Powertech 03 2016

VGB PowerTech 3 2016
Boiler tube leaks
ndications of power boiler

tube leaks and factors affecting
decision making for taking
eaking boilers out of operation
Behzad Boroumandi
Kurzfassung
Introduction
Indikatoren fur Kesselrohrversagen und

Faktoren zur Entscheidungsfindung fr die
AuBerbetrebnahme geschdigter Kessel
In spite of remarkable progress in boiler de

sign and manufacturing and also the development of new techniques, such as acoustic
leak detection [1], chemical mass balance
[2], input/loss method [3] and the like for
early detection of tube leaks as per NERC
tube failure is still one of the main causes
of outages or de-rating of power generating units [4]. Main causes of boiler tube
failure have been specified by EPRI [5].
Considering factors such as design, manu
facturing, operation, maintenance and especially the age of boilers, sooner or later
boilers are faced with leaks, the causes of
which are amongst those specified in [5].
Although boiler manufacturers make instructions regarding types of actions to be
taken in case of tube failure, many power
plant authorities do not strictly follow
manufacturer recommendations - mainly
for economic reasons. For example if tube
leakage occurs during a period of peak demand, they make a technical/economical
evaluation and mostly postpone boiler shut
downs to generate electricity at the expense
of wasting makeup water and even prolong
repair work because of secondary damage.
In fact, the interruption of boiler operation
and specifically an immediate shut down,
has always been a controversial issue. Results of a survey in this respect have been
presented in [6]. This paper presents de
tection of tube leakage at different heating
sections of a boiler by observing operating
parameters and certain recommendations
have been made regarding nature of actions
which can be taken. Needless to say that the
matter of shutting down boilers is a sensitive issue. Power plant operators can make
the proper decision by close observation of
parameters and past experiences of boilers.
Trotz wesentiicher Fortschritte bei Konstruktion, Herstellung, Prufung und Wartung sind
Leckagen bei Kesselrohren weiterhin eine wichtige Ursache fiir Ausflle. Eine fruhzeitige Erkennungvon Schdigungen sowie deren Bewertung hinsichtlichWeiterbetrieb, Reparatur oder
Aufierbetriebnahme ist daher wichtig. Hierzu
stehen verschiedene Verfahren der Schadenserkennung zur Verfiigung. Vorgestellt werden
Betriebserfahrungen zu Rohrschdigungen und
die Entscheidungswege fur Empfehlungen zum
weiteren Umgang mit diesen.
Discussions
Author
Behzad Boroumandi
Managing Director
KISH KARYARAN CO.
Sodough, I.R. Iran
56
Boiler tube leakage has always been troublesome and extensive efforts have been
made to minimise tube leaks. It is not the
intention of this paper to discuss methods
for reduction of leaks in power boilers. The
goal is to share experiences gained from
32 years operation of 4 x 1,470 tonnes/hour
gas/oil-fired subcritical once-through
boiler with respect to lealcages observed

in different heating sections. A schematic
view of a boiler, on which the location of
the most frequently observed leakages is
shown, is provided in F i g u r e 1. It is to be
noted that no techniques - such as acous
tic leak detection system or leak detection
by radiation or other methods - have been
employed for the above mentioned boilers.
Detection of leakages was made solely by
observing changes in operating parameters
and other evidence such as noise, visible
steam leaks externai to boilers and so on.
Worth mentioning is that it is not the intention of this paper to investigate causes
of the observed leakages, therefore results of laboratory examinations of failed
tubes have not been presented. However,
comments made on the photos regarding
causes of failure are based on results of
examinations made by either boiler manu
facturers or third-party laboratories. Main
factors which should be taken into consideration for decision making in case of tube
leaks are as follows.
#4
RH2
SH3
RH1B
ECOl
xjSpiral tube|
Design features of boiler

Benson type once-through boiler water wall:
spirally wound tube
No of burners:
14 natural gas/heavy fuel oil burner
Final steam, pressure and temperature:
181 bar/535 C
Re-heated steam, pressure and temperature
50 bar/535 C
Fig. 1. Sketch of boiler showing location of

leaks on different heating sections.
Boiler tube leaks
0 I
^ 1
1 n
"
*r*
Fig. 2. Economiser tube hole caused by
rubbing with supporting tube.
Safety of staff and boiler

Where the safety of the staff or a boiler is
endangered, the boiler should be immediately put out of operation. Two aspects of
such cases are given below.
Leak externai to the boiler
In such cases there is the possibility of personnel being harmed by high temperature
and pressure water/steam. Also annoying noise emitted (that may easily exceed
110 dB) can seriously harm hearing. Needless to say that if an externai leak occurs at
a remote location (operators do not check
such areas regularly) boiler stop can be
postponed for hours and sometimes for
days provided that the leak area is protected and proper warning signs are put
in place.
Possibility of extinguishing flame
In numerous reports mentions have been

made of extinguishing flames in the event
of a huge leak and subsequent explosion of
a boiler after re ignition as a result of an accumulation of unburned fuel. This is more
probable for boilers having fewer burners.
In such conditions the boiler should immediately be shut down. In certain cases, such
as those involving a recovery boiler in the
pulp and paper industry, a minor leak over
a short period of time can cause an explo
sion where water comes into contact with
SODIUM laden smelt, therefore in such
cases a boiler should be taken out of opera
tion immediately.
Fig. 4. Primary reheater tube (RHIA) corroded

during standstill.
Case 1: Economiser tube leak
Fig. 3. Economiser tube suffered from

impingement attack and ruptured.
Economic impacts of immediate

boiler shut downs
It goes without saying that power companies should sell electricity to cover expenses and earn revenue. It is therefore
very important to produce power in high
demand hours and days for which the elec
tricity price is higher. In addition, in case
of a power shortage and non availability of
a reserve generating unit, any unplanned
outage may cause great inconvenience for
customers. As mentioned previously, plant
operators are reluctant to stop a leaking
unit and unless an outage is vital, they try
to evaluate the situation as much as possible to postpone the boiler shut down until
the period of high demand ends. This is evident from results of the survey mentioned
earlier and presented in reference [6].
Several cases of tube leaks in different sections of the aforesaid boilers along with
graphs of some relevant parameters are
shown below.
Leakage from economiser tubes is relatively easier to detect for the following reasons:
1. Increase in-feed water flow rate and
malceup water consumption.
2. Water pours down from the bottom of
the boiler.
3.Trail of condensate visible at the chimney exit.
If left unattended, adjacent tubes will soon
be damaged as a result of water jet escap
ing from a leaking tube and eventually the
levei of makeup water will be so high that
further operation of the boiler will be impossible, so to minimise secondary dam
age it is advisable to shut down the boiler.
Sample photos of leaking economiser tube
and tubes suffering from water jet impinge
ment and stress ruptures are shown in F i g ure 2 andFigure 3.
Case 2: Primary reheater tube leak
Primary reheater tube materiais are usually of low alloy steel such as ST35-8 and
15Mo3. These materiais have low resistance against corrosion and if boilers are
left without proper preservation for extended periods of time a corrosion pit can
form which eventually leads to leakage.
A sample of such a case is shown in F i g ure 4. This type of leakage is hard to
Average hourly make up water consumption
Technical impacts of
continued operation of
boiler with leaking tube
In this regard secondary damage to other
tubes caused by escaping fluid from leak
ing tubes and also adverse effects of disturbance in water/steam circulation should
be evaluated. It is to be mentioned that
the detection of the latter case needs adequate instrumentation that older boilers
especially lack. At the continuation of this
paper secondary damage will be discussed
in more detail.
VC5E3IPOWERTECH
Day
Fig. 5. Moke-up water consumption increase for the case of one reheater tube rupture.
57
Boiler tube leaks
VGB PowerTech3 12016
Fig. 6. Final reheater (RH2j tube damaged from one end.
detect. The author has personally experienced cases of boilers with several leaking
reheater tubes have been in operation for
extended periods of time, such as months,
without problems. Of course, slight increases of makeup water consumption
were experienced but no remarkable con
sequential damage such as erosion of adjacent tubes due to escaping steam was
experienced. One reason for this was the
fact that no abrasive material existed in
flue gas (unlike coal-fired boilers) to be
entrained in steam jet to aggravate ero
sion. No remarkable increase in corrosion
of downstream tube due to increased humidity and so on was experienced. It is
worth mentioning that during reheater
leaktests in a planned outage, the majority
of the leakage points could be found with
low pressure air and temporarily repaired.
Needless to say that if corrosion holes develop outside the boiler (i.e. Between the
header and penetration holes of the boiler
wall), then leaks can be detected by condensate running down the casing.
Fig. 7. Ruptured final super heater (SH4) tube.
Case 3: Final reheater tube rupture
Although final reheater tubes material is

composed of stainless steel, they are not
immune to high temperature corrosion
caused by combustion products in coal and
oil-fired boilers therefore, after extended
periods of operation, tubes are subject to
stress rupture due to reduced thickness
caused by high temperature corrosion.
Some indications of tube rupture of final
reheaters are as follows:
1. Abnormal noise in reheater area.
2. Increase of makeup water consumption.
For example, in one case where one tube
was found to be ruptured, makeup water
consumption had increased from 20 ton/
hour to 40 tons/hours. Steam pressure
and temperature was 48 bar and 530 C
for the above said case.
3. Reduction of reheater steam pressure.
4. Slight reduction of load (MW).
5. Increase in spray water flow rate.
li
%
M0%
Whether or not to shut down the boiler or

to operate it further depends on several
factors described below:
If makeup water consumption is tolerable
it is still possible to operate the boiler for
a few days more provided that operating
parameters are carefully observed, but
arrangements should be made to stop
the boiler at the earliest possible time. In
Figure 5 average hourly makeup water
consumption for cases of a ruptured reheater tube is shown;
Experiences have shown that in cases of
tube rupture reaction, the force of escaped
steam can bend the tube and throw it out
of its corroded supporting saddles and, in
several cases, tubes are severed. Portions of
tubes act as a cantilever - hanging around
and sometimes moving against the direction of flue gas (depending on the direction
of escaped steam) and portions of hanging
tube even pass through the upstream heating section. It is obvious that the movement
of hanging portions can damage other
tubes. Needless to say that eventually the
hanging parts will become detached and
lodged between tube bundles and burn. In
Figure 6, a severed final re-heater tube
that has passed through an up-stream su
per heater bundle is shown.
Based on the above items and although
boiler operation might be possible for a
few days, to preveni consequential dam
age that prolongs later repairs and to avoid
makeup water wastage - unless there is an
extreme need for power - it is advisable to
take the boiler out of operation without
delay, or at the utmost after peak demand
hours have passed.
69/09/01
Case 4: Super heater tube rupture

Legend:
1. Furnace pressure MMWC
2. Flue gas pressure before air heater MMWC
3. Live steam pressure in bar
4. Load in MW
5.&. Evap. flow rate (L/R) in tonnes/hour

7.&8. Feed water flow rate in tonnes/hour
9.&10. Live steam flow rate (L/R) tonnes/hour
Fig. 8. Ruptured evaporator tube and changes in several operating parameters.
58
Symptoms of tube rupture in the super

heater section are as follows:
- Reduction of MW.
- Abnormal noise from super heater area.
- Reduction of superheat steam pressure.
Boiler tube leaks
Needless to mention that if leakage is toward the outside of the boiler then safety
will be first priority for boiler shut down.
3. Leaked water may extinguish flame (potential danger of explosion).
At the continuation of this paper two cases
of evaporator tube leak will be discussed.
Although many operating parameters
change once evaporator tube leak occurs,
some of those that are more evident in ali
cases are mentioned below:
1. Sudden drop of MW.
2. Emission of abnormal noise from evapo
rator area.
3. Sudden increase of furnace pressure.
1
Description
Minimum
1j
Maximum |1
Unit
1,01 8 Spray water after Contrai VA
50
t/h
1,036 Live steam header pressure
250
kg/cm
1,045 Feed water flow
1,500
t/h
1,194 Flow gas bef. super-heater righ
1,000
MMW
1,195 Flow gas bef. flow gas air-heat
400
MMW
1,200 Active power generator bus B
550
MW
1,001 Evaporator flow
750
t/h
1,004 Evaporator flow
750
t/h
1,225 Live steam after boiler
750
t/h
4. Increase of fuel flow rate.

5. Increase of evaporator flow rate.
Photos of the aforesaid cases of leaking
tubes, along with graphs of some relevant
parameters, are shown in Figure 8 and
Figure 9.
Some aspects of secondary damage
Once a leak is detected in a boiler certain
questions arise:
1. Is secondary damage expected? If yes,
how high is the probability?
2. How severe would secondary damage be?
Ivf
- -
-/A,:
3.How quickly can secondary damage

cause new leaks and a chain reaction?
The answer to the above questions is not
easy and depends on many factors and
may differ from plant to plant.
Results of investigations regarding erosion
caused by impingement of steam have been
presented in many reports [7, 8].
Fig. 9. Window pane type evaporator tube rupture and some of relevant parameters.
- Increase in evaporator and feed water

flow.
- Increase in spray water flow rate.
Once a leak is detected in the super heater
section due to high steam pressure makeup
water, consumption would be so high that
further operation of the boiler would be
impossible. Therefore, it should be put out
of operation without delay. A photo of a
ruptured final super heater tube is shown
inFigure 7.
Main factors affecting severity of second

ary damage are pressure and temperature
of leaking tubes, the nature of escaping
fluid, distance, and incident angle. If one
Minimum thickness of tubes eroded by impingement of fluid escaping from leaking tube
Original dimensions of tube 38 mm outer diameter, 5 mm thick
Estimated duration of leak: 8 days
j..-
Case 5 Evaporator tube leak
Evaporator tube leakage is a feature of

most causes of boiler outages. Almost ali
manufacturers instruct operators to immediately shutdown boilers once a leak is
detected in the evaporator section mainly
due to the following reasons:
1. Prevention of disturbing coolant circulation which can damage other tubes.
2. Prevention of secondary damage. It is
to be noted that high pressure flashes of
escaping water jets can quickly damage
neighbouring tubes.
VGS POWERTECH
Fig. 10. Eroded evaporator tube with several adjacent tubes.
59
VGB PowerTech3 2016
Boiler tube leaks
Fig. 12. Furnace elbow leakage and

secondary damages.
Fig. 11. Furnace tube damage and secondary damages caused by high-quality saturated steam.
considers the above factors it can easily be

concluded that this depends on the design
of plants and geometry of tubes therefore
different answers can be given. Here past
experiences of tube leaks in each plant play
an important role in deciding whether or
not to stop the boiler. For example, if there
is chronic crack formation at the weld
joints of tube to membrane in a boiler, then
one should assume that in case of leak in
this area the probability of secondary dam
age and development of chain reaction is
high and this can be a base for any decision
making.InFigure 10,11 andl2 three
cases of tube leak that caused secondary
damages to adjacent tubes are shown.
Summary of findings regarding symptoms
of leakage at different heating sections and
recommended measures for the boilers

mentioned earlier are shown in Ta b1e 1.
Conclusions
Holes of a few millimetres in size, caused

by corrosion in reheater and to a lesser extent in super heater sections, can be tolerated and no remarkable secondary damage
is expected to occur in oil/gas-ired boilers
because in the flue gas of these boilers no
remarkable abrasive particles which can be
entrained into escaping steam exist (unlike
coal-fired boilers).
Unique recommendations regarding types

of actions can't be made for ali boilers in
case of tube leaks. In fact the matter is
case sensitive and several factors such as
design, types of fuel, age of boilers, location of leak and past experiences of leak
age in particular play an important role in
decision-making.
If a leak is detected in the evaporator sec

tion it is recommended to put the boiler out
of operation without delay because high
secondary damage is expected.
Secondary damage resulting from leaks in

the economiser and evaporator section is
higher compared to other heating sections
and this fact has been taken into consideration in decision- making.
Last but not the least if due to tube leak

safety of personnel/boiler is endangerec
then no compromise should be made sc
the boiler should immediately be taken oui
of operation.
Tab. 1. Summary of findings about leak symptoms and measures.

Heating section
Leak symptoms
Consequences
Measures
Rupture of economiser tube
- increase in feed water flow rate

and make up water consumption
- shower from drain pipe of boiler bottom
- trail of condensate at chimney exit
- abnormal noise from economiser area
higy probability of secondary damages
if loss of make up water is tolerable

postpone boiler outage after peak
demond hours
Small hole in primary reheater/

final reheater tube
- ha rd to detect
- no remarkable increase in make
up water consumption
low probability of secondary damages
boiler can continue operation

and leak can be rectified during
planned outage
Final reheater tube rupture
- sudden jump in make up

water consumption
- abnormal noise from re heater area
- drop of re heater pressure and load
- increase of flue gas pressure
- trail of condensate at chimney exit
- increase in spray water flow rate
detachment of portion of tube due

to reaction forces of escaping steam
and high probability of secondary
damages
- if loss of make of water is tolerable

postpone outage to low demand days
Superheater tube rupture
- jump in make up water consumption,

flue gas pressure and fuel flow rate
- abnormal noise
- drop in mw, live steam pressure
- increase in evaporator flow
and spray water flow rate
distortion and detachment of portion

of tube due to reaction forces of
escaping steam and high probability
of secondary damages
- if loss of make of water is tolerable

postpone outage to low demand day
Evaporator tube rupture
- drop in mw,live steam flow rate and

live steam pressure
- jump in furnace pressure, make up
water consumption
- abnormal noise
- increase in evaporator flow, feul flow rate
probability of impingement attack to

neighboring tube
- probability of overheating of other
tubes due to disturbance in circulation
- possibility of extinguishing flame
60
put boiler out of operation asap
References
[1] Dong Hyun Kim, Sang Bum Lee: Development of precise source location and leak
monitoring technique 3d point method for
power plant boiler structure. 31st Conference of the European Working Group on
Acoustic Emission (EWGAE)-Th 2.
[2] Virgina E. Durham, Paul R. Burgmayer and
Wilham E. Pomniz III.: Recovery-boiler leak
detection using a waterside chemical-massbalance method. Tappi Journal, November
1996.
Boiler fube leaks
[3] Fred D. Lang, P.E. Dave, A.T. Rodgers: De

tection of tube leaks and their location using
input/loss methods. 2004 ijpgc2004-52027.
[4] North American Electric Reliability Corpo
ration: Generating availability data system
2007-2011 top 25 system/component cause
codes forced and scheduled outages and deratings by average MWh per unit-year.
[5] EPRI Field Guide for Boiler Tube: 1017471
Final Report, December 2009.
[6] Sharon Pfeifer: Update: Benchmarking
boiler tube failures. October 1, 2009. DTE
energy, Power Magazine.
[7] S. Majumdar, D.R. Diercks, W.J. Shack:

Analysis of potential for jet-impingement
erosion from leaking steam generator tubes
during severe accidents. NUREC/cr-6756
anl-01/32, may 2002.
[8] W.M.M Huijbregts: Erosion-corrosion of
carbon steel. In Wet Steam Material Perfor
mance, October, 1984, PG 39-45.
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61
Degassed conductivity in thermal power plants
The application of degassed

conductvity in DONG Energy
thermal power plants
Monika Nielsen
Kurzfassung
Introduction
Anwendung von entgaster Leitfhigkeit

in thermischen Kraftwerken von
DONG Energy Thermal Power
DONG Energy Thermal Power is a utility

company in Denmark focusing on electricity and heat generation from power plants.
The utility operates nine central power
plants in Denmark, generating about onethird of the district heat consumed in Den
mark and one quarter of the entire electricity generated in the country. The power
plants use a variety of fuels: coal, oil, gas,
straw, wood chips and wood pellets.
DONG Energy Thermal Power nutzt die Messung der entgasten Leitfhigkeit fur drei
Hauptzwecke: (1) Erkennen gelster organischer Stoffe im Dampf. (2) Fehlerbehebung im
Wasserdampfkreislauf bei Abweichungen vom
Normalbetrieb kommt. (3) Gewhrleistung
eines sichereren Anfahren von Kraftwerken bei
vorliegenden C02-Problemen.
Block 2 des Asnxs-Kraftwerks in Kalundborg
(Dnemark) erzeugt hauptschlich Prozessdampffur die benachbarte Industrie. Die Indus
trie fuhrt kein Kondensat des erzeugten Prozessdampfs zuruck. Der Speisewasserverbrauch des
Kraftwerks ist daher mit ca. 800.000 m3/Jahr
hoch. Ah Rohwasserquellefur die Entsalzungsanlage dient Oberflchenwasser mit einem hohen Anteil an organischen Stoffen (DOC ~ 11
ppm). Dies fuhrt zu einem erhhten Anteil an
organischen Stoffen im Wasserdampfkreislauf.
Dies wiederum hat eine hohe Sureleitfhigkeit
im Dampf zur Folge (AC > 0,35 pS/cm). Mit
dem Analysegertfilr die entgaste Leitfhigkeit
wird im Dampf das Abbauprodukt C02 iiberwacht.
Im Rahmen der Flexibilisierung des Kraftwerksparks wurde im Block 1 des Herning-Kraftwerks im Jahr 2014 ein neuer Betriebsmodus
eingefuhrt: partieller Turbine-Bypass-Betrieb.
Dieser neue Betriebsmodus fuhrte zu erheblichen Strungen der Wasserdampfchemie
(AC > 0,4 pS/cm). Zur Fehlerbehebung wird
ein Analysegert fur die entgaste Leitfhigkeit
genutzt. Zudem unterstutzen die Online-Analysegerte fur die entgaste Leitfhigkeit das Betriebspersonal dabei, ein sichereres Anfahren
des Kraftwerks aufgrund des C02-Problems zu
gewhrleisten.
Measuring of conductvity is the primary

measurement for online quality control of
the water steam cycle (Table 1) carried
out in ali of the power plants in DONG En
ergy Thermal Power (Figure l).Inmost
plants, only specific and acid conductvity
measurement devices are installed as stationary online analysers. Ali ions in the wa
ter contribute to specific conductvity, and
because of the dozing of alkalising chemicals, specific conductvity is mainly used for
monitoring alkalising agents like NH3 or
NaOH. Any other ionic contaminants in wa
ter will usually contribute only marginally
to specific conductvity and will appear as
variations in chemical dosing. Acid conduc
tvity, conductvity measured downstream
of a strong acidic cation exchanger, is used
for monitoring contamination in the water
steam cycle, e.g. salt ingress from the condenser, district heating water from the heat
exchangers, air in-leakage to the system and
degradation products from organic matter.
The measurement eliminates the contribution from any cation, such as ammonia and
sodium. If the contamination is caused by
CO2, which is a common contaminant in
the water steam cycle, the action leveis and
time limits on acid conductvity are relaxed
[1], As acid conductivity is a non-specific

measurement, it is not possible to distinguish between a more serious contaminant
like chloride and a less serious contaminant
like C02. In the event of high acid conduc
tivity in the water steam cycle, it is useful
to know whether it is a serious contamina
tion where measures need to be taken immediately to minimise any damage, or if
it is possible to continue operation while
identifying the C02 in-leakage. By using a
degassed conductivity analyser, it is possi
ble to distinguish between C02 contamina
tion and e.g. chloride contamination. The
C02 is removed in the analyser by re-boiling
the outlet of the acid conductivity measure
ment, after which the degassed conductiv
ity is measured. Thus, degassed conductiv
ity is a measure of impurities without the
contribution of C02 to conductivity.
Recently DONG Energy has started to use
the degassed conductivity analyser at its
plants. Degassed conductivity helps to
monitor C02 in the water steam cycle, and
it rules out or confirms contaminants such
as chloride, sulphate, acetate and formate,
which are far more serious than C02.
Degassed conductivity is used in DONG En
ergy Thermal Power for the following three
main reasons:
- To detect the degradation of organic
matter in steam,
- To troubleshoot any deviations in the
water steam cycle when the water steam
chemistry deviates from normal opera
tion and
- To achieve a safer start-up at power
plants with known C02 contamination.
Degassed conductivity can be measured
with different applications at the power
Tab. 1. Specific, acid and degassed conductivity.
Author
Monika Nielsen
Chemical Engineer, B.Sc.
Chemical Engineering
DONG Energy Thermal Power
Skserbeek, Denmark
62
Ions which contribute
Symbol
Comment
Specific conductivity
- H+, NH4+, Na"
- SO42-, Cl, HCO3- Acetate, formate
SC
Ali ions contribute.

In pure water it is used as a measurement of the conditioning agent
(eg NH3 or NaOH).
Acid conductivity
-H"
- S042', Cf, HCO3- Acetate, formate
AC
Contribution from the alkalising agent is removed.

The contribution from salts is amplified as they are converted
to their acid forms.
The primary measurement of contaminations in the
water steam circuit.
Degassed conductivity
-H"
- so 4 2 -, ci Acetate, formate
DC
The contribution from dissolved gasses (C02) have been removed.

C02 is a common source of contamination, which is considered
less corrosive than salts and organics.
Water sample
industries, such as Novo Nordisk, Novozymes and Statoil. Furthermore, the plant
produces district heat for the community
in Kalundborg. When producing process
steam, no condensate is returned to the
unit and therefore the makeup water
consumption is as high as approximately
800,000 m3/year.
The raw water source is surface water
with quite a high content of organic mat
ter (DOC ~ 11 ppm), which is removed in
the demineralisation plant which consists
of several pre-treatment processes along
with a traditional ion exchange plant (Fig
ure 2): a flocculation process with FeCl3
and polymer followed by sand filtration.
At the flocculation stage about 55 % of the
organic matter from the raw water is re
moved. After the sand filtration, the water
is guided to the ion exchange plant, where
organic matter is further removed in a scavenger filter before entering the traditional
ion exchange train (cation, C02 degasser,
anion and mixed-bed). The scavenger filter
removes another 25 % of the organic mat
ter from the raw water. At the end of the
demineralisation plant, the amount of organics has been reduced by approximately
96 %, yet the deionised water still consists
of approximately 450 ppb dissolved organ
ic carbon (DOC), causing some problems
with the water steam quality in the boiler.
Drair
Fig. 1. The principie of measuring specific,

acid and degassed conductivity.
plans. At power plants with known problems with either organic matter or C02 in
the system, stationary degassed conduc
tivity analysers are installed. For troubleshooting, a portable degassed conductivity
analyser is employed, which can be moved
from plant to plant whenever a problem
arises.
When the deionised water enters the wa

ter steam cycle at ASV unit 2, the acid
conductivity (AC) increases throughout
the water steam cycle due to thermal degradation of organic matter (Figure 3).
The makeup water enters the system in
the condenser, where the acid conductiv
ity is still very low (<0.1 pS/cm). When
the water reaches the feedwater system,
thermal degradation of the organic matter
begins due to the presence of 02 and heat,
and the acid conductivity increases to ap
proximately 0.15 to 0.2 jiS/cm. Finally,
Surface water from Tissa
Ultra pure water

Conductivity < 0.1 p,S/cm
DOC ~ 450 ppb
Fig- 2. Process for demin water production at

Asnaes power plant.
the water reaches the boiler and thermal

degradation of the organic matter significantly accelerates. The acid conductivity
in the HP steam and MP steam reaches >
0.3 jiS/cm and varies between 0.3 pS/cm
and 0.5 pS/cm. As seen in Figure 3, the
acid conductivity in the steam depends
on the HP steam production. At low steam
production, almost 100 % of the steam is
process steam. Hence, no condensate returns to the unit, no condensate is polished
in the CPP and the acid conductivity is high
due to constant makeup water flow to the
system. At high steam production, steam
passes through the turbine, condensate is
Unit 2 at Asnaes power plant - Acid conductivity
The application of the degassed conductiv

ity analysers are described in the example
below.
Detection of organic
matter in steam
At the Asnaes power plant (ASV) in Kalun
dborg, Denmark, there is a known problem
with organic matter in the system. Unit 2
at the Asnaes power plant is a 370 MWth
coal-fired drum boiler (mixed metallurgy)
from 1961 (life time extended in 1992),
equipped with a condensate polishing
plant (CPP) consisting of three mix-bed
filters (3 x 50%). The plant primarily pro
duces process steam for the neighbouring
VGB POWERTECH
0.2
o
09-11-14
11-11-14
13-11-14
15-11-14
17-11-14
Date
19-11-14
21-11-14
23-11-14
25-11-14
27-11-14
AC in condensate after CPP (primary makeup water)

AC in HP steam AC in MP steam
HP steam production
AC in feed water
Fig. 3. Steam production and acid conductivity trends at unit 2 of the Asnaes power plant.
VGB PowerTech3 2016
and formate and not chloride or sulphate.

Table 2 shows the results of the laboratory analysis, confirming that acetate and
formate are present in the steam, causing
the elevated degassed conductivity.
Unit 2 at Asnaes power plant - acid and degassed conductivity
At the Asna;s power plant, opportunities

to further reduce the amount of organics
in the deionised water are limited. It is
possible to optimise the operating cycle in
the anion column, to avoid organic breakthrough. Otherwise new pre-treatment
processes are required, as not ali types of
organic compounds in the raw water are
removed in the existing pre-treatment
plant.
On the other hand, what are the consequences of running the plant with high
acid conductivity due to organics? The
operating personnel do not see any reason to invest in reducing the amounts of
organic matter in the deionised water, as
the plant has been running like this for
many years.
0.1
15-11-14
09-11-14
17-11-14
Date
- HP steam production
AC in MP steam
-DC in MP steam
Fig. 4. Steam production, acid and degassed conductivity in MP steam at unit 2

of the Asnaes power plant.
Troubleshooting in the
water steam cycles at the
Herning power plant
Unit 1 of the Herning power plant - Acid conductivity

AL3=1.0 p.S/cm
Total district heat production [MJ/s]
ftll
"H M
AL2=0.5 iiS/crcl
Unit 1 of the Herning power plant (HEV)

(built in 1982) is a 290 MWth wood chip,
wood pellet and gas-fired drum boiler (ali
ferrous) with a back pressure turbine with
extraction point for feedwater heating and
for multi-stage heating of district heating
water. The unit is equipped only with a mechanical filtration as CPP, which limits th
possibilities for condensate polishing to the
removal of particulate iron only. Initiallj
the unit operated in two different mode;
for district heating:
- 100% turbine operation, producing dis
trict heat using the two turbine heat ex
changers.
Turbine rotation [l/min]
l
Acid conducfivit
1
ALI =0.21 p.S/cm
i7~
XV-v
HP s,eam
'
f~
By-pass steam [kg/s]
Syjdtch to partial turbine by-pass operation"^
Fig. 5. Acid conductivity at unit / of the

Herning power plant during switch
from 100 % turbine operation to partiaI
turbine by-pass operation.
Condensate
Feed Water
Unit 1 of the Herning power plant - Acid and degassed conductivity

100 % turbine by-pass
Partial turbine by-poss
100 % turbine by-jjoss
Parliol turbine by-poss
0,000
8,000
polished in the CPP, and acid conductivity

is lower. In this case, the makeup water is
diluted with polished condensate.
At ASV unit 2 the degassed conductivity
(DC) in the MP steam (Figure 4) is continuously being monitored. The very high
acid conductivity of around 0.4 pS/cm is
caused by the organic breakdown products
such as acetate, formate and C02. As seen
in Figure 4, the degassed conductivity is
also rather high (> 0.2 pS/cm), indicating
an incomplete degradation of the organic
matter. When there is a high degassed
conductivity, it is not known whether it
is due to organic breakdown products
such as acetate and formate or if it is due
to the presence of chlorides or sulphates.
A sample of the MP steam was taken on
November 24, 2014 to ascertain that the
high degassed conductivity is due to acetate
64
6,000
4,000
2,000
Date
AC in condensale
AC in feed water bf. ECO
AC in HP steam
- DC in condensate
Turbine turn [1/min) Steam by-pass [10*kg/s)
Fig. 6. Acid and degassed conductivity at unit 1 of the Herning power plant
during different modes of operation.
Tab. 2. Analysis of MP sleam sample at unit 2 of the Asnass power plant.

Sample from
24 November 2014
Acetate [ppb]
Formate [ppb]
Chloride [ppb]
Sulphate [ppb]
ASV2 MP steam
57
9.7
<1
< 1
- 100% turbine by-pass operation, producing district heat using the by-pass
heat exchanger.
In 2014 the unit was modified to optimise
district heat production and minimise electricity production. A new mode of opera
tion was then introduced: partial turbine
by-pass operation, producing district heat
using both the turbine heat exchangers and
the by-pass heat exchanger.
This new mode of operation resulted in
quite significant disturbances in the water
steam chemistry. When switching from
100 % turbine operation to partial turbine
bypass operation, the acid conductivities in the condensate, feedwater and HP
steam increase (Figure 5). When the unit
switches to partial turbine by-pass opera
tion, the acid conductivities increase from
approximately 0.1 pS/cm to 0.4 pS/cm in
the feedwater and 0.5 pS/cm in the con
densate. Only when the unit switches back
to 100 % turbine operation, acid conductiv
ities decrease and reach normal levei after
around six to nine hours. In this case, the
ingress of C02 to the system was suspected,
because a change in operating mode eliminated the source of the elevated acid con
ductivities.
The acid conductivities were closely monitored during different operating modes
over a period of one month (Figure 6).
The unit was constantly alternating between different operating modes to opti
mise district heat and electricity produc
tion depending on district heat consumption and Scandinavian power market. The
acid conductivities were very unstable and
often above 0.2 pS/cm, and were con
stantly changing depending on the oper
ating mode. At this point, the operating
personnel were very uncertain about how
to proceed on account of the many alarms
in the DCS. The portable degassed conduc
tivity analyser was installed for a period
of one month to confirm the suspicion of
C02 ingress. The analyser was set up on the
condensate sampling line, closest to the assumed source of C02 ingress: the turbine
heat exchangers or the by-pass heat ex
changer. The results from the degassed
conductivity analyser confirmed the suspi
cion of C02 ingress to the system (Figure
6). The degassed conductivity ("DC in Con
densate") stayed at < 0.1 pS/cm for almost
the entire month, despite the alternation
between different operating modes.
It has not been possible yet to identify
and eliminate ali the C02 sources in the
system. At present only a part of the C02
source has been identified, which was a
leaking turbine bleed. Because of the very
VGB POWERTECH
profitable business case, the plant wishes

to retain the possibility to operate at par
tial turbine by-pass mode when electricity
prices are low and heat consumption is
high. Therefore, the plant has purchased
its own degassed conductivity analysers,
and installed them at the condensate,
feedwater and HP steam sampling lines.
Now they can monitor the C02 continuously and the number of alarms in the DCS
has beenminimised. AsseeninFigure 7,
the degassed conductivity (DC) at ali three
sampling lines is below action limit 1 of
0.2 pS/cm. The operating personnel are
still searching for the C02 source and trying to eliminate the C02 contamination
during alternating operation.
Achieving safer start-ups

at Herning power plant
The unit at the Herning power plant is
equipped with two turbine heat exchang
ers. During stand-still the two heat ex
changers and the by-pass exchanger are
left water filled and are open to the atmosphere, resulting in contamination of
the water with C02. During start-up of
the unit, first the C02 contaminated water
from the by-pass heat exchanger is circulated through the system, causing elevated
acid conductivities in the entire system, but
only for a short period. When the turbine is
set into operation, the C02-contaminated
Unit 1 of the Herning power plant - acid and degassed conductivity
8,000
1.2
4,000
TV
IH
uE
CO
1S4S-1S 20:09
16-0S-1S 08.09
-DC in condensate
DC in Feed water bf. ECO
DC in HP steam
- AC in condensate
AC in Feed water bf. ECO
AC in HP steam
-Turbine turn [1/min]
steam by-pass [10*kg/s]
Fig. 7. Acid and degassed conductivity at unit 1 of the Herning power plant after the installation
of three degassed conductivity analysers.
Unit 1 of the Herning power plant - acid and degassed conductivity du ring start-up
8,000
4,000
UE
CO
13-0S-IS 10:33
1-0S-1S 17:45
13 0S-1S JCcOT
Date
- DC in condensate
DC in Feed water bf. ECO
DC in HP steam
-AC in condensate
AC in Feed water bf. ECO
AC in HP steam
-Turbine turn [1/min]
steam by-pass [10*kg/s]
Fig. 8. Acid and degassed conductivity at unit I of the Herning power plant during start-up.
65
VGB PowerTech3 2016
Degassed conductivity in fhermal power plants
water from the two turbine heat exchangers in circulated through the system, causing elevated acid conductivities (Figure
8). Because there is no CPP on the unit,
it is not possible to remove C02 from the
system, other than exhaustion through
heat exchanger and feedwater tank. This
means that elevated acid conductivities re
mam in the system for approximately five
hours before falling below action levei 1
(< 0.2 pS/cm).
This problem is known by operating personnel, and therefore, for many years the
alarms on the water chemistry have been
blocked for the first four hours during
start-up. In 2013 this resulted in a severe
contamination of the entire water steam
cycle during start-up, causing very high
specific and acid conductivities, where ali
the monitors were out of scale. Only after
four hours, operating personnel were alerted by the DCS that something had been
wrong. However, at that point, contamina
tion had been circulating through the sys
tem for some time. This incident resulted
in contaminated superheaters, which were
subsequently taken out of the boiler for ex
ternai rinsing.
After the incident in 2013, considerable

work has been done in the DCS to re-establish the alarms during start-up. Subse
quently the C02 contaminated water in the
heat exchangers triggered several alarms
in the DCS during start-up, resulting in a
great deal of frustration for operating per
sonnel. Following the investment in three
degassed conductivity analysers mounted
on the feedwater, HP steam and condensate sampling lines, the water chemistry
alarms in the DCS are now connected to
the degassed conductivity instead of the
acid conductivity. Now during start-up the
degassed conductivities fali below 0.2 pS/
cm some minutes after starting by-pass
operation, and even when the turbine is
set into operation, the degassed conduc
tivities stay below 0.2 pS/cm during the
entire start-up (Figure 8). Therefore, oper
ating personnel are able to continue safely
with the start-up procedures despite high
acid conductivities, knowing that this is
caused by C02 in the system. The number of alarms for water chemistry during
start-up has been minimised, and operat
ing personnel are much more alert when
a degassed conductivity alarm is activated
during start-up, as they now know that it is

not due to C02 in the system, but instead a
more serious contamination.
Summary
The degassed analyser has proved to be
very valuable in monitoring water steam
quality at DONG Energy Thermal Power
plants. In the event of any suspicion of
contamination in the water steam cycle,
the seriousness of contamination is rapidly
indicated and further actions can be determinate, i.e. either taking some grab samples for laboratory analysis or searching for
a C02 in-leakage. At the plant with known
problems with C02, it is very important
that operating personnel can distinguish
between C02 contamination and e.g. chloride contamination, as is the reduced number of alarms in the DCS.
References
[1] VGB-Standard "Feed Water, Boiler Water and
Steam Quality for Power Plants/Industrial
Plants", VGB-S-010-T00;2011-12.EN.
VGB-Standard
Operational safety in electrotechnology
VUld
POWERTECH
Ausgabe/edition 2015 - S-l 63-00-2015-07-EN

DIN A4, 68 Seiten, Preis fur VGB-Mitglieder 160,-, fiir Nichtmitglieder 240,-, + Versandkosten und MwSt.
DIN A4, 68 Pages, Price for VGB members 160.-, for non members 240.-, + VAT, shipping and handling.
With the coming into force of the German Industrial Safety Regulation (BetrSichV), the issue of operational
safety at power plants has been increasingly dominated by the issue of functional safety.
Operational safely in
electrotechnology
Electrotechnical systems and components support or enable the power plant process; in addition, together
with the auxiliary power demand system, they constitute a functional unit to be considered independently.
The question arose as to whether and to what extent, for purposes of risk minimisation, protective measures
had to be applied for the electrotechnology by means of safety-related electrical,
electronic or programmable electronic systems (E/E/PES).
VGB-S-163-00-2015'07-EN
Only for these systems is a categorisation according to the safety integrity criteria
necessary (e. g. the SIL Levei).
The technical group "Electrical equipment" appointed a project group that combined
experience in the implementation or the relevant standard with practical experience in
the establishment and operation of systems in the field of electrotechnology.
The purpose of this VGB-Standard is, with respect to the electrotechnical systems and components of a power plant, to set out what essential
rules should prevail regarding their characterisfics and operation, and how these can be applied for purposes of implementing BetrSichV. In
addition, it intends to make a contribution to a uniform understanding of the risk assessment of all electrotechnical systems and components of a
power plant.
Chapter 3 begins by describing the hazards posed to electrotechnical systems and components, and then describes the main provisions regard
ing planning, engineering and construction. Certain advice is provided to help designers take risks appropriately into account during the planning stage. Chapter 4 begins by describing the operation and maintenance of electrotechnical systems in general terms from a standpoint of
operational safety and occupational safety, and then proceeds to provide exemplary recommendations with respect to determining test intervals
and the scope of inspection for select components.
Advice regarding the requirements applicable to the supply isolation of turbine generator sets from the turbine profection system and thermal/
mechanical generator protection is provided in a separate chapter, Chapter 5.
Their application must take into account the fact that the basic specifications regarding operational safety in electrotechnology are anchored in
various documents which do not always make use of the same wording. Therefore, for instance, the designations "employer" and "entrepreneur"
shall have the same meaning for the purposes of this VGB-Standard. We also had recourse to citing BGV A3 in the text part. BGV A3 has been
formally adopted into the body of rules practised by German Social Accident Insurance (BGUV), where it is listed as DGUV Regulation 3. No
substantive changes have been made by the BGUV, and references made in other documents continue to point to BGV A3.
VGB PowerTech Service GmbH
Verlag technisch-wissenschaftlicher Schriften
Deilbachtal 173 | 45257 Essen | P.O. Box 10 39 32 | Germany

Fon: +49 201 8128-200 | Fax: +49 201 8128-302 | Mail: mark@vgb.org | www.vgb.org/shop
VGB PowerTech 3 20 l
Treatment of nuclear primary coolant
Membrane systems and their

use in nuclear power plants Treatment of primary coolant
Pavel
Kljs,
Srka Brtov, Martin Skala, Katerina Vonkov, Vclav Zach and Roman Kopa
Kurzfassung
Introduction
Membransysteme und ihre

Anwendung in Kernkraftwerken Aufbereitung von Primrkuhlmittel
Currently, evaporators are mostly used

for the concentration of H3B03 from pri
mary coolant. Their operation is expensive, therefore, alternative solutions, such
as reverse osmosis (RO), were suggested.
Using RO, the feed solution is separated
on the membrane modulus into two out
put streams: retentate and permeate. The
retentate stream consists of a concentrated
H3B03 solution, which can be recycled at
nuclear power plant (NPP) after further
purification by ion exchangers. The perme
ate stream consists of pure water [1].
Bisher wird das in Kernkraftwerken eingesetzte

borhaltige Primrkuhlmittel in einem System
aus Verdampfern und Ionenaustauschern aufbereitet. Durch den Ersatz von Verdampfern
durch Membransysteme (MS) knnenaufgrund
der niedrigerenArbeitstemperatur (25 C beiMS
gegenber 130 C beiVerdampfern) Betriebskosten eingespart werden. In Membransystemen
wird der aufzubereitende Khlmittelstrom in
zwei Ausgangsstrme getrennt: Retentat und
Permeat. Der Retentatstrom enthlt konzentrierte Borsurelsung zusammen mit anderen
Komponenten, wahrend der Permeatstrom aus
gereinigtem Wasser besteht.
Ergebnisse werden vorgestellt, die an einer Pilotanlagefiir Umkehrosmose im Kernkraftwerk
Temelngewonnen wurden. Die Umkehrosmoseanlage wurde im Spezialreinigungssystem SVO6 installiert. Drei Testreihen wurden mit realem
Primrkuhlmittel unterschiedlicher Zusammensetzung und abweichender Gesamtradioaktivitt durchgefuhrt. Die Tests erfolgten uber
einen weiten pH-Bereich des Eingangsstroms,
mit verschiedenen Durchflussraten sowie bei
unterschiedlichem Riickgewinnungsgrad (Verhltnis von Permeatstrom zu Retentatstrom).
Wahrend der Tests wurden Proben von beiden
Ausgangsstrmen genommen und auf die chemische Zusammensetzung (Leitfhigkeit sowie
H3B03., NH3., K- und Li-Konzentration) und
die radioaktiven Parameter (Gesamtradioaktivitt, Radioaktivitt und Konzentration von
134Cs und 137Cs Isotopen) hin untersucht.
Mit den Tests im Kernkraftwerk Temeln sollte
der Einsatz eines Membransystems zur Auf
bereitung von Primrkiihlmittel von Kern
kraftwerken verifiziert werden, z.B. um einen
Retentatstrom mit konzentrierter Borsurel
sung und einen Permeatstrom frei von Borsure zu erhalten.
Authors
Pavel Ks
Srka Brtov
Martin Skala
Katerina Vonkov
Technological Circuits Innovation Department

Research Centre Rez
Husinec-Rez, Czech Republic
Vclav Zach
Roman Kopa
CEZ a.s., Temeln Nuclear Power Plant

Czech Republic
VGB POWERTECH
Feed solution pH plays the main role in

the separation efficiency of H3B03 in an
RO modulus. At low pH, prevailing uncharged H3B03 readily passes through the
membrane. At high pH, prevailing negatively charged borates are repulsed from
the negatively charged membrane, which
increases H3B03 rejection. Furthermore,
the borates are well hydrated in water solu
tions, which results in an increase in their
size and, thus, better rejection on the feed
side of the membrane [2 to 7].
Additional components are added into the
primary coolant to control its chemistry
mode. NH3 is used as a source of hydrogen, which suppresses water radiolysis
[8]. Total ammonia-nitrogen (TAN) occurs
in water solutions in two forms: ammonia
(NH3) and ammonium (NH4+). NH3 predominates at high solution pH (pH > 9).
It is a small unionised and highly volatile
compound that readily diffuses through
RO membranes. NH4+, a ionised molecule
prevailing at low solution pH (pH < 9), is
easily retained by membranes, because it
forms loose complexes with anions [9,10].
Furthermore, some membranes are positively charged at pH values under their isoelectric point [11], which also contributes
to higher rejection of positively charged
NH4+ due to electrostatic repulsion.
Potassium hydroxide is added into the pri
mary coolant to adjust its pH to minimise
corrosion of system material [8]. Lithium,
particularly 7Li isotope, is formed as a product of 10B isotope decay. Speciation of po
tassium and lithium is pH independent in
the pH range 3 to 11, with dominant form
K+ and Li+, respectively. Also the retention
of K+ and Li+ is independent of pH, despite
the changing membrane charge with pH.

This indicates that charge exclusion of ions
and membrane is not a dominant mechanism of their retention. Therefore, steric
dominated retention is the main mechanism attributing to the generally high re
tention of both ions (> 90 %) [12]. In addition, hydration of K+ and Li+ ions further
enhances their retention by increasing the
size of ions [13]. The hydration of Li+ is
stronger than that of K+, thus, its hydrated
radius is also larger, which leads to their
better retention [13 to 15].
Radioactivity of primary coolant is caused
by radioactive isotopes, such as 137Cs and
70Sr. Rejection of these ions on RO mem
branes is influenced by feedwater chem
istry, mainly pH and other ions and compounds present in the coolant. It is strongly
enhanced by electrostatic interactions (at
low pH) and Donnan's effect (at high pH).
Generally, rejection of these radioactive
isotopes on RO membranes is rather high,
about 80 to 100% [16],
A pilot-plant unit of RO was used for the
experimental tests with real primary cool
ant in Temeln nuclear power plant. The
aim of these tests was to verify possible
use of membrane system for the treatment
of primary coolant under real conditions.
Particularly, it means to obtain a concen
trated boric acid solution together with
other components of the primary coolant
and radioactivity in the retentate stream
and purified water in the permeate stream.
Experiments
A pilot-plant unit of reverse osmosis
(RO) was used for the tests performed in
Temeln nuclear power plant. The aim of
these tests was to verify possible use of
membrane technology for the treatment
of primary coolant of NPPs. Particularly, it
means to obtain a concentrated solution of
boric acid in the retentate stream and per
meate stream pure of boric acid. The sepa
ration efficiency of other components and
radioactivity commonly occurring in the
primary coolant was also studied.
An image of the RO unit is shown in F i g ureia and its more detailed description is
given in [17]. The RO unit was implemented prior to evaporator from the Special
Purification System SVO-6 for the regen67
VGB PowerTech3 2016
'm pur
condensate
]ank TB 30
Toncentrate
Ion exchange
station
Concentrate
Evaporator
i exchangel
station
J
Waste water with boron

SVO -3
Figure 1. a) Overall view of the RO pilot-plant unit: 1 - pressure vessej with

3 - high-pressure pump,
4 - reservoir tanks, 5 - display and control panei, 6 - feerf
feed sampling
/ me7
Tpbrane modulus, 2 feeding PumP;
retentate sampling, 8 - permeate sampling, 9 - KOH reservoir
tanks and feeding pumps. b) Installation of RO unit between
p^Ur^.,Condensate tank TB 30 and evaporator from special purificahon system
SVO-6 in Temeln nuclear power plant: the blue Unes denote RO unit i
Tab. 1. Composition of the primary coolant filled in the impure cor>densate tank Tc
subsequently used for the test with RO unit in NPP Temeln.
30 and
Para meter
PH
[-1
H3BO3
NH3
[g/11
[mg/l]
K
[mg/l]
Li
[mg/I]
99.5
Conductivity
IpS/cm]
test
7.3
2.22
10.3
11.0
0.16
2nd test
7.2
6.45
27.9
7.0
0.18
193.0
3rd test
6.8
9.36
17.9
16.4
0.18
147.0
1st
eration of boric acid and after the impure

condensate tank TB 30 which was used as
a reservoir of the real primary coolant for
the tests. From the TB 30 tank, the primary
coolant was drawn to the RO unit as a feed
solution, where it was separated into two
output streams, retentate and permeate.
Both output streams were drained into the
SVO-3 system for the purification of leakage and drained water (Figure lb).
Altogether, three tests were performed
with real primary coolant of various com
position (attention was focused mainly on
various concentration of boric acid). The
100
Radioactivity
[Bq/m3]
1.6.107
7.5.IO7
3.8.107
composition of the primary coolant in the

TB 30 tank prior to each test is given in
Table 1. The tests were performed in a
continuous mode at four various pH values
across a range 6.8 to 9.8. Primary coolant
pH was adjusted by KOH addition directly
to the flow of the feed primary coolant. For
each pH value, the flow of tlie feed primary
coolant was set to 2 and 3 l/h (denoted as
F2 and F3, respectively) and recovery (ra
tio of permeate flow rate to feed flow rate)
to 10 and 15 % (denoted as RIO and Rl5>
respectively). Each experimental setup
was stabilised for 20 minutes, after which
samples for analysis were taken. Chemi

cal analysis consisted of evaluation of
conductivity and of H3B03, NH3, K and Li
concentrations and radioanalysis consisted
of evaluation of the total radioactivity and
of the radioactivity and concentration of
134Cs a 137Cs isotopes.
The pH was measured by Orion 710A with
an Orion electrode and conductivity was
measured by Orion 150 with Orion elec
trode. Measurements of H3B03, NH3 and
K concentrations were dependent on K
concentration in the measured sample. In i
the case of low K concentration, H3B03
was measured by potentiometric titration
(Mettler Toledo T90), NH3 and K by capillary electrophoresis (Agilent 7100). In the
case of high K concentration, H3B03 and K
were measured by ICP-OES (Thermo iCAP
6500 duoview) and NH3 by spectrophotometry (Shimadzu UV mini 1240). Li was
measured in ali cases by ICP-OES (Therme
iCAP 6500 duoview).
F3R10
F3R15
95
F3R10
F3R15
90
85
80
75 1
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
9.0
9.5
10.0
pH |)
Figure 2. Dependence of a] H3B03 and b) NH3 rejection on pH cjurinq fL

Symbol F denotes total flow rate (2 or 3 m3/h), symbol p denote*
Temeln nuclear power plant.
test performed
es recovery (10 or 15 A)-
68
cond
VGB PowerTech3 2016
Feed F3R15 permeate

F3R15 retenfate F2R10 permeate F2R10 retentate -
>
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
9.0
9.5
10.0
9.5
pH ()
10.0
Figure 3. Dependence of a) total radioactivity in the feed, permeate and retentate streams and b] total radioactivity rejection on pH during the
second test performed in Temeln nuclear power plant. Symbol F denotes total flow rate (2 or 3 m3/h), symbol R denotes recovery
(10 or 15 %), symbol P denotes permeate and R retentate.
During each sampling, surface activity in

the beginning, in the middle and at the
end of the mechanical filter and reverse
osmosis modulus was measured (denoted
as Spots1,2 and 3 forboth systems, respectively).
Results
From experimental results, the rejection
factor was calculated based on the following formula:
r. = 1 -Sle.
ci,R
i = H3BO3, NH3, K, Li, total radioactivity
Here R, denotes rejection factor of i, ci R

and C; P denote concentration of i in the
retentate or permeate stream, respectively.
Representative results of the second test
are depicted in Figures 2 to 4.
Rejection of H3B03 was for ali the experi
mental setups higher than 75 % across the
whole pH range (Figure 2a). Higher rejections were generally achieved at higher
total flow rates of the feed primary cool
35
ant and at higher recoveries. Thus, the

best separation efficiencies were achieved
at total feed flow 3 l/h and 15 % recovery
(F3R15 - red line). At low pH, H3B03rejection was lower than at high pH and, furthermore, significant differences between
individual experimental setups were observed. At high pH, H3B03rejection for ali
the experimental setups was nearly the
same and close to 95 %.
Concerning NH3 rejection, the same gen
eral dependencies were observed for various experimental setups as in the case of
H3BO3. The best separation efficiencies
were achieved for the F3R15 experimental
setup across the whole pH range. However,
dependency on pH is precisely the other
way around than in the case of H3B03. At
low pH, NH3 rejection is higher and it is in a
range 80 to 90 %. As pH increases, NH3 re
jection decreases and it is only about 10 %
at pH higher than 8.9. (Figure 2b).
Rejection of K and Li followed the same
trends for various experimental setups as
in the case of H3BO3 and NH3. However, it
was not so strongly dependent on pH of the
feed primary coolant. The achieved rejections were always in a range 85 to 98 % in

the case of K and in a range 94 to 98 % in
the case of Li across the whole pH range
(not shown in Figures).
These results were compared with results
obtained in the laboratory of Research
Centre Rez with model boric acid solutions
[17, 18]. The same trend holds for the
whole pH range. In the case of H3B03, re
jection factors achieved with real primary
coolant decreased by about 5 % compared
to the model solution measurements. On
the other hand, rejection factors of NH3
achieved with real primary coolant increased by some 10 % compared to the
model solution measurements. In the case
of K and Li, the difference was not so signif
icant: rejection factors achieved with real
primary coolant decreased by about 2 %.
Results of radioactivity analysis from the
second test performed for F3R15 and
F2R10 experimental setups are depicted
in Figure 3. Total radioactivity of the
feed primary coolant was 7.5.107 Bq/m3
(Figure 3a). The radioactivity of the reten-
Filter Spot 1
Membrane Spot 1 -
Filior
Membrane Spot 2-
Membrane Spot 3-
Filter Spot 3
E
E
W>
>
>
50
100
150
Time in min.
200
250
300
50
100
150
Time in min.
200
250
300
"-
Figure 4. Surface activity measured at a( mechanical filter and b) reverse osmosis modulus during the second test performed in Temeln nuclear
power plant. Spot 1 was located in the beginning, spot 2 in the middle and spot 3 at the end of the filter or reverse osmosis modulus.
VGB POWERTECH
69
VGB PowerTech3 2016
tate streams for both experimental setups

did not increase significantly and was nearly the same as the radioactivity of the feed
solution across the whole pH range. More
significant differences are observed in the
radioactivity of the permeate streams.
Little lower radioactivity was achieved
for F3R15 experimental setup, even
though, the total value was still in order of
IO7 Bq/m3 in both cases. Furthermore, it
can be seen that as pH increased, radioac
tivity of the permeate streams decreased.
From these results, rejection factor of the
total radioactivity was calculated (Figure
3b). At low pH, radioactivity rejection was
about 87 % in the case of F2R10 and 93 %
in the case of F3R15. As pH increased, ra
dioactivity rejection increased and at pH
higher than 9.0, it achieved about 96 %
and 98 % for F2R10 and F3R15 experimen
tal setups, respectively.
Results of surface radioactivity measurements are depicted in Figure 4. In the
case of mechanical filter, the highest activity was measured in the Spot 2, i.e. in the
middle of the mechanical filter. This can
be caused by the consistency of the treated
solution, which was rather denser. In the
case of membrane modulus, the highest
activity was measured in the Spot 1, i.e. in
the beginning of the membrane modulus.
This is caused by the fact that at the input
of the membrane modulus, separation of
individual components takes place. Thus,
part of the radioactive isotopes is effectively trapped in the membrane pores already
at the input of the membrane modulus.
Generally, it can be said that values of the
measured surface activities are acceptably
low and much higher values were expected
before the tests started.
Conclusions
A pilot-plant unit of reverse osmosis (RO)
was implemented into the special purification system in Temeln nuclear power plant
and its performance was studied during
three experimental tests with real prima
ry coolant. The tests were focused on the
separation efficiency of basic components
occurring in the primary coolant (H3B03,
NH3, K and Li) and on the separation ef
ficiency of radioactivity (total radioactiv
ity and radioactivity and concentration of
134Cs
a 137Cs isotopes) on the membrane

modulus. The results confirmed that rejec
tion of H3B03 and NH3 was strongly dependent on pH of the feed solution, while
rejection of K and Li was high across the
whole tested pH range. Rejection of radio
activity exhibited the dependence on pH of
the feed solution in the same way as H3B03,
i.e. rejection of radioactivity increased
as pH of the feed solution increased. The
radioactive isotopes were trapped in the
membrane modulus, mainly near its input,
as well as in the mechanical filtered located
ahead of the membrane modulus. However, the measured surface activity on these
components was acceptably low.
Performing the tests with a pilot plant RO
unit directly in Temeln nuclear power
plant with real primary coolant, a verified
technology was achieved.
Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by the
Technology Agency of the Czech Republic
(TACR) - grant No. TA 03020905.
References
[ 1] International atomic energy agency: Pro
cessing of nuclear power plant waste streams
containing H3B03. IAEA-TECDOC-911.
IAEA, Vienna (1996).
[ 2] Hyung, H. and Kim, J.H: A mechanistic
study on boron rejection by sea water re
verse osmosis membrane. J. Membr. Sei.
286 (2006), 269-278.
[ 3] Oo, M.H., and Song. L.: Effect of pH and
ionic strength on boron removal by RO
membranes. Desalination 246 (2009), 605
-612.
[ 4] Bishop, M., Shahid, N., Yang, J., and Bar
ron, A.R.: Determination ofthe mode and
efficacy ofthe cross-linking ofguar by borate
using MAS 11B NMR of borate cross-linked
guar in combination with solution 11B NMR
ofmodelsystems. Dalton Trans. 17 (2004),
2621-2634.
[ 5] Sagiv, A., and Semiat, R.: Analysis of
parameters affecting boron permeation
through reverse osmosis membranes. J.
Membr. Sei. 243 (2004), 79 - 87.
[ 6] Tu, K.L., Nghiem, L.D., and Chivas, A.R.:
Coupling effeets of feed solution pH and
ionic strength on the rejection of boron by
NF/RO membranes. Chem. Eng. J. 168
(2011), 700-706.
0Z&J3
SW-IP1."!
[ 7] Oo, M.H., and Ong, S.L.: Implication of

zetapotential at differentsaliniti.es on boron
removal byRO membranes. J. Membr. Sei.
352 (2010), 1-6.
[ 8] Deshon, J.: Review of WER primary water
chemistry and the potential for its use in
PWRs: potassium hydroxide and/or ammonia based water chemistries. TP-1003382,
EPRI, Palo Alto (2002).
[ 9] Masse, L., Mass'e, D.I., and Pellerin, Y.:
The effect ofpH on the separation ofmanure
nutrients with reverse osmosis membranes.
J. Memb. Sei. 325 (2008), 914-919.
[10] Mondor, M., Masse, L., Ippersiel, D.,
Lamarche, F., and Mass'e, D.I.: Use of
electordialysis and reverse osmosis for the
recovery and concentration of ammonia
from swine manure. Bioresource Technol.
99 (2008), 7363 - 7368.
[11] Tang, C.Y., Kwon Y.N., and, Leckie, O.:
Probing the nano- and microscales of re
verse osmosis membranes -A comprehensive
characterisation of physiochemical properties of uncoated and coated membranes by
XPS, TEM, ATR-FTIR, and streaming po
tential measurements. J. Memb. Sei. 287
(2007), 146-156.
[12] Richards, L.A., Richard,s B.S., and Schafer,
A. I.: Renewable energy powered membrane
technology: Salt and inorganic contaminant
removal by nanofiltration/reverse osmosis.
J. Memb. Sei. 369 (2011), 188 -195.
[13] Zhou, J., Lu, X., Wang, Y., and Shi, J.:
Molecular dynamics study on ionic hydration. Fluid Phase Equilibr. 194 - 197
(2002), 257-270.
[14] Wen, X., Ma, P., Zhu, C., He, Q., and Deng,
X.: Preliminary study on recovering lithium
chloride from lithium-containing waters
by nanofiltration. Sep. Purif. Technol. 49
(2006), 230 -236.
[15] Somrani, A., Hamzaoui, A.H., and Pontie,
M.: Study on lithium separation from salt
lake brines by nanofiltration (NF) and low
pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO). Desalina
tion 317(2013), 184-192.
[16] Ding, S., Yang, Y., Huang, H., Liu, H., and
Hou, L.: Effeets offeed solutionchemistry on
low pressure reverse osmosis filtration ofeesium and strontium. J. Hazard Mater. 294
(2015), 27 - 34.
[17] Kfls, P., Brtov, S., Kunesov, K.,
Smejdov, V., and Vonkov, K. The use of
reverse osmosis at nuclear power plants Replacementofevaporator. VGBPowerTech
5 (2015), 50-52.
[18] Brtov, S., Kfls, P., Skala, M., and Vonk
ov, K.: Reverse osmosis for the recovery
of boric acid from the primary coolant at
nuclear power plant. Nucl. Eng. Des., submitted, 2015, doi:10.1016/j.nucendes.
2016.01.018.
FIND & GET FOUND! POWERJOBS.VGB.ORG
Water-steam cycle conservation parameters
The hexagon of water-steam

cycle conservation parameters
Roger A.M. Ertryckx
Kurzfassung
Introduction
Das Parameter-Hexagon der

Wasser-Dampf-Kreislaufkonservierung
In most European countries, the operating

times of gas-fired power plants is nowadays
limited to balance the market and to ensure
grid security. As well as other players on
the European electricity market, ENGIE
ramped down a part of its combined cycles
units and even mothballed several gigawatts of generation capacity. In this new
reality, the staff of a plant is challenged as
never before to assure the integrity of the
plant during long non-operating periods or
multiple short ones combined with flexible
start-up expectations. This situation urged
for a deep review of the actual conserva
tion guidelines for power plants. As our
plant chemists were faced with a gap in
international guidelines for water-steam
cycle chemistry during shut-down, ENGIE
Lab Laborelec drafted a concise blueprint
of chemistry guidelines applicable to boiler
conservation. These conservation guide
lines frame six parameters, i.e. the hexa
gon of parameters, similar to the approach
of the actual international guideline philosophy with alarm leveis (AL) and target
leveis (TL).
ENGIE Lab Laborelec hat den Entwurffur eine

Richtlinie zur Wasserchemie fur das Abfahren
des Wasser-Dampf-Kreislaufs entworfen. Die
Uberwachung und das Einstellen von nur sechs
Parametern (das sogenannte Hexagon) innerhalb der Spezifikation sind ausreichend, um
akzeptable chemische Spezifika einstellen zu
knnen.
Der Ansatz wird derzeit in die Richtlinien fur
Eingreifwerte integriert. Hinsichtlich der Begrenzung von Korrosionsschden beim Ab
fahren hat ENGIE Lab Laborelec zudem einen
Paradigmenwechsel eingefuhrt: vom Prinzip
Bestmglich" zum Prinzip so niedrig, wie verniinftigerweise erreichbar". Schlilsselelemente
zur Vermeidung von Korrosionsschden sind
einerseits die vier Korrosionsgeschwindigkeitsprofile fur jeden Parameter des Hexagons und
andererseits die Beschrnkung der Verweilzeit
im jeweiligen Zustand durch Festlegung maximaler zulssiger Zeitspannen.
In der mit Phoenix Tabelle bezeichneten Darstellung sind diese Zusammenhnge fur die
flussige und gasfrmige Phase zusammengefasst. Auf Grundlage der zwei Tabellen sind
entsprechende Empfehlungen gruppiert, die
anlagenspezifisch die Verhltnisse zwischen
Startflexibilitt und unbekannter Stillstandszeit berucksichtigen.
The six parameters of the hexagon are:

basicity (pH), ionic impurity (Kappa+),
dissolved oxygen (DO), relative humidity

(RH), oxygen levei (OL) and temperature
(T). Relevant parameters in the liquid
phase are pH, Kappa + and DO, in the gas
phase RH and OL, with T basically referring
to the metal temperature (Figure 1).
Paradigm shift
The major risks for the integrity of the ma
teriais and components in the water-steam
cycle parts during standstill are related
to damage caused by corrosion processes
and at low temperature by the physical consequences of a volume increase of
water below its freezing point. The main
goal of our conservation programme is to
minimise corrosion rate, no longer to the
lowest possible levei but as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Thus, ultimately
the new European reality in the electricity
market forced a paradigm shift towards the
ALARA principie regarding corrosion rate
during standstill. Indeed, the implementation of "excellent" chemistry guidelines in
the field is no longer attainable.
The alarm levei approach borders for each
parameter has four ranges in which cor
rosion rates vary from low (ALO or N), increased (ALI), high (AL2) and very high
Basicity
(ph)
Oxygen levei
(OL)
Dissolved
oxygen
(DO)
The hexagon of W/S-cycle

conservation parameters
Relative
humidity
(RH)
Author
Ionic impurity
(Kappa+)
Temperature
(T)
Roger A.M. Ertryckx, BSc
ENGIE Lab Laborelec

Linkebeek Belgiumj
Fig. 1. Hexagon of water-steam cycle conservation parameters.
VGB POWERTECH
71
VGB PowerTech3 2016
Tab. 1. Dissolved oxygen as reference parameter for liquid phase conservation modes.
LOW mode
HIGH mode
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
HIGH mode
Basicity
Yes
Dissolved oxygen
Yes
Ionic impurity
Temperature
LOW mode
HIGH mode
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
LOW DO slow start-up
LOW DO fast start-up
HIGH DO slow start-up
Tab. 2. Relative humidity as reference parameter for gas phase conservation modes.
HIGH mode
Mode allowed?
Gas phase
LOW mode
HIGH mode
LOW mode
Relative humidity
No
Ves
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
LOW RH slow start-up
HIGH RH fast start-up
Tab. 3. Phoenix Table valid for liquid phase conservation (non-copper metallurgy).
Basicity (pH)
HIGH mode
LOW mode
low
low
min.
max.
> 10.0
s SP
ALO
< 10.0
ALI
3 weeks
a 10.4
> 8.3
< 9.4
AL2
3 days
a 10.3
AL3
3 hours
ALO
a 10.5
< 10.5
< 10.4
ALI
AL2
3 days
< 10.3
AL3
3 hours
3 weeks
high
high
11.0
TL
11.0
TL
Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

pgAg 02
HIGH mode
LOW mode
min.
max.
AVT(0)fw
< 200
AS
ALO
< 300
ALI
a 300
< 400
AL2
3 days
AL3
3 hours
TF
max.
TL
a 200
a 400
min.
TF
TL
3 weeks
Ionic Impurity (Kappa )

pS/cm
HIGH mode
LOW mode
max.
max.
min.
TF
TF
ALO
a 20
< 20
< 40
a 40
< 80
AL2
3 days
AL3
3 hours
'Phoenix Table'
AVT(0|
ALI
3 weeks
AVT(O)
AL2
3 days
For each parameter of the hexagon we developed two sets of guidelines ranges, the
so-called "low" and "high" conservation
modes. This differentiation is introduced
because the corrosion rate in the system
is amplified or attenuated by multiple relationships between the different param
eters. And indeed, to some extent one can
minimise corrosion damage by a specific
driver by restricting the guidelines for the
other corrosion drivers. A well-known example is the fact that the corrosion rate
induced by ionic impurities proportionally
increases with temperature. Hence maintaining temperature during conservation
at low ambient levei in combination with
low dissolved oxygen and higher basicity,
AVT(0|
AL3
3 hours
IV
ALO
00
min.
AVT(O)
ALI
3 weeks
Temperature (T)
C (metal temperature)
LOW mode
HIGH mode
low
low
min.
max.
TF
<; 0
ALI
3 weeks
> 0,6LT
AL2
3 days
> 0.4LT
AL3
3 hours
high
min.
min.
max.
TF
ALO
> AT
s 35
ALI
> 3 5
< 4 0
AL2
3 days
AL3
3 hours
< AT
>3
3 weeks
TF
max.
> 0.8LT
ALO
n
IV I V
oo
> 3
A
72
TF
max.
min.
TF
a 9.4
CO
(AL3). Applying the ALARA principie, the

borders of the ranges for conservation
might be different from those described
in the guidelines for normal load. And of
course, opposite to the "binary temperature switch" for frost damage, the actual
corrosion damage in the cycle still remains
a combination of the corrosion rate and
the associated exposure time. Thus, even
with the ALARA principie, corrosion dam
age in the water-steam cycle during standstill is finally managed by minimising the
exposure time to unfavourable conditions.
This is embodied by the concept of a maximal allowable timeframe (TF), assigned
to each alarm levei (TF^q =
TF^ = 3
weeks, TF^ = 3 days, TF^ = 3 hours).
The timeframes beyond ALO chemistry
extend here three times those for normal
load. This is part of our ALARA approach
allowing a delay in the implementation
of a major action plan for just short periods of standstill (e.g. weekend). However,
ALARA definitely does not stand for doing nothing after a shutdown. Ali in ali,
each power plant must elaborate a specific
conservation programme, clearly describing the actions with as final goal minimis
ing corrosion damage during standstill to
achievable leveis.
CO
Oxygen levei
The global overview of ali these parameter

guidelines of the hexagon are released by
ENGIE Lab Laborelec in the Phoenix Table
(Ta b 1 e 1 and Table 2). It is this table
that is used to develop site-specific conser
vation programmes. The listed values are
a first attempt and are ali documented by
arguments and references in a separate
report. ENGIE Lab Laborelec is open to
discuss this in a wider "ALARA" minded
frum.
LOW mode
Mode allowed?
Liquid phase
a limited relaxation for the guidelines for

ionic impurity is allowable. The interrela-tionships between parameters are worked
out in very specific recommended combinations of "low" and "high" modes. One
specific set of such "low" and "high" modes
enables a fast start-up of the plant.
LT
ALO
0,8LT
< 0,6LT
AL2
3 days
0,4LT
AL3
3 hours
ALI
3 weeks
The 'Dissolved Oxygen' table and 'Ionic

Impurity' table refer to some guideline
values applied during normal load. This
is required if a fast boiler start-up is part
of the conservation preconditions. On the
other side, values in the high mode table
are more relaxed and may only be applied
in a very specific combination of other pa
rameter modes.
The 'Temperature' low mode table is calculated not only to limit corrosion damage,
but to avoid frost damage as well. And the
high mode table is developed to initiate
timely proper action if the boiler is stopped
with chemistry in line with normal operation guidelines.
Comments on tables for gas phase
conservation parameters
The criteria in the 'Relative Humidity" table

are based on the Vernon-diagram. Besides
the guideline values for relative humidity,
one can find as well the delimitation of the
four alarm leveis in a temperature and absolute humidity diagram. This will be helpful
considering that the expected highest rela
tive humidity is a function of the absolute
humidity and lowest expected temperature.
How can ali these tables be compiled to a

plant-specific conservation guideline for
chemistry? In those parts of the water-
VGB POWERTECH
Finally, in parts of the system with two

phases, the gas phase will always be water
saturated. To limit corrosion rates in both
phases during conservation, it will be mandatory to maintain low oxygen concentrations in both phases. This means that for
the gas phase only, the HIGH RH combina
tion of modes is applicable and at the same
for the liquid phase the HIGH DO combina
tion must be excluded.
Conclusions
During conservation it is important to mon
itor the six parameters of the hexagon. To
maintain the conditions in the water-steam
cycle parts within the guidelines as devel
oped in the Phoenix Table, it is important
that each plant has its site-specific conser
vation programme. Some of the actions
might have to be engaged in the last operating hours and other actions will be necessary to maintain or restore the chemistry of
the hexagon. The conservation programme
should include an overview of the sample
points, the sampling method and frequency. In some cases, a switch in conservation
programme from fast to slow start-up con
ditions will be inevitable. Thus, even with
the integrated ALARA principie regarding corrosion damage in the water-steam
parts, it is definitely not an option to just
shut down the plant and wait.
Tab. 4. Phoenix Table valid for gas phase conservation.
Relative Humidity (RH)

%sat H2O
LOW mode
HIGH mode
min.
max.
< 40
TF
min.
max.
ALO
< 5 0
ALI
3 weeks
> 5 0
< 6 0
AL2
3 days
s *
AL3
3 hours
3S
> 60
TF
s 100
> 4 0
TL
SO
"" '
HfciiTtr
<&
25
Maintain ALO for lowest expected temperature.
RH% f(g*aei/m3oiC)elbo,. See diagram.
'J
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50 ("CJ
Oxygen Levei (OL)

%vol O2
LOW mode
HIGH mode
one phase
min.
one phase
max.
TF
s 1.0
ALO
> 1 . 0
<; 2 . 0
ALI
> 2.0
< 4.0
AL2
3 days
AL3
3 hours
Conservation programmes
based on the Phoenix Table
In parts of the water-steam cycle which

will be submitted to 'one phase' gas con
servation, a combination of high relative
humidity and high oxygen levei will always result in unacceptably high corro
sion rates. The incompatibility of both
high modes results in following acceptable
combinations (Table 4).
O
" 3"
For the 'Oxygen Levei', the low mode table

is split in one phase and two phases criteria.
Indeed, a special situation occurs in parts of
the water-steam cycle (e.g. feedwater tank,
drum) which are simultaneously subjected
to liquid and gas phase conservation (two
phases). The reason lies in the fact that oxy
gen tends to physical equilibrium concentrations in both phases, resulting in an incompatibility with the low mode dissolved
oxygen guidelines in the water phase at temperatures below 75C. This is addressed by
the correction algorithm in the two phases
table. Finally, the high mode 'Oxygen Levei'
table in combination with the low mode
'Relative Humidity" covers the elsewhere so
called 'dry conservation' type.
The first combination (LOW DO fast startup) has a set of guidelines which differs
slightly from those for normal load and
enables a fast start-up of the plant. The
second and third combination are devel
oped for situations with increasing ionic
impurity and dissolved oxygen concentration (e.g. due to addition of cold make-up
water). It is obvious that without the tempering effect of low temperature and high
pH, the relaxation of the guidelines for
'Ionic Impurity* and 'Dissolved Oxygen' will
lead to higher corrosion rates. This clearly
illustrates the interrelationship between
the parameters of the hexagon on the cor
rosion rate and therefore a strict application of the selected tables is required.
min.
max.
TF
TL
21
3 weeks
two phases
min.
max.
TF
ar= f(T)
S ar
ALO
> ar
< 2.ar
ALI
3 weeks
> 2.ar
< 4.ot
AL2
3 days
AL3
3 hours
"Basicity" is probably the most complex

parameter to present as pH ranges are four
times (for each alarm levei) bordered with
minimal and maximal values and this for
both modes (low and high). The low mode
pH ranges are worked out to achieve a fast
start-up. The maximal pH values in both
high modes are limited by a target levei
(TL), avoiding solid alkali overdosing in
the evaporator. Also very specific for ba
sicity is the fact that one guideline value
is still open as a set point (SP), illustrating
the necessity of site specific tuned conser
vation programmes.
steam cycle which will be submitted to a

'one phase' liquid conservation, three different combinations of modes can be assembled with dissolved oxygen as a reference parameter. The combinations are listed below in the 'mode allowed?' overview
(Table 3).
Comments on tables for liquid

phase conservation parameters
a3<ac<75= 0,01T+0,25 (with

a*75'c= 1,0
a r a s #,# %vol02
(e.g.
T in C)
025*0
= 0,5)
73

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VGB PowerTech 3 2016

Boiler tube leaks

ndications of power boiler

Indikatoren fur Kesselrohrversagen und

In spite of remarkable progress in boiler de

boiler with respect to lealcages observed

Design features of boiler

Fig. 1. Sketch of boiler showing location of

VGB PowerTech 3 2016

Boiler tube leaks

Safety of staff and boiler

In numerous reports mentions have been

Fig. 4. Primary reheater tube (RHIA) corroded

Case 1: Economiser tube leak

Fig. 3. Economiser tube suffered from

Economic impacts of immediate

Average hourly make up water consumption

Boiler tube leaks

VGB PowerTech3 12016

Fig. 6. Final reheater (RH2j tube damaged from one end.

Fig. 7. Ruptured final super heater (SH4) tube.

Case 3: Final reheater tube rupture

Although final reheater tubes material is

Whether or not to shut down the boiler or

Case 4: Super heater tube rupture

5.&. Evap. flow rate (L/R) in tonnes/hour

Fig. 8. Ruptured evaporator tube and changes in several operating parameters.

Symptoms of tube rupture in the super

Boiler tube leaks

VGB PowerTech 3 2016

1,01 8 Spray water after Contrai VA

1,036 Live steam header pressure

1,045 Feed water flow

1,194 Flow gas bef. super-heater righ

1,195 Flow gas bef. flow gas air-heat

1,200 Active power generator bus B

1,001 Evaporator flow

1,004 Evaporator flow

1,225 Live steam after boiler

4. Increase of fuel flow rate.

3.How quickly can secondary damage

- Increase in evaporator and feed water

Main factors affecting severity of second

Case 5 Evaporator tube leak

Evaporator tube leakage is a feature of

Fig. 10. Eroded evaporator tube with several adjacent tubes.

VGB PowerTech3 2016

Boiler tube leaks

Fig. 12. Furnace elbow leakage and

considers the above factors it can easily be

recommended measures for the boilers

Holes of a few millimetres in size, caused

Unique recommendations regarding types

If a leak is detected in the evaporator sec

Secondary damage resulting from leaks in

Last but not the least if due to tube leak

Tab. 1. Summary of findings about leak symptoms and measures.

Rupture of economiser tube

- increase in feed water flow rate

higy probability of secondary damages

if loss of make up water is tolerable

Small hole in primary reheater/

low probability of secondary damages