200 MW CFB Boiler Burning High-Ash Anthracite

F. Belin
A.G. Bolumen
D.J. Walker
Babcock & Wilcox
Barberton, Ohio, U.S.A.
Presented to:
Power-Gen International 96
December 4-6, 1996
Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.

L.A. Babichev
M.M. Levin
P.I. Volkovitskaya
Kharkov Central Design Bureau
Ukraine
BR-1629

Abstract
Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) and Kharkov Central Design
Bureau (KhCDB), B&Ws Ukrainian licensee, have jointly designed a 200 MW circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler for
repowering of Ukrainian power plants. Indigenous high-ash
anthracite will be burned in the boiler. The CFB boilers will
replace typical 200 MW pulverized coal (PC) units that are outdated and worn out. Combustion of high-ash anthracite in the
PC boilers is inefficient, requires considerable co-firing of
natural gas and produces high SOx and NO x emissions.
The important boiler design and performance parameters,
such as furnace height, fuel and limestone sizing, solids recirculation rate, combustion efficiency and emissions performance,
were developed using the results of high-ash anthracite pilot
CFB testing, as described. The results of evaluating Ukrainian
limestones for CFB use are provided.
The boiler arrangement, fuel, sorbent and ash handling systems, and other boiler auxiliary equipment are described. The
boiler having B&Ws internal-recycle solids separator is compact and fits in the PC boiler cell without changes to the building. The novel boiler arrangement with a dual furnace outlet
provides for a low-risk scale-up. The boiler will operate in the
50% to 100% load range without using supplemental fuel. The
expected boiler combustion and emissions performance data are
provided.

Introduction
High-ash anthracite is a primary fuel for coal-fired boilers at
the Ukrainian power plants. The main workhorses of the fossil
utilities are 43 pulverized-coal (PC) fired 200 MW units, constructed in the period of 1961-1975. For 24 of these units, the
boilers were designed to burn the anthracite size fraction of
minus 6 mm (about 1/4 in.), called anthracite schtib, with an ash
content of 15-20%. Over the years, the anthracite schtib ash

Babcock & Wilcox

content has increased to the average of about 32%, with maximum values reaching 45%. This was accompanied by a decrease
of coal reactivity and increase of the sulfur content. Currently,
the boilers have to operate with supplemental firing of imported
natural gas or fuel oil (up to 20-25% heat input), even though
most of them have been derated. The high cost of imported fuel
creates a major economic problem for Ukraine.
None of these units have SOx or NOx emission controls, and
they contribute heavily to the high air pollution in the major
industrial areas. Ukraine does not possess technologies for SOx
or NOx pollution control. Addition of back-end environmental
equipment is very difficult due to theexisting power plant layout.
About half of the 200 MW boilers are 30 and more years
old. Most of them are in poor mechanical condition due to the
age, hard-to-handle fuel and poor maintenance caused by chronic
lack of resources. This makes their rehabilitation quite costly
and precludes significant investment in retrofitting these boilers with environmental control equipment.
With considerable overcapacity of existing power plants and
lack of capital, no new fossil power plants will be constructed
in Ukraine in the foreseeable future. The main emphasis is on
upgrading of existing power plants based on advanced technologies. For the 200 MW units the approach is two-pronged:
a) long term repowering with the use of CFB Technology
b) interim life extension of existing PC boilers with modest investment in combustion system upgrading
The CFB Technology is selected due to its ability to utilize
low-grade fuels while providing control of SOx or NOx emissions without the use of the back-end scrubbing equipment.
The strategy in applying CFB technology is to: a) acquire design and manufacturing know-how of a CFB technology most
suitable for repowering of coal-fired power plants, b) master

the technology on the units of a 50-60 MW capacity range, and

c) implement CFB technology for repowering of 200 MW and
later 300 MW coal-fired units. The plans are to manufacture
CFB boilers for this program mostly in Ukraine in cooperation
with Western and Russian boiler manufacturers. B&W has
signed a license agreement with the Ukraine concern
Kotloprominvest (KPI) on B&Ws CFB technology that will
be used for the Ukraine power plant repowering.
B&Ws CFB technology was selected due to the advantages
of B&Ws internal-recycle CFB boiler design in general and,
specifically, for power plant repowering applications (see below).
The development of CFB technology for utilization of Ukrainian anthracite schtib was supported by the U.S. Agency for
International Development (U.S. AID) and the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE), Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center.
B&W has conducted a U.S. AID/DOE-sponsored feasibility
study on the replacement of a 250 t/h (50 MW) PC boiler at the
Kharkov GRES-2 power plant with a CFB boiler of equal capacity, and subsequently a test program on CFB evaluation of
high-ash anthracite schtib.
The results of this work have laid a foundation to design a
200 MW (670 t/hr) CFB boiler burning this fuel. This work,
sponsored by Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, was done by
Kharkov Central Design Bureau, Ukraine with technical support from B&W.
The primary candidates for the 200 MW
repowering are the Lugansk Plant of Donbassenergo Utility
and the Zhiev Plant of Centerenergo Utility. These are the two
oldest power plants with similar 200 MW PC-fired units. This
paper describes design features of the 200 MW CFB boiler
burning anthracite schtib representing progress in technical
advancement and scaling-up of B&Ws CFB technology.

CFB Testing of Ukrainian Anthracite

The evaluation of anthracite schtib as a fuel for CFB boilers,
sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center, was conducted at CFB test facilities at
the Division of High Temperature Energy Conversion (DHTEC),
National Academy of Science, Ukraine and at B&Ws Alliance
Research Center (ARC). This included: a) kinetic evaluation of
anthracite schtib, b) preliminary test burns at the small-scale
(0.05 MW t ) CFB combustor at DHTEC, c) evaluation of Ukrainian limestones at the bench-scale limestone characterization
rig at ARC, and d) test burns at ARCs pilot 2.5 MWt CFB facility. The test results have been previously described in more
detail.[1]
The main conclusions from the test, important for designing
of the CFB boiler, were:
Coal crushing to 3 x 0 mm size to produce a sufficient
amount of circulating bed material to maintain the solids
circulation rate required for efficient furnace heat transfer
and combustion.
Selection of Ukrainian limestones and limestone sizing required for efficient sulfur capture.
Demonstration of stable combustion of anthracite schtib
without supplemental fuel in the load range of 50 to 100%
MCR.
Determination of the furnace design and process parameters (gas residence time, bed temperature, excess air, primary/secondary air split and furnace pressure differential)
required for stable operation and efficient fuel utilization
within a 50 to 100% MCR load range.

Determination of expected gaseous emission levels (SOx,

NOx, CO) and limestone utilization (Ca/S ratio).
Demonstration of B&W CFB technology with a two-stage
solids separation/recirculation system for efficient combustion of anthracite schtib.

CFB Boiler Design

Design Conditions
Fuel. The design fuel is high ash anthracite schtib having
an analysis and properties as shown in Table 1. As-received
sizing of anthracite schtib is expected to be 95% below 6 mm
(1/4 inch) and 100% below 12 mm (1/2 inch).

Table 1
Fuel Properties Ukrainian High Ash Anthracite
Proximate Analysis (%
Moisture
Volatile Matter
Fixed Carbon
Ash

Weight)
10
4
40
36

Ultimate Analysis (% Weight)

C
49.6
H
1.0
O
1.5
N
0.5
S
1.4
Ash
36.0
Moisture
10.0
Higher Heating Value 7307 Btu/lb

Limestone. The limestone characterization tests have shown

that limestones from two major suppliers located in the Donbass
region of Ukraine (Komsomolsk and Novotroitsk) have properties required for effective sulfur capture in the CFB process.
The system is designed for limestone as-received with 1 x 3 in.
(25 x 75 mm) sizing.
Steam conditions. The CFB boiler for 200 MW electricity
generation is designed to produce 1,474,000 lb/hr steam at
2000 psig, 1013F/1013F (670 t/hr, 13.8 MPa, 545C/545C).
Reheater steam flow at full load is 1,232,000 lb/hr (560 t/hr).
Existing building constraints. The general layout of the existing plant is shown in Figure 1. Ukrainian power plants with
200 MW units are based on a standard design, using a T-shaped
TP-100 pulverized coal boiler. It makes economic sense to utilize the existing buildings and as much of the general arrangement of the existing facilities as possible.
The existing boiler cell dimensions from column to column
are 36 m x 36 m, with an additional 15 m x 36 m bay for coal
crushers and coal and limestone silos. Height to the top of building steel is 47.7 meters. The challenge was to fit the 200 MW
boiler inside the building while minimizing changes to the foundation or structural steel portion of the building. In addition,
the boiler and auxiliary equipment were to be oriented to utilize
the existing layout of the plant including rail access, fuel transport and storage, ash cleaning and removal.

Babcock & Wilcox

36 m (118 ft)

15 m (49.2 ft)

36 m (118 ft)

Figure 1 Existing 1,474,000 lb/hr anthracite-fired boiler (TP-100).

Hot Reheater

CFB Boiler Technology

B&Ws CFB boiler design employs a distinctive two-stage
solids separation system. An impact primary solids separator
(U-beam separator) is installed across the full-furnace-width gas
exit. The U-beam separator is integral with the boiler enclosure, thus making B&Ws CFB boiler more compact than conventional hot cyclone-type CFB boilers.
A secondary separator (multi-cyclone type) is installed in
the lower gas temperature region of approximately 500 to 700F
(260 to 371C) of the convection pass. Solids from the multicyclone are recycled to the furnace. The two-stage solids separation system provides overall collection efficiency exceeding
that of cyclone-type CFBs. The final particulate cleanup uses a
baghouse or electrostatic precipitator (ESP).
In some units, the first field of the ESP is used as a secondary
separator with the collected solids recirculated to the furnace.
The development of B&Ws CFB technology, its advantages
and successful operating experience have been previously described.[2] It culminated in the patented third generation internal recirculation CFB boiler (IR-CFB) featuring a primary separator with entirely internal solids recirculation and control of
the solids inventory in the furnace via controlled solids recirculation from the secondary separator.[3] A sectional sideview of
the IR-CFB boiler is shown in Figure 2.
The IR-CFB design has significantly reduced the complexity
of a CFB system by eliminating expensive, high maintenance
refractory-lined hot cyclone separators and trouble-prone external
recycle devices like L-valves or loop seals. Another advantage
of the IR-CFB design is the wide turn-down ratio and responsive
load control achieved by controllable furnace inventory, low refractory mass and proper selection of gas velocity and solids
recirculation rate. Due to its compactness and simplicity, the IRCFB design is especially suitable for repowering applications.

Babcock & Wilcox

Secondary
Superheater

Primary
Impact
Separator:

Cold Reheater

Internal

Particle Transfer
Hopper

External

Economizer
In-Furnace
Superheater

Dust Collector
Tubular Air Heater

Coal Feeder
Start-Up
Burners

ject
Ash Rein

ion

Limestone Feed
Bed Drain
Cooler

Figure 2 B&W CFB boiler.

Boiler
The arrangement of the CFB boiler for repowering of a 200
MW unit is shown in Figures 3 and 4. The expected boiler performance parameters are summarized in Table 2.
Furnace. The CFB furnace arrangement for this project has
gas exits on two opposite walls of the furnace (patent pending).

1 Raw Coal Bunker

8 FD Fan

2 Coal Crushers

9 Air Heater

3 Coal Dryer

10 Windbox

4 Crushed Coal Bunker

11 Primary Air Duct

5 Coal Feed Points

12 Secondary Air Duct

6 Limestone Bunker

13 Electrostatic Precipitator

7 Limestone Feed Lines

14 ID Fan

3
6
17,450

48,900

12

4
13
9

11
5
2

10
7

15,000

14

8
36,000
Boiler Cell

15,000

33,000

Figure 3 New 1,474,000 lb/hr (670 t/hr) anthracite-fired CFB boiler.

1 Primary Air Duct

2 Windbox

3 Secondary Air Nozzles (Outer Walls)

~
~

4 Integral Secondary Air Plenum and Nozzles

~
~

5 Startup Burners
6 Partial-Furnace-Depth Division Walls

10

7 Wing Walls
8 U-Beam Separator
9 Pendant Superheater/Reheater Banks

11

10 Horizontal Reheater Banks

7

11 Economizer

9200

13 Secondary Solids Recycle

42,600

12 Secondary Solids Separator

12

14 Bed Drain Screw Cooler

15 Air Heater
6

13

3
4

15

2
1

14

36,000
Boiler Cell

Figure 4 New 1,474,000 lb/hr anthracite-fired CFB boiler.

Babcock & Wilcox

Table 2
Predicted Performance for 1,474,000 lb/hr CFB Boiler
(@ 100% MCR)
Fuel type
High-ash anthracite
Fuel HHV, Btu/lb (MJ/kg)
7307 (17.0)
Steam flow, lb/hr (ton/hr)
1,474,000 (670)
Steam temperatures
Superheater outlet
1013F (545C)
Reheater outlet
1013F (545C)
Reheater inlet
644F (340C)
Steam pressure, psig (MPa)
Superheater outlet
1990 (13.8)
Reheater outlet
536 (3.7)
Feedwater temperature
446F (230C)
Flue gas temperature leaving air heater 298F (148C)
Coal glow, lb/hr (kg/hr)
263,000 (119,500)
Ca/S molar ratio
2:1
Sulfur capture
90%
29,240 (13,246)
Limestone flow,(1) lb/hr (kg/hr)
Excess air
25%
Primary-to-secondary air split
0.65 / 0.35
Average bed temperature
1657F (903C)
Boiler efficiency
86.4%
Emissions, mg/Nm3 @ 6% O2 (predicted /limit)
NOx
350 / 470
SO2
508 / 600
Particulate
50 / 50
(1)

Based on 90% CaCO3 content in limestone

Having exits at two opposite walls allows the furnace depth to

be increased to 30 ft (9.2 m) while keeping the furnace velocity,
U-beam height and gas velocity in the U-beams the same as
that in existing B&W boilers with a 15 ft deep furnace. Based
on the test results, the height of the furnace was established to
provide a gas residence time of about 5 sec. at an average gas
velocity in the furnace of 18 ft/sec (5.5 m/s).
The furnace has superheater surface formed by 16 wing walls
in the upper furnace. The wing walls are comprised of membraned panels which pass through the vertical furnace walls and
extend upwards through the roof. Two water-cooled, partialfurnace-depth division walls, also comprised of membraned
panels, enter the furnace through the floor and extend upwards
through the roof.
Coal is pneumatically fed to the furnace at six points through
each of the side walls. Limestone is also pneumatically fed at
24 points through the furnace floor. The uniform limestone distribution is essential for efficient limestone utilization when low
volatile anthracite schtib is burned. The uniform distribution
of solids recirculated from the secondary separator (at 12 points
through each side wall) is also important for burnout of fine
particles.
The primary air from a single primary air fan enters the furnace through nozzles in the furnace floor. The secondary air
from a single secondary air fan enters the furnace through multiple nozzles designed for adequate air penetration and mixing.

Babcock & Wilcox

Half of the nozzles are located on two furnace side walls. An

Integral Secondary Air Plenum (patent pending) located on the
centerline of the furnace is used to introduce secondary air to
the middle of the furnace. The plenum is constructed of membraned panel circuits forming the plenum across the width of
the boiler, with secondary air introduced into each end of the
plenum through the furnace front and rear walls. The supply
tubes feeding the plenum circuits from beneath are grouped to
form gaps to allow solids and gas interchange. The riser tubes
leading upwards from the plenum are configured to provide gaps
extending from just above the integral plenum to the roof, providing for free gas/solids interchange at all elevations in the
upper furnace.
The boiler is equipped with gas (or fuel oil) -fired start-up
burners. Some of the burners are installed in the primary air
ducts with others (overbed burners) on the side walls.
Walls in the lower portion of the furnace, including enclosure walls, division walls, and integral secondary air plenum
tubes and panels are protected by refractory over anchoring
studs. The lower part of the wing walls is also protected by refractory and stainless steel castings on the lead edge.
Primary solids separator (U-beams). The primary solids
separator at each side consists of two groups of U-beams. Two
rows of in-furnace U-beams (IFUB) discharge collected solids
directly to the furnace along the side wall. Four rows of external U-beams (EUB) discharge solids to a solids transfer hopper
underneath from which solids are discharged by gravity to the
upper furnace through multiple openings in the side wall. The
pressure seal for the furnace discharge is achieved by proper
selection of flow area of the discharge channels.[3]
Solids collected by IFUB and EUB fall along the side wall
to the bottom of the furnace. As has been confirmed by test
results from pilot and commercial CFB units, the re-entrainment of the falling solids is minimal due to the gas velocity
directed downward in the near-wall zone typical for CFB combustors.
Convection pass. Flue gases exit the furnace through two
sets of U-beams and into two parallel convection passes comprising superheater, reheater and economizer banks followed by
multi-cyclone solids separators. The flue gas streams remain
divided continuing through the air heaters and ESP, with balanced gas flow to each convection pass maintained by individual
ID fans downstream of the ESP. The convection surfaces have
an in-line tube arrangement. Gas velocities are selected to minimize tube erosion by particles carried by flue gases. The air
heater is designed for in-tube air flow. Based on B&Ws experience, no sootblowers are installed in the convection pass
upstream of the secondary solids separator. Sootblowers are
installed for air heater tube cleaning.
Water/steam flows. Boiler feedwater is heated in the economizer banks in each convection pass. From the steam drum the
water flows through downcomers to the lower furnace. The
water is distributed to the furnace enclosure walls, the windbox
enclosure, division walls, integral plenum circuit, as well as the
transfer hopper/pendant convection pass floor and transfer
hopper/U-beam side walls. The water circulation is by natural
convection.
The saturated steam from the drum flows to the convection
pass enclosure walls for initial heating. The steam is routed next
to the in-furnace superheater wing walls and then to the pendant primary and secondary superheater tube banks for final
superheating. Reheater steam from the turbine extraction flows

to the horizontal reheater banks located in the convection pass

and then to the pendant reheater banks for final reheating.
Heat duty. The heat duty distribution for the boiler at maximum continuous load is given below.
Heat Duty Distribution, %
Convection Pass Furnace
Feedwater heating
9.1
10.6
Evaporative
1.7
32.6
Superheat
17.3
14.1
14.6
0.0
Reheat
Total
42.7
57.3

Total
19.7
34.3
31.4
14.6
100.0

Boiler Design Challenges and Solutions

Two of the major advantages of the B&W CFB boiler technology specific to this application are the compactness of the
boiler/auxiliary equipment and low scale-up risk, as described
below.
Space limitations. The boiler and auxiliary equipment sizing has satisfied the project technical requirements within the
confines of the boiler cell in the existing building without crowding the building space. The inherent compactness of the boiler
is the result of the following features:
B&Ws patented integral U-beam solids separator.
This type of separator avoids the building volume used for hot
cyclones and associated flues in alternative CFB boiler designs.
B&Ws patented compact IR-CFB design having internal
recirculation of solids captured by the U-beams.
With this design no external solids return is needed. This
avoids the space requirements of J-valves or loop seals used by
alternative CFB boiler designs.
All furnace heat transfer duty by means of heating surface
located entirely inside the furnace.
With in-furnace surfaces, no building volume is needed for
external heat exchangers associated with some alternative CFB
furnace designs.
Two parallel convection passes.
Utilization of two parallel convection passes made possible
close simulation of the configuration of the original TP-100 PC
boiler arrangement. This provides a good fit into existing building structures, is compatible with utilization of existing coal
bunkers and reduces changes to existing plant equipment, piping and cable lines.
Convection pass with both pendant and horizontal tube
banks.
An appropriate split between pendant and horizontal tube
banks assisted in meeting the desired horizontal envelope dimension of the boiler and auxiliary equipment.
A comparison between the arrangement of B&Ws CFB
boiler with a 200 MW CFB repowering design by LLB [4] confirms the advantages of B&Ws design. In the LLB case the
rear building wall is to be moved out by 4 meters despite an
extreme crowding of the existing building volume making access for equipment servicing and maintenance very difficult at
least.
Design scale-up. One of the project goals was to keep scaleup risks low. Comparisons given below are relative to B&Ws
proven CFB boiler design which has a single furnace gas exit,
as used for capacities up to approximately 150 MW. The 200
MW CFB boiler design does not involve any substantial CFB
process scale-up factors. The difference between the new design and smaller units is only in the furnace width, while the

unit profile in the direction perpendicular to the U-beam plane

remains unchanged, and height is determined by fuel rather than
the boiler capacity. Essentially, the two-exit furnace consists
of two single exit furnaces put together.
The following explains the factors minimizing the scale-up
risk.
Furnace depth
Primary solids separator (U-beams)
While the dual-exit furnace of the 200 MW boiler is
twice as deep as furnaces of existing B&W CFB boilers,
the U-beam height remains unchanged for the same ratio
of gas velocities in the furnace and U-beam. No U-beam
scale-up is required.
Feed distribution
With the dual furnace outlet arrangement the maximum particle mixing distance from solids injection points
is not increased. Therefore, the capacity increase does
not affect distribution of fuel and solids recirculating from
primary and secondary separators. The limestone distribution can be improved if needed by the underbed limestone feed.
Secondary air penetration
A thorough mixing of secondary air is important for
reducing flue gas residence time (furnace height) and
minimizing fuel burnout in the solids separator. In B&Ws
boilers having the furnace depth limited to 15 ft (4.6 m),
adequate secondary air jet penetration is achieved with
nozzles located on opposite furnace walls while avoiding
high jet velocity and associated high fan power need. By
using an Integral Secondary Air Plenum located along the
centerline of the furnace, the required jet penetration in
the 200 MW CFB boiler does not increase as furnace depth
is increased to 30 ft (9.14 m).
In-furnace heating surfaces
The requirement of additional heating surfaces for larger
furnaces, having a smaller enclosure-to-cross-section area ratio, is inherently accommodated by the B&W CFB technology
through uniformly spaced distribution of partial-furnace-depth
tube panels (division walls and wing walls). This makes full
division walls used in some conventional hot cyclone CFB units
unnecessary. With the flue gas exiting to U-beams on the entire
width of a furnace wall, gas and solids have a planar flow parallel to the in-furnace tube panels, thus minimizing the erosion
potential. A similar distributed arrangement is not possible in
CFB boilers with hot cyclones where gas velocity in the upper
furnace is non-uniform and three-dimensional.
Solids/gas balancing
Side-to-side mixing
The Integral Secondary Air Plenum allows the furnace
to have a single undivided bottom. Free solids mixing in
the entire lower furnace is facilitated by means of gaps in
the support tubes beneath the plenum having an open area
ratio of over 40%. Good solids mixing across the entire
lower furnace results in minimal unbalance in bed temperature, combustion and sulfur retention. Good interchange in the lower furnace increases unit availability in
case of loss of part of fuel, or limestone feeders or blowers.
Solids and gas mixing and pressure equalization in the
upper furnace are ensured by means of gaps in the plenum support panel with an open area of about 10%.
Front-to-rear mixing
With the use of uniformly distributed partial-furnace-

Babcock & Wilcox

depth division and wing walls, gas and solids mixing is

not obstructed with the increase in the front-to-rear size
(which is a larger dimension in the dual-exit furnace) in
larger furnaces.
Furnace height
The furnace height in a B&W CFB boiler is set solely by the
design fuels. It is not driven by the height requirement for the
solids separator and its return system which may be the case in
large capacity cyclone-type CFB boilers. Therefore, the furnace height is not a scale-up issue.

Materials Handling System

Coal handling. To reduce the scope of changes and considering repowering of individual boilers with uninterrupted operation of existing PC boilers, the existing coal bunkers are used,
including:
Two raw coal bunkers at two sides of the boiler cell receiving coal from existing conveyors.
A crushed coal bunker utilizing the existing PC coal bunker.
This determined the configuration of the coal handling system shown schematically in Figure 5.
The system consists of two symmetrical trains following the
configuration of existing coal bunkers, each train having a capacity equal to 65% of design coal flow. The system includes
two parts: a) crushing and drying, and b) pneumatic coal feed to
the furnace.

1 Pipe Dryer

11 Pipe Dryer Feeder

2 Tramp Catcher
3 Cyclone

12 Raw Coal Bunker

13 Crushed Coal Bunker

4 Baghouse
5 Exhauster Fan

14 Volumetric Feeder
15 Gas (Oil) Heater

6 Surge Hopper
7 Crusher

16 Air Intake
17 Multicyclone

8 Isolation Valve
9 Crusher Feeder

Vent
3
5
4

10 Mechanical Conveyor

1
12

10
13
14
8
9

To Furnace
CFB Boiler
6

Flue Gas
to
Air Heater

Coal crushing and drying. Based on results from the combustion testing program, coal crushing to a size of 3 mm x 0 was
selected. Each train has two crushers, each having a capacity
of 65% of design coal flow (one crusher is stand-by). The crusher
type is selected to minimize production of fines and provide
ability to adjust coal sizing. The recommended size distribution of the crushed coal, based on test results, is as follows:
Recommended Coal Size Distribution
U.S. Sieve
Micron
Wt % Passing
6
3360
100
16
1190
80
30
590
58
50
300
35
100
150
15
Coal drying is needed to avoid problems with crushed coal
storage and handling and to make possible pneumatic transport
to the furnace. This is especially important for the repowering
application with reuse of existing conveyors, bunkers and equipment arrangement.
In each train coal from crushers is transported by a mechanical conveyor to a surge bin and then is fed by a rotary feeder
into the lower part of a pipe dryer. Dried coal from the dryer is
collected in a cyclone and is introduced into a mechanical conveyor through a rotary seal. Dust in the exhaust of the cyclone
is captured in a final collector (baghouse) and introduced into
the same conveyor through a separate rotary seal. Clean gas
from the final collector is vented to the atmosphere. The dried
fuel is delivered and distributed to the crushed coal bunker by a
mechanical conveyor. During startup and low load operation,
gases for drying are heated in a direct-fired gas (or fuel oil)
heater as needed. Air is added to flue gases to maintain the gas
flow necessary for fuel transport.
The parameters of the drying system are:
Coal design moisture content:
Raw coal
12%
Dried coal
7%
Flue gas for drying at full load:
Flow
8% of total flue gas flow
Temperature entering
664F (351C)
Temperature leaving
208F (98C)
Gas loading in the dryer
0.73 lb/lb
Pneumatic coal feed. Volumetric feeders meter the coal from
the coal bunker to the pneumatic fuel feed system shown in
Figure 6. The coal is transported pneumatically to the furnace
where it is injected through six feed points on each of two opposing walls. Transport air is supplied from two blowers, each
capable to transport 65% of design air flow. The system arrangement is selected to support 65% of design coal feed on the
loss of either of the two feeders or one blower.

Limestone Handling
17
16
10

11

15

Figure 5 Coal preparation system (half of system shown).

Babcock & Wilcox

The limestone system design anticipates delivery of limestone directly from the mine. Limestone is crushed in a limestone receiving yard to the specified size, and is transported
pneumatically to a limestone bunker located in the boiler cell.
On-site crushing allows for utilization of more than one limestone source, and provides the possibility of changing the limestone size distribution which may be required for process optimization. The recommended size distribution of limestone,
based on the test results, is as follows:

Limestone
Bunker

Crushed Coal Bunker

Volumetric Feeder

Volumetric Feeder

Air Blowers

Diverter
Air Blower
Splitter

Feed Point

Furnace
Bottom

Furnace

Splitter

Figure 6 Pneumatic coal feed system.

Recommended Limestone Size Distribution

U.S. Sieve
Micron
Wt % Passing
12
1680
100
16
1190
94
30
590
60
50
300
28
100
150
8
A schematic of the limestone pneumatic feed system is shown
in Figure 7. The transport air is supplied by two blowers with
100% capacity each. The crushed limestone is fed by two rotary feeders. The pneumatic transport system delivers limestone
to 24 underbed feed points. It is arranged in such a way that
adequate limestone distribution will be provided with one
blower/feeder out of service.

Ash Handling
Bed ash. There are eight bed ash drains, consisting of vertical pipes which extend through the furnace floor. The bed material is cooled in water-cooled screws located under the furnace windbox at each drain. The solids drain flow rate is controlled by the rotational speed of water cooled screws.
While fluidized bed ash drain coolers have been specified
for a number of boilers having high ash, water cooled screws
were selected for this project. The choice between a fluidized
bed ash cooler and screw cooler was carefully examined. The
advantage of a fluidized bed ash cooler in utilizing the sensible
heat in the bottom ash is offset by several disadvantages: a) in
the case of anthracite schtib firing, there is a possibility of temperature excursions in the cooler due to carbon burnout leading
to agglomerate formation, and b) a considerable amount of cooling air/flue gas is needed which can affect boiler performance.
While simpler in operation, screw coolers require more mainte-

Figure 7 Pneumatic limestone feed system.

nance due to the abrasiveness of anthracite schtib ash. With

multiple screw coolers, there is redundancy allowing for repairs
to be made with the boiler on-line with little or no reduction of
boiler capacity.
Secondary separator recycle. The solids collected in the
multi-cyclone are recycled to the furnace side wall injection
nozzles at the required rate using air-assisted conveyors. One
air-assisted conveyor serves two multi-cyclone hoppers.
The flow rate to each conveyor is controlled by a variable
speed feeder installed between the hopper discharge connection and the conveyor inlet. Control algorithms determine the
aggregate quantity of solids to be recycled to meet furnace performance requirements and the flow rate from each hopper required to accommodate non-uniform distribution of solids from
hopper to hopper. Excess solids are removed from the system
when required by means of overflow pipes in each hopper. Solids from the overflow pipes are sent to disposal via the plant
ash removal system.

Conclusions
The Ukrainian Power Industry has a need to repower their
aged 200 MW units burning high ash anthracite schtib with CFB
technology. Pilot CFB testing of anthracite schtib has demonstrated its efficient combustion and low emission performance
and provided data for designing of commercial-size units. The
200 MW CFB boiler design developed by B&W and Kharkov
Central Design Bureau, Ukraine, has advantages of compactness, simplicity of construction and low scale-up risk. The boiler
fits into the existing PC building cell and is compatible with the
plant arrangement, including coal conveying and storage. Boiler
auxiliary equipment is designed to achieve high plant availability. The expected boiler performance meets stringent efficiency
and emission control requirements.

Babcock & Wilcox

References
1. Belin, F., Babichev, L.A., and Maystrenko, A. Yu., CFB
Boilers For Low-Grade Ukrainian Anthracite, Proceedings of
5th International CFB Conference, Beijing, 1996, p. CG-7.
2. Belin, F., CFB Boilers With An Impact Particle Separator Design and Operating Experience, Proceedings of the 4th
International Conference on Circulating Fluidized Beds, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1993, pp. 183-190
3. Belin, F., Maryamchik, M., Fuller, T.A., and Perna, M.A.,

Babcock & Wilcox

CFB Combustor With Internal Solids Recirculation Pilot Testing and Applications, Proceedings of 13th International Conference on Fluidized Bed Combustion, Orlando, Florida, 1995,
Vol. 1, pp. 201-209.
4. Maystrenko, A.Yu., Gross, P.G., and Gummel, P., The
Ukrainian Strategy Combustion Test and Design Philosophy
for a 200 MW Power Plant Firing Anthracite, Power-Gen
Europe 96, Budapest, 1996.