Steam Condenser

By
Jagdish Talpada

Introduction
What is steam condenser ?
Closed vessel into which the steam is condensed

Why condenser required in power plant ?

To improve the performance of plant

How plant performance is improve?

Decrease exit pressure of turbine, so more work
produced.
reuse high temperature feed water in boiler, so
less water consume and less heat required in
boiler.

Elements of Steam condensing

Plants

Condenser
Condensate pump / boiler feed pump
Air extraction pump / vaccum pump
Cooling tower
Cooling water circulation pump

Types of Steam Condenser

Jet
Surface
Condense
Condenser
Low level rHigh level Ejector
Down flow
(Barometri Conden
Jet
Surface
Condenserc ) Jet
ser
Condenser
condenser
Central flow
Parallel
Low level
Surface
Jet
Condenser
condenser
Evaporati
Counter
Low level
ve
Jet
condense
Condens
er
r

Low Level Counter Flow Jet

Condensers

High level or barometric Jet

Condenser

Ejector Condenser

Surface Condenser

Down flow surface

condenser

Central flow surface

condenser

Evaporative condenser

Comparison of jet and surface

condenser
JET CONDENSER

SURFACE CONDENSER

First cost low high

Space small large
Pump Capacity large small
Use in small plantlarge plant
Attention more less
Feed water for boiler No yes
Construction easy complicate

Sources of Air leakages in

condensers
Main sources of leakages
At the joints of the parts which are internally under
a pressure less than that of atmosphere.
With the steam from the boiler : air dissolved in feed
water.
Effects of air leakage
damage vaccum of condenser - Reduce useful work
done
Lower partial pressure of steam lower saturation
temperature of steam evaporation enthalpy of
steam increases more cooling water required in
condenser

Daltons law of Partial

pressures
In a mixture of perfect gases which
do not react chemically with one
another, total pressure exerted by
the mixture is the sum of partial
pressures which each gas would
exert if it separately occupied the
whole volume, and was at the same
temperature as the mixture.

 Also Pa * Va = ma * Ra * Ta

For condenser
Total pr. In condenser = steam pr + air pr + carbon dioxide pr.
Pc = Ps + Pa

Vaccum efficiency
vaccum

vaccum

vaccum

Actual vaccum at the steam inlet to condenser

Maximum vaccum (or ideal vaccum)

Actual vaccum at the steam inlet to condenser

[Barometric pr.] - [abs. pr. corresponding to the temp. of condensate]

[Barometric pr.] - [Abs. pr. in the condenser]

[Barometric pr.] - [Abs. pr. corresponding to the temp. of condensate]

Condenser efficiency

condenser

Rise in temperature of cooling water

[sat. temp. corresponding to the abs. pr. in the condenser] - [Inlet temp. of cooling water]