Explain boiler feed water properties, treatment, and sampling procedures.

Generally boilers are used in industries to generate steam which in turns is used to generate power and
heat. Thus boiler is the device for generating steam it consist of two main parts, furnace and boiler
proper furnace provides heat by burning the fuel and boiler proper is a device where water changes into
a steam due to heat. This steam or hot fluid is then recirculated out of the boiler to be used in various
processes in heating applications. The water which is fed into the boiler is called the boiler feed water
this days modern boilers require high quality water to operate efficiently. But such water can never be
obtained from any of the natural sources. As it contains certain impurities the presence of impurities
and the water makes it unfit for used in the boilers. So to make the water fit for used in boilers it should
be pre treated using various techniques thus we can say that boiler feedwater is specially conditioned
water which is fed into the boiler to generate steam or hot water. It is generated through a system of
heat economy steamed produce in the boiler is condensed after use and is returned as pure feed
water .Called the return water then some fresh water or makeup water is added to this return water it is
this combination of return water and makeup water which is fed into the boiler. As the boiler feed water
to generate steam note that boiler feedwater depends upon the quality of the makeup water and the
amount of condensate. Returned to the boiler sometimes we see that some impurities settle down at
the bottom of the boiler after the steam is produced. We know that the steam which escaped from the
boiler, normally contains liquid droplets and gases so the remaining water at the bottom of the boiler
might pickup all the foreign matter from the water that was converted to steam. This results in the
accumulation of impurities at the bottom of the boiler these impurities can be removed by discharging
some water from the boiler to the drain such process of blowing the impurities from the boiler to the
drain is called blowdown operation. In order to operate and maintain a boiler system efficiently it is
important to treat the boiler feedwater properly. This is because when steam is produced the dissolved
solids become concentrated and form deposits inside the boiler this leads to poor heat transfer and
reduces the efficiency of the boiler also the dissolved gas such us oxygen and carbon dioxide react with
the metals in the boiler system and this leads to boiler corrosion thus to protect the boiler from such
contaminants the boiler feedwater should be treated properly through external or internal treatment .

Before using the boiler feed water in the boiler it should be made sure that it meets the following
specification its hardness should be below points to parts per million it’s caustic alkalinity should be
between 0.15 and 0.45 parts per million it’s soda alkalinity should be between 0.45 and 1 parts per
million it should be free from turbidity and sediments and it should be free from organic matter oil and
grease to avoid foaming note that thermal power stations feed water is usually stored pre heated and
conditioned in the feed water tank and then forwarded into the boiler through the boiler feedwater
pump related terms are.