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BoilerfeedwaterWikipedia

Boilerfeedwater
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Boilerfeedwaterisanessentialpartofboileroperations.Thefeed
waterisputintothesteamdrumfromafeedpump.Inthesteamdrum
thefeedwateristhenturnedintosteamfromtheheat.Afterthesteamis
useditisthendumpedtothemaincondenser.Fromthecondenseritis
thenpumpedtothedeaeratedfeedtank.Fromthistankitthengoes
backtothesteamdrumtocompleteitscycle.Thefeedwaterisnever
opentotheatmosphere.Thiscycleisknownasaclosedsystemor
Rankinecycle.

Contents
1
2
3
4
5

6
7
8
9

ExtremeBoilerScalebuildup

Historyoffeedwatertreatment
Characteristicsofboilerfeedwater
Boilerfeedwatertreatment
Deaerationoffeedwater
Conditioning
5.1 Boilercorrosion
5.2 Fouling
5.3 Causticembrittlement
5.4 Primingandfoaming
Locomotiveboilers
Seealso
References
Externallinks

Historyoffeedwatertreatment
Duringtheearlydevelopmentofboilers,watertreatmentwasnotsomuchofanissue,astemperaturesand
pressuresweresolowthathighamountsofscaleandrustwouldnotformtosuchahighamount,especiallyif
theboilerwascleanedand/orblowndown.Itwasgeneralpracticethough,toinstallzincplatesand/or
alkalinechemicalstoreducecorrosionwithintheboiler.Manytestshadbeenperformedtotrytodeterminethe
causeandpossibleprotectionfromcorrosioninboilersusingdistilledwater,variouschemicals,andsacrificial
metals.[1]Silvernitratecanbeaddedtofeedwatersamplesinordertodetectcontaminationbyseawater.Useof
limeforalkalinitycontrolhadbeenmentionedasearlyas1900,andwasusedbytheFrenchandBritishNavies
upuntilabout1935.[2]Inmodernboilersthough,treatmentofboilerfeedwaterisextremelycritical,asmany
problemscanresultfromtheuseofuntreatedwaterinextremepressureandtemperatureenvironmentsthis
includeslowerefficiencyintermsofheattransfer,overheating,damage,andhighcostsofcleaning.

Characteristicsofboilerfeedwater
Waterhashigherheatcapacitythanmostothersubstances.Thisqualitymakesitanidealrawmaterialfor
boileroperations.Boilersarepartofaclosedsystemascomparedtoopensystemsinagasturbine.Theclosed
systemthatisusedistheRankinecycle.Thismeansthatthewaterisrecirculatedthroughoutthesystemandis
neverincontactwiththeatmosphere.Thewaterisreusedandneedstobetreatedtocontinueefficient
operations.Boilerwatermustbetreatedinordertobeproficientinproducingsteam.Boilerwateristreatedto
preventscaling,corrosion,foaming,andpriming.Chemicalsareputintoboilerwaterthroughthechemical
feedtanktokeepthewaterwithinchemicalrange.Thesechemicalsaremostlyoxygenscavengersand
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phosphates.Theboilerwateralsohasfrequentblowdownsinordertokeepthechloridecontentdown.The
boileroperationsalsoincludebottomblowsinordertogetridofsolids.Scaleisprecipitatedimpuritiesoutof
thewaterandthenformsonheattransfersurfaces.Thisisaproblembecausescaledoesnottransferheatvery
wellandcausesthetubestofailbygettingtoohot.Corrosioniscausedbyoxygeninthewater.Theoxygen
causesthemetaltooxidizewhichlowersthemeltingpointofthemetal.Foamingandprimingiscausedwhen
theboilerwaterdoesnothavethecorrectamountofchemicalsandtherearesuspendedsolidsinthewater
whichcarryoverinthedrypipe.Thedrypipeiswherethesteamandwatermixtureareseparated.

Boilerfeedwatertreatment
Boilerwatertreatmentisusedtocontrolalkalinity,preventscaling,correctpH,andtocontrolconductivity.The
boilerwaterneedstobealkalineandnotacidic,sothatitdoesnotruinthetubes.Therecanbetoomuch
conductivityinthefeedwaterwhentherearetoomanydissolvedsolids.Thesecorrecttreatmentscanbe
controlledbyefficientoperatoranduseoftreatmentchemicals.Themainobjectivestotreatandcondition
boilerwateristoexchangeheatwithoutscaling,protectagainstscaling,andproducehighqualitysteam.The
treatmentofboilerwatercanbeputintotwoparts.Theseareinternaltreatmentandexternaltreatment.
(Sendelbach,p.131)[3]Theinternaltreatmentisforboilerfeedwaterandexternaltreatmentisformakeup
feedwaterandthecondensatepartofthesystem.Internaltreatmentprotectsagainstfeedwaterhardnessby
preventingprecipitatingofscaleontheboilertubes.Thistreatmentalsoprotectsagainstconcentrationsof
dissolvedandsuspendedsolidsinthefeedwaterwithoutprimingorfoaming.Thesetreatmentchemicalsalso
helpwiththealkalinityofthefeedwatermakingitmoreofabasetohelpprotectagainstboilercorrosion.The
correctalkalinityisprotectedbyaddingphosphates.Thesephosphatesprecipitatethesolidstothebottomof
theboilerdrum.Atthebottomoftheboilerdrumthereisabottomblowtoremovethesesolids.These
chemicalsalsoincludeantiscalingagents,oxygenscavengers,andantifoamingagents.Sludgecanalsobe
treatedbytwoapproaches.Thesearebycoagulationanddispersion.Whenthereisahighamountofsludge
contentitisbettertocoagulatethesludgetoformlargeparticlesinordertojustusethebottomblowtoremove
themfromthefeedwater.Whenthereisalowamountofsludgecontentitisbettertousedispersantsbecauseit
dispersesthesludgethroughoutthefeedwatersosludgedoesnotform.

Deaerationoffeedwater
OxygenandCarbonDioxideareremovedfromthefeedwaterbydeaeration.Deaerationcanbeaccomplished
byusingdeaeratorsheaters,vacuumdeaerators,mechanicalpumps,andsteamjetejectors.Indeaerating
heaterssteamspraysincomingfeedwaterandcarriesawaythedissolvedgases.Thedeaeratorsalsostorehot
feedwaterwhichisreadytobeusedintheboiler.Thismeansofmechanicaldeaerationisalsousedwith
chemicaloxygenscavengingagentstoincreaseefficiency.(Sendelbach,p.129)[3]Deaeratingheaterscanbe
classifiedintotwogroups.Thetwodeaeratingheatersarespraytypesandtraytypes.Withtraytypedeaerating
heaterstheincomingwaterissprayedintosteamatmosphereinordertoreachsaturationtemperature.Whenthe
saturationtemperatureisreachedmostoftheoxygenandnoncondensablegasesarereleased.Thereareseals
thatpreventtherecontaminationofthewaterinthespraysection.Thewaterthenfallstothestoragetank
below.Thenoncondensablesandoxygenarethenventedtotheatmosphere.Thecomponentsofthetraytype
deaeratingheaterareashell,spraynozzles,directcontactventcondenser,traystacks,andprotective
interchamberwalls.Thespraytypedeaeraterisverysimilartothetraytypedeaerater.Thewaterissprayedinto
asteamatmosphereandmostoftheoxygenandnoncondensablesarereleasedtothesteam.Thewaterthen
fallstothesteamscrubberwheretheslightpressurelosscausesthewatertoflashalittlebitwhichalsohelps
withtheremovalofoxygenandnoncondensables.Thewaterthenoverflowstothestoragetank.Thegasesare
thenventedtotheatmosphere.Withvacuumdeaerationavacuumisappliedtothesystemandwateristhen
broughttoitssaturationtemperature.Thewaterissprayedintothetankjustlikethesprayandtraydeaeraters.
Theoxygenandnoncondensablesareventedtotheatmosphere.(Sendelbach,p.130)

Conditioning
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Thefeedwatermustbespeciallytreatedtoavoidproblemsintheboiler
anddownstreamsystems.Untreatedboilerfeedwatercancause
corrosionandfouling.

Boilercorrosion
Corrosivecompounds,especiallyO2andCO2mustberemoved,usually
byuseofadeaerator.Residualamountscanberemovedchemically,by
useofoxygenscavengers.Additionally,feedwateristypicallyalkalized
toapHof9.0orhigher,toreduceoxidationandtosupportthe
Largecation/anionionexchangers
formationofastablelayerofmagnetiteonthewatersidesurfaceofthe
usedindemineralizationofboiler
boiler,protectingthematerialunderneathfromfurthercorrosion.Thisis
feedwater.[4]
usuallydonebydosingalkalineagentsintothefeedwater,suchas
sodiumhydroxide(causticsoda)orammonia.Corrosioninboilersis
duetothepresenceofdissolvedoxygen,dissolvedcarbondioxide,ordissolvedsalts.

Fouling
Depositsreducetheheattransferintheboiler,reducetheflowrateandeventuallyblockboilertubes.Anynon
volatilesaltsandmineralsthatwillremainwhenthefeedwaterisevaporatedmustberemoved,becausethey
willbecomeconcentratedintheliquidphaseandrequireexcessive"blowdown"(draining)topreventthe
formationofsolidprecipitates.Evenworsearemineralsthatformscale.Therefore,themakeupwateraddedto
replaceanylossesoffeedwatermustbedemineralized/deionizedwater,unlessapurgevalveisusedtoremove
dissolvedminerals.

Causticembrittlement
Primingandfoaming

Locomotiveboilers
Steamlocomotivesusuallydonothavecondenserssothefeedwaterisnotrecycledandwaterconsumptionis
high.Theuseofdeionizedwaterwouldbeprohibitivelyexpensivesoothertypesofwatertreatmentareused.
Chemicalsemployedtypicallyincludesodiumcarbonate,sodiumbisulfite,tannin,phosphateandananti
foamingagent.[5]
Treatmentsystemshaveincluded:
Alfloc,developedbyBritishRailwaysandImperialChemicalIndustries[6]
TraitementIntegralArmand(TIA),developedbyLouisArmand
PortaTreatment,developedbyLivioDantePorta[7]

Seealso
Boilerfeedwaterpump
Evaporator
Helamin

References
1.Lyon,Frank.Hinds,A.W.MarineAndNavalBoilers.(1912).TheLordBaltimorePress.
2.Osbourne,Alan.ModernMarineEngineersManual.(1965).CornellMaritimePress,inc.
3.Sendelbach,M.(1988).Boilerwatertreatment:Why,whatandhow.ChemicalEngineering,95(11),127.
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4.Mischissin,StephenG.(7February2012)."UniversityofRochesterInvestigationofSteamTurbineExtraction
LineFailures"(PDF).Arlington,VA.pp.2526.Retrieved23February2015.
5.Bane,M.(11December2006)."PortaTreatmentInternalBoilerWaterTreatmentforthe21stCentury"(PDF).
DevelopmentsinModernSteamTractionforRailways.York,UK.Retrieved31December2013.
6.Bane,Martyn."ModernSteamGlossary".MartynBane'ssteamandtravelpages.Retrieved31December2013.
7."PortaTreatment:AdvancedInternalBoilerWaterTreatment".18October2007.Retrieved31December2013.

Shun'an,C.,Qing,Z.,&Zhixin,Z.(2008).Astudyoftheinfluenceofchlorideionconcentrationonthe
corrosionbehaviorofcarbonsteelinphosphatehightemperatureboilerwaterchemistries.Anti
CorrosionMethodsandMaterials,55(1),1519.
Sendelbach,M.(1988).Boilerwatertreatment:Why,whatandhow.ChemicalEngineering,95(11),127.
Characteristicsofboilerfeedwater.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch21,2015,from
http://www.lenntech.com/applications/process/boiler/boilerfeedwatercharacteristics.htm

Externallinks
BoilerFeedwaterSystemConfiguration(http://mda139.net/feedwaterheat/systemconfiguration.html)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boiler_feedwater&oldid=749169802"
Categories: Powerstationtechnology Boilers Chemicalprocessengineering
Steamlocomotivetechnologies
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