Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Salinity Classes
Fresh Water
Brackish (Well or
Aquifer) Water
Brines
Seawater
Typical Total
Dissolved Solids
(TDS), mg/L
less than 1500
1500 to 10000
greater than 10,000
35000-60000
Feedwater Impurities:
1. Dissolved gases such as oxygen & carbon dioxide, which lead to corrosion.
2. Dissolved solids which are usually inorganic salts of calcium & magnesium
3. Dissolved organics (oil, organic chemicals) that can foul Heat Transfer areas.
4. Microbiological & macrobiological organisms
5. Particulate matter such as suspended solids (mud).
6. Caustic which can cause caustic embrittlement of steel.
Scale & Deposit forming impurities are:
- Calcium Ions
- Magnesium ions
- Silica
- Phosphates (likely to be generated by chemical treatment)
- Iron & Copper
Water analyses are conventionally expressed for both cations (+ve charged ions) and anions (-ve charged ions), in parts per million by weight (ppmw) except for
hardness & alkalinity, which are usually expressed in ppw of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). These ppmw values can be converted to a common basis such as milliequivalents/liter. this permits the summation of oppositely charged ions such that total cations will equal total anions. Cation & anion meq/liter can be converted
to ppmw CaCO3.
Total hardness is defined as the sum of calcium and magnesium ions in ppw of CaCO 3. Total alkalinity is the sum of CO3-2, HCO3-1, and OH-1 ions in ppw of
CaCO3.
Page 1 of 4
BOILER FEEDWATER
CONSTITUENT
CHEMICAL FORMULA
DIFFICULTIES CAUSED
Turbidity
MEANS OF TREATMENT
Color
None
Hardness
Alkalinity
Carbon Dioxide
CO2
pH
Sulfate
SO4-2
Chloride
Cl-1
Nitrate
NO3-1
Demineralization, distillation,
reverse osmosis, electrodialysis
Fluoride
F-1
Silica
SiO2
Iron
Manganese
Oil
Mn+2
Expressed as oil or chloroform
extractable material, ppmw
same as iron
Scale, sludge & foaming in boilers; impedes
heat exchange; undesirable in most
processes.
same as iron
Baffle Separators, strainers,
coagulation & filtration,
diatomaceous earth filtration.
Oxygen
O2
Hydrogen Sulfide
H2S
Ammonia
NH3
Conductivity
Expressed as micromhos,
specific conductance
Dissolved solids
None
Suspended Solids
None
Total Solids
None
Page 2 of 4
BOILER FEEDWATER
Blowdown:
All dissolved & suspended solids entering a boiler with the feedwater remain in the drums and tubes as steam is generated. The continual addition of feedwater
produces higher & higher concentration of solids in the boiler water. A point can be reached beyond which operation is completely unsatisfactory. this situation
may be caused by dissolved solids, silica content or alkalinity. Every boiler has a limit above which scaling, foaming & carryover occur. In order to keep boiler
water concentrations below this limit, some of the concentrated boiler water must be removed from the unit as blowdown.
The intermittent or manual blowdown is taken from the bottom of the mud drum. This blowdown is mainly intended to remove any sludge formed in the boiler
water. Both suspended & dissolved are present in the water. These must be removed to prevent solids from settling & caking on the heat transfer surfaces. the
manual blowdown should be used approximately once per day for a few seconds to remove suspended solids which may have settled in the mud drum.
A continuous blowdown system helps to keep the boiler water within the concentration limits on a
relatively constant basis. Removing a small stream of water continuously saves water, chemicals,
and heat. The heat in the continuous blowdown water can be recovered in a heat exchange
system installed in the blowdown system. The continuous blowdown connection is usually
located below the low water level in the steam drum.
Proper regulation of boiler blowdown is very important in boiler operation. Too little blowdown
allows the concentration of suspended and dissolved solids to become too great, resulting in scale
formation and carryover of impurities in the steam. Too much blowdown wastes fuel and
feedwater. Globe valves with position indicators allow for accurate control of the blowdown rate.
Boiler concentration limits to control corrosion and fouling in the boiler vary as a function of the
operating pressure. In some cases, the blowdown from a high pressure boiler may be suitable for
makeup to a lower pressure boiler.
Steam that is dirty and wet can cause deposits in superheaters, turbines, and control valves. A
good separation of water and steam must occur inside the boiler steam drum to produce clean and
dry steam. Most boilers have effective mechanical separators in the boiler steam drum when the
water boils smoothly. When boiler water primes (high level) or foams, however, impurities are
carried over in the steam. While water priming and foaming are partly controlled through careful
operation of the boiler drum level and chemical injections, respectively, they are highly dependent
on maintaining proper boiler blowdown.
Some blowdown systems have automated blowdown control based on a continuous conductivity
measurement of boiler water. Conductivity is a measure of the dissolved solids in the boiler
water.
The blowdown system must safely dispose of the flashing steam and hot liquid as previously
discussed.
Page 3 of 4
BOILER FEEDWATER
Cycles of Concentration:
A dissolved salt entering the boiler system will not leave the boiler in the steam. The dissolved
salt will concentrate in the boiler water as steam is formed. The dissolved salt concentration can
be controlled to a given level by adjusting the blowdown rate. A simple mass balance on the salt
will demonstrate this principle.
The mass of salt entering the boiler is the mass of boiler feed water (BFW) times the
concentration of the salt. Since there is no salt in the steam, the mass of salt leaving the boiler is
the mass of blowdown (BD) times the concentration of salt in the BD as shown in the figure below.
The concentration of salt in the blowdown will be the same as the concentration of salt in the steam
drum. The cycles of concentration (CC) is defined by the concentration in the blowdown divided
by the concentration in the boiler feedwater which is equal to the BFW rate divided by the
blowdown rate.
The percent blowdown is defined as the blowdown rate divided by the BFW rate times 100. The
cycles of concentration is the inverse of the percent blowdown multiplied by 100. The steam
drum (blowdown) concentration can readily be controlled by blowdown rate since they are
directly related.
FSTM
FBFW
CBFW
where:
CBD
FBD
0.2
CBD =
10
FSTM =
200000 kg/h
0.02
0.02*FBFW
200000
204081.6 kg/h
4081.6 kg/h
Page 4 of 4