{"id":6963,"date":"2012-03-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/a-different-perspective-going-green-with-alternative-fuel-burning-boilers\/"},"modified":"2017-06-09T20:25:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T20:25:00","slug":"a-different-perspective-going-green-with-alternative-fuel-burning-boilers","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/a-different-perspective-going-green-with-alternative-fuel-burning-boilers\/","title":{"rendered":"A Different Perspective: Going Green with Alternative Fuel Burning Boilers"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Going green” – accomplishing thermal and
\nenergy efficiency – is the new buzzword, and much is being written about how the
\nsteam-generating industry has to go green. However, the steam-generating
\nindustry has been working on this for years with clean coal technology designs
\nand biomass- and refuse-firing boilers. And now that new fields that could
\nprovide enough natural gas for more than 100 years have been found, it may be
\ntime to resurrect the gas-fired boiler and start a whole new line of boiler
\nfleets. <\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nstandards proposed recently by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
\nand the new stricter federal emissions rules will soon require, as early as
\n2012, tougher and more stringent rules on what exits from our nation?s
\nsmokestacks. This puts more pressure on utility companies to install additional
\nair pollution equipment on their existing steam-generating boilers and look for
\ngreen, alternative ways of burning fuel. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully,
\nthere are already boiler designs that can burn alternative fuels such as refuse
\n(trash), wood, and biomass. The technology also exists in the fluidized bed
\ndesign, an alternative method of burning solid fuels such as coal. While most
\nof the news about going green is about gas turbines, wind turbines, solar
\npanels, and nuclear energy, those energy options (with the exception of nuclear
\nenergy) produce less than 10 percent in megawatts compared to the existing
\nalternative fuel boilers being designed today. <\/span><\/p>\n

Alternative
\nfuel?burning boilers were developed as far back as 1972, in part because of the
\ngrowing disposal costs for landfills, the passage of the Public Utility
\nRegulatory Policies Act of 1978, and an increase in demand for electric power
\nin the United States. Each of these alternative fuel boilers has the basic
\ncomponents of previously designed boilers, such as economizers, drums, and
\nsuper heater tubes. The boiler manufacturers only modified the fuel input
\nequipment or modified the basic boiler parts to accommodate the transfer of
\nadditional air or ash, or the fuel itself. <\/span><\/p>\n

Refuse and Biomass as Fuel<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

Boilers that burn refuse, wood, or biomass
\n(vine clippings, leaves, grasses, bamboo, and sugar cane or bagasse) have the
\nsame basic design as utility radiant boilers and industrial boilers that burn
\ncoal. However, these ?waste-to-energy? boilers have been modified to
\naccommodate the distinct characteristics of burning refuse. <\/span><\/p>\n

The
\ntype of refuse, wood, or biomass varies depending on time of year,
\nhemispherical location, and whether the boiler is in a residential or urban
\narea. The fuel itself will also vary in how much plastic, paper, cardboard,
\nleaves, grass, and wood it contains, perhaps also depending on the time of year
\n(e.g., autumn may bring more leaves). <\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nare two basic methods of burning refuse: mass burning uses the refuse as
\nreceived, while prepared refuse or refuse-derived fuel (RDF) uses refuse that
\nhas been separated and sorted, with the remaining non-recycled material going
\nto the boiler. There are more than 1,600 types of boilers in operation around
\nthe world. <\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nfirst RDF boiler went into operation in 1979 in Akron, Ohio. These boilers
\nrequire a very controlled feed of the fuel for good combustion and to maintain
\na minimal amount of CO and NOx<\/sub> emissions. Among other specific
\ndifferences from a conventional coal-fired boiler, these boilers also require
\nvery specific air input for proper combustion. For example, refuse usually
\ncontains a large amount of volatiles (combustible material), requiring a large
\namount of additional air to be inputted to the furnace area where the
\ncombustion takes place. These boilers may add up to 30 percent additional air
\nto maintain proper combustion. These “waste-to-energy” boilers produce little
\nCO, NOx<\/sub>, or mercury but can expel a lot of fly ash from their
\nsmokestacks if not properly controlled. They require precipitators and
\nbaghouses to clean the spent gas of its fly ash.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fluidized Bed Boilers<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

Fluidized bed boilers are much more unique
\nin design. Though gasification has been around since the 1920s, its use as an
\nalternative fuel?burning method of generating electricity and power began in
\nthe late 1970s. The fluidized bed boiler uses a process by which solid fuels
\nare suspended in an upward-flowing gas or air stream at the bottom of the unit.
\nThe burning fuel exists in a fluid-like state that has a high heat transfer but
\nreduced emissions.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

The fluidized bed boiler combustion process mixes fuel
\n(coal) with air. The coal is crushed to less than <\/span>1\/8<\/span> in. (A typical
\npulverized coal-fired boiler uses coal pulverized to \u00bc in.) The fuel is then
\nfed into the lower furnace, where the bed is maintained at a temperature around
\n1,500\u00b0F. Air is introduced into the bed, and the flow of air and fuel is
\ncontrolled to keep the desired amount of heat. This type of clean coal-fired
\nboiler (bubbling or circulating) has almost 90 percent less SO2<\/sub> and
\nNOx<\/sub> emissions than a conventional coal-fired boiler.<\/span><\/p>\n

Natural Gas Renaissance<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

Finally, there is another alternative fuel
\nwhen considering going green: natural gas. The natural gas?fired boiler has
\nbeen around for more than 75 years and is a proven and efficient
\nsteam-generating boiler. The design was basically tabled due to the high cost
\nof natural gas versus the cost of coal. However, recent discoveries of natural
\ngas in Ohio and Pennsylvania (shale-gas drilling) may encourage utility
\ncompanies to consider adding new steam-generating boilers to their existing
\nfleets. It has been reported that shale-gas drilling will add $118 billion to
\neconomic growth in the next 4 years. This does not even take into account new
\nsteam-generating boilers being added to existing power plants!<\/span><\/p>\n

Most
\nboiler manufacturers already have a gas-fired boiler design. For example,
\nBabcock and Wilcox?s Radiant Boiler El Paso (RBE) type has a steam capacity
\nover 3 million lb. of steam per hour, and their smaller PFI and PFT types have
\nsteam capacities reaching up to 800,000 lb. of steam per hour. Similarly, the
\nCombustion Engineering Company (now ABB) has R & RR type boilers
\n(comparable to the RBE), as well as the VU-60 (similar to the PFT), which has
\nsteam capacities of up to 1 million lb. of steam per hour. <\/span><\/p>\n

If
\nthe amount of natural gas in these shale-drilling beds is accurate, the power
\nindustry has an option that can produce the megawatts and steam capacities
\nneeded to replace their existing coal-fired boilers with new environmentally
\nfriendly boilers. This option may prove more cost-efficient than adding
\nexpensive air pollution equipment to boilers that average over 50 years of age.
\nIt has been reported that the power industry may spend in excess of $10 billion
\nin the next 4 years to meet the current federal emissions rules and standards
\nproposed by the EPA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Choosing the Right Option<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

Understanding your options and knowing the
\ndetails of boiler designs and the fuels you intend to burn is just the
\nbeginning of achieving an energy-efficient, green steam-generating boiler. It
\nis equally important to remember that every nook, cranny, exposed wall surface,
\nhot flue or duct, wind box, pipe, or exposed tube will have some sort of brick,
\nrefractory, insulation, and lagging (bril) on it. Regardless of what type of
\nboiler (refuse, wood, biomass, fluidized bed, or natural gas?fired) you choose,
\nit can be energy and thermally efficient only with the proper designs and
\ninstallation of the bril materials. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The information in this article was
\nobtained primarily from public sources, without input from any boiler
\nmanufacturer companies directly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Combustion
\nEngineering, Inc. Combustion Fossil Power.<\/i> 4th ed. Combustion
\nEngineering, Inc., 1991. <\/span><\/p>\n

Babcock
\n& Wilcox Company. Steam, its generation and use.<\/i> 40th ed. Babcock
\n& Wilcox Company, 1992. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/a>Figure 1<\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Going green” – accomplishing thermal and energy efficiency – is the new buzzword, and much is being written about how the steam-generating industry has to go green. However, the steam-generating industry has been working on this for years with clean coal technology designs and biomass- and refuse-firing boilers. And now that new fields that could<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[71],"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[292,41,29,302,28],"class_list":["post-6963","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","category-refractory","category-process-control","category-environmental-control","category-economy","category-energy-savings","author-gary-bases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Different Perspective: Going Green with Alternative Fuel Burning Boilers - Insulation Outlook Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/a-different-perspective-going-green-with-alternative-fuel-burning-boilers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Different Perspective: Going Green with Alternative Fuel Burning Boilers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“Going green” – accomplishing thermal and energy efficiency – is the new buzzword, and much is being written about how the steam-generating industry has to go green. 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