STEAM WATER CHEMISTRY

Dr. Durgesh Lohiya

 RAW WATER TO DM WATER

Raw Water Clariflocculator Foreway channel makeup

Gravity sand filter

ACF SAC D/G WBA

Drinking Water SBA

(T/S & Main Plant)
MB

DM Water

• Demineralised Water (DM Water) is mineral free water and it is

also know as hungry water.
•DM Water specification: pH= 6.5-7.0, Silica <10ppb,
 Efficiency and reliability of operation of power
plant depend on the purity of the working fluid
(i.e.) Water-Steam.

 Chemistry related availability losses –

Deposition – major reasons.
 Deposition is detrimental
 Reduce efficiency
 Increase heat rate
 under deposit corrosion – tube failure
 Overheating – tube failure
 Chemical cleaning – unit avalability.
 Analysis of deposits indicate 80-85% consists of
Iron, the corrosion products

 Corrosion Deposition.

 To minimise corrosion and deposition, the

concentration of required chemical constituents
and impurities, in agreement with chemistry
guidelines

 Deviation from guidelines results in corrosion-

deposition
CYCLE CHEMISTRY DIAGRAM
(DRUM BOILER, 2x500 MW)
CYCLE CHEMISTRY DIAGRAM
(Once through Boiler, 3x660 MW)
FEED WATER TREATMENT

 All Volatile Treatment (Oxidized) AVT(O):

Only Ammonia, All ferrous metallurgy of feed
water cycle.
(Feed water pH 9.2-9.6 & ACC < 0.20 uS/cm)
 All Volatile Treatment (Reducing) AVT(R):
Ammonia + Hydrazine, Mixed metallurgy of feed
water cycle.
 Oxygenated Treatment (OT):
Ammonia + Oxygen, All ferrous metallurgy of
feed water cycle.
(Feed water pH 8.5-9.0 & ACC < 0.15 uS/cm)
BOILER WATER TREATMENT

 All Volatile Treatment : AVT-R/ AVT-O

Feed water treatment is either AVT-R/ AVT-O,
no further chemical dosing in boiler.
 Phosphate Treatment: (PT)
For Boiler drum type units & Tri Sodium
Phosphate (Na3PO4) is dosed in boiler drum.
 Oxygenated Treatment (OT):
Feed water dosed with oxygen as needed for
OT is used in the boiler without further
treatment .
CYCLE CHEMISTRY MONITORING

 Core Parameters:
 The core parameters are considered to be the
minimum level of surveillance needed for all
units.
 Core parameters should be monitored on a
continuous basis.

 Diagnostic Parameters:
 These parameters may be monitored to
facilitate the correlation of water chemistry
parameters and needed for troubleshooting or
during commissioning
 CORE MONITORING PARAMETERS

S.No. PARAMETER MONITORING POINTS

ACC or HCAT or CEP discharge, CPU Outlet, Feed Water &
1.
Cation Conductivity Boiler watera
2. Specific Conductivity Makeup water, Boiler waterb
3. pH Feed water, Boiler waterc
4. Dissolved oxygen CEP disch., Deaerator outlet & Feed Water.
5. Sodium CEP disch., CPU Outlet & Main Steam
6. Phophate Boiler water (Phosphate Treatment only)
7. Silica Boiler water

Notes:
a – Drum boiler units on AVT only
b – Drum boilers on PT.
c – Drum boiler units only
DIAGNOSTIC MONITORING PARAMETERS

 Ammonia
 Chloride
 Iron
 Total Organic Carbon (TOC)
 Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP)
DESCRIPTION OF MONITORING PARAMETERS

pH: (Core parameter)

 pH is a numeric scale used to specify the acidity or
alkalinity of an aqueous solution.
 pH= -log[H+]
 If pH of an aqueous solution is
< 7 : Acidic; =7 Neutral; >7:Alkaline
 In steam-water cycle pH is monitored for one or
more of the following reasons:
 Corrosion of metals and alloys is a function of
pH.
 Alkaline pH values increase the stability of the
oxide film and reduce oxide solubility in water.
Etc.
 DESCRIPTION OF MONITORING PARAMETERS

Conductivity: (Core parameter)

 Conductivity (or specific conductivity) of an electrolyte
solution is a measure of its ability to conduct electricity.

 There are three types of conductivity measurements:

 Specific Conductivity
 After Cation Conductivity (ACC)
 Degassed Cation Conductivity

 ACC is a most important Core Monitoring parameter.

 ACC is continually monitored on-line to indicate the ionic
concentration in the solution being monitored and to warn
of contaminant in-leakage
 DESCRIPTION OF MONITORING PARAMETERS

Dissolved Oxygen: (Core parameter)

 Dissolved oxygen refers to the level of free, non-
compound oxygen present in water
 It should be monitored continuously on-line to
ensure that DO is maintained at acceptable levels

Sodium: (Core parameter)

 To warn of boiler water carryover.
 To identify cooling water in-leakage at the main
steam condenser.
 To warn of condensate polisher malfunction.
 DESCRIPTION OF MONITORING PARAMETERS

Silica: (Core parameter)

 As long as silica is in the boiler water, it creates no
problem (of course very high silica concentration in
boiler water will lead to tube scaling).
 However, elevated silica concentrations in steam can
lead to silica deposition in the low pressure turbine
Ammonia: (Diagnostic parameter)
Ammonia is monitored to:
 Check the accuracy of water chemistry control
 Facilitate the correlation of ammonia with other
chemistry parameters (i.e., pH and Sp. conductivity).
 DESCRIPTION OF MONITORING PARAMETERS

Chloride: (Diagnostic parameter)

 Elevated chloride concentrations in the boiler can
lead to corrosive conditions which can damage the
water wall tubes.
 Carryover can degrade steam purity, lead to build-up
on turbine components and promote corrosion
mechanisms.
 Chloride is monitored in the plant for the following
reasons:
 To warn of in-leakage of contaminants
 To warn of condensate polisher malfunction.

 To warn of make-up demineralizer malfunction.

 DESCRIPTION OF MONITORING PARAMETERS

Iron: (Diagnostic parameter)

 Iron is analyzed periodically to measure corrosion
product levels in the steam-water cycle.
 Corrosion product monitoring in the plant is
conducted primarily for the following reasons:
 To facilitate the correlation of a water chemistry
parameter with plant operating variables.
 To check the accuracy of water chemistry control (such as
reducing agent, oxygen, ammonia or pH), so ensuring
that corrosion rates are kept at acceptable low levels.
 DESCRIPTION OF MONITORING PARAMETERS

TOC: (Diagnostic parameter)

 Total organic carbon (TOC) is monitored in make-up
water treatment systems and within the steam-water
cycle.
 TOC is monitored in the plant for one or more of the
following reasons:
 To provide additional temporary information for
troubleshooting with unusual problems.
 To warn of in-leakage of contaminants.
 To monitor make-up water quality for organic carbon
content.
 STEAM WATER ANALYSIS SYSTEM
(SWAS)

S.NO SYSTEM TYPE OF MEASUREMENT

1 Make Up DM Water Sp. Conductivity, Cation

Conductivity (ACC)

2 CEP Discharge pH, ACC, Na, DO, Sp. Cond.

3 Condensate Polisher Outlet pH, ACC, Na, Silica, Sp. Cond.

4 Deaerator Outlet D.O.

5 Feed Water at Eco. Inlet pH, ACC, Silica, D.O., Sp. Cond.
 STEAM WATER ANALYSIS
SYSTEM (SWAS)

S.NO SYSTEM TYPE OF MEASUREMENT

6 Separator Tank (For Stg-I) ACC

7 Separator tank outlet (For Stg-I) ACC, Sp. Cond., Silica

8. CBD (For Stg-II) pH, Sp Cond., Silica, ACC, Chloride

9 Main Steam pH, ACC, Na, Silica, Sp. Cond.

10 Reheated Steam (For Stg-I) ACC

11 TG ECW Cooling Water pH

12 Condenser Cooling Water pH, Sp. Cond.

CHEMICAL CONTROL REGIME
 CHEMICAL PARAMETER EXCURSION FOR
SUPER CRITICAL UNITS
 To carryout OT, the boiler water should be of very
high purity, ie. ACC should be <0.15 μS/cm.

 Following are the some unique excursions which are

unique to OT.

 Oxygen Feed Loss for a short term is relatively minor

impact on corrosion resistance of the system. However
it is to be restored at the earliest.

 Ammonia feed loss for a short period is also not

considered a serious threat however it is to be
restored as early as possible.
Also, a high pH, due to ammonia overfeed, is not
an excursion requiring immediate action.
 CHEMICAL PARAMETER EXCURSION FOR
SUPER CRITICAL UNITS

Cation Cond. Action Required

(uS/cm)
<0.15 Desired level for continuous operation

>0.2, <0.3 Increase system pH to AVT-O level (9.2-9.6).

Continue oxygen dosing and monitoring to
determine the source of contaminant.
>0.3 Terminate oxygendosing, return to AVT-O. Check
the source of ingress
 Action Levels
Normal Values- Within Normal target values which are
consistent with long term system reliability.

Action Level-1: (2 x Normal target value)-

Return values to normal levels within 1 week.

Action Level-2: (2 x Action level-1 value)-

Return values to normal levels within 24 hours.

Action Level-3: (> Action level 2 values)-

Rapid corrosion can occur. Shutdown the unit within 4
hours.

Immediate shutdown- Rapid boiler tube damage by low

boiler water pH (< 7.0). Immediate shutdown is required.
In case of super critical units, immediate shutdown is
required if feed water pH drops below 7.0
MAXIMUM ANNUAL EXPOSURE TO
CONTAMINANTS

TARGETS CUMULATIVE
HOURS PER YEAR
N (NORMAL) --

1 (ACTION LEVEL-1) 336 (2-WEEKS)

2 (ACTION LEVEL-2) 48 (2-DAYS)

3 (ACTION LEVEL-3) 8

IMMEDIATE SHUTDOWN 1