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Ajay Gupta

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Ajay Gupta

Jul 30, 2023 • 2 min read

This Blog is to improve boiler users’ and managers’ knowledge of the use of biomass as fuel as well as the operation and upkeep of biomass boilers. A cheap and sustainable source of energy is biomass. Entrepreneurs can lower the cost of steam generation while also lowering greenhouse gas emissions if they use it wisely. The following aspects require attention if biomass-fed boilers are to operate without issues.
  • When biomass fuel is distributed unevenly on the boiler grate, secondary combustion can occur in the super-heater zone, scorching the superheater tubes and causing changes in steam pressure.
  • Due to the high silica concentration in the biomass, super-heater and economizer coil erosion can happen often.
  • Since there is more extraneous matter in the biomass (sand and mud), there is greater tube fouling and fluidized bed draining, which results in heat loss.
  • Lower steam temperatures are caused by boiler tubes that are coated in carbon and dust, particularly when soot is blowing.
  • In some areas, the biomass fuel mix fed to the boiler combines a variety of biomass fuels that are readily available. The operators struggle to find a good air-fuel ratio because every biomass has a different air-to-fuel ratio. Despite their best attempts, there is a lot more air than is ideal.
  • High moisture levels in the biomass result in frequent fuel blockage in feeders, which affects steam pressure and temperature.
  • Because biomass fuel sizes vary, there are often unburned materials in bottom ash and flue gases, which reduces efficiency and causes variations in steam pressure and temperature.
  • For an accurate evaluation of heat rate/efficiency, discrepancy occurred in the absence of a biomass feed rate metering device. It is challenging to provide a weighting mechanism since many biomass fuel mixtures are employed, each with a varied (and low) bulk density. In order to create workable technological solutions, this aspect needs to be thoroughly examined.
  • Loss of heat value results from the degradation of biomass during storage in an exposed, humid ambient environment. The input fuel energy is often assessed based on incoming biomass amounts and GCV, so material loss due to windage, carpet loss, and heat value loss owing to decay (inherent biomass characteristics) can result in errors.
  • A common issue is high auxiliary power consumption.
Due to inefficient combustion, heat transfer surface fouling, and inadequate operation and maintenance, the performance of boilers decreases over time. Poor boiler performance is possible even with a brand-new boiler due to declining fuel quality, poor water quality, and other issues. Timely boiler efficiency tests serve to pinpoint problem areas for corrective action and to determine the divergence of a particular boiler’s efficiency from the highest degree of efficiency.