ADVANCED MANUFACTURING OFFICE

Energy Tips: STEAM Steam Tip Sheet #22

Consider Installing High-Pressure Boilers

Suggested Actions
with Backpressure Turbine-Generators
Consider installing a high-pressure
When specifying a new boiler, consider a high-pressure boiler with a backpressure boiler with a back-pressure turbine-
steam turbine-generator placed between the boiler and the steam distribution network. generator whenever undertaking a
A turbine-generator can often produce enough electricity to justify the capital cost of
boiler upgrade. When evaluating
purchasing the higher-pressure boiler and the turbine-generator.
this opportunity, you should:
Since boiler fuel usage per unit of steam production increases with boiler pressure,
facilities often install boilers that produce steam at the lowest pressure consistent with ■■ Determine how much steam
end use and distribution requirements. enthalpy, pressure, and
In the backpressure turbine configuration, the turbine does not consume steam. Instead, it temperature are required at the
simply reduces the pressure and energy content of steam that is subsequently exhausted header downstream from your
into the process header. In essence, the turbogenerator serves the same steam function as boiler.
a pressure-reducing valve (PRV)—it reduces steam pressure—but uses the pressure drop
to produce highly valued electricity in addition to the low-pressure steam. Shaft power ■■ Calculate the incremental fuel
is produced when a nozzle directs jets of high-pressure steam against the blades of the cost between a low-pressure
turbine’s rotor. The rotor is attached to a shaft that is coupled to an electrical generator.
boiler and a high-pressure boiler.
Background ■■ Develop steam flow/duration
The capital cost of a back-pressure turbogenerator complete with electrical switchgear curves for your boiler. (Remember
varies from about $900 per kilowatt (kW) for a small system (150 kW) to less than
$200/kW for a larger system (>2,000 kW). Installation costs vary, depending upon pip- that electrical generation will
ing and wiring runs, but they typically average 75% of equipment costs. follow your steam load or process
heating requirements.)
Packaged or “off-the-shelf” backpressure turbogenerators are now available in ratings
as low as 50 kW. Backpressure turbogenerators should be considered when a boiler has ■■ Obtain plant electricity and fuel
steam flows of at least 3,000 pounds per hour (lb/hr), and when the steam pressure drop
between the boiler and the distribution network is at least 100 pounds per square inch cost information.
gauge (psig). The backpressure turbine is generally installed in parallel with a PRV,
to ensure that periodic turbine-generator maintenance does not interfere with plant
■■ Use the tools provided in this fact
thermal deliveries. sheet to estimate your electricity
generation potential and to
Cost-Effective Power Generation determine savings from
In a backpressure steam turbine, energy from high-pressure inlet steam is efficiently purchasing and installing a high-
converted into electricity, and low-pressure exhaust steam is provided to a plant process. pressure boiler plus a
The turbine exhaust steam has a lower temperature than the superheated steam created
backpressure turbine-generator.
when pressure is reduced through a PRV. In order to make up for this heat or enthalpy
loss and meet process energy requirements, steam plants with backpressure turbine
installations must increase their boiler steam throughput (typically by 5% to 7%). Every
Btu that is recovered as high-value electricity is replaced with an equivalent Btu of heat for
downstream processes.
Thermodynamically, steam turbines achieve an isentropic efficiency of 20% to 70%.
Economically, however, the turbine generates power at the efficiency of the steam
boiler. The resulting power generation efficiency (modern steam boilers operate at
approximately 80% efficiency) is well in excess of the efficiency for state-of-the-art
single- or combined-cycle gas turbines. High efficiency means low electricity generat-
ing costs. Backpressure turbines can produce electrical energy at costs that are often
less than $0.04/kWh. The electricity savings alone—not to mention ancillary benefits
from enhanced on-site electricity reliability and reduced emissions of carbon dioxide
and criteria pollutants—are often sufficient to completely recover the cost of the initial
capital outlay.
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Estimating Your Savings power output by multiplying this number Resulting reductions in fuel costs are due
by your known steam flow rate. solely to the higher efficiency of the new
Since you have already determined that
boiler.
you need a boiler to satisfy your process
thermal loads, the marginal cost of power Example New LP Boiler Fuel Cost
produced from the backpressure turbine- A chemical company currently uses a = Fuel Price x Steam Rate x Annual
generator is: 100-psig boiler with 78% boiler efficiency Operation x Steam Enthalpy Gain/E2
(E1) to produce 50,000 lb/hr of saturated = $8.00/MMBtu x 50,000 lb/hr x 6,000
Cost of Power Production = (Annual steam for process loads. The boiler oper- hr/yr x (1,190 Btu/lb – 150 Btu/lb)/
Boiler Fuel Cost after Pressure Increase – ates at rated capacity for 6,000 hours per (0.80 x 106 Btu/MMBtu)
Annual Boiler Fuel Cost before Pressure year (hr/yr). The boiler has reached the = $3,120,000 per year
Increase)/Annual kWh Produced by end of its service life, and the company
Turbine-Generator is considering replacing the boiler with a Step 3: Calculate the boiler fuel cost of
new 100-psig boiler or with a high-pres- a new high-pressure (HP) boiler capable
The cost of boiler fuel before and after sure 600-psig boiler and a backpressure of producing 600 psig, 750ºF super-
a proposed pressure increase can be steam turbine-generator. Both new boiler heated steam: $3,318,300 per year
calculated directly from the boiler fuel alternatives have rated efficiencies (E2) of We must now take into account the
cost, boiler efficiency, and inlet and 80%. The company currently pays $0.06/ additional enthalpy necessary to raise the
outlet steam conditions. The annual kWh kWh for electricity, and purchases boiler pressure of the boiler steam to 600 psig.
produced by the turbine generator can fuel for $8.00 per million Btu (MMBtu). With a 50% isentropic turbine efficiency,
be calculated from the inlet and exhaust Condensate return mixed with makeup the exhaust steam from the backpressure
pressures at the turbine, along with the water has an enthalpy of 150 Btu/lb. What turbine is at 100 psig and 527ºF and must
steam flow rate through the turbine, in are the relative financial merits of the two be desuperheated by adding 5,000 lb/hr of
thousand pounds per hour (Mlb-hr). systems? water. In order to provide an equivalent
To estimate the potential power output Step 1: Calculate the current annual amount of thermal energy to the process
of your system, refer to the figure below, boiler fuel cost: $3,200,000 per year loads, the boiler steam output is reduced to
which shows lines of constant power 45,000 lb/hr.
output, expressed in kW of electricity Current Boiler Fuel Cost
= Fuel Price x Steam Rate x Annual New HP Boiler Fuel Cost
output per Mlb-hr of steam throughput as
Operation x Steam Enthalpy Gain / E1 = Fuel Price x Steam Rate x Annual
a function of the inlet and exhaust pressure
= $8.00/MMBtu x 50,000 lb/hr x 6,000 Operation x Steam Enthalpy Gain / E2
through the turbine. Look up your input
hr/yr x (1,190 Btu/lb – 150 Btu/lb) / = $8.00/MMBtu x 45,000 lb/hr x 6,000
and output pressure on the axes shown,
(0.78 x 106 Btu/MMBtu) hr/yr x (1,379 Btu/lb – 150 Btu/lb) /
and then use the lines provided to estimate
= $3,200,000 per year (0.80 x 106 Btu/MMBtu)
the power output, per Mlb/hr of steam
= $3,318,300 per year
flow rate for a backpressure turbogenera- Step 2: Calculate the boiler fuel cost of a
tor. You can then estimate the turbine new 100-psig, low-pressure (LP) boiler: Step 4: Estimate the electricity output of
$3,120,000 per year the steam turbine-generator: 6,750,000
kWh per year
At 600-psig inlet pressure with 750ºF
Estimating Power Output Using Steam Inlet and Exhaust Pressures
superheated steam and 100-psig exhaust
300 pressure, the system will satisfy exist-
ing steam loads but will also produce
approximately 25 kW of electric power
250
per Mlb-hr of steam production (you can
10 kW/Mlb-hr use the figure on page 2 to estimate your
Exhaust Pressure, psig

200 power output for steam at saturated condi-

tions). Thus,
150 Turbine-Generator Power Output
18 kW/Mlb-hr = 45 Mlb-hr x 25 kW/Mlb-hr
100 = 1,125 kW

25 kW/Mlb-hr Assuming a 6,000-hr operating year, the

50
electricity output of this turbine will be:
Turbine-Generator Electricity Output
0 = 1,125 kW x 6,000 hr/yr
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 = 6,750,000 kWh/yr
Input Pressure, psig
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Step 5: Determine the cost of electricity produced by the turbine: $0.029/kWh

The value is derived from the difference in fuel costs between the two boiler alternatives,
divided by the power produced by the turbine:
Resources
U.S. Department of Energy—
Fuel Cost of Produced Electricity = ($3,318,300/yr – $3,120,000/yr)/
6,750,000 kWh/yr DOE’s software, the Steam
= $0.029/kWh System Assessment Tool and
Steam System Scoping Tool, can
Step 6: Calculate energy savings benefits: $209,250 per year
help you evaluate and identify
Cost Savings = 6,750,000 kWh x ($0.06/kWh – $0.029/kWh) = $209,250/yr
steam system improvements. In
This level of savings is often more than adequate to justify the capital and maintenance addition, refer to Improving
expenditures for the backpressure turbine-generator set and the incremental cost of Steam System Performance: A
purchasing and installing the higher-pressure boiler.
Sourcebook for Industry for more
Steam Tip Sheet information is adapted from material provided by TurboSteam information on steam system
Corporation. For additional information on steam system efficiency measures, refer efficiency opportunities.
to Steam Tip Sheet No. 20, Replace Pressure-Reducing Valves with Backpressure
Turbogenerators, and the “Steam System Basics: End Use” section of Improving Steam Visit the Advanced Manufacturing
System Performance—A Sourcebook for Industry. Office website at manufacturing.
energy.gov to access these and
many other industrial efficiency
resources and information on
training.

Advanced Manufacturing Office

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
U.S. Department of Energy
Washington, DC 20585-0121
manufacturing.energy.gov

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DOE/GO-102012-3394 • January 2012

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