Coal Air Flow

The first step in optimizing combustion system performance is balancing the air and fuel flowing
through each of the plants coal pipesthe pipes that convey the air/fuel mix from the pulverizers to
the individual burners in the furnace wall. Also necessary is information on the properties of the coal
traveling through the pipes, such as fineness data. Together, the data provide a window into coal
pipe performance that is an important precursor to optimizing furnace combustion efficiency. Fuel
fineness and distribution are prerequisites to achieving the best furnace effectiveness for low-
NOx burner performance, slagging, and steam cycle performance.
When fuel and air are flowing through the pipes to each burner equally, and the quality of the fuel is
within specific guidelines, then the system is balanced. Its our experience that some plants pay
attention to balancing air and fuel flows across coal pipes, but few actually sample the coal flowing to
the burners from all of the coal pipes. Those plants are missing an opportunity to improve the
combustion efficiency of their furnaces. These measurements play a crucial role in adjusting fuel and
air flows to balance the flow, fuel fineness, and air/fuel ratio across all of the plants coal pipes (see
sidebar).
Four Steps to Fuel Line Balancing

1. Ensure That Clean Air Balancing Is Within 2%. Balance the fuel line system resistances by
clean air testing to achieve resistance within 2% for all pipes.
2. Ensure That Measured Primary Air Hot "K" Factor Calibrations Are Within 3%. The density
of cold air is different from that of hot air. This can sometimes lead to a significant variance in
measured velocity at similar mass flow rates. Hence, the K-factor will vary, so we prefer to conduct
Hot "K" airflow calibrations that use typical operational air or gas density when developing an
average K-factor. This information is useful in developing a pulverizer primary airflow curve and in
measurement of all combustion airflows, including primary air, secondary air, overfire air, and
underfire air.
3. Ensure That Dirty Air Velocity Measurements Are at Optimum Primary Air/Fuel Ratio with a
Balance Within 5%. The average velocity for each burner line is determined while the mill is in
service. This velocity is then used for collecting an isokinetic coal sample from each line. Dirty airflow
measurements are also useful in determining the level of mill performance (mill air in-leakage
valueson suction mills), mill heat balance calculations, airflow balance, and the like.
4. Ensure Fuel Line Fineness and Distribution Testing by Air/Fuel Ratio Sampling and Ensure
That an Optimum Fineness Level Is Achieved. Accurate weighing and sieving of the coal samples
through four sieves is also important. Why four sieves? With near 0% remaining on the 50-mesh
sieve, at least three points are needed on the Rosin-Rammler Chart to plot the fineness results. Four
sieves of 50, 100, 140, and 200 mesh are recommended for fineness sampling. Fuel line fineness
should be 75% or more passing a 200-mesh screen and a maximum of 0.1% remaining on the 50-
mesh screen.
Air and Fuel Tests

Characterizing air and fuel flow requires carefully collecting a number of measurements, including
pipe static pressure, pipe temperature, dirty air velocities, fuel flows from each individual coal pipe,
individual pipe velocities, total pulverizer fuel flow, and total airflow entering the mills (primary airflow,
including air in-leakage and seal air). The following discussion focuses on the importance of an
accurate and standardized coal pipe sampling methodology.
As part of the usual process of ensuring a balanced coal flow system, actual coal samples must be
taken from each coal pipe. There are three general approaches to collecting a coal sample, as
illustrated in Figure 1. Isokinetic sampling (left) collects particles flowing into the sampler at the same
velocity as the coal flowing through the pipe and best represents actual operating conditions. Super
isokinetic sampling (center) has particles pulled into the sampler at a higher rate than the velocity in
the pipe. Sub isokinetic sampling (right) has particles pushed away from the sampler tip due to its
obstruction, and those particles that enter the sample pipe are flowing at a velocity slower than the
pipe flow.
1. Collecting coal samples using an isokinetic probe provides the best data describing actual
operating conditions inside the coal pipe. Source: Storm Technologies Inc.
The isokinetic coal sampling method, although more difficult, is the best option for determining the
true mill coal fineness produced and to calculate pulverizer performance. We perform isokinetic coal
sampling after the dirty air velocity probe traverses are completed. This is done to match the
sampling extraction velocity with the actual coal particle velocities in the coal pipes.
Our approach to measuring dirty airflow in coal pipes (fuel and air) is to assemble a dirty airflow test
kit (Figure 2) and an isokinetic coal sampling test kit to collect representative fuel samples for coal
fineness analysis (Figure 3). Unlike other sampling methods, these two tests together allow the test
engineer to determine important performance data, such as:
Relative pipe-to-pipe fuel balance

Individual fuel line air/fuel ratios
Pulverizer air/fuel ratio
Individual fuel line velocity and airflow
Pipe-to-pipe airflow balance
Fuel line temperature and static pressure
Total fuel flow at different feeder speeds

Coal Air Flow

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The first step in optimizing combustion system performance is balancing the air and fuel flowing

Four Steps to Fuel Line Balancing

Air and Fuel Tests

Relative pipe-to-pipe fuel balance

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