Skip to main content

Enhancing steam boiler efficiency through comprehensive energy and exergy analysis: A review

Research Authors
Mohamed Elwardany
Research Date
Research Year
2024
Research Journal
Process Safety and Environmental Protection
Research Publisher
Elsevier
Research Vol
184
Research Rank
1
Research_Pages
1222-1250
Research Website
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957582024001174
Research Abstract

This comprehensive review analyzes research on enhancing steam boiler performance through energy and exergy analysis, emphasizing their importance in promoting sustainability and competitiveness in thermal power plants. The review identifies the combustion zone and heat exchanger surfaces as primary sources of irreversibility across diverse boiler designs. Higher pressure designs, particularly ultra-supercritical units, exhibit significant reductions in exergy destructionOptimization strategies, such as combustion air preheating, excess air ratios, fuel properties, main steam conditions, and feedwater temperatures, play a vital role in improving efficiency. The study highlights the need for dynamic modeling and transient load evaluations, advocating for integrated co-optimization methodologies and exploring advanced materials, combustion techniques, waste heat recovery, and emerging technologies. Energy-exergy analysis emerges as a guiding framework for the sustainable evolution of steam boiler infrastructure and power generation. This review contributes to the literature by establishing performance benchmarks, identifying opportunities for improvement, and highlighting advancements in heat transfer and combustion processes, providing valuable guidance for enhancing thermal power plant efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

Research Rank
International Journal