Boiler Efficiency

Improvement

ANKUR GAIKWAD
B.E (MECHANICAL), BITS-PILANI
Introduction

 Boilers are widely used in power

generation, chemical & process industries
 They’re used mainly for generating steam
at high pressures & temperatures for a
variety of purposes
 Its development began in the 18th century
Industrial Revolution
 Being fairly mature technology, today’s
boilers have become very efficient at
converting the thermal energy in coal, oil
or natural gas to heat water & form steam
at high pressure & temperature
 This presentation seeks to explore the
methods available to maintain & improve
the boiler efficiency
Main Areas for Improvement

 Combustion Management
 Makeup, Feedwater, Condensate & Blowdown Management
 Steam Distribution Management
Combustion Efficiency Management

 Boiler burns fuel efficiently if following 3 conditions are met:

 It burns fuel completely
 It uses as little excess air as possible to do it
 It extracts as much heat as possible from the combustion gases
 The first 2 conditions are met by careful control of excess air in the boiler
Control of Excess Air

 In general, boiler efficiency decreases for excess oxygen above 2-3% or excess air
above 10-15%
 Optimum excess air is recommended for each type of boiler on the basis of fuel
used
Combustion Efficiency Indicators

 Oxygen Test
 Smoke Opacity Test
 Carbon Monoxide Test
Combustion Control

 Usual causes of deficient combustion:

 Improper Draft: Remedied by Draft Control
 Improper Air-Fuel Mixture
Draft Control

 Pitfalls of Improper Draft:

 Insufficient Draft: Prevents adequate air supply for combustion; Results in smoky,
incomplete combustion
 Excessive Draft: Larger volume of air & flue gas moves quickly through the furnace;
Less time for heat transfer, High flue gas exit temperature; Contributes to maximum
heat loss
 Ideal Draft: Controlled such that boiler operates at 2-4% excess oxygen
 Close Draft Regulation difficult due to burners’ requirement of proper air-fuel
mixture
Air-Fuel Mix Control

 Stoichiometric air-fuel mix depends on masses

 Fact to be considered: Density of air & gaseous fuels changes with ambient
temperatures
 Control challenging due to:
 Inadequate tolerance of burner controls
 Faulty burners
 Improper Fuel Delivery system
Reclaiming Boiler Heat Losses

 Residual heat in flue gas is the main heat loss

 Residual heat used in following ways:
 Economisers: Feedwater preheated
 Flue gas condensing by water: Water absorbs flue gas heat
 Combustion Air Preheat: Combustion air preheated for better combustion
 Flue Gas Recirculation: Recirculated with incoming air-fuel mix; decreases NOx
emissions
 Heat Cascading: Exhaust heat used in lower temperature applications
Makeup, Feedwater & Blowdown
Management
 Necessary to monitor & control scale formation in water tubes in boiler
 Effects of Scale Formation on boiler operation:
 Reduces heat transfer
 Impedes proper fluid flow
 Boiler tubes subjected to failure due to overheating
 Fuel Wastage
 Monitoring scale formation in boiler tubes
 Directly during boiler maintenance shutdowns
 Indirectly through monitoring flue gas exit temperatures for longer periods of time
Boiler Water Treatment

 2 types of boiler water treatment methods:

 Internal
 External
Internal Water Treatment

 Chemical dosage converts scale-forming compounds to free-flowing sludge

 Sludge removed by blowdown
 Corrosion inhibitors (e.g. amines) form protective film for corrosion protection of
boiler internals
 Common Internal Treatment chemicals:
 Polyphosphates & Sodium Meta Phosphate for scale control
 Sodium Sulphite, Hydroquinone Hydrazine, Diethylhydroxyamine (DEHA), Methyl
ethyl ketoxime for dissolved oxygen
 Neutralizing and filming amines for corrosion control due to CO2
External Water Treatment

 Two Stages:
 Remove only hardness salts; also called ‘water softening’
 Remove Total Dissolved Salts (TDS); also called ‘de-mineralisation’
Water Softening

 Done when hardness alone is a limiting factor

 Cation-exchange zeolite resin exchanges all hardness ions to reduce hardness to
zero
 Techniques:
 Cold lime softening: Addition of hydrated lime at ambient temperature; can reduce
hardness to 35-50 ppm of calcium carbonate
 Hot lime softening: Addition of lime at 227-240 F
 Hot lime soda: Addition of soda with ash in hot lime process; reduces hardness to 8
ppm calcium carbonate & 2-5 ppm magnesium content
De-alkalisation

 Done when hardness & alkalinity are limiting factors

 Two types:
 Split-stream de-alkalisation:
 2 cation exchange units in parallel
 2 sodium zeolite softener resins; one regenerated with salt, the other regenerated with acid
 Lowers hardness to zero, reduces alkalinity, removes dissolved solids
 Chloride de-alkalisation:
 2 ion exchange units in series
 1 sodium zeolite cation exchanger resin; other is anion exchange resin
 Doesn’t remove dissolved solids,silica
De-silicisation

 Done when silica is the limiting factor

 Removes silica using strongly basic anion exchange resin regenerated with caustic
soda
 2 systems:
 Sodium zeolite softener, followed by strongly basic anion resin unit. Reduces hardness,
anions, silica
 Cation exchanger regenerated with acid, followed by strong base anion exchanger
regenerated with caustic soda. Removes all dissolved solids (including silica)
De-mineralisation

 Done when dissolved solids (TDS) is a limiting factor

 Consists of ion exchange resin columns-a strong cation unit & strong anion unit
 Hydrogen cation exchange converts dissolved salts to their corresponding acid
forms, removed in anion exchanger
 De-mineralised water approaches distilled water in purity
 High cost of operation makes it difficult for low to moderate pressure boilers
Feedwater Management

 Boiler feedwater consists of:

 Returned condensate
 Make-up water
 Make-up water is the main source of contaminants, making condensate recovery
important
 Condensate recovery important due to the following:
 Losing hot condensate results in heat loss of fuel
 More the condensate recovery, lesser will be the make-up water, lesser the need for
water treatment
 More condensate recovery implies lower blowdown & associated losses
Flash Steam Recovery

 Flash steam formed when the condensate’s pressure is suddenly reduced

 Flash steam used for low-pressure heating
 Flash steam formed in a flash vessel, a vertical vessel in which there’s
considerable pressure drop of condensate while it falls down
 Steam leaves from the top part of the vessel
Condensate Water Treatment

 Common chemicals in condensate:

 Dissolved CO2
 Suspended Iron
 Carbonic Acid
 Elaborate condensate treatment not needed
 Soft measures like condensate polishing or conditioning are required to ensure
reliability of equipment
 2 types of condensate water treatment:
 Amines for neutralising carbonic acid (e.g. Cyclohexylamine)
 Amines for filming a protective barrier against carbonic acid & oxygen (e.g.
Octyldecylamine)
De-aeration of Boiler Feedwater

 Oxidative corrosion, due to dissolved oxygen in feedwater, accelerates at high

temperatures in boiler
 De-aeration necessary to remove dissolved oxygen from feedwater
 De-aeration:
 Live steam heats feedwater upto 105 C
 Feedwater is mechanically agitated simultaneously to drive off dissolved oxygen
 Dissolved oxygen, along with tiny amount of live steam, is vented to atmosphere
 Higher the proportion of make-up water in circulation, greater the need for de-
aeration
Blowdown Water

 Dissolved solids are left behind in the boiler water when water is converted into steam
 As makeup water is circulated & converted to steam, the amount of solids in the boiler increases
till the water can’t dissolve all of the solids
 This ‘saturated’ water is then discharged as ‘bottom blowdown’
 Amount of solids in water
 Double when, Amount of make-up water = Amount of water originally used in boiler. Also called
‘2 cycles of condensation’
 Triple when, Amount of make-up water = 2*(Amount of water originally used in boiler). Also called
‘3 cycles of condensation’
 Effects of Blowdown:
 Insufficient Blowdown: Formation of deposits
 Excessive Blowdown: Wastage of energy, water & chemicals
Blowdown Water Regulation Tests

 2 Tests:
 Chloride Test
 Specific Conductance Test
 Chloride Test:
 Chloride is chosen since it’s inert to chemicals, heat; and is always present in make-up
water
 If chloride doubles, it implies that amount of solids in water has also doubled
 Specific Conductance Test:
 Conductivity of make-up water is measured against that of boiler water.
 Cycles of concentration = Conductivity of (make-up water)/(boiler water)
Blowdown Control

 Manual Control:
 Mostly used for mud/bottom blowdown for a few seconds after periodic intervals of
several hours
 Designed to remove suspended solids that settle out of boiler water & form a heavy
sludge
 Automatic Control:
 Electronic sensors & controllers sense boiler water TDS
 Open & close surface blowdown lines to maintain boiler water TDS at a minimum
 Surface Blowdown: Removes dissolved solids concentrated near liquid surface
Blowdown Heat Recovery

 2 Methods:
 Flash Steam Recovery
 Blowdown Heat Recovery
 Flash Steam Recovery:
 Blowdown water sent to a flash tank to give flash steam at low pressure
 Flash steam at low pressure used in de-aerator, etc.
 Blowdown Heat Recovery:
 Hot blowdown heats boiler make-up water to recover blowdown heat
Steam Distribution Management

 Steam distribution equipment must supply high quality steam at required pressure
& flow rate with minimum heat loss
 Key Components of Steam Distribution System:
 Steam distribution piping
 Valves & Flanges
 Insulation
 Steam Traps
 Air Vents
 Drip Legs
 Strainers
Steam Distribution Management

 Important Concerns of Steam Distribution Management

 Optimum Pipe Sizing
 Proper Insulation
 Plugging Leaks
 Steam Traps & Associated Pipelines
 Steam Use in Heating
Optimum Pipe Sizing

 Affected by Steam Velocities:

 Superheated: 50-70 m/s
 Saturated: 30-40 m/s
 Wet/Exhaust: 20-30 m/s
 Velocities lesser than 15 m/s at shorter pipe bends
 Standard data tables available to help selection of appropriate pipe sizes
 Steam piping size based on ‘permissible velocity’ & ‘available pressure drop’
considerations
 Condensate piping size designed based on the assumption of only water flow at
starting conditions, despite mostly carrying two-phase flow in practice
Proper Piping Design & Maintenance

 Ensure right sizing of pipes

 Oversized Pipes: Increase capital, maintenance & insulation costs; Increase surface
heat losses
 Undersized Pipes: Require higher pressure & pumping energy; Have higher rates of
leakage
 Get rid of redundant & obsolete pipework
 Fix Steam Leaks
 Keep track of facility-wide & individual process-unit steam balances
 Piping at equipment connections should accommodate thermal responses during
system start-ups & shutdowns
 Steam separators should be installed to ensure dry steam throughout the process
equipment & branch lines
Proper Insulation of Steam Piping

 Done to avoid excessive heat loss to atmosphere

 Important Insulation Properties: Thermal conductivity, Strength, Abrasion
resistance, Workability, and Resistance to water absorption
 Common Insulating Materials:
 Steam Piping: Calcium Silicate, Fiberglass, Perlite, Cellular Glass
 Steam Distribution Components/Attachments: Fiberglass, Fabric Insulation Blankets
 Smaller the pipe diameter, thinner the insulation
 Higher the temperature of the insulated pipe, higher the return on investment
 Running pipes in groups reduces heat losses
 Air movement & Draft increase heat losses of un-insulated pipes
Plugging Leaks

 Steam leaks commonly develop around valve stems, pressure regulators & pipe
joints
 Leaks are easy to detect
 Even a small leak amounts to significant costs over the year, as shown
Steam Traps & Associated Pipelines

 Steam traps distinguish condensate from steam & remove the condensate
 Types of steam traps, classified based on:
 Density difference: Known as mechanical traps; Include float traps & bucket traps
 Temperature difference: Known as thermostatic traps; Include Balanced-pressure traps,
Bimetal traps & Liquid expansion traps
 Flow characteristics: Known as thermodynamic traps
 Steam Traps Maintenance:
 Periodic Cleaning & Checking for wear
 Fixing strainers ahead of the steam traps to avoid damage by scale & dirt
 Steam traps handling more air require more frequent inspection & proper venting
Steam Use in Heating

 Steam can be used in various ways as follows:

 Providing Dry steam for Process
 Using steam at lowest pressures required by end-user
 Heating by Direct Injection
 Proper Air Venting: Done to avoid reduced heat transfer performance due to air
films
Summary

 The three important phases of operation to be managed for high boiler efficiency
are:
 Combustion
 Feedwater, Make-up & Blowdown
 Steam Piping
 Good draft control, air-fuel mixture control results in high boiler efficiency
 Maintaining low amount of dissolved solids & acids helps in maintaining high
efficiency & prolonging equipment life
 Proper piping design & maintenance helps in increasing boiler efficiency
THANK YOU!