SM
TECHNIFAX®
Part 1 — Waterside
The best corrosion-control
program for operating boilers
can be completely offset by
neglect during outages, as boiler
metal surfaces are often attacked
and damaged by oxygen from
the air during shutdowns.
Protection can be achieved by
(l) excluding all air from the
boiler (wet lay-up) or (2) keeping
the surfaces completely dry (dry
lay-up). Because of wide varia-
tions in boiler design, there is no
universal boiler lay-up proce-
dure. System shutdown and the
mechanical aspects of lay-up are
important, so the boiler manu-
facturer’s recommendations
should always be consulted
before proceeding. Arrange-
ments must be made to protect
the boiler, superheaters, re-
heaters and economizers during
storage. Deaerators and feed-
water heaters also require
protection. In the dry procedure,
nitrogen blanketing and/or
chemical desiccants are recom-
mended. Nitrogen blanketing
will expel air and prevent
oxygen ingress, while trays of
moisture-absorbing chemicals
will prevent air/moisture
contact.
NALCO CHEMICAL COMPANY ONE NALCO CENTER
SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES IN PRINCIPAL LOCATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
Registered Trademarks of Nalco Chemical Company ©1977, 1997 Nalco Chemical Company
How to protect your boiler during
shutdowns
Fireside surfaces should be free of
deposits during boiler lay-up.
The choice between wet and dry
depends on the length of time a
boiler will be out of service. Wet
lay-up is recommended for short
outages (30 days or less); dry lay-
up is recommended for longer
periods. The wet method has the
advantage of permitting the boiler
to be returned to service on short
notice. Dry lay-up is practical only
if the unit can be drained hot.
A boiler should be drained and
inspected prior to any lay-up.
When time does not allow for
inspection, the boiler may be
stored wet without draining if the
chemical treatment is injected into
the boiler before it comes off line.
NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS 60563-1198
All Rights Reserved Printed in U.S.A. 4-97
TF-23
WET LAY-UP
Boilers without superheaters
or reheaters
Boilers without superheaters or
reheaters can use a variety of
chemicals to achieve a proper
wet lay-up. Either a sulfite or
ELIMIN-OX® approach can be
used.
SULFITE
Sulfite:
5.7 lb NALCO® 19-P/1000 gal
water or 15.2 lb NALCO® 1720/
1000 gal water (400 ppm as SO3 )
TRANSPORT-PLUS®:
1 lb/l000 gal water (120 ppm)
Caustic:
1/3 lb NALCO® 7292 (50%
caustic/l000 gal water (37.5 ppm)
ELIMIN-OX
ELIMIN-OX:
12.5 lb/l000 gal water (1500 ppm)
TRANSPORT-PLUS:
1 lb/l000 gal water (120 ppm)
NALCO® 350:
8-9 lb/l000 gal water (1000 ppm)
The highest quality water available
should be used for lay-up. Steam
condensate is preferred due to its
lower oxygen content, but de-
mineralized water and softened
water are generally acceptable for
boilers that don’t have superheaters.
The concentration of NALCO
7292 or NALCO 350 should be
sufficient to maintain a pH of 10.
If the pH level falls below 10, add
more product.
The TRANSPORT-PLUS product
used should be the same as that
used for the internal treatment
program.
1. After the boiler has been drained
and inspected, add the chemi-
cals as the boiler is refilled with
water. (When time does not
allow for inspection, add the
chemicals at least 30 minutes
before the boiler comes off line.)
2. Fill the boiler to the water level
in the drum. The chemicals
must be well mixed in the
water. It is desirable to start a
light fire and operate the boiler
at low load for approximately
30 minutes to circulate the
chemicals. Nitrogen at 25 psig
should be introduced at this
point. Water level can then be
increased to the top of the
drum. After filling, the boiler
must be tightly blanked or
closed.
Test the boiler water weekly
during the outage to make sure
proper control levels are being
maintained. Control of pH is
the most critical factor in
overall corrosion protection. A
minimum pH of 10 should be
maintained for minimum pro-
tection. Tests should include
pH, sulfite or ELIMIN-OX,
iron and hardness levels. Add
more chemical as needed and
recirculate.
Boilers with superheaters
and reheaters
1. Boilers with superheaters and
reheaters require high purity
water for flooding (chemically
treated condensate or deminer-
alized water). All chemicals
used for lay-up must be vola-
tile. Inject the following chemi-
cals into the water while back-
filling the superheaters from
the outlet header in order to
ensure adequate mixing.
NALCO 350:
8-9 lb/l 000 gal water
(1000 ppm)
ELIMIN-OX:
12.5 lb/l000 gal water
(1500 ppm)
The NALCO 350 concentration
should be sufficient to raise the
pH to 10.0.
2. All manholes should be closed
and all connections tightly
blanked or closed.
Nitrogen blanketing
Nitrogen blanketing may be used
to exclude air from a boiler. Its
effectiveness is dependent on how
well a boiler can be sealed against
air in-leakage. It will not protect
nondrainable superheaters unless
they have been completely dried.
After the boiler is filled with
treated water and brought up to
50 psig, nitrogen is injected and
maintained under a positive
pressure of 5 psi to prevent air in-
leakage. All manholes should be
closed and all connections tightly
blanked to prevent air in-leakage.
DRY LAY-UP
The objective of dry lay-up is
to keep metal surfaces free of
moisture which could contain
dissolved oxygen. The two recom-
mended procedures are nitrogen
blanketing and the use of
desiccants.
Nitrogen blanketing
Drain the boiler before the pres-
sure falls to zero and pressurize
with 5 psig nitrogen while drain-
ing. Maintain this nitrogen pres-
sure throughout draining and
storage. Pressurize all circuits to
exclude air in-leakage.
Use of desiccants
1. The boiler should be free of
moisture-retaining deposits
and thoroughly dried out.
2. Drying can be aided by blowing
hot dry air through boiler circuits.
Note: Special attention must be
given to the superheaters. It is
important to dry them thoroughly
since they are particularly suscep-
tible to corrosion.
3. Place commercial grade silica
gel in trays and distribute in
boiler drums. The trays should
be placed so that air may
circulate underneath. Use 5 lb
of silica gel/30 ft3 of boiler
volume.
4. Seal the boiler carefully, blanking
off all openings to prevent air
in-leakage.
5. Inspect every two months for
evidence of active corrosion.
Check the desiccant and replace
when necessary. Reseal and
restore to proper conditions.
RETURNING IDLE BOILERS
TO SERVICE
Wet lay-up — Vent the nitrogen,
if used. Reduce the chemical
concentrations in the lay-up water
to normal operating levels. This
can be accomplished by partially
draining the boiler and filling to
operating level with feedwater. If
superheaters are stored wet, they
should be drained. Careful firing
is then required to completely dry
out the superheaters before
normal operation.
Dry lay-up — The normal start-
up procedure for the boiler can be
followed. Thoroughly purge the
equipment of nitrogen with dry
air. Remove all desiccant, includ-
ing any spillage from trays.
Warning: Do not enter a boiler
that has been nitrogen capped
until oxygen levels are checked.
Entering a nitrogen-filled boiler
can be fatal.
Part 2 — Fireside
Fireside lay-up procedures are
designed to keep metal surfaces
dry. Moisture and oxygen pro-
duce corrosion by forming acids
that attack steel. Precautions taken
during lay-up inhibit metal degra-
dation and prolong boiler life.
Corrosion is a threat to a cold
boiler regardless of fuel type. The
common factor in all fuels is the
level of impurities. While the
boiler is still firing, the impurities Higher SO3 and H2O concentrations
favor formation of corrosive liquid acid
may be thermally decomposed as at higher metal temperatures.
they pass through the flame zone.
The elements of the impurities Clean fireside boiler tubes will
combine into an assortment of help reduce fuel costs and main-
different compounds. As the tain a low stack temperature while
compounds stabilize, they may providing maximum superheat
form either solid deposits on the temperatures. Fireside clean-up is
tube surfaces, or acidic liquids usually done by water washing
that corrode metal. the tube surfaces with lances or
high-pressure hoses. Tenacious
Lay-up is a critical period for
deposits may have to be sand-
boiler maintenance and repair.
blasted from the tube surface.
It is important to clean fireside
surfaces to maximize heat trans- The problem associated with
fer. Consider that a 0.1" scale clean metal during lay-up is the
deposit on the waterside may vulnerability of tube surfaces to
increase fuel consumption as rust and corrosion. The water
much as 16%. Fireside deposits used to clean the fireside reacts
may be several inches thick and with sulfur compounds in the ash
significantly alter the efficiency of deposits to form sulfuric and
heat transfer. sulfurous acids. Iron or vanadium
will catalyze this reaction and
The deposits themselves may
intensify the corrosion.
initiate three types of problems.
First, as deposits form, they may The typical corrosion reactions are:
produce corrosion at the interface
of the metal and deposit surface. Sulfuric Acid Corrosion
Second, the deposit may trap fly 2Fe + 4H2O + SO3 → H2SO4 + Fe2O3 +
ash, which adds to the bulk of the 3H2↑
deposit surface. Third, fly ash Carbonic Acid Corrosion
constituents such as iron, vana-
Fe + 2H2CO3 →Fe+2 + H2↑ + 2HCO3–
dium, and sodium may react with
sulfur compounds to form highly Oxygen Corrosion
corrosive, low pH deposits. 4Fe + 6H2O + 3O2 → 4Fe(OH)3
Magnesium-based products can
be used to reduce the effects of
corrosion during lay-up periods.
The products use two anti-corro-
sion mechanisms:
1. Formation of a physical barrier
that inhibits exposure of clean
metal surfaces to oxygen and
water vapor.
2. The magnesium-based product
absorbs acids such as H2SO4
and chemically neutralizes them.
There are two common methods
of fireside lay-up: “hot” and
“cold.” Cold lay-up is better for
extended outages or many types
of boiler repairs because it does
not use energy. For minor repairs,
a short outage or when keeping
the boiler on idle, a hot lay-up
may be preferred.
With either method of lay-up, if
significant deposits are present,
the fireside should be cleaned. If
water washing is unnecessary, an
oil dispersible magnesium-based
additive such as NALCO® 8253
should be used continuously for
two weeks prior to shutdown at
a dosage range of 7-8 pints per
1000 gallons of oil. Sootblowers
would remove the additive, so
they should not be activated when
the boiler is taken out of service.
The boiler should be inspected
monthly during lay-up to check
for trouble spots and active
corrosion sites.
HOT LAY-UP/BOILER IDLE
For hot lay-up, metal surfaces
should be kept at 170°F or higher
Patents
The purchaser of this product is granted a license under U.S. Patent 4,457,847 to use the product
in boilers. The selling price includes a prepaid royalty. If the product is being used so as to not
infringe the above listed patent, please advise Nalco. Licenses are available from Nalco at the
same royalty rate under this patent irrespective of the source of the product. Other patents have
been granted to Nalco on related inventions whlch are available for license.
to reduce moisture in the system.
The temperature can be controlled
by using an auxiliary heat source.
If natural gas or electric air heat-
ers are used to maintain boiler
temperatures, a dry magnesium
product such as NALCO® 156C
can be introduced at the forced
draft (FD) fan inlet.
COLD LAY-UP
The potential for corrosion is much
greater with cold lay-up because
of the lower temperatures. The
importance of metal skin tempera-
ture cannot be over-emphasized
in corrosion problems. A metal
surface below 300°F with 10 ppm
SO3 present will be cool enough to
cause condensation of sulfuric
acid, opening the door to corro-
sion. During cold lay-up, the metal
temperatures are usually far be-
low 300°F, and the formation of
SO3 will be the preferred chemical
reaction.
When the unit is off line and the
water temperature has dropped
below 140°F, wash down the
boiler, economizer, air heater and
ID fan. Washing removes the ash
and impurities that can contribute
to corrosion. Drain all wash water
from the boiler.
To protectively coat the fireside,
add NALCO 156C at the FD fan
inlet. The fan must be on while
the product is being added. The
dosage will range from 25 to
500 lb of 156C per boiler. Use
1 pound of 156C per 1000 lb/hr
of boiler capacity.
Example:
Average Steam Capacity =
75,000 lb/hr
75,000 lb/hr = 75 pounds of 156C
1000 lb/hr
Important: Do not activate
sootblower after the product has
been fed to the system.
An alternate procedure is to apply
NALCO® 8263 PLUS to the fire-
side surface with a paint spray
gun, or in severe problem areas, a
paint brush. The spray gun must
have a nozzle orifice of at least
0.028" to accommodate the sus-
pension. Assuming a dry thick-
ness of 1 mil (0.001"), one gallon
of 8263 PLUS should cover about
500 square feet.
Brush application generally pro-
vides a heavier layer, so coverage
would be reduced. The product
should be applied full strength.
Abrasion of the paint spray
equipment should not be a prob-
lem as long as the application
pressures are less than 15 psi.
Stainless steel equipment is pre-
ferred, but most plastics, brass,
and copper are also suitable. The
material cannot be sprayed using
aluminum, natural rubber, neo-
prene or carbon steel materials.
Metal surfaces should be kept dry
by using heat lamps, desiccants,
or dry, warm air circulation. Seal
the furnace to prevent moist air or
rain from entering.
Hard hats, safety glasses, and
safety shoes should be worn when
entering a furnace. Falling slag,
tools, etc., are hazards that must
be recognized. Preventive mainte-
nance procedures used with the
boiler and safety rules observed
around the boiler are the key ele-
ments of a successful boiler lay-up.