Training Session on Energy

Equipment

Boilers & Thermic

Fluid Heaters
Presentation from the
Energy Efficiency Guide for Industry in Asia

www.energyefficiencyasia.org

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UNEP 2006
Training Agenda: Boiler

Introduction
Type of boilers
Assessment of a boiler
Energy efficiency opportunities

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UNEP 2006
Introduction

What is a Boiler?
Vessel that heats water to become
hot water or steam
At atmospheric pressure water
volume increases 1,600 times
Hot water or steam used to transfer
heat to a process

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UNEP 2006
Introduction

STEAM TO
EXHAUST GAS VENT
PROCESS

STACK DEAERATOR

PUMPS

ECO-
NOMI-
ZER

VENT
BOILER
BURNER
WATER
SOURCE
BLOW DOWN
SEPARATOR FUEL

BRINE

CHEMICAL FEED
SOFTENERS
4
Figure: Schematic overview of a boiler room UNEP 2006
Training Agenda: Boiler

Introduction
Type of boilers
Assessment of a boiler
Energy efficiency opportunities

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UNEP 2006
Types of Boilers

What Type of Boilers Are There?

1. Fire Tube Boiler

2. Water Tube Boiler
3. Packaged Boiler
4. Fluidized Bed (FBC) Boiler
5. Stoker Fired Boiler
6. Pulverized Fuel Boiler
7. Waste Heat Boiler
8. Thermic Fluid Heater (not a boiler!)
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UNEP 2006
Type of Boilers

1. Fire Tube Boiler

Relatively small steam

capacities (12,000
kg/hour)
Low to medium steam
pressures (18 kg/cm2)
Operates with oil, gas
or solid fuels

(Light Rail Transit Association) 7

UNEP 2006
Type of Boilers

2. Water Tube Boiler

Used for high steam
demand and pressure
requirements
Capacity range of 4,500
120,000 kg/hour
Combustion efficiency
enhanced by induced
draft provisions
Lower tolerance for
water quality and needs
(Your Dictionary.com) water treatment plant 8
UNEP 2006
Type of Boilers

3. Packaged Boiler Comes in complete

package
To Features
Chimney
High heat transfer
Faster evaporation
Good convective
heat transfer
Good combustion
Oil
efficiency
Burner
High thermal
efficiency
(BIB Cochran, 2003) Classified based on
number of passes
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UNEP 2006
Type of Boilers

4. Fluidized Bed Combustion

(FBC) Boiler
Particles (e.g. sand) are suspended in high
velocity air stream: bubbling fluidized bed
Combustion at 840 950 C
Capacity range 0,5 T/hr to 100 T/hr
Fuels: coal, washery rejects, rice husk, bagasse
and agricultural wastes
Benefits: compactness, fuel flexibility, higher
combustion efficiency, reduced SOx & NOx
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UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

4a. Atmospheric Fluidized Bed

Combustion (AFBC) Boiler
Most common FBC boiler that uses preheated
atmospheric air as fluidization and combustion air

4b. Pressurized Fluidized Bed

Combustion (PFBC) Boiler
Compressor supplies the forced draft and
combustor is a pressure vessel
Used for cogeneration or combined cycle power
generation
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UNEP 2006
Type of Boilers

4c. Atmospheric Circulating Fluidized

Bed Combustion (CFBC) Boiler
Solids lifted from bed,
rise, return to bed
Steam generation in
convection section
Benefits: more
economical, better space
utilization and efficient
combustion

(Thermax Babcock & Wilcox Ltd, 2001) 12

UNEP 2006
Type of Boilers

5. Stoke Fired Boilers

a) Spreader stokers
Coal is first burnt in suspension then in
coal bed
Flexibility to meet load fluctuations
Favored in many industrial applications

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UNEP 2006
Type of Boilers

5. Stoke Fired Boilers

b) Chain-grate or traveling-grate stoker
Coal is burnt on moving
steel grate
Coal gate controls coal
feeding rate
Uniform coal size for
complete combustion

(University of Missouri, 2004) 14

UNEP 2006
Type of Boilers

6. Pulverized Fuel Boiler

Pulverized coal powder blown with combustion
air into boiler through burner nozzles
Combustion
temperature at 1300 -
1700 C
Benefits: varying coal
quality coal, quick
response to load
changes and high pre-
heat air temperatures Tangential firing
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UNEP 2006
Type of Boilers

7. Waste Heat Boiler

Used when waste heat
available at medium/high
temp
Auxiliary fuel burners
used if steam demand is
more than the waste heat
can generate
Used in heat recovery
from exhaust gases from
gas turbines and diesel
Agriculture and Agri-Food engines
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Canada, 2001 UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers

8. Thermic Fluid Heater

Wide application for indirect process heating
Thermic fluid (petroleum-based) is heat transfer
medium
Benefits:
Closed cycle = minimal losses
Non-pressurized system operation at 250 C
Automatic controls = operational flexibility
Good thermal efficiencies
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UNEP 2006
 Type of Boilers 3. Heat transfer
through heat
8. Thermic Fluid Heater exchanged

User equipment
2. Circulated
to user 4. Fluid
equipment returned to
heater
Control
panel

Insulated
outer wall
1. Thermic
fluid heated Blower Exhaust
motor
in the heater unit
(Energy
Fuel oil
filter Machine India)
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UNEP 2006
Training Agenda: Boiler

Introduction
Type of boilers
Assessment of a boiler
Energy efficiency opportunities

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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a boiler

1. Boiler
2. Boiler blow down
3. Boiler feed water treatment

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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

1. Boiler performance
Causes of poor boiler performance
-Poor combustion
-Heat transfer surface fouling
-Poor operation and maintenance
-Deteriorating fuel and water quality

Heat balance: identify heat losses

Boiler efficiency: determine
deviation from best efficiency
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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Heat Balance
An energy flow diagram describes geographically
how energy is transformed from fuel into useful
energy, heat and losses
Stochiometric
Excess Air
Un burnt

Stack Gas

FUEL INPUT STEAM

OUTPUT

Convection & Blow Ash and Un-burnt parts

Radiation Down of Fuel in Ash 22
UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Heat Balance
Balancing total energy entering a boiler against
the energy that leaves the boiler in different forms
12.7 %
Heat loss due to dry flue gas

8.1 % Heat loss due to steam in fuel gas

1.7 %
100.0 % Heat loss due to moisture in fuel
BOILER 0.3 %
Fuel Heat loss due to moisture in air

2.4 % Heat loss due to unburnts in residue

1.0 %
Heat loss due to radiation & other
unaccounted loss
73.8 %
Heat in Steam

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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Heat Balance
Goal: improve energy efficiency by reducing
avoidable losses

Avoidable losses include:

- Stack gas losses (excess air, stack gas
temperature)
- Losses by unburnt fuel
- Blow down losses
- Condensate losses
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- Convection and radiation UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency
Thermal efficiency: % of (heat) energy input that is
effectively useful in the generated steam

BOILER EFFICENCY
CALCULATION

1) DIRECT METHOD: 2) INDIRECT METHOD:

The energy gain of the The efficiency is the
working fluid (water and steam) different between losses
is compared with the energy and energy input 25
content of the boiler fuel. UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Direct Method

Heat Input x 100 Q x (hg hf) x 100
Boiler efficiency () = =
Heat Output Q x GCV

hg -the enthalpy of saturated steam in kcal/kg of steam

hf -the enthalpy of feed water in kcal/kg of water

Parameters to be monitored:
- Quantity of steam generated per hour (Q) in kg/hr
- Quantity of fuel used per hour (q) in kg/hr
- The working pressure (in kg/cm2(g)) and superheat
temperature (oC), if any
- The temperature of feed water (oC)
- Type of fuel and gross calorific value of the fuel (GCV) in
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kcal/kg of fuel UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Direct Method

Advantages
Quick evaluation
Few parameters for computation
Few monitoring instruments
Easy to compare evaporation ratios with
benchmark figures

Disadvantages
No explanation of low efficiency
Various losses not calculated

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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Indirect Method

Efficiency of boiler () = 100 (i+ii+iii+iv+v+vi+vii)

Principle losses:
i) Dry flue gas
ii) Evaporation of water formed due to H2 in fuel
iii) Evaporation of moisture in fuel
iv) Moisture present in combustion air
v) Unburnt fuel in fly ash
vi) Unburnt fuel in bottom ash
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vii) Radiation and other unaccounted losses UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Indirect Method

Required calculation data
Ultimate analysis of fuel (H2, O2, S, C, moisture
content, ash content)
% oxygen or CO2 in the flue gas
Fuel gas temperature in C (Tf)
Ambient temperature in C (Ta) and humidity of air in
kg/kg of dry air
GCV of fuel in kcal/kg
% combustible in ash (in case of solid fuels)
GCV of ash in kcal/kg (in case of solid fuels) 29
UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Efficiency: Indirect Method

Advantages
Complete mass and energy balance for each
individual stream
Makes it easier to identify options to improve
boiler efficiency

Disadvantages
Time consuming
Requires lab facilities for analysis

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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

2. Boiler Blow Down

Controls total dissolved solids (TDS) in the
water that is boiled
Blows off water and replaces it with feed water
Conductivity measured as indication of TDS
levels
Calculation of quantity blow down required:

Feed water TDS x % Make up water

Blow down (%) =
Maximum Permissible TDS in Boiler water

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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Blow Down

Two types of blow down
Intermittent
Manually operated valve reduces TDS
Large short-term increases in feed water
Substantial heat loss

Continuous
Ensures constant TDS and steam purity
Heat lost can be recovered
Common in high-pressure boilers
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Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Blow Down

Benefits
Lower pretreatment costs
Less make-up water consumption
Reduced maintenance downtime
Increased boiler life
Lower consumption of treatment
chemicals
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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

3. Boiler Feed Water Treatment

Quality of steam depend on water
treatment to control
Steam purity
Deposits
Corrosion

Efficient heat transfer only if boiler

water is free from deposit-forming
solids
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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Feed Water Treatment

Deposit control
To avoid efficiency losses and
reduced heat transfer
Hardness salts of calcium and
magnesium
Alkaline hardness: removed by boiling
Non-alkaline: difficult to remove

Silica forms hard silica scales

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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Feed Water Treatment

Internal water treatment

Chemicals added to boiler to prevent scale
Different chemicals for different water types
Conditions:
Feed water is low in hardness salts
Low pressure, high TDS content is tolerated
Small water quantities treated
Internal treatment alone not recommended
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UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

Boiler Feed Water Treatment

External water treatment:
Removal of suspended/dissolved solids and
dissolved gases
Pre-treatment: sedimentation and settling
First treatment stage: removal of salts
Processes
a) Ion exchange
b) Demineralization
c) De-aeration
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d) Reverse osmoses UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

a) Ion-exchange process (softener plant)
Water passes through bed of natural zeolite of
synthetic resin to remove hardness
Base exchange: calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg)
replaced with sodium (Na) ions
Does not reduce TDS, blow down quantity and
alkalinity

b) Demineralization
Complete removal of salts
Cations in raw water replaced with hydrogen ions
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UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

c) De-aeration
Dissolved corrosive gases (O2, CO2)
expelled by preheating the feed water
Two types:
Mechanical de-aeration: used prior to addition
of chemical oxygen scavangers
Chemical de-aeration: removes trace oxygen

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UNEP 2006
 Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

Mechanical
Vent
de-aeration
Spray
Boiler Feed
Water
Nozzles O2 and CO2 removed by
Stea
heating feed water
m
Scrubber
Section Economical treatment
(Trays) process

Storage
Vacuum type can reduce
Section O2 to 0.02 mg/l
De-aerated Pressure type can
Boiler Feed
Water
reduce O2 to 0.005 mg/l
( National Productivity Council) 40
UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

Chemical de-aeration
Removal of trace oxygen with scavenger
Sodium sulphite:
Reacts with oxygen: sodium sulphate
Increases TDS: increased blow down
Hydrazine
Reacts with oxygen: nitrogen + water
Does not increase TDS: used in high pressure
boilers 41
UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

External Water Treatment

d) Reverse osmosis
Osmosis
Solutions of differing concentrations
Separated by a semi-permeable membrane
Water moves to the higher concentration

Reversed osmosis
Higher concentrated liquid pressurized
Water moves in reversed direction 42
UNEP 2006
Assessment of a Boiler

External water treatment

d) Reverse osmosis
Pressure

Feed Fresh Water

Water
More
Concentrated
Solution
Concentrate Water Flow
Flow

Semi Permeable 43
Membrane UNEP 2006
Training Agenda: Boiler

Introduction
Type of boilers
Assessment of a boiler
Energy efficiency opportunities

44
UNEP 2006
Energy Efficiency Opportunities

1. Stack temperature control

2. Feed water preheating using
economizers
3. Combustion air pre-heating
4. Incomplete combustion
minimization
5. Excess air control
6. Avoid radiation and convection
heat loss
7. Automatic blow down control
8. Reduction of scaling and soot
losses
9. Reduction of boiler steam
pressure
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10. Variable speed control UNEP 2006
Energy Efficiency Opportunities

1. Stack Temperature Control

Keep as low as possible
If >200C then recover waste heat

2. Feed Water Preheating

Economizers
Potential to recover heat from 200 300 oC flue
gases leaving a modern 3-pass shell boiler

3. Combustion Air Preheating

If combustion air raised by 20C = 1% improve
thermal efficiency 46
UNEP 2006
 Energy Efficiency Opportunities

4. Minimize Incomplete Combustion

Symptoms:
Smoke, high CO levels in exit flue gas
Causes:
Air shortage, fuel surplus, poor fuel distribution
Poor mixing of fuel and air
Oil-fired boiler:
Improper viscosity, worn tops, cabonization on
dips, deterioration of diffusers or spinner plates
Coal-fired boiler: non-uniform coal size
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UNEP 2006
Energy Efficiency Opportunities

5. Excess Air Control

Excess air required for complete combustion
Optimum excess air levels varies
1% excess air reduction = 0.6% efficiency rise
Portable or continuous oxygen analyzers
Fuel Kg air req./kg fuel %CO2 in flue gas in practice
Solid Fuels
Bagasse 3.3 10-12
Coal (bituminous) 10.7 10-13
Lignite 8.5 9 -13
Paddy Husk 4.5 14-15
Wood 5.7 11.13
Liquid Fuels
Furnace Oil 13.8 9-14
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LSHS 14.1 9-14
UNEP 2006
Energy Efficiency Opportunities

6. Radiation and Convection Heat

Loss Minimization
Fixed heat loss from boiler shell, regardless of
boiler output
Repairing insulation can reduce loss

7. Automatic Blow Down Control

Sense and respond to boiler water conductivity
and pH
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UNEP 2006
Energy Efficiency Opportunities

8. Scaling and Soot Loss Reduction

Every 22oC increase in stack temperature = 1%
efficiency loss
3 mm of soot = 2.5% fuel increase

9. Reduced Boiler Steam Pressure

Lower steam pressure
= lower saturated steam temperature
= lower flue gas temperature
Steam generation pressure dictated by process
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UNEP 2006
Energy Efficiency Opportunities

10. Variable Speed Control for Fans,

Blowers and Pumps
Suited for fans, blowers, pumps
Should be considered if boiler loads are
variable

11. Control Boiler Loading

Maximum boiler efficiency: 65-85% of rated load
Significant efficiency loss: < 25% of rated load

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Energy Efficiency Opportunities

12. Proper Boiler Scheduling

Optimum efficiency: 65-85% of full load
Few boilers at high loads is more efficient than
large number at low loads

13. Boiler Replacement

Financially attractive if existing boiler is
Old and inefficient
Not capable of firing cheaper substitution fuel
Over or under-sized for present requirements
Not designed for ideal loading conditions
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UNEP 2006
Training Session on Energy
Equipment

Boilers & Thermic

Fluid Heaters
THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION

53
UNEP GERIAP
 Disclaimer and References

This PowerPoint training session was prepared as part of

the project Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction from
Industry in Asia and the Pacific (GERIAP). While
reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the
contents of this publication are factually correct and
properly referenced, UNEP does not accept responsibility for
the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not
be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned
directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the
contents of this publication. UNEP, 2006.
The GERIAP project was funded by the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
Full references are included in the textbook chapter that is
available on www.energyefficiencyasia.org 54
UNEP 2006