Feed Water and Boiler Water of Steam Generators

Under operating conditions, various substances diluted in water will cause corrosion and
scaling in steam boiler plants. Accordingly, specific guideline and limit values in regards to
the quality of the feed water and boiler water are to be obeyed in order to ensure a safe,
failure-free and economic steam boiler operation. Within Germany, these are mainly the
following standards and guidelines:

DIN EN 12953-10 Shell boilers: Requirements for feed water and boiler water quality
DIN EN 12952-12 Water tube boilers: Requirements for feed water and boiler water quality
TRD 611 Feed water and boiler water of steam generators
VdTÜV MB TECH 1453 VdTÜV-Guidelines for Feedwater, Boiler Water and Steam for Boilers with Permissible Operating
Pressures up to 68 bar
VGB R 450 L Feed water, boiler water and steam quality for power plants / industrial plants
The guidelines and operating instructions of the respective boiler manufacturer

The respective European standards (EN) are mainly geared towards ensuring a safe steam
boiler operation. In order to also operate the steam boiler plant in an economically reasonable
manner, stricter guidelines are usually employed in practice. For steam boilers with an
operating pressure of up to 68 bar, these are mainly the VdTÜV MB TECH 1453. For high
pressure steam boilers with an operating pressure of 68 bar and higher, the VGB R 450 L are
employed.

The guideline and limit values listed below are based on TRD 611, VdTÜV MB TECH 1453
as well as manufacturer's specifications, and refer to shell boilers with an operating pressure
of up to 44 bar. For explanation of the following data:

A salty operation mode means a condensate return of < 95% with softened or partially
desalinated make-up water. A low salt operation mode means a condensate return of > 95%
with softened or partially desalinated make-up water, or demineralised make-up water with a
conductivity of < 50 μS/cm. A salt-free operation mode requires demineralised make-up
water and pure condensate with a conductivity of < 0.2 μS/cm.

Generally, saturated steam boilers are operated in salty mode, boilers with overheaters in low
salt mode, and boilers for production of very pure steam, for example for operation of steam
turbines, salt-free.

The limit values for boiler water dictate the to be adjusted degree of concentration. The
degree of concentration usually depends upon the conductivity. However, none of the listed
limit values may be exceeded. A concentration by a factor of 100 is the permitted upper limit.

The dosing of conditioners is to be adjusted in a way that the listed guideline values are
maintained.

Requirements for boiler feed water quality (shell boilers)

operation overpressure bar < 0.5 0.5 ... 22 22 ... 44 < 44 < 44

water-chemical operation mode salty low salt salt-free

general requirements colourless, clear, free of non-dissolved particles

pH-value at 25 °C >9 >9 >9 > 9.2 > 9.2

conductivity at 25 °C μS/cm < 300 suggested 1 ... 50 < 0.2

mmol/l < 0.015 < 0.01 < 0.01 < 0.01 < 0.005
total alkaline earths (hardness)
°dH < 0.1 < 0.05 < 0.05 < 0.05 < 0.03

oxygen (O2) ppm < 0.1 < 0.02 < 0.02 < 0.02 < 0.02

carbonic acid, bound (CO2) ppm < 25 < 25 < 15 <2 < 0.1

iron, total (Fe) ppm < 0.1 < 0.05 < 0.03 < 0.03 < 0.03

copper, total (Cu) ppm < 0.01 < 0.01 < 0.005 < 0.005 < 0.005

oxidability Mn VII - II ppm < 2.5 < 2.5 < 2.5 < 1.25 < 0.75

oils, fats ppm <3 <1 <1 < 0.5 < 0.5

silicic acid (SiO2) ppm see guideline values for boiler water < 0.5 < 0.02

Requirements for boiler water quality (shell boilers)

operation overpressure bar < 0.5 0.5 ... 22 22 ... 44 < 44 < 44

water-chemical operation mode salty low salt salt-free

general requirements colourless, clear, free of non-dissolved particles

pH-value at 25 °C 10.5 ... 12 10.5 ... 12 10.5 ... 11.8 10.2 ... 11.0 9.7 ... 10.5

KS 8,2 (p-value) mmol/l 1 ... 8 1 ... 10 1 ... 6 0.5 ... 3 0.1 ... 1

conductivity at 25 °C μS/cm < 4000 < 6000 < 3000 < 2500 < 50

silicic acid (SiO2) ppm - < 130 < 40 < 25 <4

oxidability Mn VII - II ppm < 25.0 < 37.5 < 25.0 < 12.5 < 7.5

phosphate (PO4) ppm 10 ... 20 10 ... 20 5 ... 15 10 ... 20 5 ... 10

sodium sulphite (Na2SO3) 10 ... 20 10 ... 20 10 ... 20 10 ... 20 -

ppm
or sulphite (SO3) 6 ... 12 6 ... 12 6 ... 12 6 ... 12 -

hydrazine (N2H4) ppm 0.2 ... 0.5 0.2 ... 0.5 0.2 ... 0.5 0.2 ... 0.5 0.2 ... 0.5