Technical Solution to Reduce Wood Fuel Burn for a Boiler

How high is high?Higher than the manufacturer says it should be, with proper cleaning and PM?

Or, is it higher than last year?

Last month?

Or, are you just trying to pinch a few more pennies out of operating costs to raise profits?

Have you Goggled to find a "technical solution" to your dilemma?

Asked the boiler maker?

Asked the wood cutter?

Asked your process engineer?

Looked at the heat content of the wood you are burning?

Checked the moisture level?

Or, do you just want the forum to do the work for you?

Back to you!

That's 11 questions for you to answer.

20 is the limit before you have to insert another coin.

Quite a bit.

I have a feeling that my post will fall on deaf ears. If you still burn wood in a boiler I have a feeling that it is OLD and since it is in a fish feed mill, not a lot of profit in that stuff so I figure probably little to no maintenance has been performed.

1. Inspect the boiler for a build up of soot
2. Inspect the boiler for leaks in the combustion chamber
3. Inspect the boiler for proper operating pressures
4. Inspect the boiler for proper operating temperatures
5. Buy a gas fired boiler

Here are a few questions that you should have already answered in the original post.

1. What size is the boiler?
2. How much wood do you consume?
3. What pressure are you operating at?
4. What temperature are you operating at?
5. Where are you located. City? State? Country?
6. What is the steam used for?

Anyone else want to chime in?
Lyn??

I found by using a cast iron burner ring from a gas furnace as a burner grate to preheat the combustion air, I was able to improve the amount of heat extracted from a given amount of wood.

To illustrate:

Combustion air enters red hot cast iron burner ring and is preheated.

Fredski,

You're a real trip sometimes.

I was going to make a smart remark to the Unknown Poster, but what the heck.

Eat more sushi, make less fish meal or burn more wood.

Now that's an excellent way to deal with an AP!

agreed

"anonymous posters are not real people with real problems"

Mostly, they're just a real pain!

You should see what the AP told me to do on the one entitled "800MW power plant..."

You should see what I almost fired right back at him....{censored}

You speak my mind. But I could for the heck not find an alternative fuel option that would make sense! You did it!

It's really tcmtech's fault. It popped into my mind as soon as I saw he'd posted.

What about the cost of used tires? They charge to cover their processing costs and transportation. What about the cost of cleaning out and disposing of the metal cords from most tires after they are burned?

Is his unit burning hot enough to not have to worry about the residual smell and air pollution? Burning tires are quite odoriferous. In my town last year we had a truck load of bad tires to be recycled catch on fire and the town still stinks. Also hard to put fire out and caused a lot of water pollution plus it cost big pesos! Had to get an airport foam truck to put it out.

Around my place the smell of burning tires just means that someone is starting up a new moonshine still. They burn the tires to disguise the smell of the still. Next thing you know the state troopers and the Feds flyover with the helicopters looking for smoke and then they try to raid the still. Current score is moonshiners 7 - Feds 1.

Good Luck, Old Salt

"fish feed mill" implies the hapless AP is in an area where tires may not be in ready supply.

What do fish eat anyway?

Never seen a "fish feed mill".

Few years ago I saw a show on the landlocked raising of tilapia. The water/wastes of another fish (don't remember which species) is pumped into the tilapia tanks. They then clean all the "gray" water by eating all the crap in the water. The cleaned water is then pumped back into the good fish tanks.

Would that be called a fish feed mill? I call it a whole lot of shiXt!

I love fresh, salt and shell fish but after seeing that show I won't come with 100' of a tilapia. Would rather eat mossbunker!

Good Luck, Old Salt

Burning Tyres will cause Air Pollution, and cause environmental hazards and I understand that in some countries burning tyres is banned

DHAYANANDHAN.S

Burning tires does not cause air pollution when done under the right conditions. The most important of these is a temperature high enough and sufficient air supply. The residual oil that is given off during a low temperature tire burn can be, and is now, collected and burned as a method of energy recovery, treatment and disposal.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCgQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.energyjustice.net%2Ffiles%2Ftires%2FTireFBCpowerpoint.ppt&ei=z3aMVLiDHajGsQTyr4KYBQ&usg=AFQjCNGm2WKW_IGtFlbQQ-rxdDAQ_iEjVA&sig2=mm8pDijXw2n6721sQX-QKg&bvm=bv.81828268,d.cWc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire-derived_fuel

http://www.vurup.sk/sites/vurup.sk/archivedsite/www.vurup.sk/pc/vol48_2006/issue1/pdf/PC_1_2006_Juma.pdf

Those countries that ban the burning of tires usually do so when the correct methods are not followed or available.

Good Luck, Old Salt

I do believe "we" were joking about actually burning tires. Now burning Tyre that would be a sight to behold. Isn't that a ghost town anyway?

Which Sidon are you on?

I have heard of "burning" tires in a microwave plasma (or radio plasma) along with all manner other refuse to produce: (1)syngas, (2) condensible metals, and (3) glass with some metal content for "paving material". Net result: Solid waste is destroyed, removed, gotten rid of, and net recycling of some valuable matter is enhanced, along with a net electric power output.

What is the configuration of tubes in this boiler?

Being wood-fired, soot is a prime suspect.

On the water side, scale could be a problem. What condition is your feed water?

Is the boiler equipped with soot blowers?

Tornado Nice catch on the water scale. I didn't think of that. Good answer.

Inner tubes, or fire tubes? (sic, reference to burning tires, OK?)

(1) what is your name?

(2) what is your location? (we want to steer clear, perhaps)

(3) how old is the boiler, and where is it leaking?

(4) what happened to the air-preheater that is no longer working, or the wood dryer you removed six months ago?

(5) Do you have a pile of used tires nearby?

Use a wood with a higher BTU content. Instead of using pine, poplar, etc. with low heat content use Oak, Hickory, etc. with a high heat content. Also let the wood dry (self removal of the water content) before burning it.

Contact a tree trimmer/arborist and see if he will give you free wood for the removal of it or a minimal delivery fee.

Be a midnight marauder on the night before the recycling day and take people's bundles of newspapers, cardboard and misc. papers and burn them in the unit. If the flame is hot enough also take the plastic bottles and waxed cartons. Watch out though, some people become very possessive about their recyclables and carry shotguns with shells with salt in them. If you are in an agricultural area go out in the fields and pick up dry cow patties. They work real good and you can practice your Frisbee throwing with them. Wet ones are ok but make sure you don't have any open cuts on your hands or else use gloves.

There are some areas that have cow patties throwing festivals during the summers. Try to get the clan up contract for the playing fields and include in the contract that you retain all of the thrown patties.

Good Luck, Old Salt

Install reheater or economiser (heat exchanger) at the exhaust stack of your boiler before your feed water enters the fire tube or the other. a 90 deg Celcius stack could still be utilized as preheater, in that way your boiler is efficient-means more out put steam less wood consumption.

Look mate, I had to do my own homework and you're not going to learn if you just cut and paste answers. You'll get so far but then you'll come to a compete stop because you won't have the depth of knowledge to practically solve problems.

Fess up from the start that this is a school question and we'll help. We'll explain what, and why, we'll challenge you a little. You'll ask some good questions back, and say "thank you" for the free tutoring. We'll say "no problem".

... now, a question for you. Which of the answers in this forum (or which part of an answer) is manifestly incorrect and has been placed there by an Engineer with a sense of humour (it happens) wondering what will happen when you present that particular piece of tosh to your teacher?

Recycle the wood gas into a secondary containment then burn. There is a great deal of energy in the exhaust gas that is not being used.

Get control of the inlet combustion air and the exhaust gas flows by installing dampers in both flow paths. (Be sure the exhaust damper has a properly sized minimum flow orifice so that the boiler does not flame out.)

Make sure the wood being used is well dried before use.

Use high BTU content hardwoods such as oak, juniper, cedar, hickory, ash, etc.

Consider installing a wood pellet system but before doing so weigh the current fuel consumption cost against the cost of purchasing pellets for the same period of time.

To offset the cost you could purchase a pellet making system, put it into production, and sell the excess to offset the operating costs.

I do not like anonymous posts. However. If you want to burn wood or most fuels efficiently you have to understand that wood will not burn. What you think is wood burning is the gas being released as you heat the wood. There fore you need a good heat base in order to get efficient burning.

From my learning a properly engineered wood burning device should not take any heat from the fire pit area, it should be recovered from the flue. The fire box must be lined with a good fire brick ( refractory) and this heat retention in this area will create a proper heating of the wood and the release of gas and result in a smoke free (reduced) stack emissions as well as greatly reduced soot formations. With this type of fire box you will cut wood consumption in the area of 50% or better and not cause undue smoke. Smoke will only be seen upon start up and possibly total shutdown. To view this concept there are some outside wood boilers such as Greenwood for one but I know of several so read their literature.

Dear Friend,

Your question does not project the correct problem and it is general - to be specific it s vague.

Many CR4 members have given their views/suggestions and in addition to that you have to inform

1. The Feed Water Temperature.

2. Whether condensate is returned or not.? Whether the Feed Water is used - whether it is treated to match the Qualities prescribed for your boiler Pressure Range. If treated water is used what is the quantity and its temperature.

3. What about scale formation in the boiler.?

4. Is there any Waste Heat Recovery system.?

Pl. furnish the details of actual installation, fuel GCV, and its moisture, non-combustible constituents, ash content of fuel, air supply details etc. so as to understand your actual difficulty and solution can be suggested.

DHAYANANDHAN.S

Add a solar steam machine...

http://www.gizmag.com/solar-steam/25099/

http://www.areva.com/EN/solar-220/areva-solar.html

.....or you could just do the proper maintenance on the system....

so, is Ariva charging by the module or by the square foot, and can I buy one to place outside my toolshed/shop?

I saw the write-up on the research at Rice Univ. about using nano-gold, or nano-carbon. I suppose one might try graphite right out of a tube, but the particles are about 2-3 orders of magnitude larger.

I might do something stupid like try circulating air over some sort of media in a tube and use a Fresnel mirror assembly to get the heat input I need (for one of my semi-insane home projects), so hold my beer and watch this.