REDESIGNING BOILERS SOLVES PROBLEMS AND SAVES MONEY William Manso Abstract: Author states that modifying the

original design, that is to say by redesigning a boiler is, most of the times, the best way to solve many of the problems commonly experienced in steam boilers and at the same time, a non expensive way for modernization. Some case studies, which prove attractive, both from the technical and economical viewpoints, are given as examples.

William Manso. Cuba, 1949. Studied Mechanics in a Technical School between 65 & 67. Graduated from the School of Sugar Machinery in Central University of Santa Clara, Cuba, and Mechanical Engineering in the Technical Institute ISPJAE in Havana. Became a specialist in Design and Manufacture of Steam Boilers from ENERGOMASH, in Vielgorod, Russia. (77-78) Worked in Sugar Mills and Engineering Companies in different countries. A Consulting Engineer for Schaffer and Associates (Baton Rouge, USA, since 95)

REDESIGNING BOILERS SOLVES PROBLEMS AND SAVES MONEY William Manso INTRODUCTION: Frequently, boilers in sugar factories may have low efficiency, shortage of steam output, deterioration, high consumption of auxiliary fuel, problems that appear repeatedly, technical obsolescence and/or produce high environmental pollution, The present paper deals with theoretical considerations and presents some examples of projects done which show how, by developing new designs, i.e., by redesigning the original boiler [4], most of the difficulties encountered can be overcome. Needless to say, the philosophy of redesigning a boiler is based upon the existence of some useful life in those boiler components and parts that are to be either modified or kept in use. It becomes more interesting when existing facilities, such as buildings, conveyors, stacks, foundations, etc. are made use of. The efficient utilization of a steam generation plant requires that The staff in charge pay attention to: Operation: Operators and supervisors must know how to achieve the highest efficiency under any working load and how to act quickly to correct deviations from required parameters. They must also know what to do in case of danger. Instrumentation and automation: Every boiler requires a reliable set of instruments to enable operators know, at all times, what is right and what is wrong inside the boiler. Instruments pay for themselves pretty fast. Safety and comfort: Boiler stations are tough places to work at. Anything done to improve working conditions would result in stability of labor force, lower accident risk and increase efficiency. There is a non written law: A worker will do what is easier despite it is better or not for the efficiency of the factory Fuel: Bagasse is the natural fuel for any cane sugar factory and should be enough to keep the factory running provided an optimal use of energy is achieved. The quality of bagasse as a fuel is related to its particle size distribution, ash and moisture content, and chemical composition. The particle size distribution today is rather different from that encountered 20 years ago. A much better cane preparation and intense crushing in the milling plants had reduced the particles sizes. Blake [1] considers that more than 30% particles under 6.25mm may result in high unburn carbon emissions depending on furnace geometry and overfire air design. Authors experience is that while the fuel characteristics have changed along the 2

years, furnaces are basically the same as 30 or 40 years ago in most factories. An undesirable consequence of good preparation, for old boilers, is the increase of ash carryover that results in abrasive wear of tubes and fans. Excessive mud from fields, if not removed in washing tables, increases ash volume in the furnaces. The larger the amount of ash, the more difficult to clean the furnaces, hence, delaying the task and adversely affecting boilers operation. Moisture in bagasse above 50% is undesirable, above 52% may reduce firing rate, under 47% is difficult to achieve in standard milling practice however: To keep moisture value between 47 and 50% is not unreachable. The use of furnace oil as an auxiliary fuel is a practice to be avoided by all means because of high overall cost and its Sulphur content, which results in corrosion and pollution. Sulphur content in bagasse is negligible [5]. Fuel supply system: Must ensure a reliable flow of bagasse to the furnaces, whether directly from the mills or retrieved from store, even under peak loads. Feed water quality: Must always comply with established parameters accordingly to boiler pressure. Condensates recovery and usage scheme are important basis for energy conservation in the factory. The water analysis, treatment and storage discipline must strictly be followed in order to guarantee a trouble free operation. Steam lines: Must be properly sized, insulated and properly drained with steam traps installed. Maintenance: Is the key to keep any equipment running satisfactorily. The staff in charge of it should be qualified personnel equipped with proper tools and means and have access to any technical information required for their tasks. Nevertheless, there are some problems whose solution is usually beyond the efforts of the staff in charge of the operation and maintenance of boilers, among them: Limited steam output makes it impossible to meet peak demand and/or to install new consumers. Low thermal efficiency prevents bagasse surplus and even forces the factory to buy auxiliary fuels. Unsuitable steam parameters: Moisture in steam (entrainments) and too low (or high) live steam temperature may damage turbines or other equipment. Breakdowns, which repeatedly occur without any logical explanation and those, which cause unexpected damages. 3

Environmental pollution mostly due to low burning efficiency and the use of auxiliary fuels. Obsolescence of boilers resulting in low efficiency, excessive labor force, frequent breakdowns, expensive repairs, poor working conditions and high environmental pollution. There are two common ways of facing any of the problems above mentioned which adversely affect sugar production: To live with the problems, wasting efforts and money. To buy a new boiler (Brand new or used1)

The first is usually done in order to avoid or, at least, delay the buying of new steam boilers. Finally, it comes the moment when it seems imperative to purchase and install a new boiler. That is indeed a costly exercise. A third way exists: There are engineering methods, which enable the redesigning of boilers aiming to solve problems in an easier and more economic way [3]. Author does not deny or hate the buying of new boilers, just, wants to remark that sometimes there is a chance to solve steam plants problems or limitations by redesigning the boilers, which is worth to be taken in mind before making decisions. THE REDESIGNING OF A STEAM BOILER is just like designing a new one while keeping as many of the original parts as possible but achieving particular goals. The redesigning of a steam boiler makes it possible to: Increase steaming capacity: By modifications in heat transfer surfaces, baffles arrangement, furnace and firing methods. Improve thermal efficiency: First of all, it is necessary to establish which the losses affecting the particular case are and magnitude of each [7]. Basically heat is lost due to: Flue gas temperature, mechanical entrainment of partially burn fuel, CO instead of CO2 and radiation. Flue gas temperature may be decreased to produce an increase of efficiency. A decrease of approximately 15C in the flue gas temperature means an increase of 1% efficiency [2 ]. There are two classical well known methods to reduce flue gas temperature:
1

Heat up combustion air temperature in air heaters. Heat up feed water temperature in economizers.

Buying a used boiler may sometimes lead to spend more money than buying a new one.

Both methods are simple, require little maintenance, involve no moving parts and do not increase operation difficulties other than periodical cleaning. Studies [6] have shown that the combined use of air heaters and economizers proves technically and economically advantageous. The amount of gases leaving the boiler is increased because of air entering the boiler through opened doors and sight ports, damages in doors, manholes, refractory, casings, etc. Proper maintenance and operation might help reduce the volume of air that enters the boiler. A few years ago, some authors recommended cooling flue gases in bagasse dryers. Although bagasse burnability is increased and heat losses may be, thermodynamically speaking, decreased as much as if air heaters or economizers were used, a bagasse dryer involves a more difficult operation and maintenance, a more complex layout of conveyors and the problem of keeping them air tight. If the problem with the boilers in a sugar mill is bagasse moisture, it is easier and more economically beneficial, to fix the milling tandem. Thermal efficiency is decreased as a result of mechanical carryover of unburned bagasse or fly carbon. Figure 1, (right) shows particles caught at cyclones prior to stack in a boiler evaluated by author. Only 30% was ash, remaining 70% was fuel lost. Also, the thermal efficiency is decreased because of an incomplete reaction of combustion forming CO instead of CO2. 1% CO in the flue gas decreases the boiler efficiency by about 5% [2] Both, soot carryover and CO are the result of poor burning efficiency because of wrong operation, poor maintenance and/or furnace design inadequacy. To curb such losses it is necessary to improve the firing process by improving operation, maintenance or redesigning the furnace flow patterns, increasing retention time, and sometimes, increasing forced air temperature. Radiation losses are reduced by the use of adequate insulation. Modernize boilers: Instrumentation and/or automation, fuel supply systems, ash and extraction, thermal insulation, safety devices, reducing soot and fly ash emissions and some other improvements may help update a boiler with a reduced budget. 5

Correct steam temperature: By redesigning the superheater, furnace and/or baffles arrangement. Decrease steam moisture: If needed, using different designs of entrainment separators. Decrease breakdowns: Research conducted in many boilers has shown that when breakdowns repeatedly occur, those may be caused by inability of the original design to cope with new working conditions. Convert the boiler to fire other fuel: As a result of economic situations or in prevision to use second hand boilers: The redesign may be more or less extensive depending on the original and the new fuel characteristics. Before buying a second hand boiler, intended to be used for bagasse burning, if it was not previously a bagasse boiler, it is convenient to deeply analyze what conversions might be needed. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS: The redesigning of a steam boiler brings about changes on its thermal, aerodynamic and hydrodynamic performance. Therefore, each case calls for a thorough analysis and full calculations to determine the prospects, limitations and requirements, depending on the scope of work, to achieve the best techno economic solution. The validity of all previous statements can be readily verified by studying the following case studies: CASE STUDY I. The Ingenio San Ramon Sugar Mill in Villanueva, Honduras bought a 9066 kg/h 3 drums used boiler (Figure 2). The boiler was raised 2000mm on top of a water cooled walls Pinhole Grate furnace fed by mechanical feeders and pneumatic spreaders as shown in Figure 3. The boiler works successfully at its new capacity of 13600kg/h since 97.

Figure 2: Original boiler.

Figure 3: Section view of boiler.

CASE STUDY II. Boiler #1, Ro Turbio Sugar Mill in Venezuela could not reach its original capacity on bagasse. Figures 4 and 5 show the original and the new designs. The Pinhole Grate furnace, completely water walls covered. Pneumatic spreaders and correct allocation of forced air nozzles help achieve suspension burning of the fine particles of bagasse the mills deliver. Air heater and steam superheater surfaces were increased. See Table 1 for data.

Figure 4: Original boiler. Table 1. Data comparison Excess air. % Steam output, t/h Steam temperature, C Flue gas temperature, C Hot air temperature, C Efficiency based on the LHV, % Original 60 47.5 260 280 180 64

Figure 5: Redesigned boiler

Redesigned 30 62 290 235 225 77

CASE STUDY III: Boiler N 3, Azucarera Guanare in Venezuela: This boiler had a poor overall performance before the redesign in which a 210m2 heat transfer surface economizer was installed and the air heater surface was increased from 742 to 955m2 adding new rows of tubes. Boiler capacity was increased from 52 up to 60t/h while the efficiency, based upon the LHV originally 70% is now 77%. Figure 6, right: Schematic drawing of convection zone of boiler. (1) Economizer and (2) air heater.

To IDF.

CASE STUDY IV. This project is under erection at present in CAZTA Sugar Mill in Venezuela. They had an old design new boiler 30% erected (Figure 7). Because the original boiler had low capacity and efficiency as well as a high cost of refractory and maintenance for the future, it was decided to redesign it. Furnace, originally Dumping Grate is being extended forward with membrane waterwalls and Pinhole Grate. (Figure 8) The air heater has been changed for a much larger one. Steam temperature (300 C) and pressure (21kg/cm2) are kept as in the original design, Table 2 lets an easy comparison of main data.
Table 2. Comparison of main data of boiler. Original Redesigned Steam output, t/h 57 70 Efficiency (LHV), % 72 84 Bagasse burn, t/h 26,6 28 Furnace volume, m3 300 424 2 Grate area, m 33,16 42

Figure 7: View of site.

Figure 8: Section view of redesigned boiler.

CONCLUSION: The redesigning of steam boilers provides an economical way to solve technical problems or to improve boilers performance as demonstrated in studied cases. Each case calls for a particular analysis.

REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. Birkett, H., A Short Course on Bagasse Boilers Operations, F. C. Schaffer & Associates, Inc. Baton Rouge, La. 1996. McBurney, B. and McBurney, J. C., Designing bagasse fired boilers for low emissions, ISJ., 1997, Vol. 99, No. 1179. Manso, W. & Perez, L., Engineering, design & redesigning of steam boilers (In Spanish) Paper presented at the 2nd Congress of the Latin-American Assoc. of Industrial Designers, (ALADI) Havana, Cuba, 1982. Prez, L. & Manso. W., The redesigning of boilers as a present day economical alternative. Poster presented at the XVIII Congress of the ISSCT, Havana, Cuba, 1983. Manso, W. Sulphur content in bagasse (In Spanish) Centro Azcar, Ao XII, Especial Issue, 1985. Perez, L. et all, Determining the optimal flue gases temperature in bagasse firing boilers, (In Spanish) EDIMEC, Havana, Cuba, 1989. Manso, W. Experiences in the redesigning of steam generators, (In Spanish) Paper presented at the annual congress of the Venezuelan Assoc. of Sugar Technologist, Yaritagua, Venezuela, 1998.

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