Boiler Solutions
Plant cycling and low load operation are contributing to more tube leaks and inefficient combustion.
Plant cycling and low load operation are contributing to more tube leaks and inefficient combustion.
In today’s dynamic power generation market, plants need to be able to change load quickly to support fluctuations from non-dispatchable resources. Quite often, units and their existing automation are not designed or optimized for these operations which can prematurely wear the boiler and plant equipment from frequent thermal cycling.
Working with Emerson, you can enhance boiler operation – optimizing combustion and sootblowing while also improving steam temperature control.
Overcome Tube Leak Problems with Better Steam Temperature Control
Many plants use PID control which is not ideal for frequent cycling operations. Boiler tube leaks and temperature excursions can be minimized with a better approach to controlling attemperation and steam temperature. Addressing this requires focus on three primary areas:
• Improving the accuracy of the actual temperature measurement
• Utilizing more control schemes optimally designed for cycling
• Installing sever service spray valves and attemperators
Traditional time-based sootblowing operations will unknowingly blow soot where and when it’s not needed. When coupled with the cycling boilers are already experiencing, this inefficient way of blowing soot causes reheat temperature excursions along with boiler tube erosion and leaks.
Boiler combustion control is more complex than ever. Whether you are running a traditional drum unit or an advanced supercritical, you are being asked to move your unit more and more. Add in changing coal composition and environmental requirements and the task becomes more difficult. Today’s operations require a more capable approach to combustion using advanced process controls and analytics.
Beyond tube leaks, some of boiler's supporting equipment is susceptible to failure as well. Rotating equipment, such as your Forced Draft (FD), Induced Draft (ID) and Primary Air (PA) fans are critical for operations and have contributed to many forced outages through the years. Deploying online condition monitoring that reveals developing problems long before they affect operations is a must for any modern plant.
