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Correctly Modeling and Calculating Combustion Efficiencies in Fired Equipment
Correctly Modeling and Calculating Combustion Efficiencies in Fired Equipment
Efficiencies
In
FiredEquipment
DavidSchmitt,President
IncreasePerformance,Inc.
Tulsa,Oklahoma
Firedequipmentincludesfurnaces,firedheaters,firedboilers,supplementaryfiredboilers,andmanyothertypesofequipment.Butforthe
purposesofreviewinghowthecalculationsareaccomplishedandotherfactorsthatmayaffecttheresultsofthemodeling,wewilluseafired
reformerfurnaceasourexample.Allofthemethodsandissuesdiscussedhereincanbeappliedtoanyfiredequipment.
Wewillstartwiththecombustioncalculationwhichisnecessarytocalculatethepropertiesofthefluegas,ortheproductsofcombustionas
wellasheatavailablefromthecombustionprocess.Thechemicalreactionformulaforcombustioniswellknown,butvarieswiththe
compositionofthefuelbeingused,andcanbeverycomplicatedifthefuelhasmanycomponents.Asanexample,welookatasimple
combustionofmethane,CH4inOxygen,O2.
Nitrogen,N2
77.4560
Oxygen,O2
20.9108
CarbonDioxide,CO2 0.0299
Water,O2
0.3772
Argon,Ar
0.9364
Theactualcompositionoftheoxidantwillvarydependingontheelevation,humidityandtemperatureatthesiteyouaremodeling.Even
thoughSulphurDioxideandCarbonMonoxidearenotnormallyconsideredtobeinatmosphericair,yourcalculationsshouldallowforthese
sincetheequipmentmaybeusingproductsofcombustionfromanotherpieceofequipment.Dryairshouldnotbeusedincombustion
calculationsbecausethisrarelyexists.
Foracombustioncalculation,youneedtoknowthecompositionofthefuelandtheoxidant.Toperformthecombustioncalculationyoucould
useacomputersoftwareprogramsuchasWinBurn,oroneofmanycalculatorsavailableontheinternet.However,tomakecombustion
calculationsortestequipmentforpurposesofdeterminingtheefficiencyofthecombustionprocess,itisbettertosetupasimpleexcelwork
sheettoperformthecalculations.
ForLiquidFuels,theExcelsheetmaybesetup:
Fuel # 1:
Component Name
Wt%
Sulphur
0.50
Hydrogen
12.80
Carbon
86.70
Nitrogen
0.00
Oxygen
0.00
Water
0.00
Total
Lower Heating Value, Btu/lb
Fuel Specific heat, Btu/lb-F
Atomizing Medium
Fuel Oil
Fuel MW
32.0640
2.0158
12.0112
28.0160
32.0000
18.016
18,390
0.0000
MECH
Resulting Composition;
N2
O2
0.000
-0.998
0.000
-7.937
0.000
-2.664
1.000
0.000
0.000
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.0000
-3.3307
CO2
0.000
0.000
3.664
0.000
0.000
0.000
3.1768
H2O
0.000
8.937
0.000
0.000
0.000
1.000
1.1439
Ar
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.0000
SO2
1.998
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.0100
CO
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.0000
Fuel # 1
1,393.000
60.00
0
14.4595
0.450
20,233
21,626
25,617,270
Units
lb/hr
F
NoticethatwithLiquidFuels,theLowerHeatingValueisnormallydeterminedbylaboratorytestingandsoitneednotbecalculatedonthis
sheet,andisaninputbyuser.
ForaGasFuel,theExcelsheetmaybesetup:
IntheExceltablesabove,wehavecolumnsfortheresultingcompositionfactor.Inthesecolumns,ifthemoleculeisnotchangedbythe
reaction,thefactorissimplya1.0intheappropriatecolumn.ButfortheMethanemolecule,sincethechemicalreactionformulaindicatesit
takestwomoleculesofO2forthereaction,thenthefactoristwomoleculesofOxygen/onemoleculeofCH4or2*32/16.042anditisnegative
becauseiteliminatestheO2molecule.LikewisefactorintheCO2columnforCH4wouldbeonemoleculeofCO2/onemoleculeofCH4or
44.01/16.042.Alloftheremainingrowsandcolumnsarepopulatedinasimilarmanner.Thetablemayhaveasmanyorasfewasthe
compositionfortheparticularfuel.
Thetotalofeachcolumninthetablewouldbeequaltothesumoftheweightfractionofthecomponenttimesthefactor.Fortheheat
availablefromthecombustion,weareusingtheLHVvalues,whicharetypicalforFiredHeaterefficiencycalculations,whereforboilerstheHHV
valuesaretypicallyused.
TheAir/FuelRatio,lb/lb@0%ExcessairistheabsolutevalueoftheratiooftheO2Factor/WeightfractionofO2intheoxidant.Soifweusethe
WetAircompositionfromabove,wecancreateatablefortheoxidantorcombustionairsimilartobelow:
Combustion Air:
Component
Mole %
Wt Frac
Air MW
N2
77.7456
0.7529
28.016
O2
CO2
H2O
Ar
SO2
CO
20.9108
0.0299
0.3772
0.9364
0.0000
0.0000
0.2313
0.0005
0.0023
0.0129
0.0000
0.0000
32.000
44.010
18.016
39.950
64.060
28.010
Total
99.9999
28.928
Air Temp, F
Air Enth,
Btu/lb
Air Heat,
Btu/hr
Air Flow,
ACFM
310.380
60.698
21,283,821
119,753
Theweightfractionsmaybecalculatedbydividingtheproductofthecomponentmolestimesthemolecularweight/sumofallthemoles
multipliedbythemolecularweights.
Theexcessair%isanexpressionusedtodescribetheadditionalairabovethatisrequiredforstoichiometriccombustiononaweightbasis.
AnotherwaytodescribethisexcessairisbywetordryvolumeofO2%intheproductsofcombustion(fluegas).Mosthandheldmeasuring
devicesmeasurethedryvolume%,wheremanymounteddevicesmeasurethewetvolume%.ToseewhataresultingvalueofO2ispresentin
thefluegas,weneedtocreateanothertablesimilartobelow:
Fluegas:
Component
N2
O2
CO2
H2O
Ar
Lbs
13.7035
0.4152
2.6408
2.1619
0.2348
Wt Frac
0.7154
0.0217
0.1379
0.1129
0.0123
Mole %
71.0958
1.8858
8.7218
17.4423
0.8543
Dry O2 %
2.2842
Wet O2 %
1.8858
SO2
CO
Total
Flow, lb/hr
Temp, F
Enthalpy, Btu/lb
0.0000
0.0000
19.1562
0.0000
0.0000
1.0000
0.0000
0.0000
100.0000
369,964
1650
460.85
ForN2componentburningthegasfuelinabovetable,LbsFactor=0.0328+0.7529*16.3614*(1+10.970/100)=13.7035,andsimilarforother
components.Andthenusingthesefactors,theweightfractionandmole%canbecalculated.
Ofcourse,youcouldcalculatebasedonameasuredO2suchaswhentestingafurnace,orifyouhaveyourtablessetupasabove,simplychange
theexcessairuntiltheMeasuredO2andcalculatedO2areequal.
Ifyouhavemultiplefuels,justaddfueltablesforeachfuel;thenaddresultingcompositionfactorstogetthemixedfuelresults.
Nowthatwehavereviewedhowtodothecombustioncalculations,weknowifwegetthefuelcompositionsandthefuelflow,wecancalculate
howmuchheatisreleasedalongwiththefluegasflowandcomposition,oncewedeterminetheexcessairorOxygeninthefluegas.
Traditionally,thisisdonebytakingasampleinthefurnacestack.Whilethisindeedwillgiveyouanoverallassessmentofthefurnaceoperation,
itwillnothelpyoudetermineiftherearecombustionproblems,norwillitnecessarilytellyouwhatthecorrectefficiencyisfortheunit.
Ratherthanuseanexampleofasimplefiredheater,letstakeasourexampleareformersystemthatistypicalofmanyinthehydrogenand
ammoniaplants.Thisexamplewillhelpusseeallthepitfallsinperformingcombustionandefficiencycalculations.Aschematicofourexample
isasshownbelow.
Itisimportantthatallburnersbeonduringafieldtestforcombustionandefficiency.Ifburnersareturnedoff,theyshouldberepairedas
necessaryandrelitpriortotesting.
Inthisexample,wehaveareformerfiredwith
twofuels,andpreheatedairinthearch
burners.
Thetunnelburnersarefiredwithonefueland
ambientair.Thesuperheaterburnersare
firedwithonefuelbutwithpreheatedair,and
theauxiliaryboilerisalsofiredwithonefuel
andpreheatedair.
Onthedayofourtest,theambient
temperaturewas60Fwitharelative
humidityof40%andtheplantisata1200foot
elevation.Usingthisdatawithstandardair,
wecalculatethewetaircompositiontobeas
follows.
Air:
Component
N2
O2
CO2
H2O
Ar
SO2
CO
Total
Mole %
77.4714
20.8371
0.0298
0.7286
0.9331
0.0000
0.0000
100.0000
Wt Frac
0.7512921
0.2308068
0.000454
0.0045437
0.0129035
0
0
Air MW
28.016
32.000
44.010
18.016
39.950
64.060
28.010
28.889
Ourphysicalexaminationandwalkthroughoftheunit,revealedthattheunithas260tubes,andthetubesealsatthearchconsistofaplate
withahole1/8largerthanthetubeOD,sowemusttakeintoaccountthepossibleleakageairinthisarea.InaplantsuchasthistheFDfan
operationwouldnormallybecontrolledbasedontheO2readingatPoint1,atthetunnelexits.However,itisclearfromexaminationofthis
design,thatthearchburnerscouldbeshortonair,yetthetunnelexitO2readingmayindicateasufficientexcessairbecauseiftherearetwo
independentsetsofburners,thesamplepointmustbemadeatalocationbetweenthem.Soeventhoughthecontrolroomindicationwasthat
thereformerwasoperatingwitha2.1%O2atexittemperatureof1900,samplingatPoint1inthewalloftheradiantsection,theresultswere
zero%oxygenandcombustibleswerepresent.TheIDfanisbeingoperatedtomaintaina0.2W.C.atthereformerarch.
Thisreformerhastwofuels,naturalgaspluspurgeoroffgas.Andtheairispreheatedto532F.ThereforewesetourExcelworksheetupwitha
tablefortwofuelsandtheresultingcombustioncalculationwouldbesimilartobelow.
Itisimportanttonotethattheactualexcessairwouldbenegative,sincethesamplingresultindicatednoO2present,anditcannotmakea
determinationonhowmuchadditionalO2isrequired.Thesecondthingtonoteisthatthecalculatedsealleakageair,whereitmaybepresent
intheradiantsection,itisnotenteringthefirezonefromthecorrectlocation,i.e.,throughtheburnertile,soitdoesnotpromotegood
combustion.Eventhoughourcalculatorwillhandleanegativeexcessair,orincompletecombustion,wesettheExcessAirtozeroforthearch
burners.
WiththefuelflowreadingtothetunnelburnersknownandtheO2readingattheexit,wecannowperformthetunnelburnercombustion
calculationwiththefollowingresult.ButsinceweknowthattheArchBurnersareoperatingwithnoexcessair,whichisnotthesameasthe
TunnelBurners,wehavetointroduceanoverallheat&massbalancesheettodeterminetheexcessairintheTunnelBurners.Thisnewsheet
mightlooklikethefollowing:
SonowwecanadjusttheexcessairintheTunnelBurnersuntilthetotalleavingthetunnelsisequaltothemeasuredO2.
Iftheonlydatalookedatwasthereformeroutlet,Point2,DryVolumeO2of2.1%,thentheconclusionwouldbeEverythingisfine,butwe
nowknowthatthecompletecombustionisnotoccurringinthedesignedflamezonefortheArchBurners,aswellasallthecombustionairisnot
enteringattheflamezoneasitshould.Thispoorcombustionwillresultinpoorradiantfluxdistributionandmayshortenthelifeoftubesand
catalyst.Also,operatingtheTunnelBurnerswith186.2%ExcessAircausestheseburnerstobeoperatingveryinefficiently.
OurnextsamplepointisjustdownstreamoftheSuperheaterBurners,wherewehaveanO2readingof2.25%andatemperatureof1390F.
Onceagain,wecannotdirectlydeterminethistemperatureortheexcessairinthecombustionwithoutaddingtoourheat&massbalance
sheet.WeadjustthefiringconditionsontheSuperheaterBurnersuntilwemeetourtargetsontheHeatbalanceSheet.
AndtheresultingcombustioncalculationfortheSuperheaterBurnersisasfollows:
Efficientoperationoftheseburnerswouldbewith10%excessair,buttheyareoperatingwith18.2%excessair.
Point10ofourfieldmeasurementsisthefluegasreturningfromtheAuxiliaryboiler,whichhasaDryVolume%O2of3.5andatemperatureof
676.7F.
Thisisastraightforwardcombustioncalculationasshownbelow.
TheefficiencyoftheAuxiliaryBoileris128284536/154481064*100=83.0%andcouldbeimprovedbyadjustingburnerstoalowerexcessair.
Nowweaddtoourheatandmassbalancetodeterminethefluegasafterthemixture.
OurnextsamplepointisPoint4enteringtheAirPreheater,whichhasanO2readingof2.8%andatemperatureof643F.Examinationofour
heatandmassbalanceindicatesthatthisO2readingshouldhavebeen2.540%,whichtellsusthattherehasbeeningressoftrampairbetween
Point3andPoint4.Physicalexaminationoftheunitrevealsthattherearenoportsealsontheinterconnectingpipes,andatissuetestshows
thatairisenteringtheconvectionattheselocations.Wecanexpandourheatandmassbalancetodeterminetheamountoftheairleakage.
Thisisnotagreatamountofleakage,butdoeshaveanassociatedcostinlossofenergy,andtherepairwillhavearelativelyshortpayout.
TheAirPreheateronthissampleanalysisisaregenerative,rotarytype,whichwheninnewconditionwithnewsealshasaninherentairbypass
(leakage)fromthehighpressure,ForcedDraft(FD),sidetothelowpressure,InducedDraft(ID),side,thereforeweexpecttoseealeakage
bypassofover10%byvolume.Theactualbypassleakageiseasytocalculateusingourheatandmassbalancesheet,withtheO2readingknown
tobe2.8%attheinletand5.76%atoutlet.Wealsomeasureafluegasexitstacktemperatureof252F.
Wecanseefromtheheatandmassbalancethatthebypassairleakageis19.92%,ortwicewhatitshouldbe.Wecanalsoseethatourair
preheaterbalanceisalittleoff,by2.31%whichisnotunusualsinceheatlosstotheatmospherehasnotbeentakenintoaccount.
Torecapthefindingsfromthissamplefurnacetesttodemonstratecombustion,efficiencycalculations,andheatandmassbalancetechniques,
thefollowingisabrieflistofproblemsuncovered:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Thelackofreformertubesealsisallowingtrampairtoenterradiantsection
Theprimaryarchburnersarenotreceivingsufficientairforcompletecombustion
Thetunnelburnersarebeingoperatedwithexcessiveexcessair
Thesuperheaterburnersarebeingoperatedwithexcessiveexcessair
Theauxiliaryboilerburnersarebeingoperatedwithexcessiveexcessair
Thesecondconvectionsectionhasnoportsealsandthisallowsingressoftrampair
Thereisexcessiveairbypassintheairpreheater
TheIDfanisbeingoverloadedduetoexcessiveexcessairintheTunnel,SH,andAux.Boiler,trampairingress,andairbypassin
airpreheater
9) TheFDfanisbeingoverloadedduetoexcessivebypassairintheairpreheater
Withallthecombustionandmassandheatbalancecalculationscomplete,wecannowlookatourresults.Wecanusethemethodsdescribed
inAPI560tocalculatetheefficiencies.
FuelEfficiency=HeatAbsorbed/TotalHeatFromFuel*100
NetThermalEfficiency=((HeatFromFuel+AirHeat+FuelHeat)(Set.Loss+StackLoss))/(HeatFromFuel+AirHeat+FuelHeat)
Weshouldnoteherethattheseefficiencycalculationsdonottakeutilitiesorfanpowerintoaccount.Theamountofenergyusedtodrivethe
fansisestimatedroughlyabove.
Thisoverallefficiencydoesnttellusaboutthepoorcombustionintheprimaryreformeranddoesntaccountforthelossoftubeorcatalystlife.
Theenthalpycalculationsusedhereinarebasedonourinternalcalculators,butifyoudonthaveanyoftheequations,youcanusecurvefitsof
thecurvesinAPI560,FigureG6andG7,reproducedbelow.
Ifpossible,itisalsodesirabletocalculatetheheatabsorbedinthefiredequipmenttocompareagainstthecombustioncalculationstoassurean
accurateheatbalancehasbeenachieved.