Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

BOILER BLOW DOWN

The impurities found in boiler water depend on the untreated feed water quality, the
treatment process used and the boiler operating procedures. As a general rule, the
higher the boiler operating pressure, the greater will be the sensitivity to impurities.
As the feed water materials evaporate into steam, dissolved solids concentrate in the
boiler either in a dissolved or suspended state. Above a certain level of
concentration, these solids encourage foaming and cause carryover of water into the
steam. This leads to scale formation inside the boiler, result in localised overheating
and may finally result in tube failure etc.

It is therefore necessary to control the level of concentration of the solids and this is
achieved by the process of 'blowing down', where a certain volume of water is blown
off and is automatically replaced by feed water - thus maintaining the optimum level
of total dissolved solids (TDS) in the water. Blow down is necessary to protect the
surfaces of the heat exchanger in the boiler. However, blowdown can be a significant
source of heat loss, if improperly carried out.

The maximum amount of total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration permissible in

various types of boilers:

Recommended TDS levels for various boilers

Maximum TDS
Boiler Type
(ppm)
1. Lancashire 10,000 ppm
2. Smoke and water tube boilers (12 kg/cm2) 5,000 ppm
3. Low pressure Water tube boiler 2000-3000
3. High Pressure Water tube boiler with superheater 3,000 - 3,500 ppm
etc.
4. Package and economic boilers 3,000 ppm
5. Coil boilers and steam generators 2000 (in the feed
water
Note: Refer guidelines specified by manufacturer for more details

The following formula gives the quantity of blow down required:

Blow down (%) = Feed water TDS x % Make up

Permissible TDS in Boiler - Feed water TDS

If maximum permissible limit of TDS as in a package boiler is 3000 ppm, percentage

make up water is 10% and TDS in feed water is 300 ppm, then the percentage blow
down is given as:

300 x 10
=
3000 – 300

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

= 1.11 %

If boiler evaporation rate is 3000 kg/hr then required blow down rate is:

3000 x 1.11
=
100

= 33.3 kg/hr

Conductivity as indicator of boiler water quality

Conductivity is a standard measurement for monitoring the overall total dissolved

solids present in the boiler. A rise in conductivity indicates a rise in the
"contamination" of the boiler water.

Intermittent vs Continuous Blow down

Conventional methods for blowing down the boiler depend on two kinds of blowdown
- intermittent and continuous.

Intermittent blowdown

The parameters that are most often monitored to ensure the quality of steam are
TDS or conductivity, pH, Silica and Phospates concentration. The boiler is blown
down by manually operating a valve fitted to discharge pipe at the lowest point of
boiler shell to reduce these levels and keep them controlled to a point where the
steam quality is not likely to be affected. A substantial amount of heat energy is lost
in this process. In intermittent blowdown, a large diameter line is opened for a short
period of time, the time being based on a thumb rule such as “once a shift for 2
minutes.”.

Continuous blow down

A continuous blowdown line generally comprises a valve that is opened as required

based on results of analysis of samples that are taken periodically. However, none of
these methods regulate the levels of the parameters closely, and neither do they
take into account the variations in the steam load where less or more blowdown
would actually be required. Also when samples are taken, the temperature of the
sample is high and the flash steam separates out, leaving a concentrated solution.
This gives a high reading than the actual, thereby leading again to a higher
blowdown than called for. So, in general, the boiler people tend to blowdown “a little
extra” to be safe. At the high pressures in the boiler, a large quantity of water is
thrown out for even a few extra seconds of blowdown. Also, very often, keeping in
mind the changes in load on the boiler, the maintained (average) set points are
deliberately kept lower than the allowable to prevent maximum buildup conditions.
This is a direct loss of both heat energy as the water has been heated to its
saturation temperature and the treated water.
Automatic Blowdown Control Sysem

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

With manual blowdown methods, there

is no way of knowing your boiler's
current TDS levels or optimal
blowdown amount. Automatic
Blowdown Control System controls the
level of various parameters in a high
pressure boiler and will blow down the
boiler only as much as required and
maintains the value of the parameters
close to the Set Point, resulting in a
substantial fuel saving. The
parameters that can be controlled
include pH, TDS, Silica and Phosphate (Figure 2.1.18). The sample water is
continuously monitored and when preset level is reached valve is opened and blow
down is given until the required level is reached. Then the valve is closed. This
allows only the required quantity of high concentration water to be drained. This
system is especially suitable for monitoring and controlling of blowdown for boilers in
large Process Plants and Power Plants. Payback period for installation of such
systems varies from 6 months to 2 years.

Benefits of blowdown

Automatic boiler blowdown control can significantly reduce treatment and operational
costs that include:
 Reduced fuel consumption
 Lower pretreatment costs
 Less make-up water consumption
 Reduced maintenance downtime
 Increased boiler life
 Lower consumption of treatment chemicals

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar