Boilers
Atmospheric fluidised-bed combustion boiler
Also known as AFBC boiler, atmospheric fluidised bed, atmospheric fluidized bed.
AFBC stands for atmospheric fluidised-bed combustion — the umbrella term covering both bubbling fluidised-bed (BFB) and circulating fluidised-bed (CFB) boilers operating at atmospheric pressure. AFBC distinguishes these from less common pressurised fluidised-bed combustion (PFBC) designs, which were trialled in the 1980s–90s but failed to displace the simpler atmospheric variants.
Practical usage
In Indian, South Asian and African industrial-boiler procurement, AFBC is the most-used label. In European and North American utility-scale terminology, "CFB" and "BFB" tend to be used directly, with "AFBC" reserved for textbooks and older references.
Fouling and cleaning
Bed-overflow agglomerates, convective-pass ash bridging and air-heater cold-end deposition are common across all AFBC designs. Sonic horns are well-established on AFBC convective passes — coverage of this duty is one of Sylio's growth segments in Asian markets.
Related terms
Related terms
- Bubbling fluidised-bed boilerA BFB boiler suspends fuel in a slowly-bubbling bed of inert solids. Lower fluidisation velocity than CFB; suited to high-moisture biomass and sludges.
- Circulating fluidised-bed boilerA CFB boiler burns fuel in a turbulent bed of sand, ash and limestone circulated by an upward-flowing gas stream. Tolerates coal, biomass, RDF and lignite; produces low NOx.
- BoilerA boiler is a vessel that converts fuel chemical energy into steam by heating water. Coal-fired, biomass, oil, gas and recovery boilers all foul; sonic horns clean heat-transfer surfaces.