Preferred Utilities Manufacturing Corp

Combustion Theory Boiler

Efficiency And Control

Preferred Utilities Manufacturing Corporation

31-35 South St. • Danbury • CT
T: (203) 743-6741 F: (203) 798-7313
www.preferred-mfg.com
 Overview
 Introduction
 Combustion Basics
 Efficiency Calculations
 Control Strategy Advantages and
Disadvantages
 Summary
 Preferred Utilities Manufacturing Corp.
 Over 80 Years of Combustion Experience
 Custom Engineered Combustion Solutions
 Package Burners for Residual Oil, Distillate Oil and Natural
Gas
 Fuel Handling Systems for Residual Oil Burners
 Fuel Handling Systems for Distillate Oil Burners
 Diesel Engine Fuel Management Systems
 Combustion Control Systems
 Burner Management Systems
 Data Acquisition Systems
Instrumentation & Control Products

DCS-III
Programmable Controller

Plant Wide Controller

PCC-III
Multiple Loop Controller
Draft Control
 Operator Interface

JC-10D Process PCC-III

Bargraph Display Faceplate Display
SCADA/Flex
Distributed Control Station

LCD
Message Display OIT10 Operator
Interface Terminal
 Sensors

HD-A1 Tank Gauge Pressure Outdoor Air

Leak Detector Sensor Temperature Sensor

Tank Gauge
Level Sensor

ZP Oxygen Probe PCC-300 EPA JC-30D

Opacity Monitor Opacity Monitor
Boiler Room Fire Safety
 PCC-III Combustion Experience
Boiler Specific...
 Operator Friendly
 F(x) Characterizers with “Learn” Mode
 Built In Boiler Efficiency
 Constructed For Boiler Front Mounting
 120 Vac Inputs for Direct BMS Interface
 Triac Outputs to Drive Electric Actuators
 Free Standard Combustion Blockware

 There are many digital controller manufacturers,

but NONE have Preferred’s in-depth and ongoing
combustion control experience.
 UtilitySaverTM Burner Control
Fuel and Electrical Savings… The UtilitySaver
includes firing rate
control with both
oxygen trim and
variable speed fan
combustion air
flow control.
 UtilitySaver fuel
and electrical
savings can pay for
the installed system
in two years or
less.
 BurnerMate Touch Screen
Fully Integrated Touch Screen…
 BurnerMate Touch Screen
DCS-III Controller…
 BurnerMate TS

Advanced
Communication…
 BurnerMate Touch Screen
Easy Operation…
 BurnerMate Touch Screen
Easy Setup…
 Combustion Basics
 What is fuel made of?
 What is air made of?
 What happens when fuel is burned?
 Where does the energy go?
 What comes out the smoke stack?
 Most Fuels are Hydrocarbons

 Common fuels have “typical” analysis

 can be used for most combustion calculations
 especially for natural gas
 also number 2 fuel oil
 Residual oil can be approximated with a
typical fuel oil analysis
 Wood, coal, waste require a case by case
chemical analysis for combustion calculations
 Common Fuels Analysis
Typical Ultimate Analysis of Common Fuels
Percent by Weight
#2 Fuel Oil #4 Fuel Oil #6 Fuel Oil Natural Gas Coal Wood

Hydrogen 12.6 11.8 9.7 23.5 5.0 5.7

Carbon 87.3 87.9 87.1 75.2 75.0 53.9

Nitrogen 0.02 0.1 0.5 1.3 1.5 25.3

Oxygen --- --- 1.5 --- 6.7 13.1

Sulfur 0.1 0.2 0.3 --- 2.3 trace

Ash --- --- 0.2 --- 7.0 2.0

Water --- --- .7 --- 2.5 ---

 Composition of (Dry) Air
 By Volume
 20.95% Oxygen, O2
 79.05% Nitrogen, N2
 By Weight
 23.14% Oxygen
 76.86% Nitrogen
 Can be up to 9% H2O by volume in Summer
 Traces of Argon and CO2
 Common Combustion Reactions
 Neglecting H2O in Air
 Neglecting NOx, Other minor reactions
 Simplifying percentages:

4N2 + O2 + 2H2  2H2O + 4N2 + Heat

4N2 + O2 + C  CO2 + 4N2 + Heat
4N2 + O2 + S  SO2 + 4N2 + Heat
 Common Combustion Reactions
 For Methane

CH4 + 2O2  CO2 + 2H2O + Heat

16 + 64  44 + 36
Therefore:
#O2 Required = 64
# Fuel = 16
Therefore #O2/#Fuel =4/1 or 4
 Boiler Efficiency and Control
 Boiler efficiency is computed “by losses”
 Understanding of efficiency calculations
helps in choosing the proper control strategy
 Energy “traps” such as economizers can
provide a payback
 Preferred Instruments has over 75 years of
combustion experience to help optimize
boiler efficiency
 Boiler Efficiency “by Losses”
 Conservation of Energy
 Fuel energy in equals heat energy out
 Energy leaves in steam or in losses
 Efficiency = 100% minus all losses
 Typical boiler efficiency is 80% to 85%
 The remaining 15% to 20% is lost
 Largest loss is a typical 15% “stack loss”
 Radiation loss may be 3% at full input
 Miscellaneous losses might be 1 to 2%
Boiler Energy Balance
 Stack Losses
 Latent heat of water vapor in stack
 Fixed amount depending on hydrogen in fuel
 About 5% of fuel input for fuel oil
 About 9% of fuel input for natural gas
 Assumes a non-condensing boiler (typical)
 Sensible heat of stack gasses
 Typically around 10% of fuel input
 Increased mass flow and stack temperature
increase the loss
 Radiation Loss
 Generally a fixed BTU / hour heat loss
 As a percentage, is greater at low fire
 Depends on the boiler construction
 Is generally about a 3% loss at high fire
 Would be 12% loss at 25% of fuel input
 Miscellaneous Losses
 Consist of:
 blow down losses
 unburned fuel losses (carbon in ash or CO)
 Generally on the order of one percent
Excess Air Required for Burners
 Excess Air Required for Burners
Burner Fuel-Air Ratio

100
Air %
90
Oxygen %
80

70

60
Air %

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Fuel %
Excess Versus Deficient Air
 Effects of Stack Temperature
 Generally, stack temperature is:
 Steam temperature plus 100 to 200 degrees F
» Rule of thumb – watertube-150, firetube-100F
 Higher for dirty boilers, higher loads and
increased excess air levels
 A 100 degree increase in stack temperature
 Costs about 2.5% in energy losses
 May mean the boiler needs serious maintenance
 Economizers are useful on medium and high
pressure boilers as an energy “trap”
Efficiency Calculation Charts
 Oxygen and Air Required for Gas
 To release 1 million BTU with gas
 42 lbs. of gas are burned
 168 lbs. of oxygen are required no excess air
 725 lbs. of combustion air
 767 lbs. of stack gasses are produced
 5% to 20% excess air is required by burner
 Each additional 10% increase in excess air:
 Adds 73 lbs. of stack gasses
 Reduces efficiency by 1% to 1.5%
 Cost of Inefficiency
 The combined effects of extra excess air and
the resulting increase in stack temperature:
 Could mean a 2% to 10% efficiency drop
 Reducing this “extra” excess air saves fuel
 Savings = (Fuel Cost)*[(1/old eff)-(1/new eff)]
 For a facility with a 30,000 pph steam load
 10% to 60% Extra Excess Air Represents From
$6,000 to $35,000 in potential savings per year
 Running 20 hours, 300 days, $4.65 per MM Btu
 Combustion Control Objectives
 Maintain proper fuel to air ratio at all times
 Too little air causes unburned fuel losses
 Too much air causes excessive stack losses
 Improper fuel air ratio can be DANGEROUS
 Always keep fuel to air ratio SAFE
 Interface with burner management for:
 Purge
 Low fire light off
 Modulate fuel and air when safe to do so
 Related and Interactive Loops
 Feedwater Flow
 feedwater is usually cooler than water in boiler
 adding large amounts of water cools the boiler
 cooling the boiler causes the firing rate to increase
 Furnace Draft
 changing pressure in furnace changes air flow
 changed air flow upsets fuel to air ratio
 Variations in Air Composition
 “Standard” air has 0.0177 LB. O2 per FT3
 Hot, humid air has less O2 per cubic ft
 20% less at 95% RH, 120OF, and 29.9 mm Hg
 Dry, cold air has more O2 per cubic ft
 10% more at 0% RH, 32OF, and 30.5 mm Hg
 Combustion controls must:
 Adapt to changing air composition (O2 trim), or
 Allow at least 20% extra excess air at “standard”
conditions
 Control System Errors
Combustion control system can not perfectly
regulate fuel and oxygen flows. Therefore, extra
excess air must be supplied to the burner to
account for control system errors…
 Hysteresis
 Flow transmitter can not measure fuel Btu flow
rate (Btu / hr)
 Oxygen content per cubic foot of air changes with
humidity, temperature and pressure
 Fuel flow for a given valve position varies with
temperature and pressure
 Control System Errors

25%
Typical Combustion Control System "Errors"
(Expressed in % Excess Air Required)
20%
20%

15% 14% 14%

Jackshaft and Parallel

10%
Positioning Type
Systems
Fully Metered Systems

5% 5%
5%
3%
2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%

0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
0%
Burner Humidity Draft Pressure Fuel BTU/lb Air Hysterisis Air Pressure Fuel Pressure Fuel
Requirments Changes Temperature Changes Temperature
Changes

Additional Errors Due To Jackshaft and Parallel

Poitioning Control Method
 Control System Errors

For example a 600 BHP boiler, delivering 20kpph of 15 psi saturated steam has the
following additional operating cost due to excess combustion air:

Excess Air Excess O2 Air Flow Theoretical Lost BTU's Fuel Total Fuel Annualized
Fuel flow Up Stack Equivalent Lost Additional Fuel
to Lost cost
BTU's
% % #/hr #/HR BTU #/hr % US$
27% 6% 20,300 841 342,070 14.3 1.7% $ 9,543

The fuel savings are calculated using a fuel cost of $4.65/MMBTU and a boiler operating
at full load for 20hrs/day & 300days/year. Excess air also causes additional forced draft
fan horsepower costs.
 Combustion Control Strategies
 Single Point Positioning (Jackshaft)
 Fuel and air are tied mechanically
 Simple, low cost, safe, requires extra excess air
 Parallel Positioning
 Fuel valve and air damper are positioned
separately
 Allows oxygen trim of air flow
 Fully Metered
 Fuel and air FLOW (not valve position) are
controlled
 Jackshaft Strategy
One actuator controls fuel and air via linkage. It
is assumed that a given position will always
provide a particular fuel flow and air flow.
 All control errors affect this system. Typically, 20 - 50 %
extra excess air must be supplied to the burner to account
for control inaccuracies.

 Oxygen trim systems can reduce the extra excess air to 10%

 Suitable for firetube boilers and small watertube boilers.

Used when annual fuel expense is too small to justify a
more elaborate system.
 Jackshaft Strategy
Drum Pressure

STEAM

FT

100
FUEL VLV

ACK DIS

ALARM

RUN

AUTO AUTO
MAN MAN

REM
LOOP LOC

PV SP OUT

PCC - III
FIRING RATE

Fuel Actuator

OIL

GAS
 Jackshaft Strategy
Disadvantages
Advantages Fuel valves and fan damper must be
Simplicity physically close together
Provides large turndown
Inexpensive Changes in fuel or air pressure, temperature,
viscosity, density, humidity affect fuel-air
ratio.

Only one fuel may be burned at a time.

Not applicable to multiple burners.

Not applicable to variable speed fan drives.

Oxygen Trim is difficult to apply, trim limit

prevents adequate correction
 Parallel Positioning Strategy
Separate actuators are used to position fuel
and air final devices, flows are unknown. Fuel
to air ratio can be varied automatically
 Cross Limiting is employed for safety and to prevent
combustibles or smoke during load changes. Cross
Limiting requires and accurate position feedback signal
from each actuator. A failure of either actuator or
feedback pot will force the air damper open and the fuel
valve to minimum position.

 Many of the same applications, limitations and

improvements described in the Single Point Positioning
section also apply to Parallel Positioning
 Parallel Positioning Strategy
Drum Pressure

STEAM

FT

100 100
FUEL VLV AIR DAMPER

ACK DIS ACK DIS

A LA R M A LA R M

RUN RUN

Air Actuator
A U TO A U TO A U TO A U TO
MA N MA N MA N MA N

R EM R EM
LOOP LOC LOOP LOC

PV SP OU T PV SP OU T

PCC - III PCC - III

FIRING RATE AIR FLOW

Fuel Actuator

OIL

GAS
 Parallel Positioning Strategy
Advantages Disadvantages
Allows electronic Changes in fuel or air pressure, temperature,
characterization of fuel-air ratio viscosity, density, humidity affect fuel-air
ratio.
Adapts to boilers with remote
F.D. fans and / or variable Only one fuel may be burned at a time.
speed drives
Not applicable to multiple burners.
Provides large turndown
Position feed back is expensive for
pneumatic actuators
Allows low fire changeover
between fuels
Oxygen Trim limit prevents adequate
correction
Oxygen trim is easy to
accomplish
 Fully Metered Strategy

Both the fuel flow and the combustion air flow

are measured. Separate PID controllers are used
for both fuel and air flow control. Demand from
a Boiler Sub-master is used to develop both a fuel
flow and air flow setpoint.
 Fuel and Air Flow setpoints are Cross Limited using fuel and air flows.
 Oxygen trim control logic is easily added as an option. Flue gas oxygen
is measured and compared against setpoint to continuously adjust (trim)
the fuel / air ratio. The excess air adjustment allows the boiler to
operate safely and reliably at reduced levels of excess air throughout the
operating range of the boiler. This reduction in excess air can result in
fuel savings of 2% to 4%. The flue gas excess oxygen setpoint is based
on boiler firing rate or an operator set value.
 Fully Metered Strategy

Fuel Gas Flow Drum Pressure

Combustion Air Flow

Fuel Oil Flow
STEAM

FT

100 100
FUEL VLV AIR DAMPER

ACK DIS ACK DIS FT

ALARM ALARM

RUN RUN

Air Actuator
AUTO AUTO AUTO AUTO
MAN MAN MAN MAN

REM REM
LOOP LOC LOOP LOC

PV SP OUT PV SP OUT

PCC - III PCC - III

Fuel Actuator
FIRING RATE AIR FLOW

FT

OIL

FT

GAS

Advantages
Corrects for control valve,
damper drive and pressure
regulator Hysteresis
Compensates for flow
variations.
Fully Metered Strategy
Disadvantages
Installation is more costly.
With no oxygen trim….For all types of
flow meters, the fuel Btu value and air
oxygen content must be assumed.

Applicable to multiple burners.

Allows simultaneous firing of

oil and gas.
 Jackshaft Parallel Fully Metered

Application Specifics
Dual Fuel Firing
Low-fire changeover only
Positioning

Option Option
Positioning

Option
Comparison
Full Load Simultaneous Not Recommended Not Recommended Option
Firing
Single/Multiple Burners
Single Burner Option Option Option
Multiple Burners Not Recommended Not Recommended Option
Furnace Conditions
Pressurized Option Option Option
Balanced Draft Not Recommended Not Recommended Option
(FD & ID Fans are used)
Air Heater Type
Ljungstrom (Rotary) Not Recommended Not Recommended Option
Tubular Option Option Option
Stack Options
Independent Option Option Option
Common & slight effect Option Option Option
on furnace pressure
Common & significant Not Recommended Not Recommended Option
effect on furnace
pressure
F.D. Fan Location
Integral with windbox Option Option Option
Remote Not Recommended Option Option
Air Composition
Constant Option Option Option
Variable but slight Option Option Option
Variable & significant Not Recommended Not Recommended Option
Fuel Composition
Clean Option Option Option
Variations Not Recommended Not Recommended Option
Boiler Performance
Monitoring
Fuel Consumption NO NO YES
Efficiency by YES Option YES
“Losses” Method
Efficiency by NO NO Option
Input - Output Method
 Other Control Loops that Impact
Control of Fuel and
 DraftControl
 Feedwater Control
 Draft Control
 Changing furnace draft can change air flow
 Changed air flow effects efficiency
 Changed air flow effects emissions
 Draft Control keeps furnace pressure constant
 Draft Control becomes extremely important:
 When multiple boilers share a stack
 Stack is very high
 Induced FGR is used for NOx control
Draft Control Schematic
 Types of Draft Control
 Self contained units such as Preferred JC-20
 “Sequencing” closes damper when boiler is off
 Saves energy
 Draft sensing diaphragm and logic in one unit
 Micro-processor controllers for tighter
control
 Feedforward based on firing rate
 True PID control of furnace draft
 Feedwater Control
 Benefits of stable water level control
 high and low water trips are avoided
 water carryover in steam is minimized
 steam pressure stays more nearly constant
 Swinging feedwater flow can:
 cause pressure swings
 cause firing rate to hunt
 create extra wear and tear on valves and linkage
 waste fuel
 Simple Feedwater Control Strategies

 On-off control
 typically used on small firetube units
 Single Element Feedwater Control
 opening of valve is influenced by change in level
 typical of older thermo-hydraulic systems
 thermo-hydraulic systems are proportional only
 use of PID controller can add “reset”
 suitable for steady loads
 Shrink and Swell
 Momentary drum level upsets in water tube
boilers when the steam load swings
 Increase in load causes swell:
 drops pressure in boiler
 increases size of steam bubbles in watertubes
 causes more water to flash to steam
 causes the actual level in the drum to rise while the
total amount of water actually drops
 single element will close the valve, not open it
 Shrink and Swell, cont.
 Drop in load causes:
 pressure to rise
 some steam to condense
 size of remaining bubbles to shrink
 water level in drum drops
 actual amount of water might be rising
 Controls reduce impact of shrink and swell
 controls can’t compensate for poor design or
condition of boiler
 Two Element Feedwater Control
 Control on water level and steam flow
 drop in level increases valve opening
 rise in steam flow increases valve opening
 reduces impact of shrink and swell
 better for swinging loads
 PID control with steam flow feed-forward
which can be characterized to match the
valve trim
 Requires a steady feedwater supply pressure
Two Element Feedwater Control
 Three Element Feedwater Control
 Water level, steam flow and feedwater
determine controller output signal
 Two PID loops in cascade configuration:
 hold drum level at setpoint
 hold feedwater flow to match steam flow
 Very stable level control
 Keeps water inventory constant during
periods of shrink and swell
Three Element Feedwater
 Auxiliary Controller Functions
 Calculation of pressure compensated steam
flow
 Compensation of drum level signal for
changing water density in steam drum
 Totalization of steam flow
 Totalization of feedwater flow
 Alarms for high and low water levels
 Data Acquisition for Combustion
 Allows remote operation of controllers
 Reduces manpower requirements in plant
 Provides historical data
 Trend data to replace strip or circular charts
 Reports to document plant operation
 Can compare energy usage per degree day
 From year to year
 From building to building
 Allows energy wasting trends to be spotted
 New Advances in Combustion Control
These features offers help firing systems meet
emissions goals.
 Combustrol's fully metered combustion control strategy includes
differential cross limiting of fuel and air flows. This feature adds an
addition level of protection to the conventional air flow and fuel flow
cross limiting combustion control scheme by preventing the air fuel ratio
from becoming too air rich as well as too fuel rich.
 To enable improved burner turndown, Combustrol provides automatic
switching to positioning control of the air control damper whenever the
firing rate of the unit is below the turndown range of the air flow
transmitter.
 For rapid boiler load response, the air flow control output is the sum of
the air flow controller output and an air flow demand feedfoward index.
 Saving Fuel with Combustion Control

 Oxygen Trim of air flow

 Applicable to any control strategy
 Should be applied to any large boiler
 Oxygen readout is valuable even if trim is
impractical
 Variable speed drive of combustion air fan
 Can generate considerable horsepower savings
 Applicable to any control strategy
 Economic Boiler Dispatch
 Oxygen Trim Strategies
 Mechanical trim devices for single point
positioning
 Can vary the air damper position
 Can vary the fuel pressure
 Biasing the air damper actuator position for
parallel positioning control
 Changing the fuel to air ratio in metering
systems
 Changing the fan speed in systems with VFD
Oxygen Trim for Jackshaft System
 Oxygen Trim Cautions
 Replace worn dampers and linkage FIRST!
 Use only proven analyzers for the signal
 Use only proven controllers and control
strategies to accomplish the trim
 Budget calibration and probe replacement.
 Variable Speed Fan Drives
 Applicable to parallel “positioning” or
metering control strategies
 Can generate considerable electricity savings
 For a 40,000 pph boiler running at 50% load:
 Savings could be up to $12,000 per year
 R.O.I. could be as low as 1.5 years
 Might be a candidate for a utility company
rebate
 Summary

 Combustion control is a specialty field

 Each application has unique requirements
 Each system should balance:
 efficiency of operation
 installed cost
 safety and reliability
 Preferred Instruments is leader in the field
of special combustion control systems
Preferred Utilities Manufacturing Corp

For further information, contact...

Preferred Utilities Manufacturing Corporation
31-35 South Street • Danbury • CT
T: (203) 743-6741 • F: (203) 798-7313
www.preferred-mfg.com