Introduction to Boilers

Submitted by:
Submitted to:
Archee Gupta
Dr. Vivekananda Vivekananda
Kartik Sinoliya
Outlines
• Boilers introduction
• Boilers system
• Classification of Boilers
• Types of Boilers
• Blowdown mechanism
• Energy conservation opportunities
 Boilers
• A boiler is defined as “A closed vessel in which water or other
liquid is heated, steam or vapor is generated, steam is
superheated, or any combination thereof, under pressure or
vacuum, for use external to itself, by the direct application of
energy from the combustion of fuels, from electricity
or nuclear energy ”.
• The hot water or steam under pressure is then usable for
transferring the heat to a process.
Boiler system
The boiler system comprises of:
• feed water system,
• steam system and
• fuel system

The feed water system:

• Provides water to the boiler and regulates it automatically to
meet the steam demand. Various valve provide access for
maintenance and demand.
Continued…………………………………….
The two sources of feed water are:
• Condensed water returned from the process
• Makeup water which come from outside the boiler room and plant
processes.
The steam system:
• Collect and control the steam collected from boiler. Steam is
directed through a piping system to the point of use.
Fuel system
• Includes all equipment used to provide fuel to generate necessary
heat.
• The equipment required in the fuel sytem depends on the type of
fuel used in the system.
Selection of boilers
• The working pressure & quality of steam.
• Steam generation.
• Floor area available.
• Accessibility for repair & inspection.
• Comparative initial cost.
• The fuel & water available.
• Operating & maintenance cost.
INDIAN BOILER REGULATION

• The Indian Boilers Act was enacted to consolidate and amend the
law relating to steam boilers. Indian Boilers Regulation (IBR) was
created in exercise of the powers conferred by section 28 & 29 of
the Indian Boilers Act.
• IBR Steam Boilers means any closed vessel exceeding 22.75 liters in
capacity and which is used expressively for generating steam under
pressure and includes any mounting or other fitting attached to
such vessel, which is wholly, or partly under pressure when the
steam is shut off.
• IBR Steam Pipe means any pipe through which steam passes from a
boiler to a prime mover or other user or both, if pressure at which
steam passes through such pipes exceeds 3.5 kg/cm2 above
atmospheric pressure or such pipe exceeds 254 mm in internal
diameter and includes in either case any connected fitting of a
steam pipe.
Classification
• Relative position of hot gases and water :
– Fire tube boilers (Cochran, Lancashire, Cornish,
Locomotive)
– Water tube boilers (Babcock and Wilcox boiler, Stirling
boiler)
• Method of firing
– Internally fired boilers ( Lancashire, Locomotive)
– Externally fired boilers (Babcock and Wilcox boiler)
• Pressure of steam
– Low pressure boilers (<80 bars- Cochran, Lancashire,
Cornish, Locomotive)
– High pressure boilers(>=80 bars-Babcock and Wilcox boiler,
Lamont boiler)
• Method of circulation of water
– Natural circulation boilers (Lancashire, Locomotive,
Babcock & Wilcox boilers)
– Forced circulation boilers (Two large fire tubes Lancashire
boiler, Single large fire tube Cornish boiler, Cochran boiler,
Many small tubes Locomotive boiler, Babcock Wilcox water
tube boiler)
• Nature of service to be performed
– Land boilers
– Mobile boilers (or) Portable boilers (locomotive)
• Once through Boilers: the feed water leaves the tube as steam
(Benson Boilers)
Fire Tube Boiler
• Relatively small steam
capacity
• Low to medium steam
pressure
• Operate with oil,gas and
solid fuel
Water tube Boiler
• Used for high steam
demand and pressure
requirements.
• Capacity range of 4,500-
120,000kg/m3.
• Combustion efficiency
induced by draft provisions.
• Lower tolerance for water
quality and need water
treatment palnt.
Fluidized bed combustion boiler
• Particles (e.g. sand) are
suspended in high velocity
air stream: bubbling
fluidized bed
• Combustion at 840° – 950°
C
• Fuels: coal, washery rejects,
rice husk, bagasse and
agricultural wastes
• Benefits: compactness, fuel
flexibility, higher
combustion efficiency,
reduced SOx & NOx
Pulverized fuel boiler
• Pulverized coal powder
blown with combustion air
into boiler through burner
nozzles
• Combustion temperature at
1300 - 1700 °C
• Benefits: varying coal
quality coal, quick response
to load changes and high
preheat air temperatures
Waste Heat Boilers
• Used when waste heat
available at medium/high
temp
• Auxiliary fuel burners used
if steam demand is more
than the waste heat can
generate
• Used in heat recovery from
exhaust gases from gas
turbines and diesel engines
Boiler efficiency
Direct efficiency: where the energy of working fluid is compared
with the energy content of boiler fuel.
Parameters to be monitored for the calculation of boiler
efficiency by direct method are :
• Quantity of steam generated per hour (Q) in kg/hr.
• Quantity of fuel used per hour (q) in kg/hr.
• The working pressure (in kg/cm2) and superheat temperature
(oC),if any
• The temperature of feed water (oC)
• Type of fuel and gross calorific value of the fuel (GCV) in
kcal/kg of fuel.
Boilers Blowing down

• Boilers blowing down is a

process of controlling the
level of concentration of
solids where certain
amount of water is blown
off and is automatically
replaced by feed water.
• Conductivity as indicator of
boiler water quality.
• Intermittent blowdown
• Continuous blowdown
 ENERGY CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES

1. Stack Temperature
• The stack temperature should be as low as possible.
• However, it should not be so low that water vapor in the
exhaust condenses on the stack walls.
• This is important in fuels containing significant Sulphur as low
temperature can lead to Sulphur dew point corrosion.
• Stack temperatures greater than 200°C indicates potential for
recovery of waste heat.
• It also indicate the scaling of heat transfer/recovery equipment
and hence the urgency of taking an early shut down for water /
flue side cleaning.
3. Combustion Air Preheat
• Combustion air preheating is an alternative to feed-water
heating.
• In order to improve thermal efficiency by 1%, the combustion
air temperature must be raised by 20 oC.
• Most gas and oil burners used in a boiler plant are not
designed for high air preheat temperatures.
• Modern burners can withstand much higher combustion air
preheat,
EXCESS AIR CONTROL

• The optimum excess air level for maximum boiler efficiency occurs
when the sum of the losses due to incomplete combustion and loss
due to heat in flue gases is minimum.
• This level varies with furnace design, type of burner, fuel and
process variables.
• It can be determined by conducting tests with different air fuel
ratios.
• Controlling excess air to an optimum level always results in
reduction in flue gas losses; for every 1% reduction in excess air
there is approximately 0.6% rise in efficiency.
• Portable oxygen analysers and draft gauges can be used to make
periodic readings to guide the operator to manually adjust the flow
of air for optimum operation.
• Excess air reduction up to 20% is feasible
Radiation and Convection Heat Loss
• The external surfaces of a shell boiler are hotter than the
surroundings.
• The surfaces thus lose heat to the surroundings depending on
the surface area and the difference in temperature between
the surface and the surroundings.
• Repairing or augmenting insulation can reduce heat loss
through boiler walls and piping.
Automatic Blowdown Control
• Uncontrolled continuous blowdown is very wasteful.
• Automatic blowdown controls can be installed that sense and
respond to boiler water conductivity and pH.
• A 10% blow down in a 15 kg/cm2 boiler results in 3%
efficiency loss.
Reduction of scaling and soothing losses

• In oil and coal-fired boilers, soot buildup on tubes acts

as an insulator against heat transfer.
• Also same result will occur due to scaling on the water
side.
• High exit gas temperatures at normal excess air indicate
poor heat transfer performance.
• Waterside deposits require a review of water treatment
procedures and tube cleaning to remove deposits.
• An estimated 1% efficiency loss occurs with every 22oC
increase in stack temperature.
Proper Boiler Scheduling
• Since, the optimum efficiency of boilers occurs at 65-85% of
full load,
• it is usually more efficient, on the whole, to operate a fewer
number of boilers at higher loads, than to operate a large
number at low loads.
Boiler Replacement
• The potential savings from replacing a boiler depend on the
anticipated change in overall efficiency.
• Since boiler plants traditionally have a useful life of well over
25 years, replacement must be carefully studied.