CONDENSING ECONOMIZERS FOR SMALL COAL-FIRED BOILERS AND FURNACES PROJECT REPORT - JANUARY 1994

Condensing economizers increase the thermal efficiency of boilers by recovering sensible and latent heat from exhaust gas. These economizers are currently being used commercially for this purpose in a wide range of applications. Performance is dependent upon application-specific factors affecting the utility of recovered heat. With the addition of a condensing economizer boiler efficiency improvements up to 10% are possible. Condensing economizers can also capture flue gas particulates. In this work, the potential use of condensing economizers for both efficiency improvement and control of particulate emissions from small, coal water slurry-fired boilers was evaluated. Analysis was done to predict heat transfer and particulate capture by mechanisms including: inertial impaction, interception, diffusion, thermophoretic forces, and condensation growth. Shell-and-tube geometries were considered with flue gas on the outside of Teflon-covered tubes. Experimental studies were done with both air- and water-cooled economizers refit to a small boiler. Two experimental arrangements were used including oil-firing with injection of flyash upstream of the economizer and direct coal water slurry firing. Firing rates ranged from 27 to 82 kW (92,000 to 280,000 Btu/hr). Inertial impaction was found to be the most important particulate capture mechanism and removal efficiencies to 95% were achieved. With the addition of water sprays directly on the first row of tubes, removal efficiencies increased to 98%. Use of these sprays adversely affects heat recovery. Primary benefits of the sprays are seen to be the addition of small impaction sites and future design improvements are suggested in which such small impacts are permanently added to the highest velocity regions of the economizer. Predicted effects of these added impactors on particulate removal and pressure drop are presented