Stack Loss: Stack Temperature
By modern standards, furnaces built in the 1960s and early 1970s typically have low
efficiencies, commonly with stack temperatures between 400 and 550 °F. Figure 9.3
shows thermal efficiency (lower heating value—LHV basis and higher heating value—
HHV basis) as a function of stack temperature, at typical operating conditions of 2% O2
at the top of fire box and 1.5% heat loss through the walls, with two different fuel
mixes—90 mol% methane/10 mol% hydrogen and 20 mol% methane/80 mol% hydrogen.
As shown in the graph, the overall thermal efficiency of a furnace does not change
much over a wide range of fuel gas compositions.
The absorption of heat from stack gases is limited by the heat exchange area
(discussed in the next section) and metallurgy limits of the furnace components, which
are usually related to the condensation temperature of the acid components of the
combustion products—the acid gas dew point. Many modern furnaces have a net (LHV)
efficiency above 94%, with a stack temperature of about 230 °F (110 °C) for furnaces that
burn clean fuel gas, the water dew point being 212 °F. If there is any sulfur in the fuel, it
increases the acid dew point of the flue gas. Even a small amount of sulfur increases the
dew point significantly, as shown in Figure 9.4.
Every licensor of olefins or other furnaces will design for the lowest possible stack
temperature to maximize efficiency, within the constraints of plant-specific feed and
utility temperatures and fuel gas composition. Economics and available stream temperatures
determine the approach between the stack and process inlet temperatures. For example, if the feed comes into the convection section at 230 °F at the top, the minimum
economical stack temperature, a tradeoff between the cost of additional heat recovery
surface area and the benefit of the recovered heat, is typically 260–270 °F.
Boiler stack temperatures are usually in the range of 320–500 °F, with a typical best
efficiency of about 85%. Stack loss is the biggest limit on efficiency and is typically in
excess of 10% in boilers. Many older boilers have stack losses as high as 20–30%.