Design Aspects of the Ultra-Supercritical CFB Boiler

Stephen J. Goidich (steve_goidich@fwc.com; Tel. 908-713-2478; Fax. 908-713-2380)

Song Wu (song_wu@fwc.com; Tel. 973-535-2339; Fax. 973-535-2242)
Zhen Fan (zhen_fan@fwc.com; Tel.973-535-2548; Fax. 973-535-2242)
Foster Wheeler North America Corp
12 Peach Tree Hill Road, Livingston, NJ 07039

Arun C. Bose (arun.bose@netl.doe.gov; Tel. 412-386-4467, Fax. 412-386-5919)

National Energy Technology Laboratory, P.O. Box 10940
626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236

ABSTRACT

Ultra-supercritical boiler technology can significantly increase the efficiency of a Rankine cycle
power plant, and reduce fuel consumption for a given output, thus proportionally reduce all
pollutant and waste streams including CO2 emissions. However, the benefits of elevated steam
conditions must be balanced with plant cost, reliability, and operational flexibility. The current
limitations for ultra-supercritical boiler technology have been defined in the high gas temperature,
high heat flux environment of suspension-fired boilers. Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers
have the potential to extend the limits of the technology and also further reduce emission levels.

CFB boilers have evolved into the utility boiler size range with a number of units as large as 250
MWe - 300 MWe in operation, and are poised to enter into the realm of larger once-through,
supercritical units, as indicated by the award of the 460 MWe Lagisza project in Europe.
Because of in-furnace limestone addition, low emission levels of SO2 can be achieved without the
need for expensive backend scrubbers. Low NOx emissions result because of an inherently low
furnace temperature and staged combustion. Because of the low furnace temperature and the
vigorous solids circulation, the CFB furnace heat transfer rates are lower, more uniform, and
more predictable. The CFB boiler also has many ways to allocate heat transfer surface (in-
furnace wingwalls, full or partial division walls, INTREXTM heat exchangers, parallel or series
pass heat recovery area), and several options to control main and reheat steam temperature (flue
gas proportioning, steam bypass, solids bypass, solids fluidization, spray water attemperation).
These options provide the means to give operational flexibility that makes it easier to predict and
control where and how heat is absorbed which is crucial to the operation of an OTU boiler.

The paper presents the design of a 400 MWe Ultra-Supercritical CFB boiler, which is a part of an
on-going CFB boiler conceptual design study program jointly funded by US Department Energy
and Foster Wheeler. The design boundary conditions for the CFB boiler are defined through a
power plant system simulation and analysis, including the advanced steam turbine and other
balance of the plant components. Design topics such as furnace and separator arrangement, heat
duty distribution, reheater arrangement and temperature control, heat exchanger design and
material requirements are addressed.

_______________________________________________________

International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, Sept. 12-15, 2005

1
INTRODUCTION

Foster Wheeler is currently working on a conceptual design study (Ultra-Supercritical CFB Boiler
Conceptual Design Study, DE-FC26-03NT41737) which is jointly funded by the US Department
of Energy and Foster Wheeler. The two primary objectives of the study are (1) to determine the
economic viability of Ultra-Supercritical OTU CFB Technology and (2) identify pathways for the
diffusion of Ultra-Supercritical OTU Technology into CFB Technology. The study consists of
evaluating the following cases:

CFB OTU Unit Size and

Technology Technology Steam Cycle Conditions
Case 1 - Current Current 400 MWe, 593 C (1100 F), 311 bar (4500 psig)
Case 2 - Future Current 600 MWe, 593 C (1100 F), 311 bar (4500 psig)
Case 3 - Future Future 600 MWe, ~700 C (1300 F),~375 bar (5400 psig)

The current state-of-the-art (Case 1) conditions were selected based on:

o DOE Study "Market Based Advanced Coal Power Systems" (Ref. 1) which compared
400 MWe subcritical, supercritical, and ultra-supercritical pulverized coal (PC) boilers. The site,
fuel, sorbent, and steam cycle conditions for this study are the same as for the 1999 DOE study so
that balance of plant equipment information can be utilized for potential comparison of PC and
CFB plant configurations.

o Several PC boilers are in operation in the 600 to 1000 MWe size range with steam
temperatures at or slightly above the 600 C/610 C main/reheat steam temperature range with
pressures approaching 300 bar. These actual operating conditions are comparable to those used
in the DOE study noted above, and reflect the current state-of-the-art for OTU technology.

o Largest CFB and first supercritical CFB sold to date is the Lagisza 460 MWe unit
ordered by Poludniowy Koncern Energetyczny SA (PKE) in Poland (Ref. 2). The design is
essentially complete with financial closing expected in the first quarter of 2006 at which time
fabrication and construction will commence. As illustrated in Figure 1, the largest capacity units
in operation today are the two(2) 300 MWe JEA repowered units which were designed to fire any
combination of petroleum coke and UNIT CAPACITY (MW ) e

bituminous coals. The physically 600

SECOND
largest Foster Wheeler boilers in 550 GENERATION
DESIGN
operation are the 262 MWe Turow 500
Lagisza
Units 4, 5, and 6 which were 450

designed to fire a high moisture 400

brown coal. The design and 350

FIRST GENERATION
JEA
DESIGN
configuration of these units with 300

Compact solids separators and 250 Turow 1

Turow 5

INTREXTM heat exchangers were 200

Air
Nova Scotia

used as the basis for the Lagisza 150 Vaskiluodon Voima NPS

Kajaani
design as well as for this study. For 100
Tri-State

the Case 1 design described in this 50

Pilot plant Pihlava
Kauttua
Leykam
Kuhmo
Pilot plant
Kokkola
Thai Kraft

paper, the Lagisza design (Figure 2) 0

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
was adjusted to accommodate a YEAR OF INITIAL OPERATION
typical bituminous coal (Illinois No.
6) and the steam cycle and site conditions
noted above. Figure 1. CFB Boiler Scale-Up Chronology

2
Described in this paper are the features of the
400 MWe Ultra-Supercritical CFB OTU boiler
design.

DESIGN BASIS

The site conditions, fuel, sorbent, and steam

cycle conditions, as well as the emission levels
to which the CFB boiler was designed are
summarized in Table 1. Also included are
significant heat and material balance, and plant
performance parameters. The emission targets
are the same as defined in the 1999 DOE
Study. The specified NOx level can be
achieved without an SNCR which, if added,
can provide additional NOx reduction. The
limestone consumption and plant efficiency are
values without an ash hydration system or flue Figure 2. Lagisza 460 MWe Supercritical OTU
gas heat recovery system included. These
enhancements are beyond the scope of this study, and are options which can be included for
improved performance.
Site Conditions: Steam Conditions:
Elevation m (ft.) 152.4 (500) Main Steam Flow Rate kg/s (M lb/h) 341.4 (2710.0)
Design Air Pressure bar (psia) 0.99 (14.4) Main Steam Temperature C (F) 597 (1106)
Dry Bulb Temperature C (F) 17.2 (63) Main Steam Pressure barg (psig) 327 (4500)
Wet Bulb Temperature C (F) 12.2 (54)
Relative Humidity % 55 Reheat Steam Flow Rate kg/s ( M lb/h) 276.8 (2197.0)
Reheat Steam Temperature C (F) 594 (1101)
Illinois No. 6 Coal Reheat Steam Pressure barg (psig) 54.4 (788)
Proximate Analysis
Moisture wt. % 11.12 Feedwater Temperature C (F) 299 (570)
Ash wt. % 9.7
Volatile Matter wt. % 34.99 H&M Balance Parameters:
Fixed Carbon wt. % 4.19 Flow Rates:
Flue Gas kg/s (M lb/h) 414.5 (3290.6)
Ultimate Analysis Combustion Air kg/s (M lb/h) 381.0 (3024.5)
Moisture wt. % 11.12 Coal kg/s (M lb/h) 36.9 (292.6)
Carbon wt. % 63.75 Limestone kg/s (M lb/h) 8.3 (66.0)
Hydrogen wt. % 4.5 Total Ash kg/s (M lb/h) 11.7 (92.6)
Nitrogen wt. % 1.25
Chlorine wt. % 0.29 Temperatures:
Sulfur wt. % 2.51 Furnace Exit C (F) 871 (1600)
Ash wt. % 9.7 Flue Gas Entering Air Heater C (F) 355 (671)
Oxygen (by difference) wt. % 6.88 Flue Gas Leaving Air Heater C (F) 129 (264)
Bottom Ash C (F) 260 (500)
HHV kcal/kg 6481
(Btu/lb) (11,666) Excess Air % 20

Greer Limestone Emissions:

Calcium Carbonate wt. % 80.4 Sulfur Capture % 96
Magnesium Carbonate wt. % 3.5 SO2 mg/NM3 (lb/MMBtu) 258 (0.18)
Moisture wt. % 0.1 NOx mg/NM3 (lb/MMBtu) 229 (0.16)
Inerts wt. % 16 Particulate mg/NM3 (lb/MMBtu) 14 (0.01)

Reactivity Index 2.5

Power Generation Plant Performance

Gross Output MWe 443.9 Turbine Back Pressure psia (mm Hg) 1 (50.8)
Net Output MWe 404.4 Net Plant Efficiency % HHV Basis 40.1

Table 1. Design Basis and Performance Parameters

3
BOILER CONFIGURATION

A CFB boiler can be configured in many

ways to optimize performance and
minimize cost. As illustrated in Figure 3,
the inter-relationships between the
selected steam turbine cycle, fuel and
sorbent characteristics, emission
requirements, as well as site conditions
and constraints, will dictate how the boiler
is configured. These project specific
requirements, and sometimes customer
preference for specific features will
determine the boiler configuration.
Options for locating heat transfer surface
and methods for reheat steam temperature
control are illustrated in Figure 4.

The boiler configuration selected for the Figure 3. Boiler Configuration Parameters
400 MWe Ultra-Supercritical CFB is
similar to that for the 460 MWe Lagisza project with adjustments to component size made to
account for differences in unit capacity, steam duty distribution, and flue gas volumetric flow
which resulted because of the smaller unit size, elevated steam parameters, improvement in
overall cycle efficiency, and differences in fuel and sorbent properties. Front and side elevation
drawings of the 400 MWe unit are included in Figure 5; a plan view, including baghouse and
stack, is included in Figure 6.

HEAT TRANSFER SURFACE LOCATIONS:

ENCLOSURES: 5 1 6
1 FURNACE ENCLOSURE 2
2 FURNACE ROOF 4
3 SOLIDS SEPARATOR B 1 2
3
4 INTREX ENCLOSURE
1
5 CROSS-OVER DUCT
6 HRA ENCLOSURE A
PANELS: C
1 WINGWALLS 2
2 PLATENS
3 3
3 OMEGA PANELS
4 FULL HEIGHT WALLS
SERPENTINE TUBE COILS:
1
D 4
1 INBOARD PARALLEL PASS
2 OUTBOARD PARALLEL PASS
5 REHEAT TEMPERATURE CONTROL:
3 CASING ENCLOSURE 4
A FLUE GAS PROPORTIONING
4 SERIES PASS
E B SPRAY WATER ATTEMPERATION
5 INTREX
C STEAM BYPASS
SUPPORT TUBES:
D INTREX SOLIDS BYPASS
1 HRA HANGER TUBES
E INTREX FLUIDIZATION

Figure 4. Heat Transfer Surface Location and Reheat Steam Temperature Control Options

4
Figure 5. 400 MWe Ultra-Supercritical OTU CFB - Front and Side Views

Figure 6. 400 MWe Ultra-Supercritical OTU CFB - Plan View

5
Boiler Island Components. Main components of the 400 MWe Ultra-Supercritical CFB boiler
include:

Fuel Feed. Coal crushed to a nominal topsize of 12 mm (0.5 in) is stored in four(4) day silos
positioned along the boiler front wall. Chain feeders under each silo meter the coal feed rate and
drop the fuel onto four(4) chain conveyors [two(2) along each furnace sidewall] which deliver
fuel to a total of 14 drop chutes/screw feeders.

Sorbent Feed. Limestone crushed to a nominal topsize of 600 microns is stored in two(2) day
silos positioned adjacent to each furnace sidewall. Six(6) rotary feeders meter the limestone flow
rate into the pneumatic transport system that delivers the sorbent to 12 feed points. The limestone
is concentrically injected into the furnace through selected lower level overfire airports.

Draft System. Pairs of radial fans with inlet guide vane control are used for primary and
secondary systems. Balanced draft operation is provide by two(2) axial flow fans positioned
downstream of a baghouse filter. Start-up burner air, INTREXTM fluidization air, and wall seal
aeration air is provide by four(4) centrifugal blowers. A tri-sector regenerative air heater
positioned under the HRA is used to preheat primary and secondary air for combustion.

Bottom Ash System. Two(2) stripper/coolers are provided (adjacent to the furnace front and rear
walls) to cool and recover heat from ash drained from the furnace to maintain the required solids
inventory within the furnace. Cooling and heat recovery is achieved by transferring ash sensible
heat into the cold primary air used for fluidization, and by tube bundles through which low
temperature condensate is passed. Ash removal rate is controlled by screw conveyers which drop
the ash onto two drag chain conveyors that run the length of the furnace. For additional ash
removal capacity and for occasional removal of ash from the center of the furnace, two screw
coolers are also provided with drain inlets positioned near the center of the furnace.

Furnace Hot Loop. The furnace enclosure utilizes vertical smooth tubes designed using the
BENSON Vertical OTU technology licensed from Siemens and jointly developed with Foster
Wheeler for CFB boiler application. In addition to the furnace enclosure heat transfer surface,
furnace temperature is maintained by six(6) two-side heated full height evaporator panels,
eight(8) platen superheaters distributed across the upper furnace, eight(8) steam-cooled Compact
separators positioned along each furnace sidewall, and eight(8) INTREXTM heat exchangers
which are positioned under each solids separator (refer to the subsequent Design Features
Summary section for additional details on furnace, solids separator, and INTREXTM heat
exchanger).

Heat Recovery Area (HRA). Flue gas leaving the solids separators is directed to the HRA via
two(2) steam-cooled ducts formed by the continuation of the Compact separator tubing. Each of
these separator outlet ducts directs the flue gas into two(2) steam-cooled cross-over ducts which
then direct the flue gas into the series pass HRA. The modularly constructed HRA includes a
convection reheater (RH I) and the primary superheater (SH I) which are supported by steam-
cooled hanger tubes. A smooth tube economizer is housed within an un-cooled casing enclosure
and is positioned at the bottom of the HRA. Standard features for convection tube bundles
(sootblowers, tube spacing, erosion baffles, etc.) consistent with the specified bituminous fuel
specified are incorporated in configuration of the HRA.

Start-Up Burners. To preheat the furnace bed material to the fuel ignition temperature, ten(10)
above-bed, oil-fired start-up burners are provided. There are two(2) burners on the furnace front
and rear walls, and three(3) on each side wall.

6
Steam/Water Circuitry. The circuitry configuration is schematically illustrated in Figure 7.

Preheat. Feedwater from the preheater system enters the boiler in a bare tube economizer which
is positioned in the lower, un-cooled casing section of the series pass heat recovery area (HRA).
Water leaving the economizer is directed through a single transfer pipe to the enclosure walls of
the INTREX™ fluidized bed heat exchangers to ensure that a uniform temperature fluid (and
subcooled liquid at reduced load, sub-critical conditions) is received for distribution to the walls.
From the INTREXTM enclosure, the heated feedwater is again brought together to a common
transfer line before the flow is distributed to the inlet headers of the evaporator (furnace) walls to
ensure uniform fluid conditions so that the potential for flow unbalances is minimized. Surfacing
of the economizer and INTREXTM enclosure walls is selected to ensure that subcooled, single-
phase water enters the evaporator circuits over the load range as illustrated in Figure 8.

Evaporation. The subcooled water is then heated in the furnace enclosure walls, as well as in full
height internal panels at approximately the quarter points along the center of the furnace, and is
eventually converted to superheated steam before it reaches the top of the furnace. The full height
internal panels are included because the furnace enclosure wall area is not sufficient to provide
the required evaporation duty with a reasonable furnace height. Sufficient evaporator heat transfer
surface is provided to ensure that dry, superheated steam is leaving the furnace over the once-
through operational load range as illustrated in Figure 8. To accommodate a range of fuel
qualities which can shift the duty distribution between furnace hot loop and HRA, an evaporator
bypass is included that can direct some water to the attemperator station upstream of the radiant
platen superheater (SH II) to ensure that superheated steam leaves the evaporator circuitry.
Steam from the evaporator panels is then piped to three (3) in-line steam/water separators which
are part of the start-up system.

Hanger Tubes SH I

To Turbine

Furnace HRA HP- Bypass

SH II SH III SH IV
Roof & Walls Radiant Solids INTREX
Cross-Over Platens Separators

From Turbine
Water/Steam RH I
Separators
RH II
Water Collecting INTREX To Turbine
Furnace Vessel
Walls
To Flash Tank
INTREX
Walls

Economizer

HP-Heaters
From feed tank
Feed Water Pump

Figure 7. Steam/Water Circuitry Diagram

7
Superheat. Steam leaving the tangential
steam/water separators is piped to the furnace
4000
roof and then through the cross-over ducts 800 °C
3800
which connect the two(2) solids separator 40% 65% 75% 700 °C
3600 100%
flue gas outlet ducts to the HRA. The steam 3400 600 °C
is then passed down through the HRA 3200
serpentine tube coil support (hanger) tubes 3000
500 °C
which feed steam into the lower HRA 2800

Enthalpy (kJ/kg)
20 °C
enclosure inlet headers. From the HRA 2600 10 °C
5 °C 450 °C
enclosure, the steam is passed through the 2400
2200
convection superheater (SH I) which is
2000
positioned in between the upper and lower 1800
400 °C

tube bundles of the convection reheater (RH 1600

-20 °C
350 °C
I). Steam is then directed to eight (8) radiant 1400
300 °C
platen superheater panels (SH II) located in 1200
the upper furnace where the solids density is 1000
200 °C
lowest. The bottom of the panels is covered 800
600
with refractory as is standard practice to
400
protect against any possible erosion. From 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
SH II steam is directed down in parallel Pressure (bar,a)
through the eight (8) Compact solids
separators (SH III). The separator walls are
formed with gas tight membrane walls and Figure 8. Pressure-Enthalpy Diagram
are covered with a thin, high conductivity
refractory lining. Final superheat is then achieved with the steam passing in parallel flow through
four(4) of the INTREXTM superheaters positioned on one of the furnace sidewalls. Spray water
attemperators are located in the piping upstream of the Compact separators (SH III) and upstream
of the INTREXTM superheaters (SH IV).

Reheat. Initial steam reheat is accomplished in the series pass HRA in the upper and lower tube
bundles of RH I. During high load operation a portion of the reheat steam flow is bypassed
around RH I to control final reheat steam temperature. The full reheat steam flow is then passed
in parallel through four (4) of the INTREXTM heat exchangers positioned on the left furnace
sidewall. The primary means for reheat steam temperature control is by modulation of the
amount of reheat bypass flow. The amount of modulation necessary can be adjusted by variation
of INTREXTM fluidizing velocities and the amount of solids
bypass, both of which can be used to regulate the amount of
heat absorbed in the reheat circuitry.

Start-Up System. Before fuel can be fired in a once-through

boiler, a minimum fluid mass flow rate must be established
within the evaporator tubes that form the furnace enclosure to
protect the tubes from overheating. This minimum flow can be
provided by the feedwater pump or preferably (as shown in
Figure 7), by a recirculation pump that returns the heated water
back to the boiler in a closed loop for maximum heat recovery.
During this start-up phase the boiler is controlled similar to a
drum unit by having in-line steam/water separators (Figure 9)
downstream of the evaporator to separate liquid and vapor
phases. The load at which boiler control is switched from Figure 9. Steam/Water Separator
drum type control to a once-through mode is called the

8
BENSON load (40% load for this project). Separated water is drained to a water collecting vessel
from which the water is pumped back to the economizer. To ensure that subcooled water enters
the pump, a small amount of cold feedwater is piped to the pump inlet line. The proposed design
includes three (3) tangential type separators and a single water collecting vessel. The separator
design is an optimized configuration developed to minimize pressure loss and also, vessel size.
During initial firing, the inventory of water within the evaporator expands. Excess water is
drained from the water collecting vessel to a flash tank to maintain an acceptable water level
within the water collecting vessel.

DESIGN FEATURES SUMMARY

BENSON Vertical Evaporator. The furnace evaporator HEIGHT (% Total)

utilizes the BENSON Vertical OTU technology (Ref. 3,4) 100
which features low fluid mass flow rates in a single up-flow
pass through the furnace that gives a self compensating “natural 80
circulation” characteristic, i.e., strongly heat tubes have more
flow drawn into them to minimize tube-to-tube temperature
60
variations. Unique for CFB boiler application are the
following: PC
40

o Heat fluxes in a CFB boiler are less than half of those

typically experienced in a typical PC boiler (Figure 10). The 20 CFB
highest heat flux occurs just above the refractory covered zone
in the lower furnace where the fluid is at a low temperature for 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
supercritical pressures and is a sub-cooled liquid when at HEAT FLUX (% PC Max.)
reduced load sub-critical steam pressure. Because of the low
heat flux, smooth enclosure tubes can be used to achieve
proper cooling so that excessive temperature excursions Figure 10. PC vs CFB Heat Flux Comparison
are not experience when passing near the critical
pressure. 2
kW/m
o The two(2) side heated full height evaporator
panels used to minimize furnace height, require standard
rifled tubes to provide adequate cooling when load is
passed near the critical pressure. Optimized rifled tubes
with a steeper lead angle and more pronounced ribs are
not required, as would be used for all the tubes in the
lower furnace of a PC BENSON Vertical boiler.

o Because of the low heat fluxes in a CFB

furnace, the full load mass flow rate can be in the 500 to
700 kg/m2-s (370-520 M lb/h-ft2) range (Ref. 2), as
compared to about 1000 kg/m2-s (738 M lb/h-ft2) for a PC
unit. This reduced mass flux will give the CFB boiler a
greater “natural circulation” characteristic, and with the
flywheel of circulating solids giving a more uniform heat
flux distribution (Figure 11), will result in reduced tube-
to-tube temperature differentials (Ref. 2).
Figure 11. CFB Heat Flux Distribution

9
Compact Solids Separators. The solids separators feature a flat panel, steam-cooled design
which is optimized to give high solids collection efficiency with low flue gas pressure loss. The
advanced separator inlet design, with a tall and narrow shape, provides a uniform flow of flue gas
and solids that avoids localized high velocities (Figure 12). This results in equal collection
efficiency, compared to optimized cyclone configurations, with considerably lower pressure loss
(Ref. 2).

The separators are designed with panel wall sections and

m/s
have a thin refractory lining anchored with a high density
pattern of studs. This minimizes the amount of
refractory, allows it to operate at a cooler temperature for
improved durability, and contributes a significant amount
of heat absorption for superheat steam circuitry (SH III).
The separators are manufactured with welding machines
eliminating the need for extensive manual welding. The
extension of the separator tubing to form two(2) flue gas
ducts provides a convenient means to direct flue gas to
the HRA. In addition to being part of the superheater
heat absorbing circuitry, the down-flow steam
configuration provides a convenient means to route the
superheater steam from the upper furnace platen
superheater (SH II) to the INTREXTM finishing
superheater (SH IV) Figure 12. Separator Velocity Profile
TM TM
INTREX Heat Exchanger. The INTREX heat
exchangers (Figure 13) are bubbling fluidized beds with
immersed steam-cooled serpentine tube coils which
extract heat from externally circulated solids that are
collected in the solid separators. Additional bed material
is internally circulated from the furnace into the
INTREXTM chambers directly through slots in the lower
furnace sidewalls. The combination of internal and
external circulation provides a sufficient amount of bed
material over a wide load range to achieve full final steam
temperatures.

A unique feature of the INTREXTM superheater is its

ability to control the heat transfer by changing the
fluidization velocities. This special capability is utilized,
for example, during load changes to trim the steam
temperatures and to control reheat steam temperature. Figure 13. INTREXTM Heat Exchanger
Control of the solids flow rate through the tube bundles
is simply done by proper aeration of the liftleg that returns solids back to the furnace. High
temperature valves or other mechanical devices are therefore not required.

Another important INTREXTM feature is that it provides enhanced protection against corrosion by
keeping the tubes with high metal temperature out of the path of chlorine bearing flue gas when
firing fuels with a high chlorine content.

A total of eight (8) INTREXTM heat exchangers are included in the design, one (1) for each solids
separator. Four (4) heat exchangers serve as final superheater (SH IV); four (4) as final reheater

10
(RH II). The INTREXTM enclosures are water-cooled with feedwater that leaves the economizer.
This cooled configuration allows the integration of the INTREXTM casings to the furnace thus
eliminating expansion joints and minimizing distances to transfer hot solids. The enclosure walls
are lined with a thin layer of refractory to reduce heat absorption to ensure that subcooled
feedwater enters the furnace evaporator circuits.

Another benefit of the INTREX heat exchanger is a high heat transfer rate, which decreases the
amount of heat surface required thus making the actual dimensions smaller.

BOILER MATERIALS

For the Case 1 steam conditions, the material requirements for most sections of the boiler are very
conventional, and normal boiler materials can be used (Table 2). The furnace and solids separator
panels, for example, can be manufactured of materials that do not require post-weld heat
treatment. Austenitic steel Super 304H is required for the final superheater, and TP347HFG for
other high-temperature superheaters and reheaters. Material limitations will be evaluated as part
of Case 3 for which steam temperatures and pressures will be increased to practical limits based
on the selected design heat fluxes for the CFB furnace and INTREXTM heat exchangers. CFB
design enhancements required to maximize steam temperature and minimize pressure part design
temperature will be evaluated.

Heat Surface Tube Material Header Material

Economizer SA-210 C SA-106 C

Furnace Walls SA-213 T12 SA-106 C

Superheater/Reheaters SA-213 T12 SA-335 P12

SA-213 T23 SA-335 P91
SA-213 TP304H SA-335 P911
SA-213 TP347HFG
Super 304H
Steam Piping
Main Steam Pipe SA-335 P911

Table 2. Pressure Part Materials for Case 1 400 MWe Boiler

CONCLUSIONS

The 400 MWe Ultra-Supercritical boiler described in this paper integrates the current state-of-the-
art for both CFB (Second Generation Compact) and OTU (BENSON Vertical) boiler
technologies. The integration of these technologies provides fuel firing flexibility, low grade fuel
firing capability, low pollutant emissions, and high efficiency for cost effective power production.
Component selection options and several means to adjust where and how much heat is absorbed
give the CFB boiler the advantage to push OTU technology to its limits for cost effective and
environmentally friendly power production.

11
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The financial support of this study by U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology
Laboratory under Contract DE-FC-26-03NT41737, and Foster Wheeler North America Corp., is
appreciatively acknowledged.

REFERENCES

1. "Market Based Advanced Coal Power Systems", U.S. Department of Energy, Office of
Fossil Energy, DOE/FE-0400, May 1999.

2. I. Venäläinen, R. Psik, "460 MWe Supercritical CFB Boiler Design for Lagisza Power
Plant", POWER-GEN Europe, Barcelona, Spain, May 25-27, 2004.

3. S.J. Goidich, "Integration of the BENSON Vertical OTU Technology and the Compact
CFB Boiler", POWER-GEN International, Orlando, Florida, November 14-16, 2000.

4. R. Lundqvist, R. Kral, P. Kinnunen, K. Myöhänen, "The Advantages of a Supercritical

Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler", POWER-GEN Europe, Dusseldorf, Germany, May 6-
8, 2003.

12