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Contents: Page
Introduction ........................................................................... 3
– Rise in soot fire incidents ...................................................... 3
– Warning triangle – risk of soot fire ......................................... 4
– Scope of this paper .............................................................. 4
Chapter I
Basic Information and Boiler Definitions ............................. 5
– Heat balance of a main engine .............................................. 5
– Permissible exhaust gas back-pressure ................................ 5
– Boiler types .......................................................................... 6
– Boiler steam systems ........................................................... 7
– The influence of a boiler’s pinch point.................................... 8
– Sulphuric acid corrosion ....................................................... 10
– Steam production – Influence of ambient temperatures ......... 11
– Particulate emissions from diesel engines ............................. 11
– Soot fires in exhaust gas boilers ........................................... 13
Chapter II
Boiler Experience and Design Criteria ................................. 14
– Statistical analyses of soot fires ............................................ 14
– The impact of low gas velocities ............................................ 17
– Summary of main reasons for soot fires ................................ 17
– Recommended boiler design criteria ..................................... 18
– Recommended operating conditions .................................... 19
References ............................................................................. 21
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Soot Deposits and Fires in Exhaust Gas Boiler
Introduction
The demand for the highest possible ence conditions (25°C air and 25°C Rise in soot fire incidents
overall fuel efficiency is reflected in de- cooling water), and with the present
velopments over the last two to three nominal ratings of the MC/MC-C and As a consequence of the lower exhaust
decades in the propulsion market for ME/ME-C engines, the exhaust gas gas temperatures and the remaining
oceangoing ships. Today, this market is temperature after the turbocharger is steam consumption requirements, the
dominated by highly efficient two-stroke about 240-270°C, but may be lower for exhaust gas boiler has been designed
low speed diesel engines which run on derated engines. to become more and more efficient.
low quality fuels and utilise (recover) the This involves the use of a large heat
exhaust gas heat by means of an exhaust The name “exhaust gas economiser” is transfer surface and thus a boiler design
gas boiler/economiser. often used for an exhaust gas boiler which with a low internal gas velocity as well
is not able to operate separately, i.e. as tubes with “extended” surfaces.
In the same period, reduced specific without its own steam drum. In this
fuel oil consumption, i.e. increased paper, the name “exhaust gas boiler” Furthermore, the quality of the fuels has
thermal efficiency of the diesel engine, will be used in general, also in cases decreased significantly during the same
has resulted in lower exhaust gas tem- where “exhaust gas economiser”, in period. Whereas the average fuel qual-
peratures. Based on ISO ambient refer- principle, should have been used. ity may not have deteriorated as much
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1982 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 2002 2004
Year
3
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as predicted, single deliveries have
shown exceedings of the normal data,
as a result of a more efficient refinery
process. The residual fuel oils available
on the market today contain consider-
ably higher quantities of asphalt, carbon
and sulphur that contaminate the ex-
haust gas and thereby increase the risk
(in
of soot deposits on the exhaust gas
e
xha
boiler tubes.
Ox st g
ot)
the ion
yge as
u
so
(of Ignit
In recent years, and possibly as a con-
n O smo
sequence of both the deteriorated fuel
and the above highly efficient and perhaps
2
“overstretched” design, it also seems
that the tendency to fouling, i.e. soot
ke)
deposits on the exhaust gas boiler tubes,
has increased and, in some cases, has Soot deposits
resulted in soot fires. In extreme cases, (on boiler tubes)
the soot fire has developed into a high
temperature iron fire in which the boiler
itself burns. The above-mentioned ten-
dency is confirmed by DnV’s statistics,
which reveal a sudden rise in soot fire
incidents since 1985, see Fig. 1 and
Ref. [1], a rise, which may also have Fig. 2: Warning triangle - risk of soot fire
been caused by slow steaming of ships
due to the low freight rates in recent
years. Warning triangle –
risk of soot fire Scope of this paper
Since 1998, we have again seen a fall
in the number of incidents, probably When soot fires occur, the diesel engine This paper is divided into two chapters
caused by the effect of the new recom- will normally be blamed since the soot which, in principle, may be considered
mended exhaust gas boiler design crite- particles in fact originate from the engine’s as two separate papers.
ria introduced about 10 years ago, and fuel combustion. As, in principle, particles
described in this paper. in the exhaust gases are unavoidable The intention with Chapter I is to give a
from a modern diesel engine running on quick introduction to the most com-
It is evident that the high fuel efficiency heavy fuel Ref. [1], the causes of soot de- monly-used exhaust gas boiler types,
target must be met without jeopardising posits/fires may be approached by ask- steam systems and relevant param-
the reliability of the ship. It is therefore ing a different question: What makes the eters. Reading this chapter will form a
important to know the main reasons for soot particles deposit and/or what good introduction before proceeding to
the occurrence of soot deposits and causes the ignition of the soot deposits? the issues of principle discussed in
fires so we can take the proper coun- Chapter II.
termeasures against them with a correct This question may be illustrated by the
exhaust gas boiler/system design, etc. “warning triangle” in Fig. 2 showing the Chapter II deals with the essential con-
three factors which are all needed for a ditions causing soot deposits and fires
soot fire: soot deposits, oxygen and igni- in exhaust gas boilers. The reasons for
tion. As the exhaust gas smoke from a soot deposits and their ignition are iden-
diesel engine, due to its high air excess tified on the basis of statistical material
ratio, contains about 14% oxygen, the etc. In this context, recommendations
soot deposits and ignition items are of are given which are relevant to the de-
particular interest, as the oxygen can- sign and operation of exhaust gas sys-
not be removed. tems and boilers.
4
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Chapter I
Heat balance of a main engine Permissible exhaust gas Permissible back-pressure of exhaust
back-pressure gas system for MC/MC-C and
ME/ME-C engines
When considering a heat balance diagram
which, by way of example, is shown in The permissible gas pressure loss across
At the specified MCR of the engine, the
Fig. 3 for a nominally rated highly efficient the exhaust gas boiler has an important
total back-pressure in the exhaust gas
engine version 6S60MC-C (or 6S60ME-C), influence on the gas velocity through the
system after the turbocharger, indi-
operating on 80% SMCR (80% of speci- boiler. Thus, if a high pressure loss is
cated by the static pressure measured
fied maximum continuous rating), the most acceptable, it is possible to design the
as the wall pressure in the circular pipe
attractive waste heat source is the exhaust boiler with a high gas velocity, but if only
after the turbocharger, must not exceed
gas heat. Approximately one fourth of a small pressure loss is permissible, the
350 mm WC (0.035 bar), see Fig. 4.
the fuel energy comes out as exhaust gas velocity will be low.
gas heat.
In order to have a back-pressure margin
The permissible pressure loss across the
for the final system, it is recommended
Even though the exhaust gas temperature boiler depends on the pressure losses
at the design stage that about 300 mm
the last 25 years has decreased about of the total exhaust gas system after the
WC (0.030 bar) at specified MCR is
130°C, from approx. 375°C to approx. diesel engine’s turbocharger(s).
used initially.
245°C (ISO), as a result of the obtained
higher efficiency of diesel engines, exhaust
The back-pressure in the exhaust gas
gas boilers are installed on almost all
system depends on the gas velocity,
merchant ships of today. However, this
i.e. it is proportional to the square of the
development has been accompanied
exhaust gas velocity, and hence to the pipe
by more trouble, as mentioned before.
Air cooler
14.6%
Heat radiation
Fuel
0.8%
100%
T/C
Fig. 3: Heat balance of main engine at 80% SMCR Fig. 4: Permissible exhaust gas back-pressure at 100% SMCR
5
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diameter to the 4th power. It is recom-
mended not to exceed 50 m/s in the Different types of water tube elements:
exhaust gas pipes at specified MCR.
6
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The soot deposits on the upper side of As a cleaning system is very difficult to Boiler steam systems
the boiler tubes, and this type of boiler install, this boiler type is designed to have
will most often be fitted with a soot-blowing a self-cleaning effect, which is obtained Exhaust gas boiler steam systems can
arrangement in order to remove any soot by using a relatively high design mean gas be designed in many different versions,
deposits. The soot depositing tendency velocity, exceeding some 20 m/s, through with one or two pressure levels, with or
has been on the increase due to the low the tubes. without preheater section, etc.
gas velocity and temperature often used.
In some cases soot has blocked some As examples, the most commonly used
In several cases, the increased occur- of the boiler tubes, with a consequent steam systems – both simple and ad-
rence of soot deposits on this type of increase in pressure loss and reduction vanced – are described below.
boiler has been followed by a soot fire. in boiler efficiency. The solution may be
to clean the tubes manually at regular Normal exhaust gas boiler system
In extreme cases – as mentioned later – intervals, although this may be expensive.
the high temperature caused by the soot The exhaust gas boiler system normally
fire has resulted in a so-called iron fire in On the other hand, the soot deposits used for the production of saturated
which the boiler itself burns. This may have have very seldom led to damage caused steam needed for heating services is
occurred due to leakage of water from the by soot fire, because the boiler tubes are shown in Fig. 7.
boiler because of the high temperature. surrounded/cooled by water and the heat
The iron fire could also have occurred be- surface has a limited area. This is a simple, single-pressure steam
cause the crew tried to put out the fire by system in which the exhaust gas boiler
activating the soot blowers for the injec- consists solely of an evaporator section.
tion of steam or water. The high tem- The feed water is pumped directly to
perature would thus cause dissociation the oil-fired boiler which is used as a
of steam into oxygen and hydrogen. The
oxygen may then have caused oxidation
of the iron, i.e. an iron fire.
7
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O
C Temperature T
300
Exhaust gas boiler
Preheater
Saturated
steam for 250
Evaporator Exhaust gas
Superheated
heating
steam
Superheater services
200 Pinch
Oilfired point
Saturated
boiler with steam
steam drum Steam/water 7 bar abs
150
Exhaust gas
Heat
exc.
100
Feedwater
Turbogenerator 50
Feed
(steam turbine) water Heat trans
Condenser pump mission Q
Atmos 0
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
pheric
Condensate pumps
surplus
condenser
Superheater Evaporator Preheater
Hot well
Fig. 8: Special exhaust gas boiler system with turbo generator for Fig. 9: T/Q diagram for an exhaust gas boiler
electricity production
Single pressure steam system with preheater, evaporator
and superheater sections
common steam drum for the oil-fired stalled (utilising the steam available after A boiler’s T/Q diagram and definition
boiler and the exhaust gas boiler. deduction of steam for heating ser- of pinch point
vices), the exhaust gas boiler system
Separate steam drums may also be will be more advanced. A temperature/heat transfer diagram, a
used, so that one boiler can be run if so-called T/Q diagram, illustrates the
the other should malfunction. An example of such a system is shown characteristic temperature course
in Fig. 8. The boiler is, apart from the through the exhaust gas boiler. As an
Because of its simplicity and low capital evaporator, also fitted with a preheater example valid for the special exhaust
cost, the above system is widely used and superheater. In this system too, gas boiler system shown in Fig. 8, a T/Q
and is often entirely adequate when the the steam drum of the oil-fired boiler is diagram is shown in Fig. 9.
steam production is viewed as a means normally used as a common steam drum.
of meeting the steam demand for heat- The utilisation efficiency of an exhaust
ing services on the ship. gas boiler is characterised by its pinch
point. The pinch point is the lowest
The loss of water from the exhaust gas
The influence of a boiler’s
temperature difference between the ex-
boiler is in the magnitude of about 1%
pinch point
haust gas and the saturated steam, i.e.
of the steam production. the temperature difference between the
A boiler’s pinch point is a parameter that exhaust gas leaving the evaporator
Special exhaust gas boiler system can tell us a lot about the boiler’s design section and the saturated steam, see
with turbogenerator and potential behaviour in operation. It the T/Q diagram in Fig. 9.
will therefore be defined below, and its
When a turbogenerator, i.e. a steam influence on some important boiler para- Normally, the steam pressure will be above
turbine driven electrical generator, is in- meters will be discussed in this section. 7 bar abs. (6 barg) and often equal to 8
8
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Relative Relative heat
e
transfer surface
ac
steam
urf
production
rs
sf e
% 232
Temperature 225
ran
125
t
o
C
at
200
He
110
105 175
100 n
uctio 150
230 d
pro 141
220 am 125
75 te
S
210 100
O
tle
u
200 tg Example:
as 75
t em 132% larger exhaust gas boiler
50 190 per required to produce 10% more
atur 50
e o
steam at 5 C pinch point
180 o
compared with 15 C
170 25
25
160 Steam temperature 0
o
80 60 50 40 30 20 15 10 5 3 Pinch point C
Fig. 10: Influence of a boiler´s pinch point, relative to 15 oC. The graph shows the relative influence of the pinch
point on an exhaust gas boiler´s heat transfer surface (size and investment) and steam production [3]
bar abs. (7 barg), corresponding to a By way of example, the graphs in Fig. The lower the pinch point, the larger the
minimum evaporation temperature of 10 indicate that an exhaust gas boiler heat transfer surfaces and the more ef-
165°C. According to the T/Q diagram with a pinch point of 5°C, compared ficient is the exhaust gas boiler, and the
the gas outlet temperature, even for a with one with a pinch point of 15°C, will higher is the gas pressure loss across
boiler with feed water preheater section, produce 10% more steam, but at the the boiler. As the maximum permissible
will therefore not be lower than about expense of having a heat transfer sur- gas pressure loss has a certain limitation,
165°C, when 20°C or above is used as face about 2.3 times that of the original the boiler’s design gas velocity has to be
the pinch point. boiler surface, and the gas velocity reduced in order not to exceed the limit
through the boiler may be correspond- for the permissible gas pressure loss.
A boiler’s steam production and ingly reduced, as otherwise the pressure
heat transfer surface loss across the boiler might be too high. This is what has happened with the
more efficient exhaust gas boiler design
The influence of the pinch point on the A boiler’s pressure loss and gas during the past two decades because
exhaust gas boiler design will be evident velocity of the lower exhaust gas temperatures
from the following example. of the diesel engines. In this context,
In principle, the pinch point may be Chapter II will show that a low gas velo-
The graphs in Fig. 10 show the influence considered a measure of how extensive city in particular will have a distinct influ-
of the pinch point on the boiler’s heat and how efficient the heat utilisation of ence on the tendency towards soot de-
transfer surface and steam production [3]. the exhaust gas boiler is. posits, a tendency which has become
9
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o
Sulphuric acid corrosion
C Approximated sulphuric acid dew point
150 A high degree of utilisation of the exhaust
gas heat requires the lowes possible
exhaust gas boiler outlet temperature
140 which, if the required steam pressure
and thereby the evaporation tempera-
ture is sufficiently low, is limited mainly
130 by the risk of corrosion of the exhaust
gas boiler heating surfaces due to
sulphuric acid condensation.
120
Corrosion starts when the temperature
of the boiler tube surfaces is equal to, or
lower than, the dew point temperature
110
of the sulphuric acid. Furthermore, the
temperature of the boiler tube surfaces
(gas side) is almost equal to the water
0
100 temperature in the boiler, due to the fact
0 1 2 3 4 5 wt % that the heat transfer coefficient on the
Sulphur (S) content in fuel gas side is extremely low compared to
that on the water side.
Fig. 11: Sulphuric acid dew point of exhaust gas shown as a function of
the sulphur content in the fuel The sulphuric acid dew point tempera-
ture depends especially on the content
of sulphur in the fuel oil and of oxygen in
0 o
C Exhaust gas temperature after T/C /+ 15 C the exhaust gas, but is rather difficult to
350 establish. The chemical reactions are
as follows:
10
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sulphuric acid in the exhaust gas from As an example, valid for a 6S60MC-C and the surplus steam has to be dumped
the main engine can be expected to be engine, Fig. 12 shows the influence of by means of the atmospheric surplus con-
about 135°C, which means that in this the turbocharger air intake temperature denser. However, in winter time (10°C air)
case the temperature of boiler circulat- on the exhaust gas temperature, valid with a lower exhaust gas temperature,
ing water or feed water at the boiler in- for ISO reference conditions (25°C air/ the steam production will be lower, where-
let should be kept higher than 135°C. 25°C c.w.), tropical air temperature of as the steam consumption will increase,
45°C and a winter air temperature of meaning that the oil fired boiler may occa-
10°C, respectively. sionally have to start up to supplement the
Steam production – Influence steam production.
of ambient temperatures The similar example (see Fig. 13) valid
for an Aframax tanker having a 6S60MC-C
During normal operation of the ship, the main engine installed, shows the corre- Particulate emissions from
ambient air and seawater temperatures sponding steam production of an exhaust diesel engines
will change, and this will have an influence gas boiler with an evaporator section only,
on the exhaust gas temperature. and based on the steam pressure of 8 Low speed diesels have been leading
bar abs., and 20°C pinch point, together the way with regard to the acceptance
Thus, the exhaust temperature after turbo- with the needed steam consumption for
chargers will decrease about 1.6°C for of low-grade fuels, low fuel consumption
heating services. The upper graph for the and high reliability. In this process, the
each 1.0°C reduction of the turbocharger ISO (25°C air) based boiler design shows
intake air temperature, and vice versa. presence of particulates in the exhaust
that too much steam will be produced, gas, from an operational point of view,
always has been, and no doubt always
will be, unavoidable.
Steam production
kg/h Total steam
o
ISO ambient conditions (25 C) The typical exhaust gas emission values
production for the most commonly discussed pol-
3,000
lutants, NOx, SOx, CO, HC, and parti-
culates, are shown in Fig. 14. In the
context of this paper, only the particu-
2,000
late/soot emissions, and to some degree
the hydrocarbons (HC), are of interest
Surplus steam and will be described in the following.
1,000
Sources of particulate emissions
Steam consumption
0 Particulates in the exhaust gas may
40 50 60 70 80 90 100 %SMCR originate from a number of sources:
11
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combustion process takes place from
small droplets of fuel which evaporate,
14.0% O2
ignite, and are subsequently burnt.
76.2% N2
Heat During this process, a minute part of
21% O2 4.5% CO2
the oil, comprising mainly carbon, will
79% N2 5.1% H2O
be left as a “nucleus”.
1500 ppm NOx
97% HC 600 ppm SOx
Particulate emissions will vary substan-
3% S 60 ppm CO
tially with the fuel oil composition and
180 ppm HC
lube oil type and dosage. It is therefore
97% HC 120 mg/Nm3 part
difficult to state general emission rates
2.5% CA for particulates, but when the engine is
0.5% S operating on heavy fuel oil, values of
the order of 120-150 mg/Nm3, corre-
sponding to some 0.8-1.0 g/kWh, may
be considered typical.
Fig. 14: Typical emissions from an MC/ME type low speed diesel engine
2H2O Æ 2H2 + O2
}H and CO are combustible
2
H2O + C Æ H2 + CO
Fig. 15: Development of a soot fire in an exhaust gas boiler Fig. 16: High temperature fire of a gas fired water tube type boiler
12
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In general, the particles are small and, ditions the soot may be “wet” with oil Small soot fires
when the engine operates on heavy fuel and/or other gas condensates like hydro-
oil, it may be expected that over 90% carbons, and this may have an increas- Small soot fires in the boiler are most
of them will be less than 1 micron in size, ing effect on the tendency of soot to likely to occur during manoeuvring with
excluding flakes of deposits, and peel- deposit, as the soot may be more sticky. the main engine in low load operation.
ing-off from the combustion chamber or These fires do not cause damage to
exhaust system walls. the boiler, or damage is very limited, but
Soot fires in exhaust gas boilers the fires should be carefully monitored.
The particulates also include some of
the ash content of the oil, i.e. the trace A fire in the exhaust gas boiler may de- Heat from the fire is mainly conducted
metals. The above-mentioned contribu- velop in two or three stages, see Fig. away with the circulation water and
tion from the lubricating oil consists 15 and Ref. [2]. The ignition of soot nor- steam and with the combustion gases.
mainly of calcium compounds, viz. mally develops into a small and limited
sulphates and carbonates, as calcium fire, but under extreme conditions it High-temperature fires
is the main carrier of alkalinity in lube oil may develop into a high-temperature fire.
to neutralise sulphuric acid. Under certain conditions, a small soot
Ignition of soot fire may develop into a high-tempera-
A test of the soot deposits in a boiler ture fire. The photo in Fig. 16 shows an
with gilled tubes has shown that about Ignition of soot may arise in the presence example of an exhaust gas boiler which
70% of the soot is combustible. of sufficient oxygen when the deposits has had a high-temperature fire, where
of combustible materials have a suffi- the boiler tubes have burned and melted.
Hydrocarbons ciently high temperature (higher than The reactions involved here are (see also
the flash point) at which they will liberate stage 3 in Fig.15).
During the combustion process, a very sufficient vapour, which may be ignited
small part of the hydrocarbons will leave by a spark or a flame. a. Hydrogen fire
the engine unburnt, and others will be This occurs because dissociation of
formed. These are referred to as unburnt The main constituent of the soot deposit water into hydrogen and oxygen or, in
hydrocarbons, and they are normally is particulates but, in addition, some connection with carbon, into carbon
stated in terms of equivalent CH4 content. unburnt residues of fuel and lubricating monoxide and hydrogen, may occur
oils may be deposited in the boiler be- under certain conditions. A hydrogen
The content of unburnt hydrocarbons in cause of faulty combustion equipment fire may start if the temperature is
the exhaust gas from large diesel engines and, in particular, in connection with above 1000 oC.
can be up to 300 ppm, but depends, starting and low speed running of the
among other factors, very much on the engine. b. Iron fire
maintenance condition of the fuel injec- An iron fire means that the oxidation
tion system and, to some extent, on the The potential ignition temperature of the of iron at high temperatures occurs at
type of fuel and the cylinder oil dosage. soot layer is normally in the region of a rate sufficiently high to make the
300-400 oC, but the presence of unburnt amount of heat release from the re-
The hydrocarbon figure to some extent oil may lower the ignition temperature actions sustain the process. These
overlaps the figure for particulates, as to approx. 150 oC, and under extreme reactions may take place at a tem-
these consist partly of hydrocarbons. conditions even down to 120 oC. perature in excess of 1100 oC.
Sticky effect of particulate emissions This means that ignition may also take In this connection, it is important to
place after stop of the main engine as realise that also water (H2O) may go
If the right – or rather the wrong – con- a result of glowing particles (sparks) in chemical reaction with iron (Fe),
ditions prevail, the soot particulates remaining on the boiler tubes. i.e. the use of the steam based soot
may deposit in the exhaust gas boiler. blower will feed the fire.
13
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Chapter II
14
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Thus, the ships equipped with, for ex-
ample, MAN B&W, Sulzer or Mitsubishi Number of cases
two-stroke main engines, all seem to 20
have had the same relative number of
Trouble
cases with and without soot-fire troubles. 15
Furthermore, statistics show that the No trouble
occurrence of soot fires is also largely
independent on whether it is a short or 10
a long stroke engine.
5
There is no information regarding the
type of fuel oil, but, as we are dealing 0
with two-stroke engines, heavy fuel oil 100 150 200 250 300
o
350 C
is probably used. Operating the engine Inlet gas temperature
on heavy residual fuels of low quality Number of cases
probably has an increasing effect on 15
the tendency towards soot deposits.
As low quality heavy residual fuels are
cheap, this tendency may be considered 10
as an unavoidable parameter now and
in the future (unless, for example, special 5
fuel additives are used, as indicated in
recent information). Special features 0
regarding “Operation on Heavy Residual 100 150 200 250 300 350 C
o
Fig. 18 shows, somewhat surprisingly, In fact, the type of boiler fitted with plain severe cases of soot fire, with burning
that the shape of the water tube ele- tube elements had almost the same down of the tube elements themselves,
ments used in exhaust gas boilers of the relative number of soot fire problems as may be more of a risk for boilers with
water tube type had no distinct influence boilers fitted with tube elements with an extended tube surface than for those
on the tendency towards soot fires. extended surface. On the other hand, the with plain tubes, because the potential
area is bigger, or should we say forms a
reservoir for soot deposits.
Number of cases
60 Influence of exhaust gas temperature
15
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design mean gas velocity included in
Number of cases the statistics had exhaust gas smoke
15 containing sticky soot, and this seems
Trouble improbable.
16
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thereby also the amount of exhaust
Number of cases gas, will be reduced. This means that
20 under specific operating conditions, the
actual mean gas velocity in the boiler
Trouble can be lower than 50% of the boiler’s
15 No trouble design mean gas velocity.
Circulation water/steam flow ratio (normal service) In one case, a smoke tube boiler suffered
from soot clogging caused by a non-
Fig. 21: Boiler trouble – influence of water circulation in water tubes uniform gas flow due to a 90° bend just be-
fore the inlet to the boiler, see Fig. 22,
left. Clogging with dry, hard and consis-
When the boiler has been designed in such soot particles will be blown away, i.e. tent soot only occurred in that corner of
a way that soot deposits do not occur, the boiler itself will have a self-cleaning the boiler, with the low gas velocity. No
there is, of course, no soot to ignite. effect. Compare the smoke tube boilers. prob- lems were experienced on sister
ships with the same main engine and
This may explain the trouble-free cases According to some boiler makers, the boiler types, but with a long straight in-
in Fig. 21 with boilers with a low circula- gas velocity limit for soot deposits is let pipe to the boiler, see Fig. 22, right.
tion water flow rate, even though the about 12 m/s, but may depend on the
ignition potential exists. gas constituents, as discussed above.
Summary of main reasons for
Part load running of main engine
soot fires
The impact of low gas velocities
It is important to distinguish between a Given the points discussed in this pa-
The tendency in the statistical material boiler’s design mean gas velocity and per, and with due consideration for the
seems quite clear: when the actual gas the actual gas velocity in the boiler. statistical material and the warning tri-
velocity in the boiler is lower than a cer- angle for soot fires (Fig. 2), a general
tain value, the soot particles in the ex- When, for example, a ship is sailing with and fairly simple explanation of the main
haust gas will deposit on the tubes reduced speed or is manoeuvring, the reasons for soot fires may now be given
whereas, if the gas velocity is higher, the diesel engine’s power output, and by using the analogies below.
17
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Analogy with snow (soot deposits) Analogy with coal briquettes (ignition) General four main parameters
In a snowstorm at below-zero tempera- Igniting a coal briquette (dry soot) for a grill Given the points discussed above, the
ture, the snowflakes (dry soot particulates) is quite difficult, as its ignition temperature risk of soot deposits and ignition followed
will not easily deposit on the ground un- is rather high. On the other hand, if the by soot fires may be minimised by re-
less the wind (gas) velocity is reduced, briquettes have been wetted with oil (wet specting the following four main param-
as it is for example behind a fence. The soot), the ignition temperature will be lower eters - valid for both water and smoke
low wind velocity will cause the snow- and it will be easier to ignite the briquettes tube boilers:
flakes to deposit and form a snowdrift, (wet soot). The higher the temperature
and if the wind direction changes of the wetted briquettes (wet soot), the • The gas velocity in the boiler must
(higher velocity), part of the snowdrift easier they are to set on fire. not be too low,
may move. This means that at a cer- - this reduces the main risk factor for
tain low wind (gas) velocity, the snow- So in general, the drier the briquettes soot deposits.
flakes (dry soot particulates) will deposit. (soot), and the lower the temperature,
the more difficult they will be to ignite. • The gas temperature on the boiler
In a thaw, for example, when the snow- tube surfaces must not be too low,
flakes are wet (wet soot), the snowflakes Analogy with putting-out a fondue - this reduces the additional risk of
will deposit more easily, and a change fire (oxygen) soot deposits due to the formation
in the wind direction (higher velocity) will of wet soot.
make only a small part of the snowdrift If the oil in a fondue pot has become
move. Thus, the wet snowflakes (wet too hot and has been set on fire, the • The engine smoke emission should
soot) will deposit, but will do so already easiest way to extinguish the fire is to not be allowed to deteriorate,
at a wind velocity (gas velocity) which is put a cover over the fire and stop the - since this would increase the ten-
higher than the wind (gas) velocity for the supply of oxygen. dency towards soot deposits.
above-mentioned frozen snowflakes
(dry soot). When a soot fire occurs in an exhaust gas • The circulation water flow velocity and
boiler, similar action has to be taken. In ratio in the boiler must not be too low
In general, therefore, high wind (gas) ve- this case the oxygen supply is stopped by - this keeps the gas temperature at the
locities and frozen snowflakes (dry soot) will stopping the diesel engine, as the engine’s boundary layer of the boiler tubes be
reduce the tendency towards deposits. exhaust gas still contains about 14% low the ignition temperature of the soot.
oxygen.
The first three of these parameters relate
Wrong Correct to the soot deposits, whereas the number
four parameter relates to the risk of ig-
nition of the soot.
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b)The pinch point temperature of the h) Automatic soot blowers for frequent surfaces can then be higher than the
boiler should be higher than about cleaning should be installed in water dew point of the sulphuric acid in the
15°C or, even better, 20°C. tube boilers in order to clean the tubes gas, thus minimising the risk of
of soot. The pressure of the soot blowing sulphuric acid corrosion.
c) The boiler’s exhaust gas outlet tem- medium should be as high as possible
perature should not be lower than during the entire soot blowing sequence. Referring to ignition:
about 165°C as otherwise condensa- As the possible steam pressure used
tion of sulphuric acid in the exhaust is only about 7 barg, and in some cases k) The circulation water flow velocity
gas could make the soot sticky. 6 barg, the use of high-pressure air will and ratio at the boiler inlet should be
be better. as high as possible in order to keep
d)The inlet piping to the boiler should the gas temperature at the boiler
be designed so that the gas flow ve- i) Fixed water washing system and/or tube surface as low as possible (in
locity distribution is as uniform as pos- manual cleaning at regular intervals. contrast to point j). The water flow ra-
sible, in order to avoid local points Water washing is performed in order tio (water flow/steam production ratio)
with a particularly low gas velocity. to clean the boiler completely of soot is recommended to be equal to or
which has not been cleaned away by higher than 6. This should reduce the
e) The exhaust gas design pressure the soot blowers. The exhaust gas risk of ignition of possible soot depos-
loss across the boiler should be as piping between engine and boiler should its, which can happen at tempera-
high as possible - increasing the gas be so arranged that the boiler can be tures above some 150°C and, under
velocity in the boiler. This means that cleaned more thoroughly from time to extreme conditions, even as low as
the pressure losses in the remaining time when the engine is stopped in 120°C.
parts of the exhaust gas system harbour without the risk of flooding the
should be dimensioned as low as engine/turbochargers with cleaning fluid. It is therefore also very important to
possible (large pipe diameters). Water washing should preferably be ensure the best suction conditions so
undertaken while the tubes are still that cavitation does not occur in the
f) A dumping condenser should be in- hot, making it easier to remove the circulating pumps under any working
stalled to control steam production/ soot as it will “crack”. conditions, as otherwise the circulat-
consumption. ing water flow could be reduced or
A gas by-pass valve installed to con- If the above-mentioned on/off exhaust even stopped.
trol the steam production would reduce bypass is installed, the boiler can be
the gas velocity in the boiler - and bypassed. Water washing should A temperature monitoring system
consequently increase the risk of soot then also be carried out during sea mounted above the boiler might be rec-
deposits - and cannot, therefore, be service as often as possible (when the ommendable as a means of detecting a
recommended. exhaust pressure loss increases), and fire in the boiler as soon as it starts.
not only during stops in harbour. After
The supplementary recommendations water washing, it should be checked
below apply only to boilers of the water that no soot is left, as remaining wet
Recommended operating
tube type: soot may increase the risk of soot de-
conditions
posits when continuing operation.
g) A by-pass duct with an automatically In view of the damage that can be
operated on/off valve (open/closed at caused by an extensive soot fire in the
j) The water circulation temperature at
50% SMCR) may in certain operating exhaust gas boiler, it is recommended,
the boiler inlet, for boilers with a
conditions be recommended for wa- during the operation of the ship, to give
preheater section, should be higher
ter tube boilers. If, for example, the due consideration to the following:
than about 140°C as otherwise too
ship is often slow steaming, i.e. the low temperatures could cause some
diesel engine operates at low load, Normal operating conditions
of the gas constituents, such as fuel
such an installation will prevent soot and lube oil vapour, to condense on
deposits on the boiler tubes by by- a) Soot-blowing
the cold boiler tube surfaces, and this
passing all the gas and thereby avoid- If soot-blowing equipment is installed,
could increase the tendency towards
ing low gas velocities and the associ- we recommend checking its effi-
soot deposits.
ated risk of soot deposits in the boiler. ciency and adjusting the number of
daily soot-blowings accordingly.
Another advantage of this is that the
temperature of the preheater tube
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b)Preheated feed water during start-up at anchorage, the exhaust gas boiler over- g) The boiler’s instruction manual must
In order to avoid the condensation of heated, and the crew found that a high be read carefully and its instructions
some of the gas constituents, pre- temperature soot fire had occurred. are always to be followed.
heated feed water should always be
used (temperature higher than about The above case shows how important it Operating in soot fire situations
140°C) during start-up and during low is to cool the tubes, i.e. that the water
load operation, especially if the boiler circulating through the tubes always func- On the other hand, if a soot fire does
is not fitted with an on/off by-pass tions correctly, in order to avoid ignition of start after all, we recommend either of
duct/valve which can be activated in the soot. the following two types of measures,
these running conditions. depending on the level of fire:
In this case, the water circulation could
c) Water circulation, correct functioning not continue because of the water Fire level 1, where an initial soot fire
It should be ascertained that the leakage. Therefore, in such a situation has just been discovered:
boiler’s water circulation system and the below actions are recommended.
its control system are functioning a) Stop the main engine, and thereby
properly. Actions to be taken prior to dry running: the oxygen supply to the fire.
a) When shutting off the water circula-
d)Water circulation after engine stop tion, the main engine should also be b) Continue operating the water
After the engine is stopped, the boiler’s shut down so that the exhaust gas circulating pump.
water circulating pump should be kept boiler can cool down and any smoul-
running until the boiler temperature has dering of soot deposits on the boiler c) Never use soot blowers for fire
fighting, as air will feed the fire with
fallen below 120°C, because wet oily tubes can die out.
oxygen, and steam will involve a risk
soot may catch fire at temperatures
of high temperature fire.
as low as this. b) The heating surface should be in-
spected carefully for soot deposits,
d) Stop the air circulation through the
On the other hand, it is recommended and water washing performed, both
engine, and thereby the air supply to
not to stop the circulating pump in for cleaning and cooling.
the fire, i.e. keep air pressure on the
harbour unless the boiler has been diesel engine’s exhaust valve closing
checked and is clean. c) Make every effort to re-establish the mechanism (closed valves).
water circulation to the boiler and
e)Heavy smoke from engine thereby reduce the dry running period e) Water washing, if fitted, may be
If excessive smoke is observed, either to a minimum. used to extinguish the fire. This is
constantly or during acceleration, this normally connected to the ship’s fire
is an indication of a worsening of the d) Boiler manufacturers allow dry run- fighting water system.
situation. The cause should be identi- ning of exhaust gas boilers only in the
fied and remedied. Excessive smoke case of emergency and with a clean In a well-run plant any fire that starts
could be caused by defective fuel boiler. In addition they emphasize that will be small, and if the above emer-
valves, a jiggling governor, incorrect every possible precaution must be gency action is taken immediately, the
adjustment of the governor fuel limiter, observed to prevent soot fire. fire will be damped down quickly, and
or the malfunctioning of one (of two) water circulated by the pump will help
auxiliary blowers, etc. keep the tubes cool and reduce any
Actions to be taken during dry running:
The boiler should be checked and heat damage caused by the fire, Ref. [2].
e) Increase the frequency of soot blow-
cleaned if necessary.
ing considerably, and perform soot
If the soot fire has turned into an iron
blowing several times prior to
Operating conditions in water fire, this can be indicated by a loss of
manoeuvring.
leakage situations water, for example, if the feed water
consumption increases very much and/
f) Inspect the boiler frequently and, if
or if a low level alarm in the steam
DnV recently informed about a case any soot is present, then water wash
drum is activated. A temperature sen-
where a water leakage was discovered the boiler and increase the soot blow-
sor (normally max. 400°C) will not nor-
from a water tube type exhaust gas boiler ing frequency.
mally be able to measure the high tem-
Ref. [6]. In order to get to port, the water
peratures.
circulation was shut off. When arriving
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Fire level 2, where boiler tubes have One advantage of this will be that the References
melted down: design gas velocity through the smaller
boiler will be higher and, as explained in
a) Stop the main engine, if it is not this paper, this will reduce the risk of [1] News from Det norske Veritas (DnV),
stopped already. soot deposits and fires. March 1993 and 2004
b) Stop the circulating water pump. As an additional advantage, the exhaust [2] Aalborg Boilers, Instruction K.
gas boiler will be cheaper. 7400.2, Water Tube Boilers with
c) Close valves on the water circulation Gilled Tubes for Exhaust Gas, Type
line. A boiler and system design based on AV-6N, Operation and Maintenance
the correct criteria will reduce the risk
d) Discharge the (remaining) water from of soot deposits and fires in exhaust [3] Sunrod Exhaust Gas Economizers
the exhaust gas boiler sections. gas boilers. The use of such criteria is (brochure, 1992)
therefore very important and could
e) Cool down with plenty of splash probably be introduced with advantage [4] Guide to Prevention of Soot Fire on
water directly on the heart of the fire. into the recommendations of the Classi- Exhaust Gas Economizers (in
fication Societies. This would also allow Japanese) 1992, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai,
DnV warns that, if a soot fire has turned boiler makers to offer boilers on equally Tokyo
into a high-temperature fire (hydrogen/ competitive conditions (by, for example,
iron fire), care should be taken when specifying automatic soot blowers in [5] Operation on Heavy Residual Fuels,
using water for extinguishing, otherwise, water tube boilers). MAN B&W Diesel A/S, Copenhagen
the fire may become worse unless large Denmark, March 2003
amounts of water are applied directly to The use of special fuel additives with
the heart of the fire. The main aim, when iron oxide seems to reduce the sticki- [6] Casualty Information from DnV,
one discovers an initial small fire, is to pre- ness of the soot and may be useful in No. 3, June 2003
vent it turning into a high-temperature fire. cases where the exhaust gas boilers
are vulnerable to soot deposits (for ex-
ample large capacity boilers).
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