Development of Industrial Boiler Technology in China: Current Status And Future Prospects

Industrial boilers, as important thermal power equipment, play an indispensable role in industrial production, heating, power generation and other fields. As an industrialized country, the technological development of industrial boilers in China is of great significance for improving energy efficiency and reducing environmental pollution.

The working principle of industrial boilers is to fully mix and burn fuel (such as coal, natural gas, biomass, etc.) with air in the furnace, producing high-temperature and high-pressure gas. These gases transfer heat to the internal cold water through a heat exchanger, heating it to boiling point and evaporating into steam. Steam can drive steam turbines to generate electricity or be applied in industrial production processes. The high-temperature flue gas after combustion is discharged through the tail and treated to meet the standards before being discharged. According to their structure, combustion method, and purpose, industrial boilers are mainly divided into types such as coal-fired, biomass fired, gas-fired, and electric boilers. Different types of boilers have their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, although coal-fired boilers have a simple structure and stable operation, they have high pollution and energy consumption; Gas boilers have high combustion efficiency and are clean and environmentally friendly; Electric boilers have low operating costs but high energy consumption.

At present, with the continuous increase in the promotion of energy conservation and emission reduction policies in China, higher requirements have been put forward for the technical level of the industrial boiler industry. In terms of efficient and energy-saving technology, gas boilers powered by clean energy and natural gas have developed rapidly. The implementation of condensing and low nitrogen design concepts has given birth to a series of high-efficiency, energy-saving, and low nitrogen combustion technologies such as flue gas external circulation, flue gas internal circulation, fully premixed surface combustion, and water-cooled premixed combustion. This has significantly improved the thermal efficiency of gas boilers, with design thermal efficiency basically above 96% and significantly reduced nitrogen oxide emissions, with a minimum of 20mg/m ³ or less. At the same time, the continuous promotion of the "coal to electricity" policy, as well as measures such as electricity peak shaving and heat storage heating, have promoted the development of electric heating boilers. In addition to resistance electric heating boilers, electromagnetic induction electric heating boilers and electrode electric heating boilers have also been widely applied.

Intelligent technology is gradually being applied in the field of industrial boilers. By introducing technologies such as the Internet of Things and big data, remote monitoring and intelligent maintenance of boilers have been achieved, improving operational efficiency and safety. The intelligent control system can monitor and automatically adjust the operating parameters of the boiler in real time, making its operation more stable and energy-efficient. For example, some enterprises have installed intelligent sensors and monitoring systems that can collect and analyze boiler operating parameters in real time, detect and solve potential problems in a timely manner, and reduce equipment failures and downtime.

In terms of application fields, industrial boilers are widely used in multiple industries such as power generation, heating, chemical engineering, and steel. Provide steam power for generator sets in the field of power generation; The heating field meets the hot water and steam needs of residents' daily life and industrial production; Used in the chemical industry for processes such as chemical reactions, distillation, and drying; The steel industry provides high-temperature heat sources for processes such as steelmaking and rolling steel. In addition, the renovation of old residential areas in the construction industry, the demand for hot water supply and heating in the public and commercial construction fields, and the increasing demand for industrial boilers in the new energy generation field (such as solar thermal power generation and biomass power generation) have further expanded their application scope.

However, China's industrial boiler industry also faces some challenges. In terms of the importance placed on technology research and development, only a few domestic manufacturers have in-house testing capabilities, and there are relatively few tests that are truly used for new product trial production and testing under different operating conditions. In terms of burner products and technology, most enterprises rely on outsourcing burners, lack professional R&D talents, and core components have not been fully localized. Compared with foreign countries, most domestic boiler manufacturers have weaker technical capabilities in boiler combustion control technology, while foreign countries focus more on software control system research and development to achieve intelligent regulation.

Looking ahead to the future, industrial boilers will develop towards high efficiency, environmental protection, clean energy, renewable energy, and new energy. Enterprises should increase their research and development investment in specialty products such as circulating fluidized bed boilers, waste to energy boilers, biomass boilers, as well as new energy comprehensive utilization boilers and waste heat boiler retrofitting, in order to meet market demand, improve the overall technological level of the industry, and achieve sustainable development of the industrial boiler industry.