Mill Optimization

www.AsianSBCUsers.
com I 2011 Conference

Presented By:

Richard Storm
Innovative Combustion Technologies, Inc.

Optimizing boiler and coal mill
performance
2367 Lakeside Drive, Suite A-1
Birmingham, Alabama 35244
(205) 453-0236
www.AsianSBCUsers.com I 2011 Conference

OXYGEN AND AIR:
Stratified oxygen at the furnace or boiler
exit
Air heater leakage greater than 10%
Combustion air distribution to the
burners exceeds 10%
Air in-leakage through the ash hoppers
Air in-leakage through the nose arch,
penthouse or convection pass areas
FOULING AND SLAGGING
Furnace exit S.H. inlet slagging
Fouling of the convention pass and/or the air
heater baskets
Burner eyebrows and waterwall slagging

HIGH GAS TEMPERATURES
Flue gas temperature at the furnace exit
is greater than 2,150F (1177C) peak
Stratified flue gas temperatures
Economizer gas outlet temperature
greater than 750F (399 C Respectively)
Overhead tube metals in the superheater
and the reheater

FANS AND DAMPERS:
I.D. fan capacity inadequate
I.D. and F.D. fan clearances are not
optimum
Damper, register, and fan control
louvers are not timed from 0-100% on
the operating drive or hand control

BOILER DRUM
LEVEL
Uneven furnace
heat release can
contribute to non-
uniform steam
generation in the
waterwall circuits,
resulting in varied
steam by weight in
the furnace circuitry,
and sometimes tube
failures or steam
purity problems
STEAM AND STEAM
TEMPERATURE CONTROLS
High de-superheating spray
flows
Higher or lower steam
temperatures than design

PULVERIZER AND BURNER LINES FUEL DISTRIBUTION:
Fuel Imbalances
Primary airflow for the Air/Fuel ratio is not correct
Poor fineness (Less than 75% passing 75 micron & >0.3% not passing 300 micron
Fuel temperatures less than 135F (57C)
Pulverizer rejects high
Mechanical tolerances are out of specification and the burners are not within 1/4

FLYASH
Flyash unburned carbon
(LOI) greater than 5% for
bituminous coals and
greater than 0.5% for
subbituminous coals
Electrostatic precipitator
performance reduced due
to ash conductivity or
high carbon content
Symptoms of a Boiler Needing Combustion Optimization
The Definition of Optimum Combustion is at least these factors:
Blue Highlighted parameters are environmentally driven factors

Highlighted in Green are heat rate factors of optimum combustion
Completed combustion within the furnace (no Secondary combustion at the Superheater)
Acceptable NO
X
Acceptable CO
Fly ash unburned carbon satisfactorily
Full load capability and meet all environmental and fuel quality requirements
De-superheating spray water flows minimal
Design Steam temperature attained
No reducing atmosphere in the lower furnace causing waterwall wastage
Primary airflow is optimized
No furnace slagging
No convection pass fouling
Minimal Pop corn ash
Burn lowest quality (least expensive) fuel with no adverse consequence
Flames stable and satisfy flame scanners
Satisfactorily low LOI so that ESP performs satisfactorily for minimum opacity
Common boiler tests to optimize combustion and boiler reliability

13 Prerequisites For Optimum Combustion
(Ensures Proper and Optimum inputs)
Furnace exit must be
oxidizing preferably, 3%.
Fuel lines balanced by
Dirty Air test to 5% or
better.
Fuel lines balanced in
fuel flow to 10% or
better

Fuel line fineness >75%
passing a 75 Micron
screen. 300 Micron
particles <0.3%.
Primary airflow shall be
accurately measured &
controlled to 3%
accuracy.
Over fire air shall be
accurately measured &
controlled to 3%
accuracy.
Primary air/fuel ratio shall
be accurately controlled
when above minimum.
Fuel line minimum
velocities shall be 3,300
fpm.
Mechanical tolerances
of burners and dampers
shall be 1/4 or better.
Secondary air distribution to
burners should be within 5%
to 10%.
Fuel feed to the pulverizer should
be smooth during load changes
and measured and controlled as
accurately as possible. Load cell
equipped gravimetric feeders are
preferred.
Fuel feed quality and size should
be consistent. Consistent raw
coal sizing of feed to pulverizer is
a good start.
High furnace exit gas temperatures
contribute to overheated metals,
slagging, excessive sootblower
operation, production of popcorn
ash, fouling of SCRs and APHs
Coal pulverizer spillage
from pulverizer throats
that are too large
Non optimum primary airflow
measurement and control ;
Excessive NO
X
levels
Flyash Carbon losses
High primary airflows contribute to
unnecessarily high dry gas losses
and also poor fuel distribution and
poor coal fineness.
Bottom ash
carbon content
High furnace exit gas
temperatures contribute to high
de-superheating spray water
flows that are significant steam
turbine cycle heat-rate
penalties.
Overall Plant Performance Opportunities
(>50% are Related to the Pulverizers)

Consequences of Non-Optimum Burner Belt
Performance:

The inputs must be Optimal
No control of air and fuel after it enters the boiler
High spray water flows to S.H. and R.H.
Tube metal over heating and reliability
problems
Slagging and Fouling
Higher NOx
Popcorn Ash
SCR Fouling
APH Fouling
Elevated economizer outlet gas
temperature

Burner Belt Performance is never Optimal
with less than perfect Pulverizer Performance
1. Evaluate Coal Factors that influence mill capacity (Raw Coal
Size, HGI, Moisture, HHV, Fineness, Hp/Ton)
2. Fuel Loading & Feed Rate Control
3. Clean Air Balance within + 2%
4. Dirty air flow Balance within + 5%
5. Measured Primary air Hot K Factor calibrations +2-3%
(measured vs. actual)
6. Mill temperature Control, Damper Control and Responsiveness
to Load Control
7. Air-Fuel Ratio /fuel ratios are required for Optimum Flame
Lengths and Carbon Burnout
8. Total air flow Measurement / Control Optimized ; Balance of
Mass Air & Fuel Flow
9. Fuel line fineness and distribution testing by air/fuel ratio
sampling & ensuring optimum fineness levels of >75% thru 200
mesh (75 micron) & 99.7% thru 50 Mesh (300 Micron)
10. Fuel line balancing through classifier changes or fuel line
distribution modifications to achieve +10%
11. Blueprinting of tolerances, mechanical settings and control
settings

Optimizing Mill and Burner Performance
8
Poor Pulverizer Performance Increases FEGT by Delaying Combustion
Increased Slagging and Lower Performance
Poor fuel fineness and
distribution aggravates high
center of combustion
Good /uniform mixing in the
burner zone. Burner
mechanical tolerances,
fineness, fuel/air balance
and PA flow proper and
precise
Molten slag on
the furnace wall
Reducing areas w/fuel
stratifications and excessive
CO levels
Sticky plastic slag deposits on
pendants. Slag temperature at or
above ash softening temperature
Excessive de-superheating
water sprays, for both S.H.
and R.H.
Air inlet & outlet flue
gases higher than
design
Tube spacing permits slag
bridging between the tube
assemblies, when the ash is
soft, sticky and/or molten
9
Importance of Fineness

Higher fineness levels always promote more even distribution of fuel between a mills
separate burner lines.

Better distribution promotes better combustion, inherently lower NOx emissions and lower fly
ash L.O.I. or carbon content.

Better than 10% fuel balance is not achieved until better than 70% passing 200 Mesh (75
micron) is achieved.
Major Factors Related to NO
X
Production
Fixed Factors:
Boiler Design
Fuel Factors
Burner Configuration/Design

Variable Factors:
Pulverizer Performance
Fuel Line Balancing
Combustion Air Balancing and Proportioning
Air In-Leakage
Thermal NO
X

Accounts for approximately 20 - 30% of NO
X
produced
Formed from the nitrogen in the combustion air (>2800F)

Fuel NO
X

Accounts for approximately 70%-80% of NO
X
produced
Formed from the nitrogen in the fuel

Sources of NO
X
Low NO
X
Pulverized Fuel Firing
Higher coal fineness will promote less slagging

When combustion is completed lower in the furnace cavity, the water walls
have increased time to absorb heat released from the fuel

Increased heat release in the lower furnace results in a higher proportion of
heat absorbed by the waterwalls

Higher heat absorption by the waterwalls relates to a reduction in furnace
exit gas temperature

Reduction in furnace exit gas temperature resulting from completion of
combustion in the lower furnace with higher fineness results in lower
slagging propensities and lower NOx.

Understanding the Effects of Coal Fineness
on NO
X
and/or Slagging

Burner Stoichiometry differs when fuel is not balanced and NO
X
is higher
1.17
0.87
0.76
0.72
1.10
0.90
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
Stoichiometry
Fuel
Lean
Fuel
Rich
Fuel
Lean
Fuel
Rich
Very High NO
X

Lack of Excess Air to
these burners will yield
secondary combustion
Very High NO
X

14
Effect of Mill Air Flow on NO
x
, 500 Mw Wall Fired Boiler
Decreasing Mill Air Flow (Primary Air Flow)
NO
X
reduced by:

Optimized mill air flow

Air flow was high due to
oversized vane wheels coal
spillage with proper air flow.

Improvement in coal fineness.
15
1. Better Fuel Bound Nitrogen Release (Majority of NOx is fuel derived).
2. Better Fuel Distribution.
3. Permits lower Furnace Excess O
2
without complications.

Mill Fineness Improves NOx in at least (3) ways

Release of Fuel Bound Nitrogen in the
De-Volatilization Zone
Fuel
Nozzle
Good Fineness
Poor Fineness
N
N N
N
N
N
N
N N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
Secondary air flow
measured to ensure
uniform and proper total
air to fuel ratio between
burner elevations
Pulverizer air flow
measured within 3%;
Critical for best NO
X
,
slagging and exit gas
temperature
Proper and Optimum Boiler Air Flow Management is Essential to Achieving Lowest NO
X

without upper or lower furnace slagging, 725 Mw boiler firing subbituminous coal

Precise measurement & management of all airflow inputs
to the boiler is ideal
Proper O2 in the right places is needed because combustion must
be completed and carbon to CO2 in ~1 to 1.5 seconds at full load
The Importance of Fuel Preparation
& Furnace Residence Time
Ignition
Major De-volatilization
0.000 0.200 0.400 0.600 0.800 1.00
Heating & Minor De-volatilization
Carbon
Burnout
Common Mistake:
Low or No CO at Economizer = Optimized Air and Efficiency

Can be false if there are large furnace imbalances or boiler setting air ingress; CO
can continue to burn into the convection pass.

1.0% O
2

8,000 PPM CO
1.9% O
2

500-1200 PPM CO
3% O
2

150 PPM CO
0.5% O
2

> 30,000 PPM CO
Difference Between Complete and
Incomplete Combustion
C
O
O
O C
Products of Complete Combustion

Products of Incomplete Combustion

(CO
2
)
(CO)
+
+
14,540 Btu
4,350 Btu
Incomplete combustion at the furnace exit results in a hazy furnace, stack opacity,
and measurably high CO. It also contributes to boiler exit flue gas temperatures
being too high, and therefore, can contribute to super-heater tube overheating,
super-heater, and boiler generating bank tube plugging.
Due to Non Optimal Lower Furnace Heat Absorption
Resulting in Upper Furnace Short or Long Term Failures`
The Inter-Relationship of Combustion and Tube Reliability
Inspect tubes for corrosion
or wear, check for any
problems with alignment
bars and tube shields.
* Thoroughly inspect and repair all
ductwork and expansion joints
Optimize air heater seals,
basket cleanliness, check
and repair sector plates
and all moving parts
* Verify damper strokes (all
dampers to be verified from
inside ducts)
PA, FD, ID Fan
clearances and
damper/inlet vane
checks
Rebuild pulverizer
grinding elements
Refurbish burners to
design dimensions,
Dampers and/or tilts
synchronized

Air-in leakage
inspections and
repairs
Typical Outage Opportunities

Slagging will occur if furnace exit gas temperatures (F.E.G.T.) exceeds the fusion
temperature of ash from the coal being fired.

F.E.G.T. should be 100F to 150F below the ash softening temperature.

Higher fineness, proper primary (pulverizer) airflow and good fuel balance reduce
FEGT by allowing combustion to complete lower in the furnace. combustion in
completed lower in the furnace, the waterwalls absorb a higher amount of total
heat release by the fuel and FEGT is reduced.

Reducing ash fusion temperatures are always lower than those in an oxidizing
atmosphere. Ash melts into a slag due to lower melting points caused by a
reducing atmosphere allowing slag to be formed at lower temperatures.
Root Cause of Upper Furnace Slagging
FEGT Exceeds Ash Fusion Temperature
Typical FEGT
Measurement
Location

Controlling Furnace
Exit Conditions, one if
not the most important
factor to controlling
slagging, optimum
steam temperatures &
combustion efficiency.
FEGT is controlled by the amount
of heat absorbed by the water
walls, FEGT is lowered when:

1. Wall blowers are blown

2. Burner tilts down on tangentially
fired units

1. Combustion is completed faster
Better fineness
Good fuel & air Balance

2. Better mixing in the lower furnace,
more uniform:
O
2
Temperature
Slag deposition

Burner Tilts in upward orientation on tangentially fired units
reduces furnace residence time
Changing FEGT with Burner Tilts
2250F 2000F 1850F
Burner Tilts (+) UP Burner Tilts (0) Horizontal Burner Tilts (-) Down
Low W.W. Heat Absorption
Low Retention Time
Higest FEGT
Moderate Retention Time
Lower FEGT
Moderate W.W. Heat Absorption
Higest Retention Time
Highest W.W. Heat Absorption
Lowest FEGT
Delayed combustion = reduces waterwall
absorption = high FEGT (same effect as
smaller furnace)
Air Heater
To Precip/
Bag House
Air Inlet
Relationship between FEGT and
Furnace Heat Release Rate
Ash Fusion Temperatures
ID ST FT HT
The Furnace Exit should be Oxidizing because:

1. Reducing Ash Fusion Temperatures are always lower
2. Low or No O
2
increases Furnace Exit Gas Temperature

Low O
2
at the Furnace Exit also causes slagging
Ash chemistry changes and
ash fusion (melts) at lower
temperature

FEGT is higher because there is
insufficient excess oxygen to
complete combustion in the
lower furnace
Poor coarse coal fineness (>300 Micron particles) can impact on the lower
furnace slope causing heavy slagging in the lower furnace
SLAGGING
ZONE
F
O
U
L
I
N
G

Z
O
N
E

Tube spacing becomes
more restrictive as the
heat transfer process
changes from Radiant in
the furnace to
Convective heat transfer
in the back pass
Slagging / Fouling
20 Tips to help Prevent Slagging
Good control of the furnace exit conditions to minimize
or stop slagging. (Proper & uniform O
2
and
Temperature) Uniform furnace exit conditions across
the furnace (F/O
2
) = uniform slag deposition. (Uniform
slag is more easily managed. Active monitoring of the
FEGT is KEY. Operators need to be aware of FEGT to
optimize their cleaning strategies and make
adjustments. Trust but verify optical, acoustic and
calculated FEGT. High Velocity Thermocouple Testing
is the Gold standard of FEGT measurement HVT
measures bulk and discrete point temperatures.
Dont overuse OFA NOx can be too good
the benefits of over-staging will be short lived
Practice preventative not reactive soot
blowing by cleaning water walls, reducing FEGT
and Slagging conditions. Keeping the walls
clean and lowering furnace temperatures can
also reduce NOx, sometimes as much as 15%.
Optimize lower furnace fuel & air interactions to
maximize water wall heat absorption.
Know your coal before it enters the furnace
(Operator awareness) Control the coal quality
issues that you have control of, Plant coal
quality control starts in the coal yard. Raw coal
sizing, moisture (coal pile management), coal
drying (mill outlet temperature) and fineness.
Pulverizer performance is critical to preventing
lower furnace slag/clinkers. Avoid the splat
factor.
Use good walk downs and/or permanent cameras to
identify slag before it becomes a problem in the SH, the
plant can then shift from a normal to aggressive
sootblowing/cleaning mode of operation to manage or
remove the clinker online. Take Action rather than
waiting for a forced outage.
The Inter-Relationship of Combustion,
Slag and Tube Reliability
Non-Optimal furnace cleaning can significantly elevate the furnace exit gas temperature and
force heat to the convection pass
Superheater
Division Panels
(8 ctrs.)
Platen
Superheater
(19 ctrs.)
Front Pendant
Superheater Final
(4 ctrs.)
Front Pendant
Reheater
(9 ctrs.)
Rear Pendant
Reheater Final
(4 ctrs.)
Rear Pendant
Superheater
Economizer
Corner Firing
System
Furnace
Windbox
Preferred HVT
Traverse Plane
Preferred HVT
Traverse Plane
Platen
Superheater
(19 ctrs.)
Superheater
Division Panels
(8 ctrs.)
Front
Pendant
Reheater
(9 ctrs.)
Rear Pendant
Reheater Final
(4 ctrs.)
Front Pendant
Superheater
Final (4 ctrs.)
Rear Pendant
Superheater
Economizer
The strainer effect of the boiler tube spacing gets
smaller and more restrictive between the furnace and
boiler exit
SH/RH Heating surface areas optimized
Good steam temperatures with FEGT at or
less than ash softening temperature.
Practice prevention of slag rather than managing
slag incidents. Listen to your boiler when it tells
you it is sick; fevers high exit gas temperatures
or FEGT, hot tubes, vomiting high spray flows,
ash spills, dark bottom ash or fly ash, Shortness
of breath ID and FD fan limitations, high DPs
and low wind box pressures.
Soot blowing technologies have also
advanced a long way from a pipe with two
holes Ensure soot blower PMs are being
completed to maximize soot blowing
effectiveness.
Boiler setting air ingress minimized; furnace
O
2
is not low with normal economizer exit O
2.

Amount of heat absorbed by the water walls
regulates Furnace Exit Gas Temperature.
LOOK at the water walls; know what youre
looking for. (Slagging Conditions)
Remember the boiler is a heat engine, get
the inputs right. Fuel and air need to be in
the right places in the right amounts.
Air heater is clean & well maintained; a high
DP or Leakage doesnt lower furnace O
2
due to fan capacity.
Help pendant/platens clean themselves by
removing slag anchor points such as
certain types of wrapper tubes, alignment
lugs and rigid alignment/tie bars to allow
some swinging of the pendants.
20 Tips to help Prevent Slagging
Typical Slagging conditions on a Tangentially fired boiler
41
Tube spacing permits
slag bridging between the tube
assemblies, when the ash
Is soft, sticky and/or molten
Excessive desuperheating water
sprays, for both S.H. and R.H.
Sticky, plastic slag deposits on
pendants. Slag temperature at or
above ash softening temperature
Reducing areas w/ fuel
stratifications and
excessive CO levels
Molten slag on the
furnace water wall
Burner tilts upward or
horizontal reduce the
furnace mixing and
elevate the furnace
exit gas temperature
Poor fuel fineness and
distribution aggravates high
center of combustion
Air Heater inlet & outlet flue
gases higher than design
From
FD Fan
To
Stack
Poor Pulverizer Performance Increases FEGT due to Delayed
Combustion, Increasing Slagging and Lowering Performance
Optimized Tangentially fired boiler
No Air In-Leakage
Balanced Airflows,
Balanced Fuelflow,
Fuel Fineness >75%
Passing 200 Mesh and
<0.1% on 50 Mesh
Max. Temperature of 2,150F
and 3% Excess Oxygen At
Full Load Conditions
Air Heater Leakage (8% or Less)
From FD
Fan
To Stack
300F Max. Temperature
Leaving the Air Heater
Flyash Carbon in Ash
<3% for Eastern Fuel
<1% for Western Fuel
Gas Temperature Leaving
Economizer Max. of 775F
Preferred Temperature 750F
0.5% or Less Oxygen Rise
From Furnace to the
Economizer Outlet
Tight Penthouse
(No Air In-Leakage)
Typical Temperature of a Pulverizer
Between
500F &
700F
140F - 160F
130F 140F
Most pulverizer fires and/or puffs
are caused by coal spilling into
the high temperature area where
primary air enters the mill.
43
Typical temperature inside the mill with Coal
Moisture of 30%
100,000 LBS/HR Coal
X 3% Moisture
= 3,000 Moisture
Typical temperature inside the mill with Coal
Moisture of 3%

Mill Optimization

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