Leveraging Boiler Room Control Data for

Optimized Operations

Presented by Steve Connor

May 27, 2015

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Today’s Topics

Plant Automation Evolution &

Monitoring/Control points

SCADA , the What, How & Why

The Industrial Process Control System

(ICS) & link to the Boiler Room

Leveraging Automated Boiler Room

Control Data for facility optimization

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The way we were…

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MA Station & Strip Charts

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Manual/Auto stations allowed operators to individually

control many elements of the boiler

DDC

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Note:

Technology started to

advance but operators could

still not get a complete feel

for the total plant operation

DCS

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The Digital Control System allowed for

• Expanded information and larger

displays

• Viewing historical information and

trending capabilities

• Higher resolution computer screens

and more variables to be included

on the screen at one time

Fuzzy Logic

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• Boiler scaling?

• Boiler sooting?

Discipline Separation

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Maintenance

Operations

Power Plant

Improved overall

efficiency was now

within reach

SCADA

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3 Distinct Categories

• Industrial

• Infrastructure

• Facility

Industrial Control System (ICS)

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• Manufacturing

• Maintenance & Power Generation

• Power Generation For the Boiler Room

Boiler Room Control

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The Boiler Room highly impacts

the facility’s efficient operation.

Overview

Boiler Control System

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Fuel Air

Burner Management

Combustion Control

The Burner Management System (BMS)

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• Manages burner control and safety

• Monitors and displays burner status

• Proves pre-ignition interlocks

• Proves burner blower motor is on

• Proves running interlocks and starts

burner cycle

• Proves pre-purge high and low limit

travel switches with a minimum of 4

air changes required by code

• Proves pilot flame signal prior to main

valves opening

• Proves main fuel signal prior to

releasing the burner to full modulation

• Displays any burner related alarms and

forces automatic shut down of the

burner requiring manual reset

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Burner Management System & Sequencing

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• Traditional Jack

Shaft Control

• Parallel Positioning

w/Cross Limited

Feedback Control

• O2

trim

• FGR Damper Control

• Variable Speed Drive

on Burner Blower

Motor

• Draft Control

• Feedwater control

• Lead lag load control

• Full Metered Control

Fuel Air

Combustion Control

And Sub-Systems

Combustion Control System

Sensing & Sending Devices

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RTD

Transducer

Transmitter

Thermistors Thermocouple

Sensing & Sending Devices

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Water Flow Meter Steam Flow Meter

Flow meters measure forces produced by a

flowing stream as it overcomes a known

constriction to indirectly calculate flow.

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Loop Controllers vs PLC Platform

Loop Controller PLC Platform

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Firing

Rate

Control

Fuel-Air

Ratio

Control

O2

Trim

Draft

Control

Economizer

ControlVSD

Control

Requires

• Individual loop

controllers

• Separate control

panel

• Interface wiring

for BMS

• Relays and timers

• Extra wiring

• Expert tuning

Multiple Control Loops

Lead/Lag

Control

Single Platform for All

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PLC Based System

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Plant Master

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• Automatic sequencing

of Lead and Lag

boilers to maintain

changing plant loads

• Equal run time on

boilers

• Automatic boiler

rotation schedule

• Lead/Lag or Unison

firing rate control

• Overall system

efficiency and control

Common

Header

Transmitter

Lead – Lag

Controller

Common Header

Multi Boiler Lead-Lag Control

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Ambient Air

Temp

Fuel

O2

Boiler

Exhaust

Gases

Air

O2

Trim Control

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Parallel Positioning: Fuel Air Ratio Control

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Stack Draft

Transmitter

Stack Draft Damper

Draft Control

Feed Water Flow

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Steam flow integration with

modulating feed water control and

firing rate can be used for chemical

treatment monitoring.

Feedwater

Steam

Common Header

Design Engineering

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SAMA Diagram

Separate but Integrated BMS & CCS

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NFPA85

PLC Based System

Typical Status Overview Screen

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Burner Management System

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Firing Rate Control Screen

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Natural Gas

Feedwater

Oil

Boiler Draft

Combustion

Air

Boiler Steam

Various Boiler Pressure Points

Natural Gas

Feedwater

Header

Pressure

Vortex w/Temp

Boiler Pressure

Electro Magnetic

Thermal

MassOil

Coriolis

(Accuracy)

Positive

Displacement

Bo

ile

r S

tea

m

Plant

Blowdown and

Heat Recovery

Combustion

Air

Thermal

Mass or DP

TDS,

Conductivity

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Flow Points

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Boiler Feedwater

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Various Added Boiler Temperature Points

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Boiler Room Closed Loop System

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Leveraging the Data

Assessment Cornerstones

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Efficiency

Sustainability

Reliability

Safety

Steam Flow vs Fuel Flow

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1,000# of Steam/HR x Fuel Cost = Cost of Steam/1000#

Dollars/Year at 100 Psig

Equivalent

Orifice

Diameter

1/16”

1/8”

1/4”

1/2”

Lbs./Yr.

Steam

Loss

115,630

462,545

1,848,389

7,393,432

Steam Cost Per 1000 Lbs.

$5.00 $7.50 $10.00

$578 $867 $1,156

$2,313 $3,469 $4,625

$9,242 $13,863 $18,484

$36,967 $55,451 $73,934

Cost Multipliers For Other Steam Pressures:

16 Psig -. 26 50 Psig - .56 150 Psig - 1.43

200 Psig - 1.87 300 Psig - 2.74 600 Psig - 5.35

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Cost of Steam Leaks

Steam Flow & Pressure vs Drum Level

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Remember: For each pound of steam you evaporate a

pound of water and there’s 8.3 pounds of water in a gallon.

Feed Water Temperature Variance

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Temperature drop from

227 Deg. F to 200 Deg. F

Steam Header Pressure Decay

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TemperaturePressure

Firing rate controller

Stack Temperature vs

Drum Pressure & Firing Rate

Data points should be gathered,

stored and routinely evaluated.

Stack Temperature

Combustion Efficiency for Natural Gas

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Combustion Air Temperature Variance

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O2 vs Firing Rate

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O2 Sensing Firing Rate Metering Cam

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Excess Air Increases As The Firing

Rate Decreases

As Excess Air Increases, Efficiency Decreases

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Lose 1% in

Efficiency

For every 2%

increase in O2

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Major Combustion Variable

Combustion

settings will

change as

weather and

ambient

conditions vary.

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Data Logging and Communications

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Alarm Printer

Data Printer

Uninterruptabl

e Power

Supply

Data Logging and Communications

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SCADA Tie to Building Automation System

Information & System Control Data

Sample SCADA Screens

Summary

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• Today’s advanced Industrial Control Systems allow the Power house,

Maintenance and Operations to collaborate and share information.

• SCADA tie-in allows this information to be transmitted globally.

• The Burner Management System controls and sequences the burner.

• The Combustion Control System controls other related functions such as

fuel/air metering, feed water metering, draft, motor speeds, etc.

• The BMS & CCS must be separate per NFPA85, though integrated.

• Boiler control and monitoring can be through loop controllers or a PLC platform

which is becoming the preferred method because of its high degree of

integration and ease of field install.

• The PLC based platform can be expanded to include various controls and

sensors for capturing valuable data for leveraging plant optimization.

• This information should be logged and trended to maximize fuel Efficiency,

Sustainability, Reliability and Safety in the plant and throughout the

organization.

Wendell Pipkin

Conversions Sales Manager

wpipkin@cleaverbrooks.com

229-229-4408

cleaverbrooks.com

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