BUENAFLOR , NESDALE F.

ME29: 5ME-3i ACTIVITY NO. 3.1

POWER PLANT INDUSTRY

 PLANT BOILER
B oile r systems in the Th ermal Powe r plan ts use diffe re nt type s of  fan s to
suppl y air req uire d for comb ustio n, deli ver fu el to the bu rne rs, circula te
the ga se s for be tter hea t transfe r an d re move exhau st gase s. Ba sed on
the bo ile r si ze and  air flow  req uire men t, di fferen t typ es of fan s are used
wi th vari ed capabi litie s.

A . DR AFT FANS

Draft fa ns pl ay an impo rtan t role in the rmal pow er pl ants beca use the y
a re re spo nsi ble for main ta inin g th e flow o f ga ses th rou gh the bo iler
syste m. Two type s o f Draft  fa ns  are used in th e pow er pl ants, whi ch a re

Forced Draft fa ns and 2 . Indu ced Draft Fa ns.

Forced Dra ft Fans:  Fo rced Draft fan s u sed in a powe r plan t
a re centri fu gal fan s , utili zing  radi al ai rflow  bladi ng or va riabl e pitch  axia l
fan s. Fo rced D raft Fa ns (FD ) suppl y the ai r necessary for fu el
comb ustio n by pu shi ng ai r th ro ugh the combusti on ai r sup ply system and
in to fu rna ce.   These fans are loca te d at th e inle t o f bo iler to push high
p ressu re fre sh ai r in to comb ustio n cha mbe r, whe re i t mi xe s with the fuel
to produ ce po sitive pressure.

The key diffe ren ce be tw een a fo rce d draft and an in duced draft fa n is,
FD fan force s outsi de  ai r in to the hea tin g system whereas ID fan draw
flue gase s fro m the syste m ou t in to th e atmo sphe re . Both FD fa n and ID
fan op era te in su ch a mann er tha t i t bal ances the air syste m in the boile r
to ma ke the combusti on p rocess effi cie nt.

In Po wer plan ts, where coa l is u sed a s fuel for co mbu stion , FD fans are
u sed a s se cond ary  ai r fans  to regu late p rope r co mbu stion and maxi mize
e fficien cy o f the fuel . A typi cal FD fan a rra nge men t u ses inle t and outle t
da mpe rs to con trol and main ta in the requi red air p ressu re in side the
syste m. These  fan s ha ve a wh eel a t the centre th at is hu ng on the sha ft
alo ng wi th inlet bo xes, silen ce r, fil te r an d rai n hood .
A s co mpa red to ID fan s, FD fa ns a re more effi cien t, ea sie r to mai ntain
an d have cle ane r ope rating con dition s. Th e mo st co mmo n  centri fu gal
fan s u sed a s FD fa ns a re  ba ckw ard cu rve d  an d ai rfoil  cen trifuga l fa ns.

Indu ced Dra ft Fans:  In duced Draft Fan s (ID )  e xhau st  all gase ous
comb ustio n pro ducts or flu e gases from the boile r, th rou gh du st col lecto r
an d deli vers i t to the  chimn ey  into the op en a tmo sph ere . Hence th e ID
fan s are usu ally loca te d a t th e ou tle t of the boile r syste m (be tw een a
du st col lecto r and chi mne y). ID fan crea te s ne gative pre ssure or suctio n
to di sch arg e th e ga ses out afte r comb ustio n from th e furn ace .

Si nce ID fan s can han dle ho t flu e gases, the y have mo re corrosion an d
e rosi on p roble ms eve n mo re used wi th electrosta ti c preci pitators. The
most co mmon typ e of ID fa ns u sed in a boile r pow er pl ant are  radial
fan s an d ba ckw ard incl ined blade  cen trifuga l fa ns.

 OTH ER PROCESS FANS:

Oth er Proce ss fan s u sed in a boile r pow er pl ant are -1 . Primary Ai r fa ns

an d 2. Fl ue Gas Reci rcu lation Fan s

P rimary Ai r Fans:  Pri ma ry air fan s or PA fan s are high pre ssu re fan s,
u sed in the boile r pow er pl ants to suppl y the ai r for transporta ti on o f
coal di rectl y fro m the pu lve rizer to the fu rna ce. PA fa ns give posi ti ve
p ressu re up strea m o f the coal pu lve rizer and han dle rela ti vely clea n air.

In pow er pl ants PA fan s su pply air fo r con ve ying of the pulveri zed coal
fro m co al mi lls to the fu rna ce a rea . The se fans pro duce a pre ssure
up stre am the pulveri zer, to push the coal and ai r mi xture th ro ugh
pul ve rizer in to th e fu rn ace .

B ackward Curved Centri fu gal Fan  is the most common  cen trifuga l
fan  use d as a PA fan in a boile r pow er plant.

Flue gas reci rcula tio n fa ns:

Flue gas reci rcula tio n fa ns are u sed to redu ce the flue  gas
pol lution  con te nt in the ga ses exh auste d from th ermal comb ustio n
p rocesses. Flue gas recircula tio n fans are used in a powe r pla nt boile r
to co ntrol stea m te mp era tu re , furnace hea t ab so rption and saggin g o f
he ating surfa ce.

The se fan s extract ga s fro m the e cono mizer outlet and the pre -hea te r
inl et and then discha rge the gas either to the botto m o f the fu rna ce for
contro lling stea m te mpe ra tu re o r to diffe re nt location s in the furnace.

Most co mmon typ es o f ga s re -circula ti on fans use d in a boi ler powe r

pla nt are  backwa rd curved centri fu gal fan s .
A s the B ackward Curved blade d ce ntri fug al fans are highl y useful in
majority o f ce ntri fu gal fan s use d in boi ler powe r plan ts, let us ta ke a
b rief ide a of ‘Ba ckw ard Curved Blade Centri fu gal Fan s’.

B ackward Curved Blad e ce ntri fug al fans:

A  Ba ckwa rd curved cen trifugal fa n  is cha ra cteri zed by i ts cyli ndrical
shape , seve ral larg e cu rve d blad es and a co nical inle t nozzle . It rotates
in a clo ckwi se di re ction . As the fan rotates, a pre ssu re di fferen ce i s
crea te d on the i mpell er blade s. On th e lead ing , co nve x si de o f the
impell er bl ade , a po sitive pressure is crea te d as the ro ta tio nal motion o f
the i mpell er impa rts a force in th e air. The impe lle r blad e pushes th e air
ou tw ard s, exi ti ng in a radia l directio n.

On the concave side of the impe lle r blad e, a nega ti ve p ressu re is

crea te d as the fa n ro ta te s, dra wing air in to th e spa ce be tw een the
bla des. Thi s ai r is the n picked up by the fol lowin g blad e and fo rce d
ou tw ard s ra dically in a co ntinuo us p rocess. Th e su ction side of the
impell er bl ade d raw s air from the cen tre o f the fan , whi ch resu lts in a
di recti onal chan ge o f the ai rflow between the inle t an d th e exhau st of
90 o .

A  backwa rd curved centri fu gal fan  works best whe n med ium pre ssu re s
an d med ium volu me flow s are req uired. A  backwa rd curved fan  can be
u sed in a basi c mo unting desi gn for use in a plen um chamber or
in corporated in to a scroll housing to di re ct th e exh aust flow .

Non -o verload ing fea tu re , an abili ty to install th e fa n wi th o r withou t a

scroll and an impelle r de sign th at offe rs th e high est sta ti c e ffici ency o f
all type s of fa ns in dicate th at th e a  ba ckw ard cu rve d cen trifuga l fa n  is
versatile enoug h to be used acro ss a wide range of install ation s.

 SOOT BLOWER S
Utilities have been cleaning their boilers for many years using either steam or high-
pressure air. In the past, when air was used, due to the size of the boilers and the
reasonable quality of fuel used, a relatively small amount of cleaning was required.

In the past decades, larger power-generating stations were built and the quality of fuel
was deteriorating, requiring a greater amount of cleaning with shorter cleaning cycles.

With these changes, larger compressors, when air cleaning, became a necessity.
Reciprocating compressors were unable to compete on an economic basis in the larger
capacities due to their relatively small capacities, initial cost, high installation costs, and
space requirements for multiple compressor installations. Centrifugal compressors have
been used in utility soot blowing in a limited amount since the early 1950s, but the
reliability and efficiency of early high pressure designs left a great deal to be desired.

From the late 1960’s through the early 1980’s, compressor manufacturers took great
strides in the development of the high-pressure, multi-stage, centrifugal air
compressors, utilizing the advances in centrifugal technology and manufacturing
capabilities. They extended these advances in efficiency, reliability, and compactness to
the high-pressure units (300 to 500 psig). This makes them the most viable option for
economic large volume, high-pressure compressed air, such as required in a soot
blowing system.

Tube Erosion

When steam is used as a cleaning medium and a soot blower starts is blowing cycle,
there normally is a temperature differential between the soot blower and the steam.
When this happens, steam condenses and slugs of water are ejected from the soot
blower nozzle. After repeated cycles, the slugs may erode the tubes in the boilers
requiring plugging of the tubes and eventually replacement. Tube erosion can often be a
more significant problem in a steam system than in a compressed air system.

Soot blowing Cycles and Considerations

A cleaning cycle is a period of time in which required blowers are cycled in a pre-
arranged sequence to clean given areas of a boiler over a period of time. Many
variables are intermeshed in determining a cycle
Stacking Considerations” – Operating Parallel Blowers When Possible.

It is poor practice to blow in the pendant reheat surface at the same time the wall
blowers are in use. The control system can be arranged so this will never occur.
Blowing an air heater at any time usually has no disturbing effect on the boiler, nor does
blowing any horizontal boiler surfaces, which usually includes primary reheater,
superheater, and economizer surface. The concept of “stacking” which helps to level
load the compressed air system may create some problems for the boiler, with
significant temperature excursions. Larger boilers would experience much lower
magnitude of upsets. Pressure requirements vary greatly from lance to lance. Normal
ranges are from 135 to 260 psig at the nozzle of the blower. Pressure is related to the
cleaning energy (PIP) required for a given area and cooling requirements.
Cooling long retractable lances in higher temperature areas of the boiler use a
substantially greater quantity of air for cooling than for cleaning and at a higher
pressure. A high pressure for the long retractable lances is often required to
accommodate the pressure drop associated with the high flow rates and long lengths of
the blowers. Typical cooling requirements for long retractable lances

Wall Blowers or IR Blowers

Wall blowers are used to clean the furnace walls and will probably use approximately
2,200 to 2,300 scfm. Wall blowers normally operate in one or more pairs depending on
the overall cycle. Their basic job is to reduce slag that has accumulated on the pipes in
the upper levels of the boiler, and superheated region. When the slag builds up on the
pipes the rate of heat transfer decreases, this will lower the temperature of the steam
going to the superheated portion of the system, therefore decreasing overall efficiency
of the system.
A normal cycle for a wall blower starts when it energizes and moves out into the furnace
to its outermost position where the control valve opens and air starts flowing. It takes
three seconds to go from zero to full flow. The wall blower rotates one or more times
depending on the amount of cleaning required and then the control valve closes in three
seconds and the blower retracts into the wall.

The time for a wall blower cycle is approximately three to six minutes and the period of
zero flow between wall blower flow to no-flow to flow can be as high as 1 _ minutes in a
normal sequence. This may be reduced if cycle time needs to be reduced by
overlapping.

Long Retractable Lances or IR Blowers

Long retractable blowers are used to clean pendant-type radiant surfaces and
convection surfaces in high temperature zones as well as convection passes to reduce
slag buildup on the walls of the boiler and for temperature control. These areas are
normally in the super-heater, reheater, and the economizer section.
The long retractable lance cycle starts when the lance energizes and extends into the
boiler and air starts flowing with the three-second delay from the control valve. The
lance travels outward and rotates at the same time. The linear speed varies from 65 to
150 inches per minute, depending on the cleaning and temperature zone requirements.

Long Retractable Lance Cleaning Pattern

Long retractable lances vary in length with the boiler size and are one-half the width of
the boiler. Cooling is very critical with these lances since they may operate in
temperature zones up to 2,000_F and are cantilevered out from the side of the boiler
walls.