Internal Recirculation

Circulating Fluidized-Bed Boilers

A Simplified Approach to Flexibility and Reliability
 The Technology of Choice
Since 1867, The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) has been the leading worldwide producer
of steam generation technology and equipment. B&W remains in the forefront of technological
advancements related to efficient and environmentally sound combustion methods for waste
fuels, corrosive fuels, biomass fuels, and hard-to-burn fuels. Drawing upon its extensive technical
expertise and operating experience, B&W developed the Internal Recirculation Circulating
Fluidized-Bed (IR-CFB) boiler which is the technology of choice for power plant owners seeking
economy, reliability and flexibility. In addition, supercritical steam conditions are attainable with
B&Ws in-bed heat exchanger technology.

U-Beams
B&Ws IR-CFB technology offers:
High combustion efficiency
A compact, economical design
Steam
Drum Higher reliability and availability
Lower maintenance costs
Superheater
Wing Wall
Reduced erosion
Internal
Fuel flexibility
Evaporative
Circuit Low emissions

Coal
Silo
Economizer Capacity
Subcritical: To 2,200,000 lb/h
Multi-Cyclone (277 kg/s) or greater as required.
Dust Supercritical: From 2,200,000 lb/h
Collector
(277 kg/s) to more than 4,500,000
lb/h (567 kg/s).

Furnace Steam pressure

Subcritical: To 2600 psig
(17.9 MPa) design.
Supercritical: Usually at 3500 psi
(24.1 MPa) throttle pressure with
Tubular
Air Heater
5% overpressure; higher pressures
available.

Steam temperature
Subcritical: As required, usually to
1050F (566C).
Supercritical: As required, usually
in the 1100F (595C) range.

Bottom Ash Startup Secondary Primary Forced Draft

Burner Air Air Fan
Fluid Bed Cooler
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Improves Performance, Reduces Costs, Minimizes Maintenance
Two-Stage Particle Separation for
Superior Combustion Efficiency
B&Ws unique IR-CFB boiler design
employs a patented two-stage
particle separation system to provide
high-solids loading and a uniform
furnace temperature profile. The
benefits of this technology include
superior combustion efficiency, low
emissions, low maintenance, low
pressure drop, and low turndown,
resulting in improved overall plant
performance.
Our two-stage system includes a
primary U-beam impact separator
and a secondary multi-cyclone dust
collector (MDC) which work together
to provide a combined particle
collection efficiency in excess of
99.8%. The U-beams, a staggered
array of stainless steel channels
at the furnace exit plane, capture
nearly all of the solids suspended in
the flue gas leaving the furnace and
internally recirculate these solids to
the lower furnace. The MDC, with
U-Beams
(Primary Particle Collector)
small diameter (<10 in., 250 mm)
cyclones, captures the finer material
that passes through the U-beam
particle separator and returns this
material to the lower furnace in
a controlled manner. The ability
to regulate the secondary recycle
system provides the operator with
unprecedented furnace temperature
control, resulting in improved boiler
performance and load response.
The two-stage particle collection
system of B&Ws IR-CFB provides
improved performance, as well
as a simplified, cost-effective
boiler design.

Primary
All-internal
Recirculation Loop

Bed
Solids

To ESP or
Baghouse
Multi-Cyclone
Dust Collector
(Secondary
Particle
Fuel and Collector)
Sorbent

Secondary
Recirculation Loop

Bed Drain

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 Sidewall Membrane Panel Compact, Economical Design
B&Ws two-stage particle separation
Thin Refractory system results in a compact, simplified
boiler arrangement. The entire U-beam
Seal
Baffle
particle separator is located at the furnace
Gas
exit. Compared with hot cyclone-type
Flow CFB designs, the IR-CFB has significantly
lower furnace exit gas velocity and requires
significantly less building volume. By
Gas
Plus relying on internal recirculation, the IR-CFB
Solids design eliminates J-valves, loop seals, and
Flow
high-pressure blowers which are required
with other CFB designs. For the IR-CFB,
U-Beam compact and simple equals economical.

Water-Cooled Higher Availability,

Support Tube Lower Maintenance
One goal of CFB boiler manufacturers
has been to eliminate thick, uncooled
refractory and hot expansion joints from
Gas
Flow their designs to reduce the expense
and lost time associated with refractory
maintenance. B&Ws engineers achieved
this goal with the development of the
IR-CFB boiler. The furnace, U-beam
separator, and superheater enclosures are
constructed entirely of top-supported,
gas-tight, all-welded membraned tube
walls which do not require hot expansion
joints. The small amount of refractory that
is used in the IR-CFB is applied to selected
areas of the water-cooled enclosure surface
U-Beams in a thin layer which is only 5/8 in. (16 mm)
thick in the lower furnace and never more
In-Furnace than 2 in. (52 mm) thick over the tube
U-Beams
face elsewhere in the furnace. As a result,
B&Ws IR-CFB requires only 10 to 25% of the
total refractory found in a hot cyclone CFB
design and less than 50% of the refractory
B&Ws U-beam primary used in a water-cooled or steamcooled
Furnace particle collection system cyclone CFB unit. This construction
Gas and recirculates more than 97% has significantly reduced the need for
Solids Flow of the solids suspended in refractory maintenance in B&Ws operating
the flue gas back to the CFB units.
lower furnace.

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 B&Ws patented reduced diameter
zone (RDZ) tube section is another
feature designed to reduce
maintenance. The RDZ consists of
a reduced diameter tube section
mating to a specially-shaped
ceramic tile. The reduced diameter
tube section on each tube slopes
away from the solids falling down
the wall. This eliminates the solids
material from building up and
eroding the furnace tubes where
the lower furnace refractory ends.
Wall
Tubes
Ceramic
Tile
Low Flue Gas Velocities to the U-beam particle separator is
Reduce Erosion designed to operate efficiently with a
flue gas velocity of only 26 ft/s (8 m/s)
Erosion is a major cause of at full-load operating conditions. The
maintenance problems in CFB particle capture efficiency actually
boilers due to the high solids increases as the flue gas velocity
loading in the flue gas. The severity through the U-beam separator
of this erosion is exponentially decreases. By operating at such a
related to the velocity of the flue low gas velocity, the potential for
gas through the system. On hot erosion in the IR-CFB is significantly
cyclone CFBs the particle separator reduced. To date, because of proper
depends upon an extremely high material selection and low flue gas
flue gas velocity [approaching 90 velocities, the U-beam separators in
ft/s (27 m/s) at the cyclone inlet] B&Ws coal-fired CFB units have not
to provide the energy needed to required any maintenance due to
efficiently disengage the particles erosion throughout years of operation
from the flue gas. By comparison, at design load conditions.
Individual Gas
Outlet Hoods

Pin Studs
(To Anchor Thin
and Cool
Refractory) Refractory

The reduced diameter zone tube section

has proven to reduce maintenance by
eliminating localized erosion at the
refractory interface in the lower furnace.

The secondary multi-cyclone dust

collector in B&Ws unique two-stage
particle separation system provides
increased collection efficiency of fine
particles. By locating the dust collector
immediately upstream of the economizer
in a region of cooler flue gas, and by
Access for High Hardness
using high hardness wear resistant Inspection Collection Components
material, maintenance is minimal. The
design also permits easy access to all
internal components.

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 Features and Benefits

IR-CFB Design Features IR-CFB Design Benefits and Operating Results

Greater than 99.8% particle collection efficiency

Two-stage particle separation Provides a means to control particle size distribution in furnace, which results
system in improved carbon burnout, limestone utilization, emissions and heat transfer
Reduces operating costs

Compact design requires 20-30% less building volume than cyclone-based CFB
All-internal primary solids
boilers critical for repowering projects
recirculation (U-beams)
Lowers auxiliary power consumption compared with cyclone-based CFB boilers

Significantly reduces erosion in upper furnace and superheater compared with

Low, uniform velocities at the
cyclone designs
furnace exit (16-20 ft/s, 5-6 m/s),
To date, no U-beam erosion maintenance required in B&Ws coal-fired CFBs
U-beam separators (26 ft/s, 8
since going into operation in 1989
m/s), and the superheater (25-
No high-maintenance vortex finders or hot expansion joints; therefore, no
30 ft/s, 8-9 m/s)
maintenance expenses for these items

Thin, cooled refractory used by B&W places no restriction on boiler start-up or

No thick refractory due to shut-down rate
elimination of hot cyclones Significantly reduces need for refractory maintenance
and hot return legs Virtually eliminates forced outages due to refractory failures
Requires only 10 to 25% of the total refractory compared with hot cyclone CFB designs

Vertical, flat membraned tube panels within furnace perform evaporative or

In-furnace heat transfer surface superheat duty
Proven reliability and low maintenance

Reduces back sifting of solids during low-load operation

Unique primary air nozzles
Reduces need for periodic cleaning of nozzles and primary air windbox
(bubble caps)
Minimizes erosion inside nozzle caused by the re-entrainment of back-sifted solids

Sootblowers usually not Eliminates maintenance costs and forced outages typically associated with
required upstream of MDC sootblowers

Gravity fuel feed and fly ash Reduces maintenance, forced outages and auxiliary power requirements by
recycle system eliminating the mechanical fuel injection and pneumatic fly ash recycle systems

High turndown (up to 5:1) Allows wider load swings

without auxiliary fuel support Reduces operating costs (no auxiliary fuel) during low-load operation

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Fuel Flexibility,
Lower Emissions
Fuel Flexibility
One of the main advantages of CFB
technology is that it allows the owner to
specify a wide variety of fuels to optimize
the profitability of the facility. B&W has
the engineering expertise and operating
experience needed to supply an IR-CFB
boiler that is capable of burning specified
fuels, such as:
Bituminous coal
Bituminous gob or high-ash waste coal
Subbituminous coal
Lignite and brown coal
Anthracite culm
Coal cleaning tailings Located in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, USA, this 60 MW power plant burns
Petroleum coke high-ash waste coal with B&Ws circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) technology
to produce electricity and process steam.
Other fuels such as wood, biomass,
shredded tires and sludge are also
candidates, depending on their percentage
of heat input, moisture content and
Fluidized-Bed Technologies to
emission requirements. The IR-CFB boiler Meet Every Need
also can be designed to burn several
specified fuels in the same unit. This
There is no substitute for actual pieces of noncombustible material,
provides the additional flexibility needed
operating experience. B&W has that such as rocks and scrap metal. BFB
to respond to changes in the fuel markets.
experience and a proven track record technology also is well-suited for
of high availability for all types of retrofit applications on stoker-fired
Emissions Control boiler technologies including all or chemical recovery boilers.
of our fluidized-bed combustion
The IR-CFB boiler can control SO2 emissions
technologies circulating (IR-CFB) Innovative Energy Solutions
by injecting limestone into the lower
and bubbling (BFB).
furnace. Relatively low NOx emissions are
B&W is committed to the
inherent in the IR-CFB due to low furnace
Bubbling Fluidized-Bed continuing advancement of its
temperatures and staged combustion. NOx
Technology fluidized bed technologies. This
emissions can be further reduced by using
commitment is demonstrated
a selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR)
For fuels with high moisture through continued research and
system. In addition, the IR-CFBs patented
contents and low heating values development. In addition, field
secondary particle recycle system provides
such as sludges and high moisture demonstrations and testing have
increased control, not found in other CFB
biomass, B&W recommends the led to many improvements that are
technologies, to maintain an optimum
use of bubbling fluidized-bed (BFB) now implemented into our design
uniform furnace temperature which is
technology. B&W offers an open standards as well as our operating
essential for low SO2 and NOx emissions.
bottom BFB design which is ideal CFB and BFB boilers.
for burning fuels containing large

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Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc. is a
Through our experience,
subsidiary of The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W).
Established in 1867, B&W is a world leader in providing expertise and total-scope
steam generating and emissions control equipment,
nuclear operations and components, and defense
program management services.
services, B&W is dedicated
For more information, or a complete listing of our sales to generating powerful
and service offices, call 1-800-BABCOCK (222-2625),
send an e-mail to info@babcock.com, or access solutions in an environ-
our website.

www.babcock.com
mentally safe, efficient
and economical manner.

Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc.

20 S. Van Buren Avenue
Barberton, Ohio 44203 USA
Phone: 330.753.4511
Fax: 330.860.1886 B&Ws internal recirculation
The information contained herein is provided for general information
circulating fluidized-bed boiler is
purposes only and is not intended nor to be construed as a warranty, an the technology of choice for power
offer, or any representation of contractual or other legal responsibility. plant owners seeking economy,
reliability and flexibility.
2006 Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc.
All rights reserved.

E101-3148A 1KDC3A