Steam System

Why Steam remains the best

source of Process heat
• A Plentiful raw material
• Non-toxic, requiring no special handling
• Requires no pumping –flows over long distances
naturally
• Simple temperature control, by simple pressure
control
• Considerably cheaper than electricity or thermic fluid.
 Good Steam Engineering means

•Proper sizing, insulation, routing and trapping

• High pressure distribution and reduction at the
point of use.
• Separating condensate and venting air
• Proper process trapping
• Temperature control
• Efficient boiler operation
 How Much Condensate
is Worth Returning ?
• 1 TPH of condensate at 3 bar will save Rs. 10 Lakhs
in the fuel bill each year
• And reduce the derating of a 2 tph boiler from
15% to 5% (so you get a 200 kg boiler for free-
increase in capacity by 200 kg/hr)
• And Rs. 30,000 in ones water-treatment cost (Or Rs.
70,000 in water – treatment cost for DM water)
• And reduce heat-pollution
• And save Water (about 600 tankers each year!)
Metering for Energy-
Conservation
• What is not metered,
can not be monitored!
 The Big Things Matter - 1
• A good boiler will
- raise dry steam
- have an efficiency > 82% in normal operation
- be easy to maintain – just brushing soot out of tubes
can
increase boiler output by 10% for the same fuel-input
- Operate efficiently without manual supervision
- be correctly sized for capacity (a new 2 tph boiler will
pay for itself in a year if one is using a 4 tph “for future
expansion”) and operated at rated pressure.
 The Big Things Matter - 2

• Thermo compressors give you steam for free

• Boiler Efficiency Analyzers automates high
efficiency
• Bespoke Instrumentation System can
automate utility efficiency while improving
Process control
 The Big Things Matter -3
• Metering where every last 250 kg of steam goes
• Condensate return and flash steam recovery
have typical paybacks under 3 months
• Trap selection, sizing, and performance
monitoring directly boosts machinery output,
reduces maintenance and downtime, and even
pays for itself in six months
• Generating and distributing steam at max pressure
and reducing it at the point of use
 The “Little” things mean big savings
• A few Air Vents dramatically reduces cycle time
by shortening start-up time in batch processes
• A Separator directly increases machine output
by removing condensate and so boosting heat
transfer
• A balanced –pressure trap on tracing lines
“harvests” some sensible heat too
• A sight glass helps one set the SLR on a trap –
and directly increases drying machine speed.
 The “Little” things mean big
savings - 2
• A weekly brushing of boiler tubes can save 2% of
ones fuel bill
• Daily monitoring of boiler efficiency and water
quality helps diagnose problems
• A Dearator-Head reduces dissolved oxygen and so
reduces corrosion (=leaks!) of pipes and fittings
• Automatic Blow-down Control costs<Rs 1 L pays
for itself in months, and improves steam quality
• Fix leaks and insulation before you give business to
anybody
 So Where Does One Start?
• Priority 1 is Housekeeping
- Leaks
-Insulation
-Air Vents
-Main-line traps
-Separators to improve steam quality
• Priority 2 is Trap Selection
- FTs as Process Traps – the payback is days
 Priorities In Energy Conservation
• Third is Diagnosis: Metering where every
250 kg of steam goes.
• Fourth is Condensate Return and
Condensate and Flash Steam recovery.
• Fifth is Pressure and Temperature
Control.
Are there opportunities?
 Priorities in Energy Conservation
• And last is capital Investment
- New Boilers and Burners
- The Cogen option
- Automated plant control systems
 Steam Generation Factors
Steam Should be available at the point of
usage complying with the factors shown
below:
• In the correct quantity.
• At the correct pressure and temperature
and free from air and incondensable
gases.
• At the desired time.
• It should be DRY and CLEAN
 Generate & Distribute at High Pressures

This will have the following advantages:

1. Smaller bore steam mains needed and
therefore less radiation loss due to the
smaller surface area.
2. Lower capital cost of steam mains, both
materials such as pipes, flanges and support
work and labour.
3. Lower capital cost of insulation (lagging).
 Generate & Distribute at High Pressures

4. Dryer steam at the point of usage because of the

drying effect of pressure reduction taking place.
5. At higher pressures, the specific volume of steam
is less and hence the boiler requires lesser steam
space and a smaller shell diameter.
6. Because of higher steam space availability at
higher pressures, the quality of steam improves.
 Steam Should Be Dry
The Presence of water in steam reduces the
heat energy per unit mass of the steam
The droplets of water entrained with steam
add to the resistant film of water upon the heat
exchange surface and slow down the rate of
heat transfer.
 Actual Enthalpy of Wet Steam
 Dryness fraction is the proportion of dry steam within a given
sample .
 The actual enthlpy of evaporation of wet steam is the product
of the dryness fraction (X) and the specific enthlpy (hfg) from
the steam tables. This is short means the lower the dryness
fraction more amount of steam would be needed for the
providing the same heat input.

Enthalpy of Dryness Actual

Evaporation fraction enthalpy
X =
 What is Steam ? ENTHALPY IN kJ/kg

Gauge Temp. C Water Enthalpy Steam Volume

Pressure (hf) of (hg) dry sat
Bar Evapltion (m3 /kg)
(hfg)

0 100 419 2257 2676 1.673

1 120 506 2201 2707 0.881
2 134 562 2163 2725 0.603
3 144 605 2133 2738 0.461
4 152 671 2108 2749 0.374
5 159 641 2086 2757 0.315
6 165 697 2066 2763 0.272
7 170 721 2048 2769 0.24
 Why Dry Saturated Stem
100%Dry 90%Dry
Saturated

a. Process Heat Required 5,00,000 5,00,000

(kcal/hr)
b. Latent Heat of Steam 509.7 458.7
@4 kg/cm2 absolute
c. Steam required kg/hr 981 1090
(a)/(b)
d. Cost of steam @Rs.500/T Rs.490.5 Rs.545

e. Annual Costs 24 hours/day Rs.35.3 L Rs.39.3L

300 days
 FEATURES
1. BOILER
 ADEQUACY OF HEATING SURFACE
 DISTRIBUTION OF HEATING SURFACE
 FURNACE DESIGN
 WATER HOLDING CAPACITY & STEAM SPACE

2. COMBUSTION EQUIPMENT

 TYPES
 EXCESS AIR
 FUEL PREPARATION
 CONTROL / AUTOMATION

3. BOILER LOADING
4. MAINTENANCE
5. INSULATION
6. FEED WATER QUALITY
7. WASTE HEAT RECOVERY EQUIPMENT
 MONITORING THE EFFICIENCY
• INSTRUMENTATION
 STEAM FLOW METER
 FUEL FLOW METER
 STEAM PRESSURE/TEMP GAUGE
 ON-LINE OXYGEN ANALYZER
 FUEL GAS TEMPERATURE GAUGE
 FEED WATER TEMPERATURE GAUGE
 Why Meter Utilities
• Know your plant losses / leakages
• Audit Energy/ Utilities
• Reconcile generation with consumption and
losses.
• Graduate from Breakdown maintenance to
preventive maintenance.
• Avoid periodical overhauls of
Expensive equipment when not necessary.
UTILITIES NOT FREE
 Why Meter Utilities
• Know your product cost more accurately
• Get back to OEM Suppliers on warranty
matters before it is too late
• Enhance product quality and process control.

UTILITIES NOT FREE

 What Is Performance
• Adequate air capacity and quality
• Availability
• Low running costs
• Low maintenance costs
• Less risk for breakdown and emergency calls
• Pre-estimated and budgeted maintenance costs
• Low investment in spares stock
UTILITIES NOT FREE
 Steam Trap Selection…
• A continuous discharge Float Trap in place
of an intermittent discharge TD – upto 4 x
process efficiency –payback in days
• A thermostatic trap in place of a TD or FT
on tracing lines – payback in six months
• A TD in place of an IB on a main- line-
payback from saving radiation losses alone
in 12 months
 Typical Trap Selection
• Thermodynamic Traps
• Headers
• Platten Presses
• Separators
• Float Traps
• All Process equipment
• Inverted Bucket Traps
• Where risk of water hammering exits
• Balanced Pressure Traps
• Tracing lines and tracing jackets
 Trap Sizing
• Calculate the condensate load to be handled
• Allow for a safety factor
• Based on the upstream and back pressure.
• Ensure proper trap installation.
 Trap Installation
• Stop Valves
• Strainer (If not built into the trap)
• Spiratec Chamber
• Non Return Valve
• Diffuser
 Thermodynamic Traps
• Unaffected by temperature and pressure
fluctuations.
• No adjustment needed, simple and robust
• Only one moving part.
• Can withstand water hammer, vibration etc.
• Not damaged by freezing.
• Compact and lightweight.
 Thermodynamic Traps

• Large condensate handling capacity for their size.

• On line maintenance of trap possible.
• Disc prevents return flow of condensate –no NRV
• Do not work well with low inlet or high discharge
pressure
• Rapid pressure build up at startup can cause trap
shut out
• Noisy operation
 Ball Float Steam Traps
Continuous discharge of condensate at steam
temperature.
Ideal for applications with large condensate
loads demanding immediate removal.
Able to handle light as well as heavy
condensate loads with equal ease.
Not adversely affected by wide and sudden
fluctuations in pressure.
 Ball Float Steam Traps
When fitted with an Automatic Air Vent, the
trap is able to discharge air freely.
Ideally suited for applications where steam
locking occurs (with SLR)
 Susceptible to damage by water hammer
Not suitable for use with superheated steam
Orifice size a function of discharge pressure
Can be damaged by freezing.
 Inverted Bucket Steam Traps
• Can withstand high pressures.
• Can be used with superheated steam if a
check valve is fitted at the inlet
• High tolerance to water hammer
• Simple design, little that can go wrong
• Small discharge hole on top of bucket means
that air discharge is slow
 Inverted Bucket Steam Traps
• Loss of water seal possible in cases where
there is an abrupt drop in steam pressure:
causes steam wastage
• Extra temperature associated with
superheated steam is more likely to cause
loss of the water seal
• Likely to get damaged due to freezing if
installed in an exposed position
• NRV a must upstream of trap in case pressure
fluctuations are present
 Thermostatic Steam Traps
• Small, light and have a large capacity for
their small size.
• Valve is fully open on start up allowing air
to be discharged freely and giving
maximum condensate removal when
load is greatest
• Unlikely to freeze when working in an
exposed position
• Automatically adjusts itself to variations
of steam pressure up to the maximum
pressure for which it is suitable
 Thermostatic Steam Traps
• Trap maintenance is easy and can be
performed online.
• Element susceptible to damage by water
hammer and corrosive condensate.
• Not suitable for use with superheated
steam.
• Not suitable for applications where no
water logging is desired.
 Steam Trap Monitoring

• What is the cost of a leaking Steam Trap?

• An automatic on –line trap monitoring
system for 50 critical traps will cost say 8 L
• One 1” trap failed open will waste that
much in eight months (12 L per year)
 Steam Engineering and Energy
Conservation
Energy Conservation in Steam Systems.

•The cost of steam

- Rs 400 to Rs 600 per tonne (SL Rs x1.5)
- Anything from 5% to 50% of total discretionary
production cost.
 Metering for Energy-
Conservation
• How much steam is worth metering?
- 1 tph of steam @7000 hrs per year will cost
Rs. 35 Lakhs
• Does usage demand high turndown?
• Density compensation is critical
- An uncompensated meter sized for 10.5 bar,
operating at 7 bar will have an error > 15%
 Energy Conservation in a
Paper Mill
• The mill makes a loss of Rs 4 Cr each year
• Operates at 55% of rated capacity
• The problem is scaling and poor condensate
removal from the drying cylinders
• An automatic dryer package (and other smaller
improvements) could save 30% of steam
consumed and almost double output
• A thermo-compressor can pay its way in days
 Thermo compressors pay back quick
• A 50 tpd paper machine
- A 12 L investment with documented savings of
25 L per year
- a Saving of 0.4kg (18% minimum) per kg of
paper
• Turbine exhaust from a sugar mill to a distillery
- A 20 L investment with savings of 64 L
- Takes care of the total steam need of the
distillery