Indeed, finding a perfect industrial boiler can get complicated, especially when you have to pay a considerable cost for it. If you want to buy a new 5 ton boiler for your factory, you need to consider your factory’s energy requirement. It will help you identify a boiler that consumes less fuel but generates steam as per your requirement.
To make the selection process easier for you, this article will guide you to the right 5 ton boiler for your factory. So it will be affordable and operates efficiently. Moreover, this article will also help you identify how you can improve the boiler’s efficiency. It will help you decide which type of 5 ton boiler will be well-suited and what equipment will help to reduce emissions and energy loss.
Fundamentals Of A 5 Ton Boiler
A 5 ton boiler is a closed vessel that generates steam under pressure greater than atmospheric pressure. The industrial boiler uses fuel such as oil, coal, and natural gas to produce steam for electricity and production. The heating process begins as the burner heats the water and converts it into steam. This steam transports through pipe systems for industrial usage. These boilers can fulfill the enormous heat energy required to run an energy-intensive industry.
There are several vital elements that assist with steam generation, including a combustion chamber, burner, exhaust stack, heat exchanger, and controls. Industrial boilers function more efficiently and cost-effectively when these components are present.
Main Component Of 5 Ton Boiler
This component provides heat to the boiler system that is further used for steam generation. The fuels that are commonly used include oil and natural gas.
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Heat Exchanger
This component allows the burner’s heat to boil the water in the system. The primary purpose of a heat exchanger is to transfer the heat from the burner to the water without contacting the water directly.
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Supply Line
5 ton boiler uses a hydronic heating system to deliver the steam to different distribution points. These supply lines divide the hot water and channel it to different processes for manufacturing usage.
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Return Line
As the boiler generates steam continuously, much fuel is required to power the factory. As a result, return pipes come into play. They increase the boiler’s efficiency and reduce fuel costs. The function of these pipes is to divert the cool water back to the feed water used for steam production.
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Refractory Material
It refers to the material that allows for filling the gaps around the firebox. A firebox is where the fuel meets the air, thus creating flames. The tightly packed area of the firebox increases safety as the fire stays inside the firebox.
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Circulator Pumps
As the name suggests, these pumps allow the steam to travel inside the factory as they push the steam to reach the desired destination as quickly as possible. Following is the stainless steel pump that we use usually.
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Condenser
The condenser tanks are only used in the steam boilers. It cannot support the hot water or oil boiler since the fluid presents inside the boiler are in liquid form. These tank designs can base on two primary principles: Thermal and vacuum.
In the thermal principle, a tank connects with the atmosphere. The steam helps to maintain the tank water temperature at 105 degrees Celsius, which makes the water air-free. In the vacuum principle, an ejector pump creates a vacuum inside the tank. As a result, the tank water starts to boil, and the air removes from the water.
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Economizers
Primarily, the economizers were mainly used in large plants. But with rising demand for highly efficient boilers. So, economizers take commonplace even in a 5 ton boiler. An economizer is a type of heat exchanger that is present in the exhaust of the boiler. It recovers the exhaust waste heat from the boiler, allowing the boiler’s efficiency to increase.
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Superheater
The critical part of a 5 ton boiler is present in the path of hot flue gases from the furnace. From the flue gases, recovered heat helps superheat the steam before it enters the turbine. Its main aim is to increase the temperature of the saturated steam instead of its pressure.
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Exhaust flue
The piping directs the hot combustion gases away from the boiler to the outside atmosphere. Some boilers have steel piping, but modern boilers come with stainless steel piping to cater to corrosive condensate.
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Boiler control
It helps in regulating the steam efficiently and safely. The function of combustion control is to regulate the fuel use rate, which helps meet the factory’s demand. The central operating control monitors steam pressure. It also sends signals to control the fuel burning rate, firing rate, and air amount entering the burner.
The function of boiler safety control is to limit the operations of the boiler to prevent it from bursting due to high pressure. For example, if the pressure in the boiler exceeds the pressure limit settings, the fuel valve will close to prevent the pressure from building. The safety circuit includes switch contacts for low water cutoff, air-providing switches, high limits, and flame detectors. Flame detectors monitor the flame condition with the help of flame rods or infrared scanners.
Classification Of 5 Ton Boiler
The boilers are generally divided in three ways, and this division can help you narrow down your preference for a 5 ton boiler.
Boilers subdivide into firetube and water tube boilers. This division reflects how combustion gases and water passes through the unit.
Boilers are also classified by their heating source. Due to this, boilers are often recognized as oil-fired, gas-fired, coal-fired, or solid-fuel-fired boilers. The three subclasses of coal-fired boilers include pulverized coal fired boiler, fluidized-bed combustion, and stoker-fired boilers.
Occasionally, boilers are also distinguished by their method of fabrication. The first category is package boilers. These boilers get assembled in a factory and mounted on a skid. And transported as a complete package, ready to get hooked to auxiliary piping. Shop-assembled boilers are the second category. They include numerous individual pieces. All of them are aligned, connected, tested, and then shipped to the factory as one unit. The last one is field-erected boilers. Due to their large size, they get assembled in the factory with a series of components. Components in these types of boilers might require special transportation and lifting because of their weight and size.
How To Select A 5 Ton Boiler?
Before selecting a boiler, it is crucial to consider factors that can affect your choice of boiler. Usually, when choosing a boiler, you must focus on the following aspects:
- Site accessibility and Geographical location
- Plant area and height requirement
- Fuel price, type, and availability
- Boiler type, size, efficiency, price, and reliability
- Heating loads and variations include acceptable pressure range and required heat delivery rate.
- Federal, state, and local regulations, such as emission restrictions
- Construction and operating permit requirements
Selecting a 5 ton boiler is mainly influenced by the type of fuel chosen and the emission limitation. Criteria for fuel selections are generally based on cost, availability, and environmental compliance. But it is better to select a 5 ton boiler that can run on multiple fuels.
After fuel is chosen, the next step is identifying an appropriate boiler size depending on steam demand and fuel feed system. Usually, you can select the boiler from the broad categories of water tube boiler or firetube boiler. The features of the fuel feed system depend on the type of fuel, such as solid, liquid, or gas.
Some systems handle fossil fuels such as oil, coal, or natural gas. Other caters to non-fossil fuels such as RDF or biomass. The type of fuel feed system you choose will determine the type and quantity of pollutants your 5 ton boiler will emit. You can check the corresponding emission control techniques to help achieve environmental compliance. Factors that can influence the selection and design of emission control equipment are as follows:
- The layout of the Facility
- Type of fuel used
- Amount of fuel used
- The configuration of the boiler
- Required level of emissions reduction
Different Heating Capacities of 5 ton Boiler
Various types of boilers are available that differ based on their designs and heat input the steam boiler capacities. It can affect their efficiency in a specific factory.
These boilers cater to high-pressure applications below 300 psi, and their heat input also does not exceed 50 MBtu/h. However, there are also larger firetube boilers available that can cater to the specific needs of your factory.
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Watertube Boiler
These types of boilers confine water and steam inside the tubes. Their designs are well-suited for high-pressure applications above 2,400 psi.
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Coal Fired Boilers
Coal is mainly used in utility and large industrial boilers. The heating capacity of these units is usually above 100 MBtu/h.
How To Improve The Efficiency Of A 5 Ton Boiler?
The main motive of many boilers owners and operators is minimizing the cost of producing steam. They want to extract as much energy from the fuels used as possible. It helps reduce emissions with lesser fuel usage as less fuel only produces a given amount of steam required by the factory. Thus, to achieve efficiency in a 5 ton boiler, selecting a low-emission boiler and combustion equipment is vital.
When determining efficiency, all forms of heat losses are taken into account. Heat loss means the energy that does not transfer to the water for energy content; instead, it gets lost to the outside atmosphere. Thus, the goal is to increase operational flexibility and minimize this heat loss when generating steam.
Another thing to consider when determining efficiency is that peak efficiency only occurs at a particular output. And continuous operations on a specific output level are impractical for the factory. It is because of volatile demand and load variation. So, to solve this issue, operations at a steady load can help avoid cyclical or on/off operations and improve efficiency to a greater extent. To improve efficiency, minimizing combustion and boiler loss is crucial.
Combustion Losses
Combustion efficiency measures the available chemical energy in the fuel that can liberate with the combustion process. Quantifying this involves determining losses from unburned carbon.
- Unburned carbon in flue gas
- Unburned carbon in the solid residue such as fly ash and bottom ash
- Unburned hydrocarbons in the flue gases
Complete combustion involves precise proportioning of the fuel and air mixture. An imbalance in this ratio can result in significant energy loss, decreasing combustion efficiency. It means if insufficient combustion air is available inside the 5 ton boiler, the fuel combustion would be incomplete. It can result in a waste of energy. Even if more air is supplied than the amount required for the complete combustion process, it can also be detrimental to efficiency.
Boiler losses
Boiler efficiency characterizes the amount of heat captured by the boiler water and input heat. The amount of heat that does not transfer includes itself in a number of losses, includes
- Flue-gas losses
- Radiant heat losses
- Blowdown losses
- Unaccounted losses
Flue Gas Losses
It is often considered the primary reason for lesser boiler efficiency. Energy gets wasted whenever the heated flue gas goes outside the boiler and up the stack. Flue gas temperature relates to boiler load. It means as the load of the boiler increases, the flue-gas temperature also rises. This hotter temperature of flue gas can cause flue-gas losses.
To avoid that, installing equipment that can recover this flue gas can boost efficiency. But, removing the heat in large quantities can result in problems such as corrosion. For example, internal corrosion of 5 ton boiler components can occur when the water condenses and mixes with other particles in the flue gas. Using stainless steel in these areas can reduce the issue of corrosion to a greater extent.
Radiant heat losses
It includes both convection and radiant heat losses from the outer surface of a 5 ton boiler. These losses do not vary in magnitude with the boiler load, as the outer surface of the boiler remains similar during operations. But, as the load diminishes, the losses of the boiler’s output worsen. To solve this issue, you can add thermal insulation outside the boiler. Moreover, you can operate the boiler at its lowest temperature consistent with the system.
Blowdown losses
Blowdown loss happens when the energy gets wasted during the blowdown process as hot water discharges. But blowdown is vital in helping remove the accumulating solids that can restrict the passage of boiler feed water. To improve efficiency, the installation of a heat recovery system can work towards reducing blowdown losses. However, it is essential to note that a blowdown heat recovery system is economical for boilers that operate continuously.
Unaccounted losses
These losses do not relate to the combustion process. Instead, it associates with the boiler’s cyclic rather than continuous operations. You must select multiple boilers instead of one or two to prevent this loss. This approach allows some boilers to work continuously.
What Is The Cost Of 5 Ton Boiler?
The 5 ton steam boiler price depends majorly on the size and type. Typically, it can fall between $10,000 and $25,000. But many variations include the size of the building, location, and additional equipment included with the boiler. Moreover, on average, the 5 ton boiler cost of repairing is $20 per hour, which you need to pay if the boiler needs any maintenance or replacement.
Investing in a boiler can have a long-term impact on the production cost of the factory. It would be best to consider the boiler with the following unique features. It can add to the price of the boiler, but it will be more economical for you due to the increase in efficiency.
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Hybrid system
This feature combines condensing and conventional boiler, and it operates each type when it is optimal. So this means under full-load conditions, the traditional boiler system will work; otherwise condensing boiler will operate.
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Remote monitoring capability
It will help in the detection of any malfunction promptly. As a result, this can save the boiler from operating in dangerous conditions that can otherwise cost thousands of dollars to repair.
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Efficiency equipment
Installing efficient equipment can help improve the boiler’s efficiency, which will help lower future cost. Thus, installing equipment that helps reuse heat from blowdown, increasing piping insulation, returning condensate to the boiler, etc.
Wrapping Up
In order to purchase a 5 ton boiler, you need to consider numerous factors that will significantly influence your choice. Therefore, it’s essential to evaluate all the elements in order to arrive at the best decision possible.
We have been manufacturing different types of industrial boilers for more than 2 decades. This experience allows us to recommend the right boiler for you based on your boiler capacity requirement and manufacturing process. Give us a call, and our team can visit your site and give you a customized place for your factory. If you’re looking for the best 5 ton boiler manufacturer to help you increase profits for your factory, we’re here to help.