ES 639

Physicochemical Processes for

Water and Wastewater Treatment

Term Paper on

Pre-treatment of Water for

Thermal Power Plants

Prashant Adsul
(113184002)
 Water for Thermal Power
Plants
Thermal power plants contribute 65.09
% to the total power generation of India
High pressure boilers are used for steam
generation in thermal power plants
Ultra pure water is required for the
steam generation, it is called as Boiler
Feedwater (BFW)
BFW is 95 % condensate and 5 %
makeup water
 Water for Boilers

All natural waters contain varying amounts

of suspended and dissolved solids as well as
dissolved gases (O2, CO2)
The type and amount of impurities in fresh
water vary with the source (lake, river, well)
Impurities in water are of importance when
water is to be used for steam generation.
For higher-pressure boilers, feedwater must
be pretreated to remove impurities
Boiler Water Composition with
respect to Operating Pressure
Impurities in Water and its Effect on
Boiler
 Problems Caused by
Impurities in the Feed
Water
Scaling
Water Hardness is the primary source of scale in
boiler equipment, Calcium and Magnesium are
main cause of hardness in water
Silica in boiler feedwater can also cause hard
dense scale with a high resistance to heat
transfer.
Boiler Scale on Water
Side
Failed Tubes Showing Signs of Both
Corrosion Failure and Overheating
 Corrosion
Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide cause
corrosion
The carbon dioxide by dissolving in the
water and forming a weak carbonic acid
which attacks the metal in boiler
Oxygen is present in water reacts with
Iron to form red iron oxide
Corrosion reduces the thickness of the
steam pipe metal
 Boiler Feedwater Treatment
Removing impurities from boiler feedwater
Feedwater is filtered to remove suspended matter and if
the suspended solids are very fine, a flocculation step
may be needed to enable effective filtration

Filtration
Filtration is the essential first step before the chemical
treatment. Filtration minimizes suspended solid
impurities. If rust, sand (silica) etc. are not filtered out,
they lead to severe scale formation.

Coagulation and flocculation

 Boiler Feedwater
Treatment
Chemical precipitation
Chemical precipitation is a process in which
chemical added reacts with dissolved minerals in
the water to produce a relatively insoluble reaction
product. Precipitation methods are used in
reducing dissolved hardness, alkalinity, and silica.
The most common example is lime-soda treatment

Ion Exchange
Passing water through a simple cation exchange
softener all the Calcium and Magnesium ions are
removed and replaced with Sodium ions.
 Boiler Feedwater
Treatment
Deaeration of water
Dissolved oxygen in water is a major cause of boiler
system corrosion. It should be removed before the water is
put in the boiler. Feedwater deaeration removes oxygen by

Heating the water with steam in a deaerating heater. Part

of the steam is vented, carrying with it the bulk of the
dissolved oxygen.

Oxygen Scavengers
Corrosion by oxygen in the boiler can be controlled by the
addition of Sodium Sulfite (Na 2SO3) and Hydrazine (N2H4)
to the preboiler section of the steam generating system.
N2H4 + O2 2 H2O + N2
 Deaeration of water

Membrane Contactors
Fabricated with hydrophobic hollow
fiber microporous membrane
Installed to control corrosion in boilers
By removing gases such as oxygen and
Carbon dioxide the amount of corrosion is

reduced
These devices do not require chemicals to
operate so operating costs are less


Boiler Feed Water Degassing System

Membrane Contactor
Membrane Contactor
 Boiler Feedwater
Treatment
Reverse Osmosis
in combination with other advanced
technologies, RO is being used to treat brackish
water, industrial wastewater for Boiler feedwater
pretreatment.
 REFERENCES

Chai Hoon Koo, Abdul Wahab Mohammad, Fatihah Suja.,

(2011).Recycling of Oleochemical Wastewater for Boiler
Feed Water using Reverse Osmosis Membranes - A Case
Study. Desalination, 271, 178186
Cuda P., Petr P., Tenglerova J.,(2006) Reverse Osmosis in
Water Treatment for Boilers. Desalination 198 (2006) 4146
http://www.cip.ukcentre.com
http://www.lenntech.com
http://www.water-technology.net
Nooijen W.F.J.M., Boks P., Vaal P.R. and Suratt W. B.,(1998).
Production of Boiler Feed Water out of Wastewater with
Microfiltration and Reverse Osmosis: The New Age
Challenge within Reach. Desalination, 118, 263265
Shao J., Liu H., He Y.,(2008). Boiler Feed Water
Deoxygenation using Hollow Fiber Membrane Contactor.
Desalination 234, 370377
Thank You!