SUNFLOWER

HUSKS BOILERS
URUGUAY
Headquarters
Av. Rondeau 1950
Ph.: (598 2) 929 1064 Fax: (598 2) 924 1064
ZIP 11800 Montevideo Uruguay
www.berkes.com.uy
berkes@berkes.com.uy
BRAZIL
www.berkes.com.br
contato@berkes.com.br
SPAIN
www.berkes.es
contacto@berkes.es
CHILE
www.berkes.cl
contacto@berkes.cl

BERKES

Since 1939, BERKES has been developing a solid experience in

the engineering and construction field. Since then, it has
become a multidisciplinary group with an industrial focus.
Integrating the different engineering specialties, supported by
its three divisions: Construction, Industry and Energy, BERKES
is able to provide tailor made solutions to its clients, making
integral, reliable and economical projects.

VALORIZATION OF SUNFLOWER HUSKS

BERKES has been developing and implementing over more
than 30 years its own combustion technology, which delivers
excellent results for burning sunflower husks. Now a day this
technology is considered by the market as the clean and efficient way to valorize the energy of this fuel.

TECHNOLOGY
Water
chamber

BERKES Torsional Combustion Chamber technology was developed in the late seventies (1977-1980), when there was a local demand in Uruguay for an efficient use of
alternative fuels, replacing imported fossil ones. The company successfully developed a relatively simple cyclonic furnace for the combustion of the syngas produced
in BERKES Gasifiers (mainly using wood as fuel) as well as small particles of biomass
for direct injection such as saw dusts, cotton husks, wheat straw and sunflower husks
that can be pneumatically lifted.

combustion
air

TORSIONAL COMBUSTION CHAMBER

Process description

A Torsional Combustion Chamber is a horizontal cylinder made of water tubes

connected to the boiler trough an inverted-cone-shaped neck.
Air is injected tangentially through the nozzles disposed along the periphery of the
cylindrical chamber. This causes a very active and turbulent flow providing the
perfect condition to support an intense combustion.
Meanwhile fuel injection is made pneumatically and also tangentially to the
cylinder. Fuel particles are taken by the rotational air flow following its path. The
cone-shaped neck centered at the end of the cylinder forces the recirculation of
particles from the front to the back in a helicoidally path. Heavier particles describe a helix path with a bigger diameter than the lighter ones, remaining inside the
chamber until they lose enough mass to be able to exit through the inverted-coneshaped neck.
This flow pattern provides a long residence time (60 times longer compared to a
linear flow), improving the combustion quality.

Secundary inlet
(combustion air)
Gases
Inlet

TECHNOLOGY
Construction basics
The chamber is formed by tube rings connected to upper and lower headers. The
whole tube system is connected to the natural circulation of the boiler by an independent system of risers and downcomers. The gap between two consecutive
rings is filled by plates welded to the tubes, thus conforming a completely watercooled surface. Nozzles are placed along the gaps as needed to generate the aerodynamic fields.

Tobacco Dust

Paper Sludge

Spent Grain

The throat is also conformed of tubes. In this way, the recovery of thermal energy
generated in the chamber is maximized, and refractory cladding (and, therefore,
maintenance) is minimized.
The combustion gases, along with the flying ashes leave the chamber through its
neck and enter the boiler radiation room, while the remainders of the ashes are
removed periodically from the torsional chamber by steam sootblowing.
Shavings

Appropriate Fuels for Torsional Chamber

The Torsional Chamber is appropriate to burn a wide range of solid biomass that
can be transported in pneumatic suspension. The capability to be lifted depends
on the density/cross sectional area ratio. There is no limitation in burning together
particles with different sizes or densities, as long as all of them can be maintained
in suspension.
The torsional chamber can also be used to burn gases generated in a Gasifier, or a
mixture of gases and solid particles.
Typical fuels include, sunflower husks, cotton husk, sawdust, sanderdust, grape and
olive marcs, straws, coffee grounds, rapeseed, tobacco powder, among others.

Sawdust

Main Advantages of Torsional Chamber

Efficient combustion of fuels:

Very little air excess and high degree of completeness.
Much lower unburned carbon than other combustion systems.
As a consequence, low gaseous emissions are achieved (particles, VOCs
and CO), demanding simpler fume depuration systems.
Very stable combustion throughout the operational range (30-100%).
Scalable over a wide range of power, from less than 1 MW up to 30 MW
More than one Torsional Chamber can be easily installed in one boiler.
Quick regulation, comparable to a fossil fuel burner.

Sunflower husk

Wheat straw

Can be applied to watertube, firetube and thermal-oil boilers.

Low maintenance costs.

CORNER TUBE ERK BOILERS

PRACTICAL CASES

Bunge
BERKES became on 2004 an EckRohrKessel Gmbh licensee; a German engineering
company specialized in the design of industrial boilers with more than 50 years of
experience, and over 5.900 complete projects (with capacities up to 300 ton/h).

The Eckrohr-Boiler ( manufactured

by BERKES) are a natural circulation
boiler well proven in many plants
and under difficult conditions. They
distinguish themselves by a robust
and clear design best fitted for the
demands of power stations or industrial applications. Eckrohr-Boilers are
designed and built for low maintenance and high reliability.
1
3
5
7

The pressurized body is made of a

stable
framework.
Downcomers,
headers and tube walls are welded
together to a gas-tight tube cage.

Unheated return tubes

Mixture tubes
Overflow tubes
Unheated downcomers

2 Header
4 Riser tubes (evaporator)
6 Unheated steam drum

Overflow pipes
Steam offtake pipes
Drum

Mixture pipes

This tube cage with its heating

surface and convection banks stand
on the ground. It is self-supported by
downcomers in all four corners of the
boiler (corner tubes). Other boiler
types need heavy supporting frames
where they are hung in. Those frames
are not necessary for Eckrohr-Boilers.

Corner tubes
(unheated return pipes)

Corner tubes
(unheated downcomers)

Unheated downcomers
Headers

Place

Tekirdag, Turkey

Year of startup

2008

Boiler

20 ton/h, 12 bar (g), XXC, Hybrid

Power

15,2 MWth

Combustion system

Torsional Combustion Chamber (1 unit)

Air excess

20%

Fuel

Sunflower husks (13% moisture)

Efficiency

89% (based on LVH)

Emissions

PM: 40, CO: 50, NOx: 250 mg/Nm3

PRACTICAL CASES

Saipol Lezoux - SIL

REKA

Place

Lezoux, France

Place

Tekirdag, Turkey

Year of startup

2010

Year of startup

2011

Boiler

10 ton/h 13 bar (g), saturated

Boiler

17 ton/h, 16 bar (g), saturated

Power

7,7 MWth

Power

12,6 MWth

Combustion system

Torsional Chamber

Combustion system

Torsional Chamber

Air excess

20%

Air excess

20%

Fuel

Sunflower husks

Fuel

Sunflower husks

Efficiency

87% (based on LVH)

Efficiency

90% (based on LVH)

Emissions

PM: 60, CO: 100, NOx: 150 mg/Nm3

Emissions

PM: 40, CO: 80, NOx: 200 mg/Nm3

PRACTICAL CASES

Saipol Bassens
Place

Bassens, France

Year of startup

2011

Boiler

45 ton/h, 20 bar (g), saturated

Power

33,3 MWth

Combustion system

Torsional Chamber

Air excess

20%

Fuel

Sunflower husks

Efficiency

87% (based on LVH)

Emissions

PM: 40, CO: 100, NOx: 250 mg/Nm3

PRACTICAL CASES

Trakya Birlik

Saipol Sete SIL (under construction)

Place

Tekirdag, Turkey

Place

Sete, France

Year of startup

2013

Year of startup

2014 (in execution)

Boiler

18 ton/h 12 bar (g), saturated

Boiler

40 ton/h, 35.5 bar (g), 295 C

Power

13,5 MW

Power

32 MW

Combustion system

Torsional Chamber

Combustion system

Torsional Chamber

Air excess

20%

Air excess

20%

Fuel

Sunflower husks

Fuel

Sunflower husks

Efficiency

90% (based on LVH)

Efficiency

90% (based on LVH)

Emissions

PM: 5, CO: 110, NOx: 100 mg/Nm3

Emissions

PM: 5, CO: 100, NOx: 100 mg/Nm3