Energy Efficiency Improvement Strategies for Industrial Boilers: A Case Study

Abstract

In this paper, the findings of boiler house efficiency improvement study carried out in a large boiler house unit of a pulp and paper mill has been presented. The causes of poor boiler efficiency were various heat losses such as loss due to unburnt carbon in refuse, loss due to dry flue gas, loss due to moisture in fuel, loss due to radiation, loss due to blow down, and loss due to burning hydrogen, etc. The various heat losses were analyzed and a set of recommendations were made to the plant management for implementation, so that efficiency of boiler can be increased. Five important recommendations were implemented by plant management, and it has been seen that there is tremendous increase in boiler efficiency. Economic analysis reveals that the expenditure on the proposed system will be recovered in a short span of time. This work, with only five recommendations implemented, has resulted in net increase of 2% in overall boiler efficiency and an annual saving of Rs. 34,12,395. In addition, it is observed that carefulness in the operation of boiler can help a great deal in energy efficiency improvement in boiler.