ISSN 00406015, Thermal Engineering, 2013, Vol. 60, No. 12, pp. 865–871. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2013.

Original Russian Text © F.A. Serant, I.Yu. Belorutskii, Yu.A. Ershov, V.V. Gordeev, O.I. Stavskaya, T.V. Katsel, 2013, published in Teploenergetika.

STEAM BOILERS, POWERGENERATING FUEL,

BURNERS, AND BOILER AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT

An AnnularFurnace Boiler for the 660MW Power Unit

for Ultrasupercritical Parameters Intended for Firing Brown
Slagging Coals
F. A. Seranta, I. Yu. Belorutskiia, Yu. A. Ershovb, V. V. Gordeevb, †, O. I. Stavskayaa, and T. V. Katsela
a
ZiO KOTES, ul. Kropotkina 96/1, Novosibirsk, 630049 Russia
b Podolsk Machinery Construction Works, ul. Mashinostroitelei 23, Podolsk, Moscow oblast, 142115 Russia

Abstract—We present the main technical solutions adopted in designing annularfurnace boilers intended for
operation on brown coals of the prospective Maikubensk opencast mine in Kazakhstan as part of 660MW
power units for ultrasupercritical steam conditions. Results from 3D modeling of combustion processes are
presented, which clearly show the advantages furnaces of this kind have over a traditional furnace in burning
heavily slagging brown coals. The layout of the main and boiler auxiliary equipment in the existing boiler cell
of the 500MW power unit at the Ekibastuz GRES1 district power station is shown. Appropriate attention is
paid to matters concerned with decreasing harmful emissions.

Keywords: annularfurnace boiler, pulverizedcoal burner, brown coal, ultrasupercritical steam conditions
DOI: 10.1134/S0040601513120112

†
Along with the firstrate Ekibastiz coal field in
Kazakhstan, which has been developed for a long
period of time, large deposits of Maikubensk brown
coals are also available in the same Pavlodar region.
According to the data of Karagandagiproshakht i K,
the balance deposits of these coals amount to 2.1 bil
lion t. Planned mining of Maikubensk coals has been
conducted since 1987. In 2011, 7.5 million t of these
coals was produced, and it is planned to bring their
annual production to 15.64 million t per year by 2020.
Maikubensk coals are currently supplied and fired as
substituting offdesign fuel at many industrial enter
prises in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. For further
development of such a large coal field be advisable,
large permanent consumers of its coal must be avail
able.
The Maikubensk opencast mine offers coals cate
gorized in the following groups of supply for being
fired at power stations in pulverized form: with ash
content Ad = 13, 22, and 28% with the working content
of moisture W r ≈ 18%. Maikubensk coal has high reac
tivity: with an average yield of volatiles equal to 41–
42.9%, its heating value is 18840–19000 kJ/kg [1].
The heating value of volatiles with an ash content of
13–28% is around 7950 kJ/kg. This coal is related to
Group 3 of explosion hazard (characterized by the
explosibility criterion Кst, the value of which is in the
range 1.5–3.5), as the majority of brown coals. Geo
graphically, the Maikubensk opencast mine is located
not very far from the Ekibastuz mine, but the coals
† Deceased.
produced in them differ significantly from each other
(Tables 1–3). Thus, in contrast to slagging and explo
sionhazardous Maikubensk brown coal, Ekibastuz
brown coal is related to Grade SS and Group 1 of
explosion hazard; this coal is less readily ignited and is
almost nonslagging. Thus, the slagging that occurred
during the experimental combustion of Maikubensk
coals in the highly heatintensive furnaces of the P57
boilers operating in the composition of the 500MW
power units at the Ekibastuz GRES1 district power
station did not allow these power units to be loaded to
more than 70% of their nominal output.
In order to secure reliable and efficient operation of
the boiler on Maikubensk coals, its furnace must be set
to operate with moderate thermal intensities in its sec
tion to ensure a low temperature level of gases in the
flame core and in the furnace top part.
On request of the Ekibastuz GRES1 Directorate,
specialists of ZiOKOTES, working jointly with spe
cialists of the Podolsk Machinery Construction Works,
elaborated the profile of an annularfurnace boiler tai
lored for firing Maikubensk slagging coals as applied to
a 660MW power unit for ultrasupercritical steam
conditions.
The technical solutions for the boiler were elabo
rated taking into consideration the experience gained
from operation of the E820 annularfurnace boiler
installed at the Novoirkutsk cogeneration station in
the city of Irkutsk. This boiler, designed for a steam
output of 820 t/h, is installed in the existing cell for a
boiler with a steam output of 500 t/h and has success
fully been operating for already 12 years [2]. The boiler

865
866
Table 1. Characteristics and composition of coals
Coal W r, % A r, % Sr, %
Maikubensk 21.0 11.5 0.9
Ekibastuz 6.3 39.6 0.6
tests performed during its operation on slagging coals
from the Kansk–Achinsk (Irsha–Borodino) and
Azeisk fields completely confirmed the serviceability
and efficiency of its annular furnace [the boiler effi
ciency is 93.5%, NOx emissions are less than
400 mg/m3 (at standard temperature and pressure),
and the furnace and convective heating surfaces are
free from slagging].
A Pp180027.0610/610 oncethrough annular
furnace boiler is designed for a steam output of
1800 t/h with a steam pressure of 27 MPa and pri
mary/secondary steam temperatures equal to 610°С.
This singleshell boiler, equipped with a steam reheat
system, has a closed Tshaped layout and a gastight
design. The general view of the boiler and the plan
view of its annular furnace are shown in Figs. 1, 2. The
main design technical parameters of the boiler are as
follows.
Live steam:
flowrate, t/h
pressure, MPa
temperature, °C
Feedwater temperature at the boiler inlet, °C
Steam reheating:
temperature at the outlet, °C
temperature at the inlet, °C
steam flowrate, t/h
pressure at the boiler outlet, MPa
Boiler gross efficiency, %
Flowrate of natural fuel, t/h
The key distinctive feature of the boiler design is
that it contains an annular furnace made in the form of
an octahedral prismatic chamber (see Figs. 1, 2) with
the outer chamber having an equivalent diameter of 23
m, inside which a hollow shielded octahedral insert
with an equivalent diameter of 11.5 m is coaxially
1 sions), nozzles for blasting tertiary air [termed as over
installed over the entire height. The walls of the outer
and inner chambers are fabricated of allwelded
gastight panels assembled of tubes with a standard size
of ∅32 × 6 mm [diameter × thickness] made of Grade
12Kh1MF steel with a pitch of 48 mm. The inner
1 The term “equivalent diameter is understood to mean the diam
eter of circle conditionally inscribed into the chamber’s octahe
dral cross section.
SERANT et al.
Cr, % Hr, % Nr, % O r, % r
Qi , MJ/kg V daf, %
50.0 3.6 0.8 12.2 18.4 41.0
43.0 2.7 0.8 7.0 16.4 31.4
chamber accommodates the main central building
column (a pylon), ladders, and platforms.
In the furnace lower part, the external waterwalls
are bent to inside to form an eightslope cold funnel.
With the adopted sizes of the furnace, the calorific
intensities of the furnace volume and section are equal
to 111.7 kW/m3 and 4.34 MW/m2, respectively. The
temperatures of furnace gases in the flame core (at the
outlet from the active combustion zone) and in the
furnace upper part are equal to around 1380 and
1090°С. With such temperatures, slaggingfree com
bustion of Maikubensk coals is secured.
The furnace is fitted with 24 main adjustable low
emission directflow burners arranged on eight outer
facets of the furnace in three tiers according to a tan
gential scheme (along the tangents to the inner wall).
The design of the burners makes it possible to set up
a system for admitting air in a staged and stepped man
ner in order to reduce NOх emissions and create sym
metrical aerodynamics in the furnace.
1804 Aerodynamic adjustment is used as the basic prin
27.0
ciple in the design of the controlled directflow burner
(see Fig. 2). The secondary air channel is subdivided
610 into two verticalslit subchannels: a middle one, the
301 axis of which is parallel to that of the aircoal mixture
channel, and a lateral one, oriented at an acute (30–
610
45°) angle to the former. With such design of the
burner, the direction of burner jets and the intensity of
345 mixing the primary and secondary flows can be varied
1431 in sufficiently wide limits by redistributing secondary
4.4 air between these channels [3]. To make the furnace
92.0
outer waterwalls less susceptible to corrosion and to
achieve better conditions for igniting air mixture, the
276.1 jet of air mixture flowing out from the burner is
arranged on the flame side and the jet of secondary air,
on the side of the outer waterwall. The use of adjust
able burners also makes it possible to vary the condi
tions of heat transfer in the annular furnace.
Eight startup fuel oil burners are installed at the
level of the lower tier of burners. For organizing
stepped combustion (with a view to reduce NOх emis
fire air (OFA)] are placed in the furnace upper part. To
achieve more intense mixing and suppress residual
swirling of the flame, the OFA jets are admitted into
the furnace according to a tangential scheme in the
direction opposite to that in which the main flame is
rotating.
The directinjection pulverizedcoal system
with gas drying of fuel can be made with eight
THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 60 No. 12 2013
 AN ANNULARFURNACE BOILER FOR THE 660MW POWER UNIT 867

Table 2. Chemical composition of ash residue, %

Coal SiO2 Al2O3 TiO2 Fe2O3 CaO MgO K2O Na2O SO3 MnO2 P2O5

Maikubensk 45.33 21.65 0.91 14.75 5.27 2.86 2.71 0.91 4.25 – 0.78

Ekibastuz 59.2 29.6 1.3 6.0 1.6 0.6 0.6 0.2 – 0.2 0.7

MMT2600/2550/590 hammer mills or eight MVS260
mediumspeed bowl mills. A valve and a centrifugal
powder divider fitted with rotary blades are installed
on the pressure side of each mill (Fig. 3). Air mixture
from the dust divider is supplied to three tiers of the
vertical cluster of burners. By adjusting the dust
divider’s rotary blades it is possible to redistribute the
loading of burner tiers with fuel over the furnace
height.
The concentration of nitrogen oxides is reduced to
a level not exceeding 350 mg/m3 (at standard temper
ature and pressure) owing to the following technolog
ical measures:
(i) A tangential layout of burner devices is used, due
to which vortex motion of gases is created in the hori
zontal plane of such furnaces, and inflow of furnace
gases with depleted content of oxygen is facilitated,
and, accordingly, a smaller content of oxygen is
obtained in the volatile outlet and combustion seg
ment.
(ii) Stagewise combustion is organized in a hori
zontal plane due to the burner design, which makes it
possible to remove part of air (around 30%) separately
from the main flow; additional lateral nozzles can be
installed.
(iii) Around 18–22% of air is supplied to the fur
nace upper part (OFA).
According to the steam–water path scheme, the
feed water supplied to the boiler is subdivided into two
flows, each of which locates in one half of the furnace
and in one convective shaft of the Tshaped boiler. In
turn, each flow in the boiler is subdivided into two sub
flows, which have several points at which full mixing
takes place within the flow boundaries upstream of the
unit of builtin fullflow separators. After passing the
economizer and suspended tubes of the convective
shaft, feed water enters into the inner insert’s water
walls, through which the entire medium flows in one
pass with a mass velocity of 1950 kg/(m2 s). On leaving
the inner insert, the medium enters into the outer
waterwalls and flows through them in two passes with
the same mass velocity. On passing the furnace outer
waterwalls, steam is directed into a steamtosteam
heat exchanger (SSHE), which serves to perform main
control of the secondary steam temperature. On leav
ing the SSHE, the medium passes through the unit of
builtin fullflow separators, the waterwalls shielding
the ceiling and enclosing walls, and two stages of plat
ens, after which it enters into the convective steam
superheater outlet stage. Each subflow is fitted with
injectiontype steam desuperheaters for controlling
the live steam temperature, which are installed
upstream of the firststage platens and upstream of the
outlet convective stage. The heating surfaces of steam
desuperheater stages, which operate at ultrasupercrit
ical parameters of steam, are made of austenitic steels
12Kh18N12T able to operate at temperatures up to
640°С, 10Kh13G12BS2N2D2 (DI59), or
10Kh16N16MV2BR (EP184) able to operate at tem
peratures up to 650°С.
Owing to the adopted hydraulic circuit of the
boiler, the appropriate design solutions adopted for
water and steam distribution units, the availability of a
fullflow separator, and use of high mass velocities in
the heating surfaces, it becomes possible to start the
boiler at sliding pressure and to unload it with the
required rates (these matters are supposed to be elabo
rated in more detail in the course of further improve
ment of the boiler).
The calculations carried out using the ANSYS
FLUENT software system allowed us to obtain fur
nace process characteristics, such as distributions of
velocities and temperature, concentration fields of
NOx, O2, CO, and discrete phases, heat fluxes in the
furnace sections, and to trace the trajectories of parti
cles in different operating modes of the boiler and pul
verized coal systems.
An analysis of the calculation results shown in
Figs. 4, 5 shows the following:
(i) The adopted design and operating parameters in
the annular furnace make it possible to obtain favor
able aerodynamic conditions under which the flame
Table 3. Temperature characteristics of ash
Coal
Temperature of, °C
maikubensk ekibastuz
Onset of ash 1200 1270
deformation tA
Onset of ash 1380 Above 1500
softening tB
Ash liquidmolten 1470 Above 1500
state tC

THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 60 No. 12 2013

868 SERANT et al.

+63.000 CSS
PSS2 PSR
1
+59.300 PSS1

+51.200

CSR2
CSR1

ECO2

+27.200
ECO1

+22.700

+18.700

+14.700

+6.000
2
+0.000 3

11000 9000 9000 9000 9000 11000

58000

2
∅23000

1 3
0
50
11
∅
24000
17600

11000 9000 9000 9000 9000 11000

58000

Fig. 1. General view of a Pp180027.0610/610 annularfurnace boiler. (1) Elevator, (2) overfire air nozzles, and (3) pulverized
coal burners. PSS1 and PSS2 are a platen live steam superheaters nos. 1 and 2, PSR is a platen steam reheater, CSS is a con
vective live steam superheater, CSR1 and CSR2 are convective steam reheaters nos. 1 and 2, and ECO1 and ECO2 are an
economizers nos. 1 and 2.

moves mainly in the annular channel middle part
without being actively thrown onto the inner and outer
waterwalls; the maximal rotary component of velocity
in the zone of burners installed in the first to third tiers
does not exceed 18 m/s; the supply of OFA jets in an
amount of 22–26% with counterswirling significantly
suppresses the swirling of the main flame, and,
according to the field experience gained from opera
tion of a E820 annularfurnace boiler [2], makes it
possible to obtain an almost uniform field of velocities
in the furnace outlet section, also during operation
with one of two mills disconnected.
(ii) The maximal level of flame temperature is
observed in the zone located above the third tier of
burners and is approximately equal to 1380°С, which
is close to the results obtained from zonewise calcula
tions; the temperature of gases in the furnace upper
part is around 1090°С.
(iii) The maximal temperatures of the contami
nated wall in the inner insert and in the outer water

THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 60 No. 12 2013

 AN ANNULARFURNACE BOILER FOR THE 660MW POWER UNIT 869

Taps of powdered
fuel to the burners

Air mixture
and part of
secondary
air

Electrically driven
Secondary swirler
air
Adjustment
valve

Fig. 2. Plan view of the boiler annular furnace. Fig. 3. Centrifugal adjustable powder divider.

walls are close to each other and equal to 790–860°С,
due to which favorable conditions for their slagging
free operation are created.
(iv) The maximal heat fluxes equal to 225–
250 kW/m2 are also observed in the zone above the
third tier of burners.
(v) Despite comparatively low temperatures of the
flame in the annular furnace, almost complete burn
out of fuel (98.4–98.7%) is achieved due to intense
formation of mixture.
Since the maximal temperatures in the furnace in
case of gasassisted drying of fuel do not exceed
1400°С, a level at which air NOx are not generated in
the flame, favorable conditions appear in this operat
ing mode of the annular furnace for achieving very low
generation of nitrogen oxides [less than 300 mg/m3 (at
standard temperature and pressure) at the O2 concen
tration equal to 6%].
It should be pointed out that highly uniform
absorption of heat by waterwalls (up to 90%) is
obtained in the annular furnace over its height, as well
as a highly uniform distribution of temperatures in the
furnace cross sections owing to the fact that furnace
gases uniformly flow over the waterwalls.
The calculation results clearly demonstrate the
principal advantage of annularfurnace boilers in
comparison with boilers equipped with a traditional
furnace. Owing to an inner insert installed in the fur
nace central part for increasing the heating surface and
owing to additional enhancement of heat transfer
obtained as a result of organizing tangential motion of
the flame and increasing the convective component, a
comparatively low level of maximal temperatures (no
higher than 1380°C) is achieved in the furnace (see
Fig. 5). As a result, intense slagging of the furnace
walls is avoided, and better cooling of flue gases is
ensured towards the furnace outlet.

20 40
18 35
16 30
14
25
12
20
10
15
8
4 10

2 5

0 0
(a) (b)

Fig. 4. Fields of velocities at different furnace sections, m/s. (a) At the second tier of burners and (b) at the tier of OFA nozzles.

THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 60 No. 12 2013

870 SERANT et al.

1600

1500

1400

1300

1200

1100

1000 (a) (b) (c)

Fig. 5. Temperature fields at different furnace sections, °C. (a) At the second tier of burners, (b) at the third tier of burners, and
(c) at the tier of OFA nozzles.

+77.500
Exhaust pipelines

+66.000
+61.000
+59.300

+45.900

+38.680

To the smoke
+27.520 stack

+20.000

+10.200

+0.000

7500 6000
6020 6020 6020 10970
14000
12000 39000 15000 24000 12000 12000
114000

B C D E F I J

Fig. 6. Arrangement of the Pp180027.0610/610 boiler in the existing boiler cell of the 500MW power unit at the Ekibastuz
GRES1 district power station (a longitudinal section).

Thus, flue gases that enter into the convective
shafts have been cooled to a level sufficient to prevent
active slagging of the heating surfaces. According to
the results of thermal calculations, the temperature of
gases leaving the furnace is at a level of 1090°С, and
that of gases entering into the swivel chamber is
around 850°С. But even with such low temperatures,
stable ignition and efficient burnout of fuel are ensured
in the annular furnace.
Figure 6 shows the layout of the Pp180027.0
610/610 boiler together with its auxiliary equipment
placed in the existing boiler cell of the 500MW power
unit at the Ekibastuz GRES1 district power station.
The adopted layout solutions suppose modifying the
fuel feed path, installing new raw coal hoppers in the
deaerator stack zone, and shifting to the use of gas
assisted drying of fuel with installing gasrecirculating
exhaust fans.
CONCLUSIONS
(1) The Tshaped annularfurnace boiler proposed
for the 660MW power unit and intended for firing
slagging brown coals is designed to operate with ultra
supercritical parameters of steam (primary steam
pressure equal to 27 MPa and primary/secondary
steam temperature equal to 610/610°С).
(2) Owing to intense heat absorption in the furnace
inner insert, the design of annular furnace makes it
possible to obtain the temperatures in the flame core

THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 60 No. 12 2013

 AN ANNULARFURNACE BOILER FOR THE 660MW POWER UNIT
and in the furnace upper part required for slagging
free operation of the boiler.
(3) With the existing main building of the Ekibastuz
GRES1 district power station remaining unchanged,
shifting the 500MW power unit to operate on slagging
Maikubensk brown coal with retaining or increasing
its power output is possible only if an annularfurnace
boiler is installed.
(4) The results from the performed elaborations
confirm the advisability of using annularfurnace boil
ers installed in the existing building cell at a power sta
tion for replacing the old boilers that have worked out
their assigned service life with retaining or even
increasing the capacity and parameters of the new
power unit.
THERMAL ENGINEERING Vol. 60 No. 12 2013
871
REFERENCES
1. B. V. Bogomolov, N. V. Artem’eva, A. N. Alekhnovich,
et al., “Thermalengineering and physical characteris
tics of Maikubensk coal,” Elektr. Stn., No. 6, 10–16
(2007).
2. R. V. Gubanov, V. A. Poloskov, V. P. Sennov, and
F. A. Serant, “A 12year experience gained from suc
cessful mastering and operation of the E820 annular
furnace boiler,” Elektr. Stn., No. 11, 17–20 (2012).
3. F. A. Serant, Development and Investigation of an Annu
lar Furnace, Its Introduction for CommercialScale Use,
and Tests on a Boiler with a Steam Output of 820 t/h,
Doctoral Dissertation in Technical Sciences (Novosi
birsk, 1999).
Translated by V. Filatov