‫جمهىريت العراق‬

‫وزارة التعليم‬
‫الجامعت التقنيت الشماليت‬
‫القسم‪ :‬هندست تقنياث الىقىد والطاقه‬

‫‪Boiler Efficiency‬‬

‫حسين عباس‬
‫زياد عماد‬
‫عبداالله فرهاد‬
‫حسن علي‬
‫الشعبت‪A:‬‬ ‫المرحلت‪:‬الرابعت‬
‫الرابعت‬
 BOILERS

2.1 Introduction
A boiler is an enclosed vessel that provides a means for combustion heat to be transferred into
water until it becomes heated water or steam. The hot water or steam under pressure is then
usable for transferring the heat to a process. Water is a useful and cheap medium for
transferring heat to a process. When water is boiled into steam its volume increases about 1,600
times, producing a force that is almost as explosive as gunpowder. This causes the boiler to be
extremely dangerous equipment that must be treated with utmost care.

The process of heating a liquid until it reaches its gaseous state is called evaporation. Heat
is transferred from one body to another by means of (1) radiation, which is the transfer of heat
from a hot body to a cold body without a conveying medium, (2) convection, the transfer of
heat by a conveying medium, such as air or water and (3) conduction, transfer of heat by actual
physical contact, molecule to molecule.

Boiler Specification
The heating surface is any Typical Boiler Specification
part of the boiler metal
that has hot gases of com- Boiler Make & Year : XYZ & 2003
bustion on one side and MCR(Maximum Continuous Rating) : 10TPH (F & A 100°C)
water on the other. Any
Rated Working Pressure : 10.54 kg/cm2(g)
part of the boiler metal
that actually contributes Type of Boiler : 3 Pass Fire tube
to making steam is heat- Fuel Fired : Fuel Oil
ing surface. The amount
of heating surface of a
boiler is expressed in square meters. The larger the heating surface a boiler has, the more
efficient it becomes. The quantity of the steam produced is indicated in tons of water evap-
orated to steam per hour. Maximum continuous rating is the hourly evaporation that can be
maintained for 24 hours. F & A means the amount of steam generated from water at 100 °C
to saturated steam at 100 °C.

Indian Boiler Regulation

The Indian Boilers Act was enacted to consolidate and amend the law relating to steam boilers.
Indian Boilers Regulation (IBR) was created in exercise of the powers conferred by section 28
& 29 of the Indian Boilers Act.
IBR Steam Boilers means any closed vessel exceeding 22.75 liters in capacity and which is
used expressively for generating steam under pressure and includes any mounting or other
fitting attached to such vessel, which is wholly, or partly under pressure when the steam is shut
off.
IBR Steam Pipe means any pipe through which steam passes from a boiler to a prime mover
or other user or both, if pressure at which steam passes through such pipes exceeds 3.5 kg/cm2
above atmospheric pressure or such pipe exceeds 254 mm in internal diameter and includes in
either case any connected fitting of a steam pipe.

2.2 Boiler Systems

The boiler system comprises of: feed water system, steam system and fuel system. The feed
water system provides water to the boiler and regulates it automatically to meet the steam
demand. Various valves provide access for maintenance and repair. The steam system collects
and controls the steam produced in the boiler. Steam is directed through a piping system to the
point of use. Throughout the system, steam pressure is regulated using valves and checked with
steam pressure gauges. The fuel system includes all equipment used to provide fuel to gener-
ate the necessary heat. The equipment required in the fuel system depends on the type of fuel
used in the system. A typical boiler room schematic is shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 Boiler Room Schematic

The water supplied to the boiler that is converted into steam is called feed water. The two
sources of feed water are: (1) Condensate or condensed steam returned from the processes and
(2) Makeup water (treated raw water) which must come from outside the boiler room and plant
processes. For higher boiler efficiencies, the feed water is preheated by economizer, using the
waste heat in the flue gas.
2.3 Boiler Types and Classifications
There are virtually infinite numbers of boiler designs but generally they fit into one of two cat-
egories:
Fire tube or “fire in tube” boilers;
contain long steel tubes through
which the hot gasses from a
furnace pass and around which the
water to be converted to steam cir-
culates. (Refer Figure 2.2). Fire
tube boilers, typically have a lower
initial cost, are more fuel efficient
and easier to operate, but they are
limited generally to capacities of
25 tons/hr and pressures of
17.5 kg/cm2. Figure 2.2 Fire Tube Boiler

Water tube or “water in tube” boilers in which

the conditions are reversed with the water passing
through the tubes and the hot gasses passing outside
the tubes (see figure 2.3). These boilers can be of
single- or multiple-drum type. These boilers can be
built to any steam capacities and pressures, and have
higher efficiencies than fire tube boilers.

Figure 2.3 Water Tube Boiler

Packaged Boiler: The packaged boiler is so

called because it comes as a complete package.
Once delivered to site, it requires only the steam,
water pipe work, fuel supply and electrical
connections to be made for it to become
operational. Package boilers are generally of
shell type with fire tube design so as to achieve
high heat transfer rates by both radiation and
convection (Refer Figure 2.4).

Figure 2.4 Packaged Boiler

 The features of package boilers are:
✓ Small combustion space and high heat release rate resulting in faster evaporation.
✓ Large number of small diameter tubes leading to good convective heat transfer.
✓ Forced or induced draft systems resulting in good combustion efficiency.
✓ Number of passes resulting in better overall heat transfer.
✓ Higher thermal efficiency levels compared with other boilers.
These boilers are classified based on the number of passes – the number of times the hot
combustion gases pass through the boiler. The combustion chamber is taken, as the first pass
after which there may be one, two or three sets of fire-tubes. The most common boiler of this
class is a three-pass unit with two sets of fire-tubes and with the exhaust gases exiting through
the rear of the boiler.

Stoker Fired Boiler:

Stokers are classified according to the method of feeding fuel to the furnace and by the type of
grate. The main classifications are:
1. Chain-grate or traveling-grate stoker
2. Spreader stoker

Chain-Grate or Traveling-Grate Stoker Boiler

Coal is fed onto one end of a moving steel chain grate. As grate moves along the length of the
furnace, the coal burns before dropping off at the end as ash. Some degree of skill is required,
particularly when setting up the grate, air dampers and baffles, to ensure clean combustion
leaving minimum of unburnt carbon in the ash.

Figure 2.5 Chain Grate Stoker

 The coal-feed hopper runs along the entire coal-feed end of the furnace. A coal grate is used
to control the rate at which coal is fed into the furnace, and to control the thickness of the coal
bed and speed of the grate. Coal must be uniform in size, as large lumps will not burn out com-
pletely by the time they reach the end of the grate. As the bed thickness decreases from coal-
feed end to rear end, different amounts of air are required- more quantity at coal-feed end and
less at rear end (see Figure 2.5).

Spreader Stoker Boiler

Spreader stokers (see figure 2.6) utilize a combination of suspension burning and grate burning.
The coal is continually fed into the furnace above a burning bed of coal. The coal fines are
burned in suspension; the larger particles fall to the grate, where they are burned in a thin, fast-
burning coal bed. This method of firing provides good flexibility to meet load fluctuations,
since ignition is almost instantaneous when firing rate is increased. Hence, the spreader stoker
is favored over other types of stokers in many industrial applications.

Figure 2.6 Spreader Stoker

Pulverized Fuel Boiler
Most coal-fired power station boilers use pulverized coal, and many of the larger industrial
water-tube boilers also use this pulverized fuel. This technology is well developed, and there
are thousands of units around the world, accounting for well over 90% of coal-fired capacity.
The coal is ground (pulverised) to a fine powder, so that less than 2% is +300 micro metre
(µm) and 70-75% is below 75 microns, for a bituminous coal. It should be noted that too fine
a powder is wasteful of grinding mill power. On the other hand, too coarse a powder does not
burn completely in the combustion chamber and results in higher unburnt losses.
The pulverised coal is blown with part of the combustion air into the boiler plant through a
series of burner nozzles. Secondary and tertiary air may also be added. Combustion takes place
at temperatures from 1300-1700°C,
depending largely on coal grade.
Particle residence time in the boiler is
typically 2 to 5 seconds, and the
particles must be small enough for
complete combustion to have taken
place during this time.
This system has many advantages
such as ability to fire varying quality
of coal, quick responses to changes in
load, use of high pre-heat air tempera-
tures etc.
One of the most popular systems
for firing pulverized coal is the tangen-
tial firing using four burners corner to
corner to create a fireball at the center
Figure 2.7 Tangential Firing
of the furnace (see Figure 2.7).

FBC Boiler
When an evenly distributed air
or gas is passed upward
through a finely divided bed of
solid particles such as sand
supported on a fine mesh, the
particles are undisturbed at low
velocity. As air velocity is
gradually increased, a stage is
reached when the individual
particles are suspended in the
air stream. Further, increase in
velocity gives rise to bubble
formation, vigorous turbulence
and rapid mixing and the bed is
said to be fluidized.
If the sand in a fluidized
state is heated to the ignition
temperature of the coal and the
coal is injected continuously in
to the bed, the coal will burn
rapidly, and the bed attains a
uniform temperature due to
effective mixing. Proper air dis- Figure 2.8 Fluidised Bed Combustion
tribution is vital for maintaining uniform fluidisation across the bed.). Ash is disposed by dry
and wet ash disposal systems.
 Fluidised bed combustion has significant advantages over conventional firing systems and
offers multiple benefits namely fuel flexibility, reduced emission of noxious pollutants such as
SOx and NOx, compact boiler design and higher combustion efficiency. More details about
FBC boilers are given in Chapter 6 on Fluidized Bed Boiler.

2.4 Performance Evaluation of Boilers

The performance parameters of boiler, like efficiency and evaporation ratio reduces with time
due to poor combustion, heat transfer surface fouling and poor operation and maintenance.
Even for a new boiler, reasons such as deteriorating fuel quality, water quality etc. can result in
poor boiler performance. Boiler efficiency tests help us to find out the deviation of boiler
efficiency from the best efficiency and target problem area for corrective action.

Boiler Efficiency
Thermal efficiency of boiler is defined as the percentage of heat input that is effectively utilised
to generate steam. There are two methods of assessing boiler efficiency.
1) The Direct Method: Where the energy gain of the working fluid (water and steam) is
compared with the energy content of the boiler fuel.
2) The Indirect Method: Where the efficiency is the difference between the losses and the
energy input.

Boiler Efficiency Evaluation

Direct Method Indirect Method

a. Direct Method
This is also known as „input-output method‟ due to the fact that it needs only the useful output
(steam) and the heat input (i.e. fuel) for evaluating the efficiency. This efficiency can be evalu-
ated using the formula
Heat Output
Boiler Efficiency   100
Heat Input

Parameters to be monitored for the calculation of boiler efficiency by direct method are :
• Quantity of steam generated per hour (Q) in kg/hr.
• Quantity of fuel used per hour (q) in kg/hr.
• The working pressure (in kg/cm2(g)) and superheat temperature (°C), if any
• The temperature of feed water (°C)
• Type of fuel and gross calorific value of the fuel (GCV) in kCal/kg of fuel
 Qx (h g  h f )
Boiler Efficiency ()   100
q  GCV

Where, hg – Enthalpy of saturated steam in kCal/kg of steam

hf – Enthalpy of feed water in kCal/kg of water

Example
Find out the efficiency of the boiler by direct method with the data given below:
– Type of boiler : Coal fired
– Quantity of steam (dry) generated : 8 TPH
– Steam pressure (gauge) / temp : 10 kg/cm2(g)/ 180°C
– Quantity of coal consumed : 1.8 TPH
– Feed water temperature : 85°C
– GCV of coal : 3200 kCal/kg
2
– Enthalpy of steam at 10 kg/cm pressure : 665 kCal/kg (saturated)
– Enthalpy of feed water : 85 kCal/kg
8  (665  85) 1000
Boiler Efficiency ()   100 = 80%
1.8  3200 1000

It should be noted that boiler may not generate 100% saturated dry steam, and there may be
some amount of wetness in the steam.

Advantages of direct method:

➢ Plant people can evaluate quickly the efficiency of boilers

➢ Requires few parameters for computation
➢ Needs few instruments for monitoring

Disadvantages of direct method:

➢ Does not give clues to the operator as to why efficiency of system is lower
➢ Does not calculate various losses accountable for various efficiency levels

b. Indirect Method

There are reference standards for Boiler Testing at Site using indirect method namely British
Standard, BS 845: 1987 and USA Standard is ASME PTC-4-1 Power Test Code Steam
Generating Units‟.
Indirect method is also called as heat loss method. The efficiency can be arrived at, by
subtracting the heat loss fractions from 100. The standards do not include blow down loss in the
efficiency determination process. A detailed procedure for calculating boiler efficiency by indi-
rect method is given below. However, it may be noted that the practicing energy mangers in
industries prefer simpler calculation procedures.
The principle losses that occur in a boiler are:
• Loss of heat due to dry fluegas
• Loss of heat due to moisture in fuel and combustion air
• Loss of heat due to combustion of hydrogen
• Loss of heat due to radiation
• Loss of heat due to unburnt
In the above, loss due to moisture in fuel and the loss due to combustion of hydrogen are
dependent on the fuel, and cannot be controlled by design.
The data required for calculation of boiler efficiency using indirect method are:
• Ultimate analysis of fuel (H2, O2, S, C, moisture content, ash content)
• Percentage of Oxygen or CO2 in the flue gas
• Flue gas temperature in °C (Tf)
• Ambient temperature in °C (Ta) & humidity of air in kg/kg of dry air
• GCV of fuel in kCal/kg
• Percentage combustible in ash (in case of solid fuels)
• GCV of ash in kCal/kg (in case of solid fuels)

Solution :

Theoretical air requirement

=[(11.6 × C) + {34.8 × (H2 – O2/8)} + (4.35 × S)]/100 kg/kg of fuel

O 2%
Excess Air supplied (EA) = 100
21  O 2 %

Actual mass of air supplied/ kg of fuel (AAS) = {1 + EA/100} × theoretical air

m × Cp × (Tf – Ta ) × 100
i. Percentage heat loss due to dry flue gas =
GCV of fuel
m = mass of dry flue gas in kg/kg of fuel
m = Combustion products from fuel: CO2 + SO2 + Nitrogen in fuel + Nitrogen in the actual
mass of air supplied + O2 in flue gas. (H2O/Water vapour in the flue gas should not be
considered)
Cp = Specific heat of flue gas (0.23 kCal/kg °C)

ii. Percentage heat loss due to evaporation of water formed due to H2 in fuel

9  H 2  {584  C p (T f-T a )}
  100
GCV of fuel
 Where, H2 - kg of H2 in 1 kg of fuel
Cp - Specific heat of superheated steam (0.45 kCal/kg °C)

iii. Percentage heat loss due to evaporation of moisture present in fuel

M x {584  C p (Tf -T a )}
 x 100
GCV of fuel

Where, M – kg of moisture in 1kg of fuel

Cp – Specific heat of superheated steam (0.45 kCal/kg)°C
584 is the latent heat corresponding to the partial pressure of water vapour.

iv. Percentage heat loss due to moisture present in air

AAS  humidity factor  Cp x (Tf -Ta )
  100
GCV of fuel

Cp – Specific heat of superheated steam (0.45 kCal/kg °C)

v. Percentage heat loss due to unburnt in fly ash

Total ash collected / kg of fuel burnt  G.C.V of fly ash
  100
GCV of fuel

vi. Percentage heat loss due to unburnt in bottom ash

Total ash collected / kg of fuel burnt  G.C.V of bottom ash

  100
GCV of fuel

vii. Percentage heat loss due to radiation and other unaccounted loss
The actual radiation and convection losses are difficult to assess because of particular
emissivity of various surfaces, its inclination, air flow pattern etc. In a relatively small boiler,
with a capacity of 10 MW, the radiation and unaccounted losses could amount to between 1%
and 2% of the gross calorific value of the fuel, while in a 500 MW boiler, values between 0.2%
to 1% are typical. The loss may be assumed appropriately depending on the surface condition.

Efficiency of boiler () = 100 - (i + ii + iii + iv + v + vi + vii)

Example: The following are the data collected for a typical oil fired boiler. Find out the effi-
ciency of the boiler by indirect method and Boiler Evaporation ratio.
• Type of boiler : Oil fired
 • Ultimate analysis of Oil
C : 84.0 % H2 : 12.0 %
S : 3.0 % O2 : 1.0 %
• GCV of Oil : 10200 kCal/kg
• Steam Generation Pressure : 7kg/cm2(g)-saturated
• Enthalpy of steam : 660 kCal/kg
• Feed water temperature : 60 °C
• Percentage of Oxygen in flue gas : 7
• Percentage of CO2 in flue gas 11
• Flue gas temperature (Tf) : 220 °C
• Ambient temperature (Ta) : 27 °C
• Humidity of air : 0.018 kg/kg of dry air

Solution
Step-1: Find the theoretical air requirement

 [(11.6  C) {34.8 ( H 2  O2 / 8)} (4.35  S)] /100 kg/kg of oil

=[(11.6 × 84) + [{34.8 × (12 – 1/8)} + (4.35 × 3)]/100 kg/kg of oil

=14 kg of air/kg of oil

Step-2: Find the %Excess air supplied
Excess air supplied (EA) = (O2 × 100)/(21-O2)
= (7 × 100)/(21-7)
= 50%
Step-3: Find the Actual mass of air supplied
Actual mass of air supplied /kg of fuel = [ 1 + EA/100] x Theoritical Air
(AAS)
= [1 + 50/100] x 14
= 1.5 x 14
= 21 kg of air/kg of oil
Step-4: Estimation of all losses
i. Dry flue gas loss
m × Cp × (Tf – Ta ) × 100
Percentage heat loss due to dry flue gas =
GCV of fuel

m= mass of CO2 + mass of SO2 + mass of N2 + mass of O2

 0.8444 0.03 64 21 77  23 
m    (21 14) 
 
12 32 100  100 
m= 21 kg / kg of oil

21 x 0.23 x(220  27)
Percentage heat loss due to dry flue gas = x 100 = 9.14 %
10200

Alternatively a simple method can be used for determining the dry flue gas loss as
given below.
m × Cp × (Tf – Ta ) × 100
a) Percentage heat loss due to dry flue gas =
GCV of fuel
Total mass of flue gas (m) = mass of actual air supplied + mass of fuel supplied
= 21 + 1 = 22
22 x 0.23 x(220  27)
%Dry flue gas loss = x 100  9.57%
10200
ii. Heat loss due to evaporation of water formed due to H2 in fuel

9 × H2 {584 + Cp (Tf – Ta)}× 100

=
GCV of fuel
Where, H2 - percentage of H2 in fuel
9 × 12 {584 + 0.45 (220 – 27)}× 100
=
10200
= 7.10%
iii. Heat loss due to moisture present in air
AAS × humidity × Cp × (Tf – Ta) × 100
=
GCV of fuel
21 x 0.018 x0.45 x(220 27)
= x 100 = 0.322%
10200

iv. Heat loss due to radiation and other unaccounted losses

For a small boiler it is estimated to be 2%
Boiler Efficiency
i. Heat loss due to dry flue gas : 9.14%
ii. Heat loss due to evaporation of water formed due to H2 in fuel : 7.10 %
iii. Heat loss due to moisture present in air : 0.322 %
 2. Boilers

iv. Heat loss due to radiation and other unaccounted loss : 2%

Boiler Efficiency
= 100- [9.14 + 7.10 + 0.322 + 2]
= 100 – 18.56 = 81 %(app)
Evaporation Ratio = Heat utilised for steam generation/Heat addition to the steam
= 10200 × 0.83/ (660-60)
= 14.11

Boiler Evaporation Ratio

Evaporation ratio means kilogram of steam generated per kilogram of fuel consumed.
Typical Examples: Coal fired boiler: 6
Oil fired boiler: 13
i.e 1 kg of coal can generate 6 kg of steam
1 kg of oil can generate 13 kg of steam
However, this figure will depend upon type of boiler, calorific value of the fuel and
associated efficiencies.
REFERENCES
1. Steam Boiler Room Questions & Answers, Third Edition by Stephen M.Elonka and
Alex Higgins
2. Steam Boiler Operation by James J.Jackson, Prentice-Hall Inc, New Jersey, 1980.
3. Boilers by Carl D. Shields, McGraw Hill Book Company, U.S, 1961.
4. Industrial Heat Generation and Distribution -NIFES Training Manual Issued For CEC –
India Energy Bus Project
5. Practical Boiler Water Treatment by Leo.I.Pincus, McGraw Hill Inc, New York, 1962.
6. Technical Papers, Boiler Congress-2000 Seminar, 11 & 12 January 2000
7. Industrial Boilers by David Gunn and Robert Horton, Longman Scientific & Technical,
New York
8. Steam Generation, Distribution and Utilisation by TERI, GTZ and EMC
9. Efficient Operation of Boilers by National Productivity Council

www.eren.doe.gov
www.oit.doe.gov/bestpractices
www.pcra.org
www.energy-efficiency.gov.uk
www.actionenergy.org.uk
www.cia.org.uk
www.altenergy.com

Bureau of Energy Efficiency 39