Recovery Boiler - Function of Recovery Boilers

Function of Recovery Boilers

Concentrated black liquor contains organic dissolved wood residue in addition to sodium sulfate from the cooking chemicals added at the digester. Combustion of the organic portion of chemicals produces heat. In the recovery boiler heat is used to produce high pressure steam, which is used to generate electricity in a turbine. The turbine exhaust, low pressure steam is used for process heating.

Combustion of black liquor in the recovery boiler furnace needs to be controlled carefully. High concentration of sulfur requires optimum process conditions to avoid production of sulfur dioxide and reduced sulfur gas emissions. In addition to environmentally clean combustion, reduction of inorganic sulfur must be achieved in the char bed.

The recovery boiler process has several unit processes:

• Combustion of organic material in black liquor to generate steam
• Reduction of inorganic sulfur compounds to sodium sulfide, which exits at the bottom as smelt
• Production of molten inorganic flow of mainly sodium carbonate and sodium sulfide, which is later recycled to the digester after being re-dissolved
• Recovery of inorganic dust from flue gas to save chemicals
• Production of sodium fume to capture combustion residue of released sulfur compounds