B oiler optim isation

This infosheet contains inform ation about:

n different boiler applications;
n optim ising the perform ance of boilers; and
n efficient steam system s.
INTRODUCTION
O ptim ising the perform ance of a boiler and its
associated steam distribution system reduces running
costs and im proves site operations. Steam is used
extensively in industry as a heat transfer fluid and as a
s o u rce of energy to pow er m echanical plant and
equipm ent. As a heat transfer fluid, steam has an
advantage over fluids such as hot w ater and oil. It is able
to store very large quantities of heat, w hich can be given
up at constant tem perature as the steam condenses.
U nfortunately m ore energy is lost in industry through
steam w astage than through any other m edium .
R esearch studies by industry experts in the early
1990s suggested that losses from steam system s
m ake up approxim ately 35% of all identified potential
energy savings.
BOILER APPLICATIONS
Steam is produced in tw o types of boilers.
Water tube boilers
W ater tube boilers are usually used in large industrial
and pow er generation situations w here extrem ely high
heat transfer rates are required to produce large
quantities of steam . The w ater is heated in tubes and
the fire (com bustion process) is contained in the space
around the tubes.
Fire tube boilers
Fire tube boilers are used in the m ore typical industrial
and com m ercial boilers, w hich generally require low er
steam generation or have lim ited space. In this case
the fire, or the hot com bustion gases, are contained
inside tubes w ithin the boiler and the w ater is
circulated around these tubes.
The steam generated by boilers can be used in
tw o w ays:
n at high pressure (> 4200 kPa) to drive turbines
or reciprocating engines; and
n at low pressure (7001400 kPa) to supply heat to
heating coils etc., or by direct injection into fluid.
In som e plants, a com bination of these uses is
em ployed. The resulting high-pressure superheated
steam is used to drive a turbine for the generation of
electricity, and the turbine exhaust steam is used for
heat transfer applications. In these system s the
condensate is generally returned to the boiler for
re-use, and the overall efficiency is alm ost 80% .
In m ost industrial and com m ercial plants, steam is
only used for process and environm ental heating.
It is im portant to optim ise the efficiency of each
part of such system s through proper selection, sizing,
operation and m aintenance.
Steam should be distributed to the end-use locations
at the highest practical pre s s u res to m inim ise pipe sizes
and subsequent heat losses. At the sam e tim e, how ever,
it should be used at the low est possible pre s s u res to
take advantage of the greater latent heat available at
low er pre s s u res. This m inim ises the form ation of flash
steam from the discharged condensate.
In industrial processes, the decision to use either
heating coils/jackets or direct steam injection is
determ ined by the:
n required rate of heat transfer;
n agitation of solutions;
n nature of the product;
n operating tem peratures; and
n cost of feed-w ater treatm ent.
A typical steam system (see Figure 1) uses the steam
for direct process heating in the injection vessel, and
for indirect heating through the indirect heating coil.
BEST PRACTICE DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
39
A new steam trapping system resulted in im m ediate
fuel savings of around $160 000 per year for a
m ajor m ilk pow der producer.
EFFICIENT OPERATION
For boiler optim isation it is im portant to address both
the com bustion system , and the steam and feed-
w ater system s.
Combustion efficiency
C om bustion efficiency indicates the flue gas loss.
B oiler efficiency also includes the blow dow n and
stand-by losses. W hether com paring new or existing
boilers, their m ost efficient operating point is usually
som ew here betw een 60% and 90% load.
Stable com bustion requires three inputsfuel, oxygen
and a source of ignition. If the com bustibles can
provide this third elem ent as they burn, the source of
ignition can be turned off. In com plete com bustion a
num ber of things happen:
n carbon in the fuel is converted to carbon dioxide;
n hydrogen in the fuel is converted to w ater vapour;
and
n sulfur and nitrogen in the fuel, and in the air
supplied for com bustion, are converted to their
oxides.
In theory, there is a precise and predictable am ount
of oxygen needed to com pletely burn a given am ount
of fuel. This is called stoichiom etric air. In practice,
how ever, burning conditions are never ideal and m ore
air m ust, therefore, be supplied to com pletely burn
the fuel. The am ount of air above the theoretical
requirem ent is referred to as excess air.
If insufficient air is supplied to the burners, unburned
fuelsoot and sm oke, and carbon m onoxide (the
incom plete conversion to carbon dioxide)appear in
the exhaust from the boiler stack. These can result in:
n the heat transfer surface fouling;
n pollution;
n low er com bustion efficiency;
n flam e instability (i.e. the flam e blow s out); and
n the potential for an explosion.
O perating boilers at excess air levels provides:
n protection from costly and potentially unsafe
conditions;
n operating protection from an insufficient oxygen
condition caused by variations in fuel com position;
and
n operating slopin the fuel/air control system on
the boiler.
Flue gas loss (100% m inus com bustion efficiency)
is usually the largest factor in reducing a boilers
efficiency. Stack tem perature and O 2 levels are the
m ain factors that determ ine com bustion efficiency.
M ost boilers lose betw een 15% and 20% of their
fuel energy input up the stack. A gradual decrease
in boiler efficiency often indicates the need for one,
or a com bination, of the follow ing:
BEST PRACTICE DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
40
Figure 1: Simple industrial steam system
n m inor adjustm ents or repairs in the control linkages,
fuel valve or air dam per;
n the replacem ent of a w orn burner tip or control
cam ; and
n the cleaning of stack surfaces (heat transfer
effectiveness is reduced w hen the surface becom es
fouledby a coating of insulating m aterialsoot on
the gas-side, or scale on the w ater or steam side).
An insufficient air- t o - b u rner ratio can be dangerous.
O n the other hand, air flow s greater than those
needed for stable flam e propagation and com plete
fuel com bustion needlessly increase flue gas flow
and consequent heat losses, and thereby low er boiler
e ff i c i e n c y. M inim ising these losses re q u i res m onitoring
and periodic tuning. Ideally, the fuelair ratio is
autom atically controlled based on the percentage of
O 2 in the stack, and on an unburned hydro c a r b o n s
indication. These autom ated system s are called O 2 t r i m
packages. They w ill m inim ise the level of excess air and,
t h e re f o re, reduce the flue gas losses. Savings in fuel
econom y m ay exceed 2% , w hich on a 5 M W size boiler
is significant, and a payback period of one to thre e
years can be achieved.
Flue gas recirculation
O ne of the m any w ays to reduce N O x em issions is
to use flue gas recirculation, a m ethod that recycles
som e of the exhaust gases back to the burner.
Flue gas recirculation has the follow ing effects.
n The heat content of the exhaust air contributes
to heat recovery.
n The reduced oxygen content of the exhaust gases
low ers the flam e tem perature in the com bustion
zone, thereby reducing N O x form ation.
n The reduced flam e tem perature low ers heat
transfer, potentially lim iting the m axim um heating
capacity of the unit. (It w ould not be unusual for a
boiler retrofitted w ith flue gas recirculation to
produce a 10% reduction in m axim um steam
generating capacity.)
Gas-side fouling
The easiest fouling condition to correct is norm ally
the gas-side deposits. N atural gas generally does not
p roduce significant gas-side deposits if the burner is
functioning pro p e r l y. Fuel oil com bustion deposits consist
p redom inately of soft, black soot and are easily re m o v e d
w ith brushing. Low er grade fuel oil m ay contain large
quantities of alkaline sulfates and vanadium pentoxide
that cause m ore serious gas-side deposits.
These com pounds have low fusion tem peratures causing
them to slag and becom e deposited on convection
surfaces. Solid fuels, including coal and w ood, pro d u c e
deposits that contain ash-based slag and soot.
Boiler gas-side tem peratures are so high that ash
deposits on convection surfaces (that could have been
easily rem oved as they form ed using a soot blow er)
can becom e sintered, or m elted, into glass-like m asses
know n as enam el. Any type of tube fouling acts as an
insulator betw een the flue gas and convection surface,
reducing the efficiency of the boiler or heater.
The cost of poorly m aintained boiler tubes can be
estim ated from the increase in stack tem perature
com pared to cleanconditions.
The loss of boiler efficiency is approxim ately 1% for
every 4.5C increase in stack tem perature above
baseline conditions.
BEST PRACTICE DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
41
Table 1: Required cleaning for boilers
Typ e o f b o ile r C le a n in g re q u ire d
Sm all fire tube boilers M anual brushing on the gas-side surface
B oilers using distillate fuel oil M onthly brushing
Fire tube units burning solid fuel W eekly, or even daily, cleaning needed to prevent ash
deposits from becom ing sintered and difficult to rem ove
W ater tube boilers using low quality fuel Large deposits can be rem oved autom atically w ith a high-pressure blast
Soot blow ing m ay be needed as often as once per shift
STEAM DISTRIBUTION EFFICIENCY
Heat recovery
There are a num ber of w ays to recover heat.
Process product heat recovery
In applications w here steam is used for direct process
heating, and the steam is lost to the process and
vented to the atm osphere, it is difficult to recover the
liberated condensate econom ically. In these situations
it m ay still be possible to capture the w aste heat from
the process through the installation of a heat recovery
system w hich uses the process liquid to pre-heat the
feed-w ater m akeup. This can be achieved by the
insertion of a shell and tube heat recovery system as
show n in Figure 2.
In this situation the boiler m akeup w ater w ould be
passed through the cold fluid line and the process fluid
w ould be passed through the hot fluid line. The energy
perform ance of the shell and tube type of heat
exchanger depends on the application, but m ay be as
high as 8090% . Shell and tube heat recovery units
can be designed to m anage m ost operating conditions
and tem peratures up to 500C .
Blowdown heat recovery
B low dow n heat recovery (generally applicable to larger
boilers) is sim ple and effective at preheating incom ing
feed-w ater. B low dow n rates typically range from 48%
of total steam generated, but can be as high as 10% if
incom ing w ater has high solids content. In any case,
this w ater has significant heat content that can easily
be recovered. For exam ple, if a 150 psig saturated
steam boiler generates 4550 kg/h of steam and has a
blow dow n rate of 10% , the heat recovery potential is
~0.22 G J per hour. At a fuel cost of $4/G J, and 80%
com bustion efficiency, an annual saving of about
$8400 could be achieved. D em ineralisingthis feed-
w ater m ay also reduce blow dow n requirem ents.
Leaks and losses
Stand-by losses
About 1.52.0% of the rated boiler fuel input is lost to
the engine room . W hile this loss is sm all w hen boilers
operate at or near their rated capacity, it can be
significant w here boilers operate frequently at low
loads. For exam ple, im agine a boiler rated at 10 G J/hr
fuel input but operating at a 2 G J/hr level.
The stand-by loss of 2% of 10 G J/hr is 200 M J/hr.
This is the reason w hy plants w ith large seasonal
variations in steam -use install sm all boilers to operate
during the sum m er rather than operate large boilers
year round.
Steam leaks
O n its journey through the distribution system , steam
w ill lose energy in m any w ays. These losses are
difficult to avoid, but m ust be kept to a m inim um .
Leaking steam is the m ost obvious and serious of all
losses. These losses occur through faulty valves, joints
and steam traps. Even a sm all leak can result in
considerable steam and, consequently, energy loss.
For exam ple, a 1 m m diam eter hole on a steam line at
700 kPa w ill result in an annual energy loss equivalent
to 3000 litres of fuel oil or 4300 m
3
(166 G J or around
$1000) of natural gas per year.
Figure 3 provides a quick guide for estim ating the
quantity of steam that is lost through leaks sim ply by
m easuring the length of the steam plum e em anating
from a leak.
Pipe losses
Steam pipes can be a m ajor source of concern due
to direct heat transfer losses. Adequate insulation is
essential. For exam ple, a one m etre length of uninsulated
steam pipe carrying steam at 700 kPa w ill loose heat at
an annual rate equivalent to 1000 litres of fuel oil or
650 m
3
(25 G J or around $150) of natural gas per year.
BEST PRACTICE DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
42
Figure 2: Heat tube recovery system
Figure 3: A quick guide for estimating the quantity
of steam lost through leaks
Although lagging of pipes is com m on practice in m ost
plants, lagging of flanges, valves and other pipeline
fittings is not. The heat loss from an uninsulated flange
is equivalent to the loss from 600 m m of uninsulated
pipe. A glove valve can loose heat at the rate
equivalent to a five m etre length of pipe. W hile these
flanges and fittings are usually not insulated (to allow
ease of m aintenance access), the am ount of energy
lost outw eighs any m aintenance tim e saving.
Figure 4 provides a guide to heat losses from a one
m etre length of uninsulated pipe of varying internal
diam eters for different pipe tem peratures
Insulation of process vessels
Adequate insulation of process vessels is necessary
to reduce heat loss from w alls, ends and fittings.
C learly vessels, w ith their great surface areas, present
significant potential losses. For exam ple, w ith steam
at 700 kPa, 1 m
2
of uninsulated surface w ill lose
approxim ately 0.225 G J through a 24-hour period,
equating to approxim ately 81 G J per year of natural
gas or 2 tonnes of fuel oil.
Steam traps
R em oving heat from saturated steam results in
condensation. If condensate is allow ed to rem ain in
the steam system it w ill present a barrier to the
efficient transfer of heat from the steam . Steam traps
are used to selectively rem ove condensate (w ithout
rem oving steam ) and to rem ove air and other non-
condensable gases from the steam system .
All steam traps operate on the sam e basic principle.
The trap collects air, other non-condensables and
steam w ithin a container and then discharges them in
a controlled m anner. This can be discharged either to
the atm osphere or to a closed loop system such as
the condensate return system (see Figure 1).
There are four groups of traps:
n m echanical;
n therm ostatic;
n therm odynam ic; and
n m iscellaneous.
Condensate return
C ondensate discharged from process plant m ay
contain up to 25% of the heat added in the boiler and
in addition w ill be chem ically treated w ater. Any
sensible heat still left in the condensate should be
returned to the feed tank. This w ater is free of
im purities and every 5C increase in the feed-w ater
tem perature w ill save approxim ately 1% of the fuel
used to raise steam . Again, to m axim ise the recovery
of sensible heat, condensate lines should be insulated.
Waterside fouling
C hem ical deposits or scaling on the w aterside can
significantly reduce efficiency. A m ore serious side
effect is that these deposits are very good insulators;
since they reduce the heat transfer and increase the
gas-side m etal tem perature, this can result in
prem ature tube failure. Even a thin layer of scale
causes a m arked increase in tube tem perature and an
accom panying decrease in expected life. C hem ical
com pounds found in raw w ater cause w aterside
deposits. The tendency to form scale deposits can be
controlled through an active w ater treatm ent program
prescribed by specialists. A program such as this,
if strictly follow ed, w ill prevent efficiency loss and
prem ature equipm ent failure.
M ineral im purities in boiler w ater can also cause other
operating problem s, for exam ple foam ing and the
consequent m oisture carry over into the steam line.
M ost processes specify dry steam because the
m o i s t u re carried over contains m ineral im purities that
cause fouling of dow nstream steam heating equipm ent.
Flue gas heat recovery
Econom isers and/or air pre-heaters are the m ost
com m on heat exchangers used to capture w aste
heat from the flue gas. Econom isers transfer heat to
boiler feed-w ater, and air pre-heaters to com bustion
air. These heat exchangers are usually installed directly
in the boiler stack, or are ordered integral to new
boilers as part of the design. They norm ally produce
sim ple payback periods of one to tw o years on
retrofitted applications. W hile boilers burning natural
gas and N o.2 fuel oil can easily be retrofitted,
recovering heat from N o.6 fuel oil, or any sulfur-bearing
fuel, can be challenging.
BEST PRACTICE DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
43
Figure 4: Heat losses from a one metre length
of uninsulated pipe
In these cases, the designer has to be especially
concerned about acid attack on heat exchanger
surfaces. In all cases, be sure the w ater fed to the
econom iser com es from the de-aerator so the
incom ing w ater is not cold. Even though cold w ater
w ould enhance the am ount of heat recovered from
the stack, acid attack problem s are alm ost alw ays
associated w ith cold w ater entering the econom iser.
Economisers
Econom isers are usually the best choice for retrofitting
very large boilers that operate at significant loads all
year round.
For exam ple, a boiler operating at 1035 kPa saturated
steam and generating 9100 kg/hr could typically save
2.4 G J/hr using an econom iser to reduce its flue gas
tem perature from 288C to 150C .
CONCLUSION
There are m any w ays to ensure that boiler and steam
distribution system s operate at optim um efficiency.
C hecking each of the areas identified as potential
problem s w ill help achieve a system that runs as
efficiently as possible. Addressing the issues can
produce substantial savings as w ell as reduce
greenhouse gas em issions.
BEST PRACTICE DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
44
CHECKLIST
U se the checklist below to ensure that a boiler
and steam distribution system is optim ised.
U tilise flash (w aste) steam recovery system s.
R epair leaking joints and glands, leaking valves
and safety valves.
Insulate all steam and condensate pipes, flanges
and valves.
Ensure process tem peratures are correctly
controlled.
M aintain low est acceptable process steam
pressures.
R educe hot w ater w astage to drain.
R em ove or blank off all redundant steam piping.
Ensure condensate is returned or re-used in
the process.
Preheat boiler feed-w ater.
R ecover boiler blow dow n.
Im prove burner design, com bustion control and
instrum entation.
H eat recovery from the flue gases m ay save
boiler fuel input even at low er stack
tem peratures.
C heck operation of steam traps.
C heck feed-w ater chem ical control to m inim ise
w aterside build-up and im prove scale control.
R ecover heat from condensatepreheat feed-
w ater through heat exchanger fitted after feed-
w ater pum ps.