AUSTENIT VOL. 14 NO.

1, APRIL 2022 ISSN : 2085-1286 E-ISSN : 2622-7649

THE ENHANCEMENT OF TEMPERATURE IN BOILER

BY STEAM INJECTION

ARTICLE ABSTRACT
INFORMATION
Revised The boiler is equipment widely used in various industrial sectors such as power
dd/mm/yy plants, fertilizer plants, paper mills, and others. The combustion chamber is an
important part of the boiler which can determine the quality of the steam
Accepted product. The main problem has happened in combustion chambers such as
dd/mm/yy
unburned hydrocarbon/carbon loss which is called fouling. Fouling has
Online Publication occurred in many boilers, which use coal or oil as fuel for the production of
dd/mm/yy steam and decreases boiler performance. The purpose of this research is to
increase heat transfer by adding steam injection to reduce fouling to compare
with and without steam injection. Two indicators that could increase heat
©2022 The Authors. Published by
transfer, were the enhancement temperature and decrease of fouling (%). The
AUSTENIT (Indexed in SINTA)
variables in this research were air ow of 15 L/min, 17,5 L/min, and 20 L/min
doi: and steam injection pressure of 2 bars, 3 bars, and 4 bars. The maximum
temperature enhancement was 37,5% in 15 L/min of air ow at a steam
http://doi.org/10.5281/ injection pressure of 2 bars and 3 bars. The maximum fouling abatement was
78,57% in 15 L/min at a steam injection pressure of 4 bars.

Keywords : Boiler, Fouling, Combustion Chamber

1 INTRODUCTION substance composition, heat transfer surface

geometry, and specific fouling fluid properties
The utilization of energy is categorized into (Awad et al. 2007).
two main aspects: the utilization of renewable When ash accumulates on furnace walls,
energy and the utilization of existing energy especially in the radiating area, it becomes very
through the enhancement of equipment efficiency viscous and creates a liquid coating, this is
(energy conservation) (Azharudin et al, 2013). As a referred to as "slagging." When the deposit, on the
vital utility and primary energy provider, the boiler's other hand, is made of condensed elements and
efficiency undoubtedly requires improvement. takes the form of a dry accumulation, as is
The boiler serves as a crucial heat transfer common in the convective area, it is referred to as
apparatus in various industrial sectors, functioning "fouling." (Hare et al , 2010)
both as a primary device and a utility. The A similar set of events characterizes
combustion chamber, a key component within the fouling processes. In most circumstances, the
boiler, significantly influences the quality of the sequence of events can have an influence on heat
produced steam and indicates the boiler's exchanger equipment performance
performance. As a result, enhancing boiler (Mostafa,2011:509). The five major phenomena
performance is critical, with possible improvements are characterized as fouling. Initiation, particle
estimated to be in the region of 1 - 2% within the transport to the heat transfer surface, attachment
combustion area. The fundamental difficulty in the of fouling particles to the surface involve both
furnace is fouling, which lowers the transfer of heat physical and chemical processes, removal or re-
from fuel combustion, resulting in a decrease in entrainment of deposits from the surface, and
boiler efficiency. Fouling occurs throughout the transport from the deposit-fluid interface to the bulk
convection zone sections, with the greatest of the fluid once the deposits are sloughed.
difference in pressure reported over the producing The fouling factor, Rf (fouling resistance),
bank (Eaton et al, 2007). which is tested by a test section or estimated from
The fouling properties of a fluid when it the decreased capacity of an operational heat
interacts with a surface used for heat transfer are exchanger equipment, indicates the entire process
determined by several key parameters, including of fouling.
the fluid's flow velocity, temperature at the surface, Technologies aimed at mitigating fouling
fluid bulk temperature, heat transfer surface include soot blowing, internal cameras, and TIFI

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AUSTENIT VOL. 14 NO.1, APRIL 2022 ISSN : 2085-1286 E-ISSN : 2622-7649

(Targeted in Furnace Injection Technology), The materials utilized in this study

among others (Ibrahim.2012). Steam injection has comprise water, as specified in Table 1, and
the additional bene t of enhancing thermal Industrial Diesel Oil (IDO) as the designated fuel
efficiency, leading to reduced fuel consumption for for the combustion chamber. The chosen fuel for
maintaining the same power output. This this research is Industrial Diesel Oil (IDO), which is
improvement in performance offers both a blend of diesel and heavy fuel oil. Primarily
environmental and efficiency advantages employed for heating, power generation, and in
(Kayadelen et al. 2014) small-scale industrial and hospitality applications,
There are several techniques and IDO fuel will undergo combustion to generate a
technologies available to prevent deposition issues heat source for steam production. The furnace's
in boilers. In addition to steam injection, heat is obtained from the combustion process, as
technologies utilize water jets in the boiler. It is well as the sensible heat of the preheated
suitable for gaseous fuel. A heat recuperation combustible air. When oil fuels are burnt, they
boiler with water spray (HR-B/WS) is a boiler with generate flames of different brightness, depending
a water spraying system. Water is sprayed into the on the burner design, quantity of atomization, and
input airstream or the chemical reaction zone the proportion of surplus air used (Kern, 1965:
within the furnace to aid in the heat recovery 689).
process (Lee et al., 2020). Oil fuels are generally constituted of a
An analogous technology closely related to blend of highly heavy hydrocarbons with larger
soot blowing involves steam injection while the quantities of hydrogen than coal fuels.
boiler is operational, as demonstrated by Djoni Simultaneously, because oil contains less carbon
Bustan (2007). Steam injection not only reduces than coal, it requires less combustion air to
fouling but also enhances the heat transfer complete combustion. As a consequence, burning
received by the water within the tubes. An rise in oil emits less CO2 than burning coal but more CO2
the surface temperature and enthalpy of the steam than burning natural gas. Furthermore, the majority
product indicates enhanced heat transfer. of the pollutants produced by coal combustion are
Furthermore, the type of fuel used significantly likewise produced by oil combustion.
impacts the quality of the steam product, making it Steam generators have been powered by
an additional aspect to consider beyond heat both the product of distillation fuel oils and residual
transfer. oils. In comparison to gas burning, the boiler
Extensive research has been made architecture stays basically constant for distillate oil
especially on fouling abatement and increasing the firing. When employing oil burning, however, a
boiler performance. The unwanted deposit slightly greater fouling factor is used, ranging from
including slagging, fouling, and coke decreases the 0.003 to 0.005 ft2 /Btu, as opposed to 0.001 for gas
boiler's performance. Trying to modify condition firing (Ganapathy, 2003). Rotary soot blowers
operation majority pressure steam injection to installed at each end of the convection area are
increase reduce fouling in boiler and as well as regarded appropriate for removing surface areas
improve boiler performance. during distillate oil combustion. Heavy fuel oils, on
The importance of this research is to the other hand, need the employment of
increase temperature, fouling abatement, and removable soot blowers. Rotary blowers are also
increase the boiler performance using steam used in oil-fired applications by economizers. Rigid
injection. Main and well- described problems on fin tubes with a fin average density of three or four
fouling abatement using steam injection. The per inch may be appropriate if distillate fuels are
ultimate aim of this study is to find the optimum used. When burning heavy oil, however, it is
condition operation steam injection to reduce advisable to utilize bare tubes or, at most, 2-3 fins
fouling and increase the temperature in the boiler. per inch. NOx emissions are expected to be
In this work, the steam injection will be studied greater due to fuel-bound nitrogen, which can
combined with increasing temperature as well as account for over 50% of total NOx emissions. It is
boiler performance and fouling abatement. observed that in oil fire, flue gas recirculation has a
less influence on NOx than in gas firing.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS The boiler's performance while fired with
distillate oil is outstanding. Based on the Lower
This research aims to enhance heat Heating Value (LHV), the efficiency is
transfer from the combustion chamber to the tubes approximately identical to that of gas fire.
by varying steam injection pressure and the air ow However, there is a difference in efficiency when
rate ratio. The research process involves running the Higher Heating Value (HHV) is included. The
the boiler according to the study's matrix, collecting exhaust gas data analysis with 15% extra air
data, and evaluating the increase in heat transfer. reveals different features. In particular, the exhaust
Materials and Equipment: gases include less water vapor and greater carbon
dioxide than flue gases produced by natural gas

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AUSTENIT VOL. 14 NO.1, APRIL 2022 ISSN : 2085-1286 E-ISSN : 2622-7649

burning. Additionally, LPG gas with a 3 kg boilers, the accumulation of fireside deposits on
capacity serves as the fuel for the external steam tube surfaces can significantly impair heat-transfer
drum. efficiency, leading to elevated flue-gas
temperatures and increased plugging of
Table 1. Feedwater Boiler Specifications downstream flue-gas passages. To sustain high
Parameter Water Tube Boiler thermal efficiency and uninterrupted boiler
Max. operation, these deposits necessitate removal.
Working
pressure
10 – 20 20 – 30 During boiler operation, soot blowers employ high-
[bar] pressure steam jets to effectively blast and remove
De-
De-
these deposits.
mine The strength in terms of mechanical force
General miner
Soft raliz Soft
treatment
water ed water
alize of the deposit has a considerable impact on the
method d effectiveness of deposit eliminating by soot
wate
water
r blowers. The strength of these deposits varies
pH at 25oC 7 7 7 7 from one boiler to another due to differences in the
Hardness
ppm 2 0 2 0 chemistry of the combusted black liquor and the
CaCO3
resulting flue-gas temperature. Furthermore, the
Oil and Fat ppm 0 0 0 0
strength of deposits also varies from location to
Dissolved location within a boiler, primarily due to differences
ppm 0.5 0.5 0.1 0.1
oxygen
in deposit chemistry and formation mechanisms.
11.0-
pH at 25oC ppm 11.5-11
11.5
M alkalinity 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
ppm 600 300 300 150
CaCO3
P alkalinity
ppm
300–
200 300 100 The results obtained from this research
CaCO3 400 consist of three sub-results: an increase in
Total temperature, both in the steam drum and the
Dissolved ppm 2000 700 1000 500
solids steam product, an increase in enthalpy in both the
Chlorine (ion steam drum and the steam product, and the
ppm 300 - - distribution and reduction of fouling in the
Cl)
Phosphoric combustion chamber.
10 – 10 –
acid ion ppm 20 – 40 20 – 40
30 30
PO3/PO4
Silica, SiO2 ppm 200 50 150 40
Hydrazine 0.05 – 0.05 –
ppm
N2H4 0.3 0.3
Sulfurous
acid ion, ppm 10 – 20 10 – 20
SO2/SO3
µS/
Conductivity 2800 1000 1500 750
cm

Figure 2. The temperature in Steam Drum for 1

hour (without Steam Injection)

Figure 2 illustrates the temperature in the

steam drum for 1 hour with interval 10 minutes
which steam was not injected to combustion
chamber. The temperature in the steam drum
Figure 1 . Experimental Process Description in Boiler increased from 10 minutes to 60 minutes. In 40
minutes, the temperature of each varied air flow
Equipment has the small difference temperature. The
The apparatus used in this study can be maximum temperature was 310oC in 60 minutes
observed in Figure 1, which depicts a with air flow 17,5 L/minutes and 20 L/minutes.
comprehensive schematic diagram of the boiler
utilized for this research. Steam injection used in
the research in comparison to no steam injection.
Steam injection, referred to as a soot
blower, is a technology utilized to mitigate fouling
and enhance boiler efficiency. In kraft recovery

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AUSTENIT VOL. 14 NO.1, APRIL 2022 ISSN : 2085-1286 E-ISSN : 2622-7649

gas shift reaction, converting carbon monoxide into

carbon dioxide.
Fouling abatement was found to be
dependent on steam injection pressure, although
other factors could also have an impact. The
spreading of soot was controlled not only by
uncompleted combustion events, along with by the
major feature of the fuel, known as heavy oil. Each
heavy oil produced a minimal amount of carbon
Figure 3. The temperature in Steam Drum for 1 residue that might contribute to fouling
hour (Steam Injection Pressure 3 bar) development. As a result, preventing fouling was
rated the most important problem for boilers that
used heavy petroleum as a fuel.

4. CONCLUSION

Two indicators that increase heat transfer

in boiler, are the enhancement temperature and
decreasing of fouling (%). The variables in this
research were air-flow ratio in 15 L/min, 17,5 L/min
and 20 L/min, and steam injection pressure in 2
bar, 3 bar and 4 bar. The maximum of temperature
Figure 4. The temperature in Steam Drum for 1 enhancement was 37,5% in 15 L/min of air flow at
hour (Steam Injection Pressure 4 bar) steam injection pressure 3 bar. The maximum of
fouling abatement was 78,57% in 15 L/min at
Figures 3 and 4 indicate the results of steam injection pressure 4 bar.
increasing the pressure of the steam injection,
which causes a temperature increase according to
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