Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Heating Water by Direct Steam Injection
Heating Water by Direct Steam Injection
DirectSteamInjection
Producinghotwaterbydirectsteaminjectionprovidesasolutionwherelarge
volumesofhotwateratprecisetemperaturesarerequired,andwhereenergy
andspacesavingsarefactorsinsystemdesign.
Aviablealternativetoindirectheatingisthe
demand,coldwaterentersthestoragetank.
useofdirectsteaminjection.Directsteam
Theincomingcoldwaterlowerstheaverage
injectionisrecommendedforthosefacilities
temperatureofthestoredwater.Thistypically
thathaveprocesssteam,wherelargevolumes
presentsproblemsifclosetemperaturecontrol
ofprocesshotwaterarerequired,orwhen
ofthewateriscriticaltoaprocess.
accuratetemperaturecontrolisneeded.In
theseapplicationsitisfarmoreenergyefficient
thantraditionalindirect(heatexchanger)
systems.
Furthermore,ifhotwaterdemandexceedsthe
recoveryrateofthestorageheatingsystem,the
hotwatersupplycouldbetotallyexhausted.In
mostindustrialprocesses,whenthehotwater
Indirectwaterheatingsystemsareused
supplyisexhausted,theoperationmustshut
primarilywherehotwaterdemandis
downuntilmorewaterisheated.
intermittentandclosetemperaturecontrolis
notimportant.Thesesystemshavecertain
shortcomingsthatmakethemunsuitablefor
manylargeapplicationssuchasforplant
processesinindustrywherelargevolumesof
hotwaterareneeded,andwherethehotwater
mustbeheldatprecisetemperature.
Indirectstoragetanksystemsalsorequire
extendedstartuptimeatthebeginningofthe
workday.Unlesstheyareinsulated,they
radiateandwasteenormousamountsofheat
energy.Closetemperaturecontrolisnot
possibleunderintermittentstart/stopand
variableflowconditions,evenwiththetankless
Becausemostindirectstoragetypeheating
(instantaneous)indirectwaterheaters.Finally,
systemscannotheatwateronaninstant,
indirectsystemsarerelativelyinefficient
straightthroughbasis,theyareusedtoheat
becausetheyuseonlyabout75%oftheBtusin
storedwater.Ashotwaterisdrawnofftomeet
thesteam.
Whatisdirectsteaminjection?
dischargedtodrainandwastedcompletely,or
Withdirectsteaminjectioncoldwaterisheated
itmaybereturnedtotheboiler.
byinjectingsteamdirectlyintoit.Indirect
heatingsystemsontheotherhandtransfer
heatbyconductionthroughametalwall.
Asthecondensatereturnstotheboiler,Btus
maybelostthroughfaultysteamtrapsand
ancillaryequipment.Leakingsteamtraps,a
Thefourmajoradvantagesofdirectsteam
majorcauseofenergywaste,havehigh
injectionsystemsare:
maintenancecosts.AdditionalBtusarelostby
Itisenergyefficient.
Itprovidesanunlimitedsupplyofhot
water.
Itiscompact.
Itprovidesaccuratetemperature
control.
Energyefficiency
radiationfromcondensatereturnlines.Atthe
receivertankBtusarelostwhenthe
condensateflashesasitisreducedto
atmosphericpressurebeforebeingreturnedto
theboiler.Overallefficiencyfallstoo,as
mineraldepositsaccumulateonthewettedside
ofthemetalconductorandcreatesan
insulatingbarrier.
Becausesteamisinjecteddirectlyintothe
water,directsteaminjectionsystemscanbeup
to28%moreenergyefficientthanindirect
systems.Withdirectsteaminjection,allofthe
Btusinthesteamareusedtoheatthewater.
Steamcoilsorheatexchangersareabout75%
Withdirectsteaminjection,because100%of
thesteamiscondensedinthewaterasitis
heatedthereisnoneedforcondensatereturn
lineswiththeirattendantenergylossesand
steamtrapmaintenanceproblems.
efficientatbest,becauseonlyabout75%ofthe
Speedofoperation
Btusinthesteamareactuallyusedtoheatthe
Manyindirectsystemsheatstoredwater.
water.Saturatedsteamat100psig,for
Directsteaminjectionheatsthewaterinstantly
example,contains1,189Btusperpound.As
onacontinuousstraightthroughbasisasitis
steamcondensesinaheatexchanger,onlythe
used.Adirectinjectionsystemproperlysized
latentheat(about880Btus)isreleasedtoheat
totheavailablesteamsupply,coldwater
thewater.Thecondensate,whichstillcontains
supply,andhotwaterdemand,candelivera
atleast309Btusisat338F.Thiscondensate
continuoussupplyofhotwaterasrequired.The
mustberemovedfromthesystem.Itmaybe
userdoesnotrunoutofhotwater,anddoes
capabilities,butareadequateinsome
notneedtostorelargequantitiesofhotwater.
situations.Thefollowingisadiscussionofeach
Compactness
Eventhemostsophisticateddirectsteam
ofthesesystemshowtheyworkandwhere
theymaybeusedeffectively.
injectionwaterheatingsystemsaresocompact
SpargerThesimplestsystemisthesteam
thattheycanbesuspendedfromawall,ceiling
sparger,whichbubblessteamintoatankof
ormountedonacompactskidonthefloor.
coldwater(seeFigure1).Thespargerdoesnot
Thus,thesystemisdesirablewherespacedoes
havetheadvantagesofotherdirectinjection
notallowforastoragetank.Whenalarge
systems.Spargingsystemscanbesimpleand
storagetankmustbereplaced,itismucheasier
relativelyinexpensivetoinstall,butthe
toinstallasteaminjectionsystemthanitisto
disadvantagescanoutweighthebenefits.A
bringanewlargestoragetankintoanexisting
spargerisperforatedpipeorotherfixture
building.
throughwhichsteamisintroduceddirectlyinto
Themoresophisticateddirectinjectionsystems
thewaterinaventedstoragetank.
provideveryclosetemperaturecontrolat
ConstantandVariableFlowratesandin
start/stopapplications.Thiscontrolispossible
becauseheattransfersimmediatelyfromthe
steamtotheliquidwhenheatingstarts.When
demandandsteamflowstop,heatingceasesat
onceunlikeaheatexchangerwhichcontinues
toreleaseresidualenergy.
Figure1.Spargersheatwaterinanopentank
bybubblingsteamupthroughit.
Spargershavebeenusedformanyyears
TypesofSteamInjectionSystems
available:
becausetheyareasimpleandinexpensiveway
Manymethodscanbeusedtoinjectsteam
toheatliquids.Theyareoftenusedforboiler
directlyintocoldwater.Thesedifferprimarily
feedwatertanks,storagetanksandsilos,and
intheirabilitytoadjusttovariationsinsteam
heatingcryogenicfluids.
pressure,incomingwaterpressure,andhot
waterdemand.Themostsophisticatedinjection
systemsadjustautomaticallyforthese
variations.Othershavemorelimited
Spargershavefourmajordisadvantages.First,
itisdifficulttoarriveatandholdaset
temperaturewithspargers.Second,spargers
3
aretheleastefficientmethodofheatingwater.
Thisissobecause,asaspargerinjectssteam
intothebottomofatank,someofthesteam
channelsupwardtothesurfaceandflashesto
theatmosphereresultinginatotalwasteof
energy.Spargingisusuallylessthan50%
energyefficient.
Third,spargersoftencauseveryseverewater
hammerandvibrationbecausethereisnoway
tobalancethepressureofthesteaminexcess
ofthesurroundingwaterpressure.Storage
tanksarefrequentlydamagedbythiswater
hammerandvibration.
Fourth,extratimewillneedtobeallowedto
heatlargevolumesofwater.
Figure2.ManualMixingTee
Semiautomaticmixingteesrequiremanual
adjustmentofsteamandwater,butcontainthe
addedfeatureofanautomaticsteamshutoffin
MixingteesAstheirnameimplies,mixingtees
theeventthatthewatersupplyisinterrupted.
(seeFigure2)areindividualsingleusedevices
whichblendsteamwithcoldwaterinatee
arrangement.Threetypesofmixingteesare
used:manual,semiautomatic,andsystemsin
whichthetemperatureisautomatically
controlled.
Withautomaticmixingtees,thetemperatureis
presetwithacontrollerandthenthesteamand
watersuppliesareturnedon.Neitherthe
manualnorthesemiautomaticsystemscan
adjustforvariationsinsteampressure,water
pressure,orhotwaterdemand.Forthisreason
Withmanualsystems,theoperatorfirstturns
theyarenotrecommendedforuseinplant
onthecoldwater,andthenopensthesteam
sanitizingsituationsrequiring180Fhotwater.
valvetoadmitenoughsteamtobringthecold
Theyare,however,adequateforgeneralplant
wateruptotemperature.Withthissystemitis
washdown,andforthisreasonareoftenused
impossibletoachievemorethanan
aswashstations.Unlesscorrectlyoperatedand
approximatetemperature.
properlymaintained,manualorsemiautomatic
systemscanbepotentiallyhazardousinthat
satisfactoryonlywheretheseconditionsremain
livesteammaybeejectedifthecoldwater
constant.
supplyisabruptlystopped.Thiscouldbea
dangeroussituationforpersonnelusingthe
equipment.
Whenspecifyingsystemsformultiplewash
stations,itmaybeworthwhiletocomparethe
costofseveralindividualmixingteeswiththe
costofacentralVariableFlowsteaminjection
systemespeciallyifthetemperature
requirementatallwashstationsisthesame.
Generally,ifthreeormorewashstationsare
calledfor,theinstalledcostofacentralsteam
injectionsystemmaybelower.Inaddition,a
centralsystemwillpreventworkersfrom
misadjustingindividualwashstationmixing
tees.
VenturiinjectionsystemsWiththeventurior
eductorinjectionmethodsteamisdrawn
directlyintothecoldwaterthroughaventurior
constrictioninthewaterline(seeFigure3).By
passingthroughtheventuri,steamentersthe
wateratahigh(sonic)velocity.Thiscreatesa
pressuredifferentialandgeneratesa
turbulencethatpromotesrapidmixingofthe
steamwiththecoldwater.
Figure3.VenturiSteamInjector
Withvariableorificeventurisystems,
dependinguponthetype,theflowofsteamor
watermaybeadjustedtodeliverwaterat
varyingdegreesoftemperature.The
adjustmentmaybemanualoritmaybe
pneumaticallyregulated.Wheresteam
pressure,incomingwaterpressureandhot
waterdemandremainfairlyconstant,theyare
satisfactory.Theycannot,however,prevent
waterhammerifsteamandcoldwaterpressure
Therearetwotypesofventurisystemsfixed
arenearequilibrium.Andbecausetheyhave
orificeandvariableorifice.Astheirname
verylimitedturndowncapabilities,theycannot
implies,fixedorificeventurisystemscannotbe
accommodatevariableflows,lowflow
adjustedforvariationsinsteampressure,water
conditions,widevariationsinsteamorwater
pressureorhotwaterdemand.Theyare
Hot Water
pressure,andhotwatertemperaturedemand
Temperature
Controller
withouttheaidofastoragetank.Theliquid
pressuredropthoughthistypeofsystemmay
exceed30PSI,whereaswiththedual
modulatingsystemsthepressuredropseldom
Recirculating
Pump
exceeds2psi.Alsothesoundlevelgenerated
fromtheventurisystemwillbehigherdueto
Steam
thehighsonicvelocitiesdeveloped.
Relief Valve
Cold Water
DualmodulatingsteaminjectionsystemThe
mosteffectivesteaminjectionheatingsystemis
theDualmodulatingsteaminjectioncontrol
Figure4.DualModulatingSteamInjection
ControlSystem
system(seeFigure4)Inactualpractice,steam
Thesteamcontrolvalveisactivatedbya
pressure,waterpressureandhotwater
temperaturecontrollerlocatedimmediatelyat
demandseldom,ifever,remainthesame.
thehotwateroutlet.Thiscontrollermaybe
Whilesteampressuremayremainconstant,
manuallysettoanydesiredoutletwater
incomingcoldwatermayvaryinpressureand
temperatureoritmayberegulatedremotelyby
temperature.Demandforhotwatermayvary
apneumaticorelectronictemperature
frommaximumflowtonoflow.Whereaflow
controller.Thecontrollersignalsthe
ofhotwaterataprecisetemperatureis
modulatingsteamcontrolvalvetoadmitmore
required,regardlessofthesevaryingconditions,
orlesssteamasrequiredtoholdtheoutflow
adualmodulatingsteaminjectionsystemis
temperaturetoanydesiredpresettemperature
recommended.Withthissystem,thesteam
automaticallyregardlessofoutflowdemand.
flowismodulatedattwopoints:anexternal
modulatingcontrolvalve,andatthepointof
actualinjection.
Withthissystem,asinglemodulatingsteam
controlvalveprovidesapproximatelythana
10:1turndowncapability.(Turndownisthe
ratioofmaximumtominimumsteamflow
rates.)Additionalturndowncapability
(approaching100:1)canbeobtainedwiththe
useofdualsteamcontrolvalves.
Inadditiontocontrollingtheincomingsteam
oneconsidersthatoverheating100gallonsof
flowwithamodulatingsteamcontrolvalve,this
waterperminuteamere10Fwastes
systemalsocontrolsthesteaminjection
approximately500,000Btusperhour.
pressureatthepointwheresteamentersthe
coldwater.Atthispointofsteaminjection
steamentersthecoldwaterthroughhundreds
ofverysmallorificesinaninjectiontube.By
breakingthesteamupintomultiplesmall
streamsandbymaintainingapositivepressure
differentialallthesteamisinstantlyandquietly
injectedintotheflowofwater.
Asthemodulatingsteamvalvevariesthesteam
flowinordertomaintaintheoutflowwater
temperature,thesteampressureworksagainst
aspringloadedpistonintheinjectionassembly
(seeFigure5).Asthesteamflowvaries,it
forcesthepistontoriseorfallexposingmoreor
fewersteaminjectionorifices.
Byapplyingpressureagainsttheincomingsteam,the
springloadedpistonconstantlymaintainssteam
pressureinexcessofincomingwaterpressure.This
eliminatesthewaterhammerwhichoccurswhen
Thedualmodulatingsteaminjectionsystemis
availableintwobasicconfigurations.Oneis
designedtodeliveraConstantFlowofhot
water.TheotheraccommodatesVariable
Flows,wherethedemandforhotwater
fluctuatesfromintermittentorverylowflow
ratestoahighflowatpeakdemands.
Heated
Liquid
Injection
Tube
Helical
Flights
Steam
steamandwaterpressuresareatornearequilibrium,
suchaswiththesteamspargingmethod.
Becauseofitscapabilities,thedualmodulating
systemcandeliverhotwaterquietlywithinvery
precisetemperaturetolerancesunderan
unlimitedrangeofflowconditions.Thisclose
temperaturecontrolisessentialinmany
processesbecauseitpreventsoverheating.This
isaveryimportantenergysavingfeaturewhen
Cold Water
Figure5.DualModulatingSteamInjection
ControlSystem
InadditiontoVariableFlowapplications,this
systemiswidelyusedinindustrywherehot
watermustbedeliveredinasequenceof
varyingtemperaturestomeetprocess
requirements.Itisusedintheseapplications
becauseitcanchangethetemperatureofthe
Withdirectsteaminjection,alltheBtusinthe
hotwaterinstantly.
steamareinjecteddirectlyintothecoldwater
Howtospecify
Provideadescriptionoftheapplication
Whatisthehotwatertobeusedfor?
Provideprocessconditions.Examples:
o
Waterflow(min&max)
GPM/LPM
Coldwaterinlettemperature
(F/C)
resultinginsignificantenergysavings.Direct
steaminjectionsystemsfurthermore,can
supplyhotwateronacontinuousstraight
throughbasis.Theyoccupymuchlessspace
thanindirectstoragesystem,andprovidemuch
moreaccuratehotwatertemperaturecontrol.
CommonApplicationsinthe
ChemicalIndustry
Hotwateroutlettemperature
(F/C)
HeatingJacketedReactorVessels
CIPCleaning/Sanitizing
Steampressure(PSIG/BARG)
FilterWashing
Waterpressure(PSIG/BARG)
TankCarWashing
Materialofconstructionforpiping,
AddingProcessBatchWater
valves,andcomponents.
GeneralPlantCleanup
Whattypeoftemperaturecontrolsare
TankCarHeating
required.Examples:
LineTracing
Localpneumatic
BrackishWaterHeating
Electronicremote
ClosedLoopJacketedDryers,Blenders
PLC
DCS
andotherdevices
Electricalareaclassificationandpower
required.
Spaceconsiderationsforlocating
equipment.
8489).
food,
chemical
and