Development Design asis Memorandum

FIRED HEATERS
 BASIC CONCEPTS

• Selection of heaters
• Basic design of heaters
• Basic design of conversion section and stack
• Steam reforming heater
• Burners
• Forced draft system
• Convection section cleaning
• Decoking of fired heater tubes
• Air preheaters
• Inert gas generators
• Incinerators
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 COMBUSTION

• Combustion is a chemical • Three elements required

reaction between fuel and – Fuel
oxygen producing heat – Air
• Air is usually the source of – Source of ignition
oxygen
• The chemical reaction
produces “flue gases”

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 BASIC CONCEPTS OF HEAT TRANSFER

• Three kinds of heat transfer

– Conduction
– Convection
– Radiation

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 HEATER SECTIONS

• Radiant Section
– Obtains complete combustion of the fuel with a reasonable amount of
excess air (i.e. 10 to 15%)
– Contains the flame from the burner and avoids impingement on the tubes
– Distributes the radiant heat flux
– Cools the combustion gases to 1500o – 1900o F to protect the convection
section
• Convection Section
– Purpose is to transfer as much heat as possible from the combustion gases
leaving the radiant section
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 THERMAL EFFICIENCY

• Two definitions for thermal

efficiency
– Gross efficiency
u s e f ul H e a t Transferred
• 𝐺𝑇𝐸 100%
G ro s s H e a t I n p u t

– Net efficiency
• NTE useful Heat Transferred 100%
Net Heat Input

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 HEATER TYPES

• Furnace and Heater used interchangeably

– Furnace is an insulated box lined with tubes containing the process
fluid
– Burners inside the box are fired to heat the tubes by a mixture of
radiation and convection heat transfer
• Many different furnace designs depending on the process
application and the companies involved

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HEATER TYPES

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HEATER TYPE

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 HEATER TYPES

• Vertical‐cylindrical with only

radiant tubes
– NTE is about 60%
– Stack gas temperature is 1200o F or
more
– Low cost design, suited for low cost
fuel
• Vertical‐cylindrical with convection
section
– NTE is about 80%
– Higher cost than all‐radiant types,
but use less fuel for any given duty
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 HEATER TYPES

• Furnace with bridge wall

– Used when tube material is
expensive
– Radiant tubes are placed above the
bridge wall so that they are, in
effect, double fired
• Furnace with combustion air
preheater or an additional
convection section
– NTE can be over 90%
– Highest capital cost and lowest fuel
requirement for any given duty
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 CONVECTION SECTION

• Convection section
– Steel plate shell with internal
castable or ceramic fiber
insulation
– Tubes are staggered, and the
space between the sidewall and
tube is filled with “corbels” to
prevent the flue gases from
bypassing the end tubes
• First two rows are called shock
tubes and they “see” the flames
• First row receives the full radiant
heat flux and is always bare tubes
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 CONVECTION SECTION CLEANING

• Furnace convection coils reduced performance and fouling

occurs for a variety of reasons
– Most serious fouling occurs on outside of convection coils
• Fouled from carbon (coke) due to incomplete combustion
• Fouled from refractory dust resulting from flame erosion of burner blocks and
from furnace casing brickwork and insulation
– Sometimes fouling occurs on the inside tube surface
• This can happen when thermal cracking of the process stream in a coil occurs,
producing a solid product such as carbon (also known as coke)
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 CONVECTION SECTION CLEANING

• Main technique relies on a long hollow lance being fed through

side access doors to deliver the cleaning medium
• No standard cleaning medium, highly dependent on the process,
location, available materials, etc.
• Common materials used:
– Air blowing
– Water jets
– Dry Ice
– Sandblasting
– Various chemicals 14
 DRAFT

• Three options
– Natural draft
• Uses the buoyant effect of the hot flue gases in the stack to draw air into the
combustion zone
– Forced draft
• Uses an air blower or fan to force air into the heater
– Induced draft
• Refers to a blower in the stack

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 FURNACE STACKS

• Stacks are one way of controlling the flow of combustion air

(other is combustion air registers)
– Stack draft must overcome the gas friction loss in the convection
section, burner, and stack
• Stack diameter is often sized for 15– 20 ft/sec stack gas velocity
• Stack is normally bare carbon steel but must be line if flue gas temperatures
exceed 750o F or if the fuel has high sulfur content
– There should be a slight vacuum in a natural draft heater to prevent
leakage of the flue gas
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 FURNACE STACKS

Excessive Draft – Positive

Excessive Draft – Negative
Pressure Created
Pressure Created
• Forces flue gases outward
• Cold ambient air is
through leaks in the
sucked in through leaks
convection section
in the convection
• Leads to serious structure
section
damage, as well as heat
• Causes tall flames
loss
which can reach the
tubes, resulting in
serious damage

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 BURNERS

• Objective of a burner is to mix the fuel and air effectively to

ensure complete combustion
– The flame from a burner must be stable and in a fixed position so
that heat is distributed and adsorbed effectively
– Flame shape must be controlled to suit the specific working
environment

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 BURNER TYPES

• Four common types • The passage of fuel gas

– Premix through a venturi pulls in the
– Raw Gas (Nozzle Mix) combustion air
– Combination Oil and Gas • These burners have short
– Low NOx Burners dense flames that are not
affected by wind gusts

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 BURNER TYPES

• Four common types • Some of the air required for

– Premix combustion is pulled in by a
– Raw Gas (Nozzle Mix) venturi
– Combination Oil and Gas • The rest of the air is admitted
– Low NOx Burners through a secondary air register
• These burners have larger
turndown ratios, require lower
gas pressures, and are also
quieter
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 BURNER TYPES

• Four Common Types • An oil burner is added to the

– Premix gas spider so that fuel oil can
– Raw Gas (Nozzle Mix) also be used
– Combination Oil and Gas • One‐tenth pound of steam
– Low NOx Burners per pound of fuel is usually
required to atomize the oil

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 BURNER TYPES

• Four Common types • The addition of a tertiary air

– Premix register reduces the amount
– Raw Gas (Nozzle Mix) of nitrogen oxides in the flue
– Combination Oil and Gas gas
– Low NOx Burners • This type also can be
operated with less excess air
than the previous types
mentioned
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 OTHER NOx REDUCTION METHODS

• “Pre‐combustion” controls – minimize NOx formation by modifying

the combustion process
– Low Excess Air (LEA)
– Off‐Stoichiometric Combustion (external staging)
– Low NOx Burners (internal staging)
– Flue Gas Recirculation (dilution)
– Water (Steam) Injection (dilution)
• “Post‐combustion” controls – chemically reduce flue gas NOx to N2
– Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)
– Non‐selective Catalytic Reduction (NSCR)
– Selective Non‐Catalytic Reduction (SNCR)
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 FLAME ZONE NOx REDUCTION

• Reduce peak temperature

– Use a fuel rich primary flame zone (stage combustion)
– Increase rate of flame cooling (reduced air preheat & firing rate)
– Decrease adiabatic flame temperature by dilution (water injection / FGR)
• Reduce fuel gas residence time
– Change shape of flame zone
– Use a fuel rich primary flame zone
– Increase rate of flame cooling
– Decrease adiabatic flame temperature by dilution
• Reduce O2 concentration
– Decrease excess air (LEA)
– Maintain controlled fuel / air mixing
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 NOx REDUCTION SELECTION
Table 2. Use this chart to screen potential NO x control technologies

Technique Description Advantages Disadvantages Impacts to Applicability NOx

Consider Reduction
Low Excess Air (LEA) Reduces oxygen Easy operational Low NOx reduction potential High carbon All fuels 1 – 15%
availability modification monoxide emissions;
Flame length; Flame
stability

Off Stoichiometric Staged combustion, creating Low operating cost; No a. Typically requires higher air flow to control carbon Flame length; All fuels; Multiple 30 – 60%
Combustion (OS) fuel-rich and fuel- lean zones capital equipment monoxide; b. Relatively high capital cost; c. Moderate capital Forced-draft fan burner devices
a. Burners-out-of- required for BOOS cost capacity; Burner
service (BOOS) header pressure
b. Overfire Air (OFA)
c. Air Lances
Low-NOx Burners (LNB) Provides internal staged Low operating cost; Moderately high capital cost; Applicability depends on combustion Forced-draft fan All fuels 30 – 50%
combustion, thus reducing Compatible with FGR as device and fuels, design characteristics, waste streams, etc. capacity; Flame
peak flame temperatures and a combination technology length; Design
oxygen availability to maximize NOx compatibility;
reduction Turndown flame
stability
Flue Gas Recirculation Up to 20 – 30% of the flue gas High NOx reduction Moderately high capital cost; Moderately high operating cost; Forced-draft fan Gas fuels and low- 40 – 80%
(FGR) is recirculated and mixed with potential for natural gas Affects heat transfer and system pressures capacity; Furnace nitrogen fuels
the combustion air, thus and low-nitrogen fuels pressure; Burner
decreasing peak flame pressure drop;
temperatures Turndown flame
stability
Water/Steam Injection Injection of steam or water at Moderate capital cost; NOx Efficiency penalty due to additional water vapor loss and fan Flame stability; Gas fuels and low- 40 – 70%
(WSI) the burner, which decreases reductions similar to FGR power requirements for increased mass flow Efficiency penalty nitrogen fuels
flame temperature

Reduced Air Preheat Air preheater modification to High NOx reduction Significant efficiency loss (1% per 40 oF) Forced-draft fan Gas fuels and low- 25 – 65%
(RAPH) reduce preheat, thereby reducing potential capacity; Efficiency nitrogen fuels
flame temperature penalty
Selective Catalytic Catalyst located in flue gas High NOx removal Very high capital cost; High operating cost; Extensive ductwork to Space requirements; Gas fuels and low- 70 – 90%
Reduction (SCR) stream (usually upstream of air and from reactor required; Large volume reactor must be sited; Ammonia slip; sulfur liquid and solid
heater) promotes reaction of Increased pressure drop may require induced-draft fan or larger Hazardous waste fuels
ammonia with NOx forced-draft fan; Reduced efficiency; Ammonia sulfate removal disposal
equipment for air heater required; Water treatment of air heater
wash required

Selective Noncatalytic Injection of urea into furnace to Low capital cost; Temperature dependent; Design must consider boiler Furnace geometry and All fuels 25 – 50%
Reduction (SNCR) – Urea react with NOx to form nitrogen Relatively simple system; operating conditions and design; NOx reduction may decrease residence time;
Injection and water Moderate NOx removal; at lower loads Temperature profile
Nontoxic chemical;
Typically low energy
injection sufficient

Selective Noncatalytic Injection of ammonia into Low operating cost; Moderately high capital cost; Ammonia handling, storage, Furnace geometry and All fuels 25 – 50%
Reduction (SNCR) – furnace to react with NOx to Moderate NOx removal vaporization, and injection systems residence time;
Ammonia Injection
(Thermal DeNOx)
form nitrogen and water Temperature profile 25

From Chemical Engineering Progress – January 1994

 AIR PREHEATERS

• Used to preheat the combustion air which is then routed to the

burners
– Used when exhaust temperatures of combustion systems are high
(up to a flue gas temperature of 400o C)
• This high exhaust temperature will allow the preheated combustion air to
reach up to 300o C
– This allows for the heat in a system to be recirculated and reduces
losses to the atmosphere

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 INERT GAS GENERATOR

• Used on board marine product tankers

• Consist of a gas producer and a scrubbing system
– Atmospheric air is burned using diesel and the exhaust is collected
– Resulting exhaust contains less than 5% oxygen (”inert gas”)
– This gas is then routed to the cargo tanks to prevent explosion of
flammable cargo
– Gas consists mainly of CO2

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INERT GAS GENERATOR

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 INCINERATORS

• Utilized for solid waste disposal

when other means of disposal are
impractical
– Handles a wide variety of wastes,
including the ability to consume
refuse of high moisture content
(garbage or food wastes)
– Due to increasing stringency of air
pollution codes, must include air
pollution control systems
– Rapid burning is required to increase
efficiency (disposal capacity per
square foot of floor area)
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INCINERATOR

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EXAMPLE FURNACE APPLICATION

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 REFERENCE MATERIALS

• Engineering Data Book. Tulsa, Okla. (6526 E. 60th St., Tulsa 74145): Gas
Processors Suppliers Association, 1987. Print.

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