Boiler feedwater sources

Carbon produced by these latter reactions is formed in the catalyst pores, making it much more difficult to remove, and potentially causing physical breakage. Operating steam to carbon ratios are chosen above the minimum required in order to make carbon formation by these reactions thermodynamically impossible (3). Steam is another potential source of contaminants. Chemicals from the boiler feedwater or the cooling system are poisons to the reformer catalyst, so steam quality must be carefully monitored. 

The outer layers of the onion (the utility system) produce utility waste. The utility waste is products of fuel combustion, waste from the production of boiler feedwater for steam generation, and so on. However, the design of the utility system is closely tied together with the design of the heat exchanger network. Hence, in practice, the three outer layers should be considered as being the source of utility waste. 

For corrosion and safety reasons, the condensate recovered from these sources is best not returned to the deaerator for use as boiler feedwater. However, depending on the contaminant, the condensate may be reused for a number of services. Our favorite reuse of such contaminated condensate is as a replacement for velocity steam in the heater-tube passes of a fired furnace. 

The gas that accumulates inside the surface condenser is called the noncondensable load to the steam jets. Some of the noncondensable load consists of C02 accidentally produced when the boiler feedwater is vaporized into steam. Air leaks through piping flanges and valves are other sources of noncondensable vapors. But the largest source of noncondensable vapors is often air drawn into the turbine case, through the shaft s mechanical seals. To minimize this source of leaks, 2 or 3 psig of steam pressure is ordinarily maintained around the seals. However, as the turbine s shaft seals deteriorate, air in-leakage problems can overwhelm the jet capacity. This will cause a loss of vacuum in the surface condenser. 

Condensate, however, may not always be usable as boiler feedwater, due to the presence of certain process contaminants (see Table 1). When steam is used for heating, to power equipment, and for varied process applications, condensate comes into contact with oil and other impurities. Contamination from fuel-oil heaters or leaking seals in steam-driven equipment, such as pumps, turbines or compressors, is common. Also, the raw water used as plant makeup, may contain significant levels of solvents, uel oils, gasolines and greases. In addition to these general contamination sources, each industry has its unique one. (Table II). If any of these contaminants become entrained in the returned condensate stream, numerous and sometimes unpredictable problems in the boiler and related systems cs.n occur. 

Sources of Wastewater Production. Large quantities of water are required in the palm oil milling operations. It is estimated that about 1 ton of water (including boiler feedwater) is required to process 1 ton of fresh fruit bunches. Obviously, a great... 

Hybrid systems have attracted interest in recent years due to their potential for reducing costs, decreasing environmental impact from discharge streams, and expanding the envelope of source waters that can be treated [52], For example, electrodeionization (EDI) is a hybrid process involving ED and IX. In an EDI system, the space between the IX membranes is packed with IX resins. The addition of the resin improves the conductivity across the cell and allows the production of highly deionized water. EDI systems have attracted interest for boiler feedwater treatment applications [53]. Hybrid systems using combinations of RO and IX have also been piloted and commercialized [54]. 

Coal gasification plants have two principal sources of water effluents which are similar to those in conventional coal-fired power plants. The first source is wastewater from the steam cycle, including blowdowns from the boiler feedwater purification system and the cooling tower. The amount of this wastewater effluent depends on the hardness of the original raw water feed to the plant and the size of the steam cycle. 

There are many different sources of high purity water samples such as boiler feedwater and condensate streams. The pH of these solutions is often measured and controlled to minimize corrosion of boiler hardware. Too low a pH will result in excessive corrosion of iron components, while too high a pH will result in an attack on the copper-containing parts. 

For corrosion and safety reasons, the condensate recovered from these sources is best not returned to the deaerator for use as boiler feedwater. 

Water use and needs in the manufacturing industries can be divided among three major functions cooling process use and use in boiler feedwater for steam production. Table 3.17 shows water intake by industry, source, and kind, for all manufacturing and for selected industrial groups. These are the requirements for intake and consumption and... 

Power Production. Steam cycles for generation of electric power use various types of boilers, steam generators, and nuclear reactors operate at subcritical or supercritical pressures and use makeup and often also condensate water purification systems as well as chemical additives for feedwater and boiler-water treatment. These cycles are designed to maximize cycle efficiency and reliability. The fuel distribution of sources installed in the United States from 1990—1995 are as follow coal, 45% combined cycle, 27% miscellaneous, 14% nuclear, 11% solar, oil, and geothermal, 1% each and natural gas, 0.3%. The 1995 summer peak generation in the United States was 620 GW (26). The combined cycle plants are predominantly fired by natural gas. The miscellaneous sources include bagasse, black liquor from paper mills, landfill gas, and refuse (see Fuels frombiomass Fuels fromwaste). 

HOT WELL - A tank used to receive condensate from various sources on its passage back to the boiler through a feedwater system. 

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