PREPARED BY : ZERIHUN KASSA

UM @ EABSC, Dec 2018

Properties of steam
Heat Energy of Steam
What is steam Boiler?
Boilers Classification
Boiler Mountings
Major problems that face in boiler operation
The Main causes of the problems
Fuels Types & Selection for Boiler
Boiler efficiency
Energy Conservation in Boiler
Principles of Efficiency
Boiler Blow Down
Boiler Operation Procedures
Boiler water problems
Boiler water treatment
Why Steam is so popular as heat
conveying media in industry?
 Highest specific heat and latent heat
 Highest heat transfer coefficient

 Easy to control and distribute

 Lower capital & running cost relative to

others like thermal oil systems
 Properties of steam
Steam has been a popular mode of conveying energy in different industries.
Steam is used for generating power and also used in process industries such
as sugar, paper, fertilizer, refineries, petrochemicals, chemical, food &
Beverage, synthetic fiber and textiles.
The heat required to change the temperature of a substance is called its
SENSIBLE HEAT.
The heat that is added in converting from the liquid to the vapor phase @
constant temperature is called the LATENT HEAT OF EVAPORATION.
The temperature at which water boils is called saturation temperature. This
temp. increases as the pressure increases.
The steam that is fully vaporized but has not been heated to a temperature
above the saturation temperature is called DRY SATURATION STEAM.
Steam that is not fully vaporized is called “WET” steam.
 How We Create Steam
The Heat Energy required to create steam has
two forms:

Sensible Heat

Latent Heat
 Heat Energy – Sensible Heat
• Sensible Heat is the amount of Heat Energy
required to raise the temperature of water
from 0°C to the boiling point (saturated
liquid) at a given pressure
–Sensible Heat raises the temperature of
the water and can be sensed with a
thermometer.
 Heat Energy – Latent Heat
• Latent Heat is the amount of Heat
Energy required to transform water at
the boiling point (saturated liquid) to
steam.
–Adding Latent Heat does not raise the
temperature – saturated liquid and
steam have the same temperature for
a given pressure.
What is Steam Boiler
means any closed vessel having holding capacity 22.75 liters and pressure
3.5 Kg/cm2 & above be used for steam generation under pressure, having
installed mountings.
Steam pipes means pipes through which steam is conveyed from boiler to
the point of use, when steam pressure is of 3.5 kg/cm2 & above along with
connected fittings.
 Boilers Classification
Boilers are classified under two categories:
• Fire tube or “fire in tube” boilers
• Water tube or “water in tube” boilers

Fire tube or “fire in tube” boilers:- Long steel tubes through which
the hot gasses pass from a furnace and around. which the water to be
converted into steam. Fire tube boilers have a lower initial cost, are
more fuel efficient and easy to operate, but they are limited due to
lower capacity of 27 T/hr and a maximum pressures of 27 kg/cm2.
The large diameter cylinders used in the construction of fire tube
boilers effectively limits their operating pressure & out put.
If higher capacity is required multiple installation is a must
FIRE TUBE BOILER
FIRE TUBE BOILER
 WATER TUBE OR “WATER IN TUBE” BOILERS

The water passing through the tubes and the hot gasses passing
outside the tubes. These boilers can be of single- or multiple-
drum type and can be built to any steam capacity and
pressure, have higher efficiency than fire tube boilers.
Water Tube Boiler Classification:
 Low pressure boiler -Pressure up to 21 kg/ cm2.
 Medium pressure boiler -Pressure 21 to 45 kg/ cm2.
 High pressure boiler - Pressure above 45 kg/ cm2.
 Supercritical pressure boiler - Pressure 225 kg/ cm2.

 In any water-tube boiler the circulation system starts with

the boiler steam drum and ends with the boiler steam
drum.
Super heated steam TG SET Sugar process

Exhaust steam

Water Tube Boiler

WATER TUBE BOILER
BOILER MOUNTINGS
These are fittings & mountings installed to improve the
steam generation process :
 safety
 efficiency
 operation & control
The Boiler mountings include :
1) Safety Valves
2) Water level Indicators
3) Feed Check Valves
4) Steam Stop Valve
5) Pressure Gauges
6) water level controls
7) Automatic TDS Control
8) Bottom blow down valve
9) Vacuum breaker & air vent valve
BOILER MOUNTINGS …
1) Safety Valves
Is required to protect the boiler shell
from over pressure & explosion
A safety valve is set @ maximum
operating pressure/design presure

2) Water level Indicators (Gauge glass)

Used to indicate the current water
level in the boiler regardless of the
operating conditions
A gauge glass should be checked at
list ones per day
BOILER MOUNTINGS …
Gauge glass Test procedure
BOILER MOUNTINGS …
3) Feed Check Valves
I. This prevents the boiler
being flooded by static
head from Feed Tank
II. Under normal steaming
condition the check valve
stops return flow from
the boiler to the feed
water line while the feed
pump is not running.
III. When the feed water
pump is running its
pressure overcomes the
spring to feed the boiler
as normal
BOILER MOUNTINGS …
4) Steam Stop Valve
A steam boiler must be fitted with stop
valve (Crown valve) to isolate the boiler & its
pressure from other systems/plant
The stop valve is not designed for
throttling & should be fully open or close
It should be opened slowly to prevent:
Sudden rise in down stream pressure &
associated water hammer
Sudden in boiler pressure & possible
priming & thermal load
BOILER MOUNTINGS …
5) Pressure Gauges
There should be at list one pressure
indicator that shows the normal operating
pressure & the maximum working
pressure/design pressure
Are connected to the steam space of the
boiler & usually have a ring type siphon tube
which fills with condensed steam & protects
the dial mechanism
BOILER MOUNTINGS …
6) Water level controls

There are generally two types of level

control mechanism in boilers
I. External level control chamber

I. Internally mounted level controls

 The level alarm system must be provided
with a self checking function on system
integrally
 Internally fitted level controls provide
higher degree of safety than those fitted
externally
BOILER MOUNTINGS …
7) TDS Control (Continuous BD)
This could be automatic or manually
operated TDS control of the boiler water by
comparing the boiler water sample with a set
point like 3500 ppm

8) Bottom blow down valve

This actually fitted in a boiler to reject
accumulated sludge & sediments from the
bottom of the boiler

9) Vacuum breaker & air vent valve

These are fittings which are used release
vacuum inside the boiler during stoppage &
to purge out air fro the boiler during startup
respectively
Major problems that face in boiler operation :
 Lower capacity than designed maximum
continuous
rating (MCR)
Low superheated steam temperature of final outlet
steam proceeding to steam turbines (Prime movers
i,e. power house and mill drive turbines)
 Low outlet steam pressure
 Priming and carry over
Loss of water
Rapid wear and tear of steam boiler pressure parts
Failure of super heater, steam tubes and coils
Poor thermal efficiency of steam boilers
 Explosion in the furnace
Explosion of steam drum

The Main causes of the problems:

Design , maintenance and operational faults.
Insufficient and excessive water level in the steam
drum .
Incorrect operation of safety devices.
 Overloading the boilers.
 Poor quality, high TDS, high total hardness, high
silica and abnormal PH of feed water.
 Faulty start up procedure of steam boiler after
shut down.
 Very quick procedure to raise the steam pressure
after any shut down.
 The major serious problems in boilers faced by
industries:-
 Failure of boiler tubes.
 Failure of super heater coils.
 Priming & carry over and damages to steam
turbines
Fuels Types & Selection For Boiler
 Solid – wood, coal , Agricultural residue, Bagasse etc
 Liquid- Kerosene, Diesel oil, Furnace oil
 Gaseous – Ethane , Methane etc
The selection of fuel
 Depends furnaces and combustion equipments of boiler.
 Availability, storage, handling, pollution and landed cost of fuel.
 The knowledge of the fuel properties helps in selecting the right fuel
for the right purpose and efficient use of the fuel.
Boiler efficiency
 How to Improve the boiler Efficiency
* To reduce the Losses of Boiler
* To clean the H.S.of Boiler
* To keep Excess Air % proper
* To use the quality water in the boiler
* To keep the CO2 percentage at 14.5 %
* Percentage of CO Should not be increased above 0.5
* Steam traps, valves , pipes should be made leak proof
* The boiler furnace should be cleaned in the running season
Regularly
Energy Conservation in Boiler
* Feed water preheating by using Economizer
• Condensate recovery
• Avoid incomplete combustion
• Excess Air Control
• Reduce the radiation & convection Heat losses
• Automatic Blow down control
• Reduction of Scaling and soot losses
• Reduction of boiler steam pressure
• Variable speed control for fans & pumps
• Effect of boiler loading on efficiency
• Proper boiler Maintenance scheduling
• Boiler replacement
Principles of Efficiency :
 When Temp. of Flue gas decreases by 150C then Efficiency of
Boiler increases by 1%
 When Temp. of Feed water through Economizer to boiler
increases by 6-70C then Temp. of Flue Gas decreases by 100C
 For every 6 0C rise in feed water temperature 1% less fuel is
required
 Always keep feed water PH in between 8.5 to 9.5
 Always Record the Log book of Boiler
 When blow down rate is 5 % then fuel loss is 1.75 to 2.2 %
 To Calibrate all the Instruments & maintain it properly.
 When Temp. of Deareator is kept above 900C then oxygen is
reduced by 0.3 ppm
Boiler Blow Down :
Good Boiler blow down control can reduce the
treatment and operational cost,
* Controlled Blow down Benefits :
Lower Pre treatment cost of make up water
Less make-up water consumption
Reduced maintenance down time
Increase the boiler life
Lower consumption of treatment chemical
Types of Blow Down :
1) Intermittent Blow down
2) Continuous Blow down
Control of Boiler Blow Down
Careful control of boiler TDS together with
attention to other factors will ensure minimal
risk of foaming & carryover
 Calculation of blow down rate:

Where
 F is Feed water TDS (PPm)
 S is Steam generation rate (Kg/h)
 B is required boiler TDS (PPm)
THANK YOU !