04/06/2024

COMBUSTION PRINCIPLE
& FLUE GAS CALCULATION
_______________________________________________________________

Prepared & Presented By :

Youdhiyan Prasetyo
(Indonesian Thermal Engineer)
[email protected]
+62-811886021

Presentation for the :

Combustion Analysis Training
PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Combustion Principle & Flue Gas Calculation Youdhiyan Prasetyo © 2024 1/34
PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

Disclaimer (by Youdhiyan Prasetyo) :

All sources (technical data and/or documents,

by respectfull permission to the Alstom Power,
Babcock & Wilcox, Foster Wheeler, and my
personal copyrights) have mentioned already
in the former presentation which titled
“Fluidized Bed Boiler Analysis Highlights -
Eng, Design, O&M”

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

As an illustration
and example only

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

As an illustration
and example only

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

As an illustration
and example only

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As an illustration
PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

and example only

As an illustration
and example only

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

As an illustration
and example only

Combustion Principle & Flue Gas Calculation Youdhiyan Prasetyo © 2024 7/34
PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

Furnace Residence Time

Point at Flame Quench Zone

which
combustion
should be
completed

As an illustration
and example only

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
What is combustion ?
Combustion, or burning, is the combination of
Oxygen with Fuel, resulting in the release of
Heat

As an illustration
and example only

Combustion Principle & Flue Gas Calculation Youdhiyan Prasetyo © 2024 9/34
PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

What is a Flame ?

Flame Front
Combustion reaction occurs
at a rate the produces
visible radiation, fuel-air
mixture and combustion
process.

Flame Envelope
Contour along which the As an illustration
combustion starts, dividing and example only
line between the fuel-air
mixture and the combustion
process.

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
Flame Safeguarding
Definition

A system which is detects the presence

or absence of a flame in burner in order
to prevent uncontrolled combustion.

Every Burner
Needs A Detector !!!

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

Types of Radiation in
Combustion

As an illustration
and example only

UV = least available (1%).

Visible = 10% of flame.

Infrared = 90% of flame.

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
Flame Discrimination Defined

Background Flame

Target Flame

As an illustration Field of View

and example only

Detector

DISCRIMINATION :
The ability to distinguish the target flame from all other flames
in the furnace and the Background

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

Applications of the
Combustion Equation
Stoichiometric proportions for finding the correct
air supply rate for a fuel.
Composition of the combustion products is useful
during the design, commissioning and routine
maintenance of a boiler installation.
On-site measurements of flue gas composition and
temperature are used as a basis for calculating the
efficiency of the boiler at routine maintenance
intervals.

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Combustion Air Requirements

PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
: Gaseous Fuels
Calculating the air required for gaseous fuels
combustion is most convenient to work on a
volumetric basis.

The stoichiometric combustion reaction of methane

is :
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
which shows that each volume (normally 1 m3) of
methane requires 2 volumes of oxygen to complete
its combustion.

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

If we ignore the components which are present in

the parts per million range, air consists of about
0.9% by volume argon, 78.1% nitrogen and 20.9%
oxygen (ignoring water vapor). Carbon dioxide is
present at 0.038%.

For the purposes of combustion calculations the

composition of air is approximated as a simple
mixture of oxygen and nitrogen :

oxygen 21%
nitrogen 79%

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
Flue Gas Composition
: Gaseous Fuels
The composition of the stoichiometric combustion
products of methane is:

1 volume CO2
7.52 volumes N2
2 volumes H2O

Given a total product volume, per volume of fuel

burned, of 10.52 if water is in the vapor phase, or
8.52 if the water is condensed to a liquid.

The two cases are usually abbreviated to “wet” and

“dry”.

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

The proportion of carbon dioxide in this mixture is

therefore
1
100% = 9.51% wet and
10.52
1
100% = 11.74% dry
8.52

The instruments used to measure the composition

of flue gases remove water vapor from the mixture
and hence give a dry reading, so the dry flue gas
composition is usually of greater usefulness.

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Considering the combustion of methane with 20%

PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
excess air, the excess air (0.2×9.52) of 1.9 volumes
will appear in the flue gases as (0.21×1.9) = 0.4 vol
of oxygen and (1.9-0.4)=1.5 volumes of nitrogen.

The complete composition will be:

constituent vol/vol methane

CO2 1
O2 0.4
N2 9.02
H2O 2

giving a total product volume of 12.42 (wet) or

10.42 (dry).

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

As an illustration
and example only

The resulting composition of the flue gases,

expressed as percentage by volume, is:

Constituent % vol (dry) % vol (wet)

CO2 9.6 8.1
O2 3.8 3.2
N2 86.6 72.6
H2O – 16.1

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Combustion Air Requirements

PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
: Solid and Liquid Fuels
The way in which the combustion equation is used
reflects the available information on the analysis of
the solid or liquid fuels.

This takes the form of an element-by-element

analysis (referred to as an ultimate analysis) which
gives the percentage by mass of each element
present in the fuel.

An example of an ultimate analysis of a liquid fuel

(oil) might be :

Component % by mass
Carbon (C) 86
Hydrogen(H2) 14

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Each constituent is considered separately via its own

PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

combustion equation.

For the carbon:

C + O2 → CO2
12kg 32kg 44kg
or for 1 kg of fuel
32 44
0.86 + 0.86  → 0.86  (kg)
12 12
So each kg of oil requires 2.29 kg oxygen for
combustion of its carbon and produces 3.15 kg CO2
as product.

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
Similarly
H2 + ½ O2 → H2O
2kg 16kg 18kg
or per kg of fuel

16 18
0.14 + 0.14  → 0.14  (kg)
2 2
In order to burn the hydrogen content of the oil 1.
12 kg oxygen are needed and 1.26 kg water is
formed.

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

The total oxygen requirement is thus (2.29 + 1.12)

or 3.41 kg.

A given quantity of air consists of 21% by volume

of oxygen.

We can simply transform to a mass basis thus:

Component vol fraction(vf) vf × MW Mass fraction

6.72
Oxygen 0.21 6.72 = 0.233
28.84
Nitrogen 0.79 22.12 22.12
= 0.767
28.84

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

We can now establish that 3.41 kg oxygen, which is

the stoichiometric requirement, will be associated
with:
0.767
3.41 = 11.23 kg nitrogen
0.233
The stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio is thus
3.41 + 11.23 = 14.64 : 1

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

Combustion Products
: Solid and Liquid Fuels
The stoichiometric combustion products
from combustion of the oil are:

CO2 3.15 kg
H2O 1.26 kg
N2 11.23 kg

The combustion products would normally be

needed as a volume percentage, so the reverse
operation to that which was performed for air
above is required.

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
Combustion Calculation for a Coal.
An example of coal has the following ultimate
analysis:
% by mass
Carbon 90
Hydrogen 3
Oxygen 2.5
Nitrogen 1
Sulfur 0.5
Ash 3

Calculate:
(a) the volumetric air supply rate required if 500
kg/h of coal is to be burned at 20% excess air.
(b) the resulting %CO2 (dry) by volume in the
combustion products.

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Solution:
PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

Lay out the calculation on a tabular basis using 1 kg coal:

Mass (per kg) O2 Required Products
Carbon 0.9 32
0.9  = 2.4 0.9 
44
= 3.3
12 12

16 18
Hydrogen 0.03 0.03  = 0.24 0.03  = 0.27
2 2

32 64
0.005  = 0.005 0.005  = 0.01
Sulfur 0.005 32 32

Oxygen 0.025 -0.025 -

Nitrogen 0.01 - 0.01
Ash 0.03 - -

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training (a) Oxygen required to burn 1 kg coal
= 2.4 + 0.24 + 0.005 - 0.025 = 2.62 kg.

Air required =
2.62
= 11.25 kg
0.233
Actual air supplied = 11.25 × 1.2 = 13.5 kg
Assuming a density for air of 1.2 kg/m3, the flow
rate will be:
500
13.5  = 1.56 m3 /s
1.2  3600

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

(b) To get the %CO2 in the combustion products

we need to know the amounts of oxygen and
nitrogen in the flue gases.

Air supplied = 13.5 kg per kg coal, of which

oxygen is 13.5 × 0.233 = 3.14 kg, and
nitrogen 13.5 – 3.14 = 10.36 kg.

The combustion products will thus contain:

3.14 – 2.62 = 0.52 kg O2 and

10.36 + 0.01 = 10.37 kg N2.

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

A second tabular procedure can now be used for the volumetric composition
of the flue gases :

Product Mass/kg coal Mol. Wt. kmoles/kg coal % volume

CO2 3.3 44 0.075=(3.3/44) 16.25=(0.075/0.4614)
SO2 0.01 64 0.000156 0.03
O2 0.52 32 0.0162 3.51
N2 10.37 28 0.37 80.20
0.4614

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)
Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training

Solution (Design Coal) :

Lay out the calculation on a tabular basis using 1 kg coal :
Mass O2 Required Products
C = 0.4211 0.4211 x (32/12) = 1.1229 0.4211 x (44/12) = 1.5440
H2 = 0.0352 0.0352 x (16/2) = 0.2816 0.0352 x (18/2) = 0.3168
S = 0.0111 0.0111 x (32/32) = 0.0111 0.0111 x (64/32) = 0.0222
O2 = 0.1247 - 0.1247 0
N2 = 0.0070 - 0.0070 + 4.2494 = 4.2564
Ash = 0.0500 - As an illustration
-
and example only
TM = 0.3500 - -

O2 required = (1.1229 + 0.2816 + 0.0111 – 0.1247) = 1.2909;

N2 = 1.2909 x (76.7 / 23.3) = 4.2494;

Stoich Air Ratio = 1.2909 + 4.2494 = 5.5403

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PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Presentation for the :
Combustion Analysis Training
As an
TCF = 79.65 tph; HHV = 4,000 kcal/kg; MCR Load illustration
= 110 MWe; Assume O2 = 3%;
(A/F) stoich = 5.5403 : 1; and example only

Stoich Air Flow = 79.65 x 5.5403 = 441.28 tph;

PA Flow = 60% x 441.28 = 264.77 tph = (264.77 : 1.16) x 0.939 = 214.33 kNm3/h;
SA Flow = 40% x 441.28 = 176.51 tph = (176.51 : 1.16) x 0.939 = 142.88 kNm3/h;
%EA = (%O2 : (21 - %O2)) x 100% = (3 : (21-3)) x 100% = 16.67%;

TAF ratio = 5.5403 x 1.1667 = 6.4639;

EAF = 16.67% x 441.28 = 73.56 tph = (73.56 : 1.16) x 0.939 = 59.54 kNm3/h;
TAF = Stoich AF + EAF = 441.28 + 73.56 = 514.84 tph
= (514.84 : 1.16) x 0.939 = 416.75 kNm3/h;

PA Fan Flow = 214.33 kNm3/h; SA Fan Flow = 202.42 kNm3/h

Heat Input = TCF x CV = [79.65 tph] x [4,000 kcal/kg]

= [79.65 x (1000:3600) kg/s] x [4,000 x 4.1868 kJ/kg]
= [22.125 kg/s] x [16,747.2 kJ/kg]
= 370,531.8 kJ/s; (note 1 J/s = 1 W)
= 370,531.8 kWe = 370,53 MWe

Thermal Eff = Output : Input = [110 : 370.53] x 100% = 29.69%

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Presentation for the :

Combustion Analysis Training
PLTU Tenayan Unit 1-2 (June 2024)

Thank You……..

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