Furnaces: Safe Operation and Optimization

Day 1: Furnace Construction and Operating Conditions

• Introduction to different types of furnaces and their functions in industrial processes.
• Key operating conditions and their impact on heat distribution and efficiency.
• Estimation rules and parameters affecting furnace efficiency and ways to improve it.
• Construction details of heat exchange areas and the use of refractory materials, including tube bundle arrangements and insulation types.

Day 2: Combustion and Burners

• Understanding combustion conditions: stoichiometric air/fuel ratio, heating values, and fuel characteristics.
• Overview of burner operations: fuel and air supply, functionality, and low NOx burner characteristics.
• Analysing combustion quality through flue gas oxygen levels and unburned material.
• Combustion safety, flame detection, and safety devices on fuel circuits.
• Understanding air and flue gas circulation systems: natural and forced draft, pressure differential control, and safety devices.

Day 3: Heat Transfer and Tube Coil

• Principles of heat transfer to the tube bundle: conduction, convection, and radiation, and the factors governing heat transfer.
• Understanding tube skin temperature, tube temperatures, and the effects of fouling.
• Dividing heated fluids into several passes and managing flow rate safety systems.
• Furnace temperature constraints: skin temperature, bridge-wall temperature, and risks of exceeding limits.

Day 4: Furnace Operation

• Monitoring combustion and heating during on-stream furnace operations and modifying operating conditions.
• Analysing disturbances and key points for maintaining safe furnace operation.
• Understanding safe ignition procedures and handling shutdowns, including emergencies.
• Identifying and troubleshooting furnace incidents, such as explosive atmospheres and tube ruptures.

Day 5: Furnace Start-up, Shutdown, and Safety

• Comprehensive review of the furnace start-up procedure: preparation, ignition, and post-shutdown ignition.
• Safe shutdown procedures, including standard and emergency shutdown processes.
• Incident management: diagnosing and addressing issues like unbalanced heat and furnace malfunctions.
• Application of furnace temperature profile and heat recovery distribution, understanding the relationship between fuel burned and combustion air excess.