Engineering News

Energy solutions company Energy Partners is in the final stages of developing a real-time Web-based boiler monitoring system, which will monitor and report on various operational parameters of a boiler or a set of boilers.

This system will form part of Energy Partners’ technology package and is due to be launched onto the local market in the next few months. “Through our technology package, we can operate a client’s boiler at a consistent combustion efficiency of up to 85%,” says Energy Partners boiler and combustion technology director Rene le Roux.

The system will enable Energy Partners to address operational issues timeously, as well as to detect and monitor operational deviations and other issues that might lead to boiler failure or the failure of specific boiler components.

“The system allows for its operator to address any boiler issues [such as boiler-tube fouling] by proactively undertaking preventive maintenance,” he notes.
Le Roux tells Engineering News that new technology is currently a major driver in achieving improved boiler efficiency, coupled with boiler instrumentation and control, as well as programmable logic control (PLC).

He adds that focusing on modern automation technology is key to the efficient and sustainable long-term operation of boilers.

Energy Partners operates an outsourcing boiler operation business that focuses on servicing coal-fired boilers in the process-steam industry and on providing turnkey solutions such as sourcing, installing, operating and maintaining industrial-sized boilers.

Boiler Efficiency
Sustainable and efficient boiler operation is further supported by several aspects, such as a sound technical understanding of how a specific boiler operates, says Le Roux. This also involves understanding the design and construction of a boiler, and how the plant and its equipment are incorporated into the boiler’s functioning.

“Importantly, preserving a boiler in its original state, as well as the integrity of the entire boiler plant, is crucial to a boiler’s long-term sustainability,” he notes, adding that ensuring that a boiler operates optimally and that the operator adheres to proper maintenance procedures form part of retaining boiler integrity.

Le Roux also highlights the importance of prioritising water treatment, as it is essential to ensure the safety of a boiler’s operation and its impact on the build-up of scale and corrosion-control in a boiler.

To enhance boiler efficiency, he suggests incorporating a well-designed boiler combustion automation and optimisation system, based on a PLC platform.

He also highlights that an energy-recovery system is useful for boiler efficiency, as the system employs economisers that are used to preheat the feedwater of the boiler to increase its efficiency.

Le Roux says fuel selection is highly important, especially with regard to coal-fired boilers. “I recommend using only a high-grade coal, as low-grade coal can significantly reduce boiler efficiency, with poor combustion and ash build-up characteristics.

Coal’s ability to affect boiler efficiency is often vastly underestimated and an ongoing trend is to source the cheapest coal available on the market as a cost-cutting measure, he adds, noting that the long-term consequences of using cheap coal will cost a client more than sourcing high-grade coal, in terms of lost efficiency and even boiler downtime.

This poses a domestic challenge for South African boiler operators, as most of the higher-grade coal available in the country has been mined out. The available high-grade coal is being exported, leaving only lower-grade coal for the local market.

Boiler Maintenance
Le Roux notes that boiler technicians from Energy Partners have noticed that customers neglect their boilers.

“For clients that require steam as a process resource, the boiler is the heart of their operation and should be maintained with this in mind.”

Often, the neglect of boilers is exacerbated by some operators constantly seeking cost-cutting measures. “Maintenance is one of the first areas where costs are cut,” says Le Roux, adding that manage- ment resources are also often stretched.

He further notes that a lack of skills among boiler technicians is not only significant but also a growing challenge.

“Boiler technicians are scarce in South Africa and most skilled and experienced boiler technicians and operators are nearing or have passed retirement age and will exit the industry soon.”

Further, some of Energy Partners’ boiler clients are reducing the number of personnel required to operate and manage boilers, placing increased pressure on the remaining personnel to perform more tasks with fewer people.

Le Roux says outsourcing boiler operations is the appropriate way forward; Energy Partners has trained boiler technicians and operators, as well as modern technology, to increase a company’s boiler efficiency.

“Through its boiler solutions, Energy Partners can produce and sell steam to clients, thereby enabling them to focus on their core business. while we take care of their boiler plant,” he says, adding that he foresees the outsourcing of boiler operation services becoming a growing trend among clients.