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Calderas Blowdown
Calderas Blowdown
As a general rule of thumb, blowdown helps maintain proper chemistry and remove suspended
solids and impurities in a boiler system, but how often should blowdowns occur and by what method?
The primary purpose of boiler blowdowns is to ensure that water chemistry is being
maintained within the set parameters issued either by ASME guidelines and/or the specific water
treatment program. Blowing-down a boiler refers to the process of manually or automatically
removing an amount of water within the pressure vessel, which should then be proportionally
replaced with make-up water. The process not only aids in removing precipitated impurities but also
maintains steam purity and system efficiency. With traditional steam boilers, there are typically three
methods of blowdown: low-water cutoff, surface skimmer, and bottom blowdowns. Not all methods
may be readily available but often a combination of blowdown types will provide the most effective
results.
Blowdown water is quite valuable due to its heat and pressure. Most systems will
require a blowoff system to provide a safe means of controlling boiler blowoff water. This
typically requires a reduction in both pressure and temperature to limits acceptable for safe
discharge into a sewer or drain system (depicted in Figure 2).
A simple blowdown calculation is as follows. Further calculations can be computed to
compute the amount of energy lost due to blowdown.
There is a fine line with blowdowns as although they are necessary, can be costly with the loss
of energy. Finding these setpoints and blowdown periods can be better obtained from several
calculations. As mentioned earlier that there are several blowdown methods, and typically a
combination of them will allow for the most efficient boiler system. Long story short, the amount,
length, and frequency of blowdowns will depend.
Jed Kosch
List of Resources:
[3] Editorial Staff. “What Is Boiler Blowdown ?” Inst Tools, 6 July 2019, instrumentationtools.com/what-is-
boiler-blowdown.
[4] Welsh, Matt. “Proper Boiler Blowdown Procedure.” Chardon Labs, 27 Sept. 2021,
www.chardonlabs.com/resources/proper-boiler-blowdown-procedure.
[5] Boilers, Thermodyne. “Blowdown in Boiler | Boiler Blowdown Calculation Formula and Calculator.”