AirPreheaterFiresinLargeCapacityBoilers

Thedamageduetoairpreheaterfireisveryseveredependingupontheintensityofthefire.In
manycasesithasmadetheregenerativeairpreheaterelementsamoltenmass.Theboiler
availabilitylosswillbehighifafiretakesplaceintheairheater.
Airpreheatersareheatrecoverysystemsusedinboilerstoimproveboileroperatingefficiency.
Therearetwomajortypesofairpreheaters,generallyused:recuperativetypeand
regenerativetype.Forhighersizesboilers,say350t/hrandabove,designersgenerallyadopt
theregenerativeone.Thisismainlyduetothecompactnessofregenerativeairpreheatersfor
higherheatduty.
Theregenerativetypeairpreheatersaremorepronetocatchfire.Whenaboilerisoperated
withpulverizedcoalwithahigherload,thentheprobabilityofairheaterfireislowunlessit
stopsrotatingandcontrolroomoperatorfailstonoticeit.Anairpreheaterfirecanhappen
duringstartuporshutdownwhenthereisapossibilityofalargevolumeofunburntparticles
reachingtheairpreheater.Thisunburntgetsdepositedintheairpreheaterselementsand
getsignitedwhenthetemperaturerisesandparticlesthatarestillburningreachthisarea.
Theplantoperatorwillhavetoquicklyrespondtotherelatedoperatingparameterwhenit
changesitstrendsharply.ThoughthereisaprovisionofAPHFireAlarmatDCS,operatorshould
getalertwhenbothairandfluegastemperatureleavingtheairpreheaterincreasesuddenly
withasteepgradient.
Thespecificcausesforanairpreheaterfire,theplantresponse,andtheimmediateoperator
responserequiredduringthis,arediscussedbelow:
Thespecificcauses

HeavyUnburntOil/sootdepositsinairpreheaterdueto
o Pooratomizationofoilbeingfired
o Wornoutoilburnertipsleadingtocoarserparticlesofoil
o Lowairflowthroughtheburnerleadingtounburntparticles
o Improperairdistributionbetweenprimary,secondaryetc
o Wrongtippositionwithrespecttodiffuserorspinner
InadequatefrequencyofoperationofAPHSootblowers
PluggedNozzlesofAPHSootblowers
LowblowingsteampressureinAPHSootblowers

PlantResponse

SharpriseinairtempatAPHoutletwillbenoticed
Increaseinfluegastemperatureatairpreheateroutlet

ImmediateOperatorAction

Tripunitonemergency
Stopallfansimmediately
Closealldampersontheairandfluegasside
FloodAPHwithwaterthroughairheaterwaterwashingsystemorotherwise
KeepAPHrotatingtoavoidbucklingoftheairpreheaterrotor

Adoptingsomeofthegoodoperatingpracticesofboilercanpreventairpreheaterfiretotally
duringthelifeoftheboiler.

Reducenumberofstartupsofboilertoabareminimum.
Avoidoperatingboilerinlowloadsrequiringoilsupportforaprolongedduration.
Cleanoilguntipsandlaptheinternalstosatisfythedesignrequirements.
Boilerstartupoperationmustbeavoidedwhenairpreheatersootblowersarenot
available.
AirSootBlowingmustbedoneregularlyasperschedule.LocalcheckingofAPHsoot
blowingisalsoveryessentialtoensuretheeffectivenessofsootblowingsystem.The
nonworkingairpreheatersalsomustbesootblownbykeepingtheisolationdamper
marginallyopentoallowthesoottobeblownout.
Thetrendofairandgastemperatureleavingtheairpreheatersshouldbeclosely
monitoredduringstartups,lowloadoperationandshutdown.
AnyfiredetectingdeviceprovidedbyOEMhastobekeptactiveandtestedasandwhen
possible.

Torepairtheairpreheaterdamagedduetofiretakeslargeamountoftimeandneedsspares
forreplacements.Someofthesparesoflargeairheaterswillnotbeavailableofftheshelf
whichcanfurtherdelaytheprocessofrepair.Theboileravailabilitylosswillbehighifafire
takesplaceinanairheater.Respondingquicklytosuspectedairpreheaterfireimmediately
andtakingcorrectiveactioncansavealotofmoney,downtime,andgenerationloss.
Adoptinggoodoperatingpracticealwaysleadstoimprovedavailabilityandefficiency.

SealclearancesshouldbecheckedatregularintervalsasperOEMrecommendation
Boilerparameterstobemaintainedasperorclosetodesign
APHleakageshouldbecheckedperiodicallyandcorrectiveactiontobetaken,if
necessary
PrimaryandSecondarycombustionairlosstobeminimizedforeffectiveheatrecovery
PressuredropacrosstheAPHshouldbemonitoredinshiftwise
OperatingconcernsofAPHaremainly,
o Corrosion
o Pluggingandcleaningofairpreheaterelements
o Erosionofheattransferelements
o Fireintheairpreheater