COMBUSTION

OPTIMISATION ASPECTS
THE EFFECT OF COMBUSTION ON THE
EFFICIENCY OF THE HEATING APPLIANCE

INTRODUCTION
The combustion efficiency is affected by the
manner in which the combustion occurs
That is, the
air:fuel ratio
degree of atomising (liquid fuels)
fuel-air mixing
flame temperature
flame shape
fuel residence time in the combustion zone

And the amount of heat lost out of the system

AIR:FUEL RATIO
The theoretical air:fuel ratio for complete combustion is known
as the STOICHIOMETRIC ratio
In practice this ratio does not achieve complete combustion as
the degree of mixing is never sufficient to allow every oxygen
molecule to come into contact with a fuel molecule
Thus a certain amount of excess oxygen (air) is required to
achieve full combustion
The range of excess oxygen required to achieve complete
combustion in practical applications is between 1% and 5%
depending on the combustion appliance
This implies that an excess air requirement of 5% - 25% is
necessary, as there is only ~21% oxygen in air.

AIR:FUEL RATIO
FLUE GAS ANALYSIS
17
16

P
E
R
C
E
N
TO
FF
L
U
EG
A
SB
YV
O
L
U
M
E

15
CARBON
MONOXIDE

14
CARBON DIOXIDE

13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4

OXYGEN

3
2
1
0
-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

10

20

% EXCESS AIR

30

40

50

60

70

AIR:FUEL RATIO
An amount of excess air is necessary
for complete combustion
Too much excess air is undesirable as it
reduces efficiency by absorbing and
carrying away heat
Typically the energy loss due to excess
air is in the order of 1,2% for every
10% of excess air by volume

Heating oil in liquid form must be turned into vapor and mixed with air before it
can burn. When the oil from the storage tank reaches the burner's nozzle, it's
broken into small droplets. This process is called atomizing.
These droplets are mixed with air and then ignited by the burner.

The efficiency of the oil-air mix achieved

by a burner depends on its design. The biggest
difference between old burners and modern
ones is the air handling step of the process.

Oil Burner
Atomization exposes more surface area per unit
mass of fuel oil.
Twin-fluid burners; using high pressure steam
(or air) to break oil drops into fine droplets.

Steam (or air) atomized oil burner

Combustion of Gas
Combustion of gas is easy and clean.
No atomization required.
1 m3 of natural gas requires roughly 20 m3 of
air.

ATOMISING
Applies to liquid fuels only
Is required to generate an even spray of droplets
sufficiently small to allow good mixing with the
oxygen to achieve complete combustion (usually
<50 microns in diameter)
Atomisation is dependent on fuel pressure and
viscosity, atomising air or steam pressure, nozzle
and burner design
The viscosity can be regulated by controlling the
fuel oil temperature

What the Nozzle Does

Atomizing
speeds up the vaporization process
One litre of oil becomes 15 billion droplets at
7kg/cm2 with size 0.0002 inch 0.010 inch

Metering
deliver a fixed amount of atomized fuel to the
combustion chamber

Patterning
uniform spray
pattern and spray angle

ATOMISING
Primary causes of poor atomisation are:

Worn nozzles
Insufficient fuel-oil pressure
Excessive fuel-oil viscosity
Insufficient atomising air or steam pressure
Incorrect nozzle size excessive turndown
Poor nozzle design
Excessive fuel viscosity (>20 cSt)

Spray at 10 psi pressure

Spray at 100-psi pressure

Spray at 300-psi pressure

FUEL:AIR MIXING
The effectiveness of the burner in
achieveing adequate mixing of the fuel
and air is crucial to efficient combustion
The burner must provide a stable spray
of atomised fuel particles expanding into
the combustion air in a manner that will
sustain good combustion
The quarl helps sustain the shape of the
flame necessary for good combustion

FUEL:AIR MIXING
Causes of poor mixing:
Imbalanced air:fuel pressures
Incorrectly set up burners
Worn burner parts
Misaligned burners
Damaged or badly made burner tile
(quarl)
Dirty or blocked swirl plates

STACK LOSSES
The heat load in the combustion gases is a
loss of useful energy
Therefore the stack temperature should be
kept as low as possible
The volume of gas should be minimised
(excess air)
Stack temperature in a boiler application goes
up when the heat transfer surfaces become
dirty

Pulverized Coal Firing System

First commercial application in 1920.
become almost universal in central
utility stations using coal as fuel.
First ground to dustlike size.
Then, powdered coal is carried by air to
the burners.

Pulverized Coal Burner

Conditions for Pulverized

Firing
Large quantities of very fine particle of
coal.
Pass 200 mesh (0.074 mm opening) sieve
Small size => large surface-to-volume ratio

Minimum quantity of coarser particles.

Higher surface area per unit mass of
coal allows faster combustion reactions.
More carbon exposed to heat and oxygen.
Reduce excess air needed to complete
combustion.

Advantages of Pulverized
Coal Firing
Low excess air requirement
Less fan power
Ability to use highly preheated air reducing
exhaust losses
Higher boiler efficiency
Ability to burn a wide variety of coals
Fast response to load changes
Ease of burning alternately with, or in
combination with gas and oil
Capacity up to 2,000 t/h steam
Less pressure losses and draught need.

MEASUREMENT
It is virtually impossible to set a burners
air:fuel ratio by eye to ensure complete
combustion (minimum CO) and minimum excess
air.
The only reliable way is to measure the Oxygen
(O2) and Carbon Monoxide (CO< 10 ppm)
content in the stack
The burner should be set for minimum O2 in the
stack gas without producing more than 10ppm
of CO over a range of turn-down

CONTROLS
The only effective way is to install
combustion analysers and control the
fuel:air mixture automatically
There is a range of such instruments
and systems on the market

EE Issues in Boilers

25

What is a Boiler?

Vessel that heats water to become

hot water or steam
At atmospheric pressure water
volume increases 1,600 times
Hot water or steam used to transfer
heat to a process
26

Introduction
STEAM TO
PROCESS

EXHAUST GAS

STACK

VENT

DEAERATOR

PUMPS
ECO-ECO
NOMINOMIZER

VENT

BOILER
BURNER

BLOW DOWN
SEPARATOR

WATER
SOURCE

FUEL
BRINE
CHEMICAL FEED
SOFTENERS

Figure: Schematic overview of a boiler room

27

Introduction
Type of boilers
Assessment of a boiler
Energy efficiency opportunities

28

Types of Boilers
What Type of Boilers Are There?
1. Fire Tube Boiler
2. Water Tube Boiler
3. Packaged Boiler
4. Fluidized Bed (FBC) Boiler
5. Stoker Fired Boiler
6. Pulverized Fuel Boiler
7. Waste Heat Boiler

29

Fluidised Bed Combustion

Assessment of a Boiler
1. Boiler performance
Causes of poor boiler performance
-Poor combustion
-Heat transfer surface fouling
-Poor operation and maintenance
-Deteriorating fuel and water quality

Heat balance: identify heat losses

Boiler efficiency: determine
deviation from best efficiency
31

Assessment of a Boiler
Heat Balance
An energy flow diagram describes graphically how
energy is transformed from fuel into useful energy,
heat and losses
Stochiometric
Excess Air
Un burnt

Stack Gas

FUEL INPUT

STEAM
OUTPUT

Convection &
Radiation

Blow
Down

Ash and Un-burnt parts

of Fuel in Ash

32

Assessment of a Boiler
Heat Balance
Balancing total energy entering a boiler against
the energy that leaves the boiler in different forms
12.7 %
8.1 %
1.7 %

100.0 %
Fuel

BOILER

0.3 %
2.4 %
1.0 %

73.8 %

Heat loss due to dry flue gas

Heat loss due to steam in fuel gas
Heat loss due to moisture in fuel
Heat loss due to moisture in air
Heat loss due to unburnts in residue
Heat loss due to radiation & other
unaccounted loss

Heat in Steam

Assessment of a Boiler
Heat Balance
Goal: improve energy efficiency by reducing
avoidable losses
Avoidable losses include:
- Stack gas losses (excess air, stack gas
temperature)
- Losses by unburnt fuel
- Blow down losses
- Condensate losses
- Convection and radiation

34

Assessment of a Boiler
1. Boiler Efficiency
Thermal efficiency: % of (heat) energy input that is
effectively useful in the generated steam

35

Assessment of a Boiler
Boiler Efficiency: Direct Method
Heat Input * 100%
Boiler efficiency (
) = hf

Heat Output

/hg

36

Assessment of a Boiler
2. Boiler Blow Down

Controls total dissolved solids (TDS) in the

water that is boiled

Blows off water and replaces it with feed water

Conductivity measured as indication of TDS

levels

Calculation of quantity blow down required:

Blow down (%) =

Feed water TDS x % Make up water

Maximum Permissible TDS in Boiler water

37

Assessment of a Boiler
3. Boiler Feed Water Treatment
Quality of steam depend on water
treatment to control
Steam purity
Deposits
Corrosion

Efficient heat transfer only if boiler

water is free from deposit-forming
solids
38

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

1. Stack Temperature Control
Keep as low as possible
If >200C then recover waste heat

2. Feed Water Preheating

Economizers
Potential to recover heat from 200 300 oC flue
gases leaving a modern 3-pass shell boiler

3. Combustion Air Preheating

If combustion air raised by 20C = 1% improve
thermal efficiency
39

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

4. Minimize Incomplete Combustion
Symptoms:
Smoke, high CO levels in exit flue gas

Causes:
Air shortage, fuel surplus, poor fuel distribution
Poor mixing of fuel and air

Oil-fired boiler:
Improper viscosity, worn tops, cabonization on
dips, deterioration of diffusers or spinner plates

Coal-fired boiler: non-uniform coal size

40

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

5. Excess Air Control
Excess air required for complete combustion
Optimum excess air levels varies
1% excess air reduction = 0.6% efficiency rise
Portable or continuous oxygen analyzers
Fuel

Kg air req./kg fuel

%CO2 in flue gas in practice

Solid Fuels
Bagasse
Coal (bituminous)
Lignite
Paddy Husk
Wood

3.3
10.7
8.5
4.5
5.7

10-12
10-13
9 -13
14-15
11.13

Liquid Fuels
Furnace Oil
LSHS

13.8
14.1

9-14
9-14

41

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

6. Radiation and Convection Heat
Loss Minimization

Fixed heat loss from boiler shell, regardless of

boiler output

Repairing insulation can reduce loss

7. Automatic Blow Down Control

Sense and respond to boiler water conductivity

and pH

42

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

8. Scaling and Soot Loss Reduction

Every 22oC increase in stack temperature = 1%

efficiency loss

3 mm of soot = 2.5% fuel increase

9. Reduced Boiler Steam Pressure

Lower steam pressure

= lower saturated steam temperature
= lower flue gas temperature

Steam generation pressure dictated by process

43

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

10. Variable Speed Control for Fans,
Blowers and Pumps

Suited for fans, blowers, pumps

Should be considered if boiler loads are

variable

11. Control Boiler Loading

Maximum boiler efficiency: 65-85% of rated load

Significant efficiency loss: < 25% of rated load

44

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

12. Proper Boiler Scheduling

Optimum efficiency: 65-85% of full load

Few boilers at high loads is more efficient than

large number at low loads

13. Boiler Replacement

Financially attractive if existing boiler is

Old and inefficient

Not capable of firing cheaper substitution fuel

Over or under-sized for present requirements

Not designed for ideal loading conditions

45

STEAM SYSTEM

Introduction
Why steam is popular mode of heating?

Highest specific heat and latent heat

Highest heat transfer coefficient
Easy to control and distribute
Cheap and inert

Properties of Steam
374.15 C ,
221.2 bar (a)

Pressure
(kg/cm2 )

Temperature
o
C

Steam tables
Enthalpy in kCal/kg
Water
(hf )

Evaporation (hfg)

Steam (hg)

Specific Volume
(m3/kg)

100

100.09

539.06

639.15

1.673

120

119.92

526.26

646.18

0.901

133

133.42

517.15

650.57

0.616

143

143.70

509.96

653.66

0.470

151

152.13

503.90

656.03

0.381

158

159.33

498.59

657.92

0.321

164

165.67

493.82

659.49

0.277

170

171.35

489.46

660.81

0.244

Typical Steam Distribution

Energy Saving Opportunities

1. Monitoring Steam Traps

Condensate discharge

Inverted bucket and thermodynamic disc traps should have intermittent

condensate discharge.
Float and thermostatic traps should have a continuous condensate
discharge.
Thermostatic traps can have either continuous or intermittent discharge
depending upon the load.
If inverted bucket traps are used for extremely small load, it will have a
continuous condensate discharge

Flash steam
Users get confused between a flash steam and leaking steam.
Flash steam and the leaking steam can be approx.ly identified as follows
If steam blows out continuously in a blue stream, it is a leaking steam.
If a steam floats out intermittently in a whitish cloud, it is a flash steam

2. Continuous steam blow and no flow indicate, there is a

problem in the trap

Whenever a trap fails to operate and the

reasons are not readily apparent, the
discharge from the trap should be observed.
A step-by-step analysis has to be carried out
mainly with reference to lack of discharge
from the trap, steam loss, continuous flow,
sluggish heating, to find out whether it is a
system problem or the mechanical problem in
the steam trap

3. Avoiding Steam Leakages

Example
Plume Length = 700 mm
Steam loss = 10 kg/h

4. Providing Dry Steam for

Process
The best steam for industrial process heating
is the dry saturated steam.
Wet steam reduces total heat in the steam.
Also water forms a wet film on heat transfer
and overloads traps and condensate
equipment.
Super heated steam is not desirable for
process heating because it gives up heat at a
rate slower than the condensation heat
transfer of saturated steam

5. Utilising Steam at the Lowest Acceptable

Pressure for the Process

the latent heat in steam reduces as the

steam pressure increases
but lower the steam pressure, the lower
will be its temperature
Therefore, there is a limit to the
reduction of steam pressure

7. Minimising Heat Transfer

Barriers

8. Proper Air Venting

9. Condensate Recovery
For every 60C rise in the feed water
temperature, there will be
approximately 1% saving of fuel in the
boiler
Financial reasons
Water charges
Effluent restrictions
Maximising boiler output
Boiler feedwater quality

12. Reducing the Work to be done by

Steam
Reduction in operating hours
Reduction in steam quantity required per hour
Use of more efficient technology
Minimizing wastage.