HRL draws on its depth of experience with steam raising and power generation plant to assist clients to optimise their combustion processes, and identify and address plant problems.
Benefits to clients can include increased power generation, increased boiler efficiency, improved reliability and flexibility, reduction in forced outages, minimisation of fouling and slagging, and meeting emission limits. Achieving such benefits will result in reduced costs and increased revenue.
A range of techniques and methodologies are used to understand and optimise combustion processes, including:
- Combustion process and milling system performance measurements, including air heater leakage, air and fuel flow distributions, gas concentrations and heat flux;
- Full Net Unit Heat Rate (NUHR) tests including boiler thermal efficiency and turbine heat rate;
- On-site combustion tuning to improve combustion performances. Focuses can include burner airflows, burner settings, fuel particle size, oxygen levels and mill optimisation;
- Emissions measurements to appropriate USEPA Methods;
- Analysis of coal and ash samples by HRL's in-house laboratory;
- Fouling and slagging sampling, analysis and investigations;
- Thermodynamic modelling of combustion processes using Thermoflow software;
- Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modelling to evaluate impacts of combustion parameters;
- Predictive monitoring and digital optimisation;
- Evaluating co-firing of biomass and waste; and
- Power station plant flexibility assessment and testing.
