IMPROVING FIRED HEATER EFFICIENCY

James E. Shriver
The Foxboro Company
Foxboro, Massachusetts
ABSTRACr:
To reduce the amount of purchased fuels, more
The Foxboro Company has devised a way of
and more plants are making use of in-plant
converting a field proven mass flow measurement to
generated sources of off gases. The availability
a mass Btu measurement. The controls match the
of such waste gases is usually not constant, thus
process fluid side Btu requirements for proper
the total plant's mixed gas heating value swings
temperature control with the required amount of
accordingly. When this mixed gas is fed to the
combustion air flow for maximum efficiency.
furnaces or boilers that are on strictly
Safety and reliability are not compromised in
volumetric flow control loops, it causes large
achieving the desired results.
upsets in the heat release rate, even at a
constant flow. These upsets, in turn, cause
Closed loop control of excess air by flue gas
changes in process temperatures and/or pressures,
sensors is incorporated into the strategy to
resulting in off-specification products and air
improve efficiency with less operator attention.
pollution violations, and may even cause damage to
On natural draft furnaces without any direct
equipment. The tendency is to operate routinely
automatic control over the forced draft fan speed
at a high excess air level, resulting in a much
or damper, satisfactory control is achieved within
lower overall efficiency, or to even flare the gas.
the safety limits by manipulating the stack damper.
For many fuel gases, the heating value per
An overall knowledge of the process side
standard unit volume varies linearly with the mass
requirements, improved combustion efficiency
per standard unit volume. Perhaps a lesser
techniques, and operation of the heater are needed
realized fact is that the air required for
to fully optimize the integrated control system.
combustion of 1000 Btu (net) heat release is
almost independent of fuel molecular weight.
This paper will describe the details of a
The combustion characteristics for some
technique developed by The Foxboro Company to
gaseous fuels are shown in Table I. The first and
measure the incoming fuel gas total Btu content by
second columns indicate that the net heating value
using a differential pressure transmitter and
(Btu/ft
3
at 60
0
F) and the air required for
vortex flowmeter in series, generate a feedforward
complete combustion (ft
3
air/ft
3
fuel) both
signal to maximize overall efficiency through
increase almost in proportion to molecular weight
transients, and to do it without compromising any
for light hydrocarbons. Therefore, a constant
of the safety constraints of the furnace.
ratio between air flow (ft
3
/min) to fuel flow
(ft
3
/min) will not provide complete combustion
with a fixed percent excess air if the heating
value of the fuel changes. The third column shows
the air required for 1000 Btu (net heating value)
Process furnaces are generally less efficient
heat release. This number is almost independent
than boi lers. Three reasons are: 1) they
of fuel molecular weight. Therefore, a constant
usually operate at a higher stack temperature and
ratio between air flow and heat release will
excess air level; 2) they are usually part of a
provide complete combustion with a relatively
constant percent excess air.
personnel training sequence of a larger process
unit and, therefore, have more changes in
operators during the course of a year; and 3) the
If the fuel gas contains only light
demand for response to process needs takes
hydrocarbons with no significant amount of
priority over efficiency.
hydrogen or inerts, the specific gravity (S.G.) of
the fuel can be used as a measure of heating
Controls are described to improve the
value. Fuel gas systems typically operate at a
efficiency of both natural draft and forced draft
low enough pressure and in a temperature range to
furnaces. Override controls are necessary to
be considered ideal gases. This means molecular
protect the equipment. The controls make use of
weight and specific gravity are in direct
proportion.
the fact that heat release is more predictably
related to fuel Btu flow than to either measured
The known traditional equations to accomplish
fuel volume of air volume when the percent excess
this conversion are:
air is held constant.
602
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983
MW ) + MW ) + MW ) + etc. ALL UNITS OPERATING
1 2 3
= 100
Composite
Where: t'lN
t'lNmi
molecular weight of gas Propane 44 0.95 0.57
Hydrogen 2 22.2 0.55

molecular weight of each constituent gas Methane 16 74.8 10.90
in the Propylene 42 0.25 0.25
Ethane 30 1.5 0.39
= of each constituent gas in the Ethylene 28 0.2 0.22
Acetylene 26 0.1 0.03
And: Butane 58 0.5 0.29
t'lN 13.2
Btu 877 .0
Where: Sp. Gravity 0.455
G
gas
= specific gravity of gas to be determined
#2 UNIT OPERATING ONLY
MW
gas
= molecular weight of gas (given)
Compos i te
MW
0.0345 constant reciprocal of molecular weight
of air 1/28.96
Propane 44 0.95 0.42
Hydrogen 2 22.2 0.44
An of a customer's gas analysis will
Methane 16 74.8 11.97
help illustrate this technique.
Propy lene 42 0.25 0.11
Ethane 30 1.5 0.45
Ethylene 28 0.2 0.06
NO UNITS OPERATING
Butane 58 0.1 Q..:....Q.
Composi te
MW 13.5
MW
Btu 890.0
Sp. Gravity 0.46
Propane 44 3.3 1. 45
Hydrogen 2 7.8 0.16
Methane 16 79.9 12.78
A plot of this data indicates a straight line
Propy lene 42 0.1 0.04
relationship (Graph I).
Ethane 30 8.9 2.67
Where the relationshlp between specific
MW 17. 10
gravity and Btu/ft
3
is repeatable (can be
Btu 1075.00
nonlinear), an on-line measurement of specific
Sp. Gravity 0.589
gravity and volume (corrected to standard
temperature and pressure) can produce a Btu/h
signal. Where the relationship is not repeatable
(varying concentration of inerts such as CO
2
,
III AND #2 UNITS OPERATING
N2' etc., which will effect the gravity in a
manner unrelated to Btu/ft
3
), an on-line Btu
Composite
analyzer such as a calorimeter is required.
MW
Another method of converting gas volume to
mass energy utilizes a Wobbe analyzer.
Propane 44 0.6 0.26
Hydrogen 2 31.7 0.63
Heating Value
Wobbe
Propylene 42 0.4 0.17
Gravity
Ethane 30 0.9 0.27
Methane 16 64.4 10.30
This signal can be multiplied directly by gas
Ethylene 28 1.4 0.39
flow to give a relative signal proportional to
Acetylene 26 0.1 0.02
heat release (Btu/h).
MW 12.06
These traditional methods involve both
Btu 812.00
capital investment for the analyzers
Sp. Grav i ty 0.416
(densitometer, specific gravity, calorimeter,
Wobbe etc.) plus required maintenance which
can be significant both in cost and manpower. For
use as an on-line, closed loop Btu measurement
dev ice, speed of response becomes cri tical.
603
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983
TABLE I . GASEOUS FUELS
COMBUSTION CHARACTERISTICS AT ZERO EXCESS AIR
Net Heating Value

ft
3
Air
Btu/t,3 60 F ft Fuel 1000 Btu (N.t)
Hydrogen 275 2.38 8.7
Methane 910 9.57 10.5
Ethane 1619 16.75 10.3
Ethylene 1513 14.29 9.5
Propane 2319 23.90 10.3
Butane 3014 31.10 10.3
LIQUIO FUELS
COMBUSTION CHARACTERISTICS AT ZERO EXCESS AIR
Nel Healing
Value Ih An fl) Air
Btu.'lh 1"6"'1'UCT 1000 Btu (f\!el)
Ga\ollne 19000 14.76 10.2
Home Heallny Oil 18450 1447 10.3
Fuel 011 17075 134 10.3
1050
JAN 1981
1000
950
000
850
JUN \978
FEO 1980
FEB 1919
800+---.....
0.410 04.40 0470 0500 0530 0.560 0590 0.ti20
S (CIFle GRAVITY
GRAPH I
A compensated pressure and temperature mass
flow rate signal can produced by combining the
outputs of a differential pressure transmitter and
a vortex flowmeter. The of the
di fferential across an ori fice is direct!1.
proportional to the density of the flowing stream
and proportional to the of velocity.
A vortex flowmeter produces a signal directly
proportional to velocity; it is not affected by
density changes. _.
Mass Flow Rate Density x Velocity
Mass Flow Rate =Density x (Velocity)2
=
Velocity
Density x Velocity
Di fferential h
Mass Flow Rate _
V x K
Velocity
Where: K = full-scale mass flow at minimum
gravity and maximum scfh.
These conversions can be made in electronic
analog hardware, such as in SPEC 200 cards, or
digitally in the software of a MICROSPEC Unit
Control Module calculation block, a 99UC Unit
Controller, or in the programmable FOX Series
Process Computers.
Gas density is directly proportional to
specific gravity. For gases, specific gravity is
referred to dry air at standard conditions.
Knowing the gas densi ty, the speci fic gravi ty of
the gas is determined using the following equatior
o
gas
0.: (13.07) (Ogas)
Where:
= specific gravity of the gas to be G
gas
determined
density of gas at standard
conditions in Ib/ft
3
(given)
density of air at standard
conditions = 0.0765 Ib/ft
3
(given)
lhis signal is then used to convert the mass
flow rate signal to Btu/h per American Gas
Association (AGA) Report #5.
In lieu of an on-line densitometer, a
calculated density can be obtained by:
. ma s s.fl ow _
density
volumetric flow
After conversion to specific gravity, mass energy
or volumetric energy can be obtained from AGA
Reports #3 and #5. The equations are:
energYmass = 20350 + 1970/G (H
2
/inert
corrections)
energYvolumetric = 1571.5G + 144
(H2/inert corrections)
Where: G specific gravity
604
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983
energYmass =Htu/lb
fhese main equations illustrate that when the
H.H.V. (high heating value) of a gas can be
energYvolumetric =Btu/scf
related to gravity by constants K1 and KZ' new
constants, K
a
and Kb' can be established to
The Btu/lb is extremely useful in relate H.H.V. to Btu/lb.
economically several heaters or
However, in most instances, all that is given
boilers using multiple fuel supplies with
is a gravity versus Btu/scf relationship, either
different heating values. lhe ASME heat loss
calculated or measured. It becomes necessary to
method of calculating efficiency and least cost
solve for K and Kb without direct knowledge
algorithm requires the fuel heating in
a
of K
1
and K2' The conversion from
Btu/lb as an input. Finally, Btu/h can be
H.H,Vvolumetric to H.H.V.
mass
is:
obtained by multiplying this result by mass .flow.
8tu 1 scf
energYmass x mass flow =Btu/h H.H.V
mass
sc f x
0.0765G Ib
energYvolumetric x corrected volumetric
flow =Btu/h Given (by customer):
The mass determination and assignment of G H.H.V. H.H.Vl+
heating value has been proven by the AGA to be ten
times less sensitive to overall gravity Btu/scf Btullb
measurement errors than the volumetric conversion
method. Dekatherms/lb (mBtu/lb) and, therefore, 0.2907 600 26982
dekatherms/hr can easily be obtained from the
0.5645 996 23063
energYmass equation.
0.8439 1400 21685
Btu 1 scf
As can be seen from the energYmass and -----
l+H.H.V = scf
0.0765G Ib
energYvolumetric equations. they are linear and
will result in straight line graphs of gravity
Solve for K and Kb
versus Btu/scf or gravity versus Btu/lb. The
a
slope is predefined if the AGA equations are
21685 x 0.8439 K
a
+ Kb x 0.8439
used. If hydrogen or any compound other than a
hydrocarbon is pre sent, the s lope and, therefore,
23063 x 0.5645
graphic determination, must be corrected using the
proper corrections and percent composition. These
numbers are readily available but would require an
21685 x 0.8439 23063 x 0.5645
additional on-stream analyzer and corrections to
0.5645)
the computation devices for accuracy. Hydrogen is
considered an to the AGA equations; all
Kb 18901
others are considered diluents.
(21685 18901) 0.8439 2349.4
It should be noted that the slope of the
customer's data previously listed differs from the
2349.4 + 18901
H.H.V. ----G-----
x G
lli
Btu
AGA pure hydrocarbon slope but, nonetheless, is
apparently a straight line. This is at first very
puzzling when it can be seen that the percent
Check at G = 0.2907
hydrogen ranges from to Foxboro
engineers have studied this problem and have
2349.4 + 18901 x 0.2907
devised a slope generation equation based on H,H.V. 26983
0.2907
actual customer data. If the range of gravities
and corresponding heating values can be fitted to
a straight line by solving simultaneous equations In summarizing the main points of this sectio
for the correct slope, greater overall accuracy of
the specific situation can be achieved. This 1. Specific gravity can usually be related to
custom fitting of customer data is desired over heating value. Normally a linear relationshi
additional analyzers and computational devices
(per AGA). We have seen this straight line
relationship in almost all cases and feel it is
normal rather than an exception to the rule. The
following calculations will illustrate the
principle:
2.
within acceptable limits of error can be
constructed.
Conversion to energy units can be made from
both volumetrlc and mass measurements. Mass
conversion is more accurate. I
H.H,Vvolumetric =
Heating Value
(0.0765G Ib
H.H.V
mass
= (K
1
+
1 scf
(K
1
+ K2G) Btu/scf
K2G 8tu/scf) x
K
a
+ KbG Btu
-G---) lb
3. Where a higher degree of accuracy is required.
corrections to the basic AGA equations for
hydrogen and other nonhydrocarbon compounds
are required. This involves additional
analyzers and computational devices.
60')
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983
4, Superior accuracy can be achieved by custom
fitting of actual customer data throughout the
expected fuel gas range, This technique
involves calibration of the system by solving
for the actual gas constants, K
a
and Kb'
5, Although repeatability remains the highest
priority of the Btu measurement and control
system outlined, Foxboro suggests using the
actual gas system analysis and custom fitting
approach for overall accuracy, This is
particularly true for gas streams containing
some hydrogen or other nonhydrocarbon
compounds that affect the specific gravity to
heating value relationship in a linear,
repeatable fashion, This custom fitting and
calibration will result in a high degree of
accuracy without the need for additional
analyzers,
6, Although beyond the scope of this paper, the
heating value to specific gravity relationship
needs only to be repeatable to allow
calibration, Foxboro has the equipment and
expertise to calibrate repeatable, although
nonlinear, data,
DRAFT FURNACE
Natural draft process furnaces are by far the
most common, Most of these do not have a means to
automatically move the stack damper or the air
registers at the burners, These furnaces are
often operated with copious quantities of excess
air; the outlet temperature control sets fuel
flow, The resulting combustion efficiency is poor,
If the burners are the air aspirating, premix
type, primary air flow will increase when fuel
pressure and flow are increased, However, a
denser fuel at a lower flow providing the same
heat release will aspirate less air, If the
burners are the nozzle mix type, fuel flow' has
little effect on air flow, Therefore, for premix
burners the stack damper should control a constant
draft, while with nozzle mix burners the stack
damper should control the excess air,
On nozzle mix burners, when the operator
manually closes the stack damper or air registers
to improve combustion efficiency, he runs the risk
of having an increase in fuel flow demand or Btu
cause combustibles and/or smoke to leave the
stack, Since air flow is set by the operator, the
maximum heat release (with a low adequate percent
excess air) is also set indirectly by the operator,
If this maximum is too close to the average
heat demand, minor process side temperature drops
will occur and cause frequent process upsets, A
major profit loss will result, On the other hand,
if this maximum is far above average heat demand,
the furnace efficiency will be poor and will also
result in a major loss of profit, For nozzle mix
burners, the amount of furnace draft controls the
amount of air pulled in through the bottom air
registers, Since the difference between stack
temperature and ambient air temperature determines
the amount of draft effect per foot of furnace
stack, routine seasonal changes will affect the
excess air and, thus, efficiency, Also, the
density and, therefore, the pounds of available
oxygen for fuel combustion per cubic foot of
entering air changes according to the ambient air
temperature, With a fixed damper setting, this
effect changes excess air by 15 percent (3 percent
oxygen) from 100
0
F to 30
0
F (see Graph II),
This effect can be vividly seen when data obtained
during various months is plotted against ambient
temperature, For example, during cold weather the
available stack draft per square foot of damper
opening increases due to the greater buoyancy
effect, Since air is also denser at lower
temperatures the amount of oxygen per cubic foot
is also increased, These factors combined can
increase excess air by 20 percent, This
calculates to a dollar figure in excess air of
$100,000/year at a fuel input of 80 mBtu/h and a
fuel cost of $4/mBtu (by ASME heat loss method),
COMBUSTION
CONDITIONS:
AIR
STACK TEMP.
TEMPERATURE
2'" RADIATION LOSS
DAY AlA
GAS FIRING
... HEAT LOSS METHOD
110
100
90
80
/
70
/l./
60 ./
50
./rY"
./ 40
./
30
PERCENT OF
ASME
EFFICIENCY
79.0
795
20
10 15 20 25
PERCENT OF EXCESS AlA
--- EFFECT OF EXCESS AIR CHANGES
BY TEMPERATURE
- - - EFFECT OF EXCESS AlA ON EFFICIENCY
RE LATION$HIP OF CHANGES IN COMBUSTION AlA
TEMPERATURE TO EXCESS AIR AND EFfiCIENCY
GRAPH II
For 100 percent premix burners where furnace
draft changes do not directly affect the amount of
air pulled in for combustion, an improvement can
be made in the economy of the furnace by
ins ta 11 ing a heat re lease controller. The
measurement is Btu/h, determined as previously
mentioned, The outlet temperature controller then
sets the required heat release rate, Oxygen and
carbon monoxide can be monitored in the stack
gases, Also, a critical tube temperature can be
monitored for a limit or an override, When the
heat release exceeds the available combustion air
being pulled in with the fuel flow, the operators
must either rebalance the burners manually for a
larger proportion of air or cut the throughput,
In either case, there is little incentive to
automate 100 percent premix burner type beyond the
606
.0
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983
heat release and furnace draft controller. On
this type of furnace, it is advisable to use
oxygen and carbon monoxide monitors for warning
and burner balancing. A typical enhanced control
scheme for 100 percent premix burners is shown in
Figure 1.
A. 100% PREMIX BURNERS
B. GASFIAINGONLY
C. SINGLE ELEMENT TEMP LOOP
HIGH TUBE/ROOF TEMP
ALARM HIGH

AIR INSPIRATED
EXTERNALLY
'---
FIGURE 1 NATURAL DRAFT FURNACE
For nozzle mix burners or where the burner is
designed to rely on furnace draft for all or a
portion of the air required to burn the fuel, the
draft becomes very critical to the safe and
efficient operation of the furnace. The draft
must not only allow an adequate quantity of air to
flow across the burner to consume the fuel but it
must also be large enough to hold less than
atmospheric pressure in all parts of the furnace.
Any leakage of hot gases should be avoided in
order to protect the structural steel from
permanent damage. The amount of air that can pass
through the registers by draft action varies
according to the area available and the square
root of the pressure drop across the register
openings.
With the use of the on-line Btu measurement
and heat release rate techniques previously
explained, it is now possible to safely and
efficiently control the temperature loop while
simultaneously optimizing furnace thermal
efficiency. The Btu signal, on-line flue gas
percent oxygen signal, and stack gas carbon
monoxide signal (in ppm) are used to safely set
the stack damper position. The control strategy
emphasizes safety and does not place a heavy
reliance on the availability of the analyzer
for operation. As can be seen, the Btu number
provides the primary stack damper position
signal. Typically, the characterization would be
established with an excess of combustion air
present at all load points. This positional
signal is further trimmed within limits by the
carbon monoxide and oxygen analyzers. However,
the outage of either or both analyzers will not
effect the basic integrity of the control loop.
The positional system, with an emphasis on safety
and analyzer-based trim subloops, is required on
natural draft furnaces. There is not enough
pressure drop available across the fired heater
for proper calibration of a flow subloop. Also,
even if there was enough drop, complicated
temperature correction of any flow loop would
definitely be required because the furnace
temperature varies both as a function of fired
duty and ambient air temperature.
On-line data analyses of all required
measurements of fired heaters at a large
southwestern refinery has proven the superiority
of the outlined positional system.
It should be noted that the most difficult
situation of a varying heating value gaseous fuel,
typical of many oil and gas, chemical, and steel
facilities, has been chosen for illustration.
Where a constant heating value fuel is used, the
concepts remain similar but the hardware and
calculations are not as complex. For ex.ample,
natural gas fuel would require a simple multiplier
of gas volume to arrive at Btu/h. Where a high
degree of accuracy is required, the option of
pressure and temperature compensation of the flow
signal must be considered. For fuel oil burning
heaters, temperature can be used as an indicator
of gravity, which in turn can be used as an
indicator of Btu/h when combined with gpm flow
rates and heating value versus gravity constants
(see Figure 10). For multiple fuel fired heaters,
the heat release rate controller concept, percent
firing of the individual fuels, and summation of
the various fuels for proper combustion air are
required. Figure 3 illustrates multiple fuel
firing on a forced draft heater. Preferential
firing is beyond the scope of this paper but can
be incorporated into the basic system concept.
An enhanced strategy for a typical fired
heater is illustrated in Figures lA through 1D.
Note that the incorporation of the oxygen through
carbon monoxide signals can also be used to alarm
off standard conditions. A bad burner or air leak
can quickly be brought to the operator's attention
via the alarm subloop.
The major benefits of this control strategy
are:
1. Fuel flow can be controlled on a Btu
basis rather than a volumetric basis.
This allows varying composition and
heating value fuels to be controlled in
the fuel loop and results in tighter
outlet temperature control. Typical
control systems which use volumetric only
flow loops, by their nature, cause oil
outlet temperature excursions on any fuel
Btu change.
2. A single systems supplier responsibility
is now available. On-line Foxboro
transmitters, control systems, and damper
drives provide the heart of the system.
Additional trim optimization can be
607
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983
incorporated using Foxboro supplied flue
gas analyzers and the illustrated Foxboro
strategies,
3, The subtle decoupling of the fuel and air
sides allows tuning constants to be used
that lead to superior excess air
control, Prior systems using the oxygen
signal to trim the fuel loop after the
fact could not accurately distinguish
between fuel side and air side changes,
The temperature control loop, by
necessity, had to respond to provide the
proper direction to the fuel loop,
4, Furnace limits, such as draft,
temperature, and burner supply pressure,
can be added as additional safety
constraints to the overall strategy,
5, Optimization is achieved during the
steady-state situation, typical of fired
heaters, Un Ii ke bo i lers that are
constantly changing firing rate demand,
heaters are usually kept at a fixed
throughput as determined by plantwide
material balances or product mix,
Changes, when made, are usually taken in
small steps to allow the connected
process unit operations to stabilize and
remain on specification, Analyzer
outages will only effect the long-term
trim portion and not the basic
temperature, fuel gas, and damper
position loop,
A. 100% NOZZLE MIX BURNERS
8, GASFlR1NGONlY
C. SINGLE ELEMENT TEMP. CONTROL
D. STACK DAMPER POSITIONING USING BUT INPUT
E. OPTIONAL TEMP, DRAFT, AND PRESSuRE OVERRIDES
F. 0) ANDfOR co ANALYZER OPTIMIZATION
FIGURE 1A NATURAL DRAFT FURNACE
01 L OUTLET
GAS FLOW TEMP.
TO FIG. Ie
0 1 TRIM
~ -
I I
I I
~
K 5
TOGAS
CONTROL
VALVE
TT
GAS
COMB. BURNER FURNACE
TEMP. PRESS. PRESSURE
TO FIG. Ie
0/ TRI'"
FIGURE 1B COMBUSTION CONTROL
NATURAL DRAFT HEATER
OXYGEN
ALARM
CARBON MONOXIDE
ALARM
OPTIONAL-PROVIDES
PROGRAMMED
ALLOWABLE DEVIATION
FROM SET POINT
SAMPLE
DATA
SDC CONTROL
FROM FIG, IB FROM FIG, IB
BTU FLOW
TO STACK
DAMPER
FIGURE 1C EXCESS AIR TRIM UTILIZING
CARBON MONOXIDE AND OXYGEN
608
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983
FIGURE 1D NATURAL DRAFT FURNACE
INDUCED
DRAFT
FAN
fIl AIR
111 INLET
FDRCED
DRAFT
FAN
STACK
FLUE GAS
HOT AIR
F R O ~ '
TO FURNACES
FU RNACES
FIGURE 2 AIR PREHEATER FOR
FORCED DRAFT FURNACES
FORCED DRAFT FURNACE
Forced draft furnaces are becoming more common
because they can be made to operate at higher
efficiencies, The extra pressure drop over the
burner provides better mixing, faster combustion,
and hotter flames, Also, air preheaters are used
to recover waste heat from the flue gas and raise
efficiency still further,
Simple pressure controllers (PC) are shown in
Figure 2 for the air preheater and fans, This
system may be common to two or more similar
furnaces, The pressure controller on the hot air
must be very fast acting to decouple the flow
controllers on the individual furnaces, The
pressure controller on the stack maintains a
constant pressure for flue gas discharge from
individual stack dampers, Other schemes for air
and flue gas control will also apply with various
process configurations,
The big difference in a forced draft furnace
is that air flow is automatically controlled
externally at the air damper or fan, An air
versus fuel cross-limiting system is employed,
simi lar to boi lers , However, instead of fue I
flow, the heat release (Btu/h) is compared to air
flow as ,shown in Figure 3, This has the
previously described advantage that the air
required per 1000 Btu is much more constant than
the air required per cubic foot of fuel,
Fuel oil can also be used, Fuel oil flow is
multiplied by its heating value (usually a
function of density at a given temperature) and
added to the heat release from gas to obtain the
total heat release, The total Btu/h is the
measurement signal to the heat release rate
controller (QC) and it can manipulate either oil,
gas, or both in proportion,
The set point to heat release rate controller
is the lesser of Btu/h required by the process or
the Btu/h which can be obtained from the current
air flow, This is computed by characterizing air
flow measurement to the required air/Btu ratio
(about 10,3 ft
3
/lOOO Btu), The set point for
air flow is obtained by multiplying the same
air/Btu ratio by the required Btu/h or the
measured Btu/h, whichever is greater, This system
keeps excess air through transients, It also
provides safety interlocks to reduce fuel when the
available air is reduced, regardless of the reason
Feedforward control is also indicated, using
both process oil feed temperature and flow, The
equation used is:
Heat required flow x constant (Tout
Tin)
The constant is the specific heat (C ), if
oil remains liquid. The system has alsoPbeen
applied to crude furnaces and is adequate if the
oil enters at its bubble point and the temperature
boiling point (TBP) curve for the crude is near
linear at outlet conditions, The constant then
includes a factor for latent heat as well as
sensible heat,
In order to provide feedback trim to this
computation, the output signal from the oil outlet
temperature controller (TC) is used at Tout
Instead of the measured outlet temperature. When
feedforward is used, the outlet temperature
controller can be detuned slightly for added
stability, Feedforward should not be used unless
it is known to be needed, Feedforward may be
required on crude units where a large part of the
heat input comes from heat exchange upstream of
the furnace. This preheat is subject to
variations from furnace outlet temperature,
Dynamic compensation has not been shown in the
figures,
Generally, the output temperature controller
on a furnace would use derivative action to
overcome part of the integrating lag in the
process, The heat capacity of the furnace and
resistance to heat transfer create an RC-type time;
609
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983
constant on the order of 3 minutes. This can be By using the Btu concept for process side
overcome with derivative action. When the temperature regulation and air flow and fuel flow
controls are implemented as shown, the need for set points, the oxygen and carbon monoxide meters
derivative action is greatly reduced. can be employed in an excess air trim subloop to
operate the furnace at maximum efficiency.
Q= FCpAT
EFF
IbtH
Q. FCpAT
EFF
REQUIREO BlutH A
MEASURED BlutH
>1-----------------------+-----....
SUPPORTABLE BlutH OF AIR

SUPPORTABLE -
BlutH
(AIRI
AIR ------t"+--{)IQ-----------<
TC
AIR
DAMPER
TEMP
SET
POINT
OILOUT
FUEL GAS
FUEL OIL
,. MULTIPLE FUEL FIRING
2. JELEMENT TEMP. CONTROL
J. EXCESS AIR TRIM
FIGURE 3 FORCED DRAFT FURNACE
SUMMARY
In determining what controls are required to
optimize efficiency on fired heaters, a
determination of the following must be made:
1. Type of Burners
A. Premix burners require constant draft
regulation, necessary heat release
matched to heat input and flue gas
sensors for burner setting, and overall
system diagnostics.
B.
Nozzle mix burners allow excess air
correction of the stack damper position
system by varying the internal furnace
draft within safe operating limits. Low
draft and high temperature override loops
are recommended.
II. Type of Temperature Control Loop Required
A. with steady-state heaters, a single
element control loop may be satisfactory
for controlling coil outlet temperature.
B. Where the inlet process feed may vary in
temperature and/or flow, a superior
two-element system, using inlet flow and
temperature difference measurements, can
provide both feedforward and feedback
signals for enhanced temperature control.
III. Types of Fuels to be Fired
A. For fuels of constant Btu content, a
volume flow signal in cubic feet per
minute or hour (should be corrected for
pressure and temperature) can be
converted to Btu/h.
610
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983
B. For varying Btu content fuels, it is
necessary to correlate specific gravity
to heating value. If a repeatable
correlation is possible, both a vortex
flowmeter and a differential pressure
transmitter signal can be scaled to
produce a Btu/h signal to the heat
release subloop. Superior accuracy can
be obtained by calibrating the system
using actual gas analyses.
C. With fuel containing certain gases such
as inerts or high, unpredictable
quantities of hydrogen, a measured Btu
signal must be converted to a Wobbe Index
to relate fuel flow to total Btu/h. This
is required if a fuel system can possibly
have different heating values at the same
gravity. This Btu signal can then be
used to position the stack damper.
D. For single fuels, the heat release
controller is not required, This
function can be accomplished in the fuel
Btu controller.
E. Multiple fuels can be ratio fired by
using a heat release controller,
1. Ryskamp, Carroll, "Process Furnace Controls,"
AGIP Conference, Rome, Italy, February 1982.
2, Fehervari, Willi, "Gas Measurement and Control
for Pipeline Systems," The Foxboro Company.
3. Shriver, James, "CO/02 Boiler Control:
Point Is Vi tal," POWER, October 1982.
Set
1\. Dukelow, Samuel, "Improving Boiler
Efficiency," Instrument Society of America,
published with the cooperation of Kansas State
University,
5. American Gas Association Fuel Gas Energy
Metering Report #5.
6. Reed, Dr. Robert D., "Furnace Operations,"
delivered at John link Burner School, Tulsa,
Oklahoma.
611
ESL-IE-83-04-96
Proceedings from the Fifth Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 17-20, 1983