SONOCO's Compact CFB Boiler Reduces Costs and Emissions, 1998 Engineering Conference Proceedings

Sonoco Products Company recently installed a new Compact Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boiler at their Hartsville, South Carolina mill. The new boiler generates low cost steam and power for the mill utilizing mill wastes plus coal, while meeting strict emission limits.

The new CFB boiler was supplied by Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation (FWEC) under a turnkey contract. The boiler itself is the new Compact CFB and generates 120,000 #/hr at 1250 psig and 950°F, while firing bark, non-recyclable waste paper, plastics, ash from an adjacent stoker boiler, and coal. The project schedule was quite aggressive, with 14 months from notice to proceed to first fire. The boiler contract was awarded November 17, 1995 and the boiler began commercial operation July 1, 1997 after passing all performance tests and has achieved over 98% availability since then.

This paper will describe the mills objectives for the new boiler addition, how the CFB boiler addition met those objectives, design features of the new multi-fuel Compact CFB boiler as well as boiler performance and reliability data.