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06

a quarterly magazine of the society of energy engineers and managers / India

added profits delivered

in steam system efficiency


Patricia Provot

April-June 2009

Steam systems should be considered as profit centers based on their performance and efficiency. Investing in a steam system performance improvement programme can yield a high rate of return when a few basic guidelines are followed.

team is an excellent heat transfer medium. Plant engineers depend on steam systems year-round for a wide range of applications. Because of their constant use, steam systems should be considered as profit centers based on their performance and efficiency. A steam generating investment can yield a high rate of return when a few basic guidelines are followed. Steam systems consist of four basic components: steam generation, distribution piping, heat exchange or process equipment, and condensate return. Let's take a look at some steam system design principles and maintenance actions that can help return a steam system to its original performance and reduce plantoperating expenses. Proper Boiler Sizing The boiler must be sized to generate the amount of steam required for the process or heating load. Although this may seem obvious, many steam system troubles can be traced to an undersized boiler. Even if the initial sizing was adequate, adding loads later can overtax the boiler's capacity. Such overloads lead to inadequate steam pressure, excessive carryover, and wet steam. Adding boiler capacity may be necessary, but this action should only be taken as a last resort. The real culprit may be steam losses at the farthest end of the system. The installation of a steam accumulator can help in meeting intermittent peak steam demand and thus avoids the need for oversized boilers. Oversized boiler wastes energy as it runs at low loads most of the time at low efficiency. Eliminating these losses can avoid a capital expenditure for a new operating cost of the existing system. If the plant has a lot of batch processes requiring high peak steam demands, it is important to analyze the feasibility of installing a steam accumulator, instead of adding boiler capacity.

The installation of a steam accumulator will avoid having oversized boilers running 80% of the time at very low loads and subsequently low efficiencies. Waterside care also affects boiler operation. Improper water treatment is detrimental to both the condition of the boiler and quality of the steam. Scaling, pitting, and corrosion can result, shortening the life of the boiler. If the annual boiler inspection reveals problems, a competent feed water treatment company should be consulted. Distribution Piping The size of steam main piping is determined by pressure drop and velocity. As velocity increases, the pressure drops. Noise levels and the potential for erosion also increase with velocity. The greatest pressure drop in the system, including both friction and radiation losses, should not exceed 20% of the maximum boiler pressure. It is important to remember that pressure drop is energy loss. Although over sizing steam mains to reduce velocities and pressure drops may cost more initially, it can help minimize trouble and expense in the future. Steam mains should be insulated to minimize heat loss. However, some condensing takes place even in wellinsulated steam mains. Drip legs and drip traps should be installed to drain condensate from the mains automatically. Drip legs divert condensate from the fast-moving steam in the mains. They also provide a pressure differential during startup, allowing the trap to discharge the condensate to a gravity return. On pipes up to 4 inches in diameter, drip legs should be the same size as the

07
a quarterly magazine of the society of energy engineers and managers / India

April-June 2009

added profits delivered in steam system efficiency

added profits delivered in steam system efficiency

steam mains. If larger than 4 inches, they should be at least half the size of the main, but never less than 4 inches. Length should be at least 1.5 times the diameter of the main. Figure 1 shows two typical piping arrangements.

A major steelmaker reported that one of the biggest steam savings they achieved came from eliminating several miles of redundant steam pipes. traps work best for this type of service because of their ability to handle dirt. Let gravity work for you A steam trap can only handle the condensate that comes into it, and it is gravity that moves the condensate into the trap. A drip leg is required ahead of all traps on process or heat exchange equipment to collect the condensate and provide the necessary gravity head. Typically, a 10 to 12 inch drip leg should be installed from the outlet of the process or heat exchange equipment using a tee for the trap connection and a 6-inch dirt leg below. A strainer ahead of the trap should be used to protect the trap from dirt. Mechanical traps should be installed as close as possible to the equipment. However, thermodynamic and thermostatic traps should be placed farther away because they backup condensate each time the valve closes. A longer drip leg is needed to collect

Figure 1

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a quarterly magazine of the society of energy engineers and managers / India

Trap selection should be based on the calculated condensate load. However, actual condensate loads may vary unpredictably. Therefore, use a 2:1 safety factor for drip traps between the boiler and the end of the main. Use a 3:1 safety factor for the trap at the end of the main and for traps ahead of shutoff valves, pressure reducing valves (PRVs), and temperature control valves. Branch piping, or run outs from the steam main, should always be taken from the top of the main (Fig.2). Run outs of less than 10 feet can be pitched up from the main and do not require a drip trap ahead of a PRV. Run outs more than 10 feet should be pitched down from the main with a strainer and drip trap installed immediately ahead of a PRV. One recommendation involves installing the drip trap on the blow down connection of the strainer ahead of the PRV. This arrangement

A second recommendation is to look for unneeded branch piping. A major steelmaker reported that one of the biggest steam savings they achieved came from eliminating several miles of pipe that were hot. The pipe ranged from 1/2 to 8 in. in diameter and had been installed earlier for operations that were no longer there.

Figure 3

Heat Exchange and Process Equipment Using steam efficiently with heat exchange and process equipment

the condensate and prevent it from backing up into the heat exchanger. Each piece of heat exchange equipment must have its own steam trap. Group trapping (using a common header to drain several pieces of equipment into a single trap) will cause condensate to accumulate into the heat exchanger having the greatest pressure drop (Fig. 3). This happens even if the pressure drop differences between the equipment are minimal. Group trapping can cause efficiency losses, water hammer, corrosion, and freeze damage. Let air in Heat exchangers are often equipped with a modulating control valve to heat water, air, or product to a temperature

April-June 2009

Figure 2

automatically blows down the strainer while allowing the necessary condensate drainage. It also prevents condensate from accumulating in the strainer and reducing the effective area of the strainer screen. Inverted bucket

requires removing condensate and non-condensable gases from the steam space as fast as they form. The key is to select the proper trap. The following principles can help in selecting and installing the right type of trap.

Because a vacuum can exist in the heat exchanger and discharge piping while steam is entering the heat exchanger at a slight pressure, the vacuum breaker should be installed on the discharge side of the heat exchanger, ahead of the trap (Fig. 4). Get air out It is vital to remove non-condensable gases at saturation temperature. When steam is produced, oxygen and carbon dioxide are released in the boiler and travel throughout the system. If carbon

As little as 0.5% by volume of air can reduce heat transfer efficiency by about half. It can also reduce steam temperature. steam to heat transfer surfaces where the steam condenses and air is left behind. The air collects at the surface, insulating the steam from the heat transfer surface (Fig. 5). Under these conditions, as little as 0.5% by volume of air can reduce heat transfer efficiency to half its normal

Condensate Return Returning hot condensate to the boiler makes sense for several reasons. Condensate is high quality water that does not need to be treated anymore. Reusing this water decreases significantly the amount of make-up water that needs to be added to the system, and reduces the amount of chemicals to be used. Returning treated condensate to the boiler also helps avoid environmental problems. Dumping condensate onto the ground where it can leach into the groundwater supply is not advised. Discharging condensate into a municipal sewer system may not be much better and may violate discharge-temperature-limit regulations.

Figure 4

April-June 2009

a quarterly magazine of the society of energy engineers and managers / India

below 100oC. When the control valve throttles down, steam condenses fast, creating vacuum that prevents condensate from leaving by gravity flow. If a sudden demand for heat occurs, hot steam in contact with cooler condensate can create water hammer. The collected condensate may also cause carbonic acid corrosion in the heat exchanger. The condensate may even freeze under certain conditions. Using a vacuum breaker prevents these problems by letting air into the heat exchanger so that gravity can provide the necessary drainage.

dioxide combines with condensate that has cooled below the saturation temperature of the steam, carbonic acid forms. This extremely corrosive acid eventually eats through heat exchanger cores and piping. Oxygen in the system accelerates this destructive process. Thermostatic air vents should be used to eliminate air from steam in processes that use chamber-type heat exchangers. Air, which is an excellent insulator, is usually present in steam stems during startup. It moves with the
Figure 5

value. In addition, an air/steam mixture reduces steam temperature.

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Thermostatic air vents should be installed at the top of the heat exchanger's steam space and as far from the steam inlet as possible (see the air vent locations in Fig. 4). Typical applications include jacketed kettles, retorts, vulcanizers, jacketed sterilizers, and most batch process equipment.

added profits delivered in steam system efficiency

added profits delivered in steam system efficiency

A large paper plant reduced its boiler makeup water rate from about 35% to between 14% and 20% by higher condensate return and thus saved more than Rs.1,50,00,000 annually due to reduced makeup water quantity

across the trap. Because each 2 ft of lift reduces differential pressure by 1 psi, adequate pressure must be ensured both to elevate the condensate and to maintain adequate trap capacity. When condensate is elevated, a check valve should be placed either in the trap discharge line (Fig. 6) or integral to the trap. The check valve prevents backflow of condensate into the heat exchanger when the control valve closes. Heat exchangers under a modulated steam supply may not have sufficient pressure to lift condensate to overhead returns. A pumping trap should be installed for these applications (Fig. 7). This trap uses a separate steam or air pressure source to provide the motive

the chamber is full, a float opens a valve to admit air or steam, which pushes the condensate into the return pipe. Benchmarking Results On the basis of thousands of energy audits conducted in all types of plants, it has been observed that drip and tracer trap applications are responsible for more energy losses than any other type. Traps used for these applications are not especially failure-prone. Rather, there are so many of these traps, often in remote locations, and they normally handle very small loads. As a result, these traps tend to be ignored. Worse yet, because they are often oversized for the application, they waste a disproportionate amount of steam when they fail. A conscientious energy audit program starts with finding, identifying, and testing all the traps in a steam system. When failed traps are replaced and unused lines are shut down, savings quickly add up. Most steam systems are in a less-than-ideal condition. Following some basic principles of good design and correcting existing problems can increase production, reduce steam use, and lower operating costs. Conducting a full audit of the entire steam system, in addition to traps, also helps identify other areas that can deliver profits that go directly to the bottom line.
(Ms Patricia Provot is the Corporate Engineer of Armstrong International)

One of the more compelling arguments in favor of returning hot condensate is the potential energy cost savings that can be obtained. A simple calculation shows that the energy in the condensate can be more than 11%of the total energy of the steam: Let h1 = enthalpy of hot water at 100oC = 100 kcal / kg h2 = enthalpy of cold water at 30oC = 30 kcal / kg Hv = enthalpy of steam at 10 bar = 663 kcal / kg Savings = (h1 h2) / (Hv h2) = (100 - 30) / (663 - 30) = 11% In one case, a large specialty paper plant reduced its boiler makeup rate from about 35% to between 14% and 20% by returning more condensate. Annual savings added up to more than Rs,1,50,00,000 in reduced makeup water costs. Hot condensate discharging into the lower pressure in the return line produces a significant volume of flash steam. Return lines must be sized to handle this mixture of condensate and steam. If return lines are too small, high backpressure is generated. This condition reduces the differential pressure across all types of traps, reducing their capacity and affecting the operation of thermodynamic traps. Ideally, condensate should flow by gravity from the steam trap to a r e c e i v e r. H o w e v e r, s u c h a n arrangement is not always practical. In some applications, the only space available for return lines is overhead. Condensate must be elevated from the trap to the overhead return line. The power to elevate condensate is provided by the differential pressure

10
a quarterly magazine of the society of energy engineers and managers / India

Figure 6

power to elevate the condensate without the need for electric motors and high-temperature pumps. The pumping trap has a chamber that fills with condensate by gravity flow. When

April-June 2009

Figure 7

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