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Presented to:
Electric Power 2005
April 5-7, 2005
Chicago, IL, U.S.A
BR-1766
Boiler Performance Improvement Due to Intelligent
Sootblowing Utilizing Real-Time Boiler Modeling on
UP Boilers
S. J. Piboontum S. M. Swift R. S. Conrad
The Babcock & Wilcox Company The Babcock & Wilcox Company The Babcock & Wilcox Company
Barberton, Ohio, U.S.A. Barberton, Ohio, U.S.A. Barberton, Ohio, U.S.A.
Presented to BR-1766
Electric Power 2005
April 5 - 7, 2005
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
be configured so that a different fuel analysis is substituted when a pyrometers. The furnace pyrometers were installed on the east
significant fuel switch (e.g. change of coal rank) is made. and west sides of the boiler in the upper furnace. Note that the
temperatures behave similarly in response to actual furnace condi-
Furnace exit gas temperatures tions. The values are not in exact agreement since the HTM values
As noted above, the HTM program calculates upper furnace are thermodynamic average temperatures in a specific plane of the
exit gas temperatures for use by the Powerclean system in optimiz- boiler while the pyrometers detect the average peak temperature
ing sootblowing. This is an important feature of the B&W system based on their physical location with a heavier weighting toward
since it eliminates the need for installing field instrumentation for the near field in its field of view.
this purpose. Upper furnace temperature measuring devices such
as optical pyrometers or acoustic pyrometers can be costly to The Powerclean sootblowing optimization
install and difficult to maintain in reliable operation. Field installed program
devices are also dependant on the installation location and field of Because boiler heating surface performance may not be the only
view such that determining an expected temperature for making reason to clean or not clean an area of the boiler, B&W combines the
cleaning decisions is best done by a period of operation and learn- performance diagnostic capabilities of HTM with an expert sys-
ing in the specific unit. By contrast, HTM calculates a thermody- tem to capture and implement strategies for cleaning the unit. The
namic average FEGT in a specific plane of the boiler which is Powerclean sootblowing optimization system is the name given
consistent with FEGT values used by B&W for design. This al- to this combination of expert rules module with the HTM soft-
lows use of an FEGT value that can be compared to an expected ware.
value based on historical empirical data. Not only does this calcu-
lated FEGT provide important information to aid in optimizing When developing the Powerclean system, B&W realized that
performance but it also allows calculation of a furnace cleanliness other parameters, in addition to how dirty tube surfaces have be-
factor that is used to help determine when best to clean the furnace come, must be considered when deciding to clean a given region of
walls. the boiler. As an example, a plant may want to set a lower limit on
cleanliness (i.e., let the surface get dirtier) for the secondary super-
The Powerclean intelligent sootblowing system has been in- heater (SSH) outlet sections if the unit is operating below a thresh-
stalled on boilers with instrumentation for measuring furnace gas old for reheat outlet temperature. This may be necessary as in-
temperatures. Figure 2 shows a comparison of the platen inlet gas creased absorption in the SSH would further reduce attainable re-
temperature (PIGT) and FEGT as determined by HTM versus the heat temperature.
upper furnace temperature as measured by two optical furnace In general, the goal in creating Powerclean was to give the sys-
HTM PIGT HTM FEGT Measured FEGT West Measured FEGT East
2750
2700
2650
2600
Temperature (F)
2550
2500
2450
2400
2350
Time
Fig. 2 HTM furnace gas temperatures versus measured furnace gas temperatures.
tem enough flexibility such that the observations of the plant engi- in the upper horizontal pass (Figure 3). The economizer is located
neer, operator or a B&W service engineer could be incorporated in the vertical down pass of the unit. Steam temperature from the
into cleaning strategies as needed. With the rule-based expert sys- superheater and reheater is controlled by spray attemperation. To
tem designed to capture and implement unit-specific knowledge control slagging and fouling of the furnace and convection pass tube
about sootblowing, the Powerclean approach provides the engineer surfaces, the unit employs Diamond Power IR wall blowers and IK
or operator with significant flexibility to set different strategies for retractable sootblowers. The blowing medium is air which is sup-
cleaning the unit under different conditions. For instance, separate plied by dedicated compressors. The furnace waterwalls have 43
strategies can be developed for multiple operating load ranges. The wall blowers. The convection pass surfaces are cleaned by 32
Powerclean system also serves as a useful tool to evolve cleaning retractable air sootblowers covering the superheater platens, pen-
strategies and practices over time. The user can update and modify dant SH and pendant RH. Eight blowers are in the vertical down
the expert system as needed when changes occur. One example is a pass to clean the economizer horizontal tube banks.
significant change in fuel source.
Operating history
For most of its life the unit has burned 100% western lignite
Powerclean system experience on a Uni- fuel. In recent years a blend of lignite and subbituminous coal has
versal Pressure boiler been fired. The preference is to burn as much subbituminous coal
In this paper, two applications of Powerclean on a Universal as possible without hurting the operation of the unit. Heavy slagging
Pressure (UP) boiler are presented. The first application involves and fouling can occur with resulting pluggage if cleaning is not
the installation of the Powerclean intelligent sootblowing system closely monitored and controlled.
on a B&W supercritical, UP boiler that was originally designed
with a maximum continuous rating (MCR) steam capacity of In general, the unit has had an excellent operating history with
5,525,000 lbs/hr at 3,850 psi, 1010F at the superheater (SH) outlet. good availability. Normal preventive maintenance has been per-
Reheat (RH) capacity is 4,793,000 lbs/hr steam flow at 652 psi formed over the years to address component wear and deteriora-
reheater outlet pressure and 1005F. The unit was designed to tion as required including the burners, pulverizers and sootblowers.
produce MCR steam flow and generate approximately 775MWe With the current setup, the sootblowing system has a finite capac-
while burning 100% western lignite fuel. ity which limits the number and combination of sootblowers that
can be run at one time. This requires good coordination and man-
The convection pass heating surfaces are arranged with three agement of the sootblowers to ensure that the system pressure
vertical platen superheater banks followed by the pendant second- does not drop to the point of tripping the compressors.
ary superheater (SSH) banks and pendant reheat superheater banks
Powerclean was installed on this unit to manage the sootblowing imported into Powerclean, the system was configured for the com-
process with the goal of improving unit operation while firing a ponents, regions and blower sequences specific to this unit. As is
blend of lignite and subbituminous coal. typical of Powerclean installations, the initial configuration of
Powerclean utilized B&Ws experience on similar unit types and
Powerclean system installation and operation fuels. During the configuration of regions, the initial blowing strat-
Powerclean was installed with a communications link to the egies were also developed.
Honeywell PHD historian that interfaces with the DCS. Closed
loop control for furnace and convection pass cleaning was imple- The Powerclean system design includes remote access such that
mented through a communications link from the Powerclean PC to B&W engineers can monitor, collect data, and modify the system
the Diamond Power BOS for Windows system PLC. from their offices during initial startup and commissioning. During
this period, plant data was evaluated to determine where surfaces
Once communications were established and the I/O points were were dirtiest, the rate of degradation of heat transfer, and the effec-
tiveness of specific blower sequences. monitor unit operation, operate in closed loop, and initiate
sootblowing sequences in the furnace and convection pass.
Based on initial testing and setup, furnace sootblowing was
divided into four different regions. The east wall required two Operational improvements
separate regions for the upper and lower furnace. This breakdown Operations personnel have found the system to be very helpful
of the east wall was the result of observation and feedback from since it manages the task of scheduling sootblowing so that the
plant operations that the east wall of the furnace tended to slag operators do not have to focus on this activity. In the past, opera-
more rapidly requiring more cleaning than the rest of the furnace tions personnel had to manually initiate sequences from the
walls. Blowers for the north, south and west walls of the unit were sootblowing control system. Blowing areas of the boiler at the
split between the other two furnace regions. This illustrates the appropriate times has also reduced boiler exit gas temperature con-
use of experience and operating knowledge in implementing a clean- cerns, which often resulted in overblowing already clean areas.
ing strategy that targets specific areas where greater cleaning is Although results and the impact of the system will vary from unit
needed while reducing blower cycles in areas that do not slag as to unit, the data from this plant have shown improvements in both
heavily. reduced sootblower usage and improved unit heat rate.
Similarly, the secondary superheater pendants were originally Data was available from the Powerclean historian which had
divided into the inlet and outlet banks. They were reconfigured to been collecting raw plant data since the communications link was
three regions SSH inlet lower, SSH outlet lower and SSH upper. established. Results reflect initial closed loop control in August
Since most of the slagging on these banks occurs on the lower through the end of December, 2004. Full load unit operational data
portion of the inlet and outlet pendants, the sequences were modi- were used, providing relevant analysis for determination of maxi-
fied to allow more blowing on the lower sections to achieve optimal mum benefits achieved from the Powerclean system.
cleaning in that region and reduce sootblower erosion on the upper
areas of the SSH pendants. The unit experienced an improvement in net unit heat rate with
Powerclean in closed loop operation. Based on data from Heat
Transfer Manager and the plants net unit heat rate calculation,
Results progressive gains have been made. Increased cleanliness in the
The Powerclean system has had a very positive impact on the furnace and the convection pass (Figure 5) improved heat absorp-
operation and maintenance of the unit. Powerclean continues to tion and allowed for more generating capacity with the same amount
1.2
1.1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
Avg Aug Avg Sep Avg Oct Avg Nov Avg Dec
Furn CF 0.617066423 0.669491775 0.697019292 0.699484186 0.78263597
PSH CF 0.755037775 0.784412424 0.794458307 0.796641141 0.8317416
Econ CF 0.880659173 0.859193364 0.86692551 0.893692957 0.864293847
RH CF 0.718104539 0.815865848 0.821156326 0.860018035 0.844048661
SSH In CF 0.662848609 0.723698586 0.723897274 0.740415168 0.727664841
SSH Out CF 0.81410336 0.898544737 0.893089871 0.915783018 0.934219999
of heat input. heat inlet and outlet pendants. These calculations indicated that
the unit realized a general trend of improved cleanliness from Au-
From August through December, there was approximately a gust through December with the exception of the economizer. (Fig-
110 Btu/kWh reduction in heat rate as indicated in the plant heat ure 5.) The economizer had previously run with a high cleanliness
rate calculation. This translates into almost a 0.9% improvement and the cleanliness values remained high and stable.
to the unit. During this time generation increased an average of 21
MW or 2.5% in output. Overall unit improvements
The most significant results from Powerclean sootblowing op-
Furnace exit gas temperature timization were improvements made to the furnace waterwalls, the
Furnace exit gas temperatures progressively declined from ini- reheater, and the secondary superheater outlet pendants. Cleanli-
tial closed loop operation to an optimal unit cleanliness range in ness values for these three regions improved with no negative im-
December. FEGT dropped 62F from August to December, indicat- pact on RH spray flow and temperatures. The RH temperatures
ing that Powerclean was effective in lowering the FEGT values by were maintained due to a cleaner RH surface. Furnace absorption
keeping the furnace walls much cleaner for improved heat absorp- improved resulting in a lower FEGT. The RH temperature set
tion. point of 1000F was maintained and spray flow was reduced. The
reduction in spray flow contributed to the improved unit heat rate.
There is a significant correlation between improvements in unit From August to December, the combination of lowered RH
heat rate and back end temperature reductions. From a combustion spray and reduced economizer outlet gas temperature had a posi-
standpoint, this is often achieved by reducing O2 (i.e., excess air). tive impact on unit efficiency and heat rate.
In this case, the units heat rate improved in spite of an increase in
excess air and gas weight from August to December. Sootblowing frequencies
With the improvements in the furnace, the conditions entering
Economizer exit gas temperature the convection pass changed slightly since the furnace exit gas
Economizer exit gas temperature decreased from 751F in Au- temperature has been reduced since installing the Powerclean sys-
gust to 746F in December. This reduction was a result of increased tem. Most of the regions of the convection pass are blowing less
furnace and the convection pass cleanliness. Powercleans Heat frequently while the cleanliness factors for each component remain
Transfer Manager provides cleanliness values for the furnace, pri- similar or improved (Figure 5).
mary superheater, reheater, economizer, and the secondary super-
120.0
IK IR
July 2004 85.2 95.9
110.0 Aug 2004-Jan 2005 78.5 99.2
% Change -7.9% +3.5%
Average Number of Blows Per Day
100.0
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
Jul-04 Aug-04 Sep-04 Oct-04 Nov-04 Dec-04 Jan-05
Sootblowing frequency data was available from the plant and 1010F. Reheat steam flow is 7,956,000 lb/hr at 635 psig and
sootblowing control system from July 2004 to January 2005. Data 1000F. The unit fires an 85/15 blend of PRB and Eastern Bitumi-
from the month of July is indicative of sootblowing frequency nous coal to achieve maximum load, and 100% PRB during the
prior to Powerclean. August through January data exhibited some nonpeak season.
reduction in IK blower usage and a slight increase in the blowing
frequency of the IR blowers. (Figure 6.) Specifically, the IK blow- The convection pass heating surfaces are arranged with furnace
ers used in the back pass experienced a 7.9% reduction in sootblowing wingwalls, followed by the pendant secondary superheater (SSH)
frequency. The improved management of the furnace has been a banks and pendant reheat superheater outlet bank in the upper
large contributor to the reduction in convection pass blowing. horizontal pass. The vertical pass consists of the horizontal pri-
Overall, the unit is cleaner which has improved heating surface mary superheater (PSH) followed by the horizontal reheater bank
absorption and reduced the cost of operation. and the economizer. Superheater and reheater steam temperature
are controlled by spray attemperation (Figure 7).
boiler and combustion modeling. Powerclean was running in advi- Driving cleaning strategies with performance
sory mode while the HydroJets and BCMS were placed into op- The Heat Transfer Manager program provided information criti-
eration. After the fundamental HydroJet and BCMS startup con- cal to the evaluation and control of furnace cleanliness. The HTM
trol was complete, Powerclean was placed into closed loop opera- calculation of FEGT and furnace cleanliness factor were important
tion. considerations in evaluating overall sootblowing. Convection pass
cleanliness factors, their rate of change and the sootblowing equip-
Sensitivity testing for initial setup ment cleaning effectiveness depend in large part on the cleanliness
As part of the implementation process, each sootblower was of the furnace. Since HTM compares actual furnace operation to
run and its cleanliness factor response was evaluated to determine expected furnace operation, it provided key information for setting
its effectiveness. The sootblowers were also run in various se- up the operation of the furnace watercleaning operations. HTM
quences to test their response and interaction. Knowing the effec- provides an important measure - from a boiler performance per-
tiveness and location of each blower, the unit was divided into unit spective of when the furnace is being undercleaned and over-
specific regions. Some of the regions represented entire boiler cleaned.
components like the primary superheater. Other regions repre-
sented portions of components or particularly effective blower The HTM boiler sideview (Figure 9) displays temperatures and
groupings. The regions configured for Rockport Unit 2 are dis- cleanliness factors in their respective boiler locations, along with
played in the Powerclean Sootblowing and Performance Results other critical boiler performance statistics. As a quick reference
overview. (Figure 8.) during data evaluation, a data trend for a temperature or cleanliness
factor can be selected and displayed.
During testing, Rockport plant operations and engineering per-
sonnel were consulted to document past cleaning practices. This
experience is valuable and is an important part of formulating Results
sootblowing strategies that are implemented in the Powerclean sys- The Powerclean system has had a positive impact on the opera-
tem. The objective is to integrate past best practices, prevent bad tion of American Electric Power Rockport Unit 2. Sootblowing
practices, and optimize blowing and unit performance. strategies have been developed based on reliable technical data and
analysis, and Powerclean allowed the strategies to be implemented
in a consistent manner. Plant personnel have found that Powerclean tube banks. (Figure 10.) In this case, the B side RH outlet tempera-
allows them to study and evaluate the effectiveness of sootblowing. ture shows a steady balance from before to after Powerclean instal-
lation with an average temperature of 1003F. RH outlet tempera-
To assess the impact of the system on Unit 2, data were col- ture on the A side of the unit shows that it was running much lower
lected from the Powerclean historian for analysis. Baseline data, with an average temperature of 997F. The A side of the RH pen-
which represent how the unit was operating prior to the implemen- dants may have been insufficiently cleaned, resulting in a lower
tation of Powerclean, were retrieved for the time period of March outlet temperature. With Powercleans targeted cleaning, the sys-
8, 2004 to March 18, 2004. Data from November 12, 2004 to tem was able to sufficiently maintain a more uniformly clean RH
November 29, 2004 were chosen to represent unit operation after section, allowing for better heat absorption into the A side. In turn,
the Powerclean system was operating in closed loop. For consis- this helped to raise RH outlet temperature from a side-to-side
tent and meaningful analysis, data at or above 1300MW were used. average of 1000F to 1002.5F. A RH temperature gain will also
contribute to improved unit heat rate.
Reheater cleanliness and temperature control
Powerclean boiler cleanliness evaluations and sootblowing pat- Unit heat rate
terns resulted in significant reheater cleanliness and temperature The improvement in overall unit efficiency was consistent with
control. Reheat (RH) sprays were running higher at 299 klb/hr the improvement anticipated by lowering the RH sprays and rais-
during the March operation of the unit as opposed to the Novem- ing the RH outlet temperature by almost 3F. As shown in Figure
ber time period of 284 klb/hr when the Powerclean system was 11, a heat rate improvement of around 0.26% was achievable from
fully installed and running in closed loop. This was a reduction of March to November. Heat rate declined from 9113 Btu/kWh in
19 klb/hr in the average spray flow which contributes to a lower March to 9089 Btu/kWh in November. A lower unit heat rate
heat rate. contributes to lower fuel consumption for the same output, and in
the long term, reduces unit operating costs.
The RH temperature set point for Rockport Unit 2 at full load
operation is 1000F. As Rockport experienced, side-to-side tem- Sootblowing steam consumption and blowing
perature imbalances in the reheat section of the convection pass can frequencies
be address by targeted cleaning of specific areas of the pendant A Powerclean implementation often results in reduced
1020
1015
1010
1005
Deg F
1000
995
990
Baseline Data 3/8 to 3/18 @ 997F RH Tmp A Test Data 11/12 to 11/19 @ 1002F RH Tmp A
@ 1003F RH Tmp B @ 1003F RH Tmp B
985
RH Temperature Side to Side Avg is 1000F RH Temperature Side to Side Avg is 1002.5F
980
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000
Time
RH Tmp A RH Tmp B
Heat Rate
9400
9250
Heatrate (btu/kwh)
9200
9150
9100
9050
9000
8950
8900
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
Heat Rate Before Heat Rate After Linear (Heat Rate Before) Linear (Heat Rate After)
Before 341.4
After 321.2
% Change -5.9%
350.0
Average Number of Blows Per Day
325.0
300.0
275.0
250.0
Jun, '04 Oct, '04 Jul, '04 Nov, '04 Aug, '04 Dec, '04 Sep, '04 Jan, '05
No part of this work may be published, translated or reproduced in any form or by any means, or incorporated into any information
retrieval system, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Permission requests should be addressed to: Market Communi-
cations, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, P.O. Box 351, Barberton, Ohio, U.S.A. 44203-0351.
Powerclean and Heat Transfer Manager are trademarks of the Babcock & Wilcox Company. Diamond Power and Selective
Pattern are registered trademarks of Diamond Power International, Inc.
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