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COMBUSTION AND SAFE

FURNACE OPERATIONS

GLOBAL CONSULTANTS

SAGA Global Consultants

The Think Tank for the Oil and Gas Industry
 INDEX

Topics

Section - 1 : Process of Combustion

Section - 2 : Types of Heaters & Their Services

Section - 3 : Parts of Heater & Mechanical Features

Section - 4 : Types and Configuration of Burners

Section - 5 : Burner Design Considerations

Section - 6 : Burner Selection and Installation

Section - 7 : Burner Operation and Maintenance

Section - 8 : Energy Conservation in Furnaces

Section - 9 : Heater Operating Practices

Section - 10 : Trouble-shooting for Proper Combustion

GLOBAL CONSULTANTS
 Section - 1
PROCESS OF COMBUSTION
 SECTION 1
PROCESS OF COMBUSTION
Combustion

Combustion is the rapid chemical reaction between oxygen and a combustible material that
releases heat and light. Usually, combustible material is a hydrocarbon and ambient air
supplies the oxygen. Complete combustion occurs when there is sufficient oxygen to convert
all of carbon to carbon dioxide and all of the hydrogen to water. In plant furnaces, air
provides the oxygen. Air is 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen by volume. Nitrogen is an inert gas
and does not contribute to combustion. The ratio of fuel to oxygen is critical in combustion.
Combustion is complete when all the chemical fuel has been oxidised. The most efficient
combustion is complete with about 15 to 20% excess air. There is sufficient air to assure
that all of the carbon will be burned to carbon dioxide without wasting fuel in heating up a
large amount of excess air. Incomplete combustion means that there is either un-burnt or
partially reacted fuel, i.e., carbon monoxide, hydrogen, etc.

The elements of practical combustion are normally referred to time, temperature, and
turbulence. Every combustion process must have:
i) Sufficient time for complete chemical reactions.
ii) Sufficient temperature to heat the fuel through its various decomposition stages and to
ignite the carbon and hydrogen, and
iii) Sufficient turbulence to mix the oxygen and fuel elements completely.

Combustion Reactions

Carbon, hydrogen and sulphur in the fuel combine with oxygen in the air to form carbon
dioxide, water vapour and sulphur dioxide releasing 8084 kcals, 28922 kcals and 2224 kcals of
heat respectively. Under certain conditions, carbon may also combine with oxygen to form
carbon monoxide, which results in the release of a smaller quantity of heat (2430 kcals/kg of
carbon).

C + O2 = CO2 + 8084 kcal/kg of carbon

2 H2 + O 2 = 2 H2O + 28,922 kcal/kg of hydrogen

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S + O2 = SO2 + 2,224 kcal/kg of sulphur
2 C + O2 = 2 CO + 2430 kcal/kg of carbon
By a reaction of sulphur dioxide with oxygen, if excess air is used for combustion, sulphur
trioxide (SO3) may also be formed as a combustion product.

Heat of Combustion

The heat given off by burning completely one kg of fuel is called its calorific value. The
amount of heat liberated when a unit quantity of fuel is burned is called the heating value or
heat of combustion. The heat of liberation when 1 kg of a fuel at 20°C is burned and the
products of combustion are cooled to 20°C is called the Net heating value (NCV). If the
combustion products are cooled to 20°C and in addition the water vapour in the flue gas is
condensed, the Gross heating value (GCV) is obtained. In most of the industrial processes the
water vapour contained in the stack or flue gases is not condensed and hence the most
logical basis for judging the thermal efficiency of equipment is the Net heating value (NCV).
Typical calorific values of Fuel oil and Low Sulphur Heavy Stock (LSHS) are as under:

Fuel Oil / LSHS

Fuel Burned
GCV, Kcal/kg 10230 / 10730
NCV, Kcal/kg 9650 / 10130

Chemistry of Combustion

The main constituent elements in the Fuel oils are Carbon, Hydrogen and Sulphur. Typical
analysis of the heavy fuel oils is shown below:

Fuel Carbon %wt Hydrogen %wt Sulphur %wt

Fuel Oil 86.0 12.0 2.0
LSHS 86.7 12.8 0.5

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These elements react with the oxygen (from air) to form carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapour
(H2O), and sulphur dioxide (SO2).

Ideal or Stoichiometric Combustion

Air containing just the right quantity of oxygen to burn the fuel completely is called the
“Stoichiometric” or “ideal” amount. In ideal combustion process, for burning one kg of a
typical Fuel oil containing 2%wt Sulphur, 86%wt Carbon and 12%wt Hydrogen, theoretically
required minimum quantity of air is 14.1 kg. (Containing 3.27 kg. of Oxygen and 10.83 kg. of
Nitrogen). Carbon reacts with oxygen to form 3.15 kg of carbon dioxide and hydrogen reacts
with oxygen to form 1.08 kg of water. Nitrogen in the air does not take part at all in the
reaction. Carbon is fully converted to carbon dioxide releasing full heat. In addition, carbon
dioxide, along with sulphur dioxide, constitutes 21.1% by weight of flue gases.

Unfortunately, most industrial burners require excess air over and above the Stoichiometric
air for completing the combustion reactions. This excess air does not take part in the
combustion reactions. On the other hand, the excess air gets heated by the flame and it
throws away this heat through the chimney. To maximize fuel efficiency, minimize the
excess air.

Excess Air

How do we determine the Excess air? The simplest way is to analyse the flue gas and find
the CO2%. If excess air is nil, CO2% will be around 15.5%vol. As excess air is increased, the
product of combustion (POC) gets diluted by this excess air. As a result, CO2% in POC comes
down and O2% increases. It is possible to relate the excess air and CO2%. This can be shown in
tabular form:

Excess Air % 0 25 50 75 100 200

CO2% (FO) 15.4 12.2 10.1 8.6 7.5 4.9
CO2 % (LSHS) 15.5 12.2 10.1 8.6 7.5 4.9

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CO2% in the flue gas can be measured very easily by a portable gas analyzer or by the
Orsat apparatus. For most burners, CO2% of 13-13.5 is the ideal range. When the burner is
turned down, CO2% should not drop below 11-12. If the CO2 % is less than the recommended
values, the dampers in the air duct or chimney should be adjusted to get high CO2% readings.

Figure 1 – Stoichiometric Combustion

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Flue Gas Temperature

The heat loss with the flue gases (stack loss) increases with high excess air. It also increases
with high flue gas temperature. The heat content in the flue gas is given by ‘m x c x t’.
With high excess air ‘m’, the mass of flue gas increases. The heat capacity ‘c’ is nearly
constant. The temperature difference ‘t’ increases with high flue gas temperature.

The recommended flue gas temperatures are 200°C with FO firing and 160°C with LSHS
firing. If the temperature is high the stack loss increases. If it is lower, there is danger of
low temperature corrosion.

Causes for high Stack losses

As discussed above, the main causes for high stack losses are, excess air, high flue gas
temperature, incomplete combustion and air infiltration. Causes for high excess air are –
i) Incorrect operation of burners
ii) Oversized burners, or
iii) Excessive draft.

Flue gas temperature may be high due to -

i) Poor design
ii) Overloading,
iii) Decrease in heat transfer by scale and soot deposits.

To avoid incomplete combustion, air quantity should be such that the smoke is light hazy
brown. It must neither be black nor colourless. Air infiltration may be caused by
unnecessary openings, poor brick work, ill-fitted dampers or through expansion joints. When
these points are attended, the stack losses gets reduced and the thermal efficiency is
improved.

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 Section - 2
TYPES OF HEATERS & THEIR
SERVICES
 SECTION 2
TYPES OF HEATERS & THEIR SERVICES

HEAT TRANSFER

Heat is a form of energy in heaters. It is developed from chemical energy by burning oil or
fuel gas. It is measured in terms of calorie which is defined as the amount of heat required
to warm up one gram of water by one degree centigrade. Rise in temperature is the main
effect of heat. Heat is transferred by –

1) Conduction: Conduction in the heater is the mechanism to transfer heat through the
metal wall of the tube to the material flowing within the tube.

2) Convection: The phenomenon involves the hot combustion gases give up heat to the
cooler flue gases that exist around the outside of the furnace tubes.

3) Radiation: The phenomenon involves direct receipt of heat from the burners through the
intervening space to the tubes. It is also reflected to the tubes after striking the furnace
wall.

Section where greater fraction of total heat transferred by the mechanism of radiation is
called Radiation section. As the flue gases leaves the firebox on the way to the stack they
give up heat to the charge in a series of tubes. This part of a furnace is known as the
convection section. Most of the heaters are designed for 70% addition of heat by radiation
and 30% by convection.

TYPES OF HEATERS

Fired equipment transfers heat produced by combustion of the fuel to the process stream.
The process stream varies widely, e.g., natural gas, heavier hydrocarbons, water, glycol,
amine solutions, heat transfer oils, and molten salts. Fired equipment can be classified as:

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1) Direct fired heaters where the combustion gases occupy most of the heater volume and
heat the process stream contained in pipes arranged in front of refractory walls of the
Radiant section and in a bundle in the upper portion the convection section. Convective
heaters are a special application in which there is only a convection section.
2) Fire tube heaters where the combustion gases are contained in a fire tube that is
surrounded by a liquid that fills the heater shell. This liquid may be either the process
stream or a heat transfer medium that surrounds the coil bundle containing the process
stream.

DIRECT FIRED HEATERS

Direct fired heaters vary in size from 0.5 Million Btu/hr small package regeneration gas
heaters to 1000 Million Btu/hr steam hydrocarbon reformer heaters. In the gas processing
industry the usual range is 1 to 20 Million Btu/hr.

There are many variations in the design and detailed construction of fired heaters and as a
result virtually every fired heater is tailor made to suit the needs. The simplest type of fired
heater has the entire tube coil arranged along the walls of the radiant section or combustion
chamber. This design is characterized by low efficiency and normally represents the lowest
capital investment. In addition to the radiant section, most fired heaters include a
convection section where residual heat of flue gases from radiant section is recovered
primarily by convection. In both cases, the heat is supplied by burners located on the floor of
the combustion chamber or on side walls. The combustion air for burners is supplied by the
draft created by the heater stack or by means of a fan. Stack located on the top of the
heater or on grade, is provided to generate draft in the heater and also for safe disposal of
the flue gases.

Types of Direct Fired Heaters

There are two basic configurations: Cylindrical and Cabin, see Figure 2. The simplest design
is vertical-cylindrical with only radiant tubes. Thermal Efficiency is about 60% and the stack
gas temperature is 1200°F or more. Burners in the floor fire upward. A stainless steel baffle
slows the exit flow of the hot gases and reradiates heat back to the top part of the tubes.

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There is a short stack that usually has no damper. The design is low cost and suited for low
cost fuel. Adding a convection section improves the Thermal Efficiency to about 80%. The
radiant section may be either cylindrical or cabin, and the coil configuration either helical or
serpentine, These heaters cost more than the all-radiant type but they use less fuel for any
given duty. By cooling the combustion gases to about 300°F, efficiency can be increased to
over 90%. This requires either a combustion air pre-heater using exhaust gas or an additional
convection section. These units have the highest capital cost and lowest fuel requirement for
any given duty.

Design modifications are used when the tube material is expensive. A bridge wall is installed
down the centre of the cabin. The radiant tubes are placed above the bridge wall so that
they are, in effect, double fired.

The principal classification of fired heaters is relating to the orientation of the heating coil
in radiant section, i.e., vertical or horizontal. Some of the most widely used configurations
with their salient features are noted below:

a) Vertical Cylindrical, All Radiant

In this layout, the tube coil is arranged vertically along the walls of radiant section. Firing
is up-shot from the floor of the heater. It is a low cost but low efficiency design. Typical
heat duties range is 0.2 to 5.0 Million Kcals / hr.

b) Vertical Cylindrical Helical Coil

In these heaters, the radiant coil is arranged helically along the walls of combustion
chamber and firing is vertically upwards from the floor. Tube coils is drainable but the
limitation is that it is a single pass user. Heat duties range from 0.2 to 5.0 Million
Kcals/hr.

c) Vertical Cylindrical with Cross Flow Convection

Heater has both radiant and convection sections. Radiant tube coils are arranged in a
vertical hair pin arrangement along walls of combustion chamber with convection above
radiant section arranged as horizontal tube bank. It is an economical, high efficiency
design, requiring minimum plot area. Heater Duty range is from 1 to 25 Million Kcals/hr.

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d) Vertical Tube, Double Fired
In these heaters, radiant tubes are arranged vertically in a single row in each combustion
chamber and fired from both sides in a row. These types of heaters are used for
achieving a very uniform heat transfer rates. Convection section is located on the top or
on the side of the radiant section.

e) Horizontal Tube, Cabin

Radiant section consists of horizontal radiant tubes along side walls and sloping roof.
Convection section is placed as horizontal bank above radiant. Normally, tubes are fired
vertically from the floor. In another variation they are fired horizontally by burners
mounted on side walls. Economical design with heater duty ranges from 5 to 40 Million
Kcals/hr.

f) Twin Cell Horizontal Tube Box

Radiant section of this furnace consists of two combustion chambers with tubes in
horizontal arrangement on the side walls and arch. Convection section is located
between the two radiant sections. It is vertically fired from the floor. Typical heater duty
ranges from 15 to100 Million Kcals/hr.

g) Horizontal Tube Cabin with dividing Bridge-wall

In this heater, the radiant section has the tubes arranged horizontally against the walls
and arch. A dividing bridge-wall is provided which allows for the individual firing controls
over each cell and burners can be on either side mounted or floor mounted on both sides
of bridge wall. Typical heat duties range from 5 to 25 Million Kcals/hr.

h) End Fired Horizontal Tube Box

The radiant section tube coil is arranged horizontally along side walls and roof of the
combustion chamber. Convection section tube coil is arranged as a horizontal bank of
tubes positioned above the radiant section. Furnaces are horizontally fired by burners
mounted on end walls. In a variation, the convection section is arranged in a horizontal
bank positioned along the chamber, and are normally found in older installations.

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i) Horizontal Tube, Both Sides Fired
Horizontal radiant tubes are arranged in a single row and are fired from both sides to
achieve a uniform distribution of heat transfer around tube. The burners are located on
the floor of the heater. These heaters are used in critical services.

Fired heaters can also be classified according to the method of combustion air supply and
flue gas removed. An induced draft fired heater uses an induced draft fan in place of stack
to maintain negative pressure and to induce flow of combustion air and removal of flue gas.
A forced draft fired heater is the one where-in combustion air is supplied by means of a
forced draft fan. A forced draft / induced draft heater is normally provided with air pre-
heaters and has both forced draft fan and an induced draft fan.

Figure 2 - Cylindrical and Cabin Heaters

Cylindrical or Cabin? And Vertical or Horizontal Tubes?

Cylindrical heaters have the following advantages:

 They require the smallest plot area for a given duty

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 The cost is usually 10% to 15% lower in the larger sizes.
 They can accommodate more parallel passes in the process coil.
 For large duties, a cylindrical heater has a taller firebox and more natural draft at the
burner.
 The flue gas velocity is usually higher in the convection section and hence the flue gas
film coefficient is higher.
 Fewer and expensive tube supports or guides are required in the convection section.
 The noise plenums or preheated combustion air plenums are smaller.
 Fewer soot blowers are required in the convection section. Soot blowers are not needed
for gaseous fuel.
 If coil drainage is a problem, a helical coil may be used when there is only one pass.

Cabin Heaters have the following advantages:

 The process coil can always be drained
 Two-phase flow problems are less severe. (Slug flow can generally be avoided.)
 Cabins can accommodate side-firing or end-firing burners instead of only vertically
upward firing. This permits the floor of the heater to be closer to the ground. (Some
burner manufacturers prefer to fire liquid fuels horizontally)
 A smaller capital investment is required when the duty is less than 10 MM Btu/hr.

HEATER SERVICES

Process industry requirement for fired heaters are divided in some half a dozen general
service categories.

a) Column Re-boilers
The feed stock taken from distillation column is a re-circulating liquid that is partially
vaporised in the fired heater. They are characterized by relatively small temperature
differentials and by substantial vaporisation.

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b) Fractionating Column Feed Pre-heaters
The charge stock, usually all liquid, is sent to fired heater to raise the temperature high
enough to achieve partial vaporisation of the charge stock. Typical example is feed
heater for crude oil in atmospheric column.

c) Reactor Feed Pre-heaters

Fired heaters, in this category, raise the charge stock temperature to a level necessary
for controlling a chemical reaction taking place in adjoining reactor vessel. The fluid,
temperature and pressure levels can vary considerably according to the process. Typical
examples are steam super heating in styrene plant, naphtha and hydrogen pre-heaters in
Catalytic Desulfurization units.

d) Hot Oil Heaters

In many processes, heat is furnished to user by means of an intermediate heat transfer
medium. A fired heater is generally employed to elevate the temperature of re-
circulating mediums like dowtherm, therminol, thermax, hot oils, molten salts, etc.

e) Fired Reactors
This class consists of heaters in which a chemical reaction occurs within the tube coil.
They represent the most sophisticated and intricate Technology. In Refinery, heaters like
Vis-breaker, Delayed Coker, Thermal Crackers fall in this class, where molecular
rearrangement of the feed takes place.

f) Steam Hydrocarbon Reformers / Pyrolysis Heaters

It has tubes in the combustion chamber which function as vertical reactors filled with
nickel catalyst. The reforming furnaces are heart of ammonia, methanol and hydrogen
Plants. Pyrolysis heaters are used to produce olefins from gaseous feed stocks such as
ethane, propane and from liquid feed stocks such as naphtha and gas oil. In these
heaters temperature control is very essential.

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HEATER INSPECTION

Common Failure Phenomena in Fired Heaters are listed below:

1. The fire side of radiant tubes is prone to high temperature oxidation and subsequent
decarburization and softening of the tubes.

2. Localized hot spots and flame impingement on radiant tubes may result in bulging and
rupture. Grain growth may be observed at such locations. Ferrite alloy steels may
undergo graphitization and hardening.

3. Heater tubes processing high sulfur crudes are prone to internal corrosion, and corrosion
rate may be higher at flame side.

4. Streams containing chloride salts, wet phenols etc. cause pitting corrosion internally.

5. Naphthenic acids cause corrosion at areas of turbulence such as return bends,

downstream of weld joints, etc.

6. Heater tubes are prone to creep and stress rupture.

7. Overheating and unequal temperature on tubes may result in sagging, bowing and
swaying of the tubes.

8. Tubes/ support seating surface is prone to wear. Tube vibration may aggravate the rate
of wear.

9. All weld joints on tubes are prone to failure depending on service and fire box conditions.

10. Convection tubes are prone to acid dew point corrosion if flue gas temperature is low
enough. Similarly, all tube external surfaces may be affected by acidic corrosion during
down time.

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11. Convection section studded tubes are prone to internal pitting type corrosion due to
differential temperatures between studded and bare areas.

12. Heater tube surfaces subjected to temperatures higher than 650 deg C may suffer fuel
ash corrosion.

13. Tubes are prone to internal damage if mechanical decoking tool (turbining) operates at
one place for prolonged period.

14. Repeated hammering during hammer testing may cause damage to alloy steel tubes.

Failures in other Parts of Heater:

1. Tube supports may be affected by high temperature oxidation and fuel ash corrosion.
Austenitic stainless steel tube supports may undergo sigma phase transformation and
related deterioration.

2. Tube supports also may fail mechanically due to overloading caused by bowing/swaying of
tubes, loss of strength and tube vibration.

3. All un-cooled parts of the heaters such as burners, burner plates, exposed casing, etc. are
affected by high temperature.

4. Acid dew point corrosion takes place during shutdown and when on stream, if
temperature is low enough at convection/air pre-heater sections and flue gas stack.

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 Section - 3
PARTS OF HEATER & MECHANICAL
FEATURES
 SECTION 3
PARTS OF HEATER & MECHANICAL FEATURES

PARTS OF HEATER & MECHANICAL FEATURES

A Fired Heater typically consists of the steel work casing, refractory, tube coil, burners,
dampers, soot blowers, stack etc. A number of process, structural and other factors
influence the choice of materials and mechanical design features of the fired heater. Given
below is a brief description of salient parts of any fired heater.

(a) Casing and Structural Frame Work

The outer wall or casing of heater is fabricated from 3/16 or ¼ inch steel plate,
reinforced against wrapping by structural members. Heater structural steel framework
provides load carrying members which take care of all expansion of heater, it also
supports the tube coil and bears all the weight.

(b) Refractory
The steel casing described above is lined internally with insulating materials to prevent
the steel structure from getting overheated and also to ascertain fire box heat at high
temperature by radiating to the tube coil and minimise the heat losses. Some of the
major factors to be borne while selecting the refractory material are that it should with-
stand extreme temperature, thermal shocks, high mechanical stresses, erosion, chemical
attack and economical. Three types of basic refractory materials are used as lining in
fired heaters (i) Insulating Fire Brick, (ii) Castable Refractory & (iii) Ceramic Fibre.

c) Radiant Section
The radiant section or firebox should:
 Obtain complete combustion of the fuel with a reasonable amount of excess air, i.e.
10% to 15%.
 Contain the flame and avoid impingement on the tubes.
 Distribute the radiant heat flux.
 Cool the combustion gases to 1500°-1900 °F to protect the convection section.

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 The proportions of the firebox are the key to good performance. Generally, the flame
length should be 60% of the firebox length and the clearance between the flame and
tubes at least 1.5 ft. For small cylindrical heaters, the tube circle should be equal to the
length of the firebox. For small cabin heaters, the width, height and tube length should
be equal. For large heaters the height of a cylindrical heater is twice the tube circle, and
for cabins a good ratio of width to height to length is 1:2:4. The firebox shell is
reinforced steel plate. The insulation behind the tubes is usually 5 inches of 1:2:6 lumnite
(cement), haydite (aggregate), vermiculite (insulation) castable. The floor is at least 6
inches of 1:2:6 castable, often with a firebrick surface. The bridge wall is always
firebrick.

By far the most common tube material is A-106B carbon steel. The nominal size range is 2
to 8 inches with 3 and 4 inches the most prevalent. Short radius return bends are
standard and the tubes are usually 1.5 nominal diameters from the refractory wall. For
these arrangements, the maximum heat flux directly facing the flame is 1.9 times the
average flux. (With long radius return bends the maximum heat flux is 1.45 times the
average). The flux to the front 60° of the tube is 1.8 times the average and the front
half-tube flux is 1.5 times the average. Any flux mal-distribution due to tall narrow
fireboxes or short flames (usually less than 15%), must be added to this. For double firing
the circumferential mal-distribution is reduced from 1.8 to 1.25.

d) Convection Section
The purpose of the convection section is to transfer as much heat as possible from the
combustion gases leaving the radiant section. As always there is a trade-off between
capital cost; i.e., adding more tubes, and operating cost; i.e., improved thermal
efficiency. The construction is similar to that for the radiant section, a steel plate shell
with internal castable or ceramic fibre insulation. The tubes are staggered, and the space
between the sidewall and tube is filled with "corbels" to prevent the flue gases from
bypassing the end tubes.

The first two rows of the convection section are called shock tubes and they "see” the
firebox flame. The first row receives the full radiant heat flux and also some convective
heat transfer. It has the highest heat transfer flux in the heater and is always bare tubes.

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 The second shock row receives about one-third of the radiant flux as well as convective
heat transfer from the flue gas. It is also bare tubes. If long radius return bends are used,
the third row will receive radiant heat and it too should be bare tubes.

Helical fins, sometimes serrated to increase turbulence, are used as soon as possible,
i.e., when the fin tip temperature is not excessive, e.g., 1000°F for carbon steel.
Typically, when Natural Gas is the fuel, the fins are 1 inch high, 0.06 inch thick and up to
72 fins per linear ft. For oil fired heaters where soot deposition is possible, the fins are 1
inch high, 0.105 inch thick and not more than 36 fins per ft. Often the first finned row
has fewer, shorter, and thicker fins to reduce the fin tip temperature. Where ash and
soot fouling are expected, a lane is left every four or five rows for soot blowers. These
are tubes equipped with nozzles that direct steam against the tubes. Soot blowing is
intermittent and is seldom used more than once every shift.

The fins compensate for the low flue gas heat transfer coefficient. Typically, the heat
flux in the convection section is 2000-4000 Btu/(hr sq ft) of finned surface or 12,000-
24,000 Btu/(hr sq ft) on a bare tube basis.

Cast iron tube supports can be used below 800°F and 25% chrome-12% nickel is good up to
2000°F. With high vanadium or sodium levels in the fuel oil, 50% chrome-50% nickel must
be used.

The distance between supports for horizontal tubes should be lesser of 35 outside tube
diameters or 20 ft. The distance between supports on vertical tubes should not exceed
either 70 tube diameters or 40 ft. Usually, return bends are external to the tube sheets.
This prevents flue gases from bypassing the tube fins.

e) Tube Coil
Tube coil is the most important component of a fired heater and it forms a major portion
of the total cost of any fired heater. The straight pipes are connected on both ends by
return fitting to form a coil. The tubes or pipes used in fired heaters are seamless pipes
with sizes ranging from 50 mm to 200 mm NB and thickness ranging from sch. 40 to sch.
160.

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i) Tube Design: The design of tubes takes care of service life, environment and cost.
Temperature and stresses to which tube is subjected are very crucial as tube metal
temperature is very high and has a tendency to increase if coke deposits. Stresses may
be cyclic or constant in nature. At lower temperature in the elastic ranges, the design
is based on yield strength whereas at higher temperature in creep rupture range,
design stress is based on rupture strength.

ii) Tubing Material: Most widely used material for heater tubes is carbon steel as it is a
low cost, has good weld ability and gives good service. Alloy steels containing
molybdenum, chromium or silicon are used for elevated temperature services. These
elements improve strength, resistance to oxidation and suppress graphitization.
Austenitic stainless steels are basically iron based chromium-Nickel alloys used for
high temperature and corrosive services. Type 304 & 316 are the most popular alloys.

iii) End Fittings: Most of the modern day fired heaters have welded 180 degree short
radius return bends. With welded return bends, entire radiant coil can be located in
the heater or the return bends can be located in header boxes external to the fire
box. Plug type heaters with different closure designs are used where mechanical
cleaning of the tubes is anticipated. Plug type headers are expensive and must be
installed in a header box. Plug headers are cast and are prone to leakage. With the
advent of steam-air decoking for tube cleaning, the plug headers are on their way out
and are rarely used.

iv) Extended Surfaces: Are used in heat transfer equipment when inside heat transfer
coefficient is much greater than the outside or vice versa. Convection sections of
direct fired heaters fall within this range of applications. During recent years, there
has been a marked shift towards use of extended surfaces for achieving high
efficiency in fired heaters. Two types of extended surface elements (Fin Tubes and
Studded Tubes) are normally used.

v) Tube support and Guides: Tube coil in radiant as well as in convection section needs
to be properly supported by tube hangers and tube sheets. Tube hangers and tube

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 sheets are connected directly to the structural frame work of the heater and the load
is transmitted.
Horizontal Tubes - Horizontal coils having internal return bends are supported on
intermediate tube hangers in radiant and with tube sheets in convection section. With
return bends located externally in header box, end tube sheets and intermediate tube
supports are used. The intermediate tube supports are spaced typically at a distance
not more than 35 times outside diameter. The supports design should be such that it
can be replaced without tubes removal.
Vertical Tubes - Vertical tube coils are supported either from the top or from the
bottom. Top supported tubes are provided with bottom guides, bottom supported
tubes with top guides. Intermediate guides are provided, if required.

f) Convection Section Cleaning Devices

Modern fired heaters are provided with extended surface to improve heat transfer rates
and efficiency but these surfaces are susceptible to accumulation of fuel ash deposits
when heavy fuel oil is fired. Major contaminants are sulphur, vanadium, sodium and ash.
The ash deposits are of significant proportion and necessitate periodic cleaning of
convection section. Current methods used are manual steam lancing, soot/blowing and
water washing.

Manual Lancing: This method of cleaning is least expensive. Lance doors are provided
on the convection section side walls. Operator inserts a steam lance and blows deposits
in the tubes. Lancing is not very effective and requires one operator to carry out the
operation.

Soot Blowers: Two types of soot blowers are in use these days. The cleaning range of
soot blowers depends upon its orientation, flue gas temperature, coil layout and blowing
pressure. The rotary soot blower capability is restricted to 3 rows up and 3 rows down
and a horizontal radius of 3.5 ft. For retractable soot blowers, the limits are 4 rows up
and 4 rows down with blowing radius of 4 ft.
1) Retractable Soot Blower - In this soot blower, the lance tube is retracted from
convection section when not in use. During operation, the lance moves in the heater
by means of an external device which can be manual, pneumatic or electric. The

19
 lance has two nozzles at the tip. Cleaning efficiency of retractable soot blowers is
higher than rotary.
2) Rotary Soot Blower - This device has a lance installed in convection section and it has
a number of nozzles on it. The lance rotates and steam flow is started
simultaneously. Soot blowing is not very effective and the use is limited to smaller
installations.

Steam required is at 150-200 psi pressure and steam flow rates in the range of 4500-5000
kgs/hr. Soot blowing is normally carried out once in a shift.

g) Stack Dampers
The function of the Stack Damper is to control the heater draft by maintaining a negative
pressure of approximately 1-2 mm water column at the radiant arch level. Single blade
dampers are used in stacks of diameter up to 4 ft. and multi-blade dampers are installed
in large stack diameter. In rectangular duct works, louver type dampers are used. Stack
dampers are usually manually operated from the grade by means of cable and winch.
Large dampers are operated by pneumatic cylinders. Damper materials are chosen
according to the flue gas stack temperatures.

h) Stack
The stack must create sufficient draft to draw combustion air and drive flue gases
through the radiant and convection section and discharge them at suitable height. A
pressure drop across the natural draft burners is required to draw in the combustion air.
Its value depends on the type and size of the burner, type of the fuel and is typically
about 6 mm of water column.

All sections of furnace generally must also be kept below atmospheric pressure so that air
flows through peepholes, tube openings and other openings. It is preferred to have
atmospheric air leaking in rather than the gas going out. Positive pressure within heater
setting creates a driving force for the outward movement of hot gases which can lead to
serious over-heating and corrosion of the steel structure. The normal design value is 2
mm negative pressure at the inlet to the convection section.

20
 Stacks are normally located either at the top of other heater or are grade mounted.
Grade mounted stacks are preferred whenever combustion air pre-heater and Induced
Draft fan are used, or whenever a number of heaters are discharging flue gases into a
common stack. Stacks are usually made of mild steel plate and are lined with insulating
castable to prevent excessive flue gas temperature loss which will correspondingly reduce
draft effect. At lower temperatures, condensation of sulphur dioxide will lead to
corrosion. Stacks of all radiant heaters are normally lined with 75 mm thick refractory
lining and the ones having convection section are lined with 40 mm thick insulating
castable.

i) Burners
A Burner is a device liberating heat by the combustion of fuel. Fuels are predominantly
hydrocarbons that release their heat exothermically when oxidized in a controlled
manner. The most freely available oxidant is air, which contains only 21 per cent oxygen,
the remaining 79 per cent being nitrogen which does not contribute to the process.
Nitrogen which gets heated at the same time, reduces the maximum flame temperature
that would have been possible with a pure oxidant. Similarly, the combustion products,
when discharged from the process, contain nitrogen which increase the volume of the
gases, and hence the sensible heat loss.

A burner comprises a means to inject the fuel, a fan to provide the air for the combustion
reaction, a register or stabilizer assembly that provides for the mixing of air and fuel and
the stability of the flame, and a means for controlling the air-fuel ratio and fuel input. An
almost infinite number of types of burner have developed over the years, but broad
categories that exist are characterized by the type of fuel being burnt, the principle of
the fuel injection and mixing system, and often the application for which they were
designed.

Although some integration has taken place where the appliance or boilermaker has
assumed responsibility for the combustion system, overall, specialist manufacturers of
combustion equipment who have developed products for each application such as boilers,
furnaces, kilns and dryers, etc. serve the market. The burner makers have manufactured
product which provided a packaged solution to the combustion requirement, looking after

21
not just the burners and controls but also the fuel supply system, which may involve
pumping of the fuel, filtration and other peripheral equipment and functions.

22
 Section - 4
TYPES AND CONFIGURATION
OF BURNERS
 SECTION 4
TYPES AND CONFIGURATION OF BURNERS
TYPES OF BURNERS

Efficient combustion of gas under varying conditions demand use of a wide variety of
burners. However, these can all be categorized as natural draft or forced draft.

The majority of domestic burners, together with a large number of commercial and
industrial burners, are of the Natural-draft type. In these, the gas passes through a jet
situated in a venture such that primary air is mixed with the gas. The resulting mixture
passes through the burner nozzle where mixing with secondary (and, in some designs,
tertiary) air takes place together with ignition and combustion. Such burners have the
advantage of simplicity but have a limited turndown ratio and their poor mixing
characteristics lead to a rather low efficiency. The low gas pressure available at the injector
(typically, 17.5 mbar) allows a primary aeration of only about 40 percent. The resulting
flame envelope is rather large and the intensity of combustion low. It is possible to increase
the degree of primary aeration, producing a more intense flame, if a higher gas pressure is
used. To produce complete primary aeration a gas pressure of the order of 1 bar will be
needed.

The majority of larger industrial burners, including furnace and boiler applications, are of
the forced-draft type. These employ a combustion air fan to provide all the air needed for
complete combustion. The burners are usually sealed into the combustion chamber so that
there is no access to secondary air from the atmosphere as with natural-draft burners.
Forced-draft burners may be of the premix type, where air and gas are mixed prior to the
burner, or, more commonly, of the nozzle mix type, where the mixing takes place within the
burner.

A) Gas Burners: Gas fired burners can be classified in two basic categories:

Premix Inspiriting Burners - Have a mixing tube in which total gas is discharged and it
mixes with primary air. Secondary air if needed is supplied through secondary air

23
 registers. Gas pressure required is 0.5 to 3.0 kg/cm2g and turn down is limited.
Advantages are low excess air and short flame length.

Nozzle Mix Burners - Have a gas gun with jets at the tip through which fuel gas is
discharged into the burner block and produce turbulence for air mixing. Fuel gas
pressure can be as low as 500 mm water column and turndown as high as 12:1. This
burner is used in gases with high hydrogen content.

B) Oil Burners: - Oil burners used in fired heaters are normally steam atomised oil burners,
where steam atomises the fuel into small particles, inspirates air and mixes the same to
produce a bright flame. Fuel oil pressures are kept 3-6 kg/cm²g and viscosity 50 cst at
the burner. Steam should be dry and pressures are kept 1-2 kg/cm² higher than fuel oil.
Steam consumption is in the range of 0.15 to 0.30 kg/kg of oil. Turndown ratio of 3:1 is
normally achieved. Oil Burners are commonly classified by the method of atomizing the
oil. The main classes are:
i) Pressure jet burner
ii) Air or steam atomizing burners
iii) Rotary cup burner

In each class, there are sub-classes like Simplex pressure jet or spill return pressure jet.

Mechanically atomised burners utilise oil pressure to atomise the fuel. They are mostly
used in boilers in forced draft applications with oil pressure required as high as 28
kg/cm²g.

C) Combination Oil and Gas Burners: In combination burners, both liquid and gas fuels can
be burned simultaneously. The burner has a central oil gun and either an angular gas gun
or a ring type gun located at the periphery is provided.

D) Low NOx Burners: The addition of a tertiary air register reduces the amount of nitrogen
oxides in the flue gas. This type also can be operated with less excess air than the above
types.

24
E) Radiant Burners: Radiant wall burners are used in steam hydrocarbon reformer and
pyrolysis heaters. The burners are normally very small in size and burn fuel gas. They
are either self inspirating burners or forced draft burners. Flame of these burners
impinge on the burner block which in turn radiate the heat to the tubes.

F) High Intensity Burners: These burners are forced draft burners with integral combustion
chamber. The burners utilise air pressure for a thorough mixing of fuel and air and
creates the gas recirculation within combustion chamber. It leads to a very bright and
intense short flame. The heat duty of this burner is normally 5 MM Kcals/hr and upwards.
Some of the heaters have been provided with single high intensity burner.

G) Pilot Burners: It is normally an integral part of all the burners and is installed most often
to light up the main burner. Pilot burners are always gas fired and are usually fuelled
from separate supply such as LPG. Pilot burners are normally kept continuously on and
prevent any light-off the burner. The pilot burner can be ignited either manually or
through electric ignition forming a part of the burner management system.

CONFIGURATION OF OIL BURNERS

The purpose of the Burner is to convert the fuel oil into millions of small droplets. The
process is called atomization and its principle aim is to produce a high ratio of surface to
volume in the oil to facilitate evaporation and subsequent combustion. Fortunately,
atomization is fairly simple to accomplish since all that is needed is the existence of a high
relative velocity between the oil and the atomizing air or steam.

In pressure jet atomizers, a high velocity is imparted to the oil by discharging it under
pressure through a fine orifice. Pressure jet burners are relatively simple and inexpensive.
However, oil flow rate can be reduced in the simple design only by reducing the oil pressure
and hence the quality of atomization. Efficient operation at varying loads is usually carried
out by using nozzles of various jet sizes.

An alternative approach is to expose the relatively slow moving oil to high velocity stream of
air or steam, the latter method is known as “twin-fluid” atomization. Twin-fluid atomizers

25
are of two major types. In the common design, the fuel is injected into the high velocity air
stream in the form of one or more discrete jets. In a rotary cup burner, on the other hand, a
thin film of oil is formed by injecting oil into a rapidly spinning cup. This film is converted
into minute droplets as it leaves the cup, by the action of the atomizing air which is fed by
the burner.

In medium and high air pressure burners, air for atomizing is provided by a compressor at
higher pressures. When the load changes, the quantity of the atomizing air does not change
and only the secondary air entering the system is regulated. Therefore, these burners have
better efficiency even at low loads. The compressed air may be replaced by steam as the
atomizing medium in these burners. Steam aids in the cracking of oil in the combustion zone
and hence steam assisted atomization is superior for the burning of heavy fuel oils and LSHS.

With the exception of the vaporizing burner, Oil Burners are normally characterized by the
method of atomizing, which itself is dependent on the grade of fuel being combusted.

Vaporizing Burners

This principle is confined to domestic applications where kerosene or premium gas oil is
consumed. The simplest type uses a number of concentrically arranged wicks which promote
vaporization of kerosene into an air/vapour mixing zone enclosed within a perforated drum
arrangement. Normally, these burners obtain their air by natural draft.

Another type utilizes a pot and may have natural draft or a fan. The pot burner is essentially
an open topped drum into which fuel is fed at constant head. Vapours rising from the surface
are mixed with air being discharged from a perforated drum or pot (figure 3). A further
development is the wall flame burner in which a central rotating distributor is driven from
the forced draft fan motor throws the fuel against the wall of the pot.

26
 Figure 3 - Vaporizing Pot Burner

Pressure-jet Atomizers

Oil is fed at high pressure to a nozzle in which the oil passage is positioned to feed oil
radically inward via number of slots which are arranged at tangents to the swirl chamber.
The high rotational velocity given to the oil as it exit at high pressure through the central
discharge hole provides the means for droplet disintegration via a conical sheet formed at
discharge. Limitations of this principle include restriction to gas oil for small sizes and poor
turndown caused by a limited range of pressures over which the atomization is satisfactory.
There is a choice of spray pattern, notably solid, semi – hollow and hollow cone , and a
reasonable range of spray angles is available (figure 4), often used in a two-nozzle head
configuration to improve the turndown ratio 1.4:1 for a single nozzle to 2:1 using two nozzles
at constant pressure. The orthodox arrangement for the combustion head is shown in figure
5. The simplex pressure – jet atomizer is also used in power station boilers firing heavy fuel
oils in arrays of up to 60 burners.

27
 Figure 4 - Pressures–jet Nozzle

Figure 5 - Combustion head pressure-jet Burner

28
Spill-return Atomizers

These partially overcome the weakness of the simplex pressure jet regarding turndown ratio
by spilling back the unconsumed fuel at part load. In this way, the swirl velocity in the exit
chamber is maintained constant but the diameter of the exit hole remains the same. A
further advantage is that it is possible to add a central shut-off needle through the atomizer,
which is actuated by fuel pressure on a servo piston. This allows fuel to be circulated right
up to the atomizer tip prior to starting the burner. An improved light-up result on medium
and heavy fuel oils is due to pre-warming of the nozzle and feed pipework. In addition, it
provides a further mode of safety on shutdown acting as a shut-off valve as well as
preventing dribbling of the atomizer, which would lead to poor atomization caused by nozzle
fouling. This type of atomizer is shown in figure 6. The combustion head configuration
remains similar to simplex atomizers.

Figure 6 - Spill return nozzle with tip shut-off needle

Twin-fluid Atomizers

Atomization in these types is partly caused by fuel pressure, but this is enhanced by the
kinetic energy provided by another fluid that is normally air or steam. At a medium or high
pressure, the low-pressure method being largely superseded. Pressures are around 1-2 bar

29
for those categorized as medium pressure and 6-10 bar for high-pressure types. Oil pressures
are also typically 6-12 bar.

Steam is the preferred atomizing medium, since it is more economic than compressed air.
Steam consumption is typically less than 0.5 per cent of the fuel burnt on a mass basis,
although this rises in direct proportion to turndown ratio. On very large burners, the steam
flow is modulated in proportion to fuel burnt. Turndown ratios range from about 5:1for small
shell boilers to 12:1 in water tube applications, making this one of the most versatile
burners. The steam condition is important in that it must be dry saturated or slightly
superheated at the nozzle to avoid condensate formation. On small or non-continuously
running plant where no steam is available for start-up, a compressed air supply must be
provided until steam becomes available from the boiler.

Possibly the best–known version of this principle is the Y-jet atomizer developed by Babcock
Energy, in which between four and ten exit holes are arranged circumferentially, each
consisting of two converging passages arranged in a ‘Y’ formation. Possible limitations of the
principle in spray angle and pattern have restricted its use to large boilers and water tube
types. A cross section of this nozzle is shown in Figure 7 and a typical register arrangement is
given in Figure 8.

Figure 7 - Steam–atomizing nozzle

30
 Figure 8 - Steam–atomizing burner register

Rotary-cup Atomizers

A shaft rotating at 4000 - 6000 rev/min carries a primary air fan and an atomizing cup. The
cup, typically of about 70 - 120 mm diameter, is tapered by a few degrees to increase in
diameter at the exit. A stationary distributor which projects oil onto the smaller-diameter
end of the cup feeds oil to the inner surface. The oil, influenced by centrifugal force, forms
a thin film, which passes towards the cup lip. Atomization occurs as the oil leaves this lip. In
addition, a primary air supply, normally in the range of 5-12 percent of stoichiometric
(chemically correct) air, is arranged to exit over the cup outer surface, at a velocity of about
50 – 90 m/s. The primary air is swirled to oppose the rotation of the cup. Droplets shattered
by the combined centrifugal action of the cup and the primary air blast are propelled axially
into the furnace.

Advantages of this type include an ability to burn all fuels including those containing solid
particles, good turn-down ration (4 to 10:1 typically) and an insensitivity to oil conditions
such as pressure and temperature. It is widely used in shell boilers, and the only real
limitation is that the cup surface has to be cleaned daily. The most common atomizer layout
is shown in Figure 9. Variants include direct driven cup and separate mounting of the primary
air fan.

31
 Figure 9 - Section through rotary cup atomizer

CONFIGURATION OF GAS BURNERS

Industrial Gas burners are mainly of the nozzle mix configuration. Beneath industrial burners,
which are used for raising steam and hot water in the power and process industries, lies a
large array of types and principles. The most common types are normally characterized as to
whether they are aerated or non-aerated.

Non-aerated

Otherwise known as diffusion flame or post-aerated, these normally comprise a simple

nozzle supplying gas at a controlled pressure into a chamber where air is made available via
entrainment into the flame by natural draft. Common types are the Bray jet, Aeromatic and
Drew jet (Figure 10).

32
 Figure 10 - Non-aerated Burners

Aerated

These are otherwise known as atmospheric or premix burners. Primary air is entrained into
the gas stream prior to exit from the nozzle. The best known of these types is the Bunsen
burner, and the most common is the ring-type domestic cooker hob arrangement. Both
aerated and non-aerated types are often found in a bar configuration. Typical applications
are heating of tanks and process uses involving direct heating of the product. Figure 11
shows a typical aerated bar burner.

Figure 11 - Aerated Bar Burner

33
Nozzle-mix

Utilizing a forced-draft fan, the burner has a gas head arranged to mix the fuel and air in a
blast tube which controls the stability and shape of the flame. Gas exits from nozzles or
holes in the head and is mixed partly in the high-velocity air stream and partly allowed to
exit into an area downstream of a bluff body. Behind the bluff body, a relatively quiescent
zone forms which provides a means for flame stability. Many configurations exist, but the
most frequent are those which are designed around the most common types of oil burner.
This allows the burner to easily be converted to oil or dual-fuel (gas and oil) firing. As gas is
a relatively easy fuel to burn, the design is strongly influenced by the optimum oil burner
configuration. Two typical types are shown in Figures 12 and 13 based, respectively, around
pressure-jet and rotary cup atomizers.

Performance on gas is normally limited in dual-fuel applications to that of the oil burner. In
gas-only applications, the performance is better, notably in lower excess air factors and
better turndown ratios (3:1 small burners, 15:1 very large burners)

Problems can occur with highly rated boilers converted to gas firing where tube end and tube
plate cracking can occur due to overheating. This can normally be overcome by modifying
the tube attachment arrangement. Another problem that is quite common is resonance or
pulsation, where the burner acoustically couples with the natural resonant frequency of the
combustion chamber. This is easily overcome by modifying the burner head to change the
rate of mixing.

Figure 12 - Dual–fuel burner based on pressure-jet configuration

34
 Figure 13 - Dual-fuel burner based on rotary cup configuration

FEATURES OF MAIN BURNER TYPES

The Features of the main burner types are as follows:

Pressure-jet –

1. Simplicity
2. Large capacity range
3. Low power consumption
4. High initial cost
5. Small turn down
6. Higher draft required
7. Larger combustion space

Steam-jet –

1. Good turndown
2. Less preheating than pressure-jet

35
3. Fine atomization
4. Stable flame
5. Steam loss for atomization
6. Initial starting difficulty

Rotary Cup –

1. Handles high viscosity fluids

2. Good turndown
3. Wide bushy flame
4. No choking
5. More maintenance required
6. High initial cost

Low Air Pressure –

1. Good turn down

2. Easy maintenance
3. Short flame
4. Not suitable for high output

36
 Section - 5
BURNER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
 SECTION 5
BURNER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

BURNER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

The burners which burn fuel to provide heat should be sized and selected very carefully.
They should be able to burn fuels satisfactorily with minimum excess air, provide for safe
start up and easy maintenance, adjust to variation in firing rates, flames should not impinge
on tubes and capable of quiet operation.

Atomizer

Primary considerations are selecting the best principle for the type of fuel, the size of the
burner/boiler and the type of application. Other important characteristics are ability to
operate with the minimum of excess air, turndown ratio and questions of durability and
maintenance.

Turndown Ratio

The Turndown Ratio is an indication of the ability of the burner to maintain a stable flame at
lower firing rates, and is a ratio of the maximum and minimum firing rates. Turndown can be
low for average burners of both natural and forced-draft burners, 3:1, being a typical figure
with 5:1 a maximum, although up to 40:1 is possible with special burners. It is important to
remember that although a burner can be fired at low rates it is probable that the efficiency
at low firing will be reduced because the excess air is invariably higher at turndown. This
will affect the selection of controls (e.g. on/off or modulating).

Air/fuel Ratio Control

This is often the Achilles’ heel of Burners, since poor design can lead to hysteresis. Correct
sizing of the control valves and fan size is essential to maximize damper travel/back lash
ratios and give good linearity throughout the firing range. Robust characterization cams and
linkages are essential.

37
Heat Transfer

The carbon/hydrogen ratio of gas is considerably lower than oil or coal, which results in a
flame of very low luminosity. Radiation from the flame is therefore low and furnace design
must allow for heat transfer to be primarily by convection and conduction, together with re-
radiation from hot surfaces. Burners can be designed to produce a luminous flame by means
of laminar mixing and partial cracking of the gas, but the radiation is still low. A typical
forced-draft burner used for boiler firing will be essentially transparent.

Register/Combustion Head

This is often fixed for the type of atomizer. Stability is either one of two basic principles:
bluff body with some aeration/cooling, and swirler types which are generally confined to
twin fluid atomizers of large size. The stabilization process is achieved in both cases by
recirculation of vortices spilling off the baffle in the case of bluff bodies and by a full
recirculation flow pattern in swirl stabilizers. Important items also fitted to the register are
ignition system (most commonly high-voltage spark in the case of pressure-jet burners and
gas/electric in all other types) and the flame-supervision system. This is normally infrared
for oil burners and ultraviolet light sensitive in the case of gas and dual-fuel burners. Smaller
gas burners utilize the flame-rectification principle.

Air-box/Fan Arrangement

Generally, this is a compromise in mono-bloc burners incorporating a fan and burner head
within one casting.

Burner Management system

On automatic burners, a Management system is necessary to ensure programmed start-up

and shut-down together with supervision while firing via a flame-detection system and
interlocks to prove that certain parameters are maintained such as air and fuel pressure.
Small mono-bloc burners usually have a proprietary control box/photo cell amplifier system.

38
Larger burners may have a dedicated system specific to the application and may utilize self-
checking photocell systems.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE DESIGN OF BURNERS

Oxygen Trim

The development of reliable zirconium cells which can measure the gas analysis in situ
without resource to gas-sampling techniques has led to systems which provide feedback to
the air/fuel ratio control system. Compensation is made for variations in ambient air
pressure and temperature, calorific value, boiler resistance due to fouling and burner
performance drift by trimming the air damper with a separate servo motor.

Electronic air/fuel ratio control

Electronic air/fuel ratio characterization is becoming available. By driving gas and oil valves
and the air damper separately via individual servo motors, electronic units can supervise the
relative positions of the motors and provide characterization of air/fuel relationships
utilizing an almost infinite number of set points to give close repeatable control.

Emulsion Techniques

These are particularly applicable to burners firing the heavier grades of oil which contain
long-chain molecules called asphaltenes. The superheating of the water in the emulsified
fuel droplet enhances atomization. The effect is to provide secondary atomization to the
droplet as the steam is formed.

Additives

In addition to the traditional additives that suppress dew point corrosion, future
developments are likely to aid atomization by reducing droplet surface tension and
simulating combustion catalytically.

39
Air and exhaust gas sealing dampers

These positively shut-off the draft that naturally occurs due to chimney buoyancy when the
burner is in its off cycle, thereby reducing standby loses. Burners incorporating shut off
dampers are becoming increasingly common.

Emission control

Future legislation will stimulate burner development in the areas of carbon monoxide, NOx
and particulate generation. Techniques will include flue gas recirculation staged combustion,
and additives to reduce the NOx and more sophisticated controls. Controls over the sulphur
generated do not affect burner design greatly since the sulphur dioxide is a natural product
of combustion and can only be reduced by lower fuel sulphur contents or sulphur removal
from the exhaust gases.

40
 Section - 6
BURNER SELECTION
AND
INSTALLATION
 SECTION 6
BURNER SELECTION AND INSTALLATION

BURNER SELECTION

Factors affecting selection of Burners

There is a wide variety of Burner types to choose from for combustion installation.
Satisfactory operation of burner depend to a large extent on the selection of the correct
type of burner for an individual case. The choice usually depends upon five major factors:

a) Range - The range over which the burner will be expected to operate i.e. the ratio of
maximum to minimum fuel consumption.

b) Temperature conditions in the combustion chamber - In a process involving high

combustion temperature, which can be obtained only by burning the fuel with highly
preheated air, there is a limit to the temperature of the air which can safely be passed
through the burner. In such cases, the arrangement must be made to take the greater
part of the hot air direct to the combustion chamber. Hence, the amount of cold air
passing through the burner must be kept to a minimum and for this type of application, a
high pressure air or steam atomizing blast burner will be the correct choice. For such
applications, the quality atomization may be relatively less important and coarse
atomization may in certain cases be tolerated, if it is required to extend the flame down
to a very hot combustion chamber.

c) Shape of flame - The wider the flame easier it is to introduce the air among the oil
droplets and effecting good mixing. The atomizing air and the air sucked into the root of
the flame by the ejector action are together usually sufficient to initiate the combustion,
the remainder of the air is gradually sucked into the flame as the combustion proceeds.
In the case of pressure-jet atomizers, the spray angle is to a large extent associated with
the quality of atomization and it is difficult to obtain a narrow-angle spray from a
pressure-jet atomizer without sacrificing the quality of atomization. In the case where a
burner of pressure-et type is selected for small diameter flame tube, it is necessary to

41
 use the momentum of the incoming combustion air to blend with the natural trajectory of
the oil droplets to get a flame of narrow shape. For such propositions, if a pressure-jet
burner is selected rather than a blast burner, it should be supplied with a forced draft to
ensure a reasonable air velocity through the air register.

d) Combustion intensity - To obtain a high rate of heat release, the combustion process must
be expeditious. This is achieved by fine atomization and high momentum of the
combustion air. High combustion intensity is, therefore, obtained at the expense of
auxiliary power. In certain cases, high combustion intensity results in improvement in the
thermal efficiency to the auxiliary power used for the expenses incurred.

e) Local conditions and facilities - Local conditions and support facilities also have a definite
bearing on the selection of burner for a plant to have normal functioning. There may be
limitations on the part of providing required facilities like steam and compressed air, etc.
For example, in a re-rolling mill, one may not be able to use a ‘steam-jet’ burner, as it
requires steam at certain pressure, even though it has been selected based on various
other factors. In that case, one may have to go in either for ‘low air pressure’ or ‘medium
air pressure’ – air blast burners, as the second best choice considering all the factors.

BURNER INSTALLATION

Horizontal Tube Cabin Furnace

a) Assume a single row of burners (one row in each cell).

b) Select burner to tube clearances as specified. For the preliminary layout, assume a
burner to tube centre-to-centre spacing of 51 inches for natural draft and 60 inches for
forced draft.

c) Leave a 2 foot clearance between the centreline of the lowest radiant wall tube and the
floor.

d) Space tubes (centre-to-centre) on two nominal diameters.

42
e) Hip sections (transition between radiant and convection sections) should be assumed to
be at a 45 degree angle.

f) Determine the number of burners required, based on minimum clearances. Determine if

the burners can be physically laid out in a single row as assumed. If the burners be placed
in single row, for natural draft, use a staggered row (triangular pitch) or double row of
burners and increase the width of the radiant section accordingly. For forced draft, revise
layout to fit.

Vertical Cylindrical Furnace

a) Select the number and size of burners. The minimum clearances specified must be
maintained.

b) Avoid using two burners in a vertical-cylindrical furnace. The use of two burners produces
unsymmetrical heat patterns and may result in poor operations.

c) The use of only one burner requires that the furnace be shut down every time the burner
must be cleaned or otherwise maintained. Therefore, the use of three small burners is
preferable to one large burner in furnaces in continuous services.

d) The burners should be laid in one burner circle. Avoid putting burners inside the circle
except for a small number of auxiliary burners (such as waste disposal burners) which
should be located at the centre.

43
Table 1 - Summary of Burner Characteristics:

Oil burners Size Dual-fuel Fuel Type Atomizing Atomizing Turndown Flame Main
Type Range Compatibility Pressure viscosity Ratio Characteristics Applications
(Bar) (cst)
Vaporizing 10-40 No Kerosene, gas _ <5 On/Off Normally blue General
KW oil Flame Heating
Pressure-jet 30 KW – Larger sizes Gas Oil (class 6-12 <5 On/Off or Soft yellow and Domestic and
commercial 3 MW D) <1.5:1 by fairly wide-angle commercial
market pressure spray hot water
control boilers
Pressure-jet 10-50 Possible but Heavy oil 20-40 ~20 On/Off or Highly radiance Power station
utility MW gas not burnt (classes G and <1.5:1 by excess air and large
boilers on utility H) pressure operation petrochemical
boilers control water tube
boilers

44
Oil burners Size Dual-fuel Fuel Type Atomizing Atomizing Turndown Flame Main
Type Range Compatibility Pressure viscosity Ratio Characteristics Applications
(Bar) (cst)
Twin-fluid 1-10 MW Yes All types 1-4 ~20 <5:1 Wide range of Kilns,
medium (mainly class shapes, mainly furnaces,
pressure G) used for process processes
applications requiring
special flame
characteristics
High 2-50 MW Yes All types 2-3 ~20 3:1 to 12:1 Mainly wide-angle Large shell
pressure (mainly classes sprays in WT boiler and
G and H) boilers, low water tube
excess air boiler process
operation applications
Rotary Cup 1-40 MW Yes All types 2-3 ~60 3:1 to 15:1 Medium intensity, Very popular
(mainly class shape varied by for all sizes of
G) register design shell boilers.
Some use on
process and
WT boilers

45
Gas Size Dual-fuel Fuel Type Gas Turndown Flame Characteristics Main Applications
Burners pressure ratio
Type
Non- 0.01 KW – No N gas, LP 5 – 75 mbar <2:1 Semi-luminous, low Pilot flame and domestic
aerated 50 KW gas intensity applications
Aerated 0.5 KW - Larger sizes N gas, LP 20 mbar – 1 <20:1 Non-luminous, shape Wide use in heating and
150 KW (yes) gas bar depends on application direct contact process
applications
Nozzle mix 30 KW - Yes All gases 15 - 1.5 <20:1 Normally non-luminous, Wide use in packaged
40 MW mbar depends on shape depends on burner burners of all sizes.
oil and register Common in hot water
turndown configuration and steam boilers of all
when dual sizes.
fuel

46
 Section - 7
BURNER OPERATION AND
MAINTENANCE
 SECTION 7
BURNER OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

BURNER OPERATION

A good understanding of fuel, burners, and combustion principles leads to intelligent,

efficient furnace operation. Faulty burner operation can lead to the following problems:

a) Smoke and soot,

b) Odours,
c) Mechanical noise,
d) Combustion noise (Pulsation),
e) Puffs back,
f) High oil consumption

25 Pointers on better Burner Operation

1. A thin, fluttery oil fire means too much steam for atomization.
2. A long, smoky flame may be due to improper burner tip design, insufficient combustion
air, or insufficient atomizing steam.
3. A dazzling white oil fire means either too much excess air or too much atomizing steam.
4. An oil burner operating at proper adjustment makes a bright yellow flame which verges
on whiteness.
5. A reddish, dusty looking flame with flocks of smoke over the bright part of the flame
indicates lack of enough air to burn the fuel.
6. Sparks in the flame may come from a dirty tip, wet steam, solids in the fuel, or water in
the fuel.
7. An uneven flame may mean a dirty tip.
8. An oil burner properly adjusted makes a clean flame with no trace of smoke.
9. Failure of ignition may be due to a low fuel pressure, too much atomizing steam, fuel
valve plugged, improper design of tip, or wet steam with slugs of water from steam line.
10. Puffing in the furnace may be caused by poor tip design, insufficient excess air, or
partial stoppage of burner tip.

47
11. Operation may be erratic and the flame may sputter at fuel-oil temperatures above the
flash point.
12.Higher the temperature of fuel-oil, the better the performance unless premature
vaporization occurs or unless water content of the fuel is high.
13. Excessive coking in burner tips may be caused by highly superheated atomizing steam
along with a high fuel oil temperature.
14. Rapid coke formation and refractory deterioration may be caused by excessive flame
impingement against the muffle block. This is usually caused by - oil burner being too
short, oil too cold, flame angle too wide, oil tip misaligned, too much fuel being burned,
too much excess air, or faulty installation of the burner.
15. When firing both oil and gas, more stable and even flames can be maintained by firing
both fuels at the same time on the same burners. However, the capacity is slightly
lowered by doing this.
16. The flame may be shortened by increasing the primary air, increasing secondary air, or
increasing atomizing steam slightly.
17. Flames blowback into a gas burner can be prevented by carrying enough gas pressure.
18. Uneven furnace temperature may be caused by non-uniform burner flames.
19. When lighting an oil burner, always turn on the atomizing steam first, then open the oil
valve slowly until the burner lights.
20. Always use a large torch in place before the fuel is turned on to light burners.
21. Always blow down steam lines before lighting burners.
22. A cold furnace should only be lighted after all air registers and dampers have been
opened several minutes, allowing ample time for steam purging to remove through the
stack any accumulated gas in the firebox.
23. Be sure that the stack damper is open when lighting a cold furnace; adjust draft with
burner air registers.
24. When a burner is not in use, provision should be made to keep from overheating it. This
can be done by removing the burner from the furnace, or cooling it with a slight natural
draft or a small amount of steam.
25. Keep the amount of excess air at a minimum.

48
Figure 14

49
Figure 15

50
BURNER MAINTENANCE

Combustion equipment can be set to give optimum efficiency at the time of commissioning
but this condition will not be maintained. Wear and tear on control valves, partial blockage
of filters, sooting of surfaces, etc. will all cause a fall in efficiency. To counter this, regular
maintenance is desirable, and must include routine flue analysis and burner adjustment.

Medium and high air pressure Burners should be maintained carefully, since a slight increase
in the nozzle size can lead to considerable waste of steam or electric power besides
distortion in the spray pattern. Burner should be protected from over-heating. Perhaps, a
refractory tile can be inserted between the burner tip and the furnace when the burner is
turned off. The burner should be cleaned with kerosene or diesel and dried with compressed
air. Wires or cotton rags should not be used. The burner tips should be cleaned preferably
once a day.

The following points have to be followed to keep the Furnace in working condition.

1. All standby burner guns are kept clean.

2. All spare oil guns are kept in the racks provided.
3. Clean all drip trays below the burners. Oil trays are a fire hazard.
4. Igniters system is properly charged and in good working condition.
5. Oil spillage, if any in the furnace area to be cleaned immediately.
6. Ensure all pilots are burning, if not get the nozzles cleaned.
7. When a particular burner is on fuel gas firing, put puffing steam through the
corresponding fuel oil gun to keep the tip cooled, or retract the oil gun and place it in
the rack.

51
 Section - 8
ENERGY CONSERVATION
IN FURNACES
 SECTION 8
ENERGY CONSERVATION IN FURNACES

Energy use can be minimized by a combination of various measures. These can be

categorized as those reducing energy used and those recovering heat from a process.

REDUCTION OF ENERGY USED

Air/gas ratio –
Any process using a fossil fuel will involve the rejection of the products of combustion
following heat transfer. These flue products will contain sensible heat that is lost and
represents inefficiency in the process. Unless some form of recuperation is practiced, the
flue products must be at a higher temperature than the process, and this cannot be reduced.
The amount of excess air can, however, is controlled.

Figure 16 - Gross flue losses versus excess air

52
Figure 16 indicates the flue losses to be expected for different temperature and excess air.
It is seen that considerable savings can be made, particularly at higher temperatures, by
reducing excess air levels to a practical minimum. It is also evident that a reduction in
air/gas ratio to below stoichiometric will cause a rapid deterioration in efficiency caused by
the energy remaining in the incomplete combustion of fuel.

The ideal air/gas ratio is that which is marginally higher than stoichiometric. It is not
possible to run a burner with no excess air for various reasons (e.g. changing ambient
temperature, a slight change in calorific value, variation in barometric pressure, wear of
control equipment, etc.). All of these and other factors dictate that the burner is operated
with sufficient excess air to avoid the production of carbon monoxide in any quantity.

Figure 17 – Range of CO versus O2 for a Variety of burners

Figure 17 shows how the production of CO can vary with excess air for two typical burners. It
is seen that to limit CO to, say, 50 ppm with burner B, 3 percent oxygen in the flue is

53
needed, and with burner A, which exhibits better mixing characteristics, only 0.75 percent
excess oxygen is required. It is also seen that the ‘heel’ in the curve is more pronounced
with burner A such that a reduction in oxygen below the heel will have a pronounced effect
on CO production.

Figure 17 illustrates a burner at a fixed firing rate. In practice, many burners will have a
varying firing rate with inferior performance at turndown, mainly because of poor mixing
caused by reduced kinetic energy of both air and gas. To allow for this, the control system
must provide for an increasing excess air with turndown.

Insulation –
Sensible heat losses from thermal plant should be kept to a realistic minimum by the use of
correctly specified insulation. There will be a point beyond which further insulation is not
economically viable. Careful analysis of the properties of insulation materials is necessary to
prevent, for example, the adding of more insulation to the cold face of a furnace wall,
causing the maximum service temperature of intermediate insulation to be exceeded.

Modern low-density insulation such as those based on ceramic fibres can be used to save
energy in plant operating on a batch basis. The low thermal mass permits a rapid heating and
cooling period that can save a substantial amount of energy. With continuously operating
plant the advantages are not so pronounced.

Procedures –
Energy can be conserved by operation of plant in such a way as to minimize part loading.
Various practices can be adopted that can be described as ‘good housekeeping’. In addition
to maintenance, this will include such factors as the avoidance of plant operating in the
standby mode for long periods, operation at correct temperature, ensuring doors are closed
where applicable, etc.

For production plant, the energy used per unit produced is lowest when operated at design
capacity. At low throughputs, the energy used increases markedly because the standing
losses are constant, irrespective of throughput.

54
For plant such as boilers, operating in parallel controls should ensure that one boiler acts as
a ‘lead’ to minimize part-load operation. As far as possible, plant should be sized to meet
the load and over-sizing should be avoided.

HEAT RECOVERY OPTIONS TO IMPROVE THERMAL EFFICIENCY

Option I - Add Convection Surface

Effects:
1. Stack temperature is reduced.
2. Furnace efficiency is increased.
3. Heat repairs is decreased.
4. Flue gas pressure drop in the convection section is increased.
5. Draft is decreased.
6. Tube side pressure drop in increased.
7. NOx is reduced.

Things to consider:
1. Increasing stack height.
2. More weight from added convection tubes,
3. Check structure and foundation to see if added weight he supported,
4. If not design adjacent structure to house convection tubes and support stack.
5. Consider increased pumping cost for process stream.
6. If fuel is to be changed, some existing convection tubes may have to be removed to
accommodate soot blowers.

Option II - Add Economizer for Waste Heat Recovery

Waste heat options:

Steam generation
Steam superheating
Boiler feed-water heater

55
Effects:
1. Stack temperature is reduced.
2. Furnace efficiency is increased.
3. Flue gas pressure drop in the convection section is increased.
4. Draft is decreased.
5. No change in process stream operation.
6. No change in NOx.

Things to consider:
1. Study increased load on structure and foundation as in Option I.
2. Will added boiler capacity, lowers the efficiency of existing boilers?
3. Check possibility of a temperature cross.

Option III - Install Air Pre-heater System

Effects:
1. Stack temperature is reduced.
2. Natural draft is decreased.
3. Furnace efficiency is increased.
4. Firebox temperature is increased.
5. Heat flux rates are increased.
6. NOx increases unless burners are changed.

Things to consider:
1. Induced draft and forced draft blowers must be installed.
2. Burners must be replaced.
3. Check if tube supports and refractory will withstand higher temperatures.
4. Plot space near furnace must be available.
5. System is self-contained.
6. Considerably more instrumentation must be installed.

56
 Section - 9
HEATER OPERATING PRACTICES
 SECTION 9
HEATER OPERATING PRACTICES

SAFE HEATER FIRING

Furnaces look very dangerous when they are in operation and appear to be harmless when
not in operation. But as a matter of fact, a furnace is most hazardous when it is not in
operation and attempts are made to light it. Safe heater operation is completely dependent
upon the controlled release of fuel into a confined space, furnishing a strong source of
release of ignition and maintaining the fuel air ratio within explosives limits.

214 furnace explosions were analysed and the compiled information reveals that:
55 gas fired furnace explosions caused by inadequate purge.
42 caused by delayed ignition
19 improper fuel-air ratio
12 oil fired furnace explosions, caused by inadequate purge
81 oil fired furnace explosions caused by delayed ignition
5 oil fired furnace explosions caused by improper fuel-oil-air ratio.

ESSENTIALS FOR TROUBLE-FREE HETAER OPERATIONS

Knowing how the equipment works and where it is located is essential as is also the
knowledge of operating instructions and emergency procedures. Knowing what the
equipment consists of and how it functions is a part of training course which you are
undergoing here. Operating instructions, emergency procedures, start-up/shut-down
methods are line responsibilities which you learn during operation. These instructions must
be made as check list or as arrow diagrams and must be reviewed periodically.

Another line responsibility is good house-keeping near furnace. This is of a psychological

nature more than as regards actual tripping and slipping hazards. Clean plant influences
quality of work. Even a good operator will lower his standards when working in a
environment which is not clean.

57
The frequency of inspection of furnace per shift must be established in practice. What to
look for: flame impingement, bulges and burnt spots on tubes, damage to brickwork, pipe
hangers, bent tubes, smoky flames fuel leaking back along burners into air ducts, leaking
burner piping and valves, air leaks into furnace, correct adjustment of safety features, use
of safety aids for personal protection, reporting of near-miss accidents and removal of its
cause, fuel gas leaks, condensate in fuel gas, water in fuel gas and liquid which can put out a
flame followed by an explosion on re-ignition.

Roughly 50% furnace accidents occur during start up and 40% on low load operations. Human
error accounts for 75% of all accidents in failure to follow instructions, taking short cuts so
called calculated (which is really uncalculated) risks mistakes, reluctance or failure to ask
advice.

The following are some indications of possible trouble in the Furnace -

 The burner flame is not symmetrical, pulsates or breathes, is unusually long or lazy, lifts
off the burner etc.
 Lack of negative pressure at the top of the firebox.
 The stack gas is smoky.
 The gas in the firebox appears hazy.
 There are unequal temperatures, more than 10°F difference, on the process pass outlets.
 The stack temperature increases steadily with no change in the process heat duty.
 The fuel gas control valve is wide open.
 The fuel gas composition or pressure varies widely.
 The tubes in the heater are not straight.

The basic safe practices recommended for fired heaters are enumerated below:

HEATER LIGHTING PROCEDURE

It is essential as a first step, to assume that undesirable fuel can be present in the fire box
and therefore, the following precautionary steps must be taken to eliminate the possible
presence of fuel.

58
Precautionary Steps:

i) Visually check the fire box for foreign material such as oil, waste, repair material,
etc.
ii) Fully open the damper.
iii) Close all access and inspection openings.
iv) Fully open all secondary shutters.
v) Steam purge the fire box long enough to provide an adequate draft and clear the fire
box of any combustible vapours. The minimum indication of a sufficient purge would
be steam coming out from the stack. It is advisable to check the firebox with a gas
detector for pockets of flammable vapours.
vi) Check the fuel supply. It should be free from water and adequately hot in case of fuel
oil – a) Be sure that fuel valves at each burner are closed tight.
b) Check the fuel gas system. Drain any liquid accumulated according to safe
procedure. Do not leave the drain open.
vii) Ensure that atomising steam / air are available.
viii) Establish process fluid flow through the heater tubes.
ix) Establish circulation of fuel oil / fuel gas.
x) The heater should now be ready for safe burner ignition. However, the heater is not
safe until the proper burner ignition and adjustment has been completed.
xi) Light individual pilots, if they are provided.
xii) Light each burner from its pilot. If pilots are not provided, light each burner in turn
with a proper torch.
xiii) Adjust dampers, air shutters and fuel for proper firing conditions according to
process demands.

Lighting Pilot Burners:

i) Ensure that the damper of the stack is open to the required draft.
ii) Adjust the air inlet to the pilot.
iii) Light a torch (ensure that no hydrocarbons are present within the vicinity and in the
sewer openings), introduce it towards the tip of pilot and open the fuel gas valve

59
 gradually till the ignition of the pilot takes place. This takes place when fuel-air
mixture is in the flammable limits.
iv) If the pilot is not lighted immediately after opening the fuel gas line, close the valve
immediately and re-attempt for lighting after a gap of 2-3 minutes.
v) Adjust the fuel gas and air flow rates such that a stable flame is maintained. This can
be achieved as long as the mixture is in the flammable range.

Lighting Fuel Oil Burner:

i) Adjust atomising steam/air to the burner to minimum requirement.

ii) Ensure that pilot burner is on. This ensures constant ignition temperature to the fuel
oil mixture.
iii) Gradually open the fuel oil valve such that fuel immediately catches fire. Wait for
few seconds and finally adjust the atomising steam, fuel oil and air for a suitable
stable flame.
iv) If the burner does not light immediately and oil is sprayed from the top of the burner
shut-off the oil and purge with the steam for few minutes.
v) Check for the adequate fuel oil temperature, stable flame of hand torch, dryness of
atomising steam and presence of water in the fuel oil etc.
vi) Re-light the burner as enumerated above.
vii) Atomising steam requires 0.8 - 1.5 kg/cm2 differential steam pressure over oil
pressure depending on the design of the burner and furnaces.
viii) Insufficient atomising steam causes dripping of oil from the burner gun.
ix) Low fuel oil temperature increases the viscosity of the fuel oil and causes improper
atomisation.
x) Ensure a staggered pattern of burners to maintain equal heat distribution, inside the
furnace.

Lighting Fuel Gas Burners:

i) Ensure that air to the burner is kept open.

ii) Ensure that pilot burner is lighted and the pilot is stable.

60
 iii) Open gas flow valve to burner slowly. Ignition will be immediate. Adjust the gas and
air for a stable flame.
iv) When the ignition is not proper, close the gas valve to the burner immediately and
purge with air for few minutes before re-lighting the gas burner.
v) Employ a staggered pattern of burners to maintain good distribution.

NORMAL OPERATION OF HEATER

When the Heater is in service, a regular check on the following is necessary:

i) Pressures of Fuel gas / Fuel oil / Atomizing Steam.

ii) Draft of the Furnace
iii) Burner and flame condition / impingement on the tubes.
iv) Refractory lining of the furnace.
v) Tube condition inside the furnace – hot spots and carbon deposition.
vi) Oil/gas/steam leaks around the furnace / heater.

HEATER SHUTDOWN PROCEDURE

Normal Shutdown:

i) Maintain good heat distribution with staggered pattern of burners while individual
burners are shutdown to reduce heat rate.
ii) Close the oil burner valves and gradually reduce the atomising steam and close the
valve. Ensure that pilot flame is not extinguished.
iii) When the main fuel valve for gas burner begin to close, it is necessary to shut some
burners off entirely to continue adequate fuel pressure on the rest of the burner. This
prevents all burners from extinguishing out as well as flashbacks in premix burners.
iv) Close the fuel gas to the pilots.
v) Ensure that all the valves in fuel lines are closed properly.
vi) Keep air flow on for some time.

61
Emergency Shutdown:

i) The prime consideration in an emergency shutdown is to cut-off burner fuel. This

will involve a complete familiarity with the fuel system on part of all operating
personnel.
ii) If a heater tube has ruptured the heater must be isolated from the system to prevent
further flow and gradually charge with an inert gas system.
iii) When tubes have not ruptured, heaters must not be blocked in on both charge and
discharge unless pressure relief to the flare line has been provided between these
points. Complete block in non-relieved heater will inevitably head to over pressure
and a tube rupture from residual heat in the refractory.
iv) Snuffing steam may be cut-in as soon as burners and flow have been cut-off after
opening the stack damper.
v) After shut-off the burners ensure that all the valves in the fuel lines are properly
closed.

HEATER CONTROLS AND INSTRUMENTATION

All heaters have some means by which operators may obtain and control the desired
operating conditions. A large percentage of these devices are used only for operational
functions. If an emergency situation should arise, the operators are responsible for manually
shutting down the heaters along with many other critical tasks.

Some important instrumentation and controls depend on:

a) Low product flow

b) High product outlet temperature
c) Low fuel gas pressure or flame failure
d) Draft fan failure
e) Ratio balance on dual product streams
f) Pressure differential across tubes
g) High stack temperature

62
Interlocking system is generally provided to cut-off fuel oil in most of the upsets mentioned
above to safeguard the equipment.

Figure 18 shows an example of control system for a fired heater. The control system as
depicted should not be considered complete but only representative of the conditions to be
carefully considered in designing a control system for fired equipment.

*TCV to also be ESDV if fuel is ethane or heavier

Figure 18 – Fired Heater Control System

63
 Section - 10
TROUBLE-SHOOTING FOR PROPER
COMBUSTION
 SECTION 10
TROUBLE-SHOOTING FOR PROPER COMBUSTION

Heater Trouble-shooting:

No. Complaint Causes and Remedies

(1) Starting difficulty a) No Fuel oil in the tank.
b) Excessive sludge and water in Fuel oil storage
tanks.
c) Oil not flowing due to high viscosity/low
temperature.
d) Choked burner tip.
e) No air supply.
f) Oil Strainers choked.
(2) Flame goes out or splutters a) Sludge or water in fuel oil.
b) Unsteady fuel oil and air pressures.
c) Too high a pressure of atomizing medium which
tends to blow off the flame.
d) Presence of air in fuel oil line. Look for leakages
in suction line of pump.
e) Broken burner block, or burner without block.
(3) Flame flashes back a) Fuel oil supply left in “on” position after air
supply was cut off during earlier shut-off.
b) Too high a positive pressure in combustion
chamber.
c) Furnace too cold during starting to complete the
combustion (when temperature increases, un-
burnt oil particles burn).
d) Fuel oil pressure too low.

64
No. Complaint Causes and Remedies

(4) Smoke and soot a) Insufficient draft or blower of inadequate

capacity.
b) Fuel oil flow excessive.
c) Fuel oil too heavy and not pre-heated to the
required level.
d) Suction air holes in blower plugged.
e) Chimney clogged with soot/damper closed.
f) Blower operating at too low a speed.
(5) Clinker on refractory a) Flame hits refractory since combustion
chamber is too small or burner is not correctly
aligned.
b) Fuel oil dripping from nozzle.
c) Fuel oil supply not ‘cut-off’ before the air
supply, during shut-offs.
(6) Coking of fuel oil in burner a) Nozzle exposed to furnace radiation after shut-
off.
b) Burner fed with atomizing air over 300°C.
c) Burner block too short or too wide.
d) Fuel oil not drained from nozzle after shut off.
(7) Excessive fuel oil consumption a) Improper ratio of fuel oil and air.

b) Burner nozzle oversized.

c) Excessive draft.
d) Improper fuel oil/air mixing by burner.
e) Air and fuel oil pressure not correct.
f) Fuel oil not preheated properly.
g) Fuel oil viscosity too low for the type of burner
in use.

65
Trouble-shooting of Fuel Gas System:

No. Indication Probable causes

(1) Rapidly fluctuating pressure a) Unsteady draw off by consumers.
b) Unsteady fuel gas production from
plants supplying to mains.
c) Malfunctioning of fuel gas pressure
controllers.
d) Liquid accumulation in the system.
(2) Liquid accumulation in KOD a) Entrainment of liquid from plants due to
process upsets.
b) High temperature of fuel gas due to
inadequate cooling.
c) Change in composition due to reduction
in light gas make, as a result of plant
shutdowns.
(3) Drop in furnace temperature a) High inert contents, like CO2.
b) Change in composition of gas.
(4) Uneven flame a) Choked or damaged gas tip.

66
Trouble-shooting of Liquid Fuel System:

No. Indication Probable causes

(1) Fluctuating pressure or low supply a) Defective pressure controller.
pressure
b) Low level in fuel oil Drum.

c) Choked strainers in pump suction line or

in plant.
d) Poor pump speed in case of turbine
drive.
e) Transmitter defects.
(2) Unsteady flame a) Choked tip.
b) Steam or water in fuel
(3) Coking of burner throats a) Badly adjusted gun position.
b) Choked tip.
c) Excessive fuel gas firing when on dual
mode of firing.

67