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HRSG / Deaerator Design

thread794-97442
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threeS (M echanical) 20
Jun
04
3:48
I found there are three different arrangem ent for the Deaerator in a Com bined Cycle Pow erPlant :

1.Deaerating Condenser -Deaerating process is carried out inside Condenser.

2.Low Pressure Drum Deaerator -Deaerating process is carried out insde the LP drum .

3.Separate Deaerator -Deaerator is installed betw een Condensate Extraction Pum p (CEP) and Boiler Feed Pum p (BFP).

O bviously,arrangem ent in Item s 1 & 2 can save the cost because no separate deaerator is required and LP feedw ater can be directly supplied from
CEP w hich no LP BFP is required.

But no allHRSG/Com bined Cyle Unit supplier adopt "no Deaerator design". So I think there should be som e problem s in "no Deaerator design".

Can anyone tellthe difference ?

LSThill (M echanical) 20
Jun
04
5:48
This line m ay help you

http://www.hrsgdesign.com./design0.htm

rmw (M echanical) 21
Jun
04
9:59
ericw ong,

Not know ing exactly how you define the param eters of your category 1,deaerating condenser,I dont't know ifyou are referring to the deaerating
function of every condenser,in that they are designed to scrub the droplets of condensate cascading throught the tube bundle and falling into the
hotw ell,and sw eep the released NC gasses to the air rem ovalzone of the tube bundle,or ifyou are referring to the "add-on" type vacuum
condenser that deaerates incom ing m ake up w ater as it enters the condenser,but before it gets into the hotw ell,using a side flow of turbine exhaust
steam ,and having their ow n separate and dedicated air rem ovalequipm ent.

In any case,I agree w ith your assessm ent. Deaeration is allabout raising w ater to a tem perature w here the oxygen soluability is m inim al,and
scrubbing it in som e w ay (m echanically,e.g.trays,packing,etc.,or spray zones,or both) to get the DO to release and separate so it can be
rem oved from the cycle.

If I rem em ber m y stuff from m any years ago,som ew here in the range of 250F is the threshold point for oxygen soluability. That is w hy the m ajority
ofdearators operate at 15 psig,although it is not too uncom m on to see them allthe w ay up to 50 psig. (I am not going to go back and look it up,I
w illleave that for others.) So,obviously,a condenser operating in the range of 100F just doesn't get there (in m y m ind).

Plus,in a turbine surface condenser,conditions need to be optim alto attain the low dissolved oxygen levels that they are designed for. They have
difficulties m eeting those requirem ents at low loads,and/or very low CW tem ps. Not that they can't,just that it gets harder to accom plish.

Boiler/steam turbine pow er plants w ith the "no deaerator" design have been around for decades,although they are rare,in m y experience. They
suffer the sam e problem s I m ention above,difficulty w ith m inim izing DO at low loads,loads that their initialdesigners w ould have believed not

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=97442 18/04/2011
Boiler and Pressure Vessel engineering - HRSG / Deaerator Design Page 2 of 2

attainable 50 years ago.

The jury is stillout in m y m ind as w ellregarding the "no deaerator" design. Especially now that som e CCGT pow er plants are being com pelled to
operate at low er than m axim um output levels that they w ere designed for.

rm w

EdStainless (M aterials) 21
Jun
04
10:39
O ne other catch is that m any CCGT plants w illnot run steady state. This m eans that even if the condenser air rem ovalw as good,it w ould take
m any hours ofoperation to reduce the O enough. The plant m ay be shut off before this point is reached. And during this tim e dam age is being
done to the entire system .
In large base loaded plants,running steady and w ith little m ake up w ater,additionaldeariation m ay not be needed.
An externaldeariator has a capitalcost,but you only run it w hen it is needed. And it w illm ake the plant m ore responsive and flexible.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Corrosion never sleeps,but it can be m anaged.
http://www.trenttube.com/Trent/tech_form.htm

davefitz (M echanical) 22
Jun
04
9:49
The design w ithout a separate dearator is norm ally selected because it has a better cycle efficiency and low er first cost,so it is evaluated at a better
life cycle cost.The fact that the unit is 2-shift cycled and experiences rapid flow accelerated corrosion ( FAC) of the LP evap risers due to upsets in
O 2 and pH is nor considered by the M BA's that evaluate the bids.

The condenser w illdearate to w itin 7 ppb O 2 if the unit is above a certain m inim um load and there is not excessive subcooling of the condensate.
The m ain ingress of O 2 on these units is during restart operations: the m akeup w ater is saturated w ith O 2 and if not sprayed above the condenser
tube bundle together w ith significant upflow of stripping steam ( from a steam sparger or LP bypass)then the m ake up w ater O 2 w illcontam inate the
condensate w ith O 2.Also,m ost plants have ineffective contrologic for accurate feeding of hydrazien or carbohydrazide and the resulting overfeed of
scavenger can also contribute to FAC.

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