1957 TWENTY-FOURTH CONFERENCE 232

DETERMINATION OF FLUE GAS AND

COMBUSTION AIR VOLUMES FOR
BAGASSE-FIRED BOILERS
Introduction
Engineers and executives of sugar mills are faced from time to. time
with the problem of determining the volume of either the combustion
air or Auc gas for the purpose of deciding on the size of flues and ducts
or for selecting snitable forced or induced draft fans for bagasse-fired
boilers. ?'he purpose of this paper is to show the detailed calculations
inr~olvecl and prcsent charts from which the required volumes can Fe
directly obtained without any tedious calculations on the part of the
user.
The author hat1 the privilege of presenting a paper [I/ at the 1956
Conference of the Society and the data and determinations in that paper
are used as the basis of computation for the calculations and charts
now submitted.
INDUCED DRAFT $I
Flue Gas Weight
The weight of the products of combustion for any given condition
can readily be determined by the methods and from the tabulations
given previously [l]. Thc appropriate table is reproduced in this paper
as Table l.
Flue Gas Volume
The capacities of fans are calculated on a volumetric basis and it is
necessary to convert the lino~vn weight of gas to its volumetric measure-
ment at normal temperature and pressure (N.T.P.), i . e. , at 32" F., and
the atmospheric pressure ol 14.696 lb. per square inch absolute.
The weight/volume relationship at N.T.P. of the various gases
involvecl in the calculations is given in Table 11.
TABLE II
"--
A i r . . . . . . I: . . l 0.0807 l 12.39
Oxygen . . 0.0892 11.21
Nitrogen . . 0.0784 1 12.75
Carbon monoxide CO 0.0780 12.82
I Carbon dioxide CO, , 0.1234 1 8.10
Weight
G as lb. per cu. ft.
The volume of the flue gases per pound of bagasse fired at N.T.P.
i s then determined by multiplying the weight of each cons.tituent by
its volume per pound and totalling the products.
Volume
cu. ft. per lb.
TABLE I-Weight of products of bagasse as fired with varying amounts of excess air.
--
l
1 1 1 Percentage of moisture in bagasse as fi red
Products of combustion I Excess air - - - I
i
53 54 1
/ Carbon dioxide . . . . . . Any amount
Oxygen . . .
4
Nitrogen . . . . . . .
Wat er of combustion . . .
I
Total water . . . . . .
-,l 957 TWENTY-FOURTH CONFERENCE 235
When the vol~lme of the gas at N.T.P. has been calculated, the
.actual volume is proportional to the temperature and the volume under
any given conditions may be obtained by the for~nula-
where V = volume at the given temperature at atmospheric
pressure.
v -= volume at N.T.P.
T = temperature of the gases in degrees F.
- 460" F. L absolute zero.
The following typical example may be used as an illustration of this
.computation : --
Example
Find the flue gas volume per pound of bagasse fired under the
following conditions : --
Moisture in bagasse . . . . 50 per cent.
Excess air . . . . . . 60 per cent.
Flue gas temperature . . 550" I;.
The weights of products of combustion per pound of bagasse fired
from Table 1 are :---
.. CO, . . . . . . .880 lb.
0, . . . . . . . . .397 ,,
N, . . . . . . . . 3.507 ,,
Total water . . . . . . .?B6 ,,
The relative volumes at N.T.P. then become--
CO, .880 X 8.10 = 7.128
0, .397 X 11.21 =- 4.450
N, 3.507 X 12.75 - 44.714
Total volume of dry products
per lb. bagasse at N.T.P. 56.292
Correcting to the actual temperature gives--
- 115.56 cu. ft. dry flue gas per lb. of bagasse as fired.
To this value has to be added the volume of the water vapour
resulting from the evaporation of the .766 lb. of water. From the steam
tables one pound of superheated steam at atmospheric pressure and a
temperature of X50" F. occupies 40.82 cubic feet. Therefore the volume
.of water vapour per pound of bagasse in the flue gas is .766 X 40.82
- 31.26 cu. ft.
Consequently, the total volume of flue gases resulting from the
comblxstion of one pound of bagasse of 50 per cent. moisture with 60
per cent. excess air at a temperature of 550" F. is 115.56 + 31.26-146.82
cubic feet per pound of wet bagasse.
236 TWENTY-FOURTH CONFERENCE 1957'
The quantity of bagasse burned per minute being either known or
computed by the metliods given in the author's earlier paper [l], it then.
becomes simply a matter of multiplying this figure by the gas volume
per pound to arrive at the cubic feet of gas per minute which the duct
system, the fan and the chimney would have to be capable of handling.
Correction Factor for Negative Pressure
Theoretically the volumetric increase resulting from the negative
pressure produced by the fan necessitates a further correction in accord-
ance with the following forrilula :---
14.696
Correction Factor = - --
14.696 -- ( ~ . g . X .03613)
where
14.696
= lb. per sq. in., the absolute atmospheric pressure
.03613 = lb. per sq. in. per 1 in. water gauge
".g. - fan suction in inches of water.
The correction factors for fan suctions of 2 in, w.g. to 10 in. w.g..
are given in Table 111.
TABLE Ill
1 ~uct i on at 1 Correction i
, fac-or 1 fan inlet '
I _ __p---
--
i
2 in. w.g. 1.0049
4 ,, w.g. 1.0099
6 ,, w.g. 1.0150
8 ,, w.g. 1 1.0200
10 ,, w.g. / 1.0252
Therefore, assuming that the suction at the fan eye in the examplc-
is 2 in. n.g., the corrected gas volume per pound of bagasse would
become :--
146.82 X 1.0049 -L- 157.54 c ~ . ft .
The main purpose of introducing this discussion on the correction
factor for negative pressure is to show that for most practical purposes
it may be neglected safely as the slight difference in volume will be more
than taken care of in the overall margins which are always added to the
calculated vo1ume.s in order to provide for various unknown quantities
such as air infiltration in any of the flues between the boiler outlet and
the fan inlet, possible variation between the theoretical and actual
capacity of the Tan and also because, during periods when the load on
the boiler has to be increased fairly rapidly, the fan is called upon t o
deal with gas volumes in excess of that which is theoretically required
for the BIaximum Continuous Rating of the boiler.
FORCED DRAFT
Weight of Air
The method of calculating the weight of air required for the com-
bustion of bagasse is given in the previous paper [l], and it will be seen
from Table I of that paper that for dry bagasse with zero excess air
1957 TWENTY-FOURTH CONFERENCE 237
this value is 5.699 pounds of air per pound, from which it follows that
the weight of air per pound of wet bagasse as fired with zero excess
air is :-
5.699 X ( l - M)
where
Per cent. moisture in bagasse
z -
loo
Air Volume
This theoretical weight of air has to be converted to an air volume
and then multiplied by the excess air ratio factor.
From Table I1 the volume of air per pound is 12.39 cubic feet at
N.T.P., therefore the actual air volume at N.T.P. per pound of bagasse
as fired for anv given excess air is-
V = 5.699 X (1 -- M) X 12.39 X R
where
v = volume at N.T.P.
R = ratio of theoretical air required to actual air.
The volume at K.T.P. is then corrected to the actual temperature
and, if necessary, further corrected to the actual pressure as described
for flue gases.
This temperature correction is made more conveniently by
multiplying by the factors in Table I V which cover the Iange of
temperature ordinarily encountered.
TABLE I V
l
' Air
l
i
/ temperature 1 Factor 1
For the lower air pressures the pressure correction factor is so small
that generally it may be neglected, but occasionally the air pressures,
particularly for secondary air, may be high enough to warrant the use
of the appropriate factor in Table V.
TABLE V
1 Ai r pressure
I Atmospheric press.
I + 5 in. w.g.
I + 10 in. w.g.
+ 15 in. w.g.
1 + 20 in. w.g.
$ 25 in. w.g.
$ 30 in. w.g.
l
Correction m
factor
-- -- --
23 8 TWENTY-FOURTH CONFERENCE 1957
Example
Find the volume of combustion air per pound of bagasse as fired,
assuming-
Moisture in bagasse . . . . 60 per cent.
Excess air . . . . . . mper cent .
Ambient air temperature . . i OO0 F.
Air pressure . . . . 4- 5 in. u7.g.
Air weight . . . . . . . . == 5.699 X (1 -.5) X 1.6 =- 4.559
Air vol. (N.T.P.) . . . . . . - 4.569 X 12.39 - 56.49
Vol. at atmos, pressure and 100" F. == 56.49 X 1.1 38 == 64.28
Vol. at $- 5 in. w.g. . . . . := 64.28 X .9X7 -= 63.44
Charts
The foregoing computations, while simple enough in themselves,
are somewhat laborious and time consuming. Therefore, for quick
reference, the accompanying Charts A and B have been plotted from a
series of determinations made as already described covering the
usual range of conditions in respect to moisture in bagasse as fired and
flue gas temperatures likely to be met with in ordinary circumstances,
so that, within the range of the charts, the desired gas or air volumes
can be read directly and the detailed calculations need only be used
for exceptional conditions beyond the range of the charts.
In use, either chart is entered at the line giving the excess air and,
by moving horizontally to the point where this line intersects the
moisture curve, then vertically up or down t o the intersection of the
temperature curve, and horizontally to the volume scale, the appro-
priate volume of flue gas or combustion air is obtained.
Conclusion
The method of calculating the volumes of flue gas and combustion
air is given in detail arid charts developed to facilitate these computations.
The question of draft required at the boiler outlet for various
conditions of operation is not discussed because it is impossible to
generalize and each case must be dealt with independently. This aspect,
however, does not usually present any problem to the user because the
manufacturers of boilers, economisers, air heaters, etc., can give the
draft loss through the plant at various ratings. In the majority of
cases, the user knows from experience the draft required as this can
usually be measured quite easily and the problem of selecting suitable
draft producing equipment mainly centres around the volume of gas or
air which the plant must be capable of handling.
Acknowledgments
The author desires to thank the Directors of Babcock & Wilcox
of Australia Pty. Limited for permission to publish this paper, and the
members of his technical staff who assisted in checking the figures and
tracing the charts.
REFERENCE.
[l] Hardy, E. H.: 1956. "A Graphic Method for Estimating the Efficiency of
Bagasse-Fired Boilers." Proc. Q.S.S.C.T. Twenty-third Conference, p. 71.
Babcock and Wilcox of Australia Pty . Ltd.,
Brisbane.
1957 TWENTY-FOURTH CONFERENCE 239
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240
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TWENTY-FOURTH CONFERENCE 1957