Patent Application
20130319299
The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent application serial No. 2012-121630, filed on May 29, 2012, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference into this application.
The present invention relates to a boiler and, more particularly, to a boiler in which fuel is burned to generate high-temperature steam for driving a steam-turbine power generation facility and which is suitably applicable to thermal power generation.
Generally, at a thermal power generation plant where fuel is burned to generate steam using a boiler, a means for recovering heat from the exhaust gas discharged from the boiler is used to improve thermal efficiency.
Among thermal power generation plants where coal is used as fuel, in particular, a technique is widely used in which an air heater is provided on a gas duct coupled to the boiler outlet, combustion air is heated using the heat of exhaust gas, and the heated combustion air is supplied to the boiler to promote burning of fuel so as to improve thermal efficiency of the boiler.
In Patent Literature 1 (JP-A No. 2008-145007), for example, a technique is disclosed in which a boiler includes a temperature detector for detecting the temperature of primary air, a primary air temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature of primary air, and a control device for controlling the primary air temperature adjusting means based on the temperature detected by the temperature detector so as to keep the temperature of the primary air at a predetermined level and in which the ignitability and combustibility of coal is stabilized by adjusting the combustion air temperature according to the quality of coal.
In Patent Literature 2 (International Publication No. WO 94/02784), a device is disclosed which allows gases of different temperatures to flow through two systems of flow paths without leaking and which allows flow path switching. The device described as being applied to a boiler includes two fixed chambers which are coupled to each other via a partition wall and which are provided in two systems of flow paths whose flow directions are fixed. In this configuration, exhaust gas from the boiler is, after being introduced into a downstream changeover chamber, made to enter a fixed chamber to be heated by heat storage material therein and is subsequently guided to the upstream side.
According to Patent Literature 2, no gas leakage occurs between the two systems of flow paths and the device with a simple construction enables flow path switching at high speed. This makes it possible to improve the performance of an air heater to thereby improve the thermal efficiency of the whole plant.
[Patent Literature 1] JP-A No. 2008-145007
[Patent Literature 2] International Publication No. WO 94/02784
The problem to be solved by the present invention will be described below with reference to
Generally, for existing types of coal-fired boilers used in thermal power generation plants, a two-staged combustion method is used to suppress the generation of nitrogen oxide caused when coal is burned.
In the two-staged combustion method, air is fed to a boiler through two systems, i.e. a primary air system for feeding fuel and a secondary air system for promoting fuel combustion. The primary air is fed with an excess air ratio smaller than 1 and undergoes primary combustion on a rich fuel side. This is to prevent the nitrogen compound generated by thermal decomposition from being converted into nitrogen oxide and to promote, using the secondary air, burning of unburned coal components and decomposition of nitrogen compound.
As shown in
Also, in many cases, to keep the reheat steam temperature at a desired level, a downstream flow path portion for exhaust gas (i.e. a portion around an economizer 16, a primary superheater 17 and a primary reheater 20 shown in a right-hand part of
In recent years, in attempts to further improve the thermal efficiency of power generation systems, various measures are adopted. In one of such measures, for example, the secondary air is heated to a higher temperature. Generally, the secondary air temperature is set to about 330° C. By further raising the secondary air temperature, unburned components can be further reduced to improve the thermal efficiency of the boiler 1.
As described in the foregoing, however, the exhaust gas temperature at the outlet of an existing type of boiler 1 is about 350° C., whereas the temperature to which air can be heated by the air heater 2 is about 330° C. at the highest. To further raise the air temperature, it is necessary to raise the exhaust gas temperature by appropriately reducing the heat transfer area of the boiler 1 while maintaining the heat collection of steam in the whole boiler. Generally, to adjust the heat transfer area of the boiler, the heat transfer area of heat exchangers such as the economizer 16, primary superheater 17, and primary reheater 20 provided in an exhaust gas downstream portion are adjusted.
Reducing the heat transfer area of the primary superheater 17 or the economizer 16 provided in the exhaust gas downstream portion causes the exhaust gas temperature to rise on the right side of the partition wall 6, shown in
Hence, when the exhaust gases from both flow paths are mixed as they are, the resultant exhaust gas temperature becomes about 420° C. Thus, in existing types of boilers, the secondary air temperature cannot be largely increased.
An object of the present invention is to provide a boiler in which the secondary air temperature can be efficiently increased for higher thermal efficiency by appropriately reducing the heat transfer area of the boiler while maintaining the heat collection of steam in the whole boiler.
To achieve the above object, a boiler according to the present invention includes: a furnace for burning solid fuel; a fuel mill for pulverizing the solid fuel; a solid fuel feeding pipe for conveying the solid fuel from the fuel mill to the furnace; a burner for igniting the solid fuel; an air port for introducing air into the furnace; an air heater for recovering heat from exhaust gas and heating primary air and secondary air to be supplied to the furnace; a primary combustion air supply duct for introducing the primary air from the air heater to the fuel mill; a secondary combustion air supply duct for introducing the secondary air from the air heater into the burner and the air port; an air duct for introducing air into the air heater; an exhaust gas duct for introducing exhaust gas into the air heater; a partition wall for partitioning a downstream portion of a flow path for exhaust gas discharged from the furnace; and a plurality of heat exchangers which are provided in the flow paths formed on both sides of the partition wall, recover heat from the exhaust gases flowing through the flow paths and heat steam using the recovered heat. In the boiler: the heat exchanger provided in the flow path on a first side of the partition wall has a smaller total heat transfer area than the heat exchanger provided in the flow path on a second side of the partition wall; the exhaust gases discharged from the flow paths to outside the boiler are introduced, without being mixed, into the air heater downstream of the boiler; and the heat of the exhaust gases is transferred to the primary air and the secondary air in the air heater so as to heat combustion air.
In a boiler according to the present invention, the secondary air temperature can be efficiently increased by appropriately reducing the heat transfer area of the boiler while maintaining the heat collection of steam in the whole boiler. This makes it possible to burn unburned components to improve the thermal efficiency of the boiler.
A boiler according to the present invention will be described below based on illustrated embodiments. In the drawings referred to in the following description, parts identical to those shown in
As shown in
Fuel coal is supplied to the coal mill 10 to be pulverized into particles sized to be suitable for burning in the boiler 1. To the coal mill 10, the air (primary air) heated by the air heater 2 is supplied through the primary combustion air supply duct 8. The primary air dries the pulverized coal and carries the pulverized coal to outside the coal mill 10.
The pulverized coal is conveyed, together with the primary air, to the burners 4 through the coal feeding pipe 12 to be ignited and to be then fed into the boiler 1. The boiler 1 also has the secondary air supplied from the air heater 2 through the secondary combustion air supply duct 9 and via the burners 4 and air ports 5.
Burning the pulverized coal using the air heated by the air heater 2 using exhaust gas as described above causes high-temperature combustion gas to be generated in the boiler 1. The heat of the combustion gas is transferred to water or steam at a group of heat exchangers (secondary superheater 18, final superheater 19, final reheater 21, primary superheater 17, economizer 16, primary reheater 20) installed in the boiler 1 to generate high-temperature, high-pressure steam. The high-temperature, high-pressure steam is fed, through a steam pipe (not shown), to a steam turbine power generation facility (not shown) to have the energy of the steam converted into electricity therein.
The flow path for the exhaust gas is, in a downward portion thereof, partitioned into two parts by the partition wall 6. In
In the present embodiment, the low-temperature exhaust gas flowing through the left-side flow path and the high-temperature exhaust gas flowing through the right-side flow path are introduced into the air heater 2 via separate exhaust gas ducts 3a1 and 3a2, respectively.
In the present embodiment, to achieve efficient heat exchange, four separate gas flow paths (ducts), i.e. two each on the exhaust gas side and on the air side, are arranged, as shown in
Namely, the rotary heat storage material first passes the exhaust gas flow path (exhaust gas duct 3a1) on the low-temperature side to be heated by the low-temperature exhaust gas; next passes the exhaust gas flow path (exhaust gas duct 3a2) to be further heated by the high-temperature exhaust gas; and subsequently passes the secondary air flow path (air duct 3b1) and the primary air flow path (air duct 3b2) in this order to release the stored heat while passing the air ducts.
The above-described configuration of the present embodiment makes it possible to heat the secondary air up to about 500° C. so as to reduce the unburned components of coal. This improves thermal efficiency of the boiler 1.
As the secondary air heated to a high temperature improves the combustion efficiency of coal, heat collection by the boiler 1 in its upstream gas flow portion increases. Therefore, even when the heat transfer area of one or both of the economizer 16 and the primary superheater 17 is reduced to be smaller than in existing types of boilers as mentioned above, heat collection by the boiler as a whole can be secured. When necessary to secure adequate heat collection by the boiler 1, the heat transfer area of the secondary superheater 18 or final superheater 19 may be increased.
The boiler of the second embodiment includes many parts identical in operation to those used in the first embodiment. In the following, the boiler of the second embodiment will be described only with regard to what it differs from the boiler of the first embodiment. The parts of the boiler not described in the following are identical in operation and effects to those used in the first embodiment.
In the second embodiment, unlike in the first embodiment, two air heaters are used as shown in
The above-described configuration of the present embodiment also makes it possible to obtain the advantageous effects of the foregoing first embodiment. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, with the two separate air heaters, i.e. the low-temperature air heater 2a and the high-temperature air heater 2b, provided, it is easy to maintain high heat-exchange efficiency, so that the secondary air can be stably maintained at high temperature.
It is feared that a heat exchanger of a rotary heat storage material type involves leakage between flowing gases. In the present embodiment, however, leakage occurs neither between the low-temperature and the high-temperature exhaust gas nor between the primary and the secondary air, so that stable heat exchange is realized.
The boiler of the third embodiment includes many parts identical in operation to those used in the second embodiment. In the following, the boiler of the third embodiment will be described only with regard to what it differs from the boiler of the second embodiment. The parts of the boiler not described in the following are identical in operation and effects to those used in the second embodiment.
There are two differences between the present embodiment shown in
Namely, the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust gas duct 3a1 on the low-temperature side where a heat exchanger having a large heat transfer area is installed passes, before entering the low-temperature air heater 2a, the de-NOx device 15 for removing nitrogen oxide contained in the exhaust gas. At the same time, the secondary air enters, after being heated in the low-temperature air heater 2a, the high-temperature air heater 2b to be heated therein by the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust gas duct 3a2 in which a heat exchanger having a small heat transfer area is installed.
The exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust gas duct 3a2 in which a heat exchanger having a small heat transfer area is installed enters the high-temperature air heater 2b and, after being heat-exchanged therein, enters the de-NOx device 15. In the de-NOx device 15, the exhaust gas, along with the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust gas duct 3a1 in which a heat exchanger having a large heat transfer area is installed, has nitrogen oxide removed from it to be then introduced into the low-temperature air heater 2a.
The de-NOx device 15 used in the present embodiment is for removing nitrogen oxide contained in exhaust gas. The catalyst de-NOx device of an ammonia spray type capable of efficiently removing nitrogen oxide operates optimally at about 350° C. and is normally installed on the upstream side of an air heater.
In cases where, as assumed in the present embodiment, the outlet temperature of the boiler 1 becomes 400° C. or higher, the location where the de-NOx device is installed in the present embodiment is appropriate. Namely, using the configuration of the present embodiment makes it possible not only to obtain advantageous effects similar to those obtained in the foregoing second embodiment but also to maintain high performance for nitrogen oxide removal.
The boiler of the fourth embodiment includes many parts identical in operation to those used in the second embodiment.
In the following, the boiler of the fourth embodiment will be described only with regard to what it differs from the boiler of the second embodiment. The parts of the boiler not described in the following are identical in operation and effects to those used in the second and third embodiments.
In the present embodiment shown in
In the present embodiment, the air flow regulators 11a, 11b and 11c and the exhaust gas flow regulators 13a, 13b and 13c function to adjust the respective air flows and exhaust gas flows based on the output of the air thermometer 22 so as to keep the temperature measured by the air thermometer 22 of the primary combustion air passing through the primary combustion air supply duct 8 at a desired level.
The above-described configuration of the present embodiment also makes it possible to obtain the advantageous effects of the foregoing second embodiment. Furthermore, the present embodiment in which the air flow regulators 11a, 11b and 11c, the exhaust gas flow regulators 13a, 13b and 13c, and the air thermometer 22 are provided so as to keep the temperature of the primary air at a desired level can be flexibly applied to boilers using diversified kinds of coal.
While the present invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the invention. Typically, the embodiments have been described in detail so as to illustrate the present invention clearly, and the present invention is not limited to ones including all the described configurations. Substitution of part of a configuration of one embodiment with a configuration of another embodiment is possible; and addition of a configuration of one embodiment to a configuration of another embodiment is also possible. Additions, deletions, and substitutions of part of a configuration of an embodiment with or by another configuration can also be made.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-121630 | May 2012 | JP | national |
