Internal Recirculation Circulating Fluidized-Bed Boilers

A Simplied Approach to Flexibility and Reliability

The Technology of Choice

Since 1867, The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) has been the leading worldwide producer of steam generation technology and equipment. B&W remains in the forefront of technological advancements related to efcient and environmentally sound combustion methods for waste fuels, corrosive fuels, biomass fuels, and hard-to-burn fuels. Drawing upon its extensive technical expertise and operating experience, B&W developed the Internal Recirculation Circulating Fluidized-Bed (IR-CFB) boiler which is the technology of choice for power plant owners seeking economy, reliability and exibility.

U-Beams

B&Ws IR-CFB technology offers:

Steam Drum Wing Wall Internal Evaporative Circuit Superheater

High combustion efciency A compact, economical design Higher reliability and availability Lower maintenance costs Reduced erosion Fuel exibility Low emissions

Coal Silo

Economizer Multi-Cyclone Dust Collector

Furnace

Capacity: To 1,500,000 lb/h (189 kg/s) or greater as required Steam pressure: To 2850 psig (19.7 MPa) design
Tubular Air Heater

Steam temperature: As required, usually to 1040F (560C)

Bottom Ash Fluid Bed Cooler

Startup Burner

Secondary Air

Primary Air

Forced Draft Fan

Improves Performance, Reduces Costs, Minimizes Maintenance

Two-Stage Particle Separation for Superior Combustion Efciency
B&Ws unique IR-CFB boiler design employs a patented two-stage particle separation system to provide high-solids loading and a uniform furnace temperature prole. The benets of this technology include superior combustion efciency, low emissions, low maintenance, low pressure drop, and low turndown, resulting in improved overall plant performance. Our two-stage system includes a primary U-beam impact separator and a secondary multi-cyclone dust collector (MDC) which work together to provide a combined particle collection efciency in excess of 99.8%. The U-beams, a staggered array of stainless steel channels at the furnace exit plane, capture nearly all of the solids suspended in the ue gas leaving the furnace and internally recirculate these solids to the lower furnace. The MDC, with smalldiameter (<10 in., 250 mm) cyclones,
U-Beams (Primary Particle Collector)

captures the ner material that passes through the U-beam particle separator and returns this material to the lower furnace in a controlled manner. The ability to regulate the secondary recycle system provides the operator with unprecedented furnace temperature control, resulting in improved boiler performance and load response.
The two-stage particle collection system of B&Ws IR-CFB provides improved performance, as well as a simplied, cost-effective boiler design.

Primary All-internal Recirculation Loop

Bed Solids To ESP or Baghouse

Fuel and Sorbent

Multi-Cyclone Dust Collector (Secondary Particle Collector)

Secondary Recirculation Loop

Bed Drain

Compact, Economical Design

Sidewall Membrane Panel

Thin Refractory Seal Baffle Gas Flow

Gas Plus Solids Flow

B&Ws two-stage particle separation system results in a compact, simplied boiler arrangement. The entire U-beam particle separator is located at the furnace exit. Compared with hot cyclone-type CFB designs, the IR-CFB has signicantly lower furnace exit gas velocity and requires signicantly less building volume. By relying on internal recirculation, the IR-CFB design eliminates J-valves, loop seals, and high-pressure blowers which are required with other CFB designs. For the IR-CFB, compact and simple equals economical.

U-Beam

Higher Availability, Lower Maintenance

One goal of CFB boiler manufacturers has been to eliminate thick, uncooled refractory and hot expansion joints from their designs to reduce the expense and lost time associated with refractory maintenance. B&Ws engineers achieved this goal with the development of the IR-CFB boiler. The furnace, U-beam separator, and superheater enclosures are constructed entirely of top-supported, gas-tight, all-welded membraned tube walls which do not require hot expansion joints. The small amount of refractory that is used in the IR-CFB is applied to selected areas of the water-cooled enclosure surface in a thin layer which is only 5/8 in. (16 mm) thick in the lower furnace and never more than 2 in. (52 mm) thick over the tube face elsewhere in the furnace. As a result, B&Ws IR-CFB requires only 10 to 25% of the total refractory found in a hot cyclone CFB design and less than 50% of the refractory used in a water-cooled or steamcooled cyclone CFB unit. This construction has signicantly reduced the need for refractory maintenance in B&Ws operating CFB units.

Water-Cooled Support Tube

Gas Flow

U-Beams In-Furnace U-Beams

Furnace Gas and Solids Flow

B&Ws U-beam primary particle collection system recirculates more than 97% of the solids suspended in the ue gas back to the lower furnace.

A U-beam primary impact separator after eight years of problem-free operation.

Wall Tubes

Ceramic Tile

Pin Studs (To Anchor and Cool Refractory)

Thin Refractory

Access for Inspection

The reduced diameter zone tube section has proven to reduce maintenance by eliminating localized erosion at the refractory interface in the lower furnace.

B&Ws patented reduced diameter zone (RDZ) tube section is another feature designed to reduce maintenance. The RDZ consists of a reduced diameter tube section mating to a specially-shaped ceramic tile. The reduced diameter tube section on each tube slopes away from the solids falling down the wall. This eliminates the solids material from building up and eroding the furnace tubes where the lower furnace refractory ends.

Low Flue Gas Velocities to Reduce Erosion

Erosion is a major cause of maintenance problems in CFB boilers due to the high solids loading in the ue gas. The severity of this erosion is exponentially related to the velocity of the ue gas through the system. On hot cyclone CFBs the particle separator depends upon an extremely high ue gas velocity [approaching 90 ft/s (27 m/s) at the cyclone inlet] to provide the energy needed to efciently disengage the particles from the ue gas. By comparison, the U-beam particle separator is designed to operate efciently with a ue gas velocity of only 26 ft/s (8 m/s) at full-load operating conditions. The particle capture efciency actually increases as the ue gas velocity through the U-beam separator decreases. By operating at such a low gas velocity, the potential for erosion in the IR-CFB is signicantly reduced. To date, because of proper material selection and low ue gas velocities, the U-beam separators in B&Ws coal-red CFB units have not required any maintenance due to erosion throughout years of operation at design load conditions.

The secondary multi-cyclone dust collector in B&Ws unique two-stage particle separation system provides increased collection efciency of ne particles. By locating the dust collector immediately upstream of the economizer in a region of cooler ue gas, and by using high hardness wear resistant material, maintenance is minimal. The design also permits easy access to all internal components.

Individual Gas Outlet Hoods

High Hardness Collection Components

Features and Benets

IR-CFB Design Features

IR-CFB Design Benets and Operating Results

Two-stage particle separation system

Greater than 99.8% particle collection efciency Provides a means to control particle size distribution in furnace, which results in improved carbon burnout, limestone utilization, emissions and heat transfer Reduces operating costs

All-internal primary solids recirculation (U-beams)

Compact design requires 20-30% less building volume than cyclone-based CFB boilers critical for repowering projects Lowers auxiliary power consumption compared with cyclone-based CFB boilers

Low, uniform velocities at the furnace exit (16-20 ft/s, 5-6 m/s), U-beam separators (26 ft/s, 8 m/s), and the superheater (25-30 ft/s, 8-9 m/s)

Signicantly reduces erosion in upper furnace and superheater compared with cyclone designs To date, no U-beam erosion maintenance required in B&Ws coal-red CFBs since going into operation in 1989 No high-maintenance vortex nders or hot expansion joints; therefore, no maintenance expenses for these items

No thick refractory due to elimination of hot cyclones and hot return legs

Thin, cooled refractory used by B&W places no restriction on boiler start-up or shut-down rate Signicantly reduces need for refractory maintenance Virtually eliminates forced outages due to refractory failures Requires only 10 to 25% of the total refractory compared with hot cyclone CFB designs

In-furnace heat transfer surface

Vertical, at membraned tube panels within furnace perform evaporative or superheat duty Proven reliability and low maintenance

Unique primary air nozzles (bubble caps)

Reduces back sifting of solids during low-load operation Reduces need for periodic cleaning of nozzles and primary air windbox Minimizes erosion inside nozzle caused by the re-entrainment of back-sifted solids

Sootblowers usually not required upstream of MDC

Eliminates maintenance costs and forced outages typically associated with sootblowers

Gravity fuel feed and y ash recycle system

Reduces maintenance, forced outages and auxiliary power requirements by eliminating the mechanical fuel injection and pneumatic y ash recycle systems

High turndown (up to 5:1) without auxiliary fuel support

Allows wider load swings Reduces operating costs (no auxiliary fuel) during low-load operation

Fuel Flexibility, Lower Emissions

Fuel Flexibility
One of the main advantages of CFB technology is that it allows the owner to specify a wide variety of fuels to optimize the protability of the facility. B&W has the engineering expertise and operating experience needed to supply an IR-CFB boiler that is capable of burning specied fuels, such as:

Bituminous coal Bituminous gob or high-ash waste coal Subbituminous coal Lignite and brown coal Anthracite culm Coal cleaning tailings Petroleum coke

Other fuels such as wood, biomass, shredded tires and sludge are also candidates, depending on their percentage of heat input, moisture content and emission requirements. The IR-CFB boiler also can be designed to burn several specied fuels in the same unit. This provides the additional exibility needed to respond to changes in the fuel markets.

Located in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, USA, this 60 MW power plant burns high-ash waste coal with B&Ws circulating uidized-bed (CFB) technology to produce electricity and process steam.

Fluidized-Bed Technologies to Meet Every Need

There is no substitute for actual operating experience. B&W has that experience and a proven track record of high availability for all types of boiler technologies including all of our uidized-bed combustion technologies circulating (IR-CFB) and bubbling (BFB). fuels containing large pieces of noncombustible material, such as rocks and scrap metal. BFB technology also is well-suited for retrot applications on stoker-red or chemical recovery boilers.

Emissions Control
The IR-CFB boiler can control SO2 emissions by injecting limestone into the lower furnace. Relatively low NOx emissions are inherent in the IR-CFB due to low furnace temperatures and staged combustion. NOx emissions can be further reduced by using a selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) system. In addition, the IR-CFBs patented secondary particle recycle system provides increased control, not found in other CFB technologies, to maintain an optimum uniform furnace temperature which is essential for low SO2 and NOx emissions.

Innovative Energy Solutions

B&W is committed to the continuing advancement of its uidized bed technologies. This commitment is demonstrated through continued research and development. In addition, eld demonstrations and testing have led to many improvements that are now implemented into our design standards as well as our operating CFB and BFB boilers.

Bubbling Fluidized-Bed Technology

For fuels with high moisture contents and low heating values such as sludges and high moisture biomass, B&W recommends the use of bubbling uidized-bed (BFB) technology. B&W offers an open bottom BFB design which is ideal for burning

The Babcock & Wilcox Company were the original. Weve been generating powerful solutions in the design, construction and service of steam generating systems since 1867. So put our experience and capabilities to work for you today. Insist on us by name. For more information, or a complete listing of our sales and service offices, call 1-800-BABCOCK (222-2625), send an e-mail to info@babcock.com, or access our Web site at www.babcock.com. The Babcock & Wilcox Company 20 S. Van Buren Avenue Barberton, Ohio, USA 44203 Phone: (330) 753-4511 Fax: (330) 860 -1886 Babcock & Wilcox Canada Ltd. 581 Coronation Boulevard Cambridge, Ontario, Canada N1R 5V3 Phone: (519) 621-2130 Fax: (519) 621-9681

Through our experience, expertise and total-scope services, B&W is dedicated to generating powerful solutions in an environmentally safe, efcient and economical manner.

The information contained herein is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended or to be construed as a warranty, an offer, or any representation of contractual or other legal responsibility. Generating Powerful Solutions is a service mark of The Babcock & Wilcox Company. 2006 The Babcock & Wilcox Company. All rights reserved. A McDermott company. E101-3148A 4MR6H

B&Ws Internal Recirculation Circulating Fluidized-Bed boiler is the technology of choice for power plant owners seeking economy, reliability and exibility.