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DESUPERHEATERS
& ATTEMPORATORS
CONVENTIONAL - SPILLBACK - STEAM ATOMISING
INTRODUCTION
Mitech Desuperheaters have been designed with the aim of reducing plant maintenance by manufacturing a unit that
is easy to install, lightweight, and has no moving parts. All units are designed and manufactured in the Kya Sand
factory in accordance with ISO 9001 and PED quality approval systems.
Both desuperheating and attemporating are processes where water is added to superheated steam to control the
temperature at a set value.
DEFINITIONS
Desuperheaters:
Attemporators:
Desuperheater Turndown:
The ratio of the maximum to minimum amount of water required to be added to the
system in order to achieve the required set point temperature over the entire range
of operating conditions.
PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
To reduce the temperature of steam in a pipe, water must be injected into the steam flow. To achieve good control,
the water must be atomised to form a fine spray that can be easily absorbed by the steam.
The result is an increased flow of steam at a lower temperature. Thus, by varying the amount of water added, the
temperature of the steam can be controlled.
For this closed heat system, the total heat energy remains constant, and so the enthalpy of the steam flow
downstream must equal the sum of the enthalpy of the upstream steam and the spraywater being added.
Thus:Qw = Qs * (h1-h3)
(h3-h2)
Where:Qw
Qs
h1
h2
h3
=
=
=
=
=
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS
Pressure reducing and desuperheating stations
Turbine inter-stage temperature cooling
Desuperheaters are used in many industries, including petrochemical, pulp and paper, power generation, sugar, food and
beverage. Essentially, the units can be used in any plant application where superheated steam is present and where
cooling of steam is required.
MATERIALS OF CONSTUCTION
Body
Flanges
Nozzles
CONVENTIONAL DESUPERHEATERS
Where an application has small variations in steam flow, the ideal unit to use is a fixed nozzle desuperheater. This
system works by feeding spraywater (normally feedwater) to a nozzle through a control valve.
FEATURES
BENEFITS
Lightweight
Reduced maintenance
Robust design
Long lasting
Turndown of up to 3:1
SPILLBACK DESUPERHEATERS
Spillback Desuperheaters ensure that the full spraywater pressure is available at the nozzles at all times. This
is done by feeding the water directly to the nozzle and installing a Spraywater Control Valve on the outlet of
the unit to control the return of the water not required by the process away from the nozzles. As the valve
closes, more water is directed into the steam. This is the reverse logic of conventional systems.
FEATURES
Turndown of 10:1
Note:
*
FEATURES
Compact in design
BENEFITS
Lightweight
These units are best used in conjunction with a pressure reducing station,
thus ensuring that high pressure steam is available at all times.
INSTALLATION RECOMMENDATIONS
All Mitech Desuperheaters are designed to fit in a branch of the main steam line and thus installation of each unit is
similar. The units can be mounted into a main steam line of 100mm and larger. The unit should be installed into a
T-piece, which is welded into the steam line. A recommended minimum distance of 5 pipe diameters straight pipe,
upstream of the unit (to prevent excessive turbulent flow), and approximately 10 pipe diameters downstream - with a
minimum of 2 meters - to ensure full absorption of the water being added.
The orientation of the unit must be such, that the nozzles point downstream, in the same direction as the steam flow. The
unit can be installed in a vertical or horizontal pipe, with the best installation being in a vertical installation with the flow
upwards.
The temperature probe should be installed about 20 pipe diameters downstream of the unit - this depends on the type of
desuperheater unit used (see table below). The probe should be installed on the inside of the bend or on the top of the
pipe.
Minimum installation distance required for desuperheater and temperature probes:
Pressure Reducing Valve and Desuperheater
Conventional
Spillback
Steam Atomising
N/A
6 pipe diameters
6 pipe diameters
Advantages
Conventional*
Venturi
Valve
Combination
Spillback*
Steam
Atomising*
Multi-Nozzle
Variable
Orifice
Compact
Ease of
installation
No moving parts
Long lasting
Simple
Long Lasting
No moving parts
Compact
Lightweight
No moving parts
No pressure drop
across unit
Good turndown
Good control
Compact
Ease of installation
No moving parts
Good turndown
Compact
installation
Shortest
evaporation
length
Needs high
pressure water
(20 bar and
above)
Only used for
extremely low
turndown
Needs high
pressure steam for
flow turbulance
Larger valve is
required
Expensive
Needs high
pressure water
(20 bar and above)
Can be a waste
of high pressure
water
Additional valve
required for HP
steam injection
Needs high
pressure water
(20 bar and above)
Moving parts
within the unit
Expensive
Poor temperature
control at low
flow conditions
Thermal cracking
of pipeline
Thermal cracking
of the valve body
Return water
May be noisy
Maintenance of
moving parts
Desuperheating
occurs in body no thermal
liners required
Can only be
installed in
vertical line
Moving parts
in the steam
flow
Disadvantages
Possible
problems
At low flow
requirement, bad
atomisation of
water
Best
applications
Low turndown
applications
Large units
with high
turndown
requirements
Where low
spray water
pressure is
available
Turndown
3: 1
7: 1
10: 1
10: 1
30: 1
100: 1
100: 1
Valve subject
to thermal
shock
Body cracking
MITECH
P O Box 580
Northriding
2162
South Africa
Branches:
Natal:
Secunda:
West Rand:
E-mail: mitechn@mitech.co.za
E-mail: mitechsec@mweb.co.za
E-mail: mitechwr@lantic.net