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curves are needed for each particular
p s
process heater. The curves are generated
T i
Fuel
based on three factors:
M
if they have been eroded or corroded
any of the problems associated common method used to determine the from contaminants in the fuel, or from
with process burners are related firing rate of individual process burners is repeated cleaning.
to the burner tips. In fact, some with fuel capacity curves — graphs of fir-
say there may not be two process heaters ing rate vs. fuel pressure. Because they are typically exposed
in the world that have identical burner Fuel capacity curves are generated spe- directly to the heat in the heaters, fuel tips
designs: While the burner bodies may be cifically for a given burner design and fuel often are made of a higher temperature
the same, the tips are custom designed composition. In many cases, because mul- metal alloy. High temperature alloy tips
for the specific application. Each burner tiple fuel compositions are used, multiple are required in preheated air applications
normally has multiple fuel tips, and each
tip usually has multiple holes (sometimes
called ports). The number, size and angle
of the holes in each tip are carefully select-
ed to give the desired flame characteristics
(flame length, for instance) and burner
performance (to minimize NOX emissions,
for example). Therefore, tips design, instal-
lation and maintenance are critical to
ensuring proper burner operation.
One way the burners’ firing rates can
be determined is by using individual fuel
flowmeters. However, this is usually pro-
hibitively expensive in plants that have
Figure 1. The plugged tips in these burners are noticeable during operation. Refinery
many process heaters and where each heat- fuel gases often contain contaminants that can plug burner tips. Also, coking due to
er has multiple burners. Instead, the most high tip temperatures and pipe scale can plug the small holes in burner tips.
Burners
and if significant amounts of hydrogen in the burners. These gases often consist of Figure 2. Plugged tips are a maintenance
are present in the fuel. The purpose of the many different components such as methane, problem. Without filtration, dirty fuels
alloy is to reduce metal scaling. propane and hydrogen. Refinery fuel gases and rusty piping can necessitate more
Many of today’s low NOX burners have also often contain contaminants such as liq- frequent burner tip cleaning.
the tips located outside the refractory tile uid fuel droplets or amines that can plug the
that is used, in part, to protect the metal small holes in burner tips. Also, as previously Proper Installation
components inside the burner. The tips are mentioned, coking due to high tip tempera- Burner tip installation is critical to proper
outside the tile to help stage the fuel into tures can cause plugging. Pipe scale also can burner performance. Vendor drawings give
the airstream to minimize NOX emissions. plug the small holes in burner tips. specific dimensions on how to properly locate
However, this location exposes them to high- Figure 2 shows some examples of and orientate the fuel tips. This includes
er temperatures. Under normal conditions, plugged tips found in operating process which direction the tips should point and
this is not a problem because the tips are heaters. An industry best practice is to add the elevation of the tips within the burner.
cooled by the high-velocity fuel gases flowing some type of filtration such as strainers or These details may vary among burner designs
through them. Under some circumstances, coalescing type filters in front of the burn- even for the same basic models. This means
however — very low firing rates, or when ers to remove particulates that could plug it is critical for plant personnel to use the
burners are turned off while the heater is still the burners. Another method is to use drawings when installing burner tips. Failure
hot, for example — the higher temperatures stainless steel piping from the fuel filter to do so could result in problems such as
can be a problem. Overheating the burner to the burners to prevent pipe scale from difficult light-off, flame instability and flame
tips can cause the carbon in the fuel to ther- plugging burner tips. Without filtration, impingement on the process tubes.
mally crack, giving rise to coking inside the dirty fuels and rusty piping can necessitate Another common installation problem
tips, which leads to plugging of the holes. more frequent burner tip cleaning. is installing the wrong tips. Figure 3 shows
Reprinted with permission from Process Heating magazine. Copyright February 2010. www.process-heating.com