Pulp & paper - Recovery Boiler Monitoring Application Brochure

The Kurz Insertion Mass Flow Meter products provide extremely reliable and accurate measurements for the harsh environment of a recovery boiler facility, without restricting airfl ow even in short run ductsPULP & PAPER RECOVERY BOILER MONITORINGcomplex technology MADE SIMPLEA P P L I C A T I O N N O T E Recovery Boiler IntroductionPulp and paper mills use a number of processes that enable the recovery and reuse of the inorganic pulping chemicals used to convert wood into paper and cardboard goods. This recovery process begins with debarked and chipped wood that is pressure-cooked in a digester with white liquor, a mixture of sodium sulfi de and sodium hydroxide. The cooking process breaks down the lignin, which is the substance that holds the wood fi bers together and the lignin, along with the white liquor forms a mixture known as black liquor. The black liquor is then concentrated through several stages of evaporation and steam heating, until it consists of approximately 65% solids. The con-centrated black liquor is then burned in the recovery boiler, which produces a residue of molten chemicals that is now referred to as green liquor. By adding water and lime, the green liquor is processed through the lime kiln and turned back to fresh white liquor that can be used again in the digester, thus com-pleting the recovery and reuse cycle.In order to optimize the effi ciency of the combustion process at the core of this extensive cycle, the quantity and fl ow of air to the boilers is critical. Short runs of ducts with diffi cult fl ow patterns, along with the dirty and harsh envi-ronment, cause challenges to obtaining reliable and accurate combustion air fl ow measurements. Customer Application and Performance IssuesA pulp and paper mill customer had almost a dozen mill sites throughout the United States. Reliable and accurate measurements were not being achieved with differential pressure products that were being used, such as air foils and pitot tubes, and the sensors were easily plugged with ash and buildup in the dirty environment of the combustion burner. In addition, a signifi cant amount of energy was being used to move air in the ducts with these restrictive fl ow devices. The Kurz SolutionThe company outfi tted all of their mills with Kurz Insertion Mass Flow Meters. The Kurz 454FTB and K-Bar 2000B are used in combination to provide pri-mary, secondary and tertiary air monitoring with excellent customer benefi ts. The main engineer on this project selected Kurz Instruments for the following reasons. • The Kurz equipment offers very excellent calibration, containing a ro-bust measurement conversion technique for signal processing. • The signal processing is easily available to the end user and allows modifi cations to adapt the measurement to the fl ow profi le of the duct. This is extremely important to obtain accurate measurements.Benefi ts of the Kurz Solution• Extremely Accurate and Reliable measure-ments• Works Well in Short Runs• End-User Programma-bility• No Restrictive Air Flow• Low Maintenance Even in Harsh Environments• Increases Combustion Effi ciency• Long Product LifePulp and Paper: Recovery Boiler MonitoringPAGE 2 DCN 364038 Copyright © 2009 Kurz Instruments Inc.The Kurz Solution - Continued from Previous Page• Kurz Mass Flow Meters do not impose any type of signifi cant fl ow restriction in the ducts. The energy to move air from one location to another is not restricted by the fl ow measurement device, increasing boiler performance effi ciency.• Because of the design profi le, Kurz sensor elements do not require continued attention or any blowing out of the sensor area. Less mainte-nance saves time and ensures greater overall accuracy levels. • The new age recovery boiler is the next generation of biofuel tools. Burning off of an organic component of the actual pulping system reduces the amount of fossil fuel used by the plant. Monitoring and measurements from the combustion air ducts that feed the recovery boiler is critical to higher performance and greater capacity within this recovery cycle.Performance Results with the Kurz SolutionThe Kurz Instruments line of Insertion Mass Flow Meters repeated success over a long period of time for this National string of pulp and paper mills. Thousands of probes were used throughout their entire facilities with ex-tremely high consistency in product performance. About Kurz InstrumentsKurz Instruments has maintained a reputation for designing and manufactur-ing Thermal Mass Flow Transmitters for industrial air and gas fl ow applica-tions. Our engineers, product development specialists and management staff have developed products to operate in the harshest of environments. For more than 30 years, our entire team has provided solutions to our customers most demanding and diffi cult applications. Kurz products are used in a wide variety of industrial applications includ-ing combustion air, aeration air fl ow and digester gas, nuclear power plants, pump protection, fl are stack monitoring and compressed air, to name only a few.Kurz Instruments, Inc.2411 Garden RoadMonterey, CA 93940 800-424-7356 Toll Free Phone831-646-5911 Local Phone831-646-8901 Faxsales@KurzInstruments.comwww.KurzInstruments.comPAGE 3 DCN 364038 Copyright © 2009 Kurz Instruments Inc. The top photo is inside a primary air duct with an installed set of Air Foils. The lower photo shows a similar size duct with the Kurz K-Bar Sensors, which do not im-pose any type of signifi cant fl ow restriction, and in fact are a very similar profi le to the duct support bars that are also shown in the photo.