3.

Boilers

BOILER FUNCTIONS AND MAIN CATEGORIES

Apart from the special part it plays in energy production and supply (reheating, driving
turbines,turboalternator), steam is also involved in processes (chemical reactant, dilution
steam, stripping, etc.) and constitutes a safety factor (blanketing steam). Boilers and steam
generators are therefore vital in a plant in ensuring reliable operation of production units.

Industrial boilers may be divided into two main categories:

➢ Conventional boilers in which the heat required for vaporising water is supplied by
the combustion of liquids or gas. Depending on the nature of the fluid circulating in the
tube bundle, boilers are referred to as water tube boilers or flue gas tube boilers.
➢ Waste heat boilers use the heat available in high temperature process fluids or in the
flue gases of furnaces and gas turbines.

According to the nature of the fluids and their availability, waste heat boilers may be
constructed like conventional boilers, use some of the elements, or be based on specific
technology.

The walls determine the volume within which flue gases circulate along heat exchange
surfaces. The following schematics give a front view and an overhead view of a monobloc
boiler.

It comprises:

Another example of a water tube boiler is shown below. The flue gas trajectory in the
convection heat exchange section is from top to bottom.
1
Following flue gas circulation we have:

➢ The combustion zone where the tubes are heated by radiation. Burners are installed
on the wall or in the corners to improve flame turbulences in the middle of the radiation
zone. Combustion air is supplied to the burners via an air blower and a large air tank to
allow a good air distribution.
➢ The superheater is not exposed to flame radiation but heated by convection with hot
flue gas. Usually divided in two parts separated by a desuperheater for steam
temperature control; the superheater is composed of parallel tube bundle fixed to
collectors installed above boiler roof outside flue gas circulation.
➢ Vaporizing tube bundle or convection tube bundle composed of smooth vertical tubes
between upper and lower drum. Baffles are installed on flue gas side to prevent by
pass flow. Higher is the operating pressure, lower is the latent heat of water. For high
pressure boilers (above 80 bar) the radiation zone heat exchanger surface area is
sufficient to vaporize all the water. These boilers are called radiant boilers.

To improve heat recovery on flue gases supplementary heat exchange sections can be
observed:

➢ The economizer with smooth or finned tubes in case of fuel gas. It preheat feed
water before it enters the upper drum.
➢ The air preheater; statics or regenerative air preheater.

CONVENTIONAL BOILER OPERATING CONDITIONS

BOILER WATER CONDITIONING

Boiler water must have certain properties in order to avoid:

 Sodium hydrate corrosion.

 Corrosion by dissolved gases.
 Scaling.
 Entrainment by the steam of volatile mineral compounds.

BOILER EFFICIENCY

➢ FUEL CHARACTERISTICS

Liquid fuel-oil characteristics are:

LHV: 9600 kcal/kg
Stoechiometric air/fuel ratio: 11 Nm3 of air / kg of fuel.

Flue gas heat content (Qflue gases) due to combustion of 1kg of fuel is a
function of excess air and flue gas
temperature. It can be determined from graph.

➢ BOILER HEAT BALANCE

Objective of heat balance is to calculate the quantity of heat transferred to

feed water per kilogramme
of fuel. Qin is to total quantity of heat at burners due to fuel and combustion
air. If we assume that heat due to atomization steam and heat losses are
neglectable, heat balance is:

Qin = Qtransferred + Qflue gases

Heat due to 1kg of fuel which depends of:

• Heating value: kcal/kg of fuel
 • Fuel sensible heat: kcal/kg of fuel
• Combustion air sensible heat kcal/kg of

fuel Qin = X kcal/kg of fuel

Heat into flue gases (see graph) which depends of:

• Excess air.
• Flue gases temperature.

Qflue gases = Y kcal/kg of

fuel. Heat transferred to feed

water:

Qtransferred = Qin – Qflue gases = Z kcal/kg of fuel

➢ EFFICIENCY (bases on LHV)

Eff = (Qtransferred / LHV)*100; %

➢ EFFICIENCY (EXXON)

Boiler efficiency = (Qa / Qf)*100-2; %

Where: Qa is heat absorbed and Qf is heat fired should be taken from the fuel
combustion curved provided in annexes. Radiation and unaccounted losses
are assumed to be 2%.

➢ EFFICIENCY (IFP)

efficiency = 100-(Tstack)/20-(%O2)/2-Qwall; %

Where:
Tstack: outlet temperature of flue gas, °C.
%O2: percentage of oxygen of flue gas, % vol.
Qwall: percentage of heat loss assumed in 2%.

SPECIFIC CONSUMPTION

To produce 1 ton of steam, it is necessary to feed 1 ton of water and the quantity corresponding to
continuous drain.

Feed water flow = steam flow + Continuous drain

Of, for one ton of steam, we need: Ton of feed water

Heat balance on water is:

(1+ CD) □□hwater + Q = CD □□hdrain + 1 □□Hsteam

Where:
- hwater = feed water enthalpy
- hdrain = continuous drain enthalpy
- Hsteam = Steam enthalpy
- CD = Continuous drain rate

From MOLLIER diagram, we have:

- hwater = th/t
- hdrain = th/t
- Hsteam = th/t

And
Q = th/t of steam
Q is the quantity of heat to produce one ton of steam. Specific consumption is the
quantity of fuel burned per ton of steam. It can be calculated from the quantity of
heat to produce one ton of steam and the heat transferred to water.

Mfuel = Q/Qtransferred
Mfuel = t fuel/t of steam

This specific consumption can be also calculated in quantity of steam produced per
ton of fuel.

Msteam = t steam/t of fuel

HEAT TRANSFER IN THE DIFFERENT HEAT EXCHANGE AREAS

Heat balance can be made on cold fluid (water – steam) and on hot fluid (flue gases)
BOILER MONITORING DAY TO DAY (EXXON DESIGN)

In addition, pH, drum cycles, conductivity and injection of chemicals to feed the water should be
routinely recorded and analyzed. Also, oxygen into water outlet of deaerator (5 < PPB) and its
temperature (115-125 °C) must be monitored.

REFERENCES
[1] Module 17. Furnaces and Boilers – Energy Management. IFP Training.
[2] Fired and Heater. Combustion Design Data. ExxonMobil Research and Engineering.
ANNEXES