INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CURRENT TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY, NUiCONE 2011

Boiler Efficiency Analysis Using Direct Method

Sunit Shah and D.M.Adhyaru, Member, IEEE
from a hot body to a cold body without a conveying medium, (2) convection, the transfer of heat by a conveying medium, such as air or water and (3) conduction, transfer of heat by actual physical contact, molecule to molecule. Boiler Specification: The heating surface is any part of the boiler metal that has hot gases of combustion on one side and water on the other. Any part of the boiler metal that actually contributes to making steam is heating surface. The amount of heating surface of a boiler is expressed in square meters. The larger the heating surface a boiler has, the more efficient it becomes. The quantity of the steam produced is indicated in tons of water evaporated to steam per hour. Maximum continuous rating is the hourly evaporation that can be maintained for 24 hours. F & A means the amount of steam generated from water at 100 0C to saturated steam at 100 0C. [5] A. Boiler Operation The basic purpose of a boiler is to turn water into steam, in this case saturated steam. This operation sounds relatively simple but is actually more complicated. Other components and processes such as the deaerator and economizer are necessary to help the overall operation run more efficiently. The boilers utilized on campus are of the stack drum type, which means there are drums within the boilers stacked one above the other. In these particular boilers there are two drums. The upper drum is called a steam drum and is where saturated steam leaves the boiler. While the lower drum is called the mud drum and is where liquid feed water enters. It is also where sediment carried into the boiler settles. Tubes called risers and down comers are used to connect the two drums. All of the energy required within the boiler is produced by the combustion of a fuel. The burner acts very similar to the gas stove at home, just more complicated. It is comprised of a wind box, igniter, fuel manifold and/or atomizing gun, observation port and flame safety scanner. Currently the boilers can burn either No. 2 fuel oil or natural gas. Fluctuating prices of fuel can raise or lower the cost to produce steam. Having the choice between two different fuels gives the option of burning the lower cost fuel. Operation of the boiler begins with feed water entering the mud drum where it is heated. The combustion of fuel within
Fig. 1. Boiler and its various components

Abstract- Real-time data of boiler thermal efficiency can really reflect the boiler operation condition, heat generation and heat loss. Performance of the boiler, like efficiency and evaporation ratio reduces with time, due to poor combustion, heat transfer fouling and poor operation and maintenance. Boiler efficiency can be also useful in analysis of boiler and can also be used in predictive maintenance of the boiler. How to reduce problems of the boiler efficiency real-time computations and be successful in calculating the boiler thermal efficiency on line are the main concern of operation departments of power systems. Using Heat Input-Output method plant people can evaluate quickly the efficiency of boilers using few parameters Index TermsReal-Time, Boiler Efficiency, Input-Output Method .

I.

INTRODUCTION

A boiler is an enclosed vessel that provides a means for combustion heat to be transferred into water until it becomes heated water or steam. The hot water or steam under pressure is then usable for transferring the heat to a process. Water is a useful and cheap medium for transferring heat to a process. When water is boiled into steam its volume increases about 1,600 times, producing a force that is almost as explosive as gunpowder. This causes the boiler to be extremely dangerous equipment that must be treated with utmost care.

The process of heating a liquid until it reaches its gaseous state is called evaporation. Heat is transferred from one body to another by means of (1) radiation, which is the transfer of heat

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CURRENT TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY, NUiCONE 2011

concentrations of undesirable products can form. Carbon monoxide (CO) and soot, for example, result from poor fuel and air mixing or too little air. Other undesirable products, such as nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2), form in excessive amounts when the burner flame temperature is too high. If a fuel contains sulphur, sulphur dioxide (SO2) gas is formed. For solid fuels such as coal and wood, ash forms from incombustible materials in the fuel.[3]

II.

BOILER EFFICIENCY

Efficiency in general describes the extent to which time or effort is well used for the intended task or purpose. It is often used with the specific purpose of relaying the capability of a specific application of effort to produce a specific outcome effectively with a minimum amount or quantity of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort.
Fig. 2. Combustion in Boiler

the furnace provides the required energy which is imparted by a combination of convection and radiation. A two-phase water mixture forms within the riser and begins to ascend to the steam drum due to its decreasing density. Boiling to 100% quality in the tubes is undesirable because water vapour has different heat transfer characteristics than liquid water. This can lead to high wall temperatures and eventual tube burnout. Once it reaches the steam drum the majority of saturated vapour will be removed from the two-phase mixture; thereby increasing the remaining mixtures density. The increase in density will initiate its descent in the down comers back to the mud drum. This natural circulation continuously allows for a constant flow of saturated steam exiting the boiler.[3] B. Combustion in Boiler Combustion occurs when fossil fuels, such as natural gas, fuel oil, coal or gasoline, react with oxygen in the air to produce heat. The heat from burning fossil fuels is used for industrial processes, environmental heating or to expand gases in a cylinder and push a piston. Boilers, furnaces and engines are important users of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, meaning they are composed primarily of carbon and hydrogen. When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) are the principal chemical products, formed from the reactants carbon and hydrogen in the fuel and oxygen (O2) in the air. The simplest example of hydrocarbon fuel combustion is the reaction of methane (CH4), the largest component of natural gas, with O2 in the air. When this reaction is balanced, or stoichiometric, each molecule of methane reacts with two molecules of O2 producing one molecule of CO2 and two molecules of H2O. When this occurs, energy is released as heat. The combining of oxygen (in the air) and carbon in the fuel to form carbon dioxide and generate heat is a complex process, requiring the right mixing turbulence, sufficient activation temperature and enough time for the reactants to come into contact and combine. Unless combustion is properly controlled, high

A. What is boiler efficiency? A typical heat balance for a boiler is shown in Fig.3 . As shown in the figure, only part of the heat content of the fuel is converted into useful heat, while the rest is lost through exhaust gases, blowdown, and radiation losses. The efficiency of boilers is usually rated based on combustion efficiency, thermal efficiency, and overall efficiency. Combustion efficiency The typical combustion process in boilers involve burning of fuels that contain carbon (oil,gas, and coal) with oxygen to generate heat. Oxygen required for combustion is normally taken from air supplied to the burner of the boiler. The amount of air needed for combustion depends on the type of fuel used. To ensure complete combustion of fuel, more air than required (excess air) for combustion is provided to ensure that the fuel is completely burnt. Since excess air leads to lower boiler efficiency (due to removal of heat by the excess air as it passes through the boiler), the objective is to ensure that the optimum amount of excess air is provided .Combustion efficiency is an indication of the burners ability to burn fuel and the ability of the boiler to absorb the heat generated. The amount of unburnt fuel and excess air in the exhaust are used to assess a burners combustion efficiency. Burners performing with extremely low levels of unburned fuel while operating at low excess air levels are considered efficient. Burners firing gaseous and liquid fuels operate at excess air levels of 15% or less and negligible amounts of unburned fuel. By operating at only 15% excess air, less heat from the combustion process is being used to heat excess air which increases the available heat for the boiler load. Combustion efficiency is not the same for all fuels; generally, gaseous and liquid fuels burn more efficiently than solid fuels do. As combustion efficiency does not account for several other factors needed to determine a boilers fuel usage, it should not be the sole factor used in economic evaluations. Combustion Efficiency is also referred to as Flue Loss or Stack Loss Efficiency.[6]

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CURRENT TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY, NUiCONE 2011

Thermal efficiency Thermal efficiency is a measure of the efficiency of the heat exchange in the boiler. It provides an indication of how well the heat exchanger can transfer heat from the combustion process to water or steam in the boiler. It does not take into consideration the conduction and convection losses from the boiler. Overall efficiency Another measure of boiler efficiency is the overall boiler efficiency, which is a measure of how well the boiler can convert the heat input from the combustion process to the steam or hot water. It is also called fuel-to-steam efficiency.[8]

Boiler Efficiency

Heat Output Heat Input

(1)

Heat output is define as the heat absorbed by the working fluid Heat Input is defined as the chemical heat in fuel plus heat credits. [1] The heat input depends on the amount of fuel burnt and its calorific value (heating value). The calorific value, normally expressed in kJ/kg,multiplied by the amount of fuel burnt in kg/s gives the heat input in kJ/s (kW). The heat output is the difference in the heat content of the feedwater and steam (or hot water) produced multiplied by the flow rate of water or steam. The heat content of water and steam is expressed in kJ/kg and the flow rate of water or steam is expressed in kg/s, which yields the heat output in kW. The overall efficiency of a boiler is lower than the combustion efficiency as it takes into account radiative and convective losses from the boiler and other losses, such as cycle losses, due to passing of air through the boiler during the off cycle. The efficiency of a boiler can also be estimated by subtracting stack losses, radiative losses, and convective losses from the combustion efficiency. While combustion efficiency can be measured directly by using a combustion analyzer, the stack, radiative, and convective losses can be estimated using boiler manufacturers data. B. Significance of boiler efficiency Electricity, would be needed in ample amount in coming years in India. Primarily coal, oil and gas generate about 80 % of electricity of nation. Boiler is heart in generating electricity using coal, oil and gas. Efficient boiler operation has always been critical in power plants. Online efficiency monitoring of boiler can help to know the operating condition of boiler .Knowing performance characteristics of boiler would be optimizing boiler operation , and improving overall efficiency of boiler and power plant Beside this it can also encourage use of coal technology and reduce emission.

Performance of the boiler, like efficiency and evaporation ratio reduces with time, due to poor combustion, heat transfer fouling and poor operation and maintenance. Deterioration of fuel quality and water quality also leads to poor performance of boiler. Efficiency testing helps us to find out how far the boiler efficiency drifts away from the best efficiency. Any detected errors could therefore be investigated to pinpoint the problem area for necessary corrective action. Hence it is necessary to find out the current level of efficiency for performance evaluation, which is a pre requisite for energy conservation action in industry. This limitation concerning monitoring of the boilers, which has a significant effect on their optimization, is caused by the fact that the majority of these power plants were designed at a time when the plants production (and not its emissions or efficiency) was the critical operating parameter. The inadequate monitoring described means that, in general, the operation of the boilers is based on the use of certain combinations of global or indirect variables, derived either from the recommendations of the boiler supplier or from the accumulated experience of the operators of each particular facility. These combinations frequently have more to do with operational stability and historical inertia, i.e. following customary practices, than with true optimum operating conditions.[4] III. 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. Efficiency calculated by the InputOutput method is based upon measuring the fuel flow and steam generator fluid side conditions necessary to calculate output. The uncertainty of efficiency calculated by the InputOutput method is directly proportional to the uncertainty of determining the fuel flow, a representative fuel analysis, and steam generator output. Therefore, to obtain reliable results, extreme care must be taken to determine these items accurately. [2] Efficiency determination by the InputOutput method requires direct and accurate measurement of all output as well as all input. The primary measurements required are the following: (a) feedwater flow rate entering the steam generator (b) flow rates of all secondary output streams such as boiler blowdown, auxiliary steam, etc. (c) pressure and temperature of all working fluid streams such as entering feedwater, superheater outlet, reheater inlet and outlets, auxiliary steam, etc. (d) additional measurements in the turbine cycle as required to determine reheater flows by energy balance methods (e) fuel flow rate (f) higher heating value of the fuel This efficiency can be evaluated using the formula:

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CURRENT TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY, NUiCONE 2011

Boiler Efficiency ( )

Q ( H h) 100 q GCV

(2)

Heat output There are several methods, which can be used for measuring heat output. With steam boilers, an installed steam meter can be used to measure flow rate, but this must be corrected for temperature and pressure. In earlier years, this approach was not favoured due to the change in accuracy of orifice or venturi meters with flow rate. It is now more feasible with recent flow meters of the variable-orifice or vortex-shedding types. The alternative with small boilers is to measure feed water, and this can be done by previously calibrating the feed tank and noting down the levels of water during the beginning and end of the trial. Care should be taken not to pump water during this period. Heat addition for conversion of feed water at inlet temperature to steam, is considered for heat output. In case of boilers with intermittent blowdown, blowdown should be avoided during the trial period. In case of boilers with continuous blowdown, the heat loss due to blowdown should be calculated and added to the heat in steam. The greatest advantage of the direct method is that it is easy. In addition, it can cover any period of time. It takes into account any losses occurring during the period under consideration and reflects the actual steam generation and fuel consumption for that period. The mass of steam is usually taken at the crown valve which means that auxiliary steam such as deaerator steam, steam used for boiler fans and feed water pumps or any other steam related to the boiler operation is included. The boiler feed water may or may not include boiler blow down.[5] A. Case Study-Ukai Thermal Power Station Technical Data Of Power Plant [11] Design Data of 200 MW Boiler Boiler Type: - Direct tangentially coal fired, balanced draught, natural circulation, Design Fuel: - Bituminous coal Mass of coal burnt = 85 T/hr (q) Mass of steam generated = 600 T/hr (Q) Coal 1) Fixed carbon = 39% 2) Volatile matter = 25% 3) Moisture = 8% 4) Ash = 28% Gross Calorific Value = 4900 kcal/kg = 20501.6 kJ/kg Mean feed water temperature =35 0C

where Q is Quantity of steam (dry) generated in T/hr q is Quantity of coal consumed in T/hr H is Enthalpy of steam kJ/kg h is Enthalpy of feed water in kJ/kg GCV is Gross Calorific Value of coal in kJ/kg

Heat input Both heat input and heat output must be measured. The measurement of heat input requires knowledge of the calorific value of the fuel and its flow rate in terms of mass or volume, according to the nature of the fuel. For gaseous fuel: A gas meter of the approved type can be used and the measured volume should be corrected for temperature and pressure. A sample of gas can be collected for calorific value determination, but it is usually acceptable to use the calorific value declared by the gas suppliers. For liquid fuel Heavy fuel oil is very viscous, and this property varies sharply with temperature. The meter, which is usually installed on the combustion appliance, should be regarded as a rough indicator only.For test purposes, a meter calibrated for the particular oil is to be used and over a realistic range of temperature should be installed. Even better is the use of an accurately calibrated day tank. For solid fuel The accurate measurement of the flow of coal or other solid fuel is very difficult. The measurement must be based on mass, which means that bulky apparatus must be set up on the boiler-house floor. Samples must be taken and bagged throughout the test, the bags sealed and sent to a laboratory for analysis and calorific value determination. In some more recent boiler houses, the problem has been alleviated by mounting the hoppers over the boilers on calibrated load cells, but these are yet uncommon.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CURRENT TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY, NUiCONE 2011

Pressure of steam = 131.9 kg/cm2= 129.5 bar At 129.35 bar - 130 bar enthalpy of steam is as follow hf = 1531.5 kJ/kg ; hf g = 1130.7 kJ/kg H = hf + hf g = 1531.5+ (0.85) (1130.7) = 2492.595 kJ/kg Heat of feed water = 1x4.18x(35-0) =146.3 kJ/kg Total net heat given to produce 1 Kg of steam = H- h =2492.595-146.3 =2346.295 kJ/kg where, H is enthalpy of steam h is enthalpy of water

[6] Combustion Analysis Basics:An Overview of Measurements, Methods and Calculations Used in Combustion Analysis,TSI Incorporated [7] Waste Heat Reduction and Recovery for Improving Furnace Efficiency, Productivity and Emissions Performance,U.S. Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy [8] Determining & Testing Boiler Efficiency for Commercial/Institutional Packaged Boilers ,American Boiler Manufacturing Association [9] Energy Management Series-Boiler Plant Systems [10]British Power Plant Journal,,Plant Performance and Performance Monitoring, Vol G,pg 480-488 [11] Analysis Of Boiler Efficiency Case Study Of Thermal Power Stations [12] A. Copado, F. Rodriguez Boiler Efficiency and NOx Optimisation through Advanced Monitoring and Control of Local Combustion Conditions

Boiler Efficiency ( )

Q ( H h) 100 q GCV

(3)

Boiler Efficiency ( )

600 (2492.595 146.3) x100 (4) 85 20501.6

Boiler Efficiency ( )

80 .77 % (5)

IV. CONCLUSION In this paper direct method (i.e. input -output method) is explored for boiler calculation of boiler efficiency. The direct method (i.e., the input-output method) is the simplest method to determine boiler efficiency. In this method, the heat supplied to the boiler and the heat absorbed by the water in the boiler in a given time period are directly measured. Realizing the direct boiler efficiency method online would help to to know the operating condition of boiler .Knowing performance characteristics of boiler would be optimizing boiler operation , and improving overall efficiency of boiler and power plant REFERENCES [1]John M Driscoll, John V Clearly, W.G.Mclean, J.W.Murdock, Steam Generating Units,Power Test Codes The American Society of Mechanical Engineers,December 1964. [2] M.P.McHale,J.R.Friedmen, J. H. Karian , Steam Generating Units,Power Test Codes The American Society of Mechanical Engineers , January 2009. [3] Wayne C. Turner, Steve Doty Energy Management Handbook The Fairmont Press Inc.,6 Editon,2007 [4] Dr. Lal Jayamaha , Energy - Efficient Builiding System:green strategies for operation and maintenance, The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.,2006,pg 77-103 [5] Boilers,Bureau of Energy Efficiency