Chapter-4

Steam Generators(Boilers)
 A combination of apparatus for producing, furnishing or
recovering heat together with apparatus for transferring the
heat so made available to water which would be heated and
vaporized to steam form” (ASME).
 It is an enclosed vessel that provides a means for combustion
heat to be transferred into water until it becomes heated water
or steam.
 The hot water or steam under pressure is then usable for
transferring the heat to a process.
 Water is a useful and cheap medium for transferring heat to a
process.
 Boiler…
• When water is boiled into steam its volume increases about
1,600 times, producing a force that is almost as explosive as
gunpowder.
• This causes the boiler to be extremely dangerous equipment
that must be treated with utmost care.
Basis for classification of boilers
• Contents inside the tube
• Firing system
• Position of drum
• Pressure
• Nature of water circulation
 Boiler systems
The boiler system comprises of:
• feed water system
• steam system and
• fuel system.
 The feed water system provides water to the boiler and
regulates it automatically to meet the steam demand. Various
valves provide access for maintenance and repair.
 The steam system collects and controls the steam produced in
the boiler. Steam is directed through a piping system to the
point of use. Throughout the system, steam pressure is
regulated using valves and checked with steam pressure gauges.
 The fuel system includes all equipment used to provide fuel to
generate the necessary heat. The equipment required in the fuel
system depends on the type of fuel used in the system
 Boiler systems
The water supplied to the boiler that is converted into steam is
called feed water.
The two sources of feed water are: (1) Condensate or condensed
steam returned from the processes and
(2) Makeup water (treated raw water) which must come from
outside the boiler room and plant
processes. For higher boiler efficiencies, the feed water is
preheated by economizer, using the
waste heat in the flue gas.
 Boiler Types and Classifications
There are virtually infinite numbers of boiler designs but
generally they fit into one of two categories:
Fire tube or “fire in tube” boilers;
• contain long steel tubes through which the hot gasses from a
furnace pass and around which the water to be converted to steam
circulates.
• Fire tube boilers, typically have a lower initial cost, are more
fuel efficient and easier to operate, but they are limited
generally to capacities of 25 tons/hr and pressures of 17.5
kg/cm2.
Boiler Types and Classifications

Fig. Fire tube boiler

 Boiler Types and Classifications

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

Fig. Water tube boiler

 Boiler Types and Classifications

Packaged Boiler:
The packaged boiler is so called because it comes as a complete package.
Once delivered to site, it requires only the steam, water pipe work, fuel
supply and electrical connections to be made for it to become operational.

Fig. 3 pass Packaged boilers

 Boiler Types and Classifications

Package boilers are generally of shell type with fire tube design so as to achieve
high heat transfer rates by both radiation and convection.

The features of package boilers are:

• Small combustion space and high heat release rate resulting in faster
evaporation.
• Large number of small diameter tubes leading to good convective heat
transfer.
• Forced or induced draft systems resulting in good combustion efficiency.
• Number of passes resulting in better overall heat transfer.
• Higher thermal efficiency levels compared with other boilers.
 Boiler Types and Classifications

These boilers are classified based on the number of passes – the

number of times the hot combustion gases pass through the boiler.
The combustion chamber is taken, as the first pass after which there
may be one, two or three sets of fire-tubes. The most common boiler
of this class is a three-pass unit with two sets of fire-tubes and with
the exhaust gases exiting through the rear of the boiler.
Stoker Fired Boiler:
Stokers are classified according to the method of feeding fuel to the
furnace and by the type of
grate. The main classifications are:
1. Chain-grate or traveling-grate stoker
2. Spreader stoker
 Boiler Types and Classifications

Chain-Grate or Traveling-Grate Stoker Boiler

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

Fig . Chain Grate Stoker

 Boiler Types and Classifications

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

Spreader Stoker Boiler

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

Fig. Spreader Stoker

 Boiler Types and Classifications

Pulverized Fuel Boiler

Most coal-fired power station boilers use pulverized coal, and many of the
larger industrial water-tube boilers also use this pulverized fuel. This
technology is well developed, and there are thousands of units around the
world, accounting for well over 90% of coal-fired capacity.
The coal is ground (pulverised) to a fine powder, so that less than 2% is
+300 micro metre (μm) and 70-75% is below 75 microns, for a bituminous
coal. It should be noted that too fine a powder is wasteful of grinding mill
power. On the other hand, too coarse a powder does not burn completely in
the combustion chamber and results in higher unburnt losses.
 Boiler Types and Classifications

The pulverised coal is blown with part of the combustion air into the boiler plant through
a series of burner nozzles. Secondary and tertiary air may also be added. Combustion
takes place at temperatures from 1300-1700°C, depending largely on coal grade. Particle
residence time in the boiler is typically 2 to 5 seconds, and the particles must be small
enough for complete combustion to have taken place during this time.
This system has many advantages such as ability to fire varying quality of coal, quick
responses to changes in load, use of high pre-heat air temperatures etc.
One of the most popular systems for firing pulverized coal is the tangential firing using
four burners corner to corner to create a fireball at the center of the furnace as shown
below.
 FBC Boiler

When an evenly distributed air or gas is passed upward through a finely

divided bed of solid particles such as sand supported on a fine mesh, the
particles are undisturbed at low velocity. As air velocity is gradually
increased, a stage is reached when the individual particles are suspended in
the air stream. Further, increase in velocity gives rise to bubble formation,
vigorous turbulence and rapid mixing and the bed is said to be fluidized.
If the sand in a fluidized state is heated to the ignition temperature of the
coal and the coal is injected continuously in to the bed, the coal will burn
rapidly, and the bed attains a uniform temperature due to effective mixing.
Proper air distribution is vital for maintaining uniform fluidization across
the bed.). Ash is disposed by dry and wet ash disposal systems. Fluidized
bed combustion has significant advantages over conventional firing
systems and offers multiple benefits namely fuel flexibility, reduced
emission of noxious pollutants such as SOx and NOx, compact boiler
design and higher combustion efficiency.
 Boiler Types and Classifications

Fig. Fluidized Bed Boiler

 Formation of Steam at Constant Pressure

T-V diagrams of various phases of water T-V diagrams at various pressures

P-V ,T-S,H-S and P-S diagram
 Steam Generation
• Enthalpy Change in Generation of Steam from 0°C at 0°C

• 0°C to Saturation Temperature

Wet Steam: Wet steam contains partly water as suspended in it

and
partly steam
Dryness Fraction: Dryness fraction is defined as the mass of dry
steam per kg of wet steam. It is represented by x.

Enthalpy

Specific Volume
Internal Energy

Entropy of Water
Entropy of Steam
Throttling Calorimeter
Separating and Throttling Calorimeter
Mollier Diagram or h–S Chart
 Basis for classification of boilers
• Contents inside the tube (water tube, Fire tube)
• Firing system (Internal, External)
• Position of drum (Horizontal,Vertical,Inclined)
• Pressure (Low Up to 80 bar, High 80-221 bar, Super critical
above 221 bar)
• Nature of water circulation (Natural, Forced)
Water Tube and Fire Tube Boilers
 Requirements of a Good Boiler

• Low cost of installation, operation and maintenance

• Easy maintenance
• High efficiency
• Safety
• High transportability
• High steam production rate
• Good quality of steam
• Quick steam generation capacity
• Meeting fluctuating demand of steam
 Performance Evaluation of Boiler

The performance parameters of boiler, like efficiency and

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

Thermal efficiency of boiler is defined as the percentage of heat

input that is effectively utilised to generate steam. There are two
methods of assessing boiler efficiency.
1) The Direct Method: Where the energy gain of the working fluid
(water and steam) is compared with the energy content of the
boiler fuel.
2) The Indirect Method: Where the efficiency is the difference
between the losses and the energy input.
a. Direct Method
This is also known as ‘input-output method’ due to the fact that it needs
only the useful output (steam) and the heat input (i.e. fuel) for evaluating
the efficiency. This efficiency can be evaluated using the formula

Parameters to be monitored for the calculation of boiler efficiency by direct

method are :
• Quantity of steam generated per hour (Q) in kg/hr.
• Quantity of fuel used per hour (q) in kg/hr.
• The working pressure (in kg/cm2(g)) and superheat temperature (°C), if
any
• The temperature of feed water (°C)
• Type of fuel and gross calorific value of the fuel (GCV) in kCal/kg of fuel
Where, hg – Enthalpy of saturated steam in kCal/kg of steam
hf – Enthalpy of feed water in kCal/kg of water
Advantages of direct method:
• Plant people can evaluate quickly the efficiency of boilers
• Requires few parameters for computation
• Needs few instruments for monitoring
Disadvantages of direct method:
• Does not give clues to the operator as to why efficiency of
system is lower
• Does not calculate various losses accountable for various
efficiency levels
b. Indirect Method
There are reference standards for Boiler Testing at Site using
indirect method namely British Standard, BS 845: 1987 and USA
Standard is ASME PTC-4-1 Power Test Code Steam Generating
Units’.
Indirect method is also called as heat loss method. The efficiency
can be arrived at, by subtracting the heat loss fractions from 100.
The standards do not include blow down loss in the efficiency
determination process.
The principle losses that occur in a boiler are:
Loss of heat due to dry fluegas
• Loss of heat due to moisture in fuel and combustion air
• Loss of heat due to combustion of hydrogen
• Loss of heat due to radiation
• Loss of heat due to unburnt
In the above, loss due to moisture in fuel and the loss due to
combustion of hydrogen are dependent on the fuel, and cannot be
controlled by design.
The data required for calculation of boiler efficiency using
indirect method are:
• Ultimate analysis of fuel (H2, O2, S, C, moisture content, ash
content)
• Percentage of Oxygen or CO2 in the flue gas
• Flue gas temperature in °C (Tf)
• Ambient temperature in °C (Ta) & humidity of air in kg/kg of
dry air
• GCV of fuel in kCal/kg
• Percentage combustible in ash (in case of solid fuels)
• GCV of ash in kCal/kg (in case of solid fuels)
 Solution

Theoretical air requirement

Excess Air supplied (EA)

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

theoretical air
i. Percentage heat loss due to dry flue gas =
m = mass of dry flue gas in kg/kg of fuel
m = Combustion products from fuel: CO2 + SO2 + Nitrogen in fuel + Nitrogen
in the actual mass of air supplied + O2 in flue gas. (H2O/Water vapour in the
flue gas should not be considered)
Cp = Specific heat of flue gas (0.23 kCal/kg °C)
ii. Percentage heat loss due to evaporation of water formed due to
H2 in fuel

Where, H2 - kg of H2 in 1 kg of fuel
Cp - Specific heat of superheated steam (0.45 kCal/kg °C)
iii. Percentage heat loss due to evaporation of moisture present in fuel

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

Cp – Specific heat of superheated steam (0.45 kCal/kg)°C
584 is the latent heat corresponding to the partial pressure of water vapour.
iv. Percentage heat loss due to moisture present in air

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

v. Percentage heat loss due to unburnt in fly ash

vi. Percentage heat loss due to unburnt in bottom ash

 vii. Percentage heat loss due to radiation and other unaccounted
loss
The actual radiation and convection losses are difficult to assess
because of particular emissivity of various surfaces, its
inclination, air flow pattern etc. In a relatively small boiler, with a
capacity of 10 MW, the radiation and unaccounted losses could
amount to between 1% and 2% of the gross calorific value of the
fuel, while in a 500 MWboiler, values between 0.2% to 1% are
typical. The loss may be assumed appropriately depending on the
surface condition.
 Assignment-1
Submission Date : 4/5/2025
The following are the data collected for a typical oil fired boiler. Find out the
efficiency of the boiler by indirect method and Boiler Evaporation ratio.
• Type of boiler : Oil fired
• Ultimate analysis of Oil
C : 84.0 % H2 : 12.0 %
S : 3.0 % O2 : 1.0 %
• GCV of Oil : 10200 kCal/kg
• Steam Generation Pressure : 7kg/cm2(g)-saturated
• Enthalpy of steam : 660 kCal/kg
• Feed water temperature : 60 °C
• Percentage of Oxygen in flue gas : 7
• Percentage of CO2 in flue gas : 11
• Flue gas temperature (Tf) : 220 °C
• Ambient temperature (Ta) : 27 °C
• Humidity of air : 0.018 kg/kg of dry air