Boiler Combustion

Handout on Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler (CFBB)
Chapter 1 Introduction
I. What is circulating fluidized bed boiler (CFBB)?
Circulating fluidized bed boiler (CFBB) is a kind of clean combustion technology with high efficiency
and low pollution, which develops based on fluidized bed combustion boiler.
"Circulating" means that the fuel and desulfurizing agent (limestone) sent into the furnace are utilized
in the process of repeated circulation.
"Fluidized" means that the property and behavior of solid particles (of coal, limestone, ash and slag,
etc.) in the boiler to become something like fluid under the effect of air.
"Bed" means the workplace, i.e. the air distributor.
II. Composition and working process of CFBB

CFBB is composed by the boiler proper and the auxiliary systems.
(I) Boiler proper

The boiler proper includes the combustion system and the steam and water system.
1. Combustion system
The combustion system is also called "boiler", which is the place for fuel combustion and heat release.
As shown in Fig. 1, the combustion system consists of the furnace, the air distribution device, the gas-solid
separator, the recycle device, etc.
Fig. 1 CFBB Combustion System

For a fluidized bed boiler, the furnace is not only the place for fuel combustion, but also the place for
desulfurizing. In the operation process, there is a large quantity of solid particles (materials) whose
temperature is kept in the range of 850 ~ 950C in the furnace, and coal is sent from the furnace bottom
into the furnace first and then it burns after being heated by the blazing solid materials. Part of the released
heat which comes from coal combustion is transferred to the wall cooled wall arranged around the furnace,
and part of the released heat is used for maintaining the bed temperature. At the same time, the
desulfurizing agent, i.e. the limestone powder, is also sent into the furnace. The main component of
limestone is CaCO3, and the desulfurizing process by using limestone is divided into the following two
stages:
1) Calcination reaction of limestone
CaCO3 Calcinatio
n
CaO CO2
2) Absorption reaction of SO2
1
CaO SO2 O2 CaSO4
2
The air distribution device is responsible for sending air into the furnace from top to bottom and at a
certain rate to fluidize all solid particles (materials) in the furnace and to supply part of oxygen needed for
fuel combustion.
The gas-solid separator can separate the solid particles leaving the furnace from flue gas, and then
these solid particles can be recycled to the furnace through the recycle device. One on hand, this can realize
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cyclic utilization of the non-burnout coal and limestone which has not been fully reacted to improve the
combustion and desulfurizing efficiency. On the other hand, sufficient concentration of materials in the
furnace can be maintained. Moreover, some fine fly ash which has not been trapped by the separator goes,
together with the flue gas, into the tail flue gas pass above the separator.
2. Steam and water system
The steam and water system is also called "boiler", which is a generic term of all kinds of equipment
used to contain working mediums (i.e. "steam" and "water") in the boiler. The main task of this system is to
absorb the heat released by the combustion system to heat the working mediums in the boiler.
As shown in Fig. 2, the steam and water system consists of the economizer, the evaporating units
(steam drum, downcomer, header and water cooled wall), the superheater, the reheater, etc. In different
kinds of equipment, the state and temperature of working mediums are different too. Therefore, different
kinds of equipment (boiler) should be arranged at different positions of furnaces to satisfy their
requirements for heat transfer.
Fig. 2 CFBB Steam and Water System

Arranged in the tail flue gas pass of the boiler, the economizer is the equipment utilizing the heat of
flue gas to preheat feedwater, and it can heat the feedwater from the feedwater pump to a certain
temperature before the feedwater is sent to the steam drum.
Water in the steam drum is sent, through the downcomer and the heater, to the water cooled wall
which is arranged around the furnace. By utilizing the heat in the furnace, it is able to heat the water until it
changes into steam and water mixture, and then the mixture is sent back to the steam drum. Steam and
water can be separated in the steam drum. After separation, water is sent through the downcomer into the
boiler again for heating, and saturated steam is led from the upper part of the steam drum and sent into the
superheater.
The task of superheater is to heat the saturated steam into superheated steam with a certain
temperature, which is sent to high pressure cylinder of the steam turbine to do work later.
The exhaust steam from high pressure cylinder of the steam turbine is sent to the reheater for reheating
to a certain temperature before being sent to intermediate pressure cylinder of the steam turbine to do work
continuously.
(II) Auxiliary systems
The auxiliary systems of CFBB include the ignition system, fuel preparation and coal feeding system,
limestone powder preparation and conveying system (feeding system), air-flue gas system, slag cooling
system, dust removal system, ash and slag handling systems.
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Fig. 3 CFBB Auxiliary Systems

1) The task of fuel preparation system is to crush and sieve raw coal into coal particles with
acceptable size, convey and store them into the coal bunker.
2) The task of coal feeding system is to convey the finished coal particles in coal bunker through the
coal feeding port into the furnace for combustion.
3) The task of limestone powder preparation and conveying system is to crush limestone into
limestone powder with acceptable particle size and store the powder in the limestone powder bin,
and then pneumatically convey the limestone powder into the furnace for simultaneous
combustion and desulfurizing.
4) The task of slag cooling equipment is to cool the furnace slag discharged from the slag discharge
outlet below the furnace.
5) The task of slag handling system is to send the cooled slag to slag yard or slag bin.
6) The task of air-flue gas system is to provide all kinds of working air for the boiler (including
primary air, secondary air, high pressure air, etc.) and discharge the flue gas generated by
combustion outside the boiler by using the induced draft fan.
7) The task of dust removal and ash handling system is to separate and collect flay ash from flue gas
and temporarily store it in the ash bucket of the dust precipitator, and then pneumatically convey
the fly ash to the ash silo by compressed air.
8) The task of ignition system is to provide the heat for warming up the bed materials when the cold
boiler is started.
General working process of CFBB: Coal is prepared into acceptable coal particles by the fuel
preparation system and then sent to the furnace through the coal feeding system. The air-flue gas system
sends air (primary air) through the air distribution device to the furnace, and the air fluidizes the solid
particles (materials), including coal particles, and provides part of the oxygen needed for combustion.
After combustion of coal in the furnace, the combustion heat is transferred to the water cooled wall
arranged around the furnace. The flue gas, which is formed after combustion and entrains some solid
particles, leaves the furnace and goes into the separator. The separator separates flue gas from solid
particles and recycles the solid particles to the furnace through the recycle device, so as to realize cyclic
utilization of the non-burnout coal and the limestone which has not been fully reacted. The flue gas goes
into the tail flue gas pass above the separator to transfer the heat to the heating surface at all levels in the
tail flue gas pass. Finally, the flue gas becomes boiler flue gas with the temperature of about 130C ~
150C. Fly ash in flue gas can be collected by the dust precipitator and discharged outside the boiler
through the ash handling system. Purified flue gas is sent, through the induced draft fan of the air-flue gas
system, to the chimney.
The furnace slag formed after combustion goes into the slag cooler through the slag discharge outlet
below the air distribution device, and the furnace slag is discharged into the slag bin through the slag
handling system until it is cooled to a certain temperature.
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III. Characteristics of CFBB

(I) Main advantages
1) Application of a wide range of fuels
All kinds of inferior fuels and gangue can be applied to CFBB. This is one of the main advantages of
CFBB.
The reason why a fluidized bed boiler has this advantage lies in the good combustion conditions. In
the operation process of CFBB, a large quantity of solid particles (materials) with the temperature of 850 ~
950C are stored in the furnace and these materials store considerable heat which is equivalent to a "huge
heat reservoir". In terms of weight, the newly-fed coal only takes up 1 ~ 3% of the total weight of materials
in the furnace. Therefore, these hot material particles can provide enough heat sources for ignition of coal.
2) High combustion efficiency
Generally, the combustion efficiency of CFBB is in the range of 95 ~ 99%. Although the furnace
temperature of the CFBB is only 850 ~ 950C, the circulating combustion and retaining time of fuels in the
furnace is long, so that they can be burnt out.
3) High desulfurizing efficiency
In the operation process of CFBB, the bed temperature is kept in the range of 850 ~ 950C, which is
the optimal reaction temperature for calcinations of limestone. Besides, limestone powder is subject to
cyclic utilization in the furnace, so high desulfurizing efficiency can be achieved. When the calcium sulfur
ratio is 1.5 ~ 2.0, the calcium sulfur rate may reach 85 ~ 90%.
4) Low emission of nitrogen oxide (NOX)
Based on different generation mechanisms, NOX can be divided into thermal type NOX and fuel type
NOX. Thermal type NOX is formed by the oxidation of N2 in air. When the temperature is low, the content
of thermal type NOX is small, accounting for about 5% of NOX generated by boiler combustion. The
following is the chemical reaction equation of thermal type NOX:
N 2 O2 2 NO 2 NO O2 NO2
Fuel type NOX is formed by thermal decomposition of nitrogen-containing compound in fuel and
further oxidation. Under general combustion conditions, the nitrogen-containing organic compound in fuel
firstly has thermal decomposition reaction to generate some intermediate products, such as hydrogen
cyanide (HCN), ammonia (NH3) and CN. These intermediate products separate out from the fuel together
with the volatile components, and they are called Volatile-N. After separation of volatile-N, the nitrogen
compound left in coke is called Coke-N. The NOX transformed from Volatile-N accounts for 60~80% of
thermal type NOX, while the NOX transformed from Coke-N accounts for 20 ~ 40% of the same. Fuel type
NOX can be formed at the temperature of 600 ~ 800C. Therefore, NOX generated in the boiler is mainly of
fuel type NOX.
Generally, NOX can be easily generated under high-temperature and oxygen-rich conditions. However,
the combustion of a CFBB is low-temperature combustion. Because of this, N in air does not generate NOX
under general conditions. In addition, due to section-wise combustion of CFBB, the lower part of the
furnace has a reducing atmosphere, which can not only inhibit the nitrogen in fuel from being transformed
into NOX, but also reduce part of the generated NOX.
It is indicated by operation experience that NOX emission concentration of a CFBB is lower than 200 ~
250 ppm, which is far less than the emission concentration of a conventional coal powder boiler.
4) Favorable for comprehensive utilization of ash and slag
For a fluidized bed boiler, the carbon content in bottom slag is generally 1 ~ 3% and the carbon
content in fly ash is 4 ~ 15%. Compared with a coal power boiler, the combustion of a fluidized bed boiler
is low to medium temperature combustion, and the ash and slag generated do not soften and bond, but with
good activity, so that the ash and slag can be used as admixture for manufacturing cement or as
construction materials. Furthermore, low-temperature burn-through is also helpful for extraction of rare
metals from the ash and slag, which have wide prospects of comprehensive utilization.
5) Simpler fuel preparation system
The particle size of feed coal for a CFBB is generally less than 13 mm. Compared with a coal powder
boiler, the fuel preparation and crushing system of CFBB is simpler.
6) Good load regulation performance
A large quantity of hot solid materials in CFBB forms a stable heat reservoir, so that the combustion is
stable. Stable combustion without additional fuel can be achieved in the load range of 40 ~ 100%.
In addition, if the load changes, the work to do only involves the regulation of feed coal quantity, air
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volume and material circulation volume, not have to adopt the partial bed banking-up technology like a
bubbling fluidized bed boiler. Generally speaking, the load regulation ratio of CFBB is (3~4): 1 and its load
regulation rate is fast, generally being 4% per minute.
(II). Existing problems
1) Serious abrasion and poor reliability of equipment

In the operation process, a CFBB is in the state of high particle concentration and high working air
flow rate. Therefore, the abrasion problem is rather serious for the heating surfaces such as water cooled
wall and platen superheater as arranged in the furnace, the air button on air distributor below the furnace,
the junction of water cooled wall and fire-resistant material in dense-phase zone, the cyclone separator at
furnace outlet and other parts. Besides, though the proportion of fly ash in flue gas of a CFBB is lower than
that of a coal powder boiler, due to larger particle size of fly ash in the former, obvious abrasion problems
can be found at the heating surfaces, such as the superheater, economizer and other, arranged in the tail flue
gas pass of CFBB.
2) Coking and burning loss of air distribution device
The direct cause of coking is that the local or whole temperature of bed material exceeds the ash
fusion point or the sintering temperature.
Coking caused by a low whole bed temperature, which is lower than the deformation temperature of
ash and slag but with local overtemperature, is called "low-temperature coking". Low-temperature coking
always occurs in the bed for starting and idling. During idling period of the boiler, the bed materials are in
static state. If any air is leaked in, combustible matters contained in hot bed materials may ignite due to the
acquisition of oxygen. Since the heat generated by combustion can not be taken away in time, coking may
take place due overtemperature of bed materials in local areas.
Coking caused by high whole bed temperature is called "high-temperature coking". If the carbon
content in bed materials is excessively high and the bed temperature is not controlled by regulating the air
flow or material recycle rate, the bed temperature will goes up sharply. If the bed temperature exceeds the
ash fusion point, high-temperature cocking will take place.
Coking may lead to burning loss and deformation of air button.
3) Large ventilation resistance and high power consumption of fan
In order to keep the fluidized state of solid materials in the boiler in the operation process of a CFBB,
a large amount of high-pressure fluidized air should be supplied to overcome the resistance of air
distributor and bed materials, so there are the problems of high ventilation resistance, complicated air
system and high power consumption of fan, all of which lead to a high plant service power consumption
rate. Generally, the plant service power consumption rate of a plant with a CFBB is 4 ~ 5% higher than that
with a coal powder boiler.
4) Difficulty in achieving automatic combustion control
Combustion control is the difficult and key points of automatic control for the whole CFB boiler.
Particularly, the coupling relation is high among feed coal, primary air, secondary air and material recycle
rate, which means that a change in a single parameter would cause synchronous change of other parameters.
In addition, due to its strong nonlinearity, time-varying characteristics (major change may be found in the
quality of the same batch of coal) and large lag characteristics, the objects to be controlled are very
complicated. The application of conventional PID control could not achieve the ideal control effect, which
makes the automatic combustion control of a CFB boiler is much more difficult than that of a coal powder
boiler.
5) Upsizing
Restricted by technology and auxiliary equipment, the unit capacity of a CFBB is smaller than that of
a coal powder boiler. The maximum unit capacity of CFBB that has been put into operation is 600 MW.
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Chapter 2 Basic Theory of Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler (CFBB)

2.1 Basic knowledge about fuel
"Fuel" is the collective name of combustible matters used to generate heat. Based on the state of
matter, fuel can be divided into three types, i.e. gas fuel, liquid fuel and solid fuel. The composition and
characteristics of fuel is closely related to the operation of utility boiler.
I. Composition of coal
Coal is the most common solid fuel and its composition can be measured by elemental and industrial
analysis methods. The measurement results are called "elemental analysis components" and "industrial
analysis components" respectively.
1. Elemental analysis components
The elemental analysis components of coal mainly consists of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O),
nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), moisture (M) and ash (A).
Carbon is the major combustible matter contained in coal, also the primary source of calorific value of
coal. The older the geologic age of the coal is, the higher its carbon content will be.
Hydrogen is the combustible element contained in coal with the highest calorific value. Oxygen and
nitrogen are impurities in coal, and part of nitrogen may generate NOX in the furnace, which pollutes the
environment. Sulfur is a harmful combustible element contained in coal, the combustion products of which,
i.e. SO2 and SO3, not only pollute the environment, but also corrode metal equipment of the boiler.
Moisture is a harmful component contained in coal, the existence of which may reduce the calorific value
of coal and the furnace temperature and be unfavorable to the stability and economical efficiency of
combustion. Moreover, vaporization of a large amount of water may also increase the volume of flue gas,
resulting in the increase of power consumption of the fan. Ash is another harmful component contained in
coal, which may not only cause the decrease of calorific value of coal, but also lead to abrasion and
pollution of the heating surface.
2. Industrial analysis components
According to industry analysis method, the components of coal can be divided into moisture (M),
volatile (V), fixed carbon (FC) and ash (A).
Put coal in a 105 drying oven and dry it for 10 min. The weight loss is the content of moisture,
which includes internal moisture and external moisture.
Volatile is a kind of gas mixture decomposed and released when the coal is heated. For measurement,
put the coal sample with a certain mass in an electric furnace with the temperature of 910C and heat for 7
min in the absence of air. The weight loss is the content of volatile. Volatile mainly includes combustible
gases like CO, H2, CH4 and H2S and incombustible gases like CO2, O2, and N2. The coal with high content
of volatile is featured by easy ignition, fast combustion speed and safe combustion. Therefore, the content
of volatile in coal is an important index to evaluate the coal combustion performance. The older the
geologic age of the coal is, the less the content of volatile in coal will be.
Fixed carbon is the carbon existing in coal in the form of simple substance, also the solid combustible
component in coal. The coal with high content of fixed carbon is featured by hard ignition, slow
combustion speed and incomplete combustion. The content of fixed coal in coal increases along with the
growth of geologic age.
Ash is the residue of incombustible mineral substances, consisting of some metallic or nonmetallic
oxides. For measurement, put the coal sample with a certain mass in an electric furnace with the
temperature of 815C and ignite it to constant weight. The lost part is fixed carbon and the remaining part
is ash.
II. Characteristics of coal

1. Calorific value of coal
All heat released from complete combustion of coal with unit mass is the calorific value of coal, and
its unit is kJ/kg.
Calorific value is divided into gross calorific value and net calorific value. Gross calorific value refers
to all heat released after coal combustion, including the latent heat of vaporization of all steam contained in
flue gas. Net calorific value does not include the latent heat of vaporization of steam. In actual operation of
utility boiler, the temperature of exhaust gas from boiler is about 130 ~ 150C. At this temperature, the
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steam in flue gas has not been condensed into liquid water, so that the latent heat of vaporization of the
exhaust gas is carried away and can not be utilized. Therefore, the calorific value actually utilized by the
boiler is net calorific value.
Generally, the coal with a net calorific value of 29,310 kJ/kg is defined as standard coal. By
converting the actual coal consumption of each power plant into standard coal consumption, it is able to
compare the economical efficiency of coal combustion of different power plants in an objective way.
2. Fusibility of ash
At high temperature, the ash in coal will gradually transfer from solid to liquid state. This feature is
called "fusibility" and the transformation temperature is called "ash fusion point". As the state
transformation of ash does not happen at a certain temperature, the ash fusion point should not be indicated
by a specific temperature. Generally, three temperatures are used to indicate the ash fusion point, i.e.
deformation temperature (DT), softening temperature (ST) and fusion temperature (FT). If the bed
temperature is higher than the ash fusion point, it will lead to coking. On this basis, the lower the fusion
point of coal is, the higher the possibility of coking in furnace will be.
The ash fusion point is related to the composition of ash. The more the content of basic dioxide in ash
is, the lower the ash fusion point will be. Fusion point is also related to medium atmosphere in the furnace.
In reducing atmosphere, the fusion point of coal will become lower to some extent.
3. Grindability of coal
Coal is a kind of brittle substance which can be ground under the effect of mechanical force. The
difficulty varies in the grinding of different types of coals. This property is called "grindability of coal".
The degree of grindability is measured by Hardgrove grindability index (HGI) (or Kkm). A higher
grindability index indicates that the coal can be ground more easily.
4. Abrasiveness of coal
Ash in coal is composed of some incombustible mineral substances, and some of the components have
higher hardness which may lead to certain abrasion of metallic or fire-resistant materials. Different types of
coal cause different degrees of abrasion to the equipment. This property is called "abrasiveness of coal".
The degree of abrasion is indicated by abrasion index (Ke). The greater the value of Ke is, the higher the
abrasion of coal will be.
2.2 Heat balance of boiler unit

Under steady working conditions, there is a balance between boiler heat input and boiler heat output.
Boiler heat input refers to the total heat brought into the boiler by 1 kg fuel, indicated by Qr. For boiler heat
output, most of it is effectively absorbed by the working medium and this part of heat is called "effective
heat utilization" and indicated by Q1; and all the remaining heat which has not been effectively absorbed by
the working medium is called "heat loss". Based on different causes of loss, heat loss can be indicated by
Q2 ~ Q5 ( Q2Q5 4
Q2Q6 Q2Q6) as shown in Fig. 4. The balance between boiler heat
input and boiler heat output can be expressed with a heat balance equation:
Fig. 4 Schematic Diagram of Heat Balance of Boiler Unit

Qr Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 kj/kg
Where: Qr: boiler heat input;
Q1: effective heat utilization;
Q2: heat loss due to exhaust gas;
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Q3: heat loss due to unburned gases;

Q4: heat loss due to unburned carbon;
Q5: heat loss due to radiation;
Q6: heat loss due to sensible heat in slag.
I. Heat loss of boiler unit

Heat loss due to unburned carbon (Q4) refers to the heat loss caused by the fact that part of unburned
solid carbon has been discharged outside the boiler. It consists of two parts: one part is the loss caused by
unburned carbon residue contained in boiler slag, and the other part is the loss caused by unburned carbon
residue contained in fly ash.
Heat loss due to unburned gases refers to the heat loss caused by the fact that part of unburned
combustible gases (such as CO) has been discharged along with flue gas outside the boiler.
When the boiler exhaust gas leaves the last stage of heating surface, the temperature is 130 ~ 150C,
so that the exhaust gas has taken away a large amount of heat. The loss due to the heat taken away by boiler
exhaust gas is called "heat loss due to exhaust gas", which is the maximum heat loss of the boiler.
Although all the surface of boiler equipment is provided with a heat insulation layer, part of the heat
will still radiate in the atmosphere. The heat loss radiating in the atmosphere through boiler surface is
called "heat loss due to radiation".
In the operation process of CFBB, the temperature of bottom slag discharged from the slag discharge
outlet of air distributor is about 850C. The high temperature slag takes away part of the heat and the loss
caused by this is called "heat loss due to sensible heat in slag".
The magnitude of each kind of loss is generally indicated by the percentage of the heat loss Qi (i is 2 ~
5) ( 2 ~ 6) in heat input Qr, which can be expressed as qi.
The maximum percentage is heat loss due to exhaust gas q2, about 4 ~ 8%. Therefore, the heat balance
equation can also be expressed in the following form:
100% q1 q2 q3 q4 q5 q6 %
II. Thermal efficiency of boiler

Thermal efficiency of boiler () is the percentage of effective heat utilization of the boiler (Q1) in total
heat input (Qr), namely:
Q1
100%
Qr
Therefore, thermal efficiency of boiler is q1 in the heat balance equation.
A thermal power plant usually employs the indirect heat balance method to determine the value of
actual thermal efficiency in boiler operation process, which means that the five items of heat loss (q2 ~ q6)
of boiler is measured before calculating the thermal efficiency of the boiler, namely:
100%q2 q3 q4 q5 q6
Thermal efficiency of large capacity utility boiler is generally more than 90%.
2.3 Common terms or concepts of CFBB

1. Fluidization
When a fluid goes upward and passes through the solid particle bed at a certain rate, the solid particles
will be in a fluid-like state. This phenomenon is called "fluidization". Fluidization is as shown in Fig. 5.
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Fig. 5 Fluidization
The fluid used to fluidize solid particles is also called "fluidizing medium". If the fluidizing medium is
gas, the fluidization is called "gas-solid fluidization". If the fluidizing medium is liquid, the fluidization is
called "liquid-solid fluidization". For a CFBB, air is used as the fluidizing medium, so its fluidization is
"gas-solid fluidization".
2. Critical fluidization air flow rate

The minimum air flow rate for the solid particle bed changing from static state to fluidized state is
called "critical fluidization air flow rate", and the corresponding air flow is called "critical fluidization air
flow". Obviously, to maintain a fluidized state in the boiler, the actual fluidization air flow rate must be
higher than the critical fluidization air flow rate.
3. Bed material
Before startup of the boiler, the solid particles, which are spread on the air distributor and have certain
thickness and particle size, are called "bed material". These solid particles consist of ash and slag, sand,
gangue or coal particles, etc.
4. Material
"Material" is the generic term of all solid particles in the boiler during its operation process. It consists
of the bed material added before startup, the coal and limestone added in the operation process, and the
recycled material sent back by the recycle device. All these materials with a certain temperature contain
tremendous heat, so they are heat sources of ignition after new coal is added into the furnace.
5. Material circulation ratio

As shown in Fig. 6, circulation ratio (K) is the ratio of the quantity of material recycled from the
recycle device (G) to the quantity of feed fuel (B), namely:
G
K
B
Fig. 6 Material Circulation of Fluidized Bed
6. Fuel sieving
Fuel sieving means the distribution range of fuel particle size. In case of a large distribution range of
particle size, the fuel is called "wide particle size range" fuel; otherwise, it is called "narrow particle size
range" fuel.
2.4 Fluid dynamic characteristics in CFBB

I. Forming process of fluidization
As shown in Fig. 7a, a solid particle bed with a certain thickness is spread on the air distributor to
allow the air flows through the particle bed vertically from the part below the air distribution to the upper
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part. When the air flow rate (u1) is low, there is no trace of particle loosening, and this state is called "fixed
bed state". Along with the increase of air flow rate, the particle bed gradually undergoes transition from
fixed bed state to bubbling fluidized bed state, turbulent fluidized bed state and fast fluidized bed state, and
finally changes into pneumatic conveying state. Among the five flow states given in the figure below, only
bubbling fluidized bed and fast fluidized bed are subject to fluidization, which is the state to be maintained
in the operation process of CFBB.
Fig. 7 Flow State of Solid Particle Bed at Different Air Velocities

u1u2u3u4u5
a fixed bed; b bubbling bed; c turbulent bed; d fast bed; e pneumatic conveying bed
II. Features of each flow state

1. Fixed bed stage ()
The static particle bed formed by the accumulation of a large quantity of solid particles is called "fixed
bed". The features of a fixed bed include: 1) low air flow rate; 2) almost standing still of particles; 3) air
flow passing through particle gap.
2. Bubbling bed stage ()
When the air flow rate is higher than the critical fluidization air flow rate (umf ), the particles on the
bed will be "floated" and move along with the air flow above the bed. With the height increase of the bed, it
starts to enter the bubbling bed stage.
Fig. 8 Bubbling Bed State

After entering into the bubbling bed stage, the following outstanding features can be found:
a) Airflow passes through the solid particle bed in the form of air bubble (dispersed phase and
bubble phase);
b) Solid particles disperse in the air flow (continuous phase and emulsion phase);
c) Air bubbles keep moving upward, coalescencing, growing and breaking up continuously;
d) Particles roll up and down and become mixed;
e) Air bubbles break up and erupt solid particles to the upper part of the bed (elutriation);
f) There is an obvious interface on the bed.
3. Turbulent bed state
When the air flow rate further increases, intensification of disturbance and expansion of particle bed
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can be found within the bed, which means the fluidization enters into turbulent bed state. At this moment,
the following can be observed: gradual breaking up and diminishing of air bubbles, gradual fading away of
bed interface, more evenly mixing of particles, and maximum pressure surge within the bed.
4. Fast bed state
Along with further increase of air flow rate, the bubbles within the bed disappear, the air turns into
continuous phase, and the solid particles have intercoagulation reaction to form "flocculent particle clusters
or particle strips", which are in dispersed phase, as shown in Fig. 9a.
a particle cluster and particle strip b movement direction of particle cluster
Fig. 9 Fast Bed State

These particle clusters moves upwards at the furnace center to a certain height. After the vanishing of
kinetic energy, they slide down along the surrounding wall of the furnace to form "wall facing flow", as
shown in Fig. 9b. The wall facing flow results in obvious backmixing of particles to form "internal
circulation" of the solid particles.
After entering into the fast bed stage, the bed interface will fade away and the particle concentration
and temperature will be distributed more evenly.
5. Pneumatic conveying bed state
When the air flow rate continues to increase to conveying air flow rate, solid particles in the furnace
will be carried out of the furnace by air and the bed will be blown out. Occurrence of this state is not
allowed in the operation process of CFBB.
III. Several abnormal fluidization states

1. Channeling
When the air flow rate is greater than the critical air flow rate, the particles have not been fluidized
and the air flow goes through the bed through one or more gaps. This phenomenon is called "channeling"
or "slotting".
2. Slugging
Air bubbles keeps expand in the ascending process, when they expand to the whole bed end-face, the
materials are separated into several sections in the height direction. This phenomenon is called "slugging".
IV. Concentration distribution rule of particles in CFBB

Fig. 10 shows the particle concentration distribution curves in furnace height direction. It can be seen
from the figure that in the furnace height direction, the general distribution rule is high in the lower part and
low in the upper part. For the bubbling bed state as indicated by curve 1, the concentration in the
dense-phase zone in the lower part is obviously higher than that in the lean-phase zone in the upper part,
and there is a clear interface between the two. For the turbulent bed state as indicated by curve 2, there is no
abrupt interface between the concentrations in the upper and lower parts, but replaced by a zone with
gradually decreasing concentration. For the fast bed stage, the overall distribution of concentration is more
evenly.
1 bubbling bed; 2 turbulent bed; 3 fast bed

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Fig. 10 Concentration Distribution Curves of Particles in Furnace Height Direction

The particle concentration is low at the furnace center of the furnace section, but high along the
surrounding wall of the furnace.
V. Distribution rule of air flow rate in CFBB

Fig. 11 shows the movement direction of solid particles in a CFBB. In can be seen from the figure that
the particles at furnace center move upwards, while the particles around the furnace move downwards
along the surrounding wall of the furnace and form the "wall facing flow". The wall facing flow makes part
of the solid particles circulate in the furnace, i.e. "internal circulation".
Fig. 11 Schematic Diagram of Movement Fig. 12 Schematic Diagram of Distribution of Air

Direction of Solid Particles Flow Rate
Fig. 12 shows the distribution of air flow rate in furnace. In furnace height direction, the air flow rate
is relatively even. Along the furnace section, the flow rate is high in the center and low near the
surrounding wall.
2.5 Heat transfer and combustion of CFBB

I. Heat transfer mechanism of CFBB
Heat transfer in a CFBB is achieved mainly depending on the convective heat transfer of solid
particles, the convective heat transfer of flue gas, as well as the radiative heat transfer of flue gas and solid
particles.
1. Convective heat transfer of solid particles
After entering into the fast bed fluidized state, a large quantity of particle clusters move downwards
along the water cooled wall in the surrounding of the furnace. When the hot particle clusters contact with
the water cooled wall, the new and old particle clusters replace each other periodically, so that convective
heat transfer with the wall surface is achieved, as shown in Fig. 13.
Fig. 13 Schematic Diagram of Convective Heat Transfer of Solid Particles

The higher the renewing frequency of the particles is, the faster the heat transfer speed will be.
Therefore, higher particle concentration and smaller particle size lead to stronger convective heat transfer.
In addition, a stronger convective heat transfer process depends on higher temperature, higher density and
smoother surface of the particles.
2. Convective heat transfer of gas
Both the furnace and the tail flue gas pass are full of high-temperature flue gases. These flue gases
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carry out convective heat transfer with the heating surface. The degree of heat transfer depends on the
temperature, flow rate, viscosity, density and specific heat of the flue gases.
3. Radiative heat transfer
The high-temperature flue gases and solid particles in the furnace can also carry out heat transfer with
the heating surface by radiative heat transfer mode, the degree of which is mainly affected by temperature.
The higher the temperature is, the stronger the degree of radiative heat transfer will be.
The heat transfer coefficients of these three heat transfer modes are listed in the table below:
According to the data listed above, convective heat transfer of solid particles is the main way for the
heating surface of a CFBB to obtain heat. However, what needs to be emphasized is that the major modes
for heat transfer are different for the heating surfaces arranged at different positions. For example: the water
cooled water arranged at the middle and lower parts of the furnace obtains heat mainly depending on the
convective heat transfer of solid particles due to the contact with a large quantity of solid particles; the
heating surface arranged at the upper part is mainly subject to radiative heat transfer; and all levels of
heating surfaces arranged in the tail flue gas pass is mainly subject to convective heat transfer of flue gases.
Besides, the major heat transfer modes are also different when the boiler operates under different loads.
In case of high load, the concentration of solid particles in the furnace is high, so heat transfer is mainly
achieved by convective heat transfer of particles. In case of low load, heat transfer will gradually changes
into radiative heat transfer mode. For the water cooled water arranged around the furnace, convective heat
transfer of particles is an important way for it to obtain heat. Therefore, it is essential to maintain a
sufficiently total quantity of materials and a certain quantity of recycled materials in the furnace.
II. Combustion process of CFBB

The combustion process of coal particles in CFBB can be roughly divided into the following five
stages:
1. Heating and drying of coal
After being sent into the furnace which is full of solid materials, coal particles will be heated rapidly
and their moisture will evaporate, so that the coal becomes dry with higher temperature.
Fig. 14 Schematic Diagram of Coke
2. Separation of volatile matter

When coal is heated to a certain degree, the volatile matter starts to separate and the raining part is
called "coke". As shown in Fig. 14, many voids have been formed after separation of volatile matter.
3. Primary crushing
The separated volatile matter gathers in the voids of coke, makes the pressure in the voids rise up and
finally leads to the breaking up of coke. This process is called "primary crushing". Primary crushing make
the coal particles break up into fragments.
4. Ignition and combustion
Once the coal particles obtain enough ignition heat and their temperature rises up to the ignition point,
the volatile matter and coke will starts to ignite and combust and releases heat. The coal which contains
more volatile matters ignites earlier and combusts faster.
5. Secondary crushing and abrasion
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After combustion of coke, its internal bonding force becomes weaker and leads to secondary breaking
up of the coke. This process is called "secondary crushing". The causes of primary crushing and secondary
crushing are different, but both making large carbon particles change into small particles. The addition of
small particles can not only improve the combustion speed and completeness, but also increase the particle
concentration in the lean-phase zone in the upper part of the furnace, which is helpful to heat transfer.
Abrasion always occurs in the combustion process of coke. Abrasion means the phenomenon of the
production of micro scraps (whose size is generally less than 100 m) at the time of mechanical collision or
friction between coke particles or between coke and internal furnace surface. Small particles produced by
abrasion are smaller than those produced by crushing for an order of magnitude. These scraps will be
carried out of the furnace by flue gas, even hardly colleted by the separator. Therefore, they can directly
enter into the tail flue gas pass and form fly ash. If they are not completely combusted when leaving the
furnace, heat loss due to unburned carbon (q4) takes place.
III. Combustion zones of CFBB

For CFBB using a high-temperature gas-solid separator, its combustion is carried out mainly in three
different zones, i.e. the dense-phase zone in the lower part of the furnace (below the secondary air inlet),
the lean-phase zone in the middle and upper parts of the furnace (above the secondary air inlet), and the
zone in the high-temperature gas-solid separator, as shown in Fig. 15. A boiler using the MP separator only
contains two combustion zones, i.e. the one at the upper part of the furnace and the one at the lower part of
the furnace.
The percentage of the combustion heat release of a combustion zone in the total combustion heat
release is called the "combustion fraction" of this zone.
1. Combustion in dense-phase zone
Both fuel and recycled material are sent into the furnace through the dense-phase zone. Primary air is
sent into the dense-phase zone via the air distributor to fluidize the materials and provide the oxygen
needed for combustion in the dense-phase zone. In the combustion process, some coarse carbon particles
have combustion reaction in the dense-phase zone. To guarantee a certain bed temperature, sufficient
combustion fraction in the dense-phase zone must be maintained in the operation process. However, an
excessively high combustion fraction in the dense-phase zone may lead to overtemperature and coking of
the bed.
Fig. 15 CFBB Combustion Zones

2. Combustion in lean-phase zone
The air flowing into the lean-phase zone includes the primary air coming from the dense-phase zone
and the secondary air, so the lean-phase zone is an oxygen-rich zone with relatively surplus oxygen. Some
coke, which is taken up by primary air from the dense-phase zone, and most of volatile matters have
combustion reaction and release heat in this zone. The combustion fraction in lean-phase zone is essential
for guaranteeing heat absorption of the water cooled wall. Based on this, the higher the boiler load is, the
larger the combustion fraction in lean-phase zone will be in a relatively way.
3. Combustion in separator
Part of fine and unburned carbon particles are carried out of the furnace by flue gas and then enter the
high-temperature separator, in which the temperature is higher than 800C. Due to the short rotating and
retaining time of the particles in the separator and insufficient oxygen inside the separator, the combustion
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fraction of coke is very small in the separator, which only allows for the combustion of part of volatile
matters.
IV. Factors affecting combustion of CFBB
1. Fuel properties
The properties of fuel coal, such as the type, composition, calorific value and particle size, have a
certain impact on combustion of the boiler. Generally speaking, a higher content of volatile matters in coal
always results in a relatively larger combustion fraction, faster combustion speed and easier complete
combustion in the lean-phase zone.
The coal particle size has a relatively higher impact on the combustion fraction in each zone. The
coarsest particles mainly participate in combustion in the dense-phase zone and this part of particles make
great contribution to stable bed temperature. Some fine particles are carried to the upper lean-phase zone by
air, but they always fall back down in the dense-phase zone until reaching a certain height. They have
internal circulation, as well as combustion reaction, in the furnace. The finer particles are carried out of the
furnace by flue gas and then enter into the separator, which collect and recycle them to the furnace. These
particles have combustion reaction in external circulation. The finest particles can not be collected b the
separator after being carried into the separator, but enter into the tail flue gas pass together with the flue gas.
These particles are not subject to circulation, but pass the combustion system in one process. If they are
unburned at the time of leaving, q4 loss will be caused. Therefore, heat loss due to unburned matters of a
fluidized bed boiler is usually caused by these fine particles.
2. Air distribution device and fluidization quality
A fluidized bed boiler's requirements for the air distribution device are even air distribution, forming
fine air flow, no blind corner and guaranteeing fluidization quality at bed bottom.
3. Coal feeding mode
The new fuel added into the furnace should be evenly spread on the whole bed surface. For this reason,
coal feeing points should be arranged dispersedly. If the coal feeding points provided are insufficient, the
feed coal quantity at each coal feeding point will be excessively high, which will lead to the failure in
sufficient combustion of fuel in the zone due to the lack of oxygen.
4. Bed temperature
Bed temperature is an important monitoring parameter in the operation process of a CFBB. Keeping a
high bed temperature is helpful to improve the combustion speed and efficiency. However, an excessively
high bed temperature may cause bed coking and result in the reduction of desulfurizing efficiency. Based
on comprehensive consideration of theses factors, the bed temperature of a CFBB should be kept at about
850 ~ 950C. For a boiler with lower volatile matters for combustion, its bed temperature should be a little
higher.
5. Separator performance
Separator performance refers to the capability of a separator to collect fine particles and it can be
indicated by separation efficiency. A higher separation efficiency of a separator shows that it can collect
more and finer solid particles. If a separator with good performance is used, these particles can be collected
and recycled to the furnace for continuous combustion. Apparently, a high-efficient separator is the key to
reduce heat loss due to unburned matters.
6. Secondary air
The function of secondary air is to provide the oxygen needed for combustion in the lean-phase zone,
and the arrangement of secondary air inlet has impact on combustion to some extent. In case of dispersed
arrangement of secondary air inlets, it contributes to even distribution of secondary air on the furnace
section, but results in insufficient driving force and poor penetration capability of secondary air, and the
coke at furnace center often fails to achieve complete combustion due to the lack of oxygen. In case of
concentrated arrangement of secondary air inlets, good rigidity and penetration capability can be achieved,
but the air inlets are less in number with uneven distribution. Based on comprehensive consideration of the
two kinds of arrangement, concentrated arrangement is better than dispersed arrangement in their effect on
reducing the heat loss due to unburned matters.
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Chapter 3 Proper Structure of Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler (CFBB)

3.1 Combustion system
I. Furnace
CFBB is equipped with membrane wall around the furnace and at the furnace top, and an air
distributor at the bottom.
1. Role of furnace
The furnace is the place burning fuels, also the space transmitting heat. During operation, a large
amount of solid materials reserve enough heat, which is the main source of fuels acquiring ignition heat.
2. Furnace structure
Fig. 16 Vertical View of CFB Boiler Furnace Fig. 17 Side View of CFB Boiler Furnace
The cross section of the furnace appears to be a rectangle, as shown in Figure 16. Because the
secondary tuyere is arranged at the front wall of the furnace, the depth dimensions of the furnace cannot be
designed to be oversize in order to ensure enough penetrating power after the secondary tuyere entering
into the boiler, while the depth of the furnace must be large enough such that there is enough heating
surface of water wall arranged around the furnace. Therefore, the width to depth of the furnace generally is
1.7~2.2.
The height of furnace is the distance from the air distributor to the outlet of the furnace. The furnace of
CFBB is divided into two zones along the height of furnace, as shown in Fig. 17. The place above the
secondary tuyere having lower particle concentration is called as the lean-phase zone; the place below the
secondary tuyere having higher particle concentration is called as the dense-phase zone. The water wall in
the lean-phase zone is exposed in the furnace. In order to avoid wearing too fast, the water wall in the
dense-phase zone is covered by fire resistant materials.
The furnace of CFBB must be high enough. There are two reasons: one is that the water wall with
enough area is required to be arranged; the other is that only enough height of the furnace can ensure
sufficient time dwell of fuels in the furnace, to achieve to the purpose of burnout.
Such door openings of various functions are set on the furnace as coal feeding opening, recycle
opening, slag discharge outlet, secondary tuyere, and the like. The quantity and locations of various
openings have a certain effect on the operation of the boiler. Because the furnace is in the state of positive
pressure during operation, effective sealing of the furnace is required in order to prevent materials, flue gas
in the furnace leaking to the outside. So openings on the furnace shall be as few as possible.
II. Air distribution device

It is the device which supports materials at the bottom of the furnace and distributes primary air. The
air distribution device mainly comprises air distributor, primary air chamber and air button.
1. Performance required for air distribution device
The air distribution device is significant for evenly distributing the primary air, ensuring good
fluidization quality. Requirements for air distribution device are: 1) to be capable of evenly distributing
airflow, avoiding stagnant zone and four corners on the air distributor; 2) to provide enough air speed for
the airflow at the outlet of small air button hole so as to fully mix materials and air; 3) to have a certain
strength and stiffness, and not to be deformed easily; 4) not to be leaked for ash easily.
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Fig.18 Structure of Pattern Board Fig.19 Air Distributor of Water wall and Water Cooled Air Chamber
2. Air distributor
The role of air distributor is to: 1) support materials in the boiler; 2) distribute the primary air
reasonably, ensure good fluidization of materials.
The air distributor can be divided into non-water cooled air distributor and water cooled air distributor.
Non-water cooled air distributor is composed of pattern plate and fire resistant material layer and heat
insulation layer. So-called pattern plate is the steel plate with a thickness of 12~20mm on which circular
holes of a certain quantity and diameters are provided, as shown in Fig. 18. Each circular hole may be
provided with a air button.
Water cooled air distributor is formed by the extension and bending of membrane wall, and is
equipped with air buttons by opening holes on fins between pipes. As shown in Fig. 19. The lower part of
the water wall air distributor is the water-cooled air chamber surrounded by water wall. The application of
water-cooled air distributor and water-cooled air chamber is able to lower the temperature of air
distribution device, to avoid damage of parts due to high temperature.
3. Air button
The air button is installed on the air distributor, as shown in Fig. 20.The air button plays the role of
transmitting fluidization air (primary air) into the furnace evenly, and is divided into air button with small
borehole diameter and big borehole diameter as per its borehole diameter.
The air button with small borehole diameter has many holes (6~12), small borehole diameter (4~6mm),
high flow rate of small borehole, good evenness of airflow distribution, but large resistance, poor airflow
stiffness, poor fluidization effect on large particles, and is prone to jamming. Some air buttons with small
borehole diameter are shown in Fig. 21.
Fig. 20 Air Button Set on Fig. 21 Air Buttons with Fig. 22 Bell-Shaped Air Button
Water-Cooled Air Small Borehole with Big Borehole
Distributor Diameter Diameter
The characteristics of air button with big borehole diameter are: )few small boreholes; 2) 10~25mm of
borehole diameter; 3) small resistance; 4) good stiffness; 5) easy ash leakage. Fig. 22 shows the bell-shaped
air button, which is a kind of air button with big borehole diameter widely used.
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III. Gas-solid separator

1. Role of separator
The role of gas-solid separator is to separate solid materials from fuel gas, and then these solid
materials can be fed back to the furnace through the recycle device. Therefore, the enough quantity of
recirculated materials can be maintained, and the bed temperature is effectively controlled. Simultaneously,
the time dwell in the boiler of fuel coal and limestone is prolonged, to improve the combustion and
desulfurizing efficiency.
2. Varieties of separator
The flue gas at the furnace outlet tangentially enters into the cyclone separator along with a large
quantity of solid materials. Solids and gases are separated depending on the principle of centrifugal force.
According to different working temperatures, the separator can be divided into high-temperature
separator, intermediate-temperature separator and low-temperature separator. The high-temperature
separator is the one most widely used, and arranged at the furnace outlet, with the working temperature of
800~850, in which there is a certain combustion fraction.
According to different structures, the separator can be divided into heat insulation separator and water
cooled (or steam cooled) separator. The heat insulation separator is provided with wear resistant materials
of about over 300mm in thickness for the lining of cyclone cylinder, with heat insulation layer to insulate
heat, as shown in Fig. 23.The large consumption of fire resistant materials of this separator leads to large
thermal inertia, long startup time; the cylinder of water (steam) cooled separator is fabricated by bending,
welding water cooled or steam cooled pipe, and the inner wall is painted with a thinner layer of fire
resistant and wear resistant castables, and a heat insulation layer of a certain thickness is covered outside, as
shown in Fig. 24.Because there is medium (water or steam) flowing through the cylinder, and the
temperature of the separator cylinder is lower than that of the heat insulation separator, the thickness of
cylinder wall is greatly decreased, which gets over some shortages of high-temperature heat-insulation
separator.
Fig. 23 Cylinder of
High-Temperature Heat-Insulation Fig. 24 Water (Steam) Cooled
Cyclone Separator Cyclone Separator
IV. Recycle device

1. Pressure distribution in CFBB
The pressure distribution of CFBB is as shown in Fig. 25. Because high pressure primary air is sent
into from the air distributor, the pressure on the air distributor is higher, which is in the state of positive
pressure. The pressure at the furnace outlet is about equal to atmospheric pressure. The pressure in the
separator is in the state of negative pressure due to the pumping effect of induced draft fan. Therefore, if
materials separated from the separator want to be sent into the furnace of higher pressure from that of lower
pressure, recycle device must be equipped. The recycle device comprises riser and recycle valve. As shown
in Fig. 26.
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Fig. 25 Pressure Distribution in Boiler Fig. 26 Composition of Recycle Device
2. Riser
Generally, the recycle pipe between the separator and the recycle valve is called as riser. The role of
riser is: to create a certain pressure head after materials entering into the riser, so as to prevent high
pressure flue gas in the furnace reversely flowing to enter into the separator; simultaneously, to convey
materials separated from the separator into the recycle valve sequently. Therefore, the riser must be high
enough.
3. Recycle valve
The recycle valve has many varieties and can be divided into mechanical valve and non-mechanical
valve. Mechanical valve is the commonly seen ball valve, butterfly valve, etc. During operation, the
mechanical valve has such problems as wear, overheat, jamming, so at most of time we use non-mechanical
valves, which includes L-valve, J-valve, U-valve, etc. U-valve is the one most commonly used, whose
working principle is similar to that of the water seal bend of sewer pipe used in daily life. During operation,
the quantity of materials returned to the furnace is adjusted automatically according to the quantity of
materials separated, so U-valve is the self-balance valve.
3.2 Steam and water system
Fig. 27 Schematic Diagram of Composition of Steam and Water

System of Boiler
The process of boiler heating water to be steam is divided into three stages, as shown in Fig. 27. 1)
Pre-heating stage: the water supplied is heated to be the water of higher temperature in the economizer and
sent to the steam drum; 2) evaporation stage: water in the steam drum, sent to the water wall in the boiler
via the downcomer, is heated and evaporated to be steam-water mixture and is getting back to the steam
drum, which separates steam and water and the water is continued to circulate via the downcomer, while
saturated steam is led out from the upper steam drum; 3) overheating stage: saturated steam is led out from
the upper steam drum enters into the superheater to be heated be overheated steam of a certain temperature
and sent to the high pressure cylinder of the steam turbine to do work. Steam exhausted in the high pressure
cylinder is sent back to the reheater of the boiler to be heated again to a certain temperature, and then sent
to the intermediate pressure cylinder to do work continuously.
I. Economizer
Economizer is the equipment preheating water supplied for the boiler, and is equipped in the gas flue
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in the tail part, and is used to heat water supplied for the boiler by the heat of flue gas. The reason that it is
called as economizer is that it takes advantage of the excess heat of flue gas, so that the temperature of
smoke exhausted from the boiler is lowered; the thermal loss of smoke exhausted is reduced; the thermal
efficiency of the boiler is improved; fuels are saved. Non-boiling steel pipe economizer is generally used
for large modern power station boiler.
The economizer comprises inlet and outlet headers and paratactic coil pipes. Water supplied flows in
the coil pipe from bottom to the top, while flue gas scours horizontally at the outside of the pipe from top to
the bottom, to exchange heat by convection.
II. Evaporating equipment

The task of evaporating equipment is to absorb a certain amount of heat and then to evaporate water to
be saturated steam. It comprises steam drum, downcomer, water cooed wall and header, etc.
1. Steam drum
Steam drum is the cylindrical pressure container made of steel plate by rolling. Its role: 1) the
demarcation point of three stages of boiler heating, evaporation, oerverheating; 2) a certain amount of heat
reserved by the metal of steam drum and internal working medium can postpone the parameter change
during operation; 3) installations purifying steam in the internal steam drum can improve the steam quality.
2. Water wall
Water wall is arranged at four walls, the middle, the top of the furnace, and its role is to: 1) absorb the
heat of the furnace and heat the water to be saturated steam; 2) be able to protect walls and lower the
temperature on the surface f the boil wall.
Water wall is divided into bare tube water wall, membrane wall and stud tube water wall. The bare
tube water wall is made of seamless steel pipe, has simple structure. But due to the gap between pipes,
unthorough protection of the boil wall, large amount of workload of on-site installation and other reasons,
the membrane wall is generally adopted for power station boiler at present, which is made by welding flat
steel between bare tube water walls, which protects the boiler wall more thoroughly, and which is
beneficial to improve the sealing performance of the furnace. The stud tube water wall is made by welding
stud tubes of a certain diameter and length on the surface of the water wall, and this wall is used at parts
where is required to be covered with fire resistant materials, which can prevent fire resistant materials
falling off from the surface of the water wall.
3. Downcomer and header
The downcomer is set at the right lower part of the steam drum, and whose role is to transmit water in
the steam drum to the water wall. It can be divided into distributed downcomer of small diameter and
concentrated downcomer of large diameter. The later is widely used for modern boilers.
The header is the pipe with end socket at two ends for the purpose of collecting, mixing, re-allocating
working medium. In the evaporation system, the header provided at the inlet of the water wall is the lower
header, and the header provided at the outlet of the water wall is the upper header.
III. Superheater and reheater

1. Superheater
The role of superheater is to heat the saturated steam to be superheated steam with a certain
temperature and pressure, which is sent to high pressure cylinder of the steam turbine to do work later.
The superheated steam system of the boiler is generally composed of superheaters of stages 4~5 . All
stages of superheaters are connected in series through pipelines and headers to heat superheaters stage by
stage. For CFBB, the superheater can be arranged at the upper furnace, on tail flue, on the wall of the steam
cooled separator or in the external heat exchanger.
Superheaters arranged at different positions also have different structures and forms. Superheaters
arranged in the furnace often are the panelized structure. Superheaters arranged on the tail flue and in the
external heat exchanger are composed of inlet and outlet headers and paratactic coil pipes. Superheaters
arranged on the steam cooled separator and on the tail flue wall are composed of single-row pipelines.
2. Reheater
The role of the reheater is to reheat the steam exhausted from the high pressure cylinder of the steam
turbine and to rise the temperature and send it to the intermediate pressure cylinder to do work. The
arrangement and structural type of the reheater is similar to those pf the superheater.
The superheater and the reheater are the heating surfaces with highest temperature of the boiler. So
overtemperature and overheating are main problems affecting safety during operation. While, due to such
20
characteristics as low pressure, large specific volume, small specific heat of reheated steam, the working
conditions are less safe than those of the superheater.
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Chapter 4 CFBB auxiliary system

The auxiliary system and the equipment cooperate with the boiler proper to work. It mainly includes
fuel preparation system, coal feeding system in front of the boiler, air-flue gas system, slag cooling and
removal equipment, dust removal and ash handling system, etc.
4.1 Fuel preparation system

The task of the fuel preparation system is to process raw coal into coal particles with qualified particle
size and store them in the finished coal bunker. The process of fuel preparation mainly includes working
steps of conveying, crushing, screening.
I. Varieties of systems
a Screening-crushing system b Crushing-screening system

Fig. 28 Workflow of Stage-1 Crushing System
a Screening-crushing system b Crushing-screening system

Fig. 29 Workflow of Stage-2 Crushing System
According to different crushing times, the fuel preparation system can be divided into stage-1 crushing
system and stage-2 crushing system. According to the sequence of crushing and screening, every system
can be classified again. As shown in Fig. 28 and Fig. 29.
II. Main equipment in fuel preparation system

The fuel preparation system mainly includes raw coal bunker, finished coal bunker, conveying
equipment, crusher and screening equipment, etc. The raw coal bunker is used to store row coal; the
finished coal bunker is used to store prepared coal particles with qualified particle size; the crusher is the
core equipment of the fuel preparation system, has various types and the commonly used are hammer
crusher, jaw crusher, impact crusher, roller crusher. Size grading of coal is confuted by the screening
equipment, which in power plant is generally the vibrating screen.
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4.2 Front-boiler coal feeding system

The fuel preparation system prepares raw coal into qualified coal particles to store them in the coal
bunker. The particle size of these coals is generally among 0~25mm and the water content is larder.
Therefore, the fluidity is poor and coals cannot be pneumatically conveyed into the furnace. In addition, the
coal feeding opening is in the state of positive pressure, which has to prevent flue gas reversely flowing and
emitting from the coal feeding opening. Therefore, the task of the coal feeding system is to convey coal in
the coal bunker to the coal feeding opening of the furnace and prevent flue gas in the boiler reversely
flowing and upgoing.
The coal feeding system comprises coal bunker, coal feeder and coal distributor. The mode of CFBB
coal feeding, according to different locations of coal feeding opening arrangement, is classified into
front-wall coal feeding, recycle-valve coal feeding on the back wall and combined coal feeding of front
wall and recycle valve. According to the number of coal feeder in series, the method is divided into stage-1
coal feeding, stage-2 coal feeding, stage-3 coal feeding.
I. Front-wall coal feeding

The coal bunker bay is generally arranged at the front of the boiler, so the coal feeding opening is set
on the front wall of the furnace. The distance of coal feeding is short, which can simplify the coal feeding
system. Fig. 30 shows the front-wall coal feeding system. Finished coal in the coal bunker is sent to the
coal chute via the coal feeder. The coal in the coal chute is evenly spreaded depending on coal distribution.
If there is only one coal feeder in the system, the system is the stage-1 coal feeding system. If there are two
coal feeders working in series, the system is stage-2 coal feeding system.
Fig. 30 Front-Wall Coal Feeding
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II. Recycle-valve coal feeding
Fig.31 Recycle-Valve Coal Feeding Fig.32 Combined Coal Feeding
The mode of coal feeding from the recycle valve is to set the coal feeding opening on the recycle valve
and make coal and recycled materials enter into the furnace together, as shown in Fig. 31. The coal bunker
is located in front of the boiler. The coal in the coal bunker is firstly sent to the scraper coal feeder via belt,
then sent to four coal feeding openings located on the recycled riser on the back wall (dipleg), and sent into
the furnace after mixed with recycled materials in the recycle valve. The advantages of coal feeding from
the recycle valve: 1) can preheat and dry coal before entering into the boiler, for the benefit of combustion;
2) can reduce the number of openings on the boiler wall; 3) make coal distribute more evenly in the bed
layer after coal is mixed with material flow to enter into the boiler.
III. Combined coal feeding

Large-scale CFBB has a large quantity of coal feeding. The mode of the coal feeding combining the
front-boiler coal feeding with the recycle valve coal feeding is generally adopted. As shown in Fig. 32,
stage-2 coal feeding system is used for the front wall, and stage-3 coal feeding system is used for the back
wall. In addition, the method of coal feeding from the side wall also can be adopted for the boiler.
Main equipment in the coal feeding system is the coal feeder, which has many varieties. Electronic
belt coal feeder, scraper feeder, screw conveyer, etc. are commonly used.
4.3 Air-flue gas system

The task of the air-flue gas system is to send the air required for the boiler into the boiler and exhaust
flue gas produced from burning to the outside of the boiler. The system is divided into air system and flue
gas system. The flue gas system mainly includes induced draft fan, flue and its accessories; the air system
is rather complicated, which is divided into primary air, secondary air, coal spearing air, recycle air, cold
slag air, limestone conveying air, etc. according to different effects of air, as shown in Fig. 33. Various airs
require different air volumes and air pressures.
24
Fig. 33 Air System of CFBB
I. Primary air
Primary air enters into the dense-phase zone of the furnace from the primary air room upwarding via
the air distributor, and its role is to: 1) fluidify bed material; 2) provide oxygen required for the combustion
of the dense-phase zone.
Due to large resistance of air distributor, air button and bed material, the air pressure of the primary
air is higher, which is generally within 1400~2000mmH2O; the primary air volume accounts for 50~65% of
total air volume.
The primary air is provided by special primary air fan.
II. Secondary air
The secondary air is sent into the furnace from the secondary tuyere in the central furnace, and its role
is to: 1) supplement oxygen required for the combustion of materials; 2) strengthen to mix materials and
oxygen in the boiler; 3) adjust the temperature in the boiler.
The secondary air is provided by special air feeder (secondary air fan). Also, the design option of the
air fan shared by the secondary air and the primary air is adopted for some boilers. In this case, the air
pressure of the air fan is selected as per the requirements of primary air fan. The secondary tuyere is located
at some height above the coal feeding opening. Generally, the secondary tuyere is taken as the demarcation
point of lean-phase zone and dense-phase zone of the furnace.
III. Coal distribution air

The coal distribution air is the air of coal feeding system in front of the boiler, and its role is
to: )distribute coal evenly in the furnace; 2) play the role of sealing to prevent the flue gas of positive
pressure at the coal feeding opening reversely flowing into the coal feeder.
The coal distribution air may be provided by the primary air fan. Also, some boilers are equipped with
special coal distribution air fans.
IV. Recycle air
For non-mechanical recycle valve, the recycle air is usually taken as the power of conveying recycled
materials back to the furnace. Different varieties of recycle valve require different air pressures and air
volumes of recycle air. For large, medium boilers, special high pressure air fans are usually equipped to
provide air independently.
V. Limestone conveying air

Limestone powder is sent into the boiler for desulfuration during the combustion of CFBB. The task of
the limestone conveying air is to convey limestone powder into the furnace pneumatically. The limestone
powder has small particle size (<1.5mm), but large density. Therefore, the pneumatic conveying of the
25
limestone powder requires air at high pressure head. Limestone conveying air is equipped with special an
air fan, which generally is volumetric type high pressure air fan.
VI. Cold slag air
If air-cooled slag cooler is used for the boiler, cold slag air is required, i.e. the discharged slag of the
boiler is cooled by air, and the cooled slag is sent into the slag removal system, while the slag can be sent
back into the furnace as air of supporting combustion after the temperature is risen, and part of heat of the
boiler slag is recycled.
The cold slag air is provided by the cold air, which is exhausted from the primary air fan, not heated
via the preheater. If water-cooled slag cooler is used, the system has no cold slag air.
4.4 Limestone powder preparation and conveying system

Limestone is the desulfurizer of CFBB. The limestone used for boilers in this factory has CaCO3
content of 88.2%, MgCO3 content of 6.1%, hardgrove grindability index (HGI) of 46. Design coal 1 is used.
The limestone consumption of two units is 6.82t/h.
In order to guarantee the reaction activity of limestone, the limestone requires to be grinded to
limestone powder with qualified fineness, then the limestone powder is conveyed to the furnace for
desulfurization. So, the limestone system may be divided into two parts: one is the preparation system of
limestone powder, and the task is to crush limestone block into limestone powder with qualified fineness by
pulverizer, then the limestone powder is stored in the limestone buffer bucket; the other is the limestone
conveying system, and the task is to convey the limestone powder in the buffer bucket to the furnace.
Fig. 34 Flowchart of Limestone Powder Conveying System
Stage-2 positive pressure pneumatic conveying system is used for the limestone powder conveying
system of this factory. The capacity of stage-1 conveying system is designed as per 150% of the capacity of
the limestone grinding system, i.e. 52t/h; the capacity of stage-2 conveying system is designed as per
limestone consumption in case of design coal 2 used for the boiler combustion in BMCR conditions, i.e.
23t/h.2 finished limestone powder warehouses are set in the whole factory, one for each boiler, and
designed as the volume of 270m3. The system flowchart is shown in Fig. 34.
The positive pressure pneumatic conveying system is used for this factory, and is conveyed to the
boiler distributor as per two stages. The capacity of stage-1 conveying system is Q52t/h; the capacity of
stage-2 conveying pump system is 23t/h. The limestone powder conveying system is of continuous
operation mode, in which the capacity of stage-2 conveying pump can be adjusted with the operating
conditions of the boiler.
Stage-1 conveying system of the limestone powder is equipped with three limestone buffer buckets,
and each of which is equipped with a pneumatic conveying pump in the lower part. Finished limestone
powder enters into the pneumatic conveying pump from the limestone buffer bucket. Each pump outlet is
equipped with a pipe to convey finished limestone powder to corresponding finished limestone powder
warehouse.
Stage-2 conveying system of the limestone powder is equipped with two limestone powder
warehouses (one boiler for one warehouse), with the diameter of 8m, volume of 270m3, which can satisfy
the limestone consumption for 24h in case of design coal 2 used for the boiler combustion in BMCR
conditions. Each powder warehouse is provided with 2 material feeding pumps, and limestone powder is
conveyed to the boiler distributor from two pipes.
4.5 Slag cooling and slag removal system

The bottom slag in cases of design coal 1 used for the boiler of this factory is 3.03t/h, while 5.97t/h in
case of design coal 2. The temperature of the bottom slag of the boiler is about over 800, which is not
only difficult to be exhausted from the furnace, but causes great heat loss (heat loss due to cinder q6).
Therefore, the bottom slag is disposed by two working steps, i.e. slag cooling and slag conveying. The slag
cooling equipment cools high-temperature boiler slag to below 150, and the slag conveying equipment
26
conveys it to the slag warehouse. The system flowchart is shown in Fig. 35.
Fig. 35 Process Flow of Slag Conveying System
Each boiler is equipped with 4 water-cooled roller slag coolers, whose slag discharge temperature is
lower than 150. In slag discharge, the slag is conveyed to the slag warehouse with mechanical system,
whose capacity is 9t/h.
The outlets of 4 water-cooled roller slag coolers are connected with stage-1 chain-bucket conveyor
and then lifted via stage-2 chain-bucket conveyor to enter into the slag warehouse for storage. For the
purpose of safe operation of the system, each slag cooler opening is set with an emergency slag discharge
opening. Stage-1 chain-bucket conveyor: capacity: Q=9t/h, horizontal length: L=35m (appropriately),
lifting height: H=2.6m (appropriately); stage-2 chain-bucket conveyor: capacity: Q=9t/h, horizontal length:
L=44m (appropriately), lifting height: H=23m (appropriately). The slag removal system is of continuous
operation mode.
Each boiler is equipped with a slag warehouse, with the diameter of 6.5m, total volume of 200m3,
which can satisfy the slag discharge quantity for 24h in case of design coal 2 used for the boiler combustion.
Two-line connectors are set under the slag warehouse: one for truck bulk loader; the other for wet mixer.
The slag is wet by the wet mixer and then transported to ash yard directly by the dumper. The capacity of
the wet mixer is 100t/h. Or the slag is transported to outside after unloaded into tanker by the truck bulk
loader. The capacity of the truck bulk loader is 100t/h.
In order to guarantee the operation safety of each slag warehouse, high and low material level
indicators are set at the top and bottom of the slag warehouse.
In order to guarantee environmental hygiene, the top of each slag warehouse is set with a bag-type
dust collector, so as to pneumatically convey exhausted air produced in the slag warehouse. The exhausted
air can be exhausted to atmosphere after filtered via the bag-type dust collector and make the dust content
of exhausted air to outside 50mg / m3.
Also the top of each slag warehouse is set with a vacuum pressure relief valve, to balance internal and
external pressures of the slag warehouse in case of a large quantity of slag unloading or rapid temperature
change of the slag warehouse, to guarantee normal operation and structure safety of the slag warehouse.
The cone bucket wall of the slag warehouse is set with rapping mechanism, to prevent slag caking, and
to be convenient for slag flow. In order to prevent slag sticking and accumulating on the wall of the slag
warehouse, the slag warehouse is equipped with gasification plates, and gasification air is provided by
gasification air system.
4.6 Ash handling system (fly ash conveying system)

After heat is transmitted to each level of heating surface, flue gas, carrying much fly ash, leaves the
boiler. The fly ash emission per hour of the boiler in this factory is 11.25t/h (20.33t/h). The task of the ash
handling system is to convey fly ash captured by the dust collector to the ash warehouse. The system
flowchart is shown in Fig. 36.
Fig. 36 Process Flow of Fly Ash Conveying System

Dense phase pneumatic conveying system with positive pressure is adopted for fly ash, with the
capacity of 15t/h, which is controlled by procedures. The longitudinal conveying distance is about 150m.
The bag-type dust collector of each boiler is provided with 4 ash hoppers, under which are quipped
with 1 pneumatic conveying pump. Taking compressed air as power source, the fly ash is conveyed to the
ash warehouse through the ash pipe.
The fly ash conveying system of each boiler is provided with 1 ash handling pipe. Two pipes of two
27
boilers are accessible to the ash warehouse.

In order to ensure smooth ash discharge of the ash bucket of the bag-type dust collector, the dust
collector bucket is provided with 2 sets of gasified blower and electric heater. One for operation, one for
standby.
One steel ash warehouse is shared by two boilers. Each ash warehouse has the diameter of 10m,
volume of 600m3, which can satisfy the slag discharge quantity for 24h in case of design coal 2 used for the
boiler combustion. Ash unloading mode of the ash warehouse: after wet by the wet mixer, dry ash is
transported to the ash yard by the dumper; or transported to outside after unloaded into tanker by the truck
bulk loader.
Each ash warehouse is equipped with 1 wet mixer and 1 truck bulk loader, with rated capacity of
100t/h.
The bottom of each ash warehouse is provided with gasification plates. The gasified blower transmits
air into the electric heater for heating. Heated air is blown into the gasification plate to make ash at the
bottom of the ash warehouse be in the state of suspension, for the convenience of flow. Gasification air is
provided by the gasification system of the limestone powder warehouse.
In order to guarantee the operation safety of the ash warehouse, high and low material level indicators
are set at the top and bottom of the ash warehouse.
In order to guarantee environmental hygiene, the top of each ash warehouse is set with a bag-type dust
collector, so as to pneumatically convey exhausted air produced in the ash warehouse. The exhausted air
can be exhausted to atmosphere after filtered via the bag-type dust collector and make the dust content of
exhausted air to outside 50mg/m3.
In order to keep clean zero-meter floor after ash unloading, water washing and sewage pumps are set
at zero meter of the ash warehouse.
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Boiler Combustion

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Boiler Combustion

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Handout on Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler (CFBB)

II. Composition and working process of CFBB

(I) Boiler proper

Fig. 1 CFBB Combustion System

Fig. 2 CFBB Steam and Water System

Fig. 3 CFBB Auxiliary Systems

III. Characteristics of CFBB

(II). Existing problems

1) Serious abrasion and poor reliability of equipment

Chapter 2 Basic Theory of Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler (CFBB)

II. Characteristics of coal

2.2 Heat balance of boiler unit

Fig. 4 Schematic Diagram of Heat Balance of Boiler Unit

Q3: heat loss due to unburned gases;

I. Heat loss of boiler unit

II. Thermal efficiency of boiler

2.3 Common terms or concepts of CFBB

2. Critical fluidization air flow rate

5. Material circulation ratio

Fig. 6 Material Circulation of Fluidized Bed

2.4 Fluid dynamic characteristics in CFBB

Fig. 7 Flow State of Solid Particle Bed at Different Air Velocities

II. Features of each flow state

Fig. 8 Bubbling Bed State

a particle cluster and particle strip b movement direction of particle cluster

Fig. 9 Fast Bed State

III. Several abnormal fluidization states

IV. Concentration distribution rule of particles in CFBB

1 bubbling bed; 2 turbulent bed; 3 fast bed

Fig. 10 Concentration Distribution Curves of Particles in Furnace Height Direction

V. Distribution rule of air flow rate in CFBB

Fig. 11 Schematic Diagram of Movement Fig. 12 Schematic Diagram of Distribution of Air

2.5 Heat transfer and combustion of CFBB

Fig. 13 Schematic Diagram of Convective Heat Transfer of Solid Particles

II. Combustion process of CFBB

Fig. 14 Schematic Diagram of Coke

2. Separation of volatile matter

III. Combustion zones of CFBB

Fig. 15 CFBB Combustion Zones

Chapter 3 Proper Structure of Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler (CFBB)

II. Air distribution device

III. Gas-solid separator

IV. Recycle device

Fig. 25 Pressure Distribution in Boiler Fig. 26 Composition of Recycle Device

3.2 Steam and water system

Fig. 27 Schematic Diagram of Composition of Steam and Water

II. Evaporating equipment

III. Superheater and reheater

Chapter 4 CFBB auxiliary system

4.1 Fuel preparation system

a Screening-crushing system b Crushing-screening system

a Screening-crushing system b Crushing-screening system

II. Main equipment in fuel preparation system

4.2 Front-boiler coal feeding system

I. Front-wall coal feeding

Fig. 30 Front-Wall Coal Feeding

II. Recycle-valve coal feeding

Fig.31 Recycle-Valve Coal Feeding Fig.32 Combined Coal Feeding

III. Combined coal feeding

4.3 Air-flue gas system

Fig. 33 Air System of CFBB

III. Coal distribution air

V. Limestone conveying air