Effect of Bed Pressure Drop on Performance of a CFB Boiler

The effect of bed pressure drop and bed inventory on the performances of a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler was studied. By using the state specification design theory, the fluidization state of the gas−solids flow in the furnace of conventional CFB boilers was reconstructed to operate at a much lower bed pressure drop by reducing bed inventory and control bed quality. Through theoretical analysis, it was suggested that there would exist a theoretical optimal value of bed pressure drop, around which the boiler operation can achieve the maximal combustion efficiency and with significant reduction of the wear of the heating surface and fan energy consumption. The analysis was validated by field tests carried out in a 75 t/h CFB boiler. At full boiler load, when bed pressure drop was reduced from 7.3 to 3.2 kPa, the height of the dense zone in the lower furnace decreased, but the solid suspension density profile in the upper furnace and solid flow rate were barely influenced. Consequently, the average ...