Boiler blowdown an overview

Blowdown - what and why?

Clean, dry steam
Boiler feedwater contains dissolved solids, both from raw water and water treatment chemicals. During evaporation, the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) within the boiler naturally increases. This, if not controlled, will cause the water to produce foam within the steam space. This, in turn, will produce wet contaminated steam which may be carried over into the steam system. These products of carryover would be deposited on heat transfer surfaces and ancillary equipment with an effect on system efficiency and plant productivity. The problem can be avoided by keeping the TDS level close to that recommended by the boiler manufacturer, (usually around 2 500 to 3 000 ppm for a medium size shell and tube boiler), and is best achieved by constant monitoring of the TDS by automatic equipment. Flash steam to feedtank Make-up water from tank

feedtank

TDS control

Flash vessel

Safety
Suspended solids can also cause problems, so are encouraged to fall to the bottom of the boiler. If left unchecked, these would eventually build up to a dangerous level. All steam boilers incorporate an outlet at their lowest point to remove precipitated solids at regular intervals. This is known as bottom blowdown. These solids require a short sharp blast for their efficient removal, achieved by the quick opening of a large bore valve which inherently removes large quantities of boiler water. Whilst being an ideal solution for bottom blowdown, this action is totally unsatisfactory for, and should not be confused with, the requirement for TDS control. Cold water from tank

Bottom blowdown

Residual blowdown Heat exchanger Float trap

Blowdown requirement
There is a clear need for both bottom blowdown and TDS control, and for differing solutions to achieve the best results for each. Large amounts of energy can be wasted if bottom blowdown is used without proper control in an attempt to alter TDS levels.
Boiler water TDS

Warmed water to tank

To drain at low temp or to blowdown vess heat recovery

Manual control
Poor control is causing wastage of boiler water through excessive blowdown Maximum allowable TDS

Optimum control
Automatic TDS control provides constant supervision, will reduce blowdown, and ensure minimum running costs whilst maintaining optimum conditions within the boiler and the steam system. 2

Average TDS

Time

Blowdown - how?
Bottom blowdown
Condensate Achieved by opening a large bore valve at the bottom of the boiler for a few seconds. This allows a large flowrate of water and solids to be removed under boiler pressure and enter a blowdown vessel specifically designed to allow the mixture to cool before draining. Plant

TDS control
The action of TDS control is best served by a system matched to the more gradual change in TDS levels within the boiler. Automatic control can be achieved by various methods to suit the boiler application, and will always provide a better service than manual operation. Systems are available for boilers where a probe can be mounted directly in the boiler, or where the probe is fitted in the blowdown line. The optimum take off point for TDS control is considered to be from the side of the boiler shell below the lowest water level, and well away from the feedwater inlet. Water can be taken from a 'T' connection from the bottom blowdown line if necessary.

Steam

Note: Some pipework connections and equipment have been drawn out of position or omitted for clarity.

Control systems
Spirax Sarco has developed systems to suit all applications of bottom blowdown and TDS control. Systems can operate in a stand alone function, or can be linked to energy / building management systems.

Heat recovery
The action of automatic TDS control is ideally suited to heat recovery. Spirax Sarco is able to provide systems to optimise the energy savings of each application. Your Spirax Sarco engineer will be able to advise accordingly.

eratures sel if no

Blowdown vessel

To drain at low temperature

Automatic TDS control

Boiler water TDS

User benefits
q q q

TDS controlled accurately, near to maximum level, minimising blowdown, yet avoiding carryover and foaming caused by high TDS level. Maximum allowable TDS Average TDS

Less water, fuel, and chemicals needed. Low carryover - lower maintenance and repair costs. Automatic control frees manual supervision for other tasks. Clean dry steam - increased plant efficiency. Better TDS control and heat recovery higher overall efficiency. 3

q q

Time

Available systems
BCS1
Smaller boiler

BCS3
TDS control with integral take off and continuous monitoring point from side of boiler

BCS2
Coil boiler

BCS4
TDS control with intermittent monitoring point from side or bottom of boiler

Bottom blowdown system

Spirax-Sarco Limited, Charlton House, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL53 8ER UK. Tel: +44 (0)1242 521361 Fax: +44 (0)1242 573342 E-mail: Enquiries@SpiraxSarco.com Internet: www.SpiraxSarco.com
Copyright 1997 Spirax Sarco is a registered trademark of Spirax-Sarco Limited

SB-P403-56

AB Issue 2

BBO