Fuel 344 (2023) 128145

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Full Length Article

Combustion optimization of a coal-fired power plant boiler using artificial

intelligence neural networks
Zheng Yao a, *, Carlos Romero a, Jonas Baltrusaitis b
a
Energy Research Center, Lehigh University, 117 ATLSS Dr., Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
b
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Lehigh University, 111 Research Dr., Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study establishes detailed neural network modeling procedures for the combustion optimization of a power
Boiler generation unit, equipped with a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system. In particular, artificial intelligence
Combustion optimization neural networks were applied due to its capability in treating large pools of data of great nonlinearity. The
Nitrogen oxide
objective of this study was to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in the stack gas, lower the cost of emissions
Artificial intelligence
compliance and minimize the net unit heat rate at this power generation unit at full-load conditions. These
Neural networks
procedures include building a database with real coal power plant operating data, modeling the database and
using the genetic algorithm to optimize the operating conditions. The operation is optimized with respect to the
steam temperature, selective catalyst reactor, and separated over-fire air conditions. Verifications of the results
demonstrated that by carrying out the reported study, the pollutant concentrations of the boiler are significantly
decreased and the catalyst layer is effectively preserved, while the operation can be maintained stable near the
full-load condition. It was found that the average ammonia (NH3) flow to the SCR under optimized conditions
was 229 kg/h, while the average NH3 flow under non-optimal operational conditions was 260 kg/h, resulting in a
reduction in NH3 consumption of approximately 12 % from the non-optimized operational condition. In the
meantime, the SCR inlet (boiler exit) NOx was reduced from 523 mg/Nm3 (non-optimized operational condition)
to 444 mg/Nm3 (optimized operational condition), which represent about 15 % reduction. Based on the expe­
rience with SCR from manufactures and operators, the SCR catalyst life expectancy has a direct relationship with
the SCR inlet NOx concentration and NH3 injection rate. The lower the NOx concentration at the SCR inlet and the
less the NH3 injection rate, the longer of the SCR catalyst life will be. Thus, it is expected that the SCR catalyst
layer replacement frequency could be reduced by 10 to 20 % over the normal catalyst replacement cycle, while
meeting the same environmental NOx emissions limit. Additionally, a Delta Heat Rate was also calculated using
best available data from the optimized operational conditions, including boiler load, boiler excess oxygen (O2),
fly ash unburned carbon and attemperation flow. Results were compared with the average Delta Heat Rate
calculated from baseline tests. It was found that the average Delta Heat Rate from baseline tests are − 60 kJ/kWh,
while the delta heat rate from the optimized operation condition hours is − 118 kJ/kWh. This represents about
0.57 % improvement on unit heat rate from the baseline average.

1. Introduction
Most electricity generation and heat supply in China come from the
combustion of fossil fuel at power plants and occupy over 50 % of
Chinese coal consumption annually [1]. Coal-fired power plants play the
dominant role with their capability of stable and reliable operation,
short period of construction and low investment compared with other
forms of power generation [2]. With the challenges of sustaining the
economic advantage while minimizing the environmental concerns, the
power producers are looking for ways not only to improve the efficiency
of the power plants but also to reduce polluting emissions to minimize
the cost of compliance [3]. The boiler is one of the most important pieces
of equipment in power plants where coal combustion occurs and the
working fluid is heated in the furnace [4]. Meanwhile, pollutants like
sulfur dioxide (SO2), NOx and particulate matter (PM) are generated and
need to be removed to a low level to meet the emission standards [5–7].
The combustion optimization of the boiler is often necessary because its
operation condition often deviates from the design condition as well as

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhy4@lehigh.edu (Z. Yao).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2023.128145
Received 29 November 2022; Received in revised form 24 February 2023; Accepted 14 March 2023
Available online 21 March 2023
0016-2361/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Z. Yao et al.
due to the challenges of other forms of power to attaine a lower oper­
ation cost to maintain competitiveness. The optimization comprises two
aspects, e.g. increasing efficiency while reducing emissions, and these
two goals are often built as a multi-objective optimization problem [8].
Multiple research methods have been adopted to study the com­
bustion in the boiler furnace. The mechanical model is based on the
balance in mass, energy, momentum to present the relations between
the related parameters. Zhang [9] established the model of the com­
bustion process, the fluidization dynamics and the nitric oxide (NO)
emissions in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler based on the
mechanism analysis. The results showed that proper matching of the
feeding coal size can improve the efficiency and the increase of the
circulating flux is feasible to contribute to the falling clusters to NO
reduction. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology has been
prevalent in simulating boiler combustion for its convenient visualiza­
tion in reflecting the details in the furnace. Wang et al. [10] numerically
studied a 330 MW pulverized coal boiler considering coal burners, heat
exchangers and other accessories and presented a systematic description
of the heat transfer. The predicted heat transfer distributions showed
good consistency with the boiler’s operating data. As artificial intelli­
gence (AI) developed greatly in recent years, more AI methods are
employed in analyzing complicated operating conditions and monitored
data. The method is becoming more popular for its capability in
distributed treatment, robustness and fault-tolerant ability as well as
potential in data learning. Liu and Bansal [2] modeled the combustion
process via the CFD method to investigate the temperature distributions
under various scenarios and used an integrating non-dominated sorting
genetic algorithm to optimize the furnace temperature. The heat transfer
rate was maintained accurately as well as the temperature in the vicinity
of the furnace within the ash melting temperature to avoid slagging. Li
et al. [11] presented a novel artificial neural network (ANN) with a fast
learning speed with all weights and biases are determined by the twice
Least Square Method. The experimental study showed the regression
precision, generalization ability, repeatability and stability of the pro­
posed method are quite satisfactory. In general, the application of AI
networks in the power plant boiler is getting more frequently used in
recent years. One of the greatest advantages of the technique is the
sufficient utility of the operation data can predict the forthcoming
operating state of the boiler. Krzywanski et al. [12,13] established
artificial neural networks of the feed-forward type were built for several
large- and small-scale CFB boilers to predict SO2 emissions, where a
wide range of operating conditions were considered and both air-firing
as well as oxygen-enriched and oxy-combustion conditions are investi­
gated. Wang et al. [14] predicted the NOx emissions for coal-fired boilers
via a self-developed deep belief network (DBN). The DBN-based models
posessed better prediction precision and higher stability than other NOx
emission prediction models. Adams et al. [15] used a combined deep
neural network and least square support vector machine to predict the
SOx-NOx emissions from a coal-fired CFB power plant. The models not
only realized online operation and optimization of a coal-fired CFB
boiler with high accuracy but also showed potential in increasing power
output at a lower cost.
Despite the great advances in commercial systems (low-NOx firing
systems, and selective and non-selective catalytic NOx reductions sys­
tems,) in regard to achieving NOx emissions regulation compliance,
power plant operators and utility companies are in need in AI-powered
transparent and detailed methodology to optimize their systems so they
can work as close as possible to design conditions by integrating NOx
reduction with unit net heat rate (or thermal efficiency). Although AI
networks have been developed into an effective tool in taking advantage
of large data pools and predicting operating conditions, the practical use
of this method in a power plant is relatively scarce. This study utilizes an
existing coal-fired power generation unit as a case study to expound a set
of solutions to an optimization process. The goal is to reduce emissions,
increase efficiency and minimize the cost of emissions compliance. This
methodology can also be utilized by field engineers to tune NOx control
2
Fuel 344 (2023) 128145
equipment after upgrading or servicing. In particular, the basic
description of this unit and the modeling process are introduced. The
modeling results are presented and the corresponding discussion is
provided.
2. Methodology
2.1. Power generation unit studied
The commercial power generation unit studied is a sub-critical
tangential-fired unit with the designed steam flow rate of 220 t/h and
superheated temperature of 540 ◦ C at full load condition. Steam tem­
perature is controlled by a combination of separated over-fire air (SOFA)
tilt and attemperating sprays. The unit has a balanced draft furnace,
with a firing system that is composed of four corners, with two levels of
low-NOx burners, three auxiliary air nozzle elevations, one oil nozzle
elevation and two levels of yawable SOFA registers. Adjustment of SOFA
yaw is possible with the unit in operation but can only be performed
locally. Fuel is prepared for firing by two ball mills. Online adjustment of
the classifiers exists on the pulverizers. Primary and secondary com­
bustion air is heated by one tubular air preheater (APH). This unit is also
equipped with an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and a wet limestone
flue-gas desulphurization (FGD) scrubber for PM and SO2 emissions
control, respectively. Environmental limits on this unit are: NOx = 100
mg/m3, SO2 = 50 mg/m3 and particulate matter (PM) = 50 mg/m3. The
ultra-low emission standard used in China are: NOx = 50 g/m3, SO2 =
35 g/m3 and PM = 5 g/m3 since 2018. No carbon monoxide (CO)
environmental restrictions currently exist for this unit. Combustion
optimization was performed specifically for full-load operation, to
demonstrate the benefit of the combustion optimization technology at
the particular load at which stack NOx emissions are larger. A schematic
configuration for the power unit can be seen in Fig. 1.
The combustion in a coal-fired boiler is complicated and is deter­
mined by the boiler itself and its auxiliary systems, as well as factors
affecting emissions and unit heat rate. An approach is developed to
optimize the combustion. The approach to combustion optimization
utilized can be divided into seven steps,
Step 1: Test preparations: project planning, instrumentation and
firing system check-up, boiler inspection, preliminary testing;
Step 2: Combustion tuning: burner balancing, secondary air
balancing (not implemented in this study);
Step 3: Parametric testing and creation of test database;
Step 4: Modeling of test data using artificial intelligence neural
networks;
Step 5: Determination of optimal solutions using mathematical
optimizer;
Step 6: Verification and implementation of optimal control settings:
new control curves;
Step 7: Maintaining optimal control settings: on-line advisor or
closed-loop software, operator training.
The main idea of the steps is to create a data-based model and to
develop ANN models to optimize the relations. Implementation of the
optimization results is done with Boiler OP™. Boiler OP™ is a software
package licensed by the Lehigh University Energy Research Center
(ERC) for combustion optimization. This software employs a graphical
user interface that allows the user to view the optimization results and
provides expert advice or control for the optimal operation of the unit.
2.2. Test preparation
In this step, the pertinent instrumentation was inspected and cali­
brated that will be involved in the optimization tests for example the
economizer excess O2 probes and the continuous emission monitoring
system (CEMS) NOx monitor, as well as inspect the boiler and combus­
tion system to ensure the burners, secondary air (SA) and over-fire air
(OFA) registers, and actuators are in a good mechanical condition, the
Z. Yao et al.
Fig. 1. The schematic diagram for the unit configuration (IDF: Induced Draft Fan).
coal pipe flows are balanced as much as practically possible, and the
pulverizers are in a good state of maintenance, within recommended
coal fineness and primary air-to-coal flow ratio.
2.3. Parametric testing and building a database
Parametric and factorially-designed tests were conducted per com­
bustion optimization approach to build a database that relates the effect
of the boiler operating parameters (boiler control settings) on NOx
emissions and performance parameters such as steam temperatures,
attemperating sprays, and unit heat rate. In developing a plan for
testing, factors such as the selection of the key operating parameters, test
sequence, number of tests and test range for each test parameter, and
interdependencies between test parameters were considered. Parametric
tests were performed by varying one parameter at a time and keeping
the remaining parameters fixed. This systematic approach provides in­
formation on the effect of each test parameter on emissions and per­
formance, which is also helpful in understanding the complex
relationships between boiler and burner control settings, and NOx
emissions and unit heat rate. Factorial tests were performed by testing
two or more interrelated parameters simultaneously to explore in­
terdependencies between the parameters.
2.4. Modeling of test data
Combustion optimization relies on data-based models describing the
effect of boiler control settings (model inputs) on emissions and per­
formance parameters (model outputs). The models were created using
data collected under carefully controlled tests. ANNs are typically used
to develop relationships between the boiler control settings, NOx emis­
sions and unit heat rate. The most common ANN architecture used for
this type of application is a feed-forward ANN architecture with a back-
propagation training algorithm. The performance of the ANN models is
influenced to a great degree by the quality of the data used to create
them. In developing ANN models by using test data, it must always be
kept in mind that ANNs learn from the data and cannot distinguish ac­
curate data from bad data. After training the ANN models, their pre­
dictions are verified for accuracy and trending. To determine the
accuracy of a created ANN model the values of a parameter such as NOx
3
Fuel 344 (2023) 128145
emissions rate, unit heat rate, etc. predicted by the model were
compared to the measured values of the same parameter. After the
overall accuracy of an ANN model is established, a trend analysis was
performed to determine whether the model predicts the correct trends.
This was accomplished by using the ANN model to predict relationships
between the input and output parameters and comparing the predicted
and experimentally determined trends.
The trend analysis also establishes the range for each input param­
eter over which the ANN model is considered accurate. It is well known
that ANNs do not extrapolate well and care should be taken not to ex­
ercise the model outside of its accuracy range.
2.5. Determination of optimal solutions
After the ANN models were developed and tested, optimal solutions
(a set of optimal boiler-related control parameters), satisfying the opti­
mization goal and imposed constraints, are obtained by employing an
optimization algorithm. The Nelder-Meade Downhill Simplex Method is
used to find the minimum of the function F, in the multidimensional
space, where Model Output = F (Boiler Related Operating Parameters).
The Nelder-Mead algorithm is designed to solve the classical uncon­
strained optimization problem of minimizing a given nonlinear function
f: Rn → R, allowing for a multidimensional unconstrained optimization
without derivatives [16].
2.6. Verification, implementation of and maintaining optimal control
settings
There are several options for the implementation of the optimal
settings determined by the combustion optimization program. These
include the implementation of the results into new distributed control
system (DCS) curves, and/or installation of an online open-loop advisor
or closed-loop software. The last two options can be achieved with the
Boiler OP™ software interface.
The optimal settings can be programmed into the plant DCS to pro­
vide automatic control. To deal with daily variations in fuel quality and
maintenance status of the combustion equipment and boiler heat
transfer sections, a closed-loop trim control for key operating parame­
ters (such as excess O2 level) can be implemented. In such an
Z. Yao et al. Fuel 344 (2023) 128145

arrangement, the value of a key operating parameter is modulated to Table 1

maintain a desired taget NOx emission set-point (see Fig. 2). The feed­ Parametric test data.
back function(s) for the selected control parameter(s) is (are) deter­ Parametric description Unit Parametric description Unit
mined by using test data. The trim control provides a cost-effective
Unit load t/h SCR inlet flue gas ◦
C
alternative to full closed-loop network control, where all boiler control temperature
parameters are incorporated into the closed-loop control strategy. Main steam temperature ◦
C SCR inlet NOx mg/
In the open-loop advisory mode, real-time unit and plant data are m3
used to provide advice to the operators on the optimal settings and in­ Main steam spray kg/h SCR inlet O2 %
SOFA yaw ◦
SCR exit NOx mg/
formation on the emissions and performance penalties for not operating m3
at the optimal settings. An expert system is typically incorporated to SOFA tilt % SCR exit O2 %
provide advice to the operator on the required actions. The operator SOFA-1 opening % NH3 injection rate kg/h
advisory screen is custom-designed for each power plant and unit SOFA-2 opening % NH3 slip ppm
SA-1 opening % Stack CEMS NOX mg/
application.
m3
SA-2 opening % Loss of Iginition (LOI) %
3. Results and discussion SA-3 opening % Excess O2-A %
SA-4 opening % Excess O2-B %
Primary Air (PA)-1 opening % CO ppm
3.1. Test preparations PA-2 opening % APH air bypass damper %
opening
Operational information was gathered of the boiler, firing system, SA flow rate m3 / APH inlet air temperature ◦
C
fuel variability, unit control system, and data and sampling collection h
PA flow rate m3 / APH exit air temperature C
setup and equipment. Also, a boiler walk-down, and equipment and
◦

h
instrumentation inspections were performed. A baseline level of NOx SOFA flow rate m3 / APH inlet flue gas ◦
C
emissions was obtained before the low-NOx burner (LNB) and SCR h temperature
retrofit of the unit. The parameters and their test range for combustion Feeder 1 speed t/h APH outlet flue gas ◦
C
optimization were identified. These included: economizer excess O2, temperature
Feeder 2 speed t/h
SOFA register openings, SOFA tilts, SCR operation parameters, etc. Furnace Exit Gas Temperature ◦
C
Sootblowing was not available since all the soot blowers were (FEGT)-1
decommissioned. FEGT-2 ◦
C
From this step, a list of variables was prepared as shown in Table 1,
which includes the items that needed to be addressed in preparation for
register openings, SOFA register tilts, SOFA yaw, coal bias and SCR NH3
the combustion optimization tuning and parametric testing. These
injection rate. The excess O2 level at the economizer outlet was used as a
included calibration of airflow meters and excess O2 probes, CEMS
parameter to relate the excess air level in the boiler. The average
instrumentation, and recommendations for coal and fly ash sampling for
opening of the two levels of SOFA registers was used to indicate the level
the upcoming parametric testing.
of combustion staging by the SOFAs. Additionally, testing was per­
formed to investigate the impact of pulverized coal vertical loading
3.2. Parametric testing patterns or biasing on NOx emissions. However, this parameter was not
included in the ANN models, due to the high variability in coal quality at
The parametric tests included combinations of excess O2, SOFA this power generation unit. This variability would render pulverized

Fig. 2. Schematic of a DCS programmed closed-loop trim control.

4
Z. Yao et al.
coal feeder biasing inconsistent for continuous optimized operation. A
series of 50 parametric tests were performed at near full-load conditions.
A summary of the 50 tests performed can be seen in Table 2. For each
test point, critical boiler operating data were manually collected for a
10-minute time interval, after steady state operation of the boiler was
achieved. A combination of data collected automatically by the OC
6000e DCS, and data collected manually was used in the data processing
and for test documentation. NOx, SO2 and PM stack emissions data were
obtained from the CEMS located at the dedicated stack for the boiler.
Pertinent parameters such as excess O2, main steam temperature,
attemperating flow rate, and NOx emissions were monitored to ensure
steady state operation for each test point. Offline data included fly ash
LOI and net unit heat rate. Ash samples were collected from a probe
permanently installed at the boiler economizer outlet and analyzed by
the station for unburned carbon levels. No other method of ash sampling
was available for combustion optimization testing. Changes in net unit
heat rate were calculated using a heat and mass balance model of the
boiler. Only the operating parameters affected by the changes in test
parameters were considered for the heat rate calculations (main steam
temperature, main steam pressure, steam attemperating spray flow,
economizer gas outlet temperature, fly ash LOI, percent excess air, etc.).
The values of the heat rate are therefore relative and indicate changes in
boiler performance due to systematic changes in test parameters.
Coal quality info was obtained from the plant information system
daily. This information includes proximate analysis results. A sample
coal quality screen can be seen in Table 3. The fuel variability introduces
a complication for the test data analysis since test results from two
different sets of boiler control settings can be biased by changes in coal
quality, in addition to the change in NOx emissions caused by the boiler
settings. It is known that the coal nitrogen content affects the NOx for­
mation during coal combustion, as well as other constituents of the coal
matrix including the volatility and fixed carbon content. Typically, NOx
emissions will increase for increased nitrogen contents and larger values
of the fixed carbon-to-volatile matter ratio (FC/VM). It can be seen from
Table 4 that there are some coal quality variations during the testing
period. For example, the FC/VM ratio on 08/02 was 5.7 compared to
around 4.7 for the other days.
Parametric testing was performed with the load at approximately
180 t/h. Initial tests investigated the effect of different O2 levels on NOx
emissions, as well as attemperation, fly ash LOI and unit heat rate. All
other optimization parameters were kept at baseline settings as much as
possible.
Fig. 3a shows NOx emissions as a function of SCR inlet excess O2.
Fig. 3a includes the test results obtained from the excess O2 test
sequence, as well as the baseline test results. The excess O2 range for the
baseline tests was as high as 3.8 %. The trend in NOx emissions as a
function of excess air is as expected in Fig. 3a. As shown in the figure,
NOx emissions are reduced as the excess air level is reduced. The trend
indicates that at full load, NOx emissions decrease by approximately 45
mg/Nm3 for a 1 % reduction in the average SCR inlet O2 concentration.
Table 2
Summary of parametric tests performed.
Parameters\Date Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Total
CO 2 2
SOFA tilt, 1 mill 5 5
SOFA tilt, 2 mills 8 1 9
SOFA open, 1 mill 4 4
Baseline O2 2 1 1 4
O2 3 1 4 of the top-level feeders, by unloading its coal flow and distributing the
SOFA staging, 2 mills 6 6
B mill, the third air 2 2
Feeder bias 1 1
SA opening 3 3
SOFA yaw 4 4
SCR NH3 injection 6 6
Total 19 5 14 12 50
5
Fuel 344 (2023) 128145
Fig. 3b shows the impact of excess O2 on boiler heat rate. Only the
operating parameters affected by the changes in test parameters were
considered for the heat rate calculations. The values of the heat rate are
therefore relative and indicate changes in boiler performance due to
systematic changes in test parameters when compared with the baseline
test conditions. This behavior in unit heat rate results from the detri­
mental impact on boiler efficiency caused by an increase in stack losses
at higher excess O2 levels. Fly ash LOI was found to increase significantly
as the excess O2 was reduced to below 3.0 %, bringing the fly ash LOI
close to the 10 % maximum limit set by the plant for fly ash selling
purposes.
A series of tests were then conducted at full load to evaluate the effect
of average SOFA register opening on NOx emissions and performance.
Adjustment of the SOFA registers was accomplished at different levels of
excess O2, while the other boiler parameters were at baseline settings.
The results of these tests are shown in Fig. 4 a and b, in terms of NOx and
delta heat rate (the differernce between a particular heat rate and the
heat rate at reference conditions), respectively. Opening the SOFA reg­
isters has a certain impact on NOx emissions. For the range of available
SOFA register openings (15 % minimum cooling position to a 25 % limit
due to excessive main steam temperatures), SOFAs can reduce NOx by as
much as 10 %. However, the SOFA registers openings have a larger
impact on steam temperatures and attemperating flow rates, thus pre­
venting them from being adjusted larger than 30 %. It is expected that
the main steam attemperation system is upgraded soon to maximize the
SOFA effect on NOx emissions. As the SOFA registers are manipulated
over their available constrained range to produce staged combustion
conditions in the furnace, attemperating spray flow rates can increase by
as much as 3 t/h to maintain steam temperatures at design levels, most
likely due to an increase in flame length and flue gas temperatures. This
establishes a trade-off between the reduction in NOx resulting from
increased SOFA openings and the accompanying reduction in unit
thermal performance.
The parametric tests also investigated the impact of SOFA tilt on NOx
emissions, as well as on unit heat rate. The impact of SOFA tilt on NOx
emissions at the unit was found to be less than the impact of O2. How­
ever, the impact of SOFA tilt on heat rate is very significant. For the
range of SOFA tilts tested during the combustion optimization (− 12◦ to
+12◦ ), the heat rate increased by as much as 0.7 %, due to the combined
effect of increased fly ash unburned carbon and increase in radiant heat
to the upper sections in the boiler (impact on steam temperatures). Fig. 4
c and d show curves of SCR inlet NOx and delta unit heat rate for
different burner tilt angles respectively. This unit is suffering from high
steam temperatures, due to the recent retrofit of the low-NOx burners
with increased radiant heat to the upper sections of the boiler. Given the
low sensitivity of NOx emissions to SOFA tilt, due to the reduced
available tilting range, SOFA tilts offer the flexibility to compensate for
heat rate increases due to the manipulation of other parameters, such as
SOFA registers, to achieve NOx emissions reduction.
Testing was also performed on SOFA nozzle yaw angles to find the
impact on NOx emissions. At the unit boiler, the yaw on each SOFA
nozzle had to be adjusted manually. Based on the results shown in
Fig. 5a, the impact of SOFA yaw angle on NOx emissions at this unit was
minimal.
Testing was also performed to investigate the impact of pulverized
coal (PC) vertical flow biasing on NOx emissions. The unit boiler is
typically run with 2 levels of coal nozzles, each level contains four coal
nozzles with a corresponding PC feeder. Most of the time, each level of
PC feeders has some extra capacity that would allow biasing (unloading)
excess coal flow into the lower-level feeders. Fig. 5b shows the results of
PC flow biasing from a baseline condition (average upper feeders speed
464 rpm, average lower level feeders speed 554 rpm) to a condition that
represents the maximum allowable top-level coal nozzles unloading,
within the prescribed operational limits of the boiler at that time
(average upper feeders speed 401 rpm, average lower level feeders
Z. Yao et al. Fuel 344 (2023) 128145

Table 3
Fuel variability at the unit boiler.
Date M Mt A V FC S HHV HHV LHV LHV
% % % % % % kJ/kg kCal/kg kJ/kg kCal/kg

7/15 0.96 4.7 29.26 17.31 52.47 0.97 22,510 5,376 21,850 5,219
7/16 0.79 6.1 21.67 16.30 61.24 0.59 25,520 6,095 24,620 5,880
7/17 1.10 5.7 25.56 12.73 60.61 0.52 24,100 5,756 23,290 5,563
7/18 0.75 5.1 22.73 12.66 63.86 0.64 24,800 5,923 23,970 5,725
7/19 0.90 5.1 30.08 11.02 58.00 0.77 22,020 5,259 21,270 5,080
7/20 0.81 6.5 27.11 13.13 58.95 0.94 23,010 5,496 22,190 5,300
7/21 0.80 6.2 27.62 14.30 57.28 0.91 22,990 5,491 22,160 5,293
7/22 0.86 5.7 30.55 12.37 56.22 0.75 21,960 5,245 21,180 5,059
7/23 0.96 4.9 23.46 11.83 63.75 0.83 25,030 5,978 24,230 5,787
7/24 1.09 8.5 25.71 10.44 62.76 1.14 23,350 5,577 22,540 5,384
7/25 1.07 9.8 24.26 13.37 61.30 1.12 23,200 5,541 22,300 5,326
7/26 0.79 5.7 28.20 14.30 56.71 1.14 22,800 5,446 21,980 5,250
7/27 0.97 6.5 28.34 13.83 56.86 1.05 22,710 5,424 21,890 5,228
7/28 1.49 7.8 24.78 12.99 60.74 1.14 23,330 5,572 22,470 5,367
7/29 0.68 5.8 28.30 10.00 61.02 0.80 22,810 5,448 22,060 5,269
7/30 0.76 6.9 26.25 12.67 60.32 1.20 23,520 5,618 22,690 5,419
7/31 1.92 9.0 21.70 13.78 62.60 1.26 24,170 5,773 23,260 5,556
8/1 0.72 4.8 25.05 13.08 61.15 1.04 24,380 5,828 23,570 5,630
8/2 0.82 6.3 23.05 11.31 64.82 1.39 24,680 5,895 23,870 5,701
8/3 0.94 11.7 26.79 12.42 59.85 1.44 21,940 5,440 21,040 5,025

M – Moisture; Mt – Total moisture; A – Ash; V – Volatile; HHV – Higher heating value; LHV – Lower heating value.

Table 4
Coal quality for boiler 4 during the testing period.
Date Coarse coal LHV (kJ/kg) Coal Belt 8–16 Coarse

A B C D A V FC S FC/VM

7/31 22,440 23,260 22,590 21.70 13.78 62.60 1.26 4.5

8/1 23,080 22,910 23,570 25.05 13.08 61.15 1.04 4.7
8/2 21,770 23,350 23,870 23.05 11.31 64.82 1.39 5.7
8/3 24,080 23,170 21,040 26.79 12.42 59.85 1.44 4.8
8/4 22,480

S – Sulfur.

speed 626 rpm). This represents around a 13 % change of the feeder
speed, although the exact amount of PC coal flow distribution is not
available due to the lack of measurement of the boiler. From Fig. 5b it
can be seen that biasing the PC flow can result in an additional NOx
reduction of the order of 14 mg/Nm3 or approximately 3 %. It should be
mentioned that despite these findings from PC feeder biasing, adopting a
strategy for optimized combustion operation at the unit boiler, which
includes coal flow manipulation, might be difficult to implement. This is
because of the variability in fuel quality at the power generation unit
and equipment maintenance considerations. Although, recommenda­
tions will be provided with the Boiler OP™ advisory software to intro­
duce feeder biasing for added NOx emissions reduction when there is
enough feeder capacity due to the enhanced calorific value of the fuel.
3.3. Modeling of test data
A database was created from the test results obtained at near full load
conditions. The data were then used to create neural network models
using the NeuFrame (v.4) software package from Neusciences, UK. The
ANN models are used in Step 4 to establish functional relationships
(nonlinear mapping functions) between inputs (boiler controllable pa­
rameters) and outputs (emissions and performance). ANNs use a trial-
and-error method of learning or training. Training involves the use of
a database of examples, which are values for the inputs and outputs of
the network. The ANN finds the relationship between inputs and outputs
by comparing the network’s actual output and the target output and
adjusting the weights of the connections between nodes in the network
to minimize the error between the actual network output and the desired
network output. The mapping functions developed by the ANN are then
used in the ERC approach in Step 5 by an optimization algorithm to
determine the best boiler control settings for a range of target NOx
emissions levels.
Typically, ANN models are built for emissions and heat rate, and as
required for additional parameters of importance to the plant. Individual
ANNs containing the relationships between NOx emissions and heat rate
were developed as a function of the independent parameters: boiler
load, average excess O2, average SOFA register opening, average SOFA
tilt and SOFA opening bias. Fig. 6 shows the particular ANN architecture
used for the ANN models for NOx and heat rate. The network architec­
ture includes five input nodes, boiler load, average excess O2, average
SOFA register opening, average SOFA tilt and SOFA opening bias; one
internal layer with five nodes; and the output layer with each of the
output parameters, NOx emissions or heat rate. In particular, for NOx
emission rate, back propagation network with 3 layers was used. Layer 1
had 5 linear nodes, layer 2 had 5 sigmoidal nodes and layer 3 had 1
sigmoidal node. Training was stopped when training error was less than
0.0001. Test data was used to stop the training with epochs between
tests of 10 and a number of worse tests before stopping of 10,000. Al­
gorithm parameters entailed learning rate of 0.2 and momentum rate of
0.8. Weights were updated after each pattern with patterns presented
randomly. Heat rate model training was used using the same
parameters.
The type of network used for this application was a feed-forward
network with back-propagation learning. This type of network is used
in other optimization projects by the authors and have found that it is
efficient, its computational requirements are minimal and it provide a
good prediction accuracy. This type of network is well suited for this
particular problem, since it is a supervised algorithm which can handle
the number of variables available for this particular problem. In this type
of network, the information flows from the input vector to the output. A

6
Z. Yao et al. Fuel 344 (2023) 128145

Fig. 3. (a) NOx emissions versus SCR inlet excess O2. (b) Boiler delta heat rate
versus SCR inlet excess O2.

back-propagation training scheme is a generalized form of the Widrow-

Hoff delta rule, which is a gradient descent algorithm designed to
minimize the network error function. The transfer functions applied to
each of the layers for each of the loads are included in Fig. 6.
A comparison between measured NOx emissions levels and those
predicted by the ANN model is shown in Fig. 7. A minimum of 6 network
models were constructed and tried using different combinations of
allocation of data between training/testing, layers/internal modes,
network learning rates, transfer function and network error. The pre­
dictive performance of the tested models was assessed by using the best
ANN model on the entire database set, via a statistical error, defined
∑
according to Error = [ (Prediction − Actual)2/n]1/2, where n is the
number of tests in the dataset. The plot in Fig. 7 indicates that the error
in the prediction of NOx emissions is approximately 17 mg/Nm3 or 3 %.
Almost all of the predicted NOx levels are within the red lines in Fig. 7,
which correspond to a 10 % prediction error range. Given the unknown
status of the CEMS NOx instrument calibration and calculation, as well
as the fuel variability imposed on these tests, this level of model accu­
racy is considered of good agreement.
For the case with heat rate ANN models, the heat rate ANN model is Fig. 4. (a) NOx emissions versus average SOFA register opening. (b) Delta unit
less accurate than the network models developed for stack emissions, heat rate versus average SOFA register opening. (c) SCR inlet NOx versus SOFA
with an error of approximately 32 kJ/kWh. This is primarily a conse­ tilt and (d) Delta unit heat rate versus SOFA tilt.
quence of the variability introduced in the data used for heat rate cal­
culations by the fly ash sampling frequency and method, and manual

7
Z. Yao et al.
Fig. 5. (a) SOFA yaw impact on NOx emissions. (b) Impact of PC feeder bias on
NOx emissions.
Fig. 6. Network architecture for the network models.
boiler operation data archiving method. The heat rate penalty values
used in the calculations and predicted by the heat rate ANN was
calculated for the baseline value of the data set, and are used for refer­
ence since they reflect the impact of the corresponding test conditions on
the heat rate.
3.4. Optimal boiler control settings
The optimization results are presented in Fig. 8. Delta heat rate
penalty is presented in Fig. 8 as a function of the target NOx emissions
level. Delta heat rates have been expressed as differences concerning the
baseline heat rate value obtained from all test data. Baseline results are
8
Fuel 344 (2023) 128145
Fig. 7. Comparison between measured and predicted NOx emissions.
Fig. 8. NOx emissions versus heat rate map with optimal settings.
indicated by the solid triangle symbols. The set of optimal boiler control
settings obtained for a range of target NOx emissions levels from 480 to
630 mg/Nm3 is subjected to operational constraints imposed by the
station in terms of steam temperatures as close as possible to the 540 ◦ C
design level, SCR exit O2 greater than 2.0 %, SOFA tilt in the range from
− 6◦ to +12◦ , and SOFA registers in the range between 15 and 30 %
open.
3.5. Verification test results
Verification tests were performed, from June to July, to compare the
boiler and SCR operation performances under optimized and non-
optimized operational conditions. From June 15 to June 17, from
10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, while the test team was at the plant, the optimal
settings were implemented at the boiler. In comparison, from June 29 to
July 3, from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, while the test team was not at the
plant, the boiler was run by the operators the way they typically ran it
and it was considered at non-optimal operational conditions. The
optimal boiler operation settings used for the boiler while the test team
was present were: SOFA tilt at 25 %, SOFA openings at 22 % (upper
SOFA) and 20 % (lower SOFA), Secondary Air damper openings at 2/2/
3/2 (upper), 1/1/1/1 (middle), 1/1/1/2 (oil), 4/5/4/5 (bottom), with
O2 readings from the control panel at 2.5 %/2.0 %, respectively. It
should be noted that some operators may have adopted part of these
settings while the testing team was not present at the plant during the
non-optimal operational conditions.
The average boiler loads for the optimal and non-optimal operational
conditions are 198 and 199 t/h, respectively (see Fig. 9). Thus, the load
Z. Yao et al. Fuel 344 (2023) 128145

Fig. 9. Boiler load during optimal and non-optimal operational conditions.

conditions for the optimal and non-optimal operational conditions were

similar for both sets of tests. The coal analysis for coal burned during
optimal and non-optimal operational conditions is listed in Table 5.
From the coal analysis, it can be seen that most of the coal properties for
the optimal and non-optimal operational tests are similar, within a 1 %
difference, except moisture, with a difference of 8 %.
Fig. 10a shows NH3 consumption during optimal and non-optimal
operational conditions. The average NH3 flow during the optimal
operational period was 229 kg/h, while the average NH3 flow for the
non-optimal operational conditions was 260 kg/h. The data show a
reduction in NH3 consumption of approximately 12 % from the non-
optimized operational condition. In the meantime, the SCR inlet
(boiler exit) NOx was reduced from 523 mg/Nm3 (non-optimized oper­
ational condition) to 444 mg/Nm3 (optimized operational condition),
which represents about a 15 % reduction as shown in Fig. 10b. It should
be noted that the average NOx emissions at the stack measured by CEMS
are 72 mg/Nm3 (for optimal operational conditions) and 77 mg/Nm3
(for non-optimal operational conditions), respectively. This further in­
dicates a beneficial NH3 reduction potential at optimized operational
conditions while maintaining the same CEMS stack NOx target as the
non-optimal operational conditions as shown in Fig. 10c.
The SCR catalyst life expectancy has a direct relationship with the
SCR inlet NOx concentration and ammonia injection rate. The lower the
NOx concentration at the SCR inlet and the less the ammonia injection
rate, the longer the SCR catalyst life will be. Thus, comparing the non-
optimized and optimized operational conditions, with the reduction in
SCR inlet NOx of 15 % and the reduction in ammonia consumption of 12
%, it is expected that the SCR catalyst layer replacement frequency could
be reduced by 10 to 20 % over the normal catalyst replacement cycle
while meeting the same environmental NOx emissions limit.
With less ammonia injected into the flue gas duct while meeting the
same NOx emissions requirement, the ammonia slip at the SCR exit is
expected to be less. This will reduce the chances that the downstream air
preheater could be plugged due to ammonia bisulfate formation.
Although an air preheater test was not performed at the boiler due to
steam leaking during the parametric testing and the lack of temperature
measurement devices at the air preheater, it is estimated that air pre­ Fig. 10. (a) NH3 flow during optimal and non-optimal operational conditions.
heater washes can be avoided at least once per year with a reduced (b) SCR inlet NOx during optimal and non-optimal operational conditions. (c)
ammonia injection rate. Stack NOx during optimized and non-optimized operational conditions.

Table 5
Coal analysis for optimal and non-optimal operational conditions.
Date M A V FC S HHV HHV LHV LHV

% % % % % kJ/kg kCal/kg kJ/kg kCal/kg

6/15 ~ 6/17 6.7 26.8 13.1 59.0 0.7 23,020 5,498 22,193 5,301
6/29 ~ 7/3 7.3 25.9 13.0 59.7 0.7 23,340 5,575 22,498 5,307

9
Z. Yao et al.
A delta heat rate was also calculated using the best available data
from the optimized operational conditions, including boiler load, boiler
excess O2, fly ash unburned carbon and attemperation flow. Results
were compared with the average delta heat rate calculated from the
baseline tests (see Fig. 11). It can be seen from Fig. 11 that the average
delta heat rate from baseline tests is − 60 kJ/kWh, while the delta heat
rate from the optimized operation condition hours is − 118 kJ/kWh. This
represents about a 0.57 % improvement on unit heat rate from the
baseline average.
4. Conclusions
Recently, AI networks have become capable of processing large data
sets and predicting operating conditions but their practical use in a
power plant is relatively scarce. This study utilizes an existing coal-fired
power plant unit to provide a set of solutions to optimize the overall
process with the ultimate goal of reducing NOx emissions, increasing
efficiency and minimizing the cost of emissions compliance. In partic­
ular, the basic description of this unit and the modeling process are
introduced. The modeling results are presented and the corresponding
discussion is provided. The approach includes seven steps that consist of:
test preparations; combustion tuning to address problems with the firing
system and identify burner conditions/patterns that will be advanta­
geous for combustion optimization; parametric testing for the creation
of a database; correlation of test data using artificial neural network
models; determination of optimal solution using a mathematical opti­
mizer; and implementation and maintenance of optimal settings. The
real-time advisory software provides advice to the operators for oper­
ating at unit full-load at selected target NOx emissions levels while
minimizing the impact of the low-NOx operation on unit heat rate, and
subject to operational and environmental constraints.
It was found that the optimal operating condition for the boiler can
be summarized as steam temperatures as close as possible to the 540 ◦ C
design level, SCR exit O2 greater than 2.0 %, SOFA tilt in the range from
− 6◦ to +12◦ , and SOFA registers in the range between 15 and 30 %
open. Verifications for the optimization guidance are conducted and the
results are concluded as follows. Coal properties have weak effects on
the boiler load so that the operation of the boiler can be maintained to
provide stable power. The reduction for NH3 flow consumption and the
SCR inlet NOx are 12% and 15%, respectively, and the concentration of
the stack NOx is significantly lowered. It is expected that the SCR catalyst
layer replacement frequency could be reduced by 10 to 20 % over the
normal catalyst replacement cycle. The ammonia slip can be improved
and the delta heat rate gets a 0.57 % improvement.
This study proved the level of results that can be achieved with the
optimization approach in regard to balancing NOx emissions, SCR
ammonia consumption and net unit heat rate, or efficiency. However,
the results and their implementation cannot be considered static in time.
The optimal settings will need to be adjusted via control curves, as the
maintenance condition of the unit changes or there are fuel quality
changes associated with the fuel feedstock. For this reason the limita­
tions of the reported work would be addressed with an implementation
of an on-line, closed-loop system wich translate the achieved results into
control curves for the different parameters characterized in the para­
metric testing and used in the mathematical optimization.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Zheng Yao: Conceptualization, Software, Investigation, Formal
analysis, Data curation, Writing – original draft. Carlos Romero:
Methodology, Resources, Supervision. Jonas Baltrusaitis: Visualiza­
tion, Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
10
Fuel 344 (2023) 128145
Fig. 11. Delta heat rate comparison between baseline averages and optimized
operational condition.
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
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