9what Is A Boiler?

9What is a boiler?
A boiler is defined as “a closed vessel in which water or other liquid is heated ,steam or vapor is
generated ,steam is superheated ,or any combination thereof, under pressure or vacuum, for
use external to itself, by the direct application of energy from the combustion of fuels,from
electricity or nuclear energy.
Boiler act 1923.
However, according to the India boiler act 1923, a boiler is closed pressure vessel with capacity
exceeding 22.76 liters used for generating steam under pressure.
How are boilers classified?

There are many classes of boilers.
1-Horizontal, Vertical or Inclined Boiler.
2. Fire Tube and Water Tube.
3. Externally Fired and Internally Fired.
4. Forced circulation and Natural Circulation.
5. Higher Pressure and Low Pressure Boilers.
1-Horizontal, Vertical or Inclined Boiler.
A horizontal, vertical is a type of fire tube and water tube boiler. If the axis
of the boiler is horizontal, the boiler is called horizontal, if the axis is vertical, it
is called vertical boiler and if the axis is inclined it is called as inclined boiler.
The parts of horizontal boiler is can be inspected and repaired easily but it
occupies more space. The vertical boiler occupies less floor area.
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2. Fire Tube and Water Tube:
 Fire tube boiler:
In fire-tube boilers, combustion gases pass through the inside of the

tubes with water surrounding the outside of the tubes. The advantages of a fire-tube
boiler are its simple construction and less rigid water treatment requirements.
The disadvantages are the excessive weight-per-pound of steam generated, excessive

time required to raise steam pressure because of the relatively large volume of water,
and inability to respond quickly to load changes, again, due to the large water volume.
The most common fire-tube boilers used in facility heating applications are often
referred to as ''scotch'' or ''scotch marine'' boilers, as this boiler type was commonly
used for marine service because of its compact size (fire-box integral with boiler
section).
The name "fire-tube" is very descriptive. The fire, or hot flue gases from the burner, is
channeled through tubes (Figure) that are surrounded by the fluid to be heated. The
body of the boiler is the pressure vessel and contains the fluid. In most cases, this fluid
is water that will be circulated for heating purposes or converted to steam for process
use.
-pass boiler will have four sets and the stack outlet at the front.
Fire-tube boilers ar
BOILER MANUAL Page 2

Every set of tubes that the flue gas travels through, before it makes a turn, is considered
a "pass." So, a three-pass boiler will have three sets of tubes with the stack
outlet located on the rear of the boiler. A foure:
 Relatively inexpensive
 Easy to clean
 Compact in size
 Available in sizes from 600,000 btu/hr to 50,000,000 btu/hr
 Easy to replace tubes
 Well suited for space heating and industrial process applications
Disadvantages of fire-tube boilers include:
 Not suitable for high pressure applications 250 psig and above
 Limitation for high capacity steam generation
 Water-Tube Boilers:
In a water-tube boiler (Figure), the water is inside the tubes

and combustion gases pass around the outside of the tubes. The advantages of a
water-tube boiler are a lower unit weight-per-pound of steam generated, less time
required to raise steam pressure, a greater flexibility for responding to load changes, and
a greater ability to operate at high rates of steam generation.

A water-tube design is the exact opposite of a fire-tube. Here, the water flows through
the tubes and is encased in a furnace in which the burner fires. These tubes are
connected to a steam drum and a mud drum. The water is heated and steam is
produced in the upper drum.
Large steam users are better suited for the water-tube design. The industrial water-tube
boiler typically produces steam or hot water primarily for industrial process applications,
and is used less frequently for heating applications. The best gauge of which design to
consider can be found in the duty in which the boiler is to perform.
Water-tube boilers:
 Are available in sizes far greater than a fire-tube design , up to several million
pounds-per-hour of steam
 Are able to handle higher pressures up to 5,000 psig.
 Recover faster than their fire-tube cousin.
 Have the ability to reach very high temperatures.
Disadvantages of the water-tube design include:
 High initial capital cost

 Cleaning is more difficult due to the design
 No commonality between tubes
 Physical size may be an issue.
3. Externally Fired and Internally Fired.

The boiler is known as externally fired if the fire is outside the shell.
Examples: Babcock and Wilcox boiler, Stirling boiler etc.
In case of internally fired boilers, the furnace is located inside the shell.
Examples: Cochran, Lancashire boiler etc.

4. Forced circulation and Natural Circulation boiler:
 Natural circulation boiler:

In natural or thermal circulation type boilers, the rate of circulation depends strongly on
the density difference between the unheated water and the heated steam-water mixture.
The overall circulation rate (flow) in natural circulation systems mostly depends on the
following factors:
Height of the boiler:
Taller boilers yield a bigger pressure difference between the heated and unheated
sections and consequently produce bigger flow rates.
Operating pressure of the boiler:
Higher operating pressure produces higher density steam as well as higher density
steam-water mixtures. This tends to reduce the overall density difference between the
heated and unheated segments, as the liquid water density remains same being
independent of operating pressure. Hence higher pressure reduces the produced steam
flow rates.
Heat input rate:
Higher heat input rate helps reduce the average density in the heated section and
thereby increase the total flow rate.

 Forced circulation boiler:
A boiler that uses a mechanical pump to circulate water flowing through the boiler
’s water tubes.
5. Higher Pressure and Low Pressure Boilers:

The boiler which produce steam at pressures of 80 bar and above are
called highpressure boilers.
Examples: Babcock and Wilcox, Velox, Lamomt,Benson Boiler etc
The boilers which produce steam at pressure below 80 bar are called low
pressure boilers.
Examples: Cochran, Cornish, Lancashire and Locomotive boiler etc

Boiler fuels
Introduction:
All boiler systems employ a fuel mechanism which basically comprises of the apparatus
needed to supply fuel for heat generation. The design of the apparatus in use varies
according to the kind of fuel employed in the system. Variety of fuels is available for
application in boilers, each having different chemical properties. Major chemical
characteristics of boiler fuels include:
 C/H2 ratio: It is a unique ratio which mainly determines the quantity of supply air
needed for absolute combustion of a particular fuel source. More is the value of
carbon in the fuel; excess supply air would be needed for carrying out whole burning
process.
 Calorific value: “The calorific value is the quantity of heat obtained per kilogram for
solid or liquid fuel or per m3 for gaseous fuel when burnt with an excess of oxygen
in a calorimeter. “by carrying out a calorific value test, one can distinguish between
high and low calorific value fuels. In general, the combustion reaction products
containing H2O in the form of liquid indicate Higher Calorific value whereas H 2O in
vapor form indicate Lower Calorific value.
Their energy measurement unit is either BTUs i.e. British Thermal Units or KWs
i.e. Kilowatts. One can convert between the two units by means of conversion factor
i.e. 3.46 BTU/W.
Types of fuels:
The list of major fuels which are employed in boiler systems is given below:
1. Natural Gas
2. Propane Fired
3. Oil Fired
4. Electricity
5. Wood Fired
6. Renewable Energy
7. Bagasse Fired
8. Coal Fired
a- Pulverized coal fired
b- Stoker Fired
c- Hand Fired

1-Natural Gas:
Natural gas is the key fuel source for boilers which is widely employed in United States
and Europe for home heating needs. It is largely prepared from methane along with a
mixture of few other gases in small proportions. “Natural gas has an energy content of
about 100kBTU per therm or 103kBTU per ccf (100 cubic feet). However, anecdotal
evidence suggests that the actual heating value of "Natural Gas" coming out of the
distribution pipe may vary from as little as 60kBTU up to 160kBTU per ccf.
Natural gas can be conveniently put into use for boiler applications since it can be
transported easily via gas pipelines when in gaseous sate and trucks or ships when in
liquid state. Very less amount of air is needed for burning of natural gas owing to its
unique C/H2 ratio. This fuel contains quite low values of carbon and high values of
hydrogen because of which the combustion of natural gas results in production of less
greenhouse gases which are considered to be highly responsible for global warming.
Also, the burning of natural gas is found to be very clean as compared to the burning of
oil and solid fuels oil.
2-Propane Fired:
Propane is a boiler fuel which is basically manufactured out of refining process carried
out for petroleum goods. It is generally carried and delivered to the usage point with the
help of pressurized gas containers. Unlike natural gas, the energy content of propane is
measured in gallons instead of cubic feet. It usually consists of 91 kBTU per gallon. In
general, propane is available at a fairly higher price as compared to natural gas.
3-Oil Fired:
The fuel oil employed for boiler use is mainly manufactured from a mix
of extremely heavy hydrocarbons, which tend to contain relatively high amounts of
hydrogen content in comparison to coal. Burning of a fuel oil usually produces same
kind of pollutants as produced with burning coal. Heating oil is a boiler fuel which is
widely employed in the northeastern areas of the United States whereas in other parts
of the world, it is facing severe competition with the gaseous boiler fuels available.
Diversity of oil fuels is available for heating such as oil #2, oil # 4, and oil # 6. Fuel oil #2
is popularly referred to as the home heating fuel. It is almost identical to the diesel oil
fuel which is largely employed in vehicles and automobiles. Its energy value is found to
be approximately 139 kBTU per gallon.
Boiler and heating systems that employ oil for its operation happen to be more
expensive than gas powered boiler systems since they need complicated burner
mechanism as compared to their gas counterparts for efficient firing. However, at
thesame time, this difficulty of ignition (or firing) in case of heating fuel turns out to be a

great plus point since it results in safer storage of fuel oil in comparison to gas.
Otherwise, a leakage in the fuel tank could prove to be very costly and hazardous.
4-Electricity:
Electricity is an alternative source to gaseous fuels employed in
traditional boiling systems. It tends to give a heating value around 3.4kBTU per kWh.
Use of electricity in boiler systems offers various advantages which are mentioned
below:
 Usage of electricity as boiler fuel results in extremely compact design and light
weight boiler systems which can be operated at comparatively less cost.
 Besides, it results in entirely noise free boiler operation.
 It can be easily employed in various kinds of heating and cooling devices, for
example, basic resistance heating systems, air conditioning systems and heat
pumps etc.
5-Solid Fired:
Major solid fuels used for burning in a boiler include coal and wood. They were the only
fuel sources available for use in boiler systems prior to the emergence of heating fuel
oil. These are the cheapest means of boiler fuels which are getting exhausted day by
day due to uncontrolled use. However, boiler systems employing coal or wood as fuel
source call for some extra precautions and care due to the reasons mentioned below:

The use of solid fuels results in more dust and ashes as compared to
heating oil and natural gas.
 Since the amount of carbon content present in coal is very high, it produces
a substantial amount of carbon dioxide gas upon burning.
 Also, presence of high carbon value needs extra oxygen for combustion
because of which relatively high amount of combustion air would be
required for burning of coal as compared to other boiler fuels.
 Moreover, burning of coal inside a boiler results in emission of polluted
ingredients such as NOx, sulfur dioxide i.e. SO2, sulfur trioxide i.e. SO3 etc.
Typically, a chemical reaction takes place between emitted sulfur dioxide
and water vapor present in the atmosphere due to which a feeble type of
sulfuric acid is created that happens to be one of the major reasons for acid
rain.

6-Renewable Energy sources:
Variety of renewable energy sources is available for use as boiler fuels. Most common
of them includes solar energy and wind energy. The energy from solar radiations can
be utilized in many devices such as solar water heating systems and solar cell systems
whereas wind energy can be easily used in wind generators. This category of fuel
resources proves to be extremely useful for people residing in distant areas where other
fuel sources are difficult or costly to achieve. Hence, places which get abundant supply
of sun heat are the justified locations for usage of solar energy.
Moreover, photovoltaic systems operating via solar energy can be used for production
of electricity to meet the power requirements in these areas.
7-Pulverized coal fired:

A pulverized coal-fired boiler is an industrial or utility boiler that generates thermal
energy by burning pulverized coal (also known as powdered coal or coal dust since it
is as fine as face powder in cosmetic makeup) that is blown into the firebox.
The basic idea of a firing system using pulverised fuel is to use the whole volume of
the furnace for the combustion of solid fuels. Coal is ground to the size of a fine grain,
mixed with air and burned in the flue gas flow. Biomass and other materials can also be
added to the mixture. Coal contains mineral matter which is converted to ash during
combustion. The ash is removed as bottom ash and fly ash. The bottom ash is removed
at the furnace bottom.
This type of boiler dominates the electric power industry, providing steam to drive large
turbines. Pulverized coal provides the thermal energy which produces about 50% of the
world's electric supply.
Pulverized coal power plants are broken down into three categories; subcritical
pulverized coal (SubCPC) plants, supercritical pulverized coal (SCPC) plants, and ultra-
supercritical pulverized coal (USCPC) plants. The primary difference between the three
types of pulverized coal boilers are the operating temperatures and pressures.
Subcritical plants operate below the critical point of water (647.096 K and 22.064 MPa).
Supercritical and ultra-supercritical plants operate above the critical point. As the
pressures and temperatures increase, so does the operating efficiency. Subcritical
plants are at about 37%, supercriticals at about 40% and ultra-supercriticals in the 42-
45% range.
Coal Pulverization with drying system

Type of the flame motion :
Q. How are straight flow burners arranged?
Ans: they are arranged into
(a) Opposite displaced arrangement (fig 12.10a)

(b) Corner arrangement (block arrangement)(fig 12.10b)
(c) Corner arrangement with tangential jets (fig 12.10c)

Tangential arrangement widest application because of:
(a) High heat-generation capacity and hence suitability for high capacity boilers.
(b) Uniform heat distribution between the furnace walls.
(c) Low clinkering probability.
Q. What are the patterns of flame motion in dry bottom type furnaces?
Ans: 1. Straight flow S-snapped flame (fig.12.11a)
2. opposite straight flow flame (fig.12.11b)
3. Vertically turbulized flame (fig.12.11c)
4. Combination of straight and horizontally turbulizedflame (fig 12.11d)

Q. why are dry-bottom furnaces equipped with a dry-bottom hopper?
Ans: The dry-bottom hopper intensively cools the products of combustion in the furnace
bottom.As a result, molten slag droplets entering into this zone get quickly cooled,
solidified and fall along the sides of the hopper into the salg-collection pit .(show fig)

Q. How many type of gas and fuel oil fired furnaces are there?
Ans: There are five types:
 Open –type furnace with single front, multitier burners layout.(fig 1a)
 Double-type furnace with opposite double tier burner arrangement.(fig 1c)
 Open-type furnace with opposite cyclone primary furnaces. (fig .1d)
 Furnaceeith straight flow having burners at the bottom.(fig .1e)
 Double-wall constriction and bouble-front burners.(fig.1b)
Q.What is a dry pipe?

Ans: It is a perforated or slotted pipe placed in the highest part of the boiler to
provide commercially dry (97%dry) steam. It is a capped pipe fitted with a drain to
prevent accumulation of water perforated openings at the top that allow the entry of
steam but discourage the entry of water. The opening is drilled holes (20mm) dia or
slots (7.5mm) wide.

Q. What are baffles and types?
Ans: Baffles are steam drum internals that break up steam-water jets entering the drum.
There many type of baffles use.
1-Deflector-plate baffle (fig.1.62) 2-Offset deflector-plate baffle (fig 1.63)
3-Slotted deflector-plate baffle (fig.1.64) 4-V-baffle (fig.1.65)
5-Perforated plate and V-baffle (fig.1.66) 6-Angle-iron deflector baffle(fig.1.67)
7-Hydraulic barrage baffle (fig .1.68) 8-Compartment baffle (fig.1.69)

Q. Why are deflectors or compartment baffles necessary?
Ans: For low steam release rates a V-baffle or single vertical baffle is adequate,
but for higher release rates deflectors or compartment baffles are necessary for
separation.
Q. When is a hydraulic barrage installed and performs this job?
Ans: These types of baffles are installed to control excessive foam or spray
formation. It creates a successful high velocity screen or curtain through which
steam must pass in order to exit. As a result, water particles losing their kinetic
energy by successive impacts with the curtains’ fall off’ and steam escapes dry.
Q.What is a cyclone separator and performs this job?
Ans: This is an effective device for steam water separation by utilizing centrifugal
forces.
It imparts of the steam-water mixture, as it enters the drum, a rotary motion which
develops a centrifugal force that destroys the foam bubble, eliminates spray and
separates out solid particles.

Q. What is steam washing and purpose of steam washing?
Ans: It is the process of rinsing the separated steam with steam condensate or
fresh, relatively clean feed water.
Its purpose is to condense out the dissolved silica from steam as well as to wash out
impurities carried over by steam.
Q. How many types of steam washers are in vogue?
Ans:
1. Condensing type (fig.1.71)
2. Wire-mesh type(fig.1.72)
3. Spray-type (fig.1.72)
4. Wetted scrubber type (fig 1.74)
5. Hood type (fig.1.75)

Q. What is a dry drum and purpose?
Ans: It is an additional drum fitted occasionally above the boiler drum proper as an
extra safeguard from carryover. As no boiler water is held up within its space it is call
a dry drum.
A dry drum, sufficiently large and provided with adequate drainage facility is a good
protection against priming and foam over.

Q. What is the drought (draft)?
Ans: The difference in pressure of the combustion product within a boiler furnace
and the cold air outside is known as (drought or draft)
Draught is also the difference pressure between the air column ( chimney height)
outside and the hot flue gas column ( chimney height) inside the chimney.
Q. why is draught a necessity?
1. To force adequate air through the combustion chamber to assist in the
proper combustion of fuel.
2. To draw out the resulting hot flue gas from the combustion chamber.
3. To vent the products of combustion to atmosphere after necessary
heat recovery in superheater,economizer and air heater.
Q. How is draught classified?
Ans: Draught can be broadly classified into two classes:
 Natural draught
 Artificial draught
Artificial draught is of two types
 Steam jet draught
 Mechanical draught
Q.What is natural draught and advantages?
Ans: when the draught is generated with the help of the chimney only.
Advantages:
 Simple in design and construction
 Low capital investment
 No maintenance cost
 Needs no power input for operation
 High dispersion of flue gas as chimney height is very high
 Long life

Q.What is artificial draught and why required?
Ans: The draught produced by steam jet or Mechanical means like fans and blowers.
It is because natural draught will not be sufficient to generate enough static draught
(250 to 350mm of water column) as is required by large steam generation plants.
Moreover, natural draught has one serious limitation i.e. Variation of draught with the
variation of the climatic conditions.
Specific advantages of artificial draught:
 No need for a large chimney, which is both uneconomical and
inconvenient to build
 Higher operating efficiency (about 70%) than natural draught (hardly 1%)
 Functionally independent of conditions
 Any grade of fuel –superior or inferior variety ---can be economically burnt
 Draught can be regulated as per the requirement of the furnace.
Steam jet draught:
There are two types of steam jet draught.
 Induced draught produced by steam

Exhaust steam is directed into the smoke box through nozzles. Steam
emerging from these nozzles at high velocity creates a partial vacuum that
drags out the air through the furnace space to chimney.

 Forced draught:
Air is forced to flow through the entire system under pressure.
Forced draught mechanical system operated
A blower or forced draught (F.D) fan installed upstream of the boiler and air is
forced to pass though the furnace, flues, economizer, air heater and the
chimney.
Forced draught mechanical system is also called positive draught system.
Bcz the air pressure throughout the system is positive i.e, above the
atmospheric pressure.
Induced draught mechanical system operated:

In this case a blower or induced draught fan is installed downstream of the air heater to
suck out the air from the furnace and let it out, via economizer and air heater,to the
atmosphere through the chimney. show fig

Advantages of forced draught over the induced draught:
1. The size of the F.D fan is smaller and its power requirement is lower than
the I.D fan since the temperature (hence the specific volume) of the fluid
(air) handled by the F.D.fan is lower than that of the fluid (flue gasses)
handled by the F.D.fan. The size of the I.D. fan is 1.3 times the size of the
F.D. fan.
2. For F.D.fan, a separate cooling water system should be included to cool the
fan bearings as it will have to withstand the high temperature of the flue
gases.
3. There is more uniform and greater penetration of combustion air through
furnace grate in the case of induced draught. Better the penetration and
distribution of the air, greater is the rate of firing.
4. Whenever firing is to be done in the case of an I.D.system there is always a
rush of cold air into the furnace space as the doors are opened. This means
draught loss and loss in heat transmission efficacy of the surfaces.
Balanced draught function:
The forced draught fan will supply the combustion air for proper and complete
combustion of fuel and will overcome the fuel bed resistance in the case of stoker
grate.
The induced will remove the flue gas plus excess air from the furnace, maintaining
the pressure inside the furnace just below the atmospheric.

SUPER HEATER:
A super heater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry
steam used in steam engines or in processes, such as steam reforming.
How are super heater classified?
Depending on the mode of heat transfer from the furnace to super heater surfaces.
The super heater divided into three classes:
1) Convective Super heaters:

A convection super heater is located in the path of the hot gases.
Parameters that increase the convection:

a. increasing the fuel and air flow
b. Increasing the mass flow rate of the steam.
Convection super-heater is used for the low temperature.
2) Radiant Super heaters:

A radiant super heater is placed directly in the combustion chamber.

3) Platen super heaters:
That super heater absorbs both radiant and convective heat.
Depends on arrangement :
 Horizontal
 Vertical
 Inline
 Staggered
Horizontal arrangement of super heaters hasa advantage of easy drainage, which is

quite important boilers where shut down will be for longer periods. Drain ability helps in
non accumulation of salts in water or steam inside the tubes.
In vertical arrangement the problem of expansion can be tacked easily than horizontal
arrangement.
Staggered bundles are difficult to clean but they offer a marginal improvement in heat
transfer coefficient.
Inline arrangement provides lower gas side pressure drop.

Depends on the flow pattern
 Cross flow super heater

 Parallel flow super heater
 Counter flow super heater
 Mixed flow super heater
Cross flow arrangement offers a slight improvement in log mean temperature

difference are there by decreasing surface area compared to parallel flow.
Desuper heater
Desuperheaters remove the superheat in the steam that is to be used for auxiliary
purposes, the reason is that if high temperature steam was used for auxiliaries then the
materials used would have to be capable of withstanding high temperatures, this leads
to increased initial cost. Desuperheaters are generally coils situated in the water spaces
that are supplied with steam from the superheated section outlet; this type of
desuperheater is generally called as internal desuperheaters. Such an internal
desuperheater is shown down below.

If this type of desuperheater develops a leakage then water loss from the boiler occurs
since boiler pressure is greater than steam pressure in the desuperheater coil. This
water loss could result in water hammer and subsequent damage in the auxiliary
system.
Spray type external desuperheater is shown in the diagram below, in which feed water
of low solids content at 3.5 bar above steam pressure is supplied at a controlled rate
into a vertically arranged vessel to mix with superheated steam. The excess water is
kept to a minimum, collects at the bottom of the vessel and passes out through the drain
and then the superheated steam moves up the annular space formed by the mixing
compartment and the outer container to the auxiliary steam supply line.
Another type of external desuperheater is shown in the figure below. This is really part
of the boiler externally arranged. It has a steam and water connection to the boiler drum
so that the circulation through the desuperheater takes place, taking heat from the
superheated steam in the solid drawn steel ‘U’ shaped tubes.

A blow down valve is fitted in order to remove any sludge that may accumulate in the
lower portion of the vessel. This type of desuperheater is for large steam demands
since the 3 pass U tube arrangement would be too large to accommodate in the
water space of the steam drum.
Air pre heater
An air preheater (APH) is a general term used to describe any device designed to
heat air before another process (for example, combustion in a boiler) with the primary
objective of increasing the thermal efficiency of the process. They may be used alone or
to replace a recuperative heat system or to replace a steam coil.
The purpose of the air preheater is to recover the heat from the boiler flue gas which
increases the thermal efficiency of the boiler by reducing the useful heat lost in the flue
gas. As a consequence, the flue gases are also conveyed to the flue gas
stack (or chimney) at a lower temperature, allowing simplified design of the conveyance
system and the flue gas stack. It also allows control over the temperature of gases
leaving the stack (to meet emissions regulations, for example).

Types of air heating:
There are three type of air heating:
1) Direct heat transfer from combustion products (as in tubular air heater)
2) Indirect heating through an intermediate heat transfer agent (solid paking)
3) Combined heating in which air is heated up by low-temperature waste-
steam or water as by combustion gas.
Stationary-plate regenerative air preheater

The heating plate elements in this type of regenerative air preheater are also installed in
a casing, but the heating plate elements are stationary rather than rotating. Instead the
air ducts in the preheated are rotated so as to alternatively expose sections of the
heating plate elements to the up flowing cool air.
As indicated in the adjacent drawing, there are rotating inlet air ducts at the bottom of
the stationary plates similar to the rotating outlet air ducts at the top of the stationary
plates

Describe a La Mont Boiler
It consists primarily of three circuits (show fig)
(a) Air circuit:

Cold air is blown by a blower through the air preheater where it
gets heated up in the process of heat exchange with flue gases.
Hot air is then directed to the combustion chamber to be used as
combustion air.
(b) Water circuit:
Deaerated BWP is pumped through the economizer –a coil type
heater ----by a BWP pump and fed to the steam separating drum
from which it is forced through the tubes of radiant evaporators and
convective evaporator by a circulating pump. Together with steam it
returns to the steam drum to complete the cycle.
(c) Steam circuit:
The steam separated in the steam drum is saturated steam. It is
superheated in the superheater coil and fed to the expansion
turbine to generate power or drive compressors.

Describe a Benson boiler
It was first built in England (1923) by Mark Benson, a Czechoslovakian.
It consists mainly of two circuits (shoe fig)
a) Air circuit:
Cold air blown by the blower is heated up in the air preheater by hot flue gas by
indirect, contact heat transfer. The resulting hot air is directed to the combustion
chamber to be used as combustion air.

(b) Water-steam circuit:
Forced circulation is introduced to generate superheated steam in this open
hydraulic system. A high pressure feed pump feeds BFW to the economizer,
radiant evaporator, convective evaporator and superheater, thus converting feed
water into superheater steam in a once-through cycle.
Advantages of a Benson
Major problem associated the salt deposition in the transformation zone where all
remaining water is converted into steam.
Maximum operating temperature is 650C and pressure 500atm.
boiler.
 There is no boiler drum, which means a reduction in the overall weight of
the boiler and a cut in capital investment.
 There is no expansion joint as the boiler is of the forced circulation type.
Since all parts are weld at their sites, it is easier and quicker to erect a
Benson boiler.
 Start-up is quicker because of welded joints.
 Needs comparatively less floor-space than other boilers of the same
capacity.

 Better and more efficient protection of furnace walls as the high pressure
boiler tubes have smaller diameters and are closely spaced.\
 Economic operation at partial load over load is possible.
 Minimum explosion hazard as tubes are of small diameter with very little
storage capacity.
Describe the water-steam circuit of a Schmidt –Hartmann boiler

The water-steam system of this type of boiler comprises two circuits----primary
circuit and secondary circuit.
High pressure (100atm) steam produced from distilled water in the primary
evaporator of the primary circuit is allowed to exchange its heat with impure
water in the evaporator and BFW preheater in the secondary circuit to generate
steam (60atm) which is passed through the superheater to produce superheated
steam.

Q.What is the circulation?
Ans: It is the motion of the working fluid in the evaporating tubes .this motion is
affected by head or pressure difference in the working fluid between the down comer
and uptake (riser) tubes.
The circulation may be natural or forced and the circulation circuit formed by the
heated and unheated tube may be a closed or open hydraulic system.
Classifications of circulation:
 Natural circulation
 Forced circulation
Q.Whatare the advantages of forced circulation over natural circulation?
Ans:
1. Steam generation rate is high
2. Greater capacity to meet load variation
3. Quicker start-up from cold
4. Lower scaling problem due to high circulation velocity
5. More uniform heating of all parts reduces the of overloading &thermal stress
6. Small tube diameter & home….tubes
7. Operating temperature &pressure can made to deviate from the designed
valves.
Q. How can boiler be classified on the basis of tube shape and position?
Ans: Depending on the form of tubular heating surface boilers may be classified as
 Straight tubes boilers
 Bent tube boilers
Depending on the inclination of tubular heating surface boilers may be classified
As:
1. Horizontal boilers
2. Vertical boilers
3. Inclined boilers

Boiler feed water:
A boiler is a device for generating steam, which consists of two principal
parts: the furnace, which provides heat, usually by burning a fuel, and the
boiler proper, a device in which the heat changes water into steam. The
steam or hot fluid is then recalculated out of the boiler for use in various
processes in heating applications.
The water circuit of a water boiler can be summarized by the following

pictures:
The boiler receives the feed water, which consists of varying proportion of
recovered condensed water (return water) and fresh water, which has been
purified in varying degrees (make up water). The make-up water is usually
natural water either in its raw state, or treated by some process before
use. Feed-water composition therefore depends on the quality of the make-
up water and the amount of condensate returned to the boiler. The steam,
which escapes from the boiler, frequently contains liquid droplets and gases.
The water remaining in liquid form at the bottom of the boiler picks up all
the foreign matter from the water that was converted to steam. The
impurities must be blown down by the discharge of some of the water from
the boiler to the drains. The permissible percentage of blown down at a plant
is strictly limited by running costs and initial outlay. The tendency is to
reduce this percentage to a very small figure.

Proper treatment of boiler feed water is an important part of operating and
maintaining a boiler system. As steam is produced, dissolved solids become
concentrated and form deposits inside the boiler. This leads to poor heat
transfer and reduces the efficiency of the boiler. Dissolved gasses such
as oxygen and carbon dioxide will react with the metals in the boiler system
and lead to boiler corrosion.
In the following table you can find a list of the common boiler feed water
contaminants, their effect and their possible treatment

Boiler water treatment
The treatment and conditioning of boiler feed water must satisfy three
main objectives:
 Continuous heat exchange

 Corrosion protection
 Production of high quality steam
External treatment is the reduction or removal of impurities from water

outside the boiler. In general, external treatment is used when the amount
of one or more of the feed water impurities is too high to be tolerated by the
boiler system in question. There are many types of external treatment
(softening, evaporation, deaeration, membrane, contractors etc.) which can be used
to tailor make feed-water for a particular system.
The water treatment facilities purify and deaerate make-up water or feed
water. Water is sometimes pretreated by evaporation to produce relatively
pure vapor, which is then condensed and used for boiler feed purposes.
Evaporators are of several different types, the simplest being a tank of water
through which steam coils is passed to heat the water to the boiling point.
Sometimes to increase the efficiency the vapor from the first tank is passed
through coils in a second tank of water to produce additional heating and
evaporation. Evaporators are suitable where steam as a source of heat is
readily available. They have particular advantages over demineralization, for
example, when the dissolved solids in the raw water are very high.
Certain natural and synthetic materials have the ability to remove mineral
ions from water in exchange for others.
For example, in passing water through a simple cat ion exchange softener
all of calcium and magnesium ions are removed and replaced with sodium
ions. Since simple cation exchange does not reduce the total solids of the
water supply, it is sometimes used in conjunction with precipitation type
softening. One of the most common and efficient combination treatments is
the hot lime-zeolite process. This involves pretreatment of the water with
lime to reduce hardness, alkalinity and in some cases silica, and subsequent
treatment with a cation exchange softener. This system of treatment
accomplishes several functions: softening, alkalinity and silica reduction,
some oxygen reduction, and removal of suspended matter and turbidity.
Chemical treatment of water inside the boiler is usually essential and
complements external treatment by taking care of any impurities entering
the boiler with the feed water (hardness, oxygen, silica, etc.). In many cases

external treatment of the water supply is not necessary and the water can
be treated only by internal methods.
Internal treatment is the conditioning of impurities within the boiler

system. The reactions occur either in the feed lines or in the boiler proper.
Internal treatment may be used alone or in conjunction with external
treatment. Its purpose is to properly react with feed water hardness,
condition sludge, scavenge oxygen and prevent boiler water foaming.
Internal treatment can constitute the unique treatment when boilers operate
at low or moderate pressure, when large amounts of condensed steam are
used for feed water, or when good quality raw water is available. The
purpose of an internal treatment is to:
1)React with any feed-water hardness and prevent it from precipitating on

the boiler metal as scale;
2)Condition any suspended matter such as hardness sludge or iron oxide in

the boiler and make it non-adherent to the boiler metal;
3)Provide anti-foam protection to allow a reasonable concentration of

dissolved and suspended solids in the boiler water without foam carry-over;
4)Eliminate oxygen from the water and provide enough alkalinity to prevent
boiler corrosion.

In addition, as supplementary measures an internal treatment should
prevent corrosion and scaling of the feed-water system and protect against
corrosion in the steam condensate systems.
During the conditioning process, which is an essential complement to the

water treatment program, specific doses of conditioning products are added
to the water. The commonly used products include:
Phosphates-dispersants, polyphosphates-dispersants (softening chemicals):

Reacting with the alkalinity of boiler water, these products neutralize the
hardness of water by forming tricalcium phosphate and insoluble compound that
can be disposed and blow down on a continuous basis or periodically through the
bottom of the boiler.
Natural and synthetic dispersants (Anti-scaling agents): increase the dispersive

properties of the conditioning products. They can be:
o Natural polymers: lignosulphonates, tannins

o Synthetic polymers: polyacrilates, maleic acrylate copolymer, maleic
styrene copolymer, polystyrene sulphonates etc.
Sequestering agents: such as inorganic phosphates, which act as inhibitors and

implement a threshold effect.
Oxygen scavengers: sodium sulphite, tannis, hydrazine, hydroquinone/progallol-
based derivatives, hydroxylamine derivatives, hydroxylamine derivatives, ascorbic
acid derivatives, etc. These scavengers, catalyzed or not, reduce the oxides and
dissolved oxygen. Most also passivate metal surfaces. The choice of product and
the dose required will depend on whether a deaerating heater is used.
Anti-foaming or anti-priming agents: mixture of surface-active agents that

modify the surface tension of a liquid, remove foam and prevent the carryover of
fine water particles in the steam.
The softening chemicals used include soda ash, caustic and various types of
sodium phosphates. These chemicals react with calcium and magnesium
compounds in the feed water. Sodium silicate is used to react selectively
with magnesium hardness. Calcium bicarbonate entering with the feed water
is broken down at boiler temperatures or reacts with caustic soda to form
calcium carbonate. Since calcium carbonate is relatively insoluble it tends to

come out of solution. Sodium carbonate partially breaks down at high
temperature to sodium hydroxide (caustic) and carbon dioxide. High
temperatures in the boiler water reduce the solubility of calcium sulphate
and tend to make it precipitate out directly on the boiler metal as scale.
Consequently calcium sulphate must be reacted upon chemically to cause a
precipitate to form in the water where it can be conditioned and removed by
blow-down. Calcium sulphate is reacted on either by sodium carbonate,
sodium phosphate or sodium silicate to form insoluble calcium carbonate,
phosphate or silicate. Magnesium sulphate is reacted upon by caustic soda
to form a precipitate of magnesium hydroxide. Some magnesium may react
with silica to form magnesium silicate. Sodium sulphate is highly soluble and
remains in solution unless the water is evaporated almost to dryness.
Scaling in boilers:
Boiler scale is caused by impurities being precipitated out of the water
directly on heat transfer surfaces or by suspended matter in water settling
out on the metal and becoming hard and adherent. Evaporation in a boiler
causes impurities to concentrate. This interferes with heat transfers and may
cause hot spots. Leading to local overheating. Scaling mechanism is the
exceeding of the solubility limits of mineral substances due to elevated
temperature and solids concentration at the tube/water interface. The
deposition of crystalline precipitates on the walls of the boiler interferes with
heat transfer and may cause hot spots, leading to local overheating. The less
heat they conduct, the more dangerous they are:
Common feed water contaminants that can form boiler deposits

include calcium, magnesium, iron, aluminum, and silica. Scale is formed by
salts that have limited solubility but are not totally insoluble in boiler water.
These salts reach the deposit site in a soluble form and precipitate.
Scaling is mainly due to the presence of calcium and magnesium salts

(carbonates or sulphates), which are less soluble hot than cold, or to the
presence of too high concentration of silica in relation to the alkalinity of the
water in the boiler.
A carbonate deposit is usually granular and sometimes of a very porous

nature. The crystals of calcium carbonate are large but usually are matted
together with finely divided particles of other materials so that the scale
looks dense and uniform. Dropping it in a solution of acid can easily identify
a carbonate deposit. Bubbles of carbon dioxide will effervesce from the
scale.
A sulphate deposit is much harder and more dense than a carbonate
deposit because the crystals are smaller and cement together tighter. A

Sulphate deposit is brittle, does not pulverize easily, and does not effervesce
when dropped into acid.
A high silica deposit is very hard, resembling porcelain. The crystal of

silica are extremely small, forming a very dense and impervious scale. This
scale is extremely brittle and very difficult to pulverize. It is not soluble in
hydrochloric acid and is usually very light coloured.
Iron deposits, due either to corrosion or iron contamination in the water,
are very dark coloured. Iron deposits in boilers are most often magnetic.
They are soluble in hot acid giving a dark brown coloured solution.
Foaming and priming in boilers:

Boiler water carry-over is the contamination of the steam with boiler-water
solids. Bubbles or froth actually build up on the surface of the boiler water
and pass out with the steam. This is called foaming and it is caused by high
concentration of any solids in the boiler water. It is generally believed,
however, that specific substances such as alkalis, oils, fats, greases, certain
types of organic matter and suspended solids are particularly conducive to
foaming. In theory suspended solids collect in the surface film surrounding a
steam bubble and make it tougher. The steam bubble therefore resists
breaking and builds up foam. It is believed that the finer the suspended
particles the greater their collection in the bubble.

Priming is the carryover of varying amounts of droplets of water in the
steam (foam and mist), which lowers the energy efficiency of the steam and
leads to the deposit of salt crystals on the super heaters and in the turbines.
Priming may be caused by improper construction of boiler, excessive ratings,
or sudden fluctuations in steam demand. Priming is sometimes aggravated
by impurities in the boiler-water.

Oxygen attack in boilers:
Without proper mechanical and chemical deaeration, oxygen in the feed
water enters the boiler. Much is flashed off with the steam; the remainder
can attack boiler metal. Oxygen in water produces pitting that is very severe
because of its localized nature. Water containing ammonia, particularly in
the presence of oxygen, readily attacks copper and copper bearing alloys.
The resulting corrosion leads to deposits on boiler heat transfer surfaces and
reduces efficiency and reliability.
Oxygen is highly corrosive when present in hot water. Even small

concentrations can cause serious problems: iron oxide generated by the
corrosion can produce iron deposits in the boiler. Oxygen corrosion may be
highly localized or may cover an extensive area. Oxygen attack is an
electrochemical process that can be described by the following reactions:
Anode: Fe è Fe2+ + 2e-
Cathode: ½ O2 + H2O + 2e- è 2 OH-
Overall: Fe + ½ O2 + H2O è Fe(OH)2
In this reaction a temperature rise provides enough additional energy to

accelerate reactions at the metal surfaces, resulting in a rapid and severe
corrosion.
The acceptable dissolved oxygen level for any system depends on may
factors, such as feed water temperature, pH, flow rate, dissolved solids
content, and the metallurgy and physical condition of the system. In
general, the limit value of oxygen in makeup water can be stared 0.10
mg/kg.
For a complete protection from oxygen corrosion, a chemical scavenger is

required following mechanical deaeration. Membrane contractors are also a
possibility.

Carbon dioxide attack in boilers:
Carbon dioxide exists in aqueous solutions as free carbon dioxide and the
combine forms of carbonate and bicarbonate ions. Corrosion is the principal
effect of dissolved carbon dioxide. The gas will dissolve in water, producing
corrosive carbonic acid:
H2O + CO2 çè H2CO3 çè H+ + HCO3-
The lowIn boiler systems, corrosion resulting from carbon dioxide is most
often encountered in the condensate system. Because feed water deaeration
normally removes carbon dioxide from the boiler feed water, the presence of
the gas in condensate is typically due to carbonate and bicarbonate
decomposition under boiler conditions. For an approximation is estimated
that feed water with a total alkalinity of 100 mg/l as calcium carbonate could
be expected to generate a carbon dioxide level of 79 mg/l in the steam
(alkalinity multiplied by a factor 0.79). Such a high carbon dioxide level
would create a very corrosive condensate.
Carbon dioxide corrosion is frequently encountered in condensate systems

and less commonly in water distribution systems.
Membrane contractors for boilers:

Recently membrane contractors have been utilized to remove the
dissolved gasses (O2 and CO2) in boiler feed water. Widely used in the
semiconductor, power, pharmaceutical and other industries to control
dissolved gasses in water systems, their use in boiler feed water
degasification systems has grown steadily since the development of new
industrial grade devices. They have displaced the vacuum tower, forced draft
deaerator, and oxygen scavengers around the world for over 10 years.

Membrane contractors are constructed using micro porous hydrophobic
membranes. The membrane is used to bring a gas and liquid in direct
contact without mixing. Contractors operate by lowering the pressure of gas
in contact with the liquid to create a driving force to remove the dissolved
gases from the water.
Chemical treatment is also widely used to control dissolved oxygen in a

boiler. Any chemical that is added to the water can increase the frequency of
blow down, which affects operating costs of the boiler. In smaller low-
pressure boilers (< 4500 lb/h and < 3.45 bars), chemical treatment alone
may be used. A combination of steam deaeration and chemicals is most
often used for larger high-pressure boilers.
Dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide control in boiler feed water protects
the boiler from corrosion. Membrane contractors can be used to replace or
supplement the chemical treatment program, which is often used to control
dissolved oxygen. The contractors can minimize the volume of chemicals
added to the feed water and offer savings to the end user by reducing
chemicals and energy costs.

Deaeration in boilers:
In order to meet industrial standards for both oxygen content and the
allowable metal oxide levels in feed water, nearly complete oxygen removal
is required. This can be accomplished only by efficient mechanical deaeration
supplemented by a properly controlled oxygen scavenger.
Deaeration is driven by the following principles: the solubility of any gas in a

liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of the gas at the liquid
surface, decreases with increasing liquid temperature; efficiency of removal
is increased when the liquid and gas are thoroughly mixed.
Deaeration can be performed using a physical medium such as deaerating
heaters or vacuum deaerators or a chemical medium such as oxygen
scavengers (polishing treatment) or catalytic resins. Membrane
contractors are increasingly being used. Carbon dioxide is often removed
using a physical medium.
The purpose of a deaerator is to reduce dissolved gases, particularly oxygen,

to a low level and improve plant thermal efficiency by raising the water
temperature. In addition, they provide feed water storage and proper
suction conditions for boiler feed water pumps.
Amine treatment of water

Hydrazine treatment of water
Corrosion is a major problem for steam boiler systems in power plants with high
consumption of make-up water. Fresh untreated water contains dissolved oxygen,
which together with the high temperature, is highly corrosive for the carbon steel piping
used in steam generation systems.
To avoid corrosion in the system, oxygen is removed from the system water, as well as
in the make up water added to the system, the by using scavenger chemicals. One
scavenger chemical commonly used, especially in high pressure systems, is Hydrazine.
Hydrazine efficiently eliminates the residual oxygen by reacting with the oxygen forming
water and gaseous nitrogen.
The amount of hydrazine required is relatively small, a mixture of about 200 parts per
billion. Flow rates are relatively low, typically from 200 uL/min to 800 uL/min, but can go
as high as 1.5 mL/min Consistency and accuracy are important.
FMI’s QVG50 variable speed valveless piston pumps have proven ideal for injecting
hydrazine since they are self priming and will not lose prime even at very low flow
rates. The integral RH miniature pump head features chemically inert, sapphire-hard
ceramic internals, which provides millions of maintenance-free, calibration-free cycles of
service. The QVG50 is controlled using FMI’s V300 Variable Speed Controller, which
includes a 4-20 mA electronic control input, typically used in process control
applications. The QVG50 can inject Hydrazine directly into the system line, or into a
storage tank when additional contact time is preferred.
FMI pump application diagram:

Boiler operation
Before Start up boiler precaution:
Before a boiler is placed in operation, boiler operators and other responsible personnel
and/or supervisors, must check over the entire system and carefully review operating
procedures.
Operating Manuals
All manufacturers of boilers and fuel burning systems supply operating manuals with
their equipment. Unfortunately, many boiler rooms do not have manuals and operating
instructions available. These manuals have either been lost or misplaced. It is the
responsibility of the responsible supervisor to obtain these publications and see thatthey
are read, understood, followed and available in the boiler room.
Maintenance during Summer Lay-Up:

The summer shutdown period is a good time to accomplish necessary boiler and fuel
burning system preventive maintenance. A suggested check list of such maintenance
follows:
 Drain and flush the boiler, open all handholes and manholes, clean and remove
soot and scale from the firesides. Examine the boiler for damage and corrosion.
 Have the boiler inspected by an authorized inspector, as required.
 Install new gaskets, replace all handhole and manhole covers, refill boiler and
perform a hydrostatic test, if required.
 Institute a suitable boiler water treatment program to reduce scale buildup and
corrosion.
 Have the fuel burning equipment cleaned and adjusted by a competent service
technician. Verify operation of all operating and limit controls, interlocks and
gages. Have the technician disassemble the low water cutoff and water feeding
devices, clean, recondition and reassemble them. Have the technician leak test
all fuel safety shutoff valves.
 Lubricate all mechanical equipment such as fans and pumps, verify motor
rotation.
 Check all boiler piping for leaks and missing insulation.
 Make sure provision is made for establishing and keeping a boiler log.

Start-up Checks
Immediately prior to boiler start-up perform the following:
 Check that all ventilation and combustion air openings and louvers are clean
and free of debris.
 Verify boiler water level.
 Check that all stack dampers are open.
 Examine the boiler furnace for foreign material.
 Check the furnace and flue passes for fuel accumulation.
 Make sure the manual fuel valves are open
Normal Start-up
After completing the start-up checks, close the operating switch and commence the
normal starting sequence. The following list suggests a typical starting sequence
 Operating controls closed.

 Interlocks (safety controls) closed.
 Start fans and purge the boiler.
 Purge requirements met.
 Energize igniter.
 Prove ignition flame within 10 seconds.
 Energize main fuel valve(s).
 Establish and monitor main flame.
 deenergize ignition, main flame proven.
 Release firing rate (combustion) control to demand.
 Normal operation.
This starting sequence should be carefully observed to make sure that all steps
are normal. Readings on flame signal strength meters (if fitted) should be
observed and recorded in the boiler log.
A normal shutdown should be initiated by opening the manual burner switch.
After the post purge has been completed, check the furnace for flame cutoff and
make sure there is no residual flame in the furnace. Have fuel safety shutoff
valves repaired or replaced if required.


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9What is a boiler?

Boiler act 1923.

How are boilers classified?

1-Horizontal, Vertical or Inclined Boiler.

2. Fire Tube and Water Tube.

3. Externally Fired and Internally Fired.

4. Forced circulation and Natural Circulation.

5. Higher Pressure and Low Pressure Boilers.

1-Horizontal, Vertical or Inclined Boiler.

 Fire tube boiler:

In fire-tube boilers, combustion gases pass through the inside of the

The disadvantages are the excessive weight-per-pound of steam generated, excessive

BOILER MANUAL Page 2

Disadvantages of fire-tube boilers include:

In a water-tube boiler (Figure), the water is inside the tubes

BOILER MANUAL Page 3

Disadvantages of the water-tube design include:

 High initial capital cost

3. Externally Fired and Internally Fired.

BOILER MANUAL Page 4

 Natural circulation boiler:

BOILER MANUAL Page 5

5. Higher Pressure and Low Pressure Boilers:

Examples: Babcock and Wilcox, Velox, Lamomt,Benson Boiler etc

Examples: Cochran, Cornish, Lancashire and Locomotive boiler etc

BOILER MANUAL Page 6

BOILER MANUAL Page 7

BOILER MANUAL Page 8

BOILER MANUAL Page 9

7-Pulverized coal fired:

Coal Pulverization with drying system

BOILER MANUAL Page 10

Q. How are straight flow burners arranged?

Ans: they are arranged into

(a) Opposite displaced arrangement (fig 12.10a)

BOILER MANUAL Page 11

Ans: 1. Straight flow S-snapped flame (fig.12.11a)

2. opposite straight flow flame (fig.12.11b)

3. Vertically turbulized flame (fig.12.11c)

4. Combination of straight and horizontally turbulizedflame (fig 12.11d)

BOILER MANUAL Page 12

BOILER MANUAL Page 13

Q.What is a dry pipe?

BOILER MANUAL Page 14

There many type of baffles use.

1-Deflector-plate baffle (fig.1.62) 2-Offset deflector-plate baffle (fig 1.63)

3-Slotted deflector-plate baffle (fig.1.64) 4-V-baffle (fig.1.65)

5-Perforated plate and V-baffle (fig.1.66) 6-Angle-iron deflector baffle(fig.1.67)

7-Hydraulic barrage baffle (fig .1.68) 8-Compartment baffle (fig.1.69)

BOILER MANUAL Page 15

BOILER MANUAL Page 16

BOILER MANUAL Page 17

BOILER MANUAL Page 20

BOILER MANUAL Page 21

 Induced draught produced by steam

BOILER MANUAL Page 22

Induced draught mechanical system operated:

BOILER MANUAL Page 23

Balanced draught function: