Boiler operator's handbook

Chapter 1 - OPERATING WISELY .............................................. 1 Why wisely? .......................................................................... 1 Prioritizing ............................................................................. 1 Safety ....................................................................................... 5 Measurements ....................................................................... 7 Flow ...................................................................................... 13 What happens naturally ................................................... 14 Water, steam and energy .................................................. 15 Combustion.......................................................................... 18 The central boiler plant ..................................................... 25 Electricity .............................................................................. 26 Documentation .................................................................... 31 Standard Operating Procedures ...................................... 33 Disaster Plans ...................................................................... 36 Logs ....................................................................................... 37 Chapter 2 - OPERATIONS .......................................................... 45 Operating Modes ................................................................ 45 Valve manipulation ............................................................ 45 New startup ......................................................................... 49 Dead plant startup ............................................................. 62 Normal boiler startup ........................................................ 63 Emergency boiler startup .................................................. 65 Normal operation ............................................................... 67 Idle equipment .................................................................... 69 Superheating ........................................................................ 72 Switching fuels .................................................................... 73 Standby operation .............................................................. 75 Rotating (alternating) boilers ........................................... 76 Bottom blowoff ................................................................... 77 Annual inspection .............................................................. 78 Operating during maintenance and repairs .................. 80 Pressure testing ................................................................... 81 Lay-up................................................................................... 83 Tune-ups ............................................................................... 84 Auxiliary turbines .............................................................. 88 Chapter 3 - WHAT THE WISE OPERATOR KNOWS .......... 93 Know your load ................................................................. 93 Know your plant ................................................................ 97 Matching equipment to the load .................................... 98 Efficiency ............................................................................ 100 Performance monitoring ................................................. 105 Modernizing and upgrading .......................................... 106 Chapter 4 - SPECIAL SYSTEMS .............................................. 109 Vacuum systems ............................................................... 109 Hydronic heating .............................................................. 110 High temperature hot water (HTHW) ......................... 114 Organic fluid heaters and vaporizers .......................... 116 Service water heating ...................................................... 118 Waste heat service ............................................................ 123 Chapter 5 - MAINTENANCE .................................................. 125 Maintenance....................................................................... 125 Cleaning ............................................................................. 126 Instructions and specifications ....................................... 127 Lock-out, tag-out .............................................................. 128 Lubrication ......................................................................... 129 Insulation ........................................................................... 132 Refractory ........................................................................... 134 Packing ............................................................................... 136 Controls and instrumentation ........................................ 138 Lighting and electrical equipment ................................ 140 Miscellaneous .................................................................... 143 Replacements ..................................................................... 144 Maintaining efficiency ..................................................... 148 Records ............................................................................... 149 Chapter 6 - CONSUMABLES ................................................... 151 Fuels .................................................................................... 151 Fuel gases ........................................................................... 152 Oils ...................................................................................... 154 Coal ..................................................................................... 159 Other solid fuels ............................................................... 160 Water ................................................................................... 162 Treatment chemicals ......................................................... 164 Miscellaneous .................................................................... 165 Chapter 7 - WATER TREATMENT ......................................... 167 Water treatment ................................................................ 167 Water testing ...................................................................... 168 Pretreatment ...................................................................... 172 Feedwater tanks and deaerators ................................... 175 Blowdown .......................................................................... 179 Chemical treatment .......................................................... 180 Preventing corrosion ........................................................ 182 Preventing scale formation ............................................. 184 Chapter 8 - STRENGTH OF MATERIALS ............................ 187 Strength of materials ....................................................... 187 Stress ................................................................................... 187 Cylinders under internal pressure ................................ 189 Cylinders under external pressure................................ 191 Piping Flexibility .............................................................. 192 Chapter 9 - PLANTS AND EQUIPMENT ............................. 195 Types of Boiler Plants ...................................................... 195 Boilers ................................................................................. 196 Heat transfer in boilers ................................................... 197 Circulation .......................................................................... 199 Construction ...................................................................... 202 Boiler, cast iron and tubeless ......................................... 203 Table of Contents