STOCKERS

All stokers are designed to feed solid fuel onto a grate where the fuel burns as primary air is
passed up through it and over-fire air is also introduced to enhance combustion. The stoker is
located in the furnace, and it is also designed to remove the residue of ash that remains after
combustion.

Stoker firing consists of various systems having the following major features:

i. A fuel feed system.

ii. A grate assembly, either stationary or moving, that supports the burning fuel and admits the
majority of combustion air to the fuel.
iii. An over-fire air system for the completion of combustion and reduction of emissions such as
NOx.
iv. An ash discharge system Stokers can handle a vast variety of solid fuels. They handle all
forms of coal, wood, bark, bagasse, rice hulls, peach pits, vineyard trimmings, coffee
grounds, and municipal solid wastes (MSW).

There are two general types of stoker systems:

1. Underfeed stokers: Both fuel and air supply are from under the grate
2. Overfeed stokers: The fuel is supplied from above the grate and air is supplied from below
the grate. For overfeed stokers, there are two types:
a. Mass feed stoker. Fuel is fed continuously to one end of the stoker grate, and it travels
horizontally (or sometimes inclined for fuels such as MSW) across the grate as it burns.
Ash is removed from the opposite end. Combustion air is introduced from below the
grate and moves up through the burning bed of fuel. Figure below is an example of this
type of stoker.
 Figure 1. Travelling grate stocker

b. Spreader stoker. Fuel is spread uniformly over the grate area as it is thrown into the
furnace. The combustion air enters from below through the grate and the fuel on the
grate. Since the fuel has some fines, these burn in suspension as they fall against the
airflow moving upward through the grate. The heavier fuel burns on the grate and the ash
is removed from the discharge end of the grate. Figures 2.26, 5.13, and 5.14 are examples
of this system. The spreader stoker can handle a variety of solid fuels and is the most
commonly used stoker today.
 Figure 2. Spreader stocker

BURNERS

Burners are combustion equipments for firing liquid and gaseous fuels, hence are designed to fire
almost any solid, liquid or gaseous fuel with an economically extractable calorific value.
Common fuels are natural gas, diesel and light fuel oil. Heavier grades of fuel oil are more
commonly found in more remote installations especially those not connected into a natural gas
supply system.

the primary requirement of combustion system development was to design compact boilers that
were cost-effective. As a result, the burner system focused on maximizing the heat input per unit
of volume, and this resulted in small furnace volumes, rapid mixing burners, and very high flame
temperatures. Although these burners performed very well, this design produced an unintended
side effect of high levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) that now are considered an emission pollutant
new designs adapted a technique of managing the availability of oxygen in combustion air hence
oxygen was supplied in portions within the primary and secondary air so as to reduce NO X
emission.

Figure 3. Low NOx Pulverized coal burner

REFERENCES

Melliza, Y., 2020. BOILERS OR STEAM GENERATORS. Steam generators. Academia edu

publisher

Woodruff, E., Lammers, H. and Lammers, T., 1998. Steam-Plant Operation. 8th ed. New York
[u.a.]: McGraw-Hill, pp.235-349.