LAUSR

In engineering applications, there are various types of boilers such as water tube boilers, fire tube boilers, packaged boiler, fluidized bed combustion boiler, pulverized fuel boiler and waste heat boilers. These boilers are used in different industries such as power plants, paper, and chemical. The present paper reports various problems (such as agglomeration, slagging, fouling, caustic embrittlement, fatigue failure and high temperature corrosion) related to boilers and their possible solutions. Some of the controlling parameters for high temperature corrosion has also been studied viz use of inhibitors, varying temperature and pressure, sol–gel coating and thermal spray coating. Thermal spraying has emerged as a main tool for improvement in surface. Problem of corrosion, wear resistance, electrical or thermal insulation can be altered using different coating techniques and materials. Deposition of ash in biomass-fired boilers also causes severe problems of agglomeration. The problem of agglomeration can be solved using kaolin or NH3 in the bed of boilers. Some important processes such as pulse detonation wave technology, intelligent soot blower, chemical treatment technology can be used to minimize the effects of fouling.