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Presentation Coverage Introduction Factors affecting Boiler Performance Testing Techniques & Performance Optimisation
Introduction
Boiler performance depends on Boiler design Coal Quality Operating practices / parameters Component condition
The Coal
Proximate Analysis, Ultimate Analysis, Calorific Value, Ash Constituents, Ash Fusion Temperatures, FC/VM ratio, Hard Grove Index, YGP (Yeer Geer Price) Index Typical Proximate Coal Analysis - Fixed Carbon - 32.4 %, Volatile matter - 21.6 %, Moisture 16.0 %, Ash 30.0 %, GCV 4050 kcal/kg +ve aspects - Low Sulfur, Low chlorine, Low iron content and High Ash fusion temp -ve aspects - High ash, moisture, high silica / alumina ratio, low calorific value, high electrical resistivity of ash, Variation in heating values, moisture, ash content and volatile matter
Problem
CAPACITY FACTOR
GRINDABILITY (HGI) FINENESS MOISTURE SIZE OF RAW COAL MILL WEAR (YGP) MTC PRACTICES
1.05
1 0.95
PF fineness
Fineness is expressed as the percentage pass through a 200mesh screen (74m). Coarseness is expressed as the percentage retained on a 50mesh screen (297m). Screen mesh - number of openings per linear inch. Typical recommended value of pulverised fuel fineness through 200 mesh Sieve is 70% and 1% retention on 50 mesh sieve. Flyash is over 80% of total ash, So its important to test for unburnt carbon; For monitoring unburnts in bottom ash, a visual in shift beginning or after mill change overs is required.
PF fineness is influenced by
Coal Quality Mill loading, settings, mill problems PA flows / velocities Sampling Techniques Conventional Cyclone / ASME Sampler 64 point rotary sampler Sampling location Near mill / burner single pipe / average Manual / motorised sieve shaker
Burner Imbalance
Mill discharge pipes offer different resistance to the flows due to unequal lengths and different geometry layouts. Fixed orifices are put in shorter pipes to balance velocities / dirty air flow / coal flows. The sizes of the orifices are specified by equipment supplier.
B 2
E 3
Mills
Boiler
1 4
Control Room
TANGENTIAL FIRING Uneven fuel and air distribution can result in High unburnt carbon in flyash Non - uniform release and absorption of heat across the furnace resulting in temperature imbalance Reducing furnace leading to slagging and fouling High furnace and boiler exit gas temperatures Water wall wastage and tube metal overheating
Burner Imbalance
Primary Air Flow Coal Flow Dirty air flow distribution should be with in +/- 5.0% of the average of fuel pipes Coal distribution should be with in +/-10% of the average of fuel pipes Balanced Clean air flows do not necessarily result in balanced Dirty air flows.
Instruments for on line measurement of PF flow based Electrostatic detection, Microwave injection and Acoustics are commercially available.
System Hardware 2X2 sensors in PA duct 2X1 sensors in each discharge pipe of Mill 1A Instrument Cabinet in Control room Manually operated orifices in PF pipes
High absolute velocities of dirty air ~ 28-30 m/s (High PA header pressure ~ 930 mmWC) +50 fineness fractions of mills D & E ~ 5% - high unburnt C in bottom ash
Excess Air
Typically 20 % excess air is recommended for boiler operation; Actual optimal value would vary from boiler to boiler depending on coal quality, fineness and other operating practices. Optimum level of oxygen could be less than value specified by OEM. O2 instruments are installed at the economizer exit, where they can be influenced by air infiltration. The O2 reading in control room may not be necessarily representative of the actual O2 in furnace.
Excess air is amongst the most important factors affecting boiler performance
Variation of Oxygen & Temp across at RH Inlet Left & Right side 210 MW (May'07)
1000 5
Temperature C
800
600 400
3 2
200
Oxygen %
Excess Air
C + O2 =
CO2
8084 kcal / kg of Carbon 2430 kcal / kg of Carbon 28922 kcal / kg of H 2224 kcal / kg of Sulphur
2C+ O2 = 2H2+ O2 = S + O2 =
All boilers need to be equipped with On line CO monitors at Eco Outlet / ID fan discharge. We lose 5654 kcal for each kg of CO formed. Ideally, average CO at gooseneck after combustion completion should be below 100 ppm and no single value over 200 ppm
Excess Air
Low excess air operation can lead to unstable combustion (furnace puffs) slagging of waterwalls and SH sections loss in boiler efficiency due to increased CO / unburnt combustibles High excess air operation can lead to Increased boiler losses High SH / RH temperatures Higher component erosion
Air Ingress Points Furnace Roof , Expansion joints, Air heaters, Ducts, ESP Hoppers, Peep Holes, Manholes, Furnace Bottom
Air-inleakage
Typical Air ingress Penthouse & 2nd pass ~ 0-5% Air heaters ~ 12-20% (tri sector) AH outlet to ID suction ~ 5 to 9%.
Air Ingress
The difference between oxygen at furnace outlet (HVT) and economizer outlet (zirconia) was in the range of 1.0 to 2.5 % in many boilers. Apart from degradation of AH baskets performance, another reason for lower heat recovery across air heaters is boiler operation at lesser SA flows due to high air-in-leakage. Replacement of Metallic / Fabric Expansion joints in 10 years / 5 years cycle recommended.
O2 %
6 4 2 0
Furn Outlet
210 MW
AH Inlet
210 MW
AH Outlet
500 MW
ID outlet
210 MW
Air Heaters
Factors affecting performance include Operating excess air levels PA/SA ratio Inlet air / gas temperature Coal moisture Air ingress levels Sootblowing No. of mills in service
Air Heaters
Factors affecting performance include PA Header Pressure High pressure results in increased AH leakage, higher ID fan loading, higher PA fan power consumption, deteriorates PF fineness & can increase mechanical erosion Upstream ash evacuation Maintenance practices Condition of heating elements, seals / seal setting, sector plates / axial seal plates, diaphragm plates, casing / enclosure, insulation
Test Duration
Should be sufficient to take care of deviations in parameters due to controls, fuel variations & other operating conditions. When point by point traverse of Flue gas ducts is done, test should be long enough for atleast two traverses. In case of continuous Data Acquisition System & use of composite sampling grids, shall be based on collection of representative coal & ash samples. Could be 1/2 to 2 hours in case of parametric optimisation tests or 4 hours for Acceptance Tests.
Frequency of Observations
Parameter readings to be taken at a maximum interval of 15 minutes & a preferred interval of 2 minutes or less
Coal Sample for Proximate analysis & GCV Bottom Ash and Flyash Samples Flue Gas Composition at AH Outlet Flue Gas Temperature at AH Inlet / Outlet Primary / Secondary air temp at AH inlet / outlet Dry / Wet bulb temperatures Control Room Parameters
Coal Sampling
Coal Samples are drawn from all individual running feeders from sampling ports in feeder inlet chutes Composite sample is collected from all running feeders One sample is sealed in an air tight container for total moisture determination
Flyash Sampling
Flyash is collected in several hoppers as Flue Gas goes to stack; Heavier particles fall out first due to turns in gas stream Relative distribution of ash to various hoppers is not accurately known Preferred way to collect a) a representative sample b) sample of the test period is to use High Volume Sampler probes on both sides of boiler
This sampler uses 2-3 ksc air through an aspirator to create vacuum to pull out a large volume of flue gas & ash into probes canister; A filter catches the ash but allows the gas to pass through.
Gas Duct is divided into equal cross-sectional areas and gas samples are drawn from each center using multi point probes or point by point traverse
To establish furnace gas exit temp profile To establish CO & O2 profile at furnace outlet To confirm proper distribution of fuel and air To quantify air ingress between furnace outlet and AH inlet
Typical problems
High Economiser / AH exit gas temperature Air ingress from furnace bottom, penthouse and second pass Boiler operation at high excess air Metal temperature excursions High Unburnt carbon in ashes Uneven Flyash Erosion Flame failures Shortfall in steam temperatures Imbalance in Left - Right steam temperatures
THANKS