conditions, standby time and cycles. Under normal conditions where standby losses are appreciable, the fuel savings can be expected to be at least twice those from conventional heat recovery econom/sers. 2. The Rondra Ecomat, because of the enhanced fuel savings, should be a cost-effective means of fuel savings, with pack-back periods of at least half those of conventional economisers. 3. Fuel savings by conventional heat recovery are likely to be in the range of 4-8/@ depending on the boiler exhaust temperature, excess air and boiler size. The standby savings depend on the boiler operating time, cooling rate time constant and the number of burner cycles. Typical standby fuel savings are in the range 1.5 to I0%. 4. Heat recovery data combined with the boiler cooling model can predict fuel savings with sufficient accuracy to enable the payback period and fuel savings to be assessed for any potential economiser installation.