Feed water

The Stamicarbon wastewater system consisting of two desorbers, hydrolyzer, hydrolyzer heater, reflux condenser, desorber heat exchanger, and a wastewater cooler is very efficient. Also, in many plants, as the water contains less than 1 ppm of NH and of urea, it can be used as cooling water make-up, or boiler-feed water. 

All process Hcensors also feature wastewater treatment systems. Stamicarbon guarantees the lowest NH —urea content and has plants in operation confirming the low NH —urea (1 ppm NH —1 ppm urea). This water is very satisfactory to use as boiler feed water. See Figures 16 and 17 for this system. 

Fig. 1. Process flow diagram of the commercial propylene ammoxidation process for acrylonitrile. BFW, boiler feed water.

Humidification. For wiater operation, or for special process requirements, humidification maybe required (see Simultaneous HEAT and mass transfer). Humidification can be effected by an air washer which employs direct water sprays (see Evaporation). Regulation is maintained by cycling the water sprays or by temperature control of the air or water. Where a large humidification capacity is required, an ejector which direcdy mixes air and water in a no22le may be employed. Steam may be used to power the no22le. Live low pressure steam can also be released directly into the air stream. Capillary-type humidifiers employ wetted porous media to provide extended air and water contact. Pan-type humidifiers are employed where the required capacity is small. A water filled pan is located on one side of the air duct. The water is heated electrically or by steam. The use of steam, however, necessitates additional boiler feed water treatment and may add odors to the air stream. Direct use of steam for humidification also requires careful attention to indoor air quahty. 

This reaction is first conducted on a chromium-promoted iron oxide catalyst in the high temperature shift (HTS) reactor at about 370°C at the inlet. This catalyst is usually in the form of 6 x 6-mm or 9.5 x 9.5-mm tablets, SV about 4000 h . Converted gases are cooled outside of the HTS by producing steam or heating boiler feed water and are sent to the low temperature shift (LTS) converter at about 200—215°C to complete the water gas shift reaction. The LTS catalyst is a copper—zinc oxide catalyst supported on alumina. CO content of the effluent gas is usually 0.1—0.25% on a dry gas basis and has a 14°C approach to equihbrium, ie, an equihbrium temperature 14°C higher than actual, and SV about 4000 h . Operating at as low a temperature as possible is advantageous because of the more favorable equihbrium constants. The product gas from this section contains about 77% H2, 18% CO2, 0.30% CO, and 4.7% CH. ... 

Fig. 2. Hydrogen production flow sheet showing steam reforming, shift, and pressure swing adsorption (PSA). BFW = boiling feed water.

The gas leaving the heat recovery equipment contains soot and ash some ash is deposited in the bottom of the reactor for removal during periodic inspection shutdowns. The gas passes to a quench vessel containing multiple water-sprays which scmb most of the soot from the gas. Additional heat recovery can be accompHshed downstream of the quench vessel by heat exchange of the gas with cold feed water. Product gas contains less than 5 ppm soot. 

Operating parameters of this German plant, on the basis of one cubic meter of raw gas, iaclude 0.139 m O2, 0.9 kg briquettes, 1.15 kg steam, 1.10 kg feed water, 0.016 kWh, and 1.30 kg gas Hquor produced. Gasifier output is 1850 m /h and gas yield is 1465 m /t dry, ash-free coal. The coal briquettes have a 19% moisture content, 7.8% ash content (dry basis), and ash melting poiat of 1270°C. Thermal efficiency of the gas production process is about 60%, limited by the quaHty and ash melting characteristics of the coal. Overall efficiency from raw coal to finished products is less than 50%. 

Fig. 2. Schematic flow diagram of the ALMA fluidized-bed process (121). BFW BFW = boiler feed water.

Eig. 1. Monopressure process using catalytic NO abatement, where BEW = boiler feed water, CH = high level compression, CM = medium level compression, CW = cooling water, and D = makeup driver, EX = expander, and E = filter. 

Phosphonic acid is an intermediate in the production of alkylphosphonates that are used as herbicides and as water treatment chemicals for sequestration, scale inhibition, deflocculation, and ion-control agents in oil weUs, cooling tower waters, and boiler feed waters. For example, aqueous phosphonic acid reacts with formaldehyde and ammonium chloride in the presence of hydrochloric acid to yield aminotri(methylenephosphonic acid) [6419-19-8]. 

Organophosphoms compounds, primarily phosphonic acids, are used as sequestrants, scale inhibitors, deflocculants, or ion-control agents in oil wells, cooling-tower waters, and boiler-feed waters. Organophosphates are also used as plasticizers and flame retardants in plastics and elastomers, which accounted for 22% of PCl consumed. Phosphites, in conjunction with Hquid mixed metals, such as calcium—zinc and barium—cadmium heat stabilizers, function as antioxidants and stabilizer adjutants. In 1992, such phosphoms-based chemicals amounted to slightly more than 6% of all such plastic additives and represented 8500 t of phosphoms. Because PVC production is expected to increase, the use of phosphoms additive should increase 3% aimually through 1999. 

Fig. 11. Ocelot plant flow diagram. MEA, monoethano1 amine BFW, boiler feed water.

Measurable Process Parameters. The RO process is relatively simple ia design. It consists of a feed water source, feed pretreatment, high pressure pump, RO membrane modules, and ia some cases, post-treatment steps. A schematic of the RO process is shown ia Figure 2a. 

The apparent bypass can be estimated by assuming it is approximately equal to the water spHt, ie, the percentage of water in the feed that reports to the underflow. The water spHt has been found to foUow a straight-line relationship with the inverse of the feed water rate for cyclones having diameters greater than 7.5 cm and standard geometries. However, for cyclones of smaller diameters, the apparent bypass appears to be much greater than the water spht, and is typically proportional to the square root of the water spHt. 

Demineralization. Softening alone is insufficient for most high-pressure boiler feed waters and for many process streams, especially those used in the manufacture of electronics equipment. In addition to the removal of hardness, these processes require removal of all dissolved soHds, such as sodium, sihca, alkalinity, and the mineral anions (Cl , and NO ). 

Boiler Deposits. Deposition is a principal problem in the operation of steam generating equipment. The accumulation of material on boiler surfaces can cause overheating and/or corrosion. Both of these conditions frequentiy result in unscheduled downtime. Common feed-water contaminants that can form boiler deposits include calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, aluminum, siUca, and (to a lesser extent) silt and oil. Most deposits can be classified as one of two types scale that crystallized directiy onto tube surfaces or sludge deposits that precipitated elsewhere and were transported to the metal surface by the flowing water. 

Boiler feed water pretreatment systems have advanced to such an extent that it is now possible to provide boilers with ultrapure water. However, this degree of purification requires the use of elaborate pretreatment systems. The capital expenditures for such pretreatment equipment trains can be considerable and are often not justified when balanced against the capabiUty of internal treatment. 

The quahty of feed water required depends on boiler operating pressure, design, heat transfer rates, and steam use. Most boiler systems have sodium zeohte softened or demineralized makeup water. Feed-water hardness usually ranges from 0.01 to 2.0 ppm, but even water of this purity does not provide deposit-free operation. Therefore, good internal boiler water treatment programs are necessary. 

Oxygen Control. To meet industrial standards for both oxygen content and the allowable metal oxide levels in feed water, nearly complete oxygen removal is required. This can be accompHshed only by efficient mechanical deaeration supplemented by an effective and properly controlled chemical oxygen scavenger. 

A chelant—polymer program can produce clean waterside surfaces, contributing to much more rehable boiler operation. Out-of-service boiler cleaning schedules can be extended and, in some cases, eliminated. This depends on operational control and feed-water quaUty. Chelants with high complexing stabiUties are "forgiving" treatments they can remove deposits that form when feed-water quaUty or treatment control periodically deviates from standard. 

Polymer-only Treatment. Polymer-only treatment programs are also used with a degree of success. In this treatment, the polymer is usually used as a weak chelant to complex the feed-water hardness. These treatments are most successful when feed-water hardness is consistently low. 

High Pressure Boiler Water Treatment. High pressure boilers usually have feed water composed of demineralized makeup water and a high percentage of condensate returns. Because of these conditions, high pressure boilers are prone to caustic and acid attack. Low pressure boilers that use dernineralized water and condensate as feed water are also susceptible to caustic and acid attack. 

Boiler feed-water systems that use dernineralized or evaporated makeup or pure condensate may be protected from caustic attack through coordinated phosphate and pH control. Phosphate buffers the boiler water, reducing the chance of large pH changes due to the development of high caustic or acid concentrations. Excess caustic combines with disodium phosphate and forms trisodium phosphate. Sufficient disodium phosphate must be available to combine with all of the free caustic in order to form trisodium phosphate. 

Overall comparison between amine and carbonate at elevated pressures shows that the amine usually removes carbon dioxide to a lower concentration at a lower capital cost but requires more maintenance and heat. The impact of the higher heat requirement depends on the individual situation. In many appHcations, heat used for regeneration is from low temperature process gas, suitable only for boiler feed water heating or low pressure steam generation, and it may not be usefiil in the overall plant heat balance. 

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