ENERGY CONSERVATION AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT MODULE-5 FUELS AND COMBUSTION

Oil
The various types of oils used as fuel are Furnace oil, LSHS, H.P.S., L.D.O, Kerosene, Diesel etc The properties of liquid fuels of importance are water content, density, specific gravity, Viscosity, Calorific value, Sulphur, Ash and carbon residue

Storage of Fuel oil

Fuel should be free from dirt, sludge and water

Proper filtering required for good combustion

Strainers at various points in the oil system
Location Strainer Sizes Mesh Holes/Linear inch 10 40 100 3 6 10

Between rail/tank lorry decanting point and main storage tank Between service tank and pre-heater Between burner pre-heater and

LOSS OF EVEN ONE DROP OF OIL EVERY SECOND CAN COST YOU OVER 4000 LITRES A YEAR

Heating of Oil for Pumping

Pre-heating oil in storage to make it pumpable

Heating entire oil tank or outflow heater to heat oil pumped away
Outflow heater with steam or electricity
Pumping Temperature, oC Viscosity (Centistokes) 50 7

230
900 1500

27
38 49

Properties of Gaseous Fuel

Common gaseous fuel are Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Liquefied Natural Gas, Producer Gas, Town gas and Blast furnace gas Typical Physical and Chemical Properties
Fuel Gas Relativ e Density Higher Heating Value kcal/m3 Reqd Air/Gas ratiom3 of air to m3 of Fuel Flame Temp. oC Flame Speed m/s

Natural Gas

0.6

9350

10

1954

0.290

Propane

1.52

22200

25

1967

0.460

Butane

1.96

28500

32

1973

0.870

Proximate Analysis
Fixed carbon

Volatile matter
Ash content

Moisture content
Sulphur content

Ultimate Analysis
Carbon Content Hydrogen Content Oxygen Content Sulphur content Nitrogen Content Mineral Matter

Moisture content

Heating of Oil for Combustion

Line heaters to raise oil temperature from pumping to combustion temperature Line heater either by electrical or steam tracing
Burning Temperature, oC Viscosity (Centistokes) 50 230 900 60 104 121

Checklist for Efficient Storage, Handling and Pumping of Fuel Oil

Daily Checks i. Oil temperature at the burner. ii. Oil/steam leakages Weekly Tasks

i. Cleaning of all filters.

ii. Draining of water from all tanks Yearly Jobs i. Cleaning of all tanks.

Trouble Shooting Hints

Oil not pumpable - Viscosity too high Blocked lines and filters Sludge in oil Leak in oil suction Vent pipe choked

Blocking of strainers Sludge or wax in oil

Heavy precipitated compounds in oil Rust of scale in tank Carbonisation of oil due to excessive heating

Storage of Coal
Good coal storage essential to minimize carpet loss and spontaneous combustion Store coal on hard ground to reduce carpet loss

Prepare standard storage bays of concrete or brick

Sizing of Coal
Size coal with reference to type of firing system Proper sizing helps even burning, reduce ash loss and achieve better combustion efficiency Screen coal before sizing to reduce fines and save crushing power
Type of Firing system
Stoker-Chain grate Natural Draft Forced Draft Spreader Stoker Pulverized fuel fired Fluidized bed boiler Size in mm

25-40 15-25 15-25 75% below 75 micron < 10 mm

Conditioning and Blending Coal

Coal conditioned with water to reduce fines segregation Water helps fines to stick to larger coal pieces Optimum water to added vary from 1-1.5% for every 10% of fines below 4 mm Blending of different coal qualities for uniform coal feed to boiler

Gaseous Fuel
Natural gas is a clean fuel with high calorific value fuel and requiring no storage facilities

LPG stored under pressure to withstand vapour pressure:Propane-17.5 kg/cm2 and Butane-7 kg/cm2
Escape of even small quantities of LPG Gas pose safety hazard

3 Ts of Combustion
TIME

All combustion requires sufficient Time which depends upon type of Reaction TEMPERATURE
Temperature must be more than ignition temperature

TURBULENCE
Proper turbulence helps in bringing the fuel and air in intimate contact and gives them enough time to complete reaction.

Oil Combustion
Stoichiometric or theoretical air is ideal amount of air required for burning 1 kg of fuel 1 kg of fuel oil requires ~14.1 kg of air for complete combustion
C + O2 CO 2 + 8084 Kcals/kg of Carbon 2C + O2 2 CO + 2430 Kcals/kg of Carbon 2H 2 + O2 2H2O + 28,922 Kcals/kg of Hydrogen S + O2 SO2 + 2,224 Kcals/kg of Sulphur

Optimising Excess Air

In practice Excess Air over Stoichiometric air is needed for complete combustion Less Air Incomplete combustion & Smoke More Air Heat loss through stack
CO2 or O2 values will indicate excess air level

Typical Excess Air Level for Oil Fuel is 25 30 %

CO2 % O2% 14.5 - 15 % 2-3%

Relation Between CO2 and Excess air

100 90 80

Excess air %

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 8.4 9 10 11 12 13 14

Carbon dioxide %

Relation Between Residual O2 and Excess air

250

200

Excess air (%)

150

100

50

0 1 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oxygen (%) Relation between residual oxygen and excess air 2 3 4 5 6

Coal Combustion
1 kg of coal requires 10 -12 kg of air for complete combustion Primary air is supplied below the grate and Secondary air over the grate Supply of PA and SA regulated with coal bed thickness Secondary air provided to create good turbulence Clinkers formed on combustion to be removed immediately

Combustion of Gaseous Fuels

Stoichiometric air for natural gas is 9.5 to 10.5 of gaseous fuel (by volume)
Gas Air for Complete Combustion Vol/Vol.Gas 4.5 Theoretical CO2 in dry flue gas % 13.0 Target CO2 in Dry Flue gas % 12.0 Target O2 In dry Flue gas % 2.0

Town Gas

Natural Gas

9.5

11.7

10.0

3.2

Commercial Butane Commercial Propane

30.0

14.0

12.5

2.2

24.0

13.7

12.2

2.3

Burners
Burners convert fuel oil into millions of small droplets process called atomization

High surface to volume ratio in oil to facilitate evaporation and combustion

3 basic types of burners are pressure jet, air or steam blast burners and Rotary Cup
TURNDOWN ratio is the relationship between the maximum and minimum fuel input without affecting the excess air level is called Turn-Down Ratio. For example, a burner whose maximum input is 250,000 Kcals and minimum rate is 50,000 Kcals, has a Turn-Down Ratio of 5 to 1.

Pressure Jet Burner

Simple, inexpensive and widely used Oil pumped at pressure through a nozzle Good efficiencies at lower loads Low Turndown ratio of 2:1 High oil pre-heat required for atomization Prone to clogging due to dirt in oil requires fine filtration

Air or Steam Blast Burner

High Turndown ratio of 4:1

Good control of combustion over wide range

Good combustion of heavier fuel Oil Additional Energy required as steam or compressed air for atomization

Operating Parameters for various burners

Type of Burner Pressures TurnDown Ratio 6:1 % Air for Atomizati on 3-10%
Oil Viscosity at Burner tip (RedwoodSecs.-I)

Capaccity Litres/ Hr. 2.25900

Medium Air Pressure

0.20 to 1 kg/cm2 (g) (Air)

90-180 Secs.

High Air Pressure

Air Pressure 1 kg/cm2 (g) Oil Pressure Higher

Small-5:1 Large-10:1

2-3 %

120-200 Secs.

22 to 2275

Pressure Jet

Oil Pressure 3-14 kg/cm2 (g)

Rotary Cup

Oil Pressure 0.02 to 2 kg/cm2 (g

Simplex 2:1 Wide Range 6.1 to 10.1 4:1

NIL

70-100 Secs.

Up to 13000

15-20 %

150-200 Secs.

3 to 1150

Gas Burner

Low pressure burners Operate over range of 25-100 mm Water Column Gas Supply Pressure High pressure burners operate over range of 120 1750 mm WC

Burner Controls
ON/OFF-Burner firing at either full rate or OFF

HIGH/LOW/OFF Burner operates at slow firing rate and full firing rate as per load MODULATING BURNER Firing rate matches the boiler load

Energy Efficiency Measures

Replace old, oversized burner and inefficient burners with modern, efficient and properly sized burner. Consider variable firing rates and/or dual fuel capabilities allowing you to choose low cost fuel at any time. Potential efficiency improvement-upto 5%

Combustion Trouble shooting

Starting difficulty Oil not flowing due to high viscosity/low temperature, choked burner tips, Flame splutters High oil pressure, Broken burner block Flame Splash back

Too high +ve pressure in combustion chamber

Smoke and Soot Insufficient draft, poor oil pre-heating, excess oil flow

Excess oil consumption

Poor oil-air mixing, excessive draft, incorrect oil-air pressure, poor oil pre-heating, poor maintenance