The large quantity and the low melting temperature of the ash make black liquor one of the most troublesome industrial fuels used for steam and power generation. Check ash melting Temp of slop.
Deposition of fly-ash on tube surfaces in the upper furnace of recovery boilers is a persistent problem in many kraft pulp mills. Massive deposit accumulation greatly reduces the boiler thermal efficiency, may create a corrosive environment at the tube surface, and in severe cases, may completely plug the flue gas passages, leading to unscheduled shutdown of the boiler.
Deposits consist of more than 99 wt% water-soluble alkali compounds, mainly sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) with a small amount of sodiumchloride (NaCl), and reduced sulphur compounds, such as Na2S. Potassium (K) is also present as a substitute for sodium. Check deposits analysis of slop Boiler.
The sticky temperature is an important parameter determining the rate of deposition in the region upstream of the generating bank. Stickiness is a strong function of deposit temperature, composition, particle size and velocity. Tube surface conditions also have a great impact on stickiness. Carryover particles are less sticky when they are covered with a layer of condensation, and/or when they are mixed with a large amount of unburned black liquor particles.
In the lower superheater, the flue gas temperature is usually higher than 820 o C (1510 o F). Carryover particles may still be burning (sparklers) and be at a higher temperature than the surrounding flue gas. Carryover and ISP are molten droplets, which strike and solidify on the tubes to form fused and hard deposits. As the deposit grows thicker, the outer surface temperature increases until it reaches the radical deformation temperature at which point the surface becomes fluid, slags and thus stops growing. Under such conditions, deposit thickness is self-limiting, that is, no accumulation occurs after the deposit reaches a certain thickness. Plugging thus does not occur in this region despite the fused, hard and adherent nature of underlying deposits.
In the higher superheater and in the region closer to the boiler bank, the flue gas temperature falls within the deposit sticky temperature zone (Figure 9). Carryover particles and ISP are always sticky, forming deposits that will continue to grow and will not be self-limiting, since their surface temperature is lower than the radical deformation temperature. In this region, therefore, massive deposit accumulation likely occurs if soot blowing is insufficient. The deposits usually form heavily on the tube leading edge due to the impaction of molten/partially molten carryover particles. They may eventually bridge the spacing between adjacent superheater platens.
Copper Nickle Tubes in Air Heaters: Copper-nickel tubes from the fan coolers in a nuclear power plant were found to have pitting corrosion under bacterialdeposits (Fig. 34). Slime-forming bacteria acting in concert with iron- and manganese-oxiding bacteria were responsible for the deposits. Pitting corrosion in 90Cu-10Ni tubes from a fan cooler in a nuclear power plant. Pits are located underthe small deposits associated with the deposition of iron and manganese by bacteria. Source: Ref 46[corrosion handbook] It is quite common to have bacterial slime films on the interior of copper alloy heat exchanger and condenser tubing. Usually, these films are a problem only with heat transfer as long as the organisms are living. When they die, however, organic decomposition produces sulfides, which are notoriously corrosive to copper alloys. Occasionally, NH3-induced stress-corrosion cracking has been directly attributed to microbial NH3 production.
Pitting. Aqueous solutions of chlorides, particularly oxidizing acid salts such as ferric and cupric chlorides, will cause pitting of a number of ferrous and nonferrous metals and alloys under a variety of conditions. The ferritic (400-series) and austenitic stainless steels are very susceptible to chloride pitting (as well as to crevice corrosion and SCC, which are discussed later in this section). Molybdenum as an alloying element is beneficial, so molybdenum-containing stainless steels, such as types 316 and 317, are more resistant than the non molybdenum alloys. However, most chloride environments require higher alloys containing greater amounts of chromium and molybdenum, such as Hastelloy alloy G- 3 (UNS N06985), Inconel alloy 625 (UNS N06625), and Hastelloy alloy C-22 (UNS N06022), for optimum performance. Exceptions are titanium and its alloys, which show exceptional resistance to aqueous chloride environments (including the oxidizing acid chlorides), and copper, copper-nickel, and nickel-copper alloys, which are widely used in marine applications.
All too often, however, galvanic corrosion caused by contact between dissimilar metals in the same environment is harmful. Examples are: Copper-nickel or stainless steel heat exchanger tubes rolled in plain carbon steel tubesheets exposed to river water for cooling.
Thermal stress relief is generally not one of the better preventive measures, because ammoniacal SCC occurs at relatively low stress levels. In fairly mild ammoniacal environments, such as the cooling tower water system mentioned above, the copper-nickel alloys, particularly 90Cu-10Ni, give good service.
Which is better SS 316 Tubes OR Copper - Nickel (90-10) Tubes
Heat Transfer Capability: Admiralty Brass is included in this table because use it is rated at 1.00 for a wall thickness of 18 BWG and is considered the standard to be used when making comparisons Material Tube [BWG] 22 20 18 Brass tube 102 101 100 Cu Ni 98 96 93 SS316 85 81 74
At the wall thicknesses which are commonly used, the 90/ 10 Copper-Nickel is shown to be superior. Once placed into service, the heat transfer capability of a condenser tube deteriorates from the new & clean condition due to the occurrence of fouling, scaling, etc. Cleanliness factors are used to adjust the new & clean values for in-service conditions and are based on the propensity for scaling and bio-fouling of the given material. The potential for growth of bio-fouling organisms in Type 316 SS justifies the use of a significantly higher cleanliness factor for the 90/10 Copper-Nickel. Thus, in the area of heat transfer, the 90/10 Copper-Nickel alloy has a definite advantage.
Biological Fouling: is more likely to occur in recirculating cooling water systems than in once-through systems and is a primary contributing factor to crevice-related attack in susceptible alloys. Bio-fouling can also have a significant adverse effect on heat transfer capability. All copper alloys are resistant to bio-fouling. By comparison, all stainless steel alloys are susceptible to bio-fouling. Manufacturers of stainless steels recommend increased flow rates, but chlorination is usually still required
General Corrosion Resistance: Both materials would be rated as Excellent because condenser tubes never fail prematurely from general corrosion. Rather, premature failure occurs because of a selective form of corrosion attack.
Erosion-Corrosion Resistance: The potential for erosion-corrosion is directly related to cooling water velocity. Both materials are good, but Type 316 SS is better. 8 fps is recommended as the maximum design water velocity for 90/10 Copper-Nickel in seawater, and 10 fps max is recommended for fresh water.
Sulfide-Related Pitting Attack: is the Achilles Heel of all copper alloys. The reader is cautioned against the use of 90/10 Copper-Nickel in cooling waters containing greater than 10 ppm sulfides.
Crevice-Related Pitting Attack:has historically been the Achilles Heel for stainless steel alloys. The increased chromium and molybdenum content of Type 316 SSvs. Type 304 SS improves the resistance of this alloy to crevice-related pitting attack, but exposure to temperatures above 70oF in stagnant water for any period of time should be avoided as the alloys resistance to crevice attack decreases above this temperature.
Steam Impingement Resistance: Virtually all copper-nickel and stainless steel alloys exhibit very good resistance to this type of corrosion.
Resistance to Ammonia Attack: Both 90/10 Copper-Nickel and Type 316 SS are considered suitable materials for the air removal section of the condenser.
Resistance to Stress Corrosion Cracking: Typical environments in which stress corrosion can occur include ammonia (for copper alloys) and chlorides (for stainless steels). 90/10 Copper-Nickel is essentially immune to stress corrosion in both of these environments. By comparison, Type 316 SS has been found to be susceptible to chloride stress corrosion.
Compatibility with other System Materials:Galvanic corrosion is a possibility whenever two dissimilar materials are in contact with one another as is often the case with condenser tubes and tubesheets. Traditionally, tubesheet materials have been produced from copper alloys, and 90/10 Copper-Nickel should be slightly favored when copper alloy tubesheetsare being used. When cathodic protection systems are utilized, the manufacturer should be consulted if Type 316 SS is selected as the tube material since too large of a negative potential can result in hydrogen embrittlement of the tube material.
Type of Corrosion Attack 90/10 Cu-Ni Type 316 SS General Corrosion Resistance Excellent Excellent Erosion-Corrosion Resistance Very High Excellent Resistance to Sulfide-Related Pitting Poor Excellent Resistance to Crevice-Related Pitting Excellent Fair Resistance to Bio-Fouling Very High Poor Steam Impingement Resistance Good Excellent Resistance to Condensate (Ammonia) Attack Very High Excellent Resistance to Stress Corrosion Cracking Excellent Fair
Conclusion: Assuming normal standard operating parameters, economics and heat transfer capability favor the selection of 90/10 Copper-Nickel. Should it be the alloy of choice, the reader is cautioned to review cooling water flow rates versus the recommended design velocities for the alloy and to evaluate the cooling water for the presence of sulfides. Should Type 316 Stainless Steel be the alloy of choice, the reader is cautioned to avoid exposure to temperatures above 70oF in stagnant waters (e.g., during half condenser operation during tube cleaning) and to fully explore the potential pitfalls of cathodic protection. Ref. http://olinbrass.com/sites/default/files/downloads/Olin-Brass-Fineweld-Tube- Technical-Letter-C706-vs-S316_0.pdf ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----
Desuperheater Selection and Optimization: Turndown represents the variability of the steam flowrate. Certain processes have a constant steam flow, so turndown is not an important design factor. Other applications, including power generation and food processing, require large disparities in steam flow. As a general rule, higher turndown requirements call for more complex and more expensive desuperheaters.
HEAT EXCHANGERS Another type of heat exchanger, which is specifically designed to realize a large heat transfer surface area per unit volume, is the compact heat exchanger. The ratio of the heat transfer surface area of a heat exchanger to its volume is called the area density .A heat exchanger with 700 m2/m3(or 200 ft2/ft3) is classified as being compact. Examples of compact heat exchangers are car radiators (1000 m2/m3). Air vs. Steam for Soot Blowing in Boilers: Generally speaking, soot blower manufacturers lances, with some modifications, will handle either cleaning media steam or compressed air. Cleaning energy is usually defined as: Fluid Horsepower = WV (P x 144)/33,000 Where: W is Flow in lbs. /min V is Specific Volume in Ft3/lb. P is Psig at the nozzle Other Soot Blowing Operational Considerations: Tube Erosion When steam is used as a cleaning medium and a soot blower starts is blowing cycle, there normally is a temperature differential between the soot blower and the steam. When this happens, steam condenses and slugs of water are ejected from the soot blower nozzle. After repeated cycles, the slugs may erode the tubes in the boilers requiring plugging of the tubes and eventually replacement. Tube erosion can often be a more significant problem in a steam system than in a compressed air system. Wall Blowers or IR Blowers Wall blowers are used to clean the furnace walls and will probably use approximately 2,200 to 2,300 scfm. Wall blowers normally operate in one or more pairs depending on the overall cycle. Their basic job is to reduce slag that has accumulated on the pipes in the upper levels of the boiler, and superheated region. When the slag builds up on the pipes the rate of heat transfer decreases, this will lower the temperature of the steam going to the superheated portion of the system, therefore decreasing overall efficiency of the system. A normal cycle for a wall blower starts when it energizes and moves out into the furnace to its outermost position where the control valve opens and air starts flowing. It takes three seconds to go from zero to full flow. The wall blower rotates one or more times depending on the amount of cleaning required and then the control valve closes in three seconds and the blower retracts into the wall. The time for a wall blower cycle is approximately three to six minutes and the period of zero flow between wall blower flow to no-flow to flow can be as high as 1 _ minutes in a normal sequence. This may be reduced if cycle time needs to be reduced by overlapping. Long Retractable Lances or IR Blowers Long retractable blowers are used to clean pendant-type radiant surfaces and convection surfaces in high temperature zones as well as convection passes to reduce slag buildup on the walls of the boiler and for temperature control. These areas are normally in the super-heater, reheater, and the economizer section. The long retractable lance cycle starts when the lance energizes and extends into the boiler and air starts flowing with the three-second delay from the control valve. The lance travels outward and rotates at the same time. The linear speed varies from 65 to 150 inches per minute, depending on the cleaning and temperature zone requirements. Air Heaters The long retractable blowers are often also used in the air heater section. Sometimes a swing arm type blower may be used in the air heater section. This will use a lower magnitude of compressed air, but will generally require a longer cycle.
System Interlocks Several safety interlocks can be provided on soot blowing systems. One or more of the interlocks listed below may be used: These safety interlocks are used to prevent damage due to low air pressure or flow to the lances, especially the long retractable lances while they are operating in the boiler. The loss of a lance will reduce boiler efficiency and eventually will lead to a plant shutdown. Advantages of Sonic Soot Blowers Sonic soot blowers are a proven alternative to conventional steam soot blowers in power generation plants which burn a range of fossil fuels and other waste fuels including bio fuels, and as a result, suffer boiler fouling and slagging problems. Depending on the application and boiler plant design, sonic soot blowers usually totally replace existing high maintenance steam soot blowers whether retractable or rotary. In a few cases, sonic soot blowers can be used to supplement steam soot blowers.
Mechanisms of Steam Soot Blower Erosion. written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 7/4/2010 There are many mechanisms that can cause steam soot blower erosion of boiler tubes at various heat transfer sections. Knowing the way these mechanisms contribute to erosion will help to prevent loss of availability of boiler. Soot blowers are provided in boilers at various locations like water-walls, superheaters, reheaters, economizers and air pre-heaters. Steam soot blowers have specific advantage and disadvantages over other types. The advantages being mainly their low capital cost, operating cost and the effectiveness of cleaning in areas like furnace, superheaters and reheaters. The major disadvantages are they need a higher level of maintenance; effectiveness is low in oil firing mainly in air pre-heater area. They need warm up and condensate draining before startup. The mechanisms of steam soot blower erosion of heat transfer tubes can be a single factor or multiple factors acting individually or in unison. There are much more than hundred soot boilers in boilers generating and supplying steam for a 500 MW and above plants. Possible mechanisms o All blowers are set to be set at the right steam pressure recommended by the designer if this is not done then it leads to poor cleaning or higher rate of tube erosion due to high steam pressure. This is true for all soot blowers in the boiler starting from furnace to air pre- heater. o The alignment of the blower with respect to the furnace walls, superheater tubes, reheater tubes, economizer tubes and air pre-heater tubes or elements is very critical and not maintaining this leads to erosion of the tubes and subsequent metal wastage. The thinning of the tubes finally leads to pinhole failures and many secondary figures due to this depending upon the orientation of the leak. o It is required to ensure at least 50 degree centigrade of super heat in the steam being used for blowing. If the super heat in the steam is lower than required then during blowing wet steam impinge the tubes at high velocity and the impact force damaging the heat transfer tubes. This can be identified by the typical spit like metal wastage on the tubes surrounding the blowers area of effectiveness. o The duration of operation of blowers is another main reason for erosion of the heat transfer tubes. Even if you maintain the correct pressure and temperature the erosion will take place at a slow phase if duration is more than required. o In coal fired boiler if alignment is not correct then the ash deposits being cleaned can get entrained and cause erosion of tubes. However in oil fired boilers it is not a mechanism that can happen due to the fact that the ash in oil is not significant at all. o The higher frequency of operation of the soot blowers than needed also leads to tube erosion. o Optimizing the soot blower operation is important as operating those blowers where deposits are not there or very low will lead to metal wastage over a period of time. o Failure to drain the condensate in the soot blower steam pipes is also contributing mechanism of tube erosion. The condensate gets entrained in the steam while the blower operates and has a much higher damaging effect than the lower degree of superheat in steam.
SLOP [ DISTILLARY SPENT WASH] On an average 8-15L of effluent is generated for every litre of alcohol produced (Saha et. al, 2005) In India, there are 319 industries producing 3.25 billion litres of alcohol and generating 40.4 billion litres of wastewater annually (Pant et. al, 2007) Molasses spent wash has very high levels of BOD, COD as well as high potassium, phosphorus and sulphate content contains 2% of a dark brown pigment called melanoidins that impart colour to the spent wash Melanoidins are toxic to many microorganisms involved in wastewater treatment High COD, total nitrogen and total phosphate content of the distillery effluent may result in the eutrophication of the natural water bodies Spent wash is reported to inhibit seed germination, reduce soil alkalinity, cause soil manganese deficiency and damage agricultural crops.
FLUIDISED BED BOILER FUNDAMENTALS:
Grate combustion has many more disadvantages than combustion of pulverized coal: lower combustion efficiency, application limited only to high rank, coarse particle coals, without fine particles. Bulky and heavy movable parts are exposed to high temperatures. Ash sintering in the furnace is common. The price of the equipment for flue gas cleaning from SO2, NOx and ash particles is high compared to the price of the boiler itself and makes the energy production uncompetitive in the market.
Bulk density of particulate solids is the mass of particles per unit of bed volume. Bulk density is always smaller than the true density of a solid particle, since the bed volume includes the volume of voids between the particles. Bulk density depends on the size and shape of the particles, state of particle surface, density of the solid particle and mode of particle packing.
In solid fuel fluidized bed combustion boilers 3050% of the total generated heat is transferred to the exchanger surfaces which are in contact with the bed of inert material. Heat transfer surfaces may be tube bundles immersed into the fluidized bed, or water-tube furnace walls in contact with the bed
During start-up from such low bed temperatures there are two critical moments. Up to the temperature of 500600 C, there is no combustion of volatiles, so that a larger amount of char accumulates in the bed than needed for normal boiler operation. When the ignition temperature of volatiles is achieved, a sudden increase of bed temperature may occur, as well as bed overheating and even ash sintering and agglomeration of inert material. In order to prevent such sudden temperature rises, the start-up of the boiler is begun with a smaller coal flow rate than needed for steady state operation, and coal feeding may be periodically interrupted, and then restarted, when bed temperature drops are noticed.
The following construction and design solution can reduce the amount of heat and power needed by the start-up chamber for reasonably fast start-up of FBC boilers:
division of the fluidized bed (furnace) into several sections. Only one, the smaller, section is heated by combustion products and the fuel is injected in it first. The remaining, larger section of the furnace does not operate during start-up. Heating of the remaining part of the furnace is performed by periodical fluidization and mixing of bed material with heated material from the start-up section. Fuel feeding into this section of the furnace begins when adequate temperature is achieved,
heat exchanger surfaces are typically not built into the start-up section of the furnace, and even any furnace water-tube walls are coated with firebricks in this section, and
start-up of the boiler begins using a decreased amount of inert material in the bed, so that the heat transfer surface remains above or outside this section of the bed.
Fuels which have low char combustion rate (low reactive coals), such as anthracite, coke and high rank coals burn in FBC boilers with very low efficiency independent of their volatile content. The basic reason for this is that the residence time of char particles smaller than 1 mm is insufficient to allow for complete combustion. Losses due to incomplete combustion of particles, which are elutriated from the furnace, can be very high. When burning these coals it is essential to recirculate the fly ash particles caught in cyclones or bag filters in order to increase efficiency. Combustion temperature is the dominant parameter influencing the combustion rate of low reactive coals, and therefore combustion efficiency, so in these cases a higher bed temperature must be employed, although this may adversely affect sulphur capture or NOx emissions.
The maximum temperature cannot exceed 900950 C because of problems with ash softening and possible bed sintering and increased NOx emissions.
In the case of limestone derived beds, if they become flooded with water during the cool down process, then the bed materials may require major efforts to remove the mass of cement like material that will form once liquid water is present. For this reason, special attention should be paid to the processes of erosion and design of any heat exchangers in the bed.
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes (BPVC):
Section I Rules for construction of Power Boilers Section IV Rules for construction of Heating Boilers Section VI Recommended Rules for Care and Operation of Heating Boilers Section VII Recommended Rules for Care and Operation of Power Boilers Section VIII Pressure Vessels, Divisions 1 and 2c (rules for construction of pressure vessels including deaerators, blowoff separators, softeners, etc.) Section IX Welding and Brazing Qualifications (the section of the Code that defines the requirements for certified welders and welding.)
B-31.1 Power Piping Code CSD-1 Controls and Safety Devices for Automatically Fired Boilers (applies to boilers with fuel input in the range of 400 thousand and less than 12.5 million Btuh input)
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Codes NFPA - 30 Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code NFPA - 54 National Fuel Gas Code NFPA - 58 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code NFPA - 70 National Electrical Code NFPA - 85 Boiler and Combustion Systems Hazards Code (applies to boilers over 12.5 million Btuh input)
Suggested Matter and Data to Record in Boiler Air heater outlet air temperature: Monitoring the heated air temperature along with flue gas inlet and outlet temperatures provide an indication of fouling of the heat transfer surfaces,
Feedwater temperature: The amount of steam a boiler can generate is dependent on feedwater temperature. Lower temperature feedwater will reduce the capacity of the boiler to generate steam. It has an effect on evaporation rate and overall plant performance. The temperature is also indicative of deaerator performance. Feedwater temperature: The amount of steam a boiler can generate is dependent on feedwater temperature. Lower temperature feedwater will reduce the capacity of the boiler to generate steam. It has an effect on evaporation rate and overall plant performance. The temperature is also indicative of deaerator performance.