Introduction

The boiler house

- A basic overview of a steam system.

- The boiler is the heart of the steam system.

- The typical modern packaged boiler is powered by a

burner which sends heat into the boiler tubes.

- The stop or crown valve isolates the boiler and its

steam pressure from the process or plant.

- Improve the efficiency of existing process heat

system.

- The energy efficiency of existing process heat

system can be improved through efficient heat
production, heat containment
(reducing heat losses), ensuring efficient heat
transfer and increasing heat recovery.

System Specification

Boiler output

The test boiler installation is a fully operational boiler house complete with one of
their Europac coal-fired boilers with chain grate stoker, fuel and ash handling plant,
deaerator, water treatment and chemical dosing, flue-gas clean-up equipment and an
integrated boiler plant control system.When firing biomass fuels, steam outputs of
between 50 and 85% of the coal-fired rating were achieved under efficient combustion
conditions. As many boiler installations have surplus capacity this means that some
boilers could be converted from coal to biomass-firing without the need to purchase
additional boilers.

In reality, turbines are typically 80 to 90% efficient. This factor does not need to be
included here to show the importance of condenser performance.

Conditions are :

Main Steam (Turbine Inlet) Pressure - 1000psia

Main Steam Temperature - 1000F

 Turbine Outlet Steam Presurre - Atmospheric - 14.7psia

Objectives

As the price of biomass fuels on a R/kJ basis is becoming more competitive with
traditional fuels such as coal, oil and gas, the need for biomass-fired boilers is steadily
increasing.

To meet this need and the growing demand worldwide for a cleaner and more
sustainable environment, John Thompson, the Cape Town based designer and
manufacturer of industrial boilers with 80 years of service to South Africa’s industries
has, in the past few years, carried out a series of tests firing a variety of biomass fuels on
sites, and on the boiler installed in their test and development centre. These fuels include
wood-pellets, wood-chips, wood-pucks, grape pomace, nut shells, sunflower seed husks,
corncobs, dried-hops and torrefied biomass.

Conversions and retrofits

The high outputs achieved during the tests were largely due to John Thompson's
modified chaingrate stoker and their Micropac boiler management system which was
easily fine-tuned for the different fuels. Both of these can be retrofitted to existing coal-
fired boilers when a change from coal to biomass fuel is required. Upgrades and
conversions to existing plant can be engineered to achieve optimal boiler efficiency and
emissions in compliance with the latest Air Quality Act.

Biogas

This is produced from the treatment of waste-water in certain industries and can
offset 10 to 15% of fuel requirements for the production of steam. A number of John
Thompson biogas boilers have been supplied into the local market which has reduced the
owners' carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuel.

Energy management

For customers who are interested in outsourcing their non-core business, John
Thompson's Energy Management Dept offers a range of negotiable contracts from
operation of existing plant to a BOOT (build, own, operate, transfer) contract, inclusive
of all operating and maintenance costs, under which steam, for example, is purchased on
an agreed combination of a fixed monthly rate and Rand per ton of steam basis.
 Heat losses from distribution and transfer equipment can generally be managed and
reduced. In some cases, shifting from centralized to decentralize heating equipment can
also be advantageous.

Turnkey projects

In addition to boiler design and manufacturing facilities, John Thompson also specialize
in turnkey installations for all of their boilers. This includes responsibility for all civil,
structural and electrical works, pipe-work systems, fuel and ash handling plant,
installation and commissioning.

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University of Negros Occidental - Recoletos

#51 Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, Philippines

College of Engineering

MELEC4530 Energy Management in Buildings

Title: Potential Energy Saving for Steam System

Submitted to:

Engr. Nath Homer G. Viaje

Submitted by:

Ferns Edmar A. Ordaniel

Brand

John Thompson biomass-fired package boiler