High Pressure

Boilers
 High Pressure Boilers - Water tube Boilers

• Boilers with Steam generating capacity of more than 30 bar and 30

tons/hour are generally water tube boilers.
• Above these limits, the shell boilers are difficult to construct and transport.
• Water tube boilers are site-erected from easily transportable parts, and the
pressure parts are of smaller in diameter and therefore can be thinner.
• The geometry can be varied to suit wide range of situations
• Therefore the water tube boilers are generally preferred for high
pressure and high output whereas shell boilers for low pressures and
low output.
• The modern high pressure boilers used for power generation are for
steam capacities 30 to 650 tons/hr and above with a pressure up to
260 bar and 650oC
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Features of High Pressure Boilers
• Forced Circulation of water
• Large number of smaller diameter tubes
• Higher steam pressure and temperature
• Improved mode of heat transfer and heating
• Pressurized combustion
• Compactness
• High efficiency
• Once through circulation

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Advantages of high Pressure Boilers
1. The efficiency and the capacity of the plant can be increased as reduced
quantity of steam is required for the same power generation.
2. The forced circulation of water through boiler tubes provides freedom in
the arrangement of furnace and water walls, in addition to the reduction
in the heat exchange area.
3. The tendency of scale formation is reduced due to high velocity of water.
4. The danger of overheating is reduced as all the parts are uniformly
heated.
5. The differential expansion is reduced due to uniform temperature and
this reduces the possibility of gas and air leakages.

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High Pressure Boilers
• 1. La Mont Boiler
• 2. Benson Boiler
• 3. Loeffler Boiler
• 4. Schmidt-Hartmann Boiler
• 5. Velox Boiler
• 6. Super Critical Boilers
• 7. Waste heat recovery Boilers

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Lamont Boilers
• The boiler works on forced circulation

• The feed water passes through the drum

• Water from drum is pumped to the evaporator section

• The water and vapor then send back to the drum

• The steam in the drum is then taken to the super heater

• The super heated steam is supplied to the prime mover

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Line diagram of Lamont Boilers

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 Lamont Boilers

• Operating conditions:

• Steam generation capacity 45 to 50 tonnes/hr

• Generates superheated steam at 130 bar and 500⁰C

• Advantages:
• Very high heat transfer rate, ‘coz of the forced circulation
• Large reserve capacity due to water in vertical drum,
• Simple control systems adequate with safety,

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 Benson Boilers

• LaMont boiler experiences formation and attachment of bubbles on the inner surface of
heating tubes
– Reduction in heat flow
– Reduction in steam generation rate
– High thermal resistance

• Benson boiler raises the boiler pressure to critical pressure (225 atm) to avoid bubble
formation (The water and steam will have same density)
• Latent heat addition is eliminated by compressing the feed to the pressure of >225 atm.
• Forced water circulation
• Can Use oil as fuel

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 Benson Boiler
Steam generation rate – 150
tonnes / hr

Maximum capacity of 500

atm and 650⁰C

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Benson Boiler

• Advantages:
1. Small floor area required
2. Total weight is less than 20 % of other boilers (no drum)
3. Boiler cost is less
4. Starts very quickly
5. Furnace wall can be protected by fixing closely fitted tubes
6. Transferring the parts of the boiler is easy
7. Part load and over load operation is possible
8. Explosion hazards are not severe ‘coz of small diameter tubes

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Loeffler Boiler

• One of the major difficulty experienced in La-Mont boiler is

deposition of salt and sediment on the inner surfaces of water
tubes.

• The deposition reduces the heat transfer, ultimately, the generating

capacity.

• This difficulty was solved in Loeffler boiler by preventing the flow

of water into the boiler tubes.
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Loeffler Boiler
• The novel feature of the Loeffler Boiler is to evaporate water solely
by means of superheated steam. The furnace heat is supplied only
to economizer and super heater.

• Thus only the dry saturated steam passes through the tubes.

• Untreated feed water can be used without any difficulty in the boiler,
which is great advantage of this boiler.

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 SCHMIDT-HARTMANN BOILER

• In the primary circuit, the steam at 100 bar is produced from distilled water
• The generated steam is passed through a submerged heating coil which is
located in an evaporator drum.
• The high pressure steam in this coil possesses sufficient thermal potential
and steam at 60 bar with a heat transfer rate of 2.5 kw/m2oC is generated in
the evaporator drum.
• The steam produced is used in the evaporator drum from impure water is
further passed through the super heater and then supplied to the prim-
mover.

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 SCHMIDT-HARTMANN BOILER

• The high pressure condensate formed in the submerged heating

coil is circulated through a low pressure feed heater to raise the
feed water temperature to its saturation temperature.
• Only latent heat is supplied in the evaporator drum.
• Natural circulation is used in the primary circuit.

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 SCHMIDT-HARTMANN BOILER

• Advantages:
• 1. There is a rare chance of over heating.
• 2. The salt deposited in the evaporator drum due to the circulation of
impure water can easily be removed by flushing water on the tubes.
• 3. The wide fluctuations of load are easily taken by this boiler.

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 Velox Boiler

• When gas velocity exceeds the sound velocity the heat is transferred from
the gas at much higher rate than subsonic flow
• Larger heat transfer from smaller area
• Uses pressurized combustion
• Flue gases are used to run the Gas turbine
• The power output of the gas turbine is used to run the air compressor.
• The economizer utilizes the remaining heat.
• Extra power required to run the compressor is supplied with the help of
electric motor

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 Velox Boiler

• Feed water of 10 to 20 times the weight of steam is circulated through the

tubes.
• The size of the Velox boiler is limited to 100 tons/hr

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Velox Boiler

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 Velox Boiler

• Advantages:
• 1. Very high combustion rates are possible as high as 35 to 45 million kJ/cm3
of combustion chamber volume.
• 2. Low excess air is required as the pressurized air is used.
• 3. It is very compact generating unit and has greater flexibility.
• 4. It can be started quickly.
• 5. Problem of draught is simplified

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 What is a supercritical boiler?
• A supercritical boiler burns pulverized coal and is a once-through
boiler, meaning that it doesn’t require a drum to separate steam from
water. Rather than boiling water to produce steam, a supercritical
boiler operates at such high pressure (3,208 psi/221.2 bar or above)
that the fluid matrix in it ceases to be liquid or gas. Instead, it
becomes what is known as a “supercritical fluid.”
• This supercritical fluid turns the turbine that generates electricity. As
it does so, it drops below the critical pressure point and becomes a
mix of steam and water, passing into a condenser.

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Supercritical boilers
• In general subcritical boilers consists of economizer, evaporator
and superheater. But, supercritical boilers have only economizer
(preheater) and superheater.
• Constructional layout of both types of boilers are identical.
• Recent research and experience on construction of supercritical
boilers shows, it has become a rule to use supercritical boilers
above 300 MW capacity units.

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3 Reasons to Go Supercritical
• Supercritical boilers offer benefits in the three interrelated
areas:
• Efficiency,
• Emissions, and
• Cost.
• While supercritical boilers cost more than comparably sized
subcritical boilers, the larger initial capital investment can be
offset by the lifecycle savings yielded by the technology’s
improved efficiency, reduced emissions, and lower operating
costs —all due to its higher steam temperature and pressure
parameters.

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Improved Efficiency
• Supercritical and ultra-supercritical boilers’ ability to
operate at much higher pressures and temperatures than
subcritical boilers translates into noticeably better
efficiency ratings.
• Subcritical boilers typically run at 165 bar /500°C. By way
of contrast, modern supercritical units can go as high as 275
bar/600°C.
• The even more advance ultra-supercritical units reach
pressures and temperatures as high as 320 bar /650°C.
Current research goals are set as high as 375 bar /750°C and
seem to be on the horizon.
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 Boiler Type Efficiency Rating

Subcritical 32–38%

Supercritical 37–42%

Ultra-supercritical 42–45%
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Reduced Emissions

• Improved plant efficiency also translates into reduced

emissions, particularly of CO2 and mercury, which are difficult
to manage otherwise.
• The general rule of thumb is that each percentage point of
efficiency improvement yields 2–3% less CO2

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Lower Operating Costs
• For all fossil fuel–fired plants, fuel represents the largest
operating cost.
• By reducing the amount of fuel needed to yield the requisite
energy, supercritical plants make a noticeable dent in bottom
lines when compared to subcritical plants

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Super Critical Boiler

• Advantages:
1. Large heat transfer rates
2. Pressure level is more stable and gives better response
3. Absence of two phase mixing minimize corrosion and erosion
problem
4. Higher thermal efficiency

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Waste Heat Recovery Boiler
Various sources

• Exhaust heat recovery from Gas Turbine exhaust.

• Exhaust heat recovery from Internal combustion Engine
• Hot Waste Gases from
• Scrap melting steel furnaces
• Cement kilns
• Industrial furnaces
• Incinerators
• Process Waste Gases

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Waste Heat Recovery Boiler

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