Design Practices of Solid Fuel fired boilers

Design Practices of Solid Fuel fired boilers

Doc No: DP/SF/01 Rev0

Author: K Narasimha Rao

Last Update: Draft

Page 1 Doc No: DP/SF/01 Rev0

Design Practices of Solid Fuel fired boilers

Contents

Title Page No

Foreword 3

Boiler Rating and Efficiency 4

Velocities 5

Combustion 6

Furnace 7

Inbed Coils 10

Water wall Panel 12

Convective bank 13

Heat Transfer 14

Material of Construction 15

Feed water system 16

Chimney 17

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Design Practices of Solid Fuel fired boilers

Foreword
The purpose of this manual is to document the best design practices adopted for Solid fuel fired boilers.

Also it aims at bringing uniformity in design by setting common guidelines that can be followed by a team of
boiler design professionals.

This manual shall be regularly revised/updated inline with feedbacks given by design engineers, factory and
site from time to time.

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Boiler Rating and Efficiency

Boiler Rating

Process boilers are rated based on steam generation from and at 100°C ie. the enthalpy required to convert
1 kg of water to 1 kg of steam at 100°C. This enthalpy is 540 kcal / kg for water.

The heat duty of a 1TPH saturated steam boiler is 540 x 1000 = 5,40,000 kcal / hr

In terms of power, 5,40,000 kcal/hr = 628 KW

Boiler Efficiency

The boiler efficiency is calculated by an Indirect method. In this method all the thermal losses of the fuel fired
and the flue gas generated are calculated to arrive at the Boiler efficiency.

The losses calculated in the Indirect method are listed below:

1) Dry Flue gas losses: Enthalpy loss of dry flue gas leaving chimney/stack

2) H2 & Fuel moisture losses: Water vapour is generated from H2 combustion and fuel moisture.
Enthalpy losses of this water vapour in flue gases leaving chimney/stack is H2 & Fuel moisture
losses

3) Air moisture losses: Water vapour which are generated from air moisture. Enthalpy losses of this
water vapour in flue gases leaving chimney/stack is Air moisture losses

4) Unburnt losses: This is the unburnt fuel losses are calculated from ash analysis

5) Radiation losses: These are the total of losses from boiler insulation. Normally this is considered to
be 1.5% to 2%

Boiler blowdown losses are accounted in some cases, though it is not a regular practice

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Velocities

Velocities across different zones and circuits of the boiler shall be as per the below guideline:

Bed Velocities:
Over bed firing: 1.5 to 1.8 m/sec
Under bed firing: 2.2 to 2.5 m/sec

Flue gas velocities:

Fire tube: 15 to 22 m/sec
Water tube: 15 to 20 m/sec
Ducting: 12 to 15 m/sec

Air velocities:
FBC nozzles: 40 to 45 m/sec
Ducting: 12 to 15 m/sec
Fuel conveying pipes: 15 to 20 m/sec

Water velocities:
Boiler Feed water Piping: 1.5 to 2 m/sec

Steam velocities:
Saturated Steam Piping: 25 to 30 m/sec

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Combustion
Boiler Efficiencies:
Over bed firing: 82 + 2 %
Under bed firing: 84 + 2 %
Bubbling Bed Combustion: 80 + 2 %

Inbed combustion:
Below are values of proportionate bed combustion of the fuel. The remaining combustion is considered in
freeboard / suspension inside the furnace.

Husk Over bed firing: 60 %

Husk Under bed firing: 70%

Coal Over bed firing: 80 %

Coal Under bed firing: 85%

Petcoke Under bed firing: 90%

Bubbling Bed Combustion:

This design is used for agrowaste fuels with more suspension combustion/ burning and less inbed
combustion.
The bed coils are removed and the fluidizing nozzle quantity is increased to suit higher excess air levels

Fuels for Bubbling Bed combustion:

1) Wood chips & Saw dust
2) Paddy Husk
3) Groundnut Husk/Shell
4) Agrowaste pellets

Furnace Draft:
-2 to -5 mmWC for all AFBC balance draft boilers
100 to 150mmWC for all forced draft boilers

Stoichiometric & Excess Air:

When fuel and oxygen from the air are in perfect balance, the air supplied is said to be stoichiometric air.
To ensure complete combustion of the fuel and to control the furnace temperature, combustion chambers are
supplied with excess air. Excess air increases the amount of oxygen to the combustion of fuel and also cools
the furnace temperature.

% Excess air
Air Oxygen
9.5 2.0
15 3.0
28.1 5.0
44.9 7.0
81.6 10.0

Excess air to achieve highest possible efficiency for some

 5 - 10% for natural gas

 5 - 20% for fuel oil
 15 - 60% for coal
Carbon dioxide - CO2 - is a combustion product and the content of CO2 in a flue gas is an important
indication of the combustion efficiency.
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Design Practices of Solid Fuel fired boilers

Excess air table for different combustion methods:

% Excess air % Excess air

FBC Over bed and underbed firing 30% to 40%
Bubbling bed & Moving grate 50 to 80%
Stationary grate 60% to 90%

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Furnace

The furnace is sized based on bed velocity, residence time and heat transfer area required for achieving the
desired furnace outlet temperature

Furnace Residence Time: 2 to 3 seconds

Desired furnace outlet temperature for saturated steam boilers is 800 to 900°C. This range is considered
based on the fouling nature of the fuel ash.

Table of Furnace dimensions for FBC boilers

FURNACE - FBC with Inbed coils
INPUT DATA
HBF- HBF- HBF-
FURNACE DIMENSIONS HBF-6TPH HBF-8TPH 10TPH 12TPH 15TPH FURNACE DIMENSIONS
Furnace Type Type II Type II Type I Type I Type I  
DIMN. `A' 1800 2000 2390 2750 3130 DIMN. `A'
DIMN. `B' 1500 1800 2100 2200 2350 DIMN. `B'
DIMN. `C' 800 800 1000 1000 1000 DIMN. `C'
DIMN. `D'     1080 1250 1450 DIMN. `D'
DIMN. `E 2340 2340 2340 2340 2340 DIMN. `E'
DIMN. `F---MPA WIDTH---- 2400 2600 2990 3350 3730 DIMN. `F'---MPA WIDTH----
DIMN. `G---STR HEIGHT--- 2000 2000 2500 2500 3000 DIMN. `G---STR HEIGHT---
DIMN. `H' 4680 4680 5680 5930 6680 DIMN. `H'
DIMN. `I' 2100 2350 2500 2700 2800 DIMN. `I'
DIMN. `J---MPA HEIGHT--- 2500 2500 3000 3250 3500 DIMN. `J---MPA HEIGHT---
DIMN. `K 2530 2830 3330 3430 3580 DIMN. `K
DIMN. `L' 350 375 400 425 450 DIMN. `L'
RESULTS            
1)Cold plane area of MPA
1)Cold plane area of MPA (m2) 15.14 17.27 24.40 27.56 31.34 (m2)
2)Cold plane area of SHELL 2)Cold plane area of SHELL
(m2) 1.41 1.70 1.85 1.87 2.16 (m2)
3)Total cold plane area (m2) 16.56 18.97 26.25 29.42 33.49 3)Total cold plane area (m2)
4)Main bed area (m2) 2.70 3.60 4.54 5.50 6.82 4)Main bed area (m2)
5)Front wall area (m2) 7.79 8.46 12.41 14.73 18.86 5)Front wall area (m2)
6)Rear wall area (m2) 2.87 2.78 5.75 7.05 10.27 6)Rear wall area (m2)
7)Side walls area-2Nos.(m2) 5.42 6.49 10.90 11.36 15.62 7)Side walls area-2Nos.(m2)
8)Total furnace area 3+4+5+6+7 8)Total furnace area
(m2) 35.34 40.30 59.84 68.06 85.06 3+4+5+6+7 (m2)
9)Furnace volume (m3) 17.91 22.16 39.17 48.40 65.38 9)Furnace volume (m3)

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Inbed Coils

Bed coils are sized based on proportion of fuel combustion in the bed, excess air level and the desired bed
temperature for sustainable combustion.
A higher bed area may result in low bed temperature and unsustainable bed combustion, where as a lower
bed area may result in higher bed temperature and ash fusion/clinker formation in the bed.

A sample calculation is presented below:

Boiler capacity = 6000 kg/hr

Coal firing rate = 6000 x 540 / 0.82 x 4500 (4500 kcal/kg GCV coal with 82% efficiency)
=878 kg/hr
In bed combustion = 85% (considering underbed feeding)
Heat released in bed at 85% combustion = 0.85 x 4500 x 878 x 0.96 = 3110400 kcal/kg ---(1)
Desired bed temperature = 850°C
Total flue gas in the bed at 30% excess air = 8.072 x 878 = 7088 kg/hr
Enthalpy of flue gas at 850°C = 7088 x 0.28 x (850-40) = 1607558 ---(2)
Heat to be absorbed by bed coil = 3110400 – 1607558 = 1502842 ---(1) - (2)
Bed area required = 1502842 / (220 x (850-225)) ie A = Q / (h x dT) = 10.92 m2

This bed area is the effective bed area that shall be immersed within 1200mm height from the air nozzle
distributor plate.

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Water wall Panel

Water wall panel is sized considering the combustion of the fuel outside the inbed coils, the flue gas
temperature leaving the fluidized bed and the desired outlet temperature of the furnace.

Normally 20 to 40% of the steam generation is in the water wall panel. This may increase upto to 60% in
power boilers without bed coil.

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Convective Bank
Convective banks are sized based on the flue gas velocity, the temperature to be achieved after each pass
of the tube bank and the desired pressure drop across the convective bank

Convective bank parameters:

flue gas velocity
the temperature after each pass of the tube bank
the desired pressure drop across the convective bank is100 mmWC

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Heat Transfer

Overall Heat Transfer co-efficients

Fluidized Bed zone: 200 to 220 kcal/hrm2°C
Radiant zone: 70 to 75 kcal/hrm2°C
Convective zone: 40 to 45 kcal/hrm2°C
Heat Recovery Zone: 18 to 22 kcal/hrm2°C

Temperature Profile
Fluidized Bed Temperature: 800 to 850°C
Outlet of Radiant zone: 700 to 850°C
Outlet of Convective zone: 250 to 300°C
Outlet of Heat Recovery Zone: 150 to 180°C

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Design Practices of Solid Fuel fired boilers

Material of Construction
Pressure Parts
1) Tubes: BS3059 Part I & II ERW
2) Plate: SA 516 Gr 70
3) Pipes & Nozzles: SA106 Gr B
4) Flanges: SA105
5) Gaskets: Spiral wound SS304 / Compressed Asbestos Free(CAF)

Note: S No 1 to 4 shall be IBR certified

Non Pressure Parts

Structural: IS 2062 Gr 250 BR
Fire & Ash Doors: Cast Iron

Bought Outs:
Valves: Cast Steel
Pumps: CI or SS body with SS impeller

Electrical and Instrumentation

Control Panel: CRCA with IP42 protection

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Feed Water System

Feed water tank:
The height of the NWL in the Feed water tank from the Feed water pump suction is the NPSH available (see
figure below)

NPSH(Avl) shall be greater than the NPSH required at the Feed water pump inlet + the Suction piping losses
from Feed water tank to Feed water pump suction.

Capacity of the tank shall be 1 hour of the maximum or 3 times the capacity of Water level in the boiler
between the Pump On and OFF levels whichever is higher.

However for higher capacity boilers with Single element Drum level control, the storage capacity is 20
minutes of maximum steam flow rating of the boiler.

Boiler Feed Water Pump Sizing:

Flow rate of the pump:
Flow of the pump shall be 15% more than the maximum steam flow rate of the boiler
Ie. if maximum steam flow is 1000kg/hr, Feed water pump flow rate shall be 1150kg/hr

Head of the pump:

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Chimney
Chimney Sizing:

Chimney is sized based on 12m/sec velocity at exit ie. the top diameter.

For a quick calculation, 85% of ID fan flow may be considered as flue gas volume, eg. For ID fan flow of
10,000 cmh, 8500cmh may be considered as flue gas flow into chimney.

Accordingly Chimney top diameter Dt shall be Sqrt(8500 / (12 x 3600 x 0.785) )

The standard height of the chimney is 30 mtrs.

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