Water Treatment Recommendation Perspectives

Although the tables reproduced here from the ASME Consensus, BS 2486 and McCoy BW are important, the respective texts and footnotes that accompany each of these guidelines are at least as important as the 

In general, the tables simply provide recommendations for the operational control of FW and BW chemistry and are not designed to be a set of inflexible rules. Consequently, if experience confirms that alternative program control limits will lead to safer, easier, and more reliable operation of the boiler plant, then experience should be the deciding factor. 

The ASME Consensus was first published in 1979 and has been a standard reference ever since for boiler water treatment practice in the United States and its sphere of influence. The ASME Consensus 1994 update reflected the need to cover technical advances in boiler design and water conditioning, and also new and different types of steam generator, steam purity issues, and similar matters. 

The ASME Consensus was prepared by a subgroup of the Research and Technology Committee on Steam and Water in Thermal Power Stations, and this background is evident in the perspective of the guidelines. These tables primarily cover industrial and marine boilers, with five of the six tables assuming that a deaerator is in service (which is unlikely to be the case in most small industrial and commercial facilities). Certain types of boiler are not covered these are  

In some areas, a consensus could not be reached and some details are excluded nevertheless, for larger boiler plants the ASME Consensus is an invaluable guide. 

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