LITERATURE REVIEW

1)Boiler-A boiler is a closed vessel which is used to convert the water

into high pressure steam. The high pressure steam so generated is used
to generate power. The boiler works on the same principle as the water
is heated in a closed vessel and due to heating, the water changes into
steam. This steam possesses high pressure kinetic energy. The boiler
contains water. The water is heated to its boiling temperature by the use
of heat from the furnace. Due to heating of water, it gets converted into
high pressure steam. The steam generated is passed through the steam
turbines. As the high pressure steam strikes the turbine, it rotates the
turbine. A generator is attached to the turbine and the generator also
starts to rotate with the turbine and produces electricity.

1. According to the Contents in the Tubes

According to the contents in the tubes, the boilers can be classified
as fire tube boiler and water tube boiler.
(i) Fire Tube Boiler:
 In fire tube boiler the fire or hot gas are present inside the tubes and
water surrounds these fire tubes. Since fire is inside the tubes and hence
it is named as fire tube boiler. The heat from the hot gases is conducted
through the walls of the tube to the water.
 The examples of the fire tube boiler are: simple vertical boiler, Cochran
boiler, Lancashire boiler, Cornish boiler, Locomotive boiler, Scotch
marine boiler and Velcon boiler.
(ii). Water Tube Boiler:
In water tube boilers, the water is present inside the tubes and the fire or
hot gases surrounds these water tubes.
 The examples of water tube boilers are: La-Mont boiler, Benson boiler,
Stirling boiler, Babcock and Wilcox boiler, Yarrow boiler and Loeffler
boiler.
2. According to the Number of Tubes
According to the no of tubes, the boilers are classified as single tube
boiler and multitubular boilers.
(i). Single Tube Boilers: The boilers which contain one fire tube or
water tube are called as single tube boiler.
The examples of single tube boilers are Cornish boiler and simple
vertical boiler.
(ii). Multitubular Boiler: The boilers which has two or more water tube
or fire tubes are called multi tubular boilers.
Lancashire boiler, Locomotive boiler, Cochran boiler, Babcock and
Wilcox boilers are multitubular boilers.
3. According to the Position of the Furnace
According to the position of the furnace, the steam boilers are classified
as internally fired boilers and externally fired boilers.
(i). Internally Fired Boilers: The boilers in which the furnace is
located inside the boiler shell are called internally fired boilers.
Among all the fire tube boilers, most of the boilers are internally fired
boilers.
 (ii). Externally Fired Boilers: In externally fired boilers, the furnace is
located outside the boiler shell. In this the furnace is arranged
underneath in brick work setting.
Water tube boilers are always externally fired boilers.
4. According to the Axis of the Shell
According to the axis of the shell, the boilers are classified as vertical
boilers and horizontal boilers.
(i). Vertical Boilers: the in which the axis of the shell is vertical are
called vertical boilers.
Examples of vertical boilers are: simple vertical boiler and Cochran
boiler.
(ii). Horizontal Boilers: when the axis of the shell in a boiler is found
horizontal than it is called as horizontal boiler.
Lancashire boiler, Babcock and Wilcox boiler and locomotive
boilers are examples of horizontal boilers.
5. According to the Methods of Circulation of Water and Steam
According to the method of circulation of water and steam, the steam
boilers are divided into natural circulation boilers and forced circulation
boilers.

(i). Natural Circulation Boilers: In natural circulation boilers, the

circulation of water takes place naturally by the convection currents that
set ups during the heating of water.
 In most of the boilers there is a natural circulation of water such
as Lancashire boiler, Cochran boiler etc.
(ii). Forced Circulation Boilers: In this type of steam boilers, the water
circulation takes place with the help of a centrifugal pump driven by
some external power. Here the circulation is forced by some external
agency.
 Forced circulation is used in high pressure boilers such as
La-Mont boiler, Loeffler boiler, Benson boiler etc.
6. According to the use
 According to the use, the boilers are classified as stationary boilers and
mobile boilers

(i). Stationary Boilers: These are the boilers which are stationary and
cannot be moved from one place to another. Once they are installed,
cannot be transported to other destination.
 These boilers are used in power plants and in industrial
process works.
(ii). Mobile Boilers: these are the steam boilers which can be moved
from one place to another.
 Locomotive and marine boilers are mobile boilers.

WASTE HEAT RECOVERY

Waste heat is heat, which is generated in a process by way of fuel

combustion or chemical reaction, and then “dumped” into the
environment even though it could still be reused for some useful and
economic purpose. The essential quality of heat is not the amount but
rather its “value”. The strategy of how to recover this heat depends in
part on the temperature of the waste heat gases and the economics
involved. Large quantity of hot flue gases is generated from Boilers,
Kilns, Ovens and Furnaces. If some of this waste heat could be
recovered, a considerable amount of primary fuel could be saved. The
energy lost in waste gases cannot be fully recovered. However, much of
the heat could be recovered and loss minimized by adopting following
measures as outlined in this chapter.
Heat Losses –Quality
Depending upon the type of process, waste heat can be rejected at
virtually any temperature from that of chilled cooling water to high
temperature waste gases from an industrial furnace or kiln. Usually
higher the temperature, higher the quality and more cost effective is the
heat recovery. In any study of waste heat recovery, it is absolutely
necessary that there should be some use for the recovered heat. Typical
examples of use would be preheating of combustion air, space heating,
or pre-heating boiler feed water or process water. With high temperature
heat recovery, a cascade system of waste heat recovery may be practiced
to ensure that the maximum amount of heat is recovered at the highest
potential. An example of this technique of waste heat recovery would be
where the high temperature stage was used for air pre-heating and the
low temperature stage used for process feed water heating or steam
raising.
Heat Losses – Quantity
In any heat recovery situation it is essential to know the amount of heat
recoverable and also how it can be used. An example of the availability
of waste heat is given below:
• Heat recovery from heat treatment furnace
In a heat treatment furnace, the exhaust gases are leaving the furnace at
900 0 C at the rate of 2100 m3 /hour. The total heat recoverable at 180 0C
final exhaust can be
calculated as
Q = V x ρ x C p x ∆T
Q is the heat content in kCal
V is the flow rate of the substance in m 3 /hr
ρ is density of the flue gas in kg/m 3
C p is the specific heat of the substance in kCal/kg 0 C
∆T is the temperature difference in o C
Cp (Specific heat of flue gas) = 0.24 kCal/kg/ 0C
Heat available (Q) = 2100 x 1.19 x 0.24 x (900-180) = 4,31,827
kCal/hr
By installing a recuperator, this heat can be recovered to pre-heat the
combustion air. The fuel savings would be 33% (@ 1% fuel reduction
for every 22 0C reduction in temperature
of flue gas.
CLASSIFICATION AND APPLICATION
COMMERCIAL WASTE HEAT RECOVERY DEVICES

Recuperators
In a recuperator, heat exchange takes place between the flue gases
and the air through metallic or ceramic walls. Duct or tubes carry
the air for combustion to be pre-heated, the other side contains the
waste heat stream. A recuperator for recovering waste heat from flue
gases is shown in Figure 8.1.

Heat pipe
A heat pipe can transfer up to 100 times more thermal energy than
copper, the best known conductor. In other words, heat pipe is a thermal
energy absorbing and transferring system and have no moving parts and
hence require minimum maintenance. The Heat Pipe comprises of three
elements – a sealed container, a capillary wick structure and a working
fluid.
ECONOMISER

In case of boiler system, economizer can be provided to utilize the flue

gas heat for pre-heating the boiler feed water. On the other hand, in an
air pre-heater, the waste heat is used to heat combustion air. In both the
cases, there is a corresponding reduction in the fuel requirements of the
boiler. A economizer is shown in Figure 8.8.
For every 22 0C reduction in flue gas temperature by passing through
an economiser or a pre-heater, there is 1% saving of fuel in the boiler. In
other words, for every 6 0 C rise in feed water temperature through an
economiser, or 20 0 C rise in combustion air temperature through an air
pre-heater, there is 1% saving of fuel in the boiler.
Waste Heat Boilers

Waste heat boilers are ordinarily water tube boilers in which the hot exhaust gases
from gas turbines, incinerators, etc., pass over a number of parallel tubes
containing water. The water is vaporized in the tubes and collected in a steam drum
from which it is drawn off for use as heating or processing steam. Because the
exhaust gases are usually in the medium temperature range and in order to
conserve space, a more compact boiler can be produced if the water tubes are
finned in order to increase the effective heat transfer area on the gas side. The
Figure 8.11 shows a mud drum, a set of tubes over which the hot gases make a
double pass, and a steam drum which collects the steam generated above the water
surface. The pressure at which the steam is generated and the rate of steam
production depends on the temperature of waste heat. The pressure of a pure vapor
in the presence of its liquid is a function of the temperature of the liquid from
which it is evaporated. The steam tables tabulate this relationship between
saturation pressure and temperature. If the waste heat in the exhaust gases is
insufficient for generating the required amount of process steam, auxiliary burners
which burn fuel in the waste heat boiler or an after-burner in the exhaust gases flue
are added. Waste heat boilers are built in capacities from 25 m3 almost 30,000 m3
/min. of exhaust gas.
Benefits of Waste Heat Recovery
Benefits of ‘waste heat recovery’ can be broadly classified in two
categories:
Direct Benefits:
Recovery of waste heat has a direct effect on the efficiency of the
process. This is reflected by reduction in the utility consumption &
costs, and process cost.
Indirect Benefits:
a) Reduction in pollution: A number of toxic combustible wastes such
as carbon monoxide gas, sour gas, carbon black off gases, oil sludge,
Acrylonitrile and other plastic chemicals etc, releasing to atmosphere
if/when burnt in the incinerators serves dual purpose i.e. recovers heat
and reduces the environmental pollution levels.
b) Reduction in equipment sizes: Waste heat recovery reduces the fuel
consumption, which leads to reduction in the flue gas produced. This
results in reduction in equipment sizes of all flue gas handling
equipments such as fans, stacks, ducts, burners, etc.
c) Reduction in auxiliary energy consumption: Reduction in
equipment sizes gives additional benefits in the form of reduction in
auxiliary energy consumption like electricity for fans, pumps etc..
LINDE AMMONIA CONCEPT
 Waste heat available in Ammonia plant

GT-3894 GT-3895 GT-3893

Steam Qty: 1,26,081 Kg/Hr Steam Qty: 70,000 Kg/Hr Steam Qty: 35,919 Kg/Hr
Steam Temperature: 320 Deg C Steam Temperature: 267.5 Deg C Steam Temperature: 320 Deg C
Steam Pressure: 100.29 bar g Steam Pressure: 31.45 bar g Steam Pressure: 102 bar g
METHODOLOGY
Direct Method And Indirect Method
1) The Direct Method: Where the energy gain of the working fluid (water and

steam) is compared with the energy content of the boiler fuel.

2) The Indirect Method: Where the efficiency is the difference between the losses

and the energy input.

Direct Method

This is also known as ‘input-output method’ due to the fact that it needs only the
useful output (steam) and the heat input (i.e. fuel) for evaluating the efficiency.
This efficiency can be evaluated using the formula:
Merits and Demerits of Direct Method

Merits

1)Plant people can evaluate quickly the efficiency of boilers

2)Requires few parameters for computation
3)Needs few instruments for monitoring
Demerits
1)Does not give clues to the operator as to why efficiency of system is
lower
2)Does not calculate various losses accountable for various efficiency
levels
3)Evaporation ratio and efficiency may mislead, if the steam is highly
wet due to water carryover
Indirect Method
The efficiency can be measured easily by measuring all the losses
occurring in the boilers using the principles to be described. The
disadvantages of the direct method can be overcome by this method,
which calculates the various heat losses associated with boiler. The
efficiency can be arrived at, by subtracting the heat loss fractions from
100.An important advantage of this method is that the errors in
measurement do not make significant change in efficiency.
Thus if boiler efficiency is 90% , an error of 1% in direct method will
result in significant change in efficiency. i.e.90 + 0.9 = 89.1 to 90.9. In
indirect method, 1% error in measurement of losses will result in
Efficiency = 100 – (10 + 0.1) = 90 + 0.1 = 89.9 to 90.1
The following losses are applicable to liquid, gas and solid fired boiler

L1- Loss due to dry flue gas (sensible heat)

L2- Loss due to hydrogen in fuel (H2 )

L3- Loss due to moisture in fuel (H 2O)

L4- Loss due to moisture in air (H 2O)

L5- Loss due to carbon monoxide (CO)

L6- Loss due to surface radiation, convection and other unaccounted*.

*Losses which are insignificant and are difficult to measure.

The following losses are applicable to solid fuel fired boiler in addition to above

L7- Unburnt losses in fly ash (Carbon)

L8- Unburnt losses in bottom ash (Carbon)

Boiler Efficiency by indirect method = 100 – (L1+L2+L3+L4+L5+L6+L7+L8)

Measurements Required for Performance Assessment Testing

The following parameters need to be measured, as applicable for the
computation of boiler efficiency and performance.
a) Flue gas analysis
1. Percentage of CO2 or O2 in flue gas
2. Percentage of CO in flue gas
3. Temperature of flue gas
b) Flow meter measurements for
1. Fuel
2. Steam
3. Feed water
4. Condensate water
5. Combustion air
c) Temperature measurements for
1. Flue gas
2. Steam
3. Makeup water
4. Condensate return
5. Combustion air
6. Fuel
7. Boiler feed water
d) Pressure measurements for
1. Steam
2. Fuel
3. Combustion air, both primary and secondary
4. Draft
e) Water condition
1. Total dissolved solids (TDS)
2. pH
3. Blow down rate and quantity
INTERIM PROGRESS
1) Project outline
2) Process analysis done
3) Literature review done
4) Methodology Selected
5) Data collected
6) Rough calculation done