Soot blowing optimization system and application to oil-fired boiler

The paper presents a method for the soot blowing optimization and its pilot application to the oil fired boiler of a power plant. The important monitored parameter of each steam generator is the thermal efficiency or the heat rate. These parameters are influenced by many factors, including for example the boiler design, control strategy, fuel quality, operating conditions, etc. The quality of the heat transfer between the flue gas and steam (water, water/steam mixture) is affected by soot, ash, and slag deposit (fouling) on the individual heat exchange surfaces. To avoid the negative effect of fouling, it is necessarily to clear the surfaces periodically. The objective of the soot blowing optimization system is to optimize this cycle and to provide recommendation to the plant operator. Proposed sootblowing optimization system monitors the process variables, estimates the fouling status of heat exchange surfaces, evaluates impact on economy and triggers the sootblowing sequence.