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ENERGY SAVING OPPORTUNITY AND

POLLUTION CONTROL IN FURNANCES

ABSTRACT

In the present era of fastly growing technology, Engineers are looking towards the
Non-Conventional energy sources. This is because of deplication level of
conventional energy sources. Humans are consuming the conventional resources with
a rapid acceleration. He uses land, wind, water, mineral, etc. in every task. Moreover,
on other hand the rate of pollution is also rising due to these reasons. Controlling
wastage in daily life can control this.
In industries there are several applications in which there is huge amount of wastage
of energy. Wastage of energy means wastage of resources and increase in pollution.
Thermal systems have working efficiency of not more than 20% to 30%. This is
because of wastages taking place in systems in form of heat. This waste heat can be
recovered by different methods. For example the waste heat recovery unit installed in
furnaces can be used to preheat the combustion air thus increases the efficiency of
furnaces
Thus the heat wasting out in the form of flue gases from the furnances gases will be
captured to increase the thermal efficiency of furnances and thus controlling the
enviormental pollution through energy efficient operation of furnances

INTRODUCTION
Waste heat is heat, which is generated in a process by way of fuel combustion or chemical reaction,
and then “dumped” into the environment even though it could still be reused for some useful and
economic purpose. The essential quality of heat is not the amount but rather its “value”. The strategy
of how to recover this heat depends in part on the temperature of the waste heat gases and the
economics involved. Large quantity of hot flue gases is generated from Boilers, Kilns, Ovens and
Furnaces. If some of this waste heat could be recovered, a considerable amount of primary fuel could
be saved. The energy lost in waste gases cannot be fully recovered.
Here we are trying to minimize the energy losses by reusing the
waste heat in industrial furnaces. Depending upon the type of
process, waste heat can be rejected at virtually any temperature
from that of chilled cooling water to high temperature waste gases
from an industrial furnace or kiln. Usually higher the temperature,
higher the quality and more cost effective is the heat recovery. In
any study of waste heat recovery, it is absolutely necessary that
there should be some use for the recovered heat. Typical examples of use
would be preheating of combustion air, space heating, or pre-heating boiler feed water or process
water. With high temperature heat recovery, a cascade system of waste heat recovery may be
practiced to ensure that the maximum amount of heat is recovered at the highest potential.Thus
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will serve the nature by reducing the wastage of conventional

energy sources.

FUEL CONSUMPTION AND HEAT ECONOMY

The performance of a furnace installation can be expressed in various ways, the ultimate aim being
the determination of the total quantity of fuel required to perform the required operation. The term
‘efficiency’ in an industrial furnace, when used in the true sense, has reference to heat cost per unit
weight of finished saleable product. Or as the quantity of fuel expended to heat a unit weight of
stock. While the efficiency in a furnances ranges from 7 to 10 % with very high temperature range
.The effiency of furnances are sometimes low as 5%. One reason for the difference in the effiency of
industrial furnances is in the final temperature of the material being heated .Gases can give up heat
to the charge only as long as they are hotter than the charge. Consequently flue gases leave industrial
furnances at a very high temperature .This factor is responsible for low furnance effiency and
increase in pollution as per Enviorment.So this case study of industrial furnances after the
implementation of the heat recovery unit as sown in figure .The effiency of furnance is increased by
approximately 2% and the percentage of carbon is also reduces as the exhaust temp. reduces.

FACTORS AFFECTING FUEL ECONOMY

Various factors which affect fuel economy in industrial furnaces are :

1) COMPLETE COMBUSTION WITH MINIMUM EXCESS AIR

A certain amount of excess air is needed to complete combustion and ensure that release of the entire
heat contained in fuel oil. If too much air than what is required for completing combustion were
allowed to enter, additional heat would be lost in heating the surplus air to the chimney temperature.
This would result in increased stack losses. Less air would lead to the incomplete combustion and
smoke. Which will results in environment pollution.
By measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) or oxygen (O2) in flue gases by
continuous recording instruments or Orsat apparatus or portable
fyrite, the excess air level as well as stack losses can be
estimated with the graph as shown in Figure 1.2 and Figure 1.3. For
optimum combustion of fuel oil, the CO2, or O2 in flue gases should
be maintained at 14-15 % in case of CO2 and 2-3 % case of O2. Thus
optimizing the excess air we can achieve efficient combustion of
fuel and at the same time environmental pollution on the
controlled.

2) PROPER HEAT DISTRIBUTION

The flame should not touch the stock and should propagate clear of any solid object. Any obstruction
what so ever, deatomises the fuel particles thus affecting combustion and creating black smoke. If
the flame touches the stock, the scale losses increase manifold. The flames from various burners in
the combustion space should also stay clear of each other. If the flames intersect, inefficient
combustion would occur. Which will cause environmental pollution. The inefficient combustion this
can be controlled by staggering the burners of the opposite walls.
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Operating at too high a temperature will not only mean unnecessary

waste of fuel in terms of heat, but will also cause overheating of
the stock, its spoilage of excessive oxidation and decarburization
as over-stressing the refectories. The furnaces are often run
without any temperature controls, often with ‘on-off control’,
which is extremely harmful to the optimum performance of the
furnace. In the ‘off’ condition, only the atomizing air enters the
furnace bringing down its temperature rapidly so that when the oil
firing process is recommended., the amount of oil supplied to the
furnace to bring up the temperature, is much more than would be
necessary had the furnace been operated on a ‘proportional
control’.

3) REDUCING HEAT LOSSES FROM FURNACE OPENINGS :

In oil fired furnaces, substantial heat losses occur through

furnace openings.
In order to stop this wasteful practice. An experiment was
conducted on two identical furnaces; gun metal to be melted was
weighed and charged to both furnaces at the same time. One furnace
was operated as it was normally done by the operators, and the
other furnace was operated openings with refractory bricks. In both
cases, the time taken and fuel consumed noted again.

Hence it is imperative that all unnecessary openings of the

furnaces be sealed and the flame be contained within the furnace.
Doors should be tightly shut and made of light material that is
durable and heat roof. Door that are hinged or swinging type may be
provided. The minimize heat losses, the refractory lining should be
sufficiently thick and of good insulation quality.

MINIMISING WALL LOSSES

About 30-40% of the fuel input to the furnace generally goes to make up to heat losses in
intermittent or continuous. Furnaces. The appropriate choice of refractory and insulation materials
goes a long way in achieving fairly high fuel savings in industrial furnaces.

Insulation of furnaces :- The use of insulating refectories of

appropriate quality and thickness can cut down heat storage
capacity of walls, and time required to bring the furnace to
operating temperature by as much as 60-70 per cent in intermittent
furnaces.

Insulating Materials :- Insulating materials owe their lower

conductivity to the pores, while their thermal inertia depends on
the weight per unit volume of solids and its specific heat. There
are, in general three types of insulating bricks;
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a) Products made from diatomaceous earth

b) Products derived from verniculite.
c) Refractory (fireclay or silica) based products.

4) CONTROL OF FURNACE DRAUGHT

Many furnace, the entrance of uncontrolled free air must be for
evented. It pays to maintain a slight excess pressure inside the
furnaces to avoid air infiltration. Large furnaces, especially
those with stack draft, are equipped with pressure sensing devices
which by relays and servomotors, adjust dampers or adjust the flow
of protective gas info the furnace.

The furnaces pressure is constant in different parts of the

furnace. The zero level in the furnace is the level at which the
furnace pressure equalizes the atmospheric pressures. The effect of
air pressure on the location of zero level is shown in Fig.

In has been observed that minimum consumption of fuel occurs

atconsiderably higher furnace pressures, than that required to keep
zero level at the hearth. This phenomenon is due to exfiltration.
Exfiltration is less serious than infiltration. Some of the
associated problems with exfiltration are leaping out of flames.
Overheating of the furnace refractories leading to reduced brick
life, increased furnace maintenance, burning out of ducts and
equipments attached to the furnace, etc. and the same effects the
environment.

5) OPTIMUM CAPACITY UTILISAITON

Furnace loading : one of the most viatal factors affecting
efficiency is loading. There is a particular loading at which the
furnace will operate at amximum thermal efficiency. If the furnace
is under-loaded, a smaller fraction of the available heat in the
working chamber will be taken up by the load and therefore the
efficiency will be low.

Waste heat recovery from furnace flue gases

In any industrial furnace the products of combustion leave the
furnace at a temperature higher than the stock temperature.
Sensible heat losses in the flue gases, while leaving the chimney,
carry 35 to 55 per cent of the heat input to the furnace. Typical
quantities of waste heat available in different operations are
listed in Table VI below.

The sensible heat in flue gases can be generally salvaged by the

following two methods :
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1) Charge preheating
2) Preheating of combustion air

Case study on:

“Closed Shmity hearth furnace” with waste heat
recovery unit or without waste heat recvery unit
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GRAPH:1

EXHAUST HEAT ANALYSIS

400
350
EXHAUST TEMP

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Time 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
TIME
without heat recovery
with heat recovery

GRAPH:2
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EXHAUST HEAT ANALYSIS FOR TESTING 2

400
350
EXHAUST TEMP

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Time 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
TIME without heat recovery
with heat recovery

GRAPH:3

EXHAUST HEAT ANALYSIS FOR TESTING 3

400
350
EXHAUST TEMP

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Time 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
TIME without heat recovery
with heat recovery

By studying the above graph it is found that

ü The platoon of furnace stabilization increases by application of heat recovery
unit.
ü The heat required for warming of furnace components is saved.
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Thus: - the efficiency of furnace used increases by 2 %

with application of heat recovery unit, The heat recovery
unit recover20 % of waste heat going waste in the form of
flew gases.
Thus the exhaust gas temperatue will also reduce with
heat recovery unit then the carbon-di-oxide contents will
also reduce.and thus we can decrease some amount of
pollution and warm gobalization.

A case study on closed shmity hearth furnace in a shmity shop

showed significant fuel savings on installation of waste heat
recovery unit as illustrated below.

System : preheating of combustion air in a waste heat recovery unit

Average consumption of furnace oil in furnace : 4kg/hr.

Temperature of flue gases before waste heat recovery unit : 3750 C

Temperature of flue gases after installation of waste recovery unit
: 2750 C

Temperature of combustion air at waste heat recovery unit outlet

:850 C

Quantity of heat recycled back to the furnace by preheating

combustion air :20 %

Quantity of furnace oil save per day : 12 kg

Monthly saving in furnace oil : 1400

Investment on the system : 500 Rs.

Pay back period on investment : 11 days

% of CO2 with heat recovery unit : 10% CO2 15% without heat recovery
vvvvv unit

% of CO with heat recovery unit : 8% of CO 12% without heatrecovery

vvvvv unit
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Conclusion
Energy Efficient
Due to heat recovery system the efficiency of furnace increases
by Approximately 2%
3) Applying insulating material like asbestos sheet etc can reduce Heat
loss due to walls.

4) Heat recovery system works more efficient by the application of insulating material on outer
walls.

Enviorment
Rate of coal consumption reduces.
Pollution & global warming problem reduces as the combustion rate
reduces.
Proper oxidation of charge takes place.
The flue gas from chimney does not mix with the preheated air input.
insulating material on outer walls.
REFERNENCES:
1. Handbook of Bureau of Energy Conservation.
2. Handbook of Energy Audit And Conservation in Manufacturing
Industry And In Foundries

Paper brought to you by-

Ritesh Bhusari
3rd year B.N.C.E. Pusad
btritesh@yahoo.com