STEAM QUALITY MATTERS Steam quality, in Pharma industry, plays a vital role in the quality of product.

Steam quality also plays an important role in the batch time of a process. Although a known fact, little action is taken today to ensure that steam is generated with the right quality in the first place. Steam quality varies because of many boiler operational parameters. Effective monitoring of these parameters ensures proper quality and quantity. The boiler operation can be tuned to suit the specific plant operation when parameters like steam flow, temperature and pressure are monitored online. Maintaining proper drum TDS ensures minimum foaming and water carry over ensuring right steam quality. Feed water temperature, resulting in de-aeration of feed water also helps. One third of the scope of energy conservation in steam systems is right there in the boiler house. - Study of utility costs and savings potential conducted by Forbes Marshall for CII across various industry segments

33%

Boiler efficiency has been a focus at Forbes Marshall for many years. With our knowledge and expertise in steam systems, we have continuously developed products and system for over six decades now. About ten years ago, we started looking at efficiency of steam generation the economics and what it takes to generate the right quantity and quality of steam. What is presented here is what we have learnt from hundreds of boiler houses here in India and abroad. We will cover: Why look at boiler Efficiency? o o o o o Cost of operating a boiler Impact of boiler efficiency on steam generation Scope of energy conservation in boiler house compared to over all potential in steam and condensate loop Todays scenario What has changed over the last decade Savings potential

Calculating boiler efficiency Boiler efficiency measured in real life

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A day, a week and a season in the life of a boiler o Factors affecting boiler efficiency

Practical Standard Operating Practices for improving boiler efficiency Simple & effective tools available for Efficiency Monitoring Case study of a Pharma plant

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Why look at boiler Efficiency? Cost of operating a boiler The cost of buying a new boiler is small compared to the amount of money spent in operating the boiler year on year. This is a known fact and also known is that this expense is governed by boiler efficiency. Although Boiler Efficiency is an important parameter in the boiler specification when buying a new boiler, little attention is given to it once the boiler is steaming. The myth is that the boiler will always continue to generate steam at the rated efficiency. The truth is that one of the most critical parameters in boiler operation is its delivered efficiency in actual operation. We say boiler efficiency is the most critical parameter of boiler operation because every boiler generates steam (its primary function and we have not yet come across a boiler that does not generate steam). What distinguishes one boiler from another is actually at what cost steam is generated. What is your annual fuel bill? Steam being generated 1 TPH 5 TPH 10 TPH 20 TPH Oil fired Boiler Rs. 112 L Rs. 560 L Rs. 1120 L Rs. 2240 L Gas fired Boiler Rs. 111 L Rs. 555 L Rs. 1110 L Rs. 2220 L Solid fuel Boiler Rs. 58 L* Rs. 290 L* Rs. 580 L* Rs. 1160 L*

Cost of Operation Oil / Gas fired boilers

Cost of Operation Solid fuel fired boilers

Basis: Boilers generating steam at 10.5 kg/cm2 pressure with feed water temperature of 60 deg C, operating for 8000 hours per annum. * Actual operating costs of solid fuel fired boiler are substantially more than indicated here due to huge electricity and man power costs involved. Our surveys plant after plant after plant show the true delivered boiler efficiency to be lower by 3% to 12% than rated. And yes, all these plants thought they were getting the rated efficiency, or may be just slightly lower. Usually ignored, the boiler continues running at lower efficiency and consuming much fuel more than it actually should. Data collected from a hundred different boilers show boilers operating at very low efficiencies. This definitely would not been the case had people not thought their boiler were operating efficiently. You would take action if you knew what your boilers efficiency was Would you not? With these huge fuel bills, it is expensive to turn a blind eye to boiler efficiency!!

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Impact of boiler efficiency on steam generation Consider a typical steam and condensate loop. This loop shows the flow of energy through the entire system.

Case 1 Boiler operating Efficiently

Distribution losses 5-7% 85% 80%

Case 2 When Boiler Efficiency drops

Distribution losses 5-7% 75% 70%

100% Input

Boiler

Process

60% Process

100% Input

Boiler

Process

50% Process

Boiler losses 15%

Boiler losses 25%

20% Flash & Condensate

20% Flash & Condensate

So, for 1 Ton steam for process, fuel used equal to 1.67 Ton

So, for 1 Ton steam for process, fuel used equal to 2 Ton!!

The impact of drop in boiler efficiency can be seen in the loop diagram above. The consumption increases by 16 % when the boiler efficiency drops by 10 %. Todays scenario What has changed over the last decade? Consider the fuel prices today and a decade ago. Year 1997 1998 Fuel Furnace oil Natural Gas Coal Year 2007 2008 Fuel Furnace oil Natural Gas Coal Cost Rs. 20 /- per L Rs. 18 /- per Nm3 Rs. 4000 /- per ton Rated efficiency of boiler 84 % 81 % 78 % Fuel cost per ton of steam Rs. 1400 /Rs. 1388 /Rs. 732 /Cost Rs. 8 /- per L Rs. 4.5 /- per Nm3 Rs. 1600 /- per ton Rated efficiency of boiler 84 % 81 % 78 % Fuel cost per ton of steam Rs. 560 /Rs. 347 /Rs. 293 /-

Basis: Boilers generating steam at 10.5 kg/cm2 pressure with feed water temperature of 60 deg C The cost of steam generation has gone up by about 2.5 times in the last decade. The cost of generating steam using a solid fuel fired boiler today is greater than an oil fired boiler ten years ago!

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Why are we talking about it now? Boilers have been steaming for over two hundred years. The cost of fuels has increased significantly in the recent past; the rated boiler efficiency has not! Increasing fuel prices is not a temporary phenomenon but is here to stay. This has pushed up the steam generation costs significantly. Also, the basic instrumentation and practices required to monitor the boiler efficiency has come down during this period. Both these factors put together have made boiler efficiency monitoring economical and beneficial for even small capacity boilers starting from capacities of 1 TPH. Boiler efficiency monitoring has never made so much sense as it does today. If your boiler efficiency is not being measured and optimized, you would have lost Rs. 250 /- in the hour you took to read this write up due to inefficient operations!! And the clock is still ticking!

Savings potential What will you save even if you improve your boilers efficiency by a modest 3 %? Steam being generated 1 TPH 5 TPH 10 TPH 20 TPH Oil fired Boiler Rs. 4.2 L Rs. 21 L Rs. 42 L Rs. 84 L Gas fired Boiler Rs. 4.3 L Rs. 21.5 L Rs. 43 L Rs. 86 L Solid fuel Boiler Rs. 1.68 L Rs. 8.4 L Rs. 16.8 L Rs. 33.6 L

Conclusion: People understand the significance of boiler efficiency when buying a boiler. Boilers are huge fuel consumers. These boilers remain unmonitored when operating, resulting in poor efficiencies. It is necessary to monitor boiler efficiency on a continuous basis. Fuel prices have gone up, instrumentation costs have come down. It is now economical to measure and sustain efficiency of even small process boilers. It pays to monitor your boilers efficiency Savings potential are huge.

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Calculating boiler efficiency Before we move on, we would like to clarify a few concepts in boiler efficiency measurement. Listed here are different ways and norms of measuring efficiency, their advantages and disadvantages.
Typical values of losses

Flow of energy in a boiler

Loss 20 %
Stack Enthalpy Un Burnt

Draft 5 % Steam 70 % Fuel 100 % Burner Boiler Blow down 3 %

Air

Radiation 2 %

Steam to Fuel ratio

S:F SteamGenerated FuelConsumed

Advantages: A good indicator of fuel consumption Simple to measure requires measurement of only two parameters Disadvantages: It is an indicator of boiler performance but is not boiler efficiency. This means that with the same boiler efficiency, you may have different S:F depending on feed water temperature, pressure at which steam is generated and calorific value of fuel. Advantages: Covers all losses that happen Simple measurement requires measurement of only four parameters Disadvantages: Does not give a break up of losses Sensitive to instrument accuracy Needs to be averaged over a period of time

This is simply a ratio of total steam generated to the total fuel consumed.

Direct Efficiency Efficiency SteamGenerated SteamEnthalpy FeedWaterTemperature FuelConsumed GrossCalorificValueOfFuel

Direct Efficiency is a ratio of heat input to heat output.

In-Direct Efficiency
Efficiency 100 ( StackLoss EnthalpyLoss RadiationLoss BlowDownLoss )
In direct efficiency is calculated by measuring individual losses in the boiler and subtracting the sum of these losses from 100.

Advantages: Gives a breakup of all losses Not very sensitive to instrument accuracy Disadvantages: Some losses like draft losses are difficult to measure and are generally not measured.

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Losses in a boiler

1. Stack Losses: This is also known as Dry Flue Gas Loss. This happens Because Combustion Air Enters the boiler at a lower temperature & when going out of stack is heated. the heat carried away by the air is Stack Loss. These occur due to improper Excess air settings & burner modulation. Tuning of burner depending on the load variation can reduce these losses to a large extent.

2. Enthalpy/Moisture losses: This loss depends on Moisture & hydrogen present in the fuel. Hydrogen during combustion converts to water, so the moisture & water present in fuel get evaporated as they are in hot environment. The heat carried away by the moisture is known as Enthalpy Loss. 3. Radiation Losses: This Loss occurs from the surface of the Boiler. Although radiation Loss is fixed, it varies as a percentage depending on the Load of the Boiler. 4. Un-burnt Losses: Any Ash or Incomplete Combustion of Fuel Remaining Unburnt Contributes to this loss. 5. Blow down Losses: When water is removed from boiler to maintain TDS it is replenished by Feed Water which is at lower Temperature. The amount of heat required to heat the Feed water upto the Boiler water temperature is the Blowdown Loss. 6. Draft Loss: When the boiler is turned off because of high pressure (when the steam demand is very low), some air still enters the boiler. This air, as it is surrounded by hot steam, gets heated. The heat carried away by this air is the draft loss.

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Boiler efficiency measured in real life Data collected from a 100 different boilers shows that the Efficiency delivered by the boiler in real life is much lower than the rated efficiency of the boiler. The data is segregated on the basis of fuel type and different industries. In each of these graphs, the X axis shows different boilers. For each of the boiler, its rated efficiency, measured direct efficiency and indirect efficiency is indicated. The difference in direct and indirect efficiency is due to the fact that all the losses in indirect efficiency cannot be measured. In most of these cases, this loss is because of On/Off cycles of boilers resulting in draft losses.

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Conclusion 1
Fuel Difference between Direct and In Direct Efficiency 3% 5.1 % 3.9 % Difference between In direct and Ideal Efficiency 8.2 % 6.7 % 13.2 % Scope for savings (%)

Gas Liquid Solid

11.2 % 11.8 % 17.1 %

No Matter which fuel type you look at, the scope of savings is 10 % to 15 % at least. No boiler is an exception

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Now if you look at boilers where boiler efficiency was being monitored continuously and corrective actions were being taken as required, you see that the gap between delivered efficiency and rated efficiency comes down significantly.

Conclusion 3
Boilers having EffiMax units give better average efficiency The EffiMax data has been compiled from EffiMax reports that we have. Each efficiency value has been reduced by 1.5 % for blowdown loss!!

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Summary Data The data collected from the 100 boilers is summarized in tabular form below. Also indicated in the table are values of different losses that were measured.

Pharma Gas Oil Solids

Direct In Direct Rated Stack Enthalpy Radiation Boiler Efficiency Efficiency Efficiency Loss Loss Loss Capacity 72.4 77.5 82.4 9.7 9.4 1.7 8 69.8 72.2 60.9 72.8 77.3 64.8 81 84 78 10 11.9 16.6 15 7.5 9.5 1.4 2.2 2 6 4 10

Looking further into this data, the savings potential can be separated in terms of the gap between the direct and indirect efficiency (as this difference is due to the losses not measured in indirect efficiency). These losses occur mostly due to the boiler loading patterns and hence need different treatment as compared to other losses. The second gap to be bridged would be the difference between the indirect efficiency and rated efficiency of the boiler. This gap exists because of traditional losses that we know of like stack, enthalpy, radiation, etc.

Pharma Gas Oil Solids

Difference between D & ID ID & Ideal 5.1 4.9 3 8.2 5.1 3.9 6.7 13.2

Scope for Major Loss Improvement Loading 10 11.2 11.8 17.1 High Medium High Medium

Traditional Medium High High High

A day, a week and a season in the life of a boiler Having seen that the delivered boiler efficiency is much lower than the rated, it is now time to look at what happened to all these good boilers. Is it that the manufacturers always claimed facts on paper that were never to be true? Is it that your processes inherently are such that your boiler can never deliver rated efficiency? Is it that your boiler operators are illiterate and you can not really expect anything out of them? Although most of us would tend to relate and agree to the three questions above, they are not correct. Calculating boiler efficiency and manufacturers claming some boiler efficiency on paper is science. The heat released during combustion, the losses that happen during combustion, the heat that is transferred to the boiler, losses that happen from the boiler are all possible to calculate. And they are not wrong. In fact it is practically possible to achieve this efficiency. If you talk about

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process, no matter which industry you belong to, there are always patterns to your plant operation. These have to be identified and you boiler set to cater to this pattern. You would see further various steaming patterns we have seen in different industries. There is a pattern. The final question of knowledge of boiler operators contrary to the myth that they are hopeless, we have learnt more about boiler operation and efficiency from them rather than from books. So why dont they do things to improve efficiency today? Well, they do the most they can by looking at the flame colour, smoke colour, ash colour and all. The fact is that we have not given them eyes to really look at what is happening to boiler efficiency in terms of the required instrumentation. It really does not take much to look at the way boiler is operating, its impact on fuel consumption and set up SOPs for optimal boiler operation for the operator. As you have seen earlier, it is definitely worth the effort you put in. This is the Art of boiler efficiency. Factors affecting boiler efficiency There are many factors that affect the boiler efficiency. It is important to adjust the boiler for these variations regularly to ensure optimum boiler performance. Shift variations Typically in plants, the load on the plant changes from shift to shift. If the boiler response to these load variations is not changed, the efficiency of the boiler drops. The change in settings required can be as simple as changing the firing rate or pressure limits of the boiler. These can be done easily from the boiler control panel itself. These changes are easy to do in either oil, gas or solid fuel fired boilers. A change may also be required in feed water tank level settings as the load may be lower in certain shifts. Also the blow down rate needs to be adjusted to reduce blow down based on TDS and not based on time as the load is low. The combustion system also needs some fine tuning as the day time and night time temperatures may change by 15 to 20 degree C. This variation would affect the excess air setting of the burner and hence dampers may need to be adjusted. Daily variations Load variations may occur from data to day too. Again, the boiler need to be adjusted to cater to this efficiently. Weekly variations As the fuel quality is changing continuously, adjustments need to be made to the combustion system to take care of these variations. In oil or gas fired boilers, the quality of oil being received may vary from tanker to tanker. The moisture content

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in solid fuels changes from time to time and the source of purchase. This change in fuel quality makes adjustments necessary. Seasonal variations Boiler loading pattern is an important factor here too. The production requirement of the plant may be affected by seasonal demands. This calls for adjustments again. In solid fuel fired boilers, the fuel available may change depending on seasons. The ambient air temperatures and humidity will also change from season to season. The combustion system needs adjustment too. Study of different boilers and loading pattern You would have seen from the data presented till now that understanding the loading pattern of the boiler and then setting the boiler up accordingly is one of the key steps in improving boiler efficiency. But is it possible really to ascertain a loading pattern? It is quite possible to decide the boiler operation based on loading patterns. Given below are graphs of steam flow from different Pharma plants and our analysis.

Just an example of an over sized boiler operating at very low loads and not set for it. The efficiency as expected is very poor.

This graph here shows the boiler to be over sized. The load variation is very very small. The burner is still cycling.

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This boiler shows that the load is fairly high and constant at a bulk drug facility.

Practical Standard Operating Practices for improving boiler efficiency Step 1 Steam loading (Setting the Pressure control loop right) Step 2 Combustion losses (Setting the Air to fuel ratio right) Step 3 Blowdown (ABCO) Gets affected by FW TDS, CRR, TDS Setpoint, Boiler loading Monitoring as a loss with others Critical parameters TDS, FW temperature Losses Blow down Having done step one, this can be done fairly easily. Not only this, the first step HAS to be done before attempting this for any meaningful output Critical parameters Stack oxygen, temperature & steam temperature Losses Combustion Boiler loading plays an important role in varying boiler efficiency The loading pattern can be well defined for most processes Setting of boiler control loops as per this data is needed Critical parameters Steam flow and pressure (temperature) There is no other way to do this. Losses ON / Off, Combustion, Radiation (In multiple boilers)

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The boiler Efficiency improvement ladder Bridging the gaps. Gap 1 - Direct efficiency of 72 % & Indirect efficiency of 78 % Chimney draft loss during stand by Loss due to cold air purging during start up cycles & during stand by On\Off cycles of the burner. These are losses that are generally not measured and are very small in magnitude if the boiler is operated continuously. These factors play an important role if the boiler load is low or varying a lot. By monitoring the steam flow patterns over a period of time, the peak and low load demands can be easily mapped out. EffiMax provides graphs & reports of such parameters based on which corrective action like operating with a different nozzle size or on low fire continuously can be taken. All the boiler efficiency products generate data critical for reducing fuel consumption and also keep a check on the process itself. Gap 2 - Average indirect efficiency of 78% and the best indirect efficiency of 84% Improper tuning of burner. This gap can be bridged easily by monitoring the stack oxygen and temperature on a regular basis.

The boiler loading and variations in fuel firing rate also play an important role in burner combustion. The burner tuning needs regular adjustments because of variation in fuel quality and burner nozzle condition too. Bridging this gap does not mean investing in expensive control system but by simply monitoring and making slight adjustment to the excess air in the burner result in good burner performance. The EffiMax provides this data by stack Oxygen & temperature measurement. It also provides reports & graphs of variation in O2 which are required for taking the right corrective action.

Gap 3 - Minimum direct efficiency of 61 % and maximum indirect efficiency of 84 % Bridged when all boiler operating parameters in terms of regular tuning, load management on the boiler, feed water temperature, etc. in the boiler house is done regularly

Maintaining the correct level in the feed water tank for better feed water temperature

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Simple & effective measurement of boiler efficiency Direct Efficiency - EffiMax 1000 The EffiMax 1000 provides Real time Efficiency measurement for the boiler by the Direct Method. This compact system measures the steam and fuel flow, steam and feed water temperature to compute the S:F ratio and Direct Efficiency. Designed keeping in mind the small boiler house, where elaborate instrumentation is not commercially justified, the EffiMax 1000 provides powerful diagnostics through a PC based software where all the parameters are displayed, trended, logged and reported. This system can be used for oil, gas or FBC boilers.

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In Direct Efficiency - EffiMax 2000 This first packaged Total Boiler Efficiency Monitoring system incorporates every important parameter into one package: flue gas O2 levels, stack gas temperature, blow down losses, radiation losses, feed water temperature and density compensated steam flow rate. With these inputs EffiMax calculates your boilers absolute efficiency in general accordance with British Standards recommendation BS845. This calculation is then compared to your boiler manufacturers stated optimum efficiency to determine overall performance. The EffiMax 2000 can be installed on any type of boiler. The system generates various forms of output like tabular log, graphical representation, alarms and preventive maintenance tips.

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Diagnostics The way to go All the boiler efficiency products generate data critical for reducing fuel consumption and also keep a check on the process itself. Here are a few examples of how reports generated are helpful in fine tuning the boiler and also making energy conservation decisions.

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Case Study of a Pharma plant using an Oil fired boiler. Data collected from site:

Findings in the reports: Low Steam load leads Frequent on/off cycles of burners delivering low S:F ratio between 11 to 12 Constant Steam load can maintain Steam:Fuel ratio between 14 to 15. Average, Minimum and Maximum values:

Corrective action required for sustained Boiler Efficiency between 81% to 83% Looking at the Steam flow graph better efficiency can be achieved by loading boiler above 550 Kg/hr (because of Burner Turn down) Boiler has 2TPH capacity but the load has never exceeded 580Kg/hr. Looking at the Direct Efficiency graph we recommend to change burner nozzle to lower size or to manually fire the burner at low fire to ensure reduction in frequent ON/OFF of the burner which is the major culprit for drastically reducing the efficiency The boiler is normally running at very low steam pressures. This will result in wet steam and hence more steam being consumed by the process.

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The boiler pressure switch settings should be changed to ensure steam is generated between 8 10 kg/cm2. STEAM : Steam STEAM PARAMETRS Load MAXIMUM MINIMUM AVERAGE 0.58 0.04 0.32 7.4 2 5.17 FEED 98 46 75.72 WATER FUEL 15.3 11.1 12.93 DIRECT 83.6 63.3 73.78 PRESSURE TEMPERATURE RATIO EFFICIENCY

S team Pres s ure

6.0 4.0 2.0

Efficiency

82 62 42 22

Steam Flow 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

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