Boiler feedwater

A boiler is a device for generating steam, which consists of two principal parts: the furnace, which provides heat, usually
by burning a fuel, and the boiler proper, a device in which the heat changes water into steam. The steam or hot fluid is
then recirculated out of the boiler for use in various processes in heating applications. At atmospheric pressure water
volume increases 1,600 times.

Boiler feedwater is water used to supply ("feed") a boiler to generate steam or hot water. At thermal power stations the
feedwater is usually stored, pre-heated and conditioned in a feedwater tank and forwarded into the boiler by a boiler
feedwater pump.
Conditioning
The water required for boiler feed purposes i.e for steam generation should be of very high quality and thus requires a lot
of treatment. Untreated waters, containing impurities may lead to the following problems in boilers:
►Scale and sludge formation
►Boiler Corrosion
►Caustic Embrittlement
►Priming and foaming
The feedwater has to be specially conditioned to avoid problems in the boiler and downstream components.

The water circuit of a water boiler can be summarized by the following picture:
The boiler receives the feed water, which consists of varying proportion of recovered condensed water (return water) and
fresh water, which has been purified in varying degrees (make up water). The make-up water is usually natural water
treated by some process before use. Feed-water composition therefore depends on the quality of the make-up water and
the amount of condensate returned to the boiler. The steam, which escapes from the boiler, frequently contains liquid
droplets and gases. The water remaining in liquid form at the bottom of the boiler picks up all the foreign matter from the
water that was converted to steam. The impurities must be blown down by the discharge of some of the water from the
boiler to the drains. The permissible percentage of blown down at a plant is strictly limited by running costs and initial
outlay. The tendency is to reduce this percentage to a very small figure.

Proper treatment of boiler feed water is an important part of operating and maintaining a boiler system. As steam is
produced, dissolved solids become concentrated and form deposits inside the boiler. This leads to poor heat transfer and
reduces the efficiency of the boiler. Dissolved gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide will react with the metals in the
boiler system and lead to boiler corrosion. In order to protect the boiler from these contaminants, they should be controlled
or removed, through external or internal treatment.
In the steam boiler industry, high purity feed water is required to ensure proper operation of steam generation systems.
High purity feed water reduces the use of boiler chemicals due to less frequent blowdown requirements. Lower
blowdown frequency also results in lower fuel costs. Scale buildup is reduced due to a smaller concentration of
impurities in the boiler feed water to foul heat transfer surfaces. The lower level of impurities also reduces corrosion
rates in the boiler. When boiler is used to run a steam turbine, turbine blade erosion is reduced due to higher purity
steam generated.

Silicate and colloidal deposits decrease boiler efficiency and also result in premature failure of turbines. The
reduction in particulate matter, suspended solids and total organic carbon also enhance turbine and boiler efficiency.

To meet the requirements of both ecology and economy, the filtration of boiler feed water streams allows an industrial
boiler or power plant to meet the stringent requirements for more efficient boiler performance. The treatment of the
boiler feed water is required for preventing excessive heat transfer equipment fouling and the erosion of turbine blades.

Importance of Good Boiler Feedwater Treatment

Maintaining good feedwater is an important and fundamental aspect of any steam turbine power plant. A plant that
maintains good feedwater achieves the following three benefits:

1.Help to ensure maximum life out of its boilers, steam turbines, condensers, and pumps.

2. Reduce maintenance expenses.

3. Maintain optimal thermal performance

Results of Poor Water Treatment
In the ideal situation, water would be feed to a boiler free of any impurities. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Water
clean up is always required. The following items are the most problematic to boilers and steam turbines:

Calcium (Ca) scale– Calcium is present in water in the forms of compounds like calcium sulfate, calcium bicarbonate,
calcium carbonate, calcium chloride, and calcium nitrate. During evaporation, these chemicals adhere to boiler tube walls
forming scale. Its formation increases with the rate of evaporation so these deposits will be heaviest where the gas
temperatures are highest. Scale is a nonconductor of heat which leads to a decreased heat transfer of the boiler
tubes, and can result in tube failure due to higher tube metal temperatures. Buildup of scale also clogs piping
systems and can cause control valves and safety valves to stick.

Magnesium (Mg) scale – Same issues as with calcium.

Silica (SiO2) – Silica can form scale at pressures below 600 psig. Above 600 psig, silica starts to volatize, passing over
with steam to potentially form deposits on the steam turbine diaphragms and blades. These deposits change the
steam path components’ profiles resulting in energy losses. The degree of loss depends upon the amount of the deposits,
their thickness and their degree of roughness.

Sodium (Na) – Sodium can combine with hydroxide ions creating sodium hydroxide (caustic). Highly stressed areas of
boiler piping and steam turbines can be attacked by sodium hydroxide and cause stress-corrosion cracks to occur. This
was a problem in older boiler with riveted drums because of stresses and crevices in the areas of rivets and seams. While
less prevalent today, rolled tube ends are still vulnerable areas of attack as well as welded connections.

Chloride (Cl) – Chlorides of calcium, magnesium, and sodium, and other metals are normally found in natural water
supplies. All of these chlorides are very soluble in water and therefore, can carry over with steam to the steam turbine.
Chlorides are frequently found in turbine deposits and will cause corrosion of austenitic (300 series) stainless steel
and pitting of 12 Cr steel. Corrosion resistant materials protect themselves by forming a protective oxide layer on
their surface. These oxides are better known by their generic name “ceramic.” All ceramics will pit if exposed to
chlorides. If the metal piece is under tensile stress either because of operation or residual stress left during
manufacturing, the pits formed by chlorides attacking the passivated layer will deepen even more. Since the piece is
under tensile stress, cracking will occur in the stressed portions.
Usually there will be more than one crack present causing the pattern to resemble a spider’s web. The most common
source of chloride contamination is from condenser leakage.
Iron (Fe) – High iron is not found in raw water but high concentrations can come from rusted piping and exfoliation of
boiler tubes. Iron is found in condensate return in a particle form as it does not dissolve in water. The detrimental
aspect of iron is called steam turbine solid particle erosion, which causes significant erosion of steam turbine steam
path components.
Oil contamination, problem & remedies
Main problems caused by oil in the boiler water are:
1.Oil can coat metal surfaces, cut down heat transfer, and produce metal overheating and tube damage
2.Oil can cause sludge to become sticky and adhere to heat transfer surfaces
3.Oil can produce foaming and boiler water carryover
Oil contamination should be completely eliminated whenever possible. Organic chemicals help counteract the effects of
small amounts of oil contamination, but not of gross contamination. When sudden boiler water oil contamination is
experienced, normal procedure is to blow down heavily to remove oil and to check for the source of contamination. In
case of severe contamination, the boiler needs to be taken off the line and cleaned out to remove the oil from the boiler
surfaces. When oil contamination is continuous and unavoidable, some of the methods used are:
1.Free oil can be reduced by passing the water through absorbent cartridge filters
2.Special filters are used with aids like diatomaceous earth
Oxygen (O2) – Oxygen is found in feedwater and its partial pressure is relatively high so it will requires a near saturation
temperature to disassociate itself from water. Oxygen in combination with water will attack iron and cause corrosion.
The reaction occurs in two steps:

The ferric hydroxide is highly insoluble and precipitates on heated surfaces. The precipitate is called magnetite or
rust. The closer the water is to the saturation temperature, the more corrosion will occur.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) – Carbon dioxide can react with water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). Carbonic acid will cause
corrosion in steam and return lines. Carbon dioxide can originate from condenser air leakage or bicarbonate
(HCO3) alkalinity in the feedwater.

pH – The pH value of water is a measure of its alkalinity or acidity and has a direct bearing on the corrosive properties.
All water contains alkaline (hydroxyl, OH) ions and hydrogen (H) ions. Low pH in local areas is the second most
common cause of corrosion in mild steel boilers. Above roughly 400°, mild steel corrosion results in the formation of
magnetite, a tight adherent that acts as a barrier between boiler water and steel. The corrosion reaction stops after a
uniform magnetite layer is formed.

Rapid general corrosion can ensue if this protective film is disrupted, so water chemistry must be carefully controlled to
maintain the film. An acidic condition can destroy the magnetite film; therefore, boiler water is maintained in the alkaline
range of a pH of 9.0 to 10.5.

Foaming – Foaming is the formation of bubbles or froth on the water surface. It is caused by a high amount of total and
suspended solids. Foam will fill the free surface area of a separating device increasing local velocities and promoting a
serious carryover of boiler water.

Priming – Priming is a violent and spasmodic discharge of water with steam into the steam space. Slugs of water are
thrown over with the steam causing damage to the steam turbine.

Carryover – When boiler water solids are carried over into the moisture mixed with steam even though there is no
indication of foaming or priming, this is considered as carryover. Carryover can be the result of high steam flow which
overloads the dryers (separators). The dryers work by sudden changes in steam velocity so that foreign particles are
thrown out by centrifugal force.
Raw Water Cleaning
Raw water can come from a variety of sources, lakes, rivers, and wells for example. Each source of water will have its
own constituents and therefore, its own requirements for cleanup. These cleanup requirements should be specified by
experts in this field of work.
Raw water from reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and wells can have varying characteristics as provided below:
In general, raw water is cleaned via four processes. They are summarized below:

1. Aeration
This process removes undesirable gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide by mixing water with air. The
mixing adds oxygen to the water while removing the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. Increasing the temperature,
the aeration time and the surface area of water improves the removal of gases.

2. Coagulation
This is the process of adding chemicals to reduce coarse suspended solids, silt, turbidity, and colloids in a clarifier. The
impurities will settle out of solution with the added chemicals. Some chemicals used for coagulation are filter alum,
sodium aluminate, copperas, ferrisul, activated silica, and various organic compounds.

3. Filtration
Filters remove coarse suspended matter and removes floc or sludge from coagulation or process softening systems. Beds
of gravel or coarse anthracite are common materials used for the filter beds. Specially made precoated filters can be used
to remove oil and reduce color.

4. Softening
There are several methods to remove calcium, magnesium, silica, and silt (softening). They are summarized as follows:

Lime soda softening – Calcium hydroxide (lime) is added to feedwater to precipitate the calcium bicarbonate to calcium
carbonate and magnesium salts to magnesium hydroxide. Sodium carbonate (soda ash) is added to react with calcium
chloride and calcium sulfate to form calcium carbonate. This process is more efficient at hot temperatures. After the
lime-soda process, the residual hardness will be approximately 17 to 25 ppm.
Hot-process phosphate softening – Phosphate (tri-sodium phosphate or sodium hexameta phosphate) is added to
remove calcium and magnesium. This process results in precipitated tricalcium phosphate and magnesium hydroxide.
The chemical reactions occur above 212° F and will reduce hardness to nearly zero.

Zeolite softening – Zeolites are any in a group of crystalline mineral compounds whose framework of atoms forms
microscopic tunnels and “rooms.” The internal structure of zeolites makes them useful as filters and catalysts. In water
softening processes, zeolites are used to exchange calcium and magnesium ions with sodium in the zeolite.
The calcium and magnesium are passed to waste and the zeolite is regenerated by passing a sodium chloride (salt)
solution through the softener.

Demineralization – Demineralizers are used to remove ionized mineral salts. Calcium, magnesium, and sodium cations
are removed in a hydrogen cation exchanger by sulfonic, carboxylic, and phenolic hydroxyl compounds.
Anions of bicarbonates, sulfates, chloride, and soluble silica are removed by amino or quaternary nitrogen.

Reverse Osmosis - Reverse osmosis is defined as the passage of water from a more concentrated solution to a less
concentrated solution through a semi-permeable membrane under pressure. The pressure is required to reverse the natural
process of osmosis by overcoming the osmotic pressure. Simply, osmotic pressure can be looked at as being directly
related to concentration so the higher the salt concentration in the feed, the higher the osmotic pressure.

Seawater, which contains approximately 3.5%, or 35,000 mg/l salt, the majority of which is sodium chloride (NaCl), has
an osmotic pressure of 410 psi (28.3 bars). Before desalting can occur, an RO system must be pressurized to a minimum
of 410 psi (28.3 bars) to overcome the osmotic pressure inherent in the solution. Two-stage RO is defined as running two
RO systems in series with the product (permeate) of the first acting as the feed to the second RO. Staged or series
operation is typically done when a single-stage RO system does not produce the required quality of product water.
Another justification for two-stage RO is where the additional expenses of operating the second RO system is lower than
alternative forms of polishing the first-stage RO permeate to reach a higher quality of final product water.
REVERSE OSMOSIS
Boiler Water Control
Items to control in the boiler water are oxygen and dissolved solids. Each of these is controlled in the following manner:

Oxygen – Oxygen will be found in steam condenser condensate as well as in makeup water. It is most commonly
removed via one of two system arrangements. A common method is the use of a vacuum condenser. A vacuum is created
in the condenser by steam jet air ejectors pumps and this prevents the water from absorbing oxygen because the vacuum
is lower that the oxygen’s partial pressure in water. The other method is to use an integral deaerator arrangement. For
this arrangement a deaerator is located atop the low pressure drum and water from the HRSG feedwater heater is sent to
the integral deaerator where it mixes with saturated steam from the low pressure drum thereby removing the oxygen.

Dissolved Solids – During the evaporation process, most solids stay in the water section of the drum while steam is sent
to the superheater. As the solids increase in water, they are removed by sending a small portion (typically 1 to 2% of the
feedwater flow rate) though a drum blowdown pipe to the blowdown tank. This water is most often released to a drain.
The separation ratio of solids in steam vs. drum water depends upon pressure.
Caustic embrittlement is the phenomenon in which the material of a boiler becomes brittle due to the accumulation of
caustic substances.

As water evaporates in the boiler, the concentration of sodium carbonate increases in the boiler. Sodium carbonate is
used in softening of water by lime soda process, due to this some sodium carbonate maybe left behind in the water. As
the concentration of sodium carbonate increases, it undergoes hydrolysis to form sodium hydroxide.

Na2CO3 + H2O → 2NaOH + CO2

The presence of sodium hydroxide makes the water alkaline. This alkaline water enters minute cracks present in the
inner walls of the boiler by capillary action. Inside the cracks, the water evaporates and amount of hydroxide keeps
on increasing progressively. This sodium hydroxide attacks the surrounding material and the dissolves the iron of the
boiler as sodium ferrate. This causes embrittlement of boiler parts like rivets, bends and joints, which are under stress.

This can be prevented by using sodium phosphate instead of sodium carbonate as softening reagents. Adding tannin
or lignin to boiler water, which block the hair-line cracks and prevent infiltration of NaOH into these areas. Adding
Na2SO4 to boiler water, which also blocks hair-line cracks.

This indicates that there are leaks in the boiler tubes.

White deposit appeared at the bottom end of the tubes.
It is a salt( SODIUM CARBONATE). CAUSTIC CORROSION
BOILER FEED-WATER TREATMENT

The importance of correct feed-water treatment for economic operation and for extending life of boiler and equipment cannot be over emphasized.
Feed-water treatment is essential in boilers, feed-systems, etc., more particularly in modern boilers of a high evaporative rate. (The faster a steam
boiler or generator will convert water to steam, the more rapidly will the solids in the water concentrate up.) So, large and small water-tube boilers,
the typical fire-tube packaged boiler, and steam generators are all examples of this in varying degrees. As all untreated waters carry natural salts,
they have to be treated to prevent scale forming.

The three main reasons for water treatment are :

Prevention of Corrosion in feed boiler, steam and condensate systems.

Elimination of Scale.

Economic boiler operation without carryover.

Corrosion will reduce metal thickness of tubes or shell. Result : pressure must be reduced and finally boiler condemned.

Scale reduces the heat flow from fire side to water. Result : high fire temperatures are needed to be maintained.

Basic Chemistry of the Effect of Impurities in the Boiler. If we could use water completely free from all impurities, there would be no need
for water treatment.

IMPURITY EFFECT ON A BOILER

1. Dissolved gases Corrosion

These salts are the 'hardness in the
2. Calcium salts and magnesium
boiler.
salts
Some salts can also cause corrosion
3. Silica Can form a very hard scale.
Contribute to, or cause, carryover
4. Suspended solids and dissolved
entrainment of a relatively small quantity of
solids
boiler water solids with the steam
 IMPURITY RESULTING IN GOT RID OF BY COMMENTS
Soluble Gases
Water smells like rotten Found mainly in
Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) eggs: Tastes bad, and is Aeration groundwater, and polluted
corrosive to most metals. streams.
Filming, neutralizing
Corrosive, forms carbonic Deaeration, neutralization
Carbon dioxide (CO2) amines used to prevent
acid in condensate. with alkalis.
condensate line corrosion.
Pitting of boiler tubes, and
Deaeration & chemical
Corrosion and pitting of turbine blades, failure of
Oxygen(O2) treatment with (Sodium
boiler tubes. steam lines, and fittings
Sulphite or Hydrazine)
etc.
Suspended solids
Tolerance of approx.
Sludge and scale Clarification and 5ppm max. for most
Sediment & Turbidity
carryover. filtration. applications, 10ppm for
potable water.
 Found mostly in surface waters, caused by
rotting vegetation, and farm run offs.
Organics break down to form organic acids.
Results in lowering of boiler feed-water
pH, which then attacks boiler tubes.
Includes diatoms, molds, bacterial slimes,
iron/manganese bacteria. Suspended
Carryover, foaming, particles collect on the surface of the water
Clarification;
deposits can clog in the boiler and render difficulty in the
Organic Matter filtration, and
piping, and cause liberation of steam bubbles rising to that
chemical treatment
corrosion. surface.. Foaming can also be attributed to
waters containing carbonates in solution in
which a light flocculent precipitate will be
formed on the surface of the water. It is
usually traced to an excess of sodium
carbonate used in treatment for some other
difficulty where animal or vegetable oil
finds its way into the boiler.
Dissolved Colloidal
Solids
Foaming, deposits in
Oil & Grease Coagulation & filtration Enters boiler with condensate
boiler
Scale deposits in boiler, Forms are bicarbonates, sulphates,
inhibits heat transfer, chlorides, and nitrates, in that
Hardness,
and thermal efficiency. Softening, plus internal order. Some calcium salts are
Calcium(Ca), and
In severe cases can lead treatment in boiler. reversibly soluble. Magnesium
Magnesium (Mg)
to boiler tube burn reacts with carbonates to form
through, and failure. compounds of low solubility.
Foaming, carbonates
Deaeration of make-up
form carbonic acid in
water and condensate Sodium salts are found in most
Sodium, alkalinity, steam, causes
return. Ion exchange; waters. They are very soluble, and
NaOH, NaHCO3, condensate return line,
deionization, acid cannot be removed by chemical
Na2CO3 and steam trap
treatment of make-up precipitation.
corrosion, can cause
water.
embrittlement.
Hard scale if calcium is Tolerance limits are about 100-
Sulphates (SO4) Deionization
present 300ppm as CaCO3
 Priming, or the passage of
steam from a boiler in
Priming, i.e. uneven delivery
"belches", is caused by the
of steam from the boiler
concentration sodium
(belching), carryover of water
carbonate, sodium sulphate,
in steam lowering steam
Chlorides, (Cl) Deionization or sodium chloride in
efficiency, can deposit as salts
solution. Sodium sulphate is
on superheaters and turbine
found in many waters in the
blades. Foaming if present in
USA, and in waters where
large amounts.
calcium or magnesium is
precipitated with soda ash.

Deposits in boiler, in large

Iron (Fe) and Aeration, filtration, ion Most common form is ferrous
amounts can inhibit heat
Manganese (Mn) exchange. bicarbonate.
transfer.
Silica combines with many
elements to produce silicates.
Silicates form very tenacious
Hard scale in boilers and Deionization; lime soda deposits in boiler tubing. Very
Silica (Si) cooling systems: turbine process, hot-lime-zeolite difficult to remove, often only
blade deposits. treatment. by flourodic acids. Most
critical consideration is
volatile carryover to turbine
components.