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A.

PHYSICAL STUDY OF A STEAM GENERATING UNIT

I. INTRODUCTION:

The world energy consumption has doubled in the last thirty years and it keeps on
increasing with about 1.5% per year. While the Earth’s oil and gas reserves are expected to
deplete after roughly one hundred years, the coal reserves will last five hundred years into the
future. In Finland, 50% of the electrical power produced, is produced in steam power plants. But
there are more reasons to why electricity generations based on steam power plant will continue
to grow and why there still will be a demand for steam boilers in the future:

 The cost of the produced electricity is low


 The technology has been used for many decades and is reliable and available
 Wind and solar power are still expensive compared to steam power
 The environmental impact of coal powered steam plants have under the past decade
heavily diminished hanks to improved SOx and NOx reduction technology.
 The paper industry uses steam boilers as a vital utility to recycle chemicals and derive
electricity from black liquor (pulping waste).
 Waste and bio fuels can effectively be combusted in a boiler.

II. STEAM GENERATOR (BOILER)

Today steam in boilers/steam generators can be generated at sub-critical/super-critical


water pressures. When water is turned into steam by boiling at sub-critical pressures, the
steam-generating equipment is called a "steam boiler" When water turns into steam without
boiling at super-critical pressures, the equipment is called "steam generator".

In short,
Sub-critical Steam generators are the Steam Boilers
Super-critical Steam generators are the Steam Generators

A supercritical fluid (SCF) is any substance at a temperature and pressure above its critical
point, where distinct liquid and gas phases do not exist. It can effuse through solids like a gas,
and dissolve materials like a liquid.

The term subcritical water refers to liquid water at temperatures between the atmospheric
boiling point and the critical temperature (374 C) of water. Very often interest is on temperatures
above 200 C. Alternative terms include pressurized hot water (PHW), hot compressed water
(HCW), near-critical water (NCW) or superheated water.
Supercritical steam generators are frequently used for the production of electric power.
They operate at supercritical pressure. In contrast to a "subcritical boiler", a supercritical steam
generator operates at such a high pressure (over 3,200 psi or 22.06 MPa) that actual boiling
ceases to occur, the boiler has no liquid water - steam separation. There is no generation of steam
bubbles within the water, because the pressure is above the critical pressure at which steam
bubbles can form. It passes below the critical point as it does work in a high pressure turbine and
enters the generator's condenser. This results in slightly less fuel use and therefore
less greenhouse gas production. The term "boiler" should not be used for a supercritical pressure
steam generator, as no "boiling" actually occurs in this device.

Pressure is applied to keep water in liquid state. The pressure may be equal to the vapour
pressure of water at a given temperature or higher. The necessary pressure range therefore is at
least 16 bars at 200 C and up to 226 bars at 374 C.

When water is heated well, above 100 C its di-elecric constant decreases and its ionic product
increases. At 200 C the dielectric constant of water is the same as that of room temperature
methanol. At 297 C benzene becomes completely miscible with water. Above 200 C water may
be an acid or base catalyst because it’s H3O+ and OH- ion concentrations are perhaps orders of
magnitude higher than in ambient water.

Subcritical water is therefore a much better solvent for hydrophobic organics than ambient
water. It can itself be a catalyst for reactions which normally require an added acid or base.

WHAT IS A STEAM GENERATOR (BOILER)?


Example of a steam generator (boiler)

A boiler or steam generator is a device used to create steam by applying heat


energy to water. Although the definitions are somewhat flexible, it can be said that older steam
generators were commonly termed boilers and worked at low to medium pressure (1–300 psi or
6.895–2,068.427 kPa) but, at pressures above this, it is more usual to speak of a steam generator.

A boiler or steam generator is used wherever a source of steam is required. The form and size
depends on the application: mobile steam engines such as steam locomotives, portable
engines and steam-powered road vehicles typically use a smaller boiler that forms an integral
part of the vehicle; stationary steam engines, industrial installations and power stations will
usually have a larger separate steam generating facility connected to the point-of-use by piping.
A notable exception is the steam-powered fireless locomotive, where separately-generated steam
is transferred to a receiver (tank) on the locomotive.

III. HISTORY OF A STEAM GENERATOR (BOILER)

WHO INVENTED THE BOILER?


The steam-generating boiler's roots go back to the late 1700s and early 1800s with the
development of the kettle-type boiler, which simply boiled water into steam. The water was
placed above a fire box and then boiled into steam. It wasn't until around 1867, with the
development of the convection boiler that the steam-generating industry began.

It may be debated who developed the first steam-generating boiler; however, most will
agree that George Babcock and Steven Wilcox were two of the founding fathers of the steam-
generating boiler. They were the first to patent their boiler design, which used tubes inside a
firebrick-walled structure to generate steam, in 1867, and they formed Babcock & Wilcox
Company in New York City in 1891. Their first boilers were quite small, used lump coal, fired
by hand, and operated at a very low rate of heat input. The solid firebrick walls that formed the
enclosure for the unit were necessary because they helped the combustion process by reradiating
heat back into the furnace area.

The Stirling Boiler Company, owned by O.C. Barber and named for the street (Stirling
Avenue) the facility was on in Barberton, Ohio, also began making boilers in 1891. Their eighth
Stirling boiler design was called the H-type boiler ("h" being the eighth letter in the alphabet)
and had a brick setting design. The Stirling boiler was much larger than the Babcock & Wilcox
boiler and used three drums to help circulate the water and steam flow throughout the boiler.

In 1907, the Stirling Boiler Company merged with the Babcock & Wilcox Company.
They renamed their boiler the H-type Stirling, and it became one of best-selling boilers of its
time, probably because of its ability to produce up to 50,000 pounds of steam per hour.

However, they were not the only boiler manufacturers during the late 1800s. The Grieve
Grate Company and the American Stoker Company were also making boilers of similar all-
brick-wall design. They both used a traveling or screw-type grate at the bottom of the boiler to
transport the fuel (lump coal) across the inside of the boiler. As the fuel traveled across the inside
of the boiler, it was burned and the ash or un-burned fuel would drop into a hopper. These two
companies later formed the Combustion Engineering Company in 1912. The new Combustion
Engineering Company offered their version of the Grieve and American Stoker boilers and called
it the Type E stoker boiler.

HISTORY OF SOME TYPES OF BOILER

Did you know that some current boiler designs go back well over 150 years? The modern
fire-tube boiler is not all that different in design from the boilers that once powered trains and
ships. “Scotch Marine”, and similar fire-tube boilers, consists of a horizontal round steel shell
with tube-sheets welded at both ends. The tube sheets are connected inside the shell by a large
pipe (aka furnace or Morrison tube) near the bottom of the shell and a series of smaller tubes to
the sides and above the furnace. The flame from the burner fires down the furnace in a “first
pass” and then returns as hot gasses for a second pass through the smaller tubes. At this point the
gases may exit the stack or make a third or even a fourth pass back through more tubes
depending on the fire-tube’s number of passes. The furnace pipe and the rest of the boiler tubes
are completely surrounded by water inside the shell. The shell is either 80% full of water – for
making steam – or completely filled with water – for generating hot water. They are called fire-
tube boilers because the fire travels inside the tubes.

Fire-tube boilers have doors that swing open to expose the inside of the fire-tubes for
inspection and cleaning. This was an important feature back when most boilers were fired with
coal or wood. The soot that formed inside the tubes from those fuels had to be brushed
(“punched”) on a regular basis or the heat transfer efficiency would suffer. Fire-tube boilers also
had (and continue to have) hand-holes and manholes for waterside inspections and washouts. A
water hose can be directed through these openings to wash out the muck that settles in the belly
of these boilers - but otherwise there is no easy or reliable way to mechanically clean the hard
scale that will eventually form on the outside of the furnace pipe and the rest of the boiler tubes.

Fire-tube boilers were one of the main engines behind the Industrial Revolution,
providing high pressure steam to power factories. Perhaps because they weren’t as closely
watched as steam locomotives (where the engineer and fireman were literally right next to the
boiler) and not as well understood by those in charge of maintenance, a great number of boiler
accidents occurred – usually as a result of low water, human error or automatic safety devices
that did not work. How many accidents? Here’s a shocking statistic: In the late eighteen hundreds
and early nineteen hundreds, it is estimated that 50,000 people died each year from boiler and
pressure vessel related accidents in North America alone.

In 1916, a locomotive engineer adapted a boiler to power a tractor that used bent tubes
instead of straight tubes. The boiler had to be compact and the bent tubes fit nicely in the small
allotted space. Another big plus was that the bent tubes held up very well to the constant “shock”
of cold feed-water. This is because bent tubes had the ability to “flex” as they expanded and
contracted whereas fire-tube boilers did not. The gasoline engine turned out to be much more
practical for powering tractors - but the bent tube boiler lived on. This design was very different
from a fire-tube.
The bent tubes were (and typically are) installed between an upper steam drum and a
lower mud drum with additional down-comers as needed to insure proper water circulation. In
this type boiler (aka “bent-tube”, “flex-tube” or “serpentine tube”) the fire (the radiant flame)
and resulting hot gasses scour the outside of the tubes as they pass from the combustion chamber,
through the tubes and out the stack. Fireside cleaning was more difficult with the bent tube
design but as mentioned this was becoming less of a concern with the rise in cleaner burning
fuels like natural gas and diesel.

There was less heat transfer surface in the bent tube boilers. To compensate for the effects
of soot and scale, fire-tube manufacturers had always added more heating surface to make up for
the steady decline in efficiency over time. This made the fire-tubes big and bulky compared to
this new design that had about half the heating surface (5 square feet as opposed to 10 square feet
for a fire-tube). The bent tube boiler was more compact but with all the bends and smaller tube
diameters it was also very difficult to remove the hard scale that formed inside the tubes. Minus
the ability to mechanically clean the waterside, bent tube boilers had a lot less waterside heating
surface to foul (scale) before loss in efficiency and overheating became a problem.

While fire-tube and bent tube boilers could provide high pressure steam (defined as
anything over 15 PSI) for most industrial applications, there was a growing demand for low
pressure steam - especially for the comfort heating of large buildings and residences in the
metropolitan northeastern United States. By now, public perception held that low pressure steam
was inherently safer than high pressure steam. Moreover, if the steam pipes were large enough,
just a few pounds per square inch of steam pressure could easily heat a tall building. The Empire
State Building in New York City, for example, is heated by steam boilers that operate between 1
and 3 PSIG.

The ASME Code for pressure vessel design of low pressure steam boilers were (and still
are) much less stringent than for high pressure steam. Cast iron was a good metal to make low
pressure steam boilers out of for four reasons: It was relatively cheap. It could be cast into
shapes. Its tensile strength was strong enough for it to be used for low pressure steam (although
not high pressure steam). And cast iron was more resistant to oxygen corrosion than steel. This
last point was important because when any steam boiler cools off it will suck in air due to the
vacuum created - and air laden oxygen will lead to waterside oxygen corrosion in boilers.
Oxygen scavenging chemicals and other strategies have since been developed to mitigate oxygen
corrosion in steam boilers, but back before these chemicals were developed and in general use,
cast iron boilers became a widely accepted choice for low pressure steam heat.

Cast iron boilers are made by putting together sections that are bolted and gasket
together with nipples and push rods to form a complete boiler. These boilers are prevalent in the
northeastern United States where most cast iron boiler manufacturers are located. Cast iron
sectionals can also be hand trucked down into basements one a section at a time, which was
something that bent tube and fire-tube boilers were not designed to do. Cast iron is, of course, a
far less ductile metal than steel and one good thermal shock can easily crack one or more
sections. The sections, albeit cumbersome and heavy, can be replaced although it is very labor
intensive. To get to a leaking or cracked section, all the sections in front of it – or behind it - must
be disassembled first. While cast iron boilers provided affordable low pressure steam boilers
(and low pressure hot water boilers) for the residential/commercial heating market, this design,
like the fire-tube and bent tube before it, kept the mud and scale pretty much hidden from view.
On the bright side, the dirty side of boilers would not remain in the dark for much longer.

Copper fin tube boilers can be opened up and inspected just like a Rite boiler but there
is a very big difference between the two heat exchangers. While Rite has a bank of steel tubes
absorbing both radiant and convective heat, copper fin tube boilers rely on just one row of tubes
to do the same job. The amount of heat absorbed is roughly the same for both designs - the
supercharged copper fin exchanger’s rapid one-row heat absorption about equal to the more
gradual absorption by 7-8 rows of steel tubes in a Rite. Compared to Rite, and most other
designs, copper fin tube heat exchangers are the hares of the boiler world. This is because copper
fin tubes have a far greater amount of heating surface per square inch on the hot gas side than
other designs. All that concentrated energy must be removed – and very quickly – or the copper
fin tube(s) will overheat and fail. Fire a copper fin tube boiler that is full of water and the tubes
will burn up. Why? Because just having water in the boiler cannot remove the energy absorbed
quickly enough. It must have flow.
A Rite boiler can fire with no water flow at all - and no damage will occur. It will simply
come up to temperature and turn off. That is a very forgiving design in a world where mechanical
systems that rely on moving parts can and does fail. Rite steam boilers – in fact almost all steam
boilers - operate with a fixed water line with no water flow. Copper fin tube boilers can’t do this
because they must have flow. And not just any flow: 7 feet per second is recommended, so an
extra hefty pump usually separate from the system pump is required. The reason for 7 feet per
second? Less flow and the tubes may scale; more flow and the tubes may erode on the inside, all
due to the mineral hardness found in water – the same minerals that scale up most boilers and
water heaters.

The copper fin tube heat exchanger can work well as long as everything around it
works perfectly. Unfortunately mechanical things with moving parts don’t work forever. Sooner
or later a flow switch paddle sticks or a pump coupling breaks and before you know it you have a
building with no heat. For most boilers that won’t be a problem. You call a plumber, he fixes the
problem and you have heat again. If the same scenario happens to a copper tube boiler, the
results are more likely to be summed up this way: “You need a new boiler”.

Condensing boilers first appeared in Europe and have become commercially accepted in
the United States only in the last 10-15 years. They are strictly for domestic and hydronic water
heating – no steam - and generally cannot fire on fuels other than propane or natural gas. They
are called condensing boilers because when the hot gasses from the products of combustion
strike cold water backed heating surfaces, the moisture in these gasses condenses out, much like
hot breath against a cold pane of glass. When this happens, latent heat is released and this
increases the efficiency of the boiler. With the current glut of “green” technology, LEEDS
certified buildings, new government efficiency regulations and rebate programs for “more
efficient” equipment – it should come as no surprise that condensing boilers have become the
new darling of the hydronic boiler market. But are condensing boilers truly revolutionary and a
big step forward?

Until condensing boilers came around, condensing a boiler was the last thing you wanted
to do. Condensing – or “rain inside the boiler” was bad news for a number of reasons:

 The acids in the condensation would destroy ferrous and even non-ferrous metals
like copper rather quickly.

 Condensing was bad for combustion, often leading to wet soot that lowered
efficiency and plugged up the gas side of the heat exchanger. 3) Condensing
could not only destroy the boiler but the stack as well. 4) Lower stack
temperatures could reduce the natural draft to where the products of combustion
could spill back into the boiler room.

GROWTH AND SPECIALIZATION

The biggest change in boiler design came with the development of the membrane tube
wall in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Seamless tubes were welded together in a tube shop,
using a steel membrane bar between the tubes, and made into a large tube panel. This eliminated
the need for refractory for keeping the fire inside the fire box, reduced construction cost,
shortened erection schedules, and increased the size of the boilers. The radiant boiler designs
could now reach up to 4,000,000 pounds of steam per hour. Later the industry developed the
largest of the boiler designs, the universal pressure and supercritical boilers. These steam-
generating behemoths could now reach over 1,300 megawatts of electricity or 9,000,000 pounds
of steam per hour.
During the past 100 years, the steam-generating industry has modified or developed
boilers specifically suited for and in response to industry needs. For example, around the late
1940s many medical, industrial, college, and government facilities wanted the ability to generate
their own steam and electricity. In response to this need, the package or shop-assembled boilers
were developed. A package boiler is a pre-engineered steam-generating boiler that ranges in size
and steam capacity (typically from 10,000 to 600,000 lb/hr) built in a shop and shipped by rail or
barge. Many companies manufactured these small shop-assembled boilers.

Another example is boilers for the pulp and paper industry, which have been around a
very long time and began with the kraft recovery process developed in Danzing, Germany, in
1853. In 1907, the kraft recovery process was introduced in North America. The pulp and paper
industry needed a boiler that could generate large quantities of steam and electricity to help run
their driers, help them be energy self-sufficient, and, most importantly, help them make smelt.
Using the designs described above, the boiler manufacturers developed the "recovery" boiler.

The recovery boiler's furnace area is designed to melt the sodium salts in black liquor (the
byproduct left over from the pulp-making process). Black liquor droplets fall onto the char bed
or furnace floor of the boiler, and the molten inorganic chemicals, or smelt, remains on the
furnace floor and flows by gravity through the smelt spout openings into a dissolving tank. The
smelt will then be recovered by the paper mill for use in pulp processing. Two such designs were
Combustion Engineering's chemical recovery boiler, called the V2R (vertical 2 drum recovery
boiler), and Babcock & Wilcox's process recovery boiler, called simply a PR boiler.

NEW BOILER DESIGNS

The steam-generating industry also had to develop new boilers in response to non-
commercial or industry demands. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the growing disposal costs
for landfills, the passage of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, and an increased
demand for electric power in the United States led to the development of alternative fuel–burning
boilers.

Many different types of boilers began to be designed to burn alternative fuels such as
refuse (trash), wood, and biomass (vine clippings, leaves, grasses, bamboo, and sugar cane or
bagasse). A boiler using fluidized bed technology was also designed as an alternative method of
burning solid fuels such as coal. Each alternative fuel–burning boiler has the basic components
of its predecessors. The boiler manufacturers only modified the fuel input equipment or modified
the basic boiler parts to accommodate the transfer of additional air, ash, or the fuel itself.

Refuse, wood, and biomass boilers are similar to the utility radiant boilers and industrial
boilers that burn coal. They fall into the category of "waste-to-energy" boilers. They differ only
in the type of refuse, wood, or biomass they burn, and the fuel they burn may vary depending on
the time of the year (e.g., autumn may bring more leaves).

Due to the many variables of the fuel, the lower furnace environment is constantly
changing. There are two basic methods of burning refuse: mass burning, which uses the refuse as
received, and prepared refuse or refuse-derived fuel (RDF), for which the refuse is separated and
sorted, with the remaining non-recycled material going to the boiler. The burning of either mass
refuse or RDF can cause serious corrosion on the tube wall surface. Choosing the right refractory
material for the lower furnace walls is critical for efficient boiler operation and tube protection.

Fluidized bed boilers have most of the basic components of all boilers (steam drum,
tubes, economizers, super-heaters, etc.). However, its basic design is different from most other
boiler designs. A fluidized bed boiler, depending on the boiler manufacturer, may have cyclones
(not to be confused with a cyclone burner), fuel chutes, over-bed burners, collection hoppers,
combustion chambers, and stripper coolers.

Though the technology of gasification has been around since the 1920s, its use as an
alternative fuel–burning method of generating electricity and power began in the late 1970s. The
fluidized bed boiler uses a process by which solid fuels are suspended in an upward-flowing gas
or air stream at the bottom of the unit. The burning fuel exists in a fluid-like state that has a high
heat transfer but with lower reduced emissions. Like the refuse boiler, the lower furnace walls
must be protected from the environment created by the burning of the fuel.

IV. STEAM

WHAT IS STEAM?

A better understanding of the properties of steam may be achieved by understanding the


general molecular and atomic structure of matter, and applying this knowledge to ice, water and
steam.

A molecule is the smallest amount of any element or compound substance still possessing
all the chemical properties of that substance which can exist. Molecules themselves are made up
of even smaller particles called atoms, which define the basic elements such as hydrogen and
oxygen. The specific combinations of these atomic elements provide compound substances. One
such compound is represented by the chemical formula H2O, having molecules made up of two
atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen.

The reason water is so plentiful on the earth is because hydrogen and oxygen are amongst
the most abundant elements in the universe. Carbon is another element of significant abundance,
and is a key component in all organic matter. Most mineral substances can exist in the three
physical states (solid, liquid and vapor) which are referred to as phases. In the case of H2O, the
terms ice, water and steam are used to denote the three phases respectively.

The molecular arrangement of ice, water, and steam is still not fully understood, but it is
convenient to consider the molecules as bonded together by electrical charges (referred to as the
hydrogen bond). The degree of excitation of the molecules determines the physical state (or
phase) of the substance.

STEAM
As the temperature increases and the water approaches its boiling condition, some
molecules attain enough kinetic energy to reach velocities that allow them to momentarily escape
from the liquid into the space above the surface, before falling back into the liquid. Further
heating causes greater excitation and the number of molecules with enough energy to leave the
liquid increases. As the water is heated to its boiling point, bubbles of steam form within it and
rise to break through the surface.

Considering the molecular arrangement of liquids and vapors, it is logical that the density
of steam is much less than that of water, because the steam molecules are further apart from one
another. The space immediately above the water surface thus becomes filled with less dense
steam molecules.

When the number of molecules leaving the liquid surface is more than those re-entering,
the water freely evaporates. At this point it has reached boiling point or its saturation
temperature, as it is saturated with heat energy. If the pressure remains constant, adding more
heat does not cause the temperature to rise any further but causes the water to form saturated
steam. The temperature of the boiling water and saturated steam within the same system is the
same, but the heat energy per unit mass is much greater in the steam.

At atmospheric pressure the saturation temperature is 100°C. However, if the pressure is


increased, this will allow the addition of more heat and an increase in temperature without a
change of phase.

Therefore, increasing the pressure effectively increases both the enthalpy of water, and
the saturation temperature. The relationship between the saturation temperature and the pressure
is known as the steam saturation curve (see Figure 2.2.1).

Water and steam can coexist at any pressure on this curve, both being at the saturation
temperature. Steam at a condition above the saturation curve is known as superheated steam:

 Temperature above saturation temperature is called the degree of superheat of the steam.
 Water at a condition below the curve is called sub-saturated water.
If the steam is able to flow from the boiler at the same rate that it is produced, the
addition of further heat simply increases the rate of production. If the steam is restrained from
leaving the boiler, and the heat input rate is maintained, the energy flowing into the boiler will be
greater than the energy flowing out. This excess energy raises the pressure, in turn allowing the
saturation temperature to rise, as the temperature of saturated steam correlates to its pressure.

STEAM: THE ENERGY FLUID

It is useful to introduce the topic of steam by considering its many uses and benefits,
before entering an overview of the steam plant or any technical explanations. Steam has come a
long way from its traditional associations with locomotives and the Industrial Revolution. Steam
today is an integral and essential part of modern technology. Without it, our food, textile,
chemical, medical, power, heating and transport industries could not exist or perform as they do.

Steam provides a means of transporting controllable amounts of energy from a central,


automated boiler house, where it can be efficiently and economically generated, to
the point of use. Therefore as steam moves around a plant it can equally be considered
to be the transport and provision of energy.

For many reasons, steam is one of the most widely used


commodities for conveying heat energy. Its use is popular throughout
industry for a broad range of tasks from mechanical power production to
space heating and process applications.

STEAM FUNDAMENTALS

Steam is the vapor phase of water and is generated by adding more heat than required
to maintain its liquid phase at a given pressure.

 The preparation of this chapter is assigned to TC 6.1, Hydronic and Steam Equipment
and Systems. Sure, causing the liquid to change to vapor without any further increase
in temperature.

 Temperature is the thermal state of both liquid and vapor at any given pressure. The
values shown in Table 1 are for dry saturated steam. The vapor temperature can be
raised by adding more heat, resulting in superheated steam, which is used (1) where
higher temperatures are required, (2) in large distribution systems to compensate for
heat losses and to ensure that steam is delivered at the desired saturated pressure and
temperature, and (3) to ensure that the steam is dry and contains no entrained liquid
that could damage some turbine-driven equipment.

 Enthalpy of the liquid hf (sensible heat) is the amount of heat in Btu required to raise
the temperature of a pound of water from 32°F to the boiling point at the pressure
indicated.

 Enthalpy of evaporation hfg (latent heat of vaporization) is the amount of heat required
to change a pound of boiling water at a given pressure to a pound of steam at the same
pressure. This same amount of heat is released when the vapor is condensed back to a
liquid.

 Enthalpy of the steam hg (total heat) is the combined enthalpy of liquid and vapor and
represents the total heat above 32°F in the steam.

 Specific volume, the reciprocal of density, is the volume of unit mass and indicates the
volumetric space that 1 lb of steam or water occupies.

An understanding of the above helps explain some of the following unique properties and
advantages of steam:

 Most of the heat content of steam is stored as latent heat, which permits large quantities
of heat to be transmitted efficiently with little change in temperature. Because the
temperature of saturated steam is pressure-dependent, a negligible temperature
reduction occurs from the reduction in pressure caused by pipe friction losses as steam
flows through the system. This occurs regardless of the insulation efficiency, as long as
the boiler maintains the initial pressure and the steam traps remove the condensate.
Conversely, in a hydronic system, inadequate insulation can significantly reduce fluid
temperature. • Steam, as all fluids, flows from areas of high pressure to areas of low
pressure and is able to move throughout a system without an
external energy source. Heat dissipation causes the vapor to condense, which creates a
reduction in pressure caused by the dramatic change in specific volume (1600:1 at
atmospheric pressure).

HISTORY AND IMPORTANCE


An aeolipile (or aeolipyle, or eolipile), also known as a Hero
engine, is a simple bladeless radial steam turbine which spins when the
central water container is heated. Torque is produced by steam jets exiting
the turbine, much like a tip jet or rocket engine. In the 1st century
CE, Hero of Alexandria described the device, and many sources give him
the credit for its invention.

The aeolipile Hero described is considered to be the first


recorded steam engine or reaction steam turbine. The name – derived
from the Greek word Αἴολος and Latin word pila – translates to "the
ball of Aeolus", Aeolus being the Greek god of the air and wind.

Pre-dating Hero's writings, a device called an aeolipile was


described in the 1st century BC by Vitruvius in his treatise De
architectura; however, it is unclear whether it is the same device or a predecessor, as
there is no mention of any rotating parts.

Transportation was one of those important beneficiaries. By the early 1800s, high-
pressure steam engines had become compact enough to move beyond the factory, prompting the
first steam-powered locomotive to hit the rails in Britain in 1804. For the first time in history,
goods were transported over land by something other than the muscle of man or animal.

Factories that still relied on wind or water power to drive their machines during the Industrial
Revolution were confined to certain locales. Steam meant that factories could be built anywhere,
not just along fast-flowing rivers.

Principal uses/ application of steam

 STEAM FOR PROCESS HEATING

Steam is largely used for the purpose of process heating. Using steam for processing
heating offers multiple benefits over other heating media. Numerous benefits, simplicity of the
system and high efficiency and reliability make steam the first choice for process heating.
Steam can be used either for direct heating or indirect heating.
a. Direct heating
In direct heating, steam is directly injected in the substance which is to be heated. Care
should be taken that proper mixing takes place to ensure uniform heating. It is also essential to
take care that no temperature overshoots are observed. Sparge pipes should be used to ensure that
steam does not escape to the environment without heating the product.
In pharmaceutical or food and beverages industry, steam of highest purity (safe to be consumed
by humans) should always be used for direct heating purposes.

b. Indirect Heating
The indirect method of heating uses steam to heat the product with the help of heat exchangers
so that the product does not come physically in contact with steam. The indirect heating can be
done through use of various heating
equipment such as cookers, jacketed
vessels, plate type or shell and tube type
heat exchangers.

 STEAM FOR ATOMIZATION

The process of atomization


ensures a better combustion of fuels. The
word atomization literally means
breaking in to tiny particles. In burners,
steam is used for the purpose of
atomizing the fuel. This ensures a larger
surface area of the fuel available for the
combustion.
As a result of atomization, soot formation
is minimized and overall efficiency of
combustion goes up.

 STEAM FOR POWER GENERATION

The very first commercial central electrical generating stations in New York and London,
in 1882, also used reciprocating steam engines.

For decades, steam is being used for the purpose of power generation in form of electricity. The
steam power plants work on the Rankine Cycle. In Rankine cycle, superheated steam is
generated and then taken to steam turbine. The steam drives the turbine which in turn generates
the electricity. The used steam is again converted in to water using a condenser. This recovered
water is again fed back to the boiler to
generate steam.

The efficiency of the power plant is


directly dependent on difference
between pressure and temperature of
steam at the inlet and outlet of turbine.

Hence, use of high temperature


and high pressure steam is advisable.
Hence, power generation plants are
most efficient when superheated steam
is used. As high pressure is involved,
water tube boilers are used for steam
generation.

 STEAM FOR
HUMIDIFICATION

Maintaining humidity is a
crucial aspect of HVAC systems as
humidity lower or higher than
desired has adverse effects on
humans, machines and materials.
Humidity lower than desired might
lead to drying of mucus membranes
which ultimately results in
respiratory distress.

Low humidity also leads to increased


static electricity problems which
might damage the costly equipment.
Steam can be used for the purpose of
humidification.

Using steam for the purpose of humidification offers added advantages over other media.
There are different types of humidifiers from evaporating humidifiers to ultrasonic ones to suit
different applications.

 STEAM FOR DRYING

Product drying is another application of steam where steam is used to remove moisture
from the product. Conventionally, hot air is used for product drying. Using steam to dry makes
the system simple, easy to control drying rates and compact. The overall capital investment is
also low.

On the other hand, use of steam is cheaper on operational basis compared to hot air. It is also a
safer alternative. The use of steam for drying purpose also ensures a better product quality when
compared with hot air.

POWER GENERATION

A steam/thermal power station uses heat energy generated from burning coal to produce
electrical energy. This type of power station is widely used around the world.

This power station uses the Rankine cycle. This is the cycle of the steam produced in the
boiler, and then taken to the Steam turbine (prime mover). From the turbine the steam is cooled
back to water in the Condenser, the resulting water is fed back into the boiler to repeat the cycle.

Because of the abundance of fuel (coal), this kind of power station can be used to
produce large amounts of electrical energy. In most countries these power stations are used
as base load power stations. This is because steam power stations are slow to start and cannot be
used to cater for peak loads that generally occur for a short duration.

These power stations (together with nuclear power stations) are kept running very close
to full efficiency for 24 hours a day (unless they are being maintained). They have typical life of
30 to 40 years (although most governments have reduced this number to 35 years).

Pros & Cons: what this power station presents

Advantages Disadvantages

Cheap coal is used Air pollution from smoke fumes

Can be installed anywhere near fuel & Costs more to run compared with other types of
water supply power stations

Requires less construction space

Cost for Generation is less

 STEAM HEATING

Heating with Steam


Steam is one of the most common and effective heat transfer mediums used in industry,
but it is not the only medium available. Other fluids such as hot water and oil are also used for
indirect heating in heat exchangers. The following series of articles will focus on the advantages
of using steam compared to hot water or oil for heating.

Heating with Hot Water or Oil

Heat transfer from a liquid medium such as hot water or oil utilizes the medium’s
sensible heat. The liquid is supplied at elevated temperatures to the heat exchanger. As the liquid
gives off thermal energy, its temperature decreases, exiting the exchanger at a lower temperature.
The amount of energy released per unit of heat transfer medium is relatively low (typically
around 17 kcal/kg, or 30 Btu/lb).
Heating with Steam

Steam is supplied in a gaseous state to the heat exchanger. Heat transfer with saturated
steam utilizes the latent heat of steam, releasing a large amount of energy as it condenses
(changes to the liquid state). Liquid condensate exits the heat exchanger at close to saturated
steam temperatures. The amount of energy released per unit of steam is high (up to 539 kcal/kg,
or 970 Btu/lb, and higher with vacuum steam).

Advantages and disadvantages of steam:

Steam offers the following advantages:

 Steam flows through the system unaided by external energy sources such as maps.
 Because of its low density, steam can be used in tall buildings where water systems create
excessive pressure.
 Terminal units can be added or removed without making basic changes to the design.
 Steam components can be repaired or replaced by closing the steam supply, without the
difficulties associated with draining.
 Steam is temperature-pressure dependent; therefore, the system temperature can be
controlled by varying either steam pressure or temperature.
 Steam can be distributed throughout a heating a heating system with little change in
temperature.

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS

Utilizing latent heat (steam heating) for heat transfer is far more effective than utilizing
sensible heat (hot water or oil heating), as a much higher amount of energy is released in a
shorter period of time. This offers the following benefits:
Property Advantage

Rapid even heating through latent


Improved product quality and productivity
heat transfer

Pressure can control temperature Temperature can be quickly and precisely established

Smaller required heat transfer surface area, enabling reduced


High heat transfer coefficient
initial equipment outlay

V. HOW STEAM IS GENERATED?

A boiler incorporates a firebox or furnace in order to burn the fuel and generate heat.
The generated heat is transferred to water to make steam, the process of boiling. This produces
saturated steam at a rate which can vary according to the pressure above the boiling water.
VI. BOILER OPERATION (HOW IT WORKS?)

WORKING OF A POWER PLANT BOILER

Boiler in a power plant has two functions: The Combustion system converts energy
in coal to Heat and Water and steam system converts the heat to steam at high pressures and
temperatures.
Combustion System

Boilers burn coals to produce steam. Burning coal involves fuel preparation, providing
the necessary combustion air and removal of the flue gases and ash.
Coal System

Coal received from the mines is stored in the coal yard adjacent to the power plant. It is
then conveyed on a daily basis to the boiler and stored in a coal silo. Coal feeders continuously
feed the required amount of coal to the coal pulverizers.
Coal Pulverizers grind the coal to a very fine powder to make it burn easily. Pulverizes
have steel rollers or steel balls which crush the coal between them into a fine powder. This
powder is easy to burn. Coal contains moisture. Hot air from the Primary Air Fans dries the
coal in the pulverizers. This makes the burning easy and efficient. This air also carries the dry
coal powder from the pulverizers to the burners in the boiler furnace. In the burners the coal
powder is mixed with the required amount of combustion air and burned in the furnace.

Coal Flow in a Boiler


AIR SYSTEM

Correct amount of air is the most essential ingredient for Combustion. More air or less air
both makes the combustion process inefficient.
Forced Draft Fan supplies most of the combustion air. This fan takes air from the
atmosphere and blows it into the furnace through air ducts. The air heater heats the air before it
enters the furnace.
Air Heater utilizes the heat of the hot flue gases that leave the boiler to heat the
combustion air. Hot air improves the efficiency of combustion. The air heater works on the
regenerative principle. Steel plates alternatively placed in the hot flue gas path and then in the air
path heats the cold air entering the air heater.

FLUE GAS SYSTEM

Coal burns in the furnace giving out heat and forming flue gases.
The hot flue gases from the furnace are drawn out by the induced draft fan. The gases
pass through the various heating surfaces of the boiler, the electrostatic precipitator and
discharges to the atmosphere at the top of the stack. Induced Draft Fan provides the energy for
this flow of flue gases. The induced draft fan is normally located adjacent to the Stack.
Electrostatic Precipitators capture the fly ash in the flue gases without letting them out
into the atmosphere. High voltage electrodes placed in the gas path ionized the ash particles
which collects on collecting electrodes and falls into ash hoppers.
Stack or the Chimney disperses the hot gases and any other particles at a great height.
The height enables a very large dispersion area and regulates emission concentrations at ground
levels to the level acceptable to humans and vegetation. Stack heights for large power plants are
around 250 to 280 meters.
The forced draft fan and the induced draft fan operate in such a way that the air pressure
in the furnace is at zero pressure i.e.: at atmospheric pressure. This is called the ‘Balanced Draft
system’.

AIR AND FLUE GAS SYSTEM IN A BOILER

ASH SYSTEM
Ash is the inert matter in coal and is the residue after combustion. This has to be collected
and disposed off without letting it out into the atmosphere. A part of the ash, around 15 %
collects as bottom ash at the bottom of the furnace. The other part collects as fly ash in the
electrostatic precipitators. The collected ash is then transported to disposal yards or storage silos.

WATER AND STEAM SYSTEM

The boiler generates high pressure steam by transferring the heat of combustion in
various heat transfer sections. Volume of one unit mass of steam is thousand times that of water.
When water is converted to steam in a closed vessel the pressure will increase. Boiler uses this
principle to produce high pressure steam.
Conversion of Water to Steam evolves in three stages

Heating the water from cold condition to boiling point or saturation temperature –
sensible heat addition.
Water boils at saturation temperature to produce steam - Latent heat addition.
Heating steam from saturation temperature to higher temperature called Superheating to
increase the power plant output and efficiency.

SENSIBLE HEAT ADDITION

Feed Water Pump

The first step is to get a constant supply of water at high pressure into the boiler. Since
the boiler is always at a high pressure. Boiler feed water pump pumps the water at high
pressure into the boiler from the feed water tank. The pump is akin to the heart in the human
body.
Pre-Heating

Feed water heaters, using extracted steam from the turbine, adds a part of the sensible
heat even before the water enters the boiler.

Economizer
Most of the sensible heat is absorbed in the economizer. These are a set of coils made
from steel tubes located in the tail end of a boiler. The hot gases leaving the boiler furnace heat
the water in the coils. The water temperature is slightly less than the saturation temperature.
From the economizer the water is fed to the drum.
Pre-Heating & Economizer
LA
TENT HEAT ADDITION

Drum

The drum itself is a large cylindrical vessel that functions as the storage and feeding point
for water and the collection point for water and steam mixture. This is the largest and most
important pressure part in the boiler and weighs in the range 250 tons for 600 MW power plants.
Water Walls

Boiling takes place in the water walls which are water filled tubes that form the walls of
the furnace. Water walls get the water from the downcomers which are large pipes connected to
the drum. The downcomers and the water wall tubes form the two legs of a water column.
As the water heats up in the furnace a part of the water in the water-wall tubes becomes
steam. This water steam mixture has a lower density than the water in the downcomers. This
density difference creates a circulation of water from the drum, through the downcomers, water
walls and back to the drum. Steam collects at the upper half of the drum. The steam is then sent
to the next sections.
The temperature in the drum, downcomers and water wall is at the saturation
temperature.

WATERWALLS

SUPERHEAT/REHEAT

Superheater

Steam from the drum passes to the superheater coils placed in the flue gas path. The
steam temperature increases from the saturation temperature till the maximum required for
operation. The superheated steam then finally goes to the turbine. Final superheater temperatures
are in the Range of 540 to 570 °C for large power plants and superheated steam pressures are
around 175 bar.
Reheater

Steam from the exhaust of the first stage turbine goes back to the boiler for reheating and
is returned to the second stage. Reheater coils in the flue gas path does the reheating of the
returned steam. The reheat steam is at a much lower pressure than the super heated steam but the
final reheater temperature is the same as the superheated steam temperature. Reheating to high
temperatures improves the output and efficiency of the Power Plant. Final reheater temperatures
are normally in the range of 560 to 600 °C. Reheat steam pressures are normally around 45 bar.
The above are the major water and steam circuit items in a boiler and are collectively
called the ‘pressure parts’.
VII. BOILER SYSTEMS

The boiler system comprises of:


 feed water system
 steam system
 Fuel system.

The feed water system provides water to the boiler and regulates it automatically to meet
the steam demand. Various valves provide access for maintenance and repair.
The steam system collects and controls the steam produced in the boiler. Steam is directed
through a piping system to the point of use. Throughout the system, steam pressure is regulated
using valves and checked with steam pressure gauges.
The fuel system includes all equipment used to provide fuel to generate the necessary heat.
The equipment required in the fuel system depends on the type of fuel used in the system.
FEEDWATER SYSTEM

The water supplied to the boiler that is converted into steam is called feed water. The
two sources of feed water are:
 Condensate or condensed steam returned from the processes
 Makeup water (treated raw water) which must come from outside the boiler room and
plant processes.
1. Feedwater heater

Boiler efficiency is improved by the extraction of waste heat from spent steam to preheat
the boiler feedwater. Heaters are shell and tube heat exchangers with the feedwater on the tube
side (inside) and steam on the shell side (outside). The heater closest to the boiler receives the
hottest steam. The condensed steam is recovered in the heater drains and pumped forward to the
heater immediately upstream, where its heat value is combined with that of the steam for that
heater. Ultimately the condensate is returned to the condensate storage tank or condenser hot
well.
2. Deaerators

Feedwater often has oxygen dissolved in it, which comes from air in-leakage from the
condenser, pump seals, or from the condensate itself. The oxygen is mechanically removed in a
deaerator. Deaerators function on the principle that oxygen is decreasingly soluble as the
temperature is raised. This is done by passing a stream of steam through the feedwater.
Deaerators are generally a combination of spray and tray type. One problem with the control of
deaerators is ensuring sufficient temperature difference between the incoming water temperature
and the stripping steam. If the temperature is too close, not enough steam will be available to
strip the oxygen from the make-up water.

3. Economizers

Economizers are the last stage of the feedwater system. They are designed to extract heat
value from the exhaust gases to heat the steam still further and improve the efficiency of the
boiler. They are simple finned tube heat exchangers. Not all boilers have economizers. Usually
they are found only on water tube boilers using fossil fuel as an energy conservation measure.
A feedwater economizer reduces steam boiler fuel requirements by transferring heat from
the flue gas to incoming feedwater. It is appropriate when insufficient heat transfer surface exists
within the boiler to remove combustion heat.
STEAM SYSTEM

1. Steam and mud drums

A boiler system consists of a steam drum and a mud drum. The steam drum is the upper
drum of a water tube boiler where the separation of water and steam occurs. Feedwater enters the
boiler steam drum from the economizer or from the feedwater heater train if there is no
economizer. The colder feedwater helps create the circulation in the boiler.
The steam outlet line normally takes off from this drum to a lower drum by a set of riser
and downcomer tubes. The lower drum called the mud drum, is a tank at the bottom of the boiler
that equalizes distribution of water to the generating tubes and collects solids such as salts
formed from hardness and silica or corrosion products carried into the boiler.
In the circulation process, the colder water, which is outside the heat transfer area, sinks
and enters the mud drum. The water is heated in the heat transfer tubes to form steam. The
steam-water mixture is less dense than water and rises in the riser tubes to the steam drum. The
steam drum contains internal elements for feedwater entry, chemical injection, blowdown
removal, level control, and steam-water separation. The steam bubbles disengage from the boiler
water in the riser tubes and steam flows out from the top of the drum through steam separators.
2. Boiler Tubes

Boiler tubes are usually fabricated from high-strength carbon steel. The tubes are welded
to form a continuous sheet or wall of tubes. Often more than one bank of tubes is used, with the
bank closest to the heat sources providing the greatest share of heat transfer. They will also tend
to be the most susceptible to failure due to flow problems or corrosion/deposition problems.
3. Superheaters

The purpose of the superheater is to remove all moisture content from the steam by
raising the temperature of the steam above its saturation point. The steam leaving the boiler is
saturated, that is, it is in equilibrium with liquid water at the boiler pressure (temperature).
The superheater adds energy to the exit steam of the boiler. It can be a single bank or
multiple banks or tubes either in a horizontal or vertical arrangement that is suspended in the
convective or radiation zone of the boiler. The added energy raises the temperature and heat
content of the steam above saturation point. In the case of turbines, excessive moisture in the
steam can adversely affect the efficiency and integrity of the turbine. Superheated steam has a
larger specific volume as the amount of superheat increases. This necessities larger diameter
pipelines to carry the same amount of steam. Due to temperatures, higher alloy steel is used. It is
important that the steam is of high purity and low moisture content so that non-volatile
substances do not build up in the superheater.
4. Attemperators

Attemperation is the primary means of controlling the degree of superheat in a


superheated boiler. Attemperation is the process of partially desuperheating steam by the
controlled injection of water into the superheated steam flow. The degree of superheat will
depend on the steam load and the heat available, given the design of the superheater. In order to
achieve the proper control of superheat temperature an attemperator is used.
A direct contact attemperator injects a stream of high purity water into the superheated
steam. It is usually located at the exit of the superheater, but may be placed in an intermediate
position. Usually, boiler feedwater is used for attemperation. The water must be free of non-
volatile solids to prevent objectionable build up of solids in the main stream tubes and on turbine
blades.
5. Condensate Systems

Although not a part of the boiler, condensate is usually returned to the boiler as part of
the feedwater. Accordingly, one must take into account the amount and quality of the condensate
when calculating boiler treatment parameters. These will include heat exchangers, process
equipment, flash tanks, and storage tanks.
Heat exchangers are the places in the system where the steam is used to heat a process or
air by indirect contact. The steam enters as superheated or saturated and may leave as
superheated, saturated, or as liquid water, depending on the initial steam conditions and the
design load of the exchanger.

FUEL SYSTEM

Fuel feed systems play critical role in the performance of boilers. Their primary functions
include transferring the fuel into the boiler and distributing the fuel within the boiler to promote
uniform and completer combustion. The type of fuel influences the operational features of a fuel
system.The fuel feed system forms the most significant component of the boiler system.
1. Feed system for gaseous fuels

Gaseous fuels are relatively easy to transport and handle. Any pressure difference will
cause gas to flow, and most gaseous fuels mix easily with air. Because on-site storage of gaseous
fuel is typically not feasible, boilers must be connected to a fuel source such as natural gas
pipeline. Flow of gaseous fuels to a boiler can be precisely controlled using a variety of control
systems. These systems generally include automatic valves that meter gas flow through a burner
and into the boiler based on steam or hot water demand.
The purpose of the burner is to increase the stability of the flame over a wide range of
flow rates by creating a favorable condition for fuel ignition and establishing aerodynamic
conditions that ensure good mixing between the primary combustion air and the fuel. Burners are
the central elements of an effective combustion system.
2. Feed system for solid fuels

Solid fuels are much more difficult to handle than gaseous and liquid fuels. Preparing the
fuel for combustion is generally necessary and may involve techniques such as crushing or
shredding. Before combustion can occur, the individual fuels particles must be transported from
a storage area to the boiler. Mechanical devices such as conveyors, augers, hoppers, slide gates,
vibrators, and blowers are often used for this purpose. The method selected depends primarily on
the size of the individual fuels particles and the properties and characteristics of the fuel.
A burner is defined as a devices or group of devices for the introduction of fuel and air
into a furnace at the required velocities, turbulence, and concentration to maintain ignition and
combustion of fuel within the furnace. Burners for gaseous fuels are less complex than those for
liquid or solid fuels because mixing of gas and combustion air is relatively simple compared to
atomizing liquid fuels or dispersing solid fuel particles.

VIII. CLASSIFICATION OF STEAM BOILERS

A. BASED ON PRESSURE

Low pressure Steam Boiler

A steam boiler in which steam is generated at pressure less than 15 psi or a boiler in which
hot water is generated at pressure not exceeding 160 psi and/or temperature not exceeding 250o F.

20th century boilers increase steam temperature by increasing pressure. MHI's low pressure
steam boiler devices use patented InstaBoiler and BoilerFree technologies. These technologies
allow MHI devices to generate industry leading 1300°C steam without increasing pressure
beyond 1 atmosphere.

 Low Pressure Operations - All MHI steam devices operate at a low pressure of 1
atmosphere. Our devices can scale temperature and output without ever increasing pressure.

 No Certifications Required – BoilerFree technology means that all of MHI's steam


boilers operate at low pressure. No boiler certifications or pressure vessel certification are
required.

 High Temperature Dry Steam - Our lowest temperature steam devices are hotter than
high pressure steam. We offer steam temperatures from 300°C up to 1300°C on standard
production models.
 No Device Idling - Steam when you need it. Because MHI's steam boilers are low
pressure, they don't need to build up pressure to get to temperature and maintain operation
during low demand periods.

 No Combustion - Our low pressure steam boilers don't employ any combustion process,
resulting in no NOX emissions and greener operations.

 Modular Design- Our boilers are small. The OAB-4 measures in at 1ft^3 and weighs less
than 30kg. Combine the small footprint and plug and play operations, and the OAB is quite
possibly the most versatile source of dry superheated steam on the market.

While dry steam isn't optimal for every application, it is an excellent replacement for many.
With a high energy content and low moisture content, dry steam is ideal for applications such as
steam drying, process uses and other applications seeking to avoid traditional boiler issues and
certifications.

High pressure Steam Boiler

A steam boiler in which steam is generated at pressure exceeding 15 psi or a boiler in


which hot water is generated at pressure exceeding 160 psi and/or temperature exceeding
250o F.
Each cubic meter of High Pressure Boiler produces 20 steam/tick. High Pressure
Boilers use more than twice the fuel of Low Pressure Boilers, and a maximum
temperature of 10000C rather than 5000C. Larger Pressure Boilers are less efficient in the
short term; taking more time and fuel to heat up, but allow for more compact, powerful
designs. Low Pressure Boilers are recommended for typical use unless fireboxes, iron, or
space are at a premium. Comparing a High Pressure and Low Pressure boiler at a
maximum temperature, running constantly, the Low Pressure Boiler is 18% more
efficient at using its fuel.

B. BASED ON FUEL

Gaseous Fuel
A steam boiler is fired by gas. The gas used may be natural gas, propane gas, etc.
Liquid Fuel
A steam boiler is fired by oil. The oil used may be heavy oil known as Bunker C because
of low fuel cost.
Solid Fuel
This type of steam boiler is fired by coal, wood, rejected product, etc
Electric Fuel
This type of steam boiler is fired by electricity. Usually used for research laboratory, food
industries, and others where smoke pollution is prohibited.

C. BASED ON MATERIAL
Steel
Cast Iron

D. BASED ON TUBE TYPE

 Fire tube boiler

Definition:

In fire-tube boilers, combustion gases pass through the inside of the tubes with water
surrounding the outside of the tubes. The advantages of a fire-tube boiler are its simple
construction and less rigid water treatment requirements.

The disadvantages are the excessive weight-per-pound of steam generated, excessive time
required to raise steam pressure because of the relatively large volume of water, and inability to
respond quickly to load changes, again, due to the large water volume.

The most common fire-tube boilers used in facility heating applications are often referred to
as ''scotch'' or ''scotch marine'' boilers, as this boiler type was commonly used for marine service
because of its compact size (fire-box integral with boiler section).

The name "fire-tube" is very descriptive. The fire, or hot flue gases from the burner, is channeled
through tubes that are surrounded by the fluid to be heated. The body of the boiler is the pressure
vessel and contains the fluid. In most cases, this fluid is water that will be circulated for heating
purposes or converted to steam for process use. Every set of tubes that the flue gas travels
through, before it makes a turn, is considered a "pass." So, a three-pass boiler will have three sets
of tubes with the stack outlet located on the rear of the boiler. A four-pass boiler will have four
sets and the stack outlet at the front.
Fire-tube Boiler Gas Flow

Parts:

The image shows the simplest form of an internally fired vertical fire-tube boiler. It does
not require heavy foundation and requires very small floor area.
Cylindrical shell:

The shell is vertical and it attached to the bottom of the furnace. Greater portion of the
shell is full of water which surrounds the furnace also. Remaining portion is steam space. The
shell may be of about 1.25 metres diameter and 2.0 meters height.

Cross-tubes:

One or more cross tubes are either riveted or flanged to the furnace to increase the
heating surface and to improve the water circulation.

Furnace (fire box)

Combustion of coal takes place in the furnace (fire box).

Grate:
It is placed at the bottom of fire box and coal is fed on it for burning.

Fire door:

Coal is fed to the grate through the fire door.

Chimney (or stack):

The chimney (stack) passes from the top of the firebox through the top of the shell.
Manhole:

It is provided on the top of the shell to enable a man to enter into it and inspect and repair
the boiler from inside it. It is also, meant for cleaning the interior of the boiler shell and
exterior of the combustion chamber and stack (chimney).

Hand holes:

These are provided in the shell opposite to the ends of each cross tube for cleaning the
cross tube.

Ashipt:

It is provide for collecting the ash deposit, which can be removed away at intervals.

Working:

The fuel (coal) is fed into the grate through the fire hole and is burnt. The ashpit placed
below the grate collect the ashes of the burning fuel. The combustion gas flows from the
furnace, passes around the cross tubes and escapes to the atmosphere through the chimney.

Water goes by natural circulation due to convection currents, from the lower end of the cross
tube and comes out from the higher end. The working pressure of the simple vertical boiler
does not exceed 70 N/cm2.

Types of Fire Tube Boiler

 SIMPLE VERTICAL

A vertical boiler is a type of fire-tube or water-tube boiler where the boiler barrel is
oriented vertically instead of the more common horizontal orientation. Vertical boilers were used
for a variety of steam-powered vehicles and other mobile machines, including early steam
locomotives.

 COCHRAN

This is one of the recent vertical type of boiler, having a fully spherical furnace. Due to
its shape the boiler is also known as spheroid. The main feature of the boiler is that the furnace of
the boiler is surrounded by water and therefore there is no requirement of refractory material. It
is a single phase pass boiler, which means that the hot gases pass just through the horizontal tube
stack before going to the exhaust. Small bore tubes along with the retarders are used to ensure
better heat transfer, higher efficiency and cleaner tubes due to turbulent gas flow.

 LOCOMOTIVE
A locomotive boiler has three main components: a double-walled firebox; a horizontal,
cylindrical "boiler barrel" containing a large number of small flue-tubes; and
a smokebox with chimney, for the exhaust gases. The boiler barrel contains larger flue-tubes to
carry the superheater elements, where present. Forced draught is provided in the locomotive
boiler by injecting exhausted steam back into the exhaust via a blast pipe in the smokebox.

Locomotive-type boilers are also used in traction engines, steam rollers, portable
engines and some other steam road vehicles. The inherent strength of the boiler means it is used
as the basis for the vehicle: all the other components, including the wheels, are mounted on
brackets attached to the boiler. It is rare to find superheaters designed into this type of boiler, and
they are generally much smaller (and simpler) than railway locomotive types.

The locomotive-type boiler is also a characteristic of the over type steam wagon, the steam-
powered fore-runner of the truck. In this case, however, heavy girder frames make up the load-
bearing chassis of the vehicle, and the boiler is attached to this.

 LANCASHIRE

The Lancashire boiler is similar to the Cornish, but has two large flues containing the
fires. It was the invention of William Fairbain in 1844, from a theoretical consideration of the
thermodynamics of more efficient boilers that led him to increase the furnace grate area relative
to the volume of water.

Later developments added Galloway tubes (after their inventor, patented in


1848), crosswise water tubes across the flue, thus increasing the heated surface area. As these are
short tubes of large diameter and the boiler continues to use a relatively low pressure, this is still
not considered to be a water-tube boiler. The tubes are tapered, simply to make their installation
through the flue easier.

 CORNISH

The earliest form of fire-tube boiler was Richard Trevithick's "high-pressure" Cornish
boiler. This is a long horizontal cylinder with a single large flue containing the fire. The fire itself
was on an iron grating placed across this flue, with a shallow ashpan beneath to collect the non-
combustible residue. Although considered as low-pressure (perhaps 25 psi) today, the use of a
cylindrical boiler shell permitted a higher pressure than the earlier "haystack" boilers
of Newcomen's day. As the furnace relied on natural draught (air flow), a tall chimney was
required at the far end of the flue to encourage a good supply of air (oxygen) to the fire.

For efficiency, the boiler was commonly encased beneath by a brick-built chamber. Flue gases
were routed through this, outside the iron boiler shell, after passing through the fire-tube and so
to a chimney that was now placed at the front face of the boiler.
Images of fire tube boilers

 Water Tube Boiler

Definition:

A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated
externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the
steam-generating tubes. In smaller boilers, additional generating tubes are separate in the
furnace, while larger utility boilers rely on the water-filled tubes that make up the walls of the
furnace to generate steam.

The heated water then rises into the steam drum. Here, saturated steam is drawn off the
top of the drum. In some services, the steam will reenter the furnace through a superheater to
become superheated. Superheated steam is defined as steam that is heated above the boiling
point at a given pressure. Superheated steam is a dry gas and therefore used to drive turbines,
since water droplets can severely damage turbine blades.

Cool water at the bottom of the steam drum returns to the feedwater drum via large-bore
'downcomer tubes', where it pre-heats the feedwater supply. (In large utility boilers, the
feedwater is supplied to the steam drum and the downcomers supply water to the bottom of the
waterwalls). To increase economy of the boiler, exhaust gases are also used to pre-heat the air
blown into the furnace and warm the feedwater supply. Such watertube boilers in thermal power
stations are also called steam generating units.

The older fire-tube boiler design, in which the water surrounds the heat source and gases
from combustion pass through tubes within the water space, is a much weaker structure and is
rarely used for pressures above 2.4 MPa (350 psi). A significant advantage of the watertube
boiler is that there is less chance of a catastrophic failure: there is not a large volume of water in
the boiler nor are there large mechanical elements subject to failure.

In a water-tube boiler, the water is inside the tubes and combustion gases pass around the
outside of the tubes. A water-tube design is the exact opposite of a fire-tube. Here, the water
flows through the tubes and is encased in a furnace in which the burner fires. These tubes are
connected to a steam drum and a mud drum. The water is heated and steam is produced in the
upper drum.

Large steam users are better suited for the water-tube design. The industrial water-tube boiler
typically produces steam or hot water primarily for industrial process applications, and is used
less frequently for heating applications. The best gauge of which design to consider can be found
in the duty in which the boiler is to perform.

In water tube boiler, boiler feed water flows through the tubes and enters the boiler drum.
The circulated water is heated by the combustion gases and converted into steam at the vapour
space in the drum. These boilers are selected when the steam demand as well as steam pressure
requirements are high as in the case of process cum power boiler / power boilers.

Most modern water boiler tube designs are within the capacity range 4,500 – 120,000 kg/hour of
steam, at very high pressures. Many water tube boilers nowadays are of “packaged” construction
if oil and /or gas are to be used as fuel. Solid fuel fired water tube designs are available but
packaged designs are less common.

The features of water tube boilers are:

 Forced, induced and balanced draft provisions help to improve combustion efficiency.
 Less tolerance for water quality calls for water treatment plant.

 Higher thermal efficiency levels are possible

Application:

The ability of watertube boilers to generate superheated steam makes these boilers
particularly attractive in applications that require dry, high-pressure, high-energy steam,
including steam turbine power generation”.

Owing to their superb working properties, the use of watertube boilers is highly preferred in
the following major areas:

 Variety of process applications in industries

 Chemical processing divisions

 Pulp and Paper manufacturing plants

 Refining units

Besides, they are frequently employed in power generation plants where large quantities of
steam (ranging up to 500 kg/s) having high pressures i.e. approximately 16 megapascals
(160 bar) and high temperatures reaching up to 550°C are generally required. For example,
the Ivanpah solar-power station uses two Rentech Type-D watertube boilers.

 Stationary

Modern boilers for power generation are almost entirely water-tube designs, owing to their
ability to operate at higher pressures. Where process steam is required for heating or as a
chemical component, then there is still a small niche for fire-tube boilers.

 Marine

Their ability to work at higher pressures has led to marine boilers being almost entirely water-
tube. This change began around 1900, and traced the adoption of turbines for propulsion rather
than reciprocating (i.e. piston) engines – although watertube boilers were also used with
reciprocating engines.

 Railway
There has been no significant adoption of water-tube boilers for railway locomotives. A
handful of experimental designs were produced, but none of these were successful or led to their
widespread use. Most water-tube railway locomotives, especially in Europe, used the Schmidt
system. Most were compounds, and a few uniflows. The Norfolk and Western Railway's Jaw
Henry was an exception, as it used a steam turbine combined with an electric transmission.

 Roads

While the traction engine was usually built using its locomotive boiler as its frame, other
types of steam road vehicles such as lorries and cars have used a wide range of different boiler
types. Road transport pioneers Goldsworthy Gurney and Walter Hancock both used water-tube
boilers in their steam carriages around 1830.

Most undertype wagons used water-tube boilers. Many manufacturers used variants of the
vertical cross-tube boiler, including Atkinson, Clayton, Garrett and Sentinel. Other types include
the Clarkson 'thimble tube' and the Foden O-type wagon's pistol-shaped boiler.

Steam fire-engine makers such as Merryweather usually used water-tube boilers for their
rapid steam-raising capacity.

Many steam cars used water-tube boilers, and the Bolsover Express Company even made a
water-tube replacement for the Stanley Steamer fire-tube boiler.

WATER TUBE BOILER


Types of Water Tube Boiler

La Mont Boiler

A La Mont boiler is a type of forced circulation in which the boiler water is circulated
through an external pump through long closely spaced tubes of small diameter. The mechanical
pump is employed to in order to have an adequate and positive circulation in steam and hot water
boilers.

Loeffler Boiler

The novel feature of the Loeffler Boiler is to evaporate water solely by means of superheated
steam. The furnace heat is supplied only to economiser and superheater. In other words, steam is
used as a heat absorbing medium.

The major difficulty experienced in La-Mont boiler is deposition of salt and sediment on the
inner surfaces of water tubes. The deposition reduces the heat transfer, ultimately, the generating
capacity. This difficulty was solved in Loeffler boiler by preventing the flow of water into the
boiler tubes. Feed water is evaporated in the drum using part of the superheated steam coming
out from the water-heater. Thus only the dry saturated steam passes through the tubes. Poor feed
water can, therefore, be used without any difficulty in the boiler, which is great advantage of this
boiler.
Benson Boiler

The presence of steam bubbles in contact with the surface of tubes seriously impairs heat
transmission from the flue gases to water. By rising the boiler pressure to the critical pressure of
steam (225 kgf/sq.cm.), this difficulty is overcome, as suggested by Mark Benson in 1922. At the
critical pressure water and steam have the same density and no bubbles are formed.
The first modern high pressure drumless boiler developed by benson was put into operation in
1927 in west Germany power station
Babcock and Wilcox Boiler

It is a water tube boiler used in steam power plants. In this, water is circulated inside the tubes
and hot gases flow over the tubes.

The Babcock and Wilcox Boiler consist of:

1. Steam and water drum (boiler shell)


2. Water tubes
3. Uptake-header and down corner
4. Grate
5. Furnace
6. Baffles
7. Super heater
8. Mud box
9. Inspection door
10. Damper
BASED ON CIRCULATION

 Natural Circulation

In a natural circulation boiler the circulation is achieved by the difference in density when
the water in the boiler is heated. In natural circulation steam boilers the circulation of water is
by convection currents, which are set up during the heating of water. In most of the boilers there
is a natural circulation of water the fundamental principle of which is based on the principle
of Thermosiphon.

 Forced Circulation

In a forced circulation boiler, an extra pump is used to increase the circulation rate as
compared to that of a natural circulation boiler. In some forced circulation boilers, the water is
circulated twenty times the rate of evaporation.

One example of a forced circulation boiler is the LaMont boiler. Such boilers are used in cases
where there is high pressure, above 30 Mega Pascal.

E. BASED ON METHOD OF COMBUSTION

 Stoker Boiler

Stoker fired: Older plants burning all


solid fuel types. Spreader stokers feed solid
fuel on to a combustion rate and remove a
residue; a mechanical stoker is a
mechanical system that feeds solid fuel
like coal, coke or anthracite into
the furnace of a steam boiler. They are
common on steam locomotives after 1900
and are also used on ships and power
stations. Known now as a spreader
stoker they remain in use today especially
in furnaces fueled by wood pellets or
refuse.
There are two types, the over feed and the under feed. The over feed delivers coal on to the
top of the coals already in the furnace in the manner of a human working a shovel. The under
feeder pushes fresh coal into the bottom of the furnace and then advances it upwards so that it
mixes with the burning coal above.

The mechanical means used are, depending on design, combinations of the screw feed,
the conveyor belt, the bucket chain, the paddle and the ram. Steam jets from the boiler or a
mechanical catapult may also be used to throw coal into the far reaches of the furnace

 Fluidized Bed Boiler

Fluidized bed combustion: Lower furnace combustion temperature, efficient combustion


promoted by turbulent mixing in the combustion zone, crushed coal feed with the potential for
sorbent additions to remove pollutants, particularly sulphur dioxide.

Fluidized bed combustion was not used for energy production until the 1970's, although it
had been used before in many other industrial applications. Fluidized bed combustion has
become very common during the last decades. One of the reasons is that a boiler using this type
of combustion allows many different types of fuels, also lower quality fuels, to be used in the
same boiler with high combustion efficiency. Furthermore, the combustion temperature in a
fluidized bed boiler is low, which directly induce lower NOx emissions. Fluidized bed
combustion also allows a cheap SOx reduction method by allowing injection of lime directly into
the furnace.

Principles:

The principle of a fluidized bed boiler is based on a layer of sand or a sand-like media,
where the fuel is introduced into and combusted. The combustion air blows through the sand
layer from an opening in the bottom of the boiler. Depending on the velocity of the combustion
air, the layer gets different types of fluid-like behavior, as listed and described in Figure 11. This
type of combustion has the following merits:

 Fuel flexibility; even low-grade coal such as sludge or refuse can be burned
 High combustion efficiency
 Low NOx emission
 Control of SOx emission by desulfurization during combustion; this is achieved by
employing limestone as a bed material or injecting limestone into the bed.
 Wide range of acceptable fuel particle sizes; pulverizing the fuel is unnecessary
 Relatively small installation, because flue gas desulfurization and pulverizing facilities
are not required
Fluidized
Bed

combustion (FBC) is a combustion technology used to burn solid fuels.In its most basic form,
fuel particles are suspended in a hot ,bubbling fluidity bed of ash and other particulate materials
(sand, lime stone etc.) through which jet so fair are blown to provide the oxygen required for
combustion or gasification. The resultant fast and intimate mixing of gas and solids promotes
rapid heat transfer and chemical reactions within the bed. FBC plants are capable of burning a
variety of low-grade solid fuels ,including most types of coal and woody biomass ,at high
efficiency and without the necessity for expensive fuel preparation (e.g., pulverizing). In
addition, for any given thermal duty, FBCs are smaller than the equivalent conventional furnace,
so may offer significant advantages over the latter in terms of cost and flexibility.

FBC reduces the amount of sulfur emitted in the form of SOx emissions .Limestone is
used to precipitate out sulfate during combustion, which also allows more efficient heat transfer
from the boiler to the apparatus used to capture the heat energy (usually water tubes). The heated
precipitate coming indirect contact with the tubes (heating by conduction) increases the
efficiency .Since this allows coal plants to burn at cooler temperatures, less NOx is also emitted.
However, burning at low temperatures also causes increased polycyclic aromatic hydro carbon
emissions. FBC boilers can burn fuels other than coal, and the lower temperatures of combustion
(800°C/1500°F) have other added benefits as well.
 Pulverized Coal Fired Boiler

A pulverized coal fired boiler is an industrial or utility boiler that generates thermal
energy by burning pulverized coal (also known as powdered coal or coal dust since it is as
fine as face powdering cosmetic makeup) that is blown in to the firebox.

The basic idea of a firing system using


pulverized fuel is to use the whole volume of
the furnace for the combustion of solid fuels.
Coal is ground to the size of a fine grain, mixed
with air and burned in the flue gas flow.
Biomass and other materials canal so be added
to the mixture. Coal contains mineral matter
which is converted to ash during combustion.
The ash is removed as bottom ash and fly ash.
The bottom ash is removed at the furnace
bottom.

This type of boiler dominates the electric


power industry, providing steam to drive large
turbines. Pulverized coal provides the thermal
energy which produces about 50%of the world's electric supply.

Coal-fired water tube boiler systems generate approximately 38% of the electric power
generation worldwide and will continue to be major contributors in the future. Pulverized coal
fired boilers, which are the most popular utility boilers today, have a high efficiency but a costly
SOx and NOx control. Almost any kind of coal can be reduced to powder and burned like a gas
in a PCF-boiler. The PCF technology has enabled the increase of boiler unit size from 100 MW
in the 1950's to far over 1000 MW. New pulverized coal-fired systems routinely installed today
generate power at net thermal cycle efficiencies ranging from 34 to 37% (higher heating value)
while removing up to 97%of the combined, uncontrolled air pollution emissions (SOx and NOx).
Coal is a heterogeneous substance in terms of its organic and inorganic content.
Since only organic particles can be combusted, the inorganic particles remain as ash and slag
and increase the need for particle filters of the flue gas and the tear and wear of furnace tubes.
Pulverizing coal before feeding it to the furnace has the benefit that the inorganic particles can be
separated from the organic before the furnace. Still, coal contains a lot of ash, part of which can
be collected in the furnace. In order to be able to remove ash the furnace easier, the bottom of the
furnace is shaped like a “V”.
F. BASED ON METHOD OF FIRING

 Internally Fired Boiler

An internally fired fire tube boiler is a steam boiler containing furnaces, one or more
combustion chambers and tubes or flues, which are surrounded by water and through which the
products of combustion pass from the furnace to the uptake. In such boilers no part of the shell is
in contact with the fire or products of combustion.

 Externally Fired Boiler

An externally fired fire tube or flue boiler is a steam boiler, part of the outer shell of which is
exposed to fire or to the products of combustion, and containing flues through which such
products pass from the furnace to the uptake.
G. BASED ON HEAT SOURCE

 Heat Recovery Steam Generator

A heat recovery steam generator or HRSG is an energy recovery heat exchanger that
recovers heat from a hot gas stream. It produces steam that can be used in a process
(cogeneration) or used to drive a steam turbine (combined cycle).

HRSGs consist of four major components: the economizer, evaporator, superheater and water
preheater. The different components are put together to meet the operating requirements of the
unit. See the attached illustration of a Modular HRSG General Arrangement.

Modular HRSGs can be categorized by a number of ways such as direction of exhaust gases flow
or number of pressure levels. Based on the flow of exhaust gases, HRSGs are categorized into
vertical and horizontal types. In horizontal type HRSGs, exhaust gas flows horizontally over
vertical tubes whereas in vertical type HRSG’s, exhaust gas flow vertically over horizontal tubes.
Based on pressure levels, HRSGs can be categorized into single pressure and multi pressure.
Single pressure HRSGs have only one steam drum and steam is generated at single pressure level
whereas multi pressure HRSGs employ two (double pressure) or three (triple pressure) steam
drums. As such triple pressure HRSGs consist of three sections: an LP (low pressure) section, a
reheat/IP (intermediate pressure) section, and an HP (high pressure) section. Each section has a
steam drum and an evaporator section where water is converted to steam. This steam then passes
through super heaters to raise the temperature beyond the one at the saturation point.
Typical HRSG application:

 Gas turbine/co-generation

 Gas and diesel engine exhaust

 Solid fuel combustion recovery systems


(wood, coal, MSW - Municipal Solid Waste)

 Process gas from thermal oxidizers,


thermal reaction furnaces and incinerators

 Biomass and gasification

 Conventional
Regular boilers (also known as ‘conventional’ boilers) heat your central heating system
directly and produce hot water for your cylinder.

If you are replacing an older model of boiler, the chances are that you will have a regular
(also known as ‘conventional’) boiler.

A typical regular boiler system incorporates a boiler, extended controls, a hot water cylinder
which is often fed by a cold water storage cistern located in the loft and a feed and expansion
cistern - also located in the loft.

H. BASED ON THE AXIS OF THE SHELL

 Vertical Boilers

A vertical boiler is a type of fire-tube or water-tube boiler where the boiler barrel is oriented
vertically instead of the more common horizontal orientation. Vertical boilers were used for a
variety of steam-powered vehicle sand other mobile machines, including early steam
locomotives.

ADVANTAGES:

Small footprint – where width and length constraints are critical, use of a vertical boiler
permits design of a smaller machine.

Water-level tolerance – The water level in a horizontal boiler must be maintained above
the crown (top) of the firebox at all times, or the crownplate could overheat and buckle,
causing a boiler explosion. For a vehicle application expected to traverse hills, such as a
railway locomotive or steam wagon, maintaining the correct water level when the vehicle
itself is not level is a skilled task, and one that occupies much of the fireman's time. In a
vertical boiler, the water is all sitting on the top of the firebox, and the boiler would need
to be extremely low on water before a gradient could cause a risk by uncovering the
firebox top.

Simpler (major) maintenance – A vertical boiler is usually mounted on a frame on the


vehicle, allowing easy replacement. Horizontal boilers, such as those on railway
locomotives and traction engines, form an integral part of the vehicle – the vehicle is
literally built around the boiler – and hence replacement requires the dismantling of the
entire vehicle.
DISADVANTAGES:

 Size – The benefits of a small footprint are compromised by the much greater height
required.[1] The presence of over-bridges limits the height of steam vehicles, and this in
turn restricts the size (and hence potential power capacity) of the boiler.

 Grate area – This is limited to the footprint of the boiler, thus restricting the amount of
steam that may be produced.

 Short tubes – Boiler tubes must be kept short to minimise height. As a result, much of the
available heat is lost through the chimney, as it has too little time to heat the tubes.

 Sediment – Sediment may settle on the bottom tube sheet (the plate above the firebox)
insulating the water from the heat and allowing the sheet to burn out.

APPLICATIONS

 Railway locomotives
 Steam lorries
 Steam tractors
 Steam rollers
 Steam donkeys
 Steam shovels and cranes
 Marine applications

 Horizontal Boilers

A water tube boiler having a main bank of straight tubes inclined toward the rear at an
angle of 5 to 150 from the horizontal.

It may be defined as those boilers in which the heat transfer surfaces are all contained
within a steel shell. It may also be referred to as “shell tube” or “smoke tube ” boiler because
the products of combustion pass through the boiler tube, which in turn transfer heat to the
surrounding boiler water. The principle in the horizontal fire tube boiler is that from a surface
of a large volume of feed water, steam is evaporated. This boiling process is heated by the
wall of the combustion chamber and by the exhaust gases passing through a bundle of so
called fire tubes or smoke tubes forming the convection part of the boiler.
Horizontal boiler

IX. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE TWO MAIN TYPES OF


BOILERS

 Fire tube Boiler


Advantage & Disadvantage Fire Tube Boiler:

Each steam boiler type has its advantages and disadvantage as well as with the type
of fire tube boiler. The following are advantages and disadvantages if the owner of power plant
choose fire tube boiler as his boiler.

Advantages of fire tube boiler:


1. The water is supplied in shell and outside tubes while hot gas is supplied inside tubes so the
water volume cannot be shaken easily when the fire tube boiler is running.
2. Fire tube boiler is so easy to use, operate, clean and maintain
3. Fire tube boiler can be used in small scale industries.
4. Fire tube boiler is relatively cheaper than water tube boiler.

Disadvantages of fire tube boiler:


1. From the furnace combustion side, required time to fill water is longer than to increase
temperature and pressure.
2. The efficiency of heat transfer (heat transfer efficiency) is bad enough because of the heat
exchanger does not use thermal radiation.
3. In case of bombers fire tube boiler would be very dangerous if a large amount of hot water and
steam have been accumulated inside (leakage occur).
4. The fire tube boiler cannot produce steam at a pressure higher than 250 pounds per square
inch.
5. Capacity of generated steam is limited.
Fire tube Boilers are:

Relatively inexpensive

Easy to clean

Compact in size

Available in sizes from 600,000 btu/hr to 50,000,000 btu/hr

Easy to replace tubes

Well suited for space heating and industrial process applications

Disadvantages of Fire tube Boilers include:

 Not suitable for high pressure applications 250 psig and above

 Limitation for high capacity steam generation

 Water Tube Boiler

A Watertube design is the exact opposite of a fire tube. Here the water flows through the
tubes and are incased in a furnace in which the burner fires into. These tubes are connected to a
steam drum and a mud drum. The water is heated and steam is produced in the upper drum.
Large steam users are better suited for the Water tube design. The industrial watertube boiler
typically produces steam or hot water primarily for industrial process applications, and is used
less frequently for heating applications.

Watertube Boilers are:

 Available in sizes that are far greater than the firetube design. Up to several million
pounds per hour of steam.

 Able to handle higher pressures up to 5,000 psig

 Recover faster than their firetube cousin

 Have the ability to reach very high temperatures

Disadvantages of the Watertube design include:

 High initial capital cost

 Cleaning is more difficult due to the design

 No commonality between tubes

 Physical size may be an issue

Advantages and disadvantages of watertube boilers:

Advantages
1. Savings in weight of about 3:1 for a comparable heating surface area
2. Possibility of using higher temperatures and pressures without unduly increasing wall
thicknesses increases plant efficiency.
3. More efficient combustion space allowed
4. Greater flexibility of the structure and rapid circulation prevents the problems of thermal
stressing in the tank boilers which leads to grooving. In water tube boilers roof and floor tubes
are sloped at 15' to ensure circulation
5. Thinner tube materials allow rapid steam raising and faster heat transfer rates
6. Saving in space for sam steaming rate
7. Wider safety margins- limited tube diameters and protected drum surfaces mean failure in
tubes releases a flow of steam dependent on tube diameter
8. Thin tubes are easier to bend, expand and bell mouth
Disadvatages
1. Lower reserve of water means a more efficient water level control is required
2. High quality feed required
3. Little allowance to corrosion

Differences between Firetube and Watertube Boilers

Particulars Fire tube Boiler Water tube Boiler


Position of water and hot Hot gases inside tubes and Water inside the tube and hot
gases water outside the tube gases outside the tubes
Mode of firing Generally internally fired Externally fired
Operating pressure Operating pressure limited to Can work under as high
16 bar pressure as 100 bar
Rate of steam consumption Lower Higher
Suitability for large power Not suitable Suitable
plants
Risk on bursting/explosion Involves lesser risk on Involves more risk on bursting
explosion due to lower due to high pressure
pressure
Floor area For a given power, occupies For a given power, occupies
more less
Construction Difficult Simple
Transportation Difficult Simple
Shell diameter Large for same power Small for same power
Chances of explosion Less More
Treatment of water Not so necessary More necessary
Accessibility of various parts Various parts are not so easily Various parts are more
accessible for cleaning,repair accessible
and inspection
Requirement of skill Require less skill for efficient Require more skill and careful
and economic working attention

X. BOILER MOUNTING

 Various valves and fittings are required for the safe and proper working of a boiler .
Those attached directly to the pressure parts of the boiler are referred to as the boiler
mountings.
 Boiler mountings are the machine components that are mounted
over the body of the boiler itself for the safety of the boiler and for
complete control of the process of steam generation

The important mountings on a boiler:

 Water level indicator


This device indicates the exact level of water in the boiler tube. Water level
indicator is located in front of boiler in such a position that the level of water can easily
be seen by attendant. Two water level indicators are used on all boilers.

 Safety valve: It is a mechanical device used to safeguard the boiler, in case the pressure
inside the boiler rises above its normal working atmosphere. Safety valves are located on
the top of the boiler against the excessive high pressure of steam inside the drum. If the
pressure of steam in the boiler drum exceeds the working pressure then the safety valve
allows blow off excess quantity of steam to atmosphere. Thus, the pressure of steam in
the drum falls. The escape of steam makes an audio noise to warm the boiler attendant.
Four types of safety valve

 Pressure gauge

The pressure gauge commonly used is the bourdon pressure gauge mounted on the front top
of the boiler shell. A pressure gauge is fitted in front of boiler in such a position that the operator
can conveniently read it. It reads the pressure of the steam in the boiler and is connected to steam
space by a siphon tube. The most commonly used is the Bourdon pressure gauge.

 Steam stop valve

The function of the steam stop valve is to stop or open the steam supply from the boiler to the
point of application. The steam stop valve is located on the highest part of the steam space. It
regulates the steam supply to use. The steam stop valve can be operated manually or
automatically.

 Feed check valve

A valve placed at the boiler end to regulate the flow of water. The feed check valve is fitted
to the boiler, slightly below the working level in the boiler. It is used to supply high pressure feed
water to boiler. It also prevents the returning of feed water from the boiler if feed pump fails to
work.
 Man hole and Mud(sight)holes

It is the opening provided of cleaning or inspection. These are used to allow men to enter
inside the boiler for inspection and repair.

 Fusible plug

To extinguish fire in the event of water level in the boiler shell falling below certain specified
limit. It is very important safety device, which protects the fire tube boiler against overheating. It
is located just above the furnace in the boiler. It consists of gun metal plug fixed in a gun metal
body with fusible molten metal. During the normal boiler operation, the fusible plug is covered
by water and its temperature does not rise to its melting state. But when the water level falls too
low in the boiler, it uncovers the fusible plug. The furnace gases heat up the plug and fusible
metal of plug melts, the inner plug falls down The water and steam then rush through the hole
and extinguish the fire before any major damage occurs to the boiler due to overheating.
 Blow off cock

To drain out the water from the boiler for internal cleaning, inspection, repair or other
purposes. The function of blow-off cock is to discharge mud and other sediments deposited in
the bottom most part of the water space in the boiler, while boiler is in operation. It can also be
used to drain-off boiler water. Hence it is mounted at the lowest part of the boiler. When it is
open, water under the pressure rushes out, thus carrying sediments and mud.

XI. BOILER ACCESSORIES/ AUXILLIARIES

Boiler accessories are those components which are installed either inside or outside the boiler
to increase the efficiency of the plant and to help in the proper working of the plant.

 Feed water pump - the feed water pump is used to feed water to the boiler.

 Injector - function of the injector is the same as that of feed pump i.e.; to deliver feed
water to boiler under pressure.
 Pressure reducing valve - the function of the pressure reducing valve is to maintain
constant pressure on its delivery side of the valve irrespective of fluctuating demand of
steam from the boiler.

 Economizer - a considerable quantity of heat of the plant is carried away by flue gases,
so to utilise these waste heat. An economiser is placed in the path of the flue gases to
preheat the feed water.

 Air pre – heater - the function of the pre- heater is to heat the air before it enters the
combustion chamber.
 Super heater - super pre-heater is used for stationary boiler. The function of the super
heater is to convert dry saturated steam into super heated at the desired temperature.

 Steam drier or separator - the function of the steam drier or separator is to separate
water particles from steam before it is supplied to the point of application.

Auxiliaries of Steam Boiler


Auxiliaries of steam boiler are devices that be installed to the steam boiler, and can make
it operates efficiently. These devices should be maintained and controlled, so steam boiler can
run in good condition. Some of auxiliaries which are installed in steam boiler are:

· Air heater is device of heat exchanger to increase temperature of air before supplied to steam
boiler usually located between the boiler and stack. Primary air and secondary air are heated by
air heater before enter the combustion process, so the combustion process will be more efficient.

· Gas system is a group of devices that consist of control valve, solenoid valve, gas regulator,
and mechanism control to arrange mixture ratio between air and gas in the furnace of steam
boiler, so combustion can take place completely.

· Oil system is a group of devices that consist of oil pre heater, storage tank, piping, fuel
strainer, and relief valve to control mixture between oil and air can be combusted perfectly.

· Economizer is device of heat exchanger to increase temperature of feedwater before to be


supplied in steam boiler, efficiency of steam boiler is expected higher than without using
economizer.

· Feedwater regulator is device to control feedwater that be supplied and maintain water level
in the steam boiler at normal condition, so reduce excess of fuel consumption and thermal shock.

· Feedwater heater is device of heat exchanger to increase temperature of feedwater before


entering boiler feed pump.

XII. BOILER CAPACITY & EFFICIENCY

Capacity - It should be capable of supplying steam according to the requirements.

Efficiency - It should be able to absorb a maximum amount of heat produced due to burning of
fuel in the furnace.

Boiler Capacity:

 Boiler loads, or the capacity of steam boilers, are often rated in boiler horse powers
(BHP), lbs of steam delivered per hour, or BTU.
 Large boiler capacities are often given in lbs of steam evaporated per hour under
specified steam conditions.

The three important phases of operation to be managed for high boiler efficiency are:

 Combustion
 Feed water, Make-up & Blow down
 Steam Piping

XIII. BOILER MAINTENANCE & SPECIFICATIONS

The essential guide to boiler maintenance:

Having to undergo repairs on your boiler can be as expensive as it is inconvenient. It’s far
better to keep an eye on your boiler, ensuring that it’s working at its most efficient at regular
intervals, than to be forced to fork out for repairs – or to experience unnecessarily high energy
bills over the colder months. But what do you need to know about boiler maintenance?

The essentials:

The first thing you can do to make sure that you’re getting the most from your boiler is to
put it through annual servicing. The cost of doing so is likely to pale into insignificance when
compared to the amount you could otherwise be spending on unforeseen repairs. A boiler which
isn’t cared for regularly is also likely to be inefficient, costing more than it needs to in running
costs.
With a standard service from British Gas, you can expect the following:

Functionality testing of all components.


Inspection and cleaning of all pipes and components.
Replacement of any parts which are no longer functioning.

WHY IS BOILER MAINTENANCE IMPORTANT?

Boiler maintenance is key to ensuring that your boiler is safe. While rare, gas leaks can
be very dangerous and are often difficult to detect in your home. Having professional work
carried out on your boiler is the best way to protect yourself against such disaster.
Whilst it should go unsaid, it’s also important to note that work should never be carried out by
anyone other than a qualified professional. The primary reason for this is safety, but it could also
prove costly to have to repair any mistakes made by an inexperienced engineer.
All of our engineers at British Gas are fully qualified, and Gas Safe registered, meaning
that you invest in a service you can trust. Our services are open to everyone, existing customer or
not, and we even offer boiler insurance policies to help you manage the cost of repairs and
servicing.
For those keen to save money when caring for their boiler, insurance is a great option.
Depending on the level of cover you select, an annual service may even be included in the price.

BOILER MAINTENANCE:
Boilers are expensive to repair and even more costly to replace, so it makes sense to
maintain your boiler in tip-top condition.

Regular maintenance will not only save you money in the long run but could also save
your life as a faulty boiler can be fatal. Remember too that a healthy boiler is more efficient, so
cutting your energy bills. Luckily, boiler maintenance isn’t particularly difficult, especially if you
follow MoneySuperMarket’s handy tips.

Annual service

Your boiler should be serviced once a year by an engineer listed on the Gas Safe Register,
even if it seems to be in working order. The engineer will usually check all the parts and clean
the components. September is a good time to arrange the service, so you can be sure your boiler
can take the strain of the winter months.

Turn the heating on

Boilers can seize up if they are not used regularly. Experts therefore recommend that you turn
on the heating for ten or 15 minutes every so often during the summer months, just to keep the
boiler ticking over.

Under pressure

Boilers lose pressure over time, which can cause them to run inefficiently. Check the pressure
gauge on your boiler if you can and top it up if necessary. Your manual should give you
instructions, or you can ask the plumber.

Bleed the radiators

If your radiators are colder at the bottom than the top, air is trapped in the system. You
therefore need to release the air by ‘bleeding’ the radiators. If you don’t, the system is not
working efficiently, putting an extra strain on your boiler and effectively wasting you money.

Switch the heating off before you bleed the radiators and slot the key into the bleed valve.
Turn the key anticlockwise for a quarter of a rotation and you should hear a hissing sound as the
air escapes. When water starts to drip (have an old towel or some kitchen paper to hand!), lock
the valve and the job is done, though you might need to top up the boiler pressure.

Warning signs

Leaks, cracks, clunking noises or black, sooty marks all suggest you have a problem. So
check your boiler regularly and look out for warning signs. The sooner you detect and repair a
fault, the better. It’s also wise to make sure that any external vents, flues and airbricks are free
from blockages and debris.
Blue flame

The flame in your boiler should be a strong, clear blue. If it appears yellow or smoky, there
could be something wrong and you should call a plumber immediately.

Clear the clutter

If your boiler is in a cupboard, is it surrounded by coats, shoes, bags and other clutter?
Boilers need ventilation so the space around the appliance should be kept free from clutter. Your
boiler should also be relatively easy to access, so make sure you keep the cupboard reasonably
tidy.

Your plumber or engineer should be able to advise on whether your boiler has adequate
ventilation.

Lag the pipes

When the temperature drops below zero, the boiler’s external condensate pipe can freeze.
The boiler will then cut out as a safety precaution. You can melt the ice by pouring warm water
over the pipe, but you can prevent the boiler from freezing by insulating the pipes or by keeping
the heating on a constant low setting when it is very cold.

Gas safety

A faulty boiler can produce carbon monoxide – a gas that you can’t see, smell or taste.
Carbon monoxide can kill, which is why every home should have a carbon monoxide detector,
preferably with an alarm. Put it near the boiler and check it every month to make sure it’s
working.

BOILER SPECIFICATIONS:

Performance Specifications

Heat Output (Capacity) This is the boiler's heat output expressed as a range.
When units of boiler horsepower are used, this value
is sometimes referred to as capacity. Note that
1 boiler horsepower (BHP) equals 33,472 Btu/hour.
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Least" and "No More Than" values. Products
returned as matches will meet all specified criteria.

Maximum Temperature The boiler's maximum operating temperature.


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Least" and "No More Than" values. Products
returned as matches will meet all specified criteria.

Maximum Pressure The boiler's maximum operating pressure.


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Least" and "No More Than" values. Products
returned as matches will meet all specified criteria.

Efficiency Efficiency is defined as the energy input minus stack


loss, divided by the energy input. Efficiency is
sometimes referred to as thermal efficiency.
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or equal to the specified value.

Configuration

Type
Your choices are...
Hot Water The boiler is used to produce hot water.
Steam The boiler is used to produce steam.
Other Other unlisted boiler types.
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Technology

Cast Iron Cast iron boilers are limited to low-pressure steam


or hot water applications. Typically, they range in
size from 25 to 200 horsepower.
Composite / Hybrid Composite boilers are combinations of two or more
boiler types.
Firebox Firebox boilers use a similar attachment technique
as firetube boilers. Their combustion chambers are
not round, like the cylindrical furnace of a
firetube. Typically, firebox boilers are designed for
low-pressure steam or hot water applications.
Firetube / Scotch Marine Firetube or scotch marine boilers feature a design in
which combustion gases flow inside the tubes and
water flows outside the tubes. They are sometimes
called smoke tubes.
Fluidized Bed Fluidized bed boilers include bubbling fluidized bed
(BFB), circulating fluidized bed (CFB), and
pressurized circulating fluidized bed (PCFB)
products. Bubbling fluidized-bed boilers are
particularly efficient when firing fuels with low
heating value and high moisture and ash content.
Circulating fluidized-bed technology is a very
flexible option for the clean combustion of many
fuels, including waste coals, petroleum coke, and
even shredded automobile tires. Pressurized
circulating fluidized bed boilers operate with
efficiencies exceeding those of many conventional
power plants firing pulverized coal. This technology
has the potential to reduce the cost of energy and
further cut the emission of acid-rain gases in utility
and industrial applications. In addition to
minimizing emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides, combined-cycle PCFB technology permits
the cost-effective firing of fuels that otherwise could
not be used in an environmentally acceptable
manner.
Radiant Boiler Radiant boilers feature a single drum construction to
overcome various limitations posed by bi-drum
boilers for high-pressure applications.
Steam Generator The heat exchanger used in some reactor designs
transfers heat from the primary (reactor coolant)
system to the secondary (steam) system. This design
permits heat exchange with little or no
contamination of the secondary system equipment.
Water Tube Water tube boilers have a heating surface that
consists of a large number of relatively small-
diameter tubes that contain the water. The heat is
applied to the external side of the tubes.
Other Other unlisted technology types.
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Orientation

Vertical The boiler is oriented vertically to save floor space.


Horizontal The boiler is oriented horizontally for low
clearance.
Other Other unlisted orientation.
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Features

Your choices are...


ASME Certified The boiler is manufactured to ASME certifications.
Commercial / HVAC The boiler is designed for commercial or HVAC
applications.
Deaerator / Separator Deaerators are vessels in which boiler feedwater is
heated under reduced pressure in order to remove
dissolved air.
Economizer Economizers are heat exchangers that transfer heat
from the gases of combustion to the boiler
feedwater.
Low Emissions Low emissions boilers are designed to reduce the
release of sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and
other emissions.
Monitor / Controller The boiler has a monitoring or controlling
mechanism.
Multiple Boiler System Multiple installation boilers are used to obtain
maximum performance and greater efficiency.
Safety Valve Safety valves are spring-loaded valves that open
automatically when pressure attains the valve
setting. They are used to prevent excessive pressure
from building up in a boiler.
Skidded / Packaged The boiler is mounted on a skid or comes in a
packaged configuration.
Superheater Superheaters are banks of tubes in the exhaust gas
duct after the boiler. They are used to heat the steam
above the saturation temperature.
Water Treater / Conditioner Water treaters or conditioners remove minerals from
boiler water that could lead to scaling.
Other Other unlisted features.
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Fuel Type / Heat Source


Your choices are...
Coal The boiler is powered by pulverized coal.
Electric The boiler is powered by electricity.
Gas (Natural / Propane) The boiler is powered by gas. Natural gas and
propane are common types.
Oil The boiler is powered by oil.
Steam / Hydronic The boiler is fueled by steam or hot water.
Waste Heat / Indirect Waste heat boilers are designed to burn waste or tail
gasses to generate steam for process and/or power.
Wood The boiler is powered by wood.
Other Other unlisted fuel types.
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B. MEASUREMENT OF A STEAM QUALITY

What is steam quality?

In thermodynamics, vapour quality is the mass fraction in a saturated mixture that


is vapour.
The measurements needed to obtain a steam quality measurement are temperature,
pressure, and entrained liquid content. A high percentage (88 % or more) of industrial steam
systems use saturated steam for process applications. Saturated steam (meaning steam that is
saturated with energy) is completely gaseous and contains no liquid.

Instruments used to measure temperature:

Pyrometer

A pyrometer is a type of remote-sensing thermometer used to measure the temperature of a surface.


Various forms of pyrometers have historically existed. In the modern usage, it is a device that from a
distance determines the temperature of a surface from the spectrum of the thermal radiation it emits, a
process known as pyrometry and sometimes radiometry.

Infrared Thermometer

An infrared thermometer is a thermometer which infers temperature from


a portion of the thermal radiation sometimes called blackbody radiation
emitted by the object being measured. They are sometimes called laser
thermometers if a laser is used to help aim the thermometer, or non-
contact thermometers or temperature guns, to describe the device's
ability to measure temperature from a distance. By knowing the amount of
infrared energy emitted by the object and its emissivity, the object's
temperature can often be determined. Infrared thermometers are a subset of
devices known as "thermal radiation thermometers".

The beauty of steam

Steam is an almost perfect way to heat instruments. Besides being sterile, it condenses
and collapses when it gives up heat. More steam automatically flows where it is needed by the
collapsing effect. By condensing on cooler surfaces and making a “wet film” it also increases
heat flow to that surface. The fact that steam gets wet as it heats the instruments is a good thing.
But, if too much water in introduced, it can cause wet packs, and specks, and staining.

Condensation and drying. In a typical sterilization cycle, with cart and instruments,
between 50 to 100 pounds of steam is condensed. That’s a lot of pints! The chamber steam trap
drains much of the condensate from the chamber. The drying cycle of the sterilizer is designed to
evaporate all of the water not already handled by the trap (more about traps later). If the steam
system puts more water into the sterilizer than the drying cycle can handle, that can cause wet
packs. Some sterilizer manufacturers specify 97% to 100% steam quality. What exactly is steam
quality? Steam quality measures how much liquid water is traveling with the steam vapor. It is
expressed as a weight percentage. For example, if 100 pounds flows through the steam line, and
5 pounds of it is liquid water, then 95 pounds is steam vapor. It is 95% steam quality.

How to calculate steam quality?

Quality can be calculated by dividing the mass of the vapour by the mass of the total mixture:

where indicates mass.

The above expression for vapour quality can be expressed as:

,
where is equal to either specific enthalpy, specific entropy, specific volume or specific internal
energy, is the value of the specific property of saturated liquid state and is the value
of the specific property of the substance in dome zone, which we can find both liquid and
vapor .

Another expression of the same concept is:

where is the vapour mass and is the liquid mass.

The genesis of the idea of vapour quality was derived from the origins
of thermodynamics, where an important application was the steam engine. Low quality steam
would contain a high moisture percentage and therefore damage components more easily. High
quality steam would not corrode the steam engine.

Steam engines use water vapour (steam) to drive pistons or turbines which create work.
The quality of steam can be quantitatively described by steam quality (steam dryness), the
proportion of saturated steam in a saturated water/steam mixture. I.e., a steam quality of 0
indicates 100% water while a steam quality of 1 (or 100%) indicates 100% steam.

The quality of steam on which steam whistles are blown is variable and may
affect frequency. Steam quality determines the velocity of sound, which declines with decreasing
dryness due to the inertia of the liquid phase. Also, the specific volume of steam for a given
temperature decreases with decreasing dryness.

Steam quality is very useful in determining enthalpy of saturated water/steam mixtures since the
enthalpy of steam (gaseous state) is many orders of magnitude higher than enthalpy of water
(liquid state).

POOR STEAM QUALITY VS HIGH STEAM QUALITY

Poor steam quality

"Steam quality is the percent of steam that is vapor, meaning that steam quality of 99% is
99% vapor and 1% liquid," says Eric Erpenbeck, P.E., mechanical engineering manager and head
of central utilities group for Fosdick & Hilmer, a consulting engineering company specializing in
designing power stations for utilities, healthcare facilities, manufacturing facilities, educational
facilities, and other industries.

"The more liquid in the steam, the less heat can be transferred." Equipment requiring
steam, such as heat exchangers and sterilizers, needs to have the correct heat transfer area to
accommodate the specific steam quality anticipated. As steam quality degrades, either more
steam is required to do the same heat transfer, resulting in poor heat transfer efficiency, or the
steam equipment would need to be replaced with a larger heat transfer area to accommodate the
wet steam.

"In addition," says Erpenbeck, "poor steam quality can sometimes cause noise called
'water hammer' and potentially damage and cause premature failure in control valves and steam
turbine applications. As such, good steam quality will keep the equipment appropriately sized,
therefore saving capital dollars and minimizing maintenance issues."

Steam quality is very important, agrees Bruce Gorelick, manager, Energy Waste Services,
for Ameresco, which develops energy management projects for customers in the commercial,
industrial, and governmental sectors. "When you have saturated steam, there is still a degree of
water in it,” he explains. “You want to minimize this water as much as possible, so that you have
as much latent heat, or BTUs, to give off and be used in the steam process."

All heat transfer components, including shell/tube, plate/frame, plate/coil, and tracing,
base performance calculations on 100% steam quality, unless the manufacturer is informed by
the end user that the steam quality is lower than 100%, says Kelly Paffel, technical manager
for Swagelok Energy Advisors, an engineering firm specializing in the evaluation of steam,
condensate, and compressed air systems (Figure 1). "Unfortunately, steam quality is typically not
monitored closely and is assumed to be 100% quality," he says. "Therefore, issues that arise from
poor steam quality are blamed on some other item in the system." Low steam quality can lead to
reduced heat transfer efficiency, premature valve failure, internal turbine component failures, and
water hammer.

Effects of poor steam quality:

1. Reduced heat transfer efficiency:


The major problem with low steam quality is the affect on the heat transfer
equipment and process. In some cases, low steam quality can reduce heat
transfer efficiency by more than 65 %. The liquid entrained in the steam has sensible
energy (16 % estimated – varies with pressure) which has a significantly lower
amount of energy than the steam vapor’s latent energy (94 %). Therefore, less usable
energy is being delivered to the steam process equipment.
2. Premature Valve Failure:
Liquid passing through steam control valves will erode the internals of the valves
causing premature failure.
3. Internal Turbine Component Failures:
Liquid introduced with the steam in a saturated turbine operation will reduce the
life expectancy of the internal components.
4. Waterhammer
Steam systems are usually not designed to accommodate the additional liquid in steam.
Additional liquid creates the chance for waterhammer to occur. Waterhammer is a safety issue,
and may cause premature failure in the steam system.
High steam quality

"The higher the steam quality, the less moisture, which means the higher the BTU content
per pound, which means the more energy is available to do the job," says Andy Wales, western
regional sales manager for Clayton Industries. "In addition, you don't want water in the header,
because it causes damage to the header." That is, the dry portion of the steam has no chemicals in
it. However, if you have moisture trapped in the steam, the moisture portion will contain some
chemicals, which come over from the boiler and cause corrosive damage to the header.

Steam test methods

Eric Erpenbeck, P.E., mechanical engineering manager and head of central utilities group
for Fosdick & Hilmer, recommends three different methods.

One is a visual test. This involves opening a steam valve from a steam trap station and
blowing steam to the atmosphere. "Good steam quality should result in very little, if any, water
exiting the pipe," says Erpenbeck. While there is no cost to this method, the downside is that it is
not able to quantify the magnitude of the problem.

Picture number 1 indicates an acceptable steam quality. The discharge from the valve through the tube is
almost invisible.
Picture number 2 shows the discharge from the valve off the steam line to be very visible with liquid being
discharged with the steam vapor.

Picture number 3 shows the discharge from the valve off the steam line to be very visible with liquid being
discharged with the steam vapor.

The second is a noncondensable gas kit. These involve multiple methods to test for
noncondensable gases. "The industry offers portable steam quality test kits that utilize a
condensor," says Erpenbeck. With the right test kit, the steam quality can be tested with
repeatable results, therefore quantifying the magnitude of the problem.

The third is the dryness value test. This is intended to quantify the amount of moisture in
the steam by using calorimetry, which calculates the amount of energy in a known amount of
steam by condensing a sample in a known amount of water. "Increase in water temperature will
determine the amount of energy in the steam, and therefore the amount of moisture," says
Erpenbeck. "However, the calculation is difficult, because quantifying the amount of steam and
water can be difficult, thus affecting the accuracy."
Source: Swagelok

What does Erpenbeck consider to be the best method? It depends on the application.
"Visual inspections can be enough to know that steam quality is not meeting the design
requirements and will need to be investigated at the steam generating source," he says. "With
steam turbine-based electric generating stations, however, a noncondensable gas test or dryness
value test may be required. In my opinion, the noncondensable gas test is the easiest method
when it comes to quantifying steam quality."

Kelly Paffel, technical manager for Swagelok Energy Advisors, identifies some
additional methods.

"One is called the Yarway method," he says. "However, it is very complex, requiring
almost lab-type equipment."

A second involves installing a pressure-reducing station. "You can then install pressure
and temperature instrumentation upstream of the station and downstream," says Paffel. "By
knowing the degree of superheat that is generated across the pressure reduction, it gives you an
indication of your steam quality."

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