Compiled by Dr.

Sumanta Banerjee, Mechanical Engineering Department

BOILER ACCESSORIES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

INTRODUCTION: Boiler accessories are auxiliary components required to increase the overall efficiency of the
steam power plant. The various boiler accessories are: (1) Economizer; (2) Air preheater; (3) Superheater; and (4)
Water feeding equipments.

ECONOMIZER: The economizer usefully extracts the waste heat of the chimney gases to preheat the (feed) water
before it is fed into the boiler. Preheating of the boiler feed water offers the following advantages: (1) significant fuel
savings, as the waste heat from flue gases preheats the feed water; (2) significant reduction in boiler corrosion and
pitting through removal of dissolved air and , achieved by preheating the feed water; (3) lesser thermal strains in
the boiler plates, as the feed water enters the boiler at a higher temperature; (4) circulation of the working fluid (i.e.
water) is better maintained, as quicker evaporation rates are possible with preheated feed water; (5) improvement of
overall efficiency of plant through reduction in fuel consumption.

A Green’s economizer commonly

used in the Lancashire boiler is
shown in Fig.1. The economizer
consists of vertical cast iron pipes
which are fitted with two headers,
one at the bottom and other at the
top . The feed water is passed
through the bottom header,
economizer pipes, and top header,
and then on to the boiler. The hot
gases pass over the external surface
of the water tubes. The heat from the
hot gases is given to the feed water
through the tube surface. A safety
valve is fitted on the top header for
the safety of the pipes against any
high pressure of water that may be
developed outside of design limits. A
blow-off valve is fitted at the lowest
point of the economizer to discharge
the sediments collected from the
Figure 1: Green Economizer
feed water.

To prevent the deposition of soot from the flue gases

over the economizer tubes, a set of scrapers is fitted
over the pipes (see Fig.1). This is necessary as the
deposition of the soot drastically reduces the heat
flow rate from the gases to the water. The soot is
removed by moving the scrapers over the pipes up
and down continuously with the help of chain-and-
gear arrangement. The soot removed from the pipe is
collected in the soot chamber situated below the
bottom header and removed periodically. Figure
1(A) depicts the detailed flow circuit of flue gases and
water for clarity.

The temperature of the feed water should not

be less than because there is a danger of
corrosion of the outer surfaces of the cold pipe due to
(a) condensation of moisture, and (b) contained
Figure 1(A): Green Economizer with detailed flow circuit in the flue gases.

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 Compiled by Dr. Sumanta Banerjee, Mechanical Engineering Department
By-pass arrangement for the (hot) furnace gases must always be provided in order that the economizer may
be put out of action, when necessary, for repair or inspection.

AIR PREHEATER: The air preheater, like the economizer, recovers some portion of the waste heat of the flue gases.
Air supplied to the combustion chamber is preheated by using the heat in the waste flue gases. The air preheater is
placed after the economizer and before the gases enters the chimney.

The preheating of air offers the following advantages: (1) waste heat from the flue gases is recovered for
heating air, reducing fuel consumption by about for each drop in (flue) gas temperature; (2) inferior
grades of coal can be burnt efficiently with preheated air; (3) more efficient combustion and flame production
achieved in furnace, leading to enhanced evaporation rates.

Air preheater can be classified as tubular type, stationary-plate regenerative type, and rotating-plate
regenerative type. Figures 2(A)-2(C) depict the three types diagrammatically.

Figure 2(B): Stationary-plate regenerative air

Figure 2(A): Tubular type air preheater
preheater

In tubular type, the hot flue gases pass through the

tubes and air is forced to flow over the tubes. Ambient air
is forced by a fan through ducting at one end of the
preheater tubes and, at other end, the heated air from
inside of the tubes emerges into another set of ducting,
which carries it to the boiler furnace for combustion.

In the stationary-plate regenerative type, the heating

plate elements installed in a casing are stationary (rather
than rotating). Instead, the air ducts in the preheater are
rotated so as to alternately expose sections of the heating
plate elements to the up-flowing cool air. As indicated in
Fig. 2(B), there are rotating inlet air ducts at the bottom
of the stationary plates similar to the rotating outlet air
ducts at the top of the stationary plates.

In the rotating-plate regenerative type, a wire mesh

rotor is alternately heated by the flue gases and then
Figure 2(C): Rotating-plate regenerative air preheater cooled by the air. As a result, the air is heated. The rotor
itself is the medium of heat transfer in this system, and is
usually composed of some form of steel and/or ceramic

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 Compiled by Dr. Sumanta Banerjee, Mechanical Engineering Department
structure.

It rotates quite slowly (around ) to allow optimum heat transfer, first from the hot exhaust gases to the
element, and then, as the latter rotates, from the element to the cooler air.

A constructional details of the tubular type air preheater, commonly used in smaller boiler plants, is now discussed
(refer to Fig. 2(A)). The hot gases are passed through the tubes and air circulates around them. Air is forced to deflect
by using baffles, as shown in Fig. 2(A), and compelled to move in zigzag path for a number of times. This increases the
period of contact between the air and hot surface. Air is, therefore, effectively heated. The soot and other material
carried with gases are collected in the hopper at the bottom and removed periodically through the soot gate.

SUPERHEATER: Superheaters are used in boilers to increase the temperature of the steam above its saturation
temperature. This is done by passing the steam through a small set of tubes, and hot gases over them. Superheated
steam is absolutely essential for power generation.

The advantages of superheated steam generation are as follows: (1) reduction of specific steam consumption in
engines and turbines; (2) reduction in conduction losses in pipes and engine cylinders; (3) minimization of pitting of
turbine blades in the last stages as a result of reduced quality; (4) enhanced efficiency of power plant.

The superheater commonly used in the

Lancashire boiler is as shown in Fig. 4. This
superheater consists of two headers and a
set of superheater tubes made of high
quality steel in the form of a U-tube. The
superheater is located in the path of furnace
gases where the temperature (of the gases)
is not less than . The superheater is
located just before the gases enter the
bottom flue.

The mass flow rate of hot furnace gases

passed over the superheater tubes should be
in proportion to the mass flow rate of
superheated steam passing through the
tubes. Otherwise, the tubes should be
overheated. In order to avoid this, the flow
Figure 3: Superheater conduit of hot gases can be diverted, as
shown in Fig. 3. The superheater is put out
of action by turning the damper upward to
the vertical position.

In this position of the damper, the gases coming out from the central flue pass directly into the bottom flue without
passing over the superheater tubes.

The arrangement for getting superheated or wet steam is shown in Fig. 3. For getting superheated steam, the
valves and are opened; valve is kept closed. The damper is kept open as per the mass flow rate of steam
flowing through the pipe. For this position, the flow direction of the steam is shown in Fig. 3. If wet steam in required,
both the valves and and the gas damper are kept closed, and valve is kept open. In this case, the steam directly
comes out from the boiler through the valve . By adjusting the gas damper position, the temperature of the steam
coming out of the superheater is always maintained constant irrespective of the amount of steam passing through the
superheater.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: This study material has been prepared from standard textbooks and web-based resources.
This is intended for senior undergraduate students taking a course in Thermal & Power/Power Plant Engineering.

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