Combustion Control for Boilers

September 23, 2004

Contents

1.

Introduction

2.

Basic type of boilers.

3.

Why need boiler controls?

4.

Combustion control for boilers.

5.

Fujis oxygen gas analyzer.

September 23, 2004

1. Introduction
How does a boiler works?
A boiler is a water containing vessel which transfers heat from a
fuel
source (oil, gas or coal) into steam which is piped to a point where
it can be used to run production equipment, to sterilize, to provide
heat, to steam-clean, etc.
The energy given up by the steam is sufficient to convert it back
into the form of water. When 100% of the steam produced is
returned to be reused, the system is called a closed system.
Since some processes can contaminate the steam, so it is not
always desirable to feed the condensate back into the boiler. A
system that does not return the condensate is called an open
system.

September 23, 2004

1. Introduction
Closed system

September 23, 2004

1. Introduction
Open system

September 23, 2004

2. Basic type of boilers.

The two main types of boilers are:
1. Firetube
2. Watertube

September 23, 2004

2. Basic type of boilers.

1.

Firetube
Fire or hot gases are directed through the inside of
tubes within the boiler shell which are surrounded by
water. The tubes are arranged in banks so that the
gases can be passed through the boiler up to 4 times
before passing out the stack. This system exposes the
maximum heat transfer surface to the water. Firetube
boilers are also known as shell boilers and can produce
up to approximately 750 hp or 25,000 lbs of steam per
hour. 80% of boilers in use are of this configuration.

September 23, 2004

2. Basic type of boilers.

1.

Firetube

September 23, 2004

2. Basic type of boilers.

1.

Firetube

September 23, 2004

2. Basic type of boilers.

2.

Watertube
Fire or hot gases are directed to and around the
outside of tubes containing water, arranged in a
vertical position. Watertube boilers are usually
rectangular in shape and have two or more drums. The
separation of steam and water takes place in the top
drum, while the bottom drum serves as a collection
point for sludge. This system is usually used when
more than 750 hp or several hundred thousand lbs of
steam per hour, are needed.
There are other designs with special configurations,
adapting them to particular applications

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2. Basic type of boilers.

2.

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Watertube

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2. Basic type of boilers.

2.

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Watertube

September 23, 2004

3. Why need boiler controls?

Boiler efficiency relates the boilers energy output to
the boilers energy input and can be expressed as:Boiler efficiency (%) = Heat exported by fluid/Heat provided by fuel
An accurate control of the amount of air is essential to the boiler
efficiency. Too much air will cool the furnace and carried away
useful heat. And too little air and the combustion will be
incomplete. Unburned fuel will be carried over and smoke may be
produced.

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3. Why need boiler controls?

14

1.

Increase uptime and availability

2.

Reduce flue gas emissions

3.

Maintain boiler safety

4.

Control operating costs

September 23, 2004

3. Why need boiler controls?

1.

Increase uptime and availability

The primary objective of most boilers operation is
maintaining the uptime and availability. It is
essential to maintain and upgrade the boiler control
systems to assure steam availability.
Modern controls are more reliable and can be readily
adjusts to load swings caused by varying plant
operations.

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September 23, 2004

3. Why need boiler controls?

2.

Reduce flue gas emissions

Failure to comply with the current emissions
regulations can be as costly as loss of utilities.
Government mandates are enforced by fines, threat
of closure, or imprisonment will provide sufficient
incentives for plants to comply with the regulations;
thus, modernize controls are necessary.
Improved in combustion efficiency means reduction
in waste disposal problems. And by accurately
controlling the oxygen, fuel flow and stack
temperature, you will see reductions in plant
emissions.

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September 23, 2004

3. Why need boiler controls?

3.

Maintain boiler safety

Modernize control system will have tight integration
with flame safety or burner management system to
improve safety.
Accessing field data, diagnostics functions and
alarms can be achieved by coupling modern
electronic controls. Password security of the
configuration software also assures no unintended
changes can be done which can endanger your
personnel and equipment.

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September 23, 2004

3. Why need boiler controls?

4.

Control operating costs

a)

Reduction in fuel consumption

b)

Reduction in engineering, installation and startup costs

c)

Reduction maintenance costs associated with older

equipment

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a)

Reduction manpower with automatic responds

b)

Provide a flexible control strategy to reduce process

upsets

c)

Readily data available for remote monitoring to determine

process optimization, boiler efficiency and load allocations

September 23, 2004

4. Combustion control for

boilers.
Burner combustion control generally includes
one or a
combination of the following methods:-

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Excess air regulation

Oxygen trim

Burner modulation

Air/Fuel cross-limiting

Total heat control

September 23, 2004

BOILER COMBUSTION CONTROL

4. Combustion control for

boilers.
1.
Excess air regulation
In actual practice, gas , oil, coal burning and other
systems do not do a a perfect job of mixing the fuel and
air even under the best achievable conditions.
Additionally, complete mixing may be a lengthy process.
To ensure complete combustion and reduce heat loss,
excess air has to be kept within suitable range.
The regulation of excess air provides:-

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A better boilers hear transfer rate

An advance warming of flue gas problems

Excess air coming out of the zone of maximum

efficiently

Substantial savings on fuel

September 23, 2004

4. Combustion control for

boilers.
2.
Oxygen trim
When a measurement of oxygen in the flue gas is
available, the combustion control mechanism can be vastly
improved (since the percentage of oxygen in flue is closely
related to the amount of excess air) by adding an oxygen
trim control module, allowing

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Tighter control of excess air to oxygen setpoint for better

efficiency

Faster return to setpoint following disturbances

Tighter control over flue emissions

Compliance with emission standards

Easy incorporation of carbon monoxide or capacity

override
September 23, 2004

4. Combustion control for

boilers.
2.
Oxygen trim

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September 23, 2004

4. Combustion control for

boilers.
3.
Burner modulation
Modulating control is a basic improvement in controlling
combustion. A continuous control signal is generated by a
controller monitoring the steam or hot water line.
Reductions in steam pressure or hot water temperature lead
to an increase in firing rate. The advantages of introducing
burner modulation in combustion control include.

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Fuel and air requirements are continuously matched to the

combustion demand

Steam pressure or hot water temperature is maintained

within closer tolerances

Greater boiler efficiency

Weighted average flue gas temperature is lower

September 23, 2004

4. Combustion control for

boilers.
4.
Air/Fuel cross-limiting
A cross limiting combustion control strategy ensures that
there can never be a dangerous ration of air and fuel within
a combustion process. This is implemented by always
raising the air flow before allowing the fuel flow to increase
or by lowering the fuel flow before allowing the air flow to
drop.
Cross-limiting combustion control is highly effective and can
easily provide the followings

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Optimization of fuel consumption

Safer operating condition by reducing risk of explosion

Fast adaptation to variation in fuel and air supplies

Satisfaction of the plant demand fore steam

September 23, 2004

4. Combustion control for

boilers.
4.
Air/Fuel cross-limiting

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September 23, 2004

4. Combustion control for

boilers.
5.
Total heat control
A cross limiting combustion control strategy ensures that
there can never be a dangerous ration of air and fuel
within a combustion process. This is implemented by
always raising the air flow before allowing the fuel flow to
increase or by lowering the fuel flow before allowing the
air flow to drop.

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September 23, 2004

BOILER COMBUSTION CONTROL