Technical Information 209

Boiling-out Procedure &

Passivation with
Cetamine®

www.kurita.eu
Technical Information 209
Boiling-out Procedure & Passivation with Cetamine®
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CONTENT

1. Introduction

2. Boiling-out with Cetamine® G840

3. Description of procedure

4. Target
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Boiling-out Procedure & Passivation with Cetamine®
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1. Introduction

Boiling out of steam boilers, especially water tube boilers, prior to initial start-up, is necessary to
achieve the required steam purity. This issue mainly concerns power plants and industrial
cogeneration plants. Impurities out of the boiler can cause massive damage on steam turbines and,
depending on the plant, can damage installations or produced materials. More and more shell
boilers are being boiled out as a result of demands from the main contractors in order to prevent
failures. During the boiling out procedure iron oxide coatings, dust and fine-grained sand will be
suspended and oil and grease residuals emulsified.

The boiling out procedure with polycarboxylates in combination with filmforming amines is
approved by the VGB-Standard VGB-S-513-00-204-07 “Internal Cleaning of Water-Tube Steam
Generating Plants and Associated Pipework”.

The same principle can be applied to remove loose iron oxide coatings, hardness scale and oil and
grease residuals from system surfaces during normal operation. During this online cleaning
process deposit layers will be slowly removed and further build-up of layers be prevented during
normal operation. The deposits will be discharged via the blowdown. The online cleaning method is
approved by the VGB-Standard VGB-S-513-00-204-07 “Internal Cleaning of Water-Tube Steam
Generating Plants and Associated Pipework”.

®
2. Boiling-out with Cetamine G840

With the traditional boiling out procedure the boiler water is strongly alkalized by caustic soda,
sodium carbonate and sodium phosphate. This strongly alkaline solution is required for removing
residues of grease and other impurities like iron oxides from the surface of a new boiler. During the
boiling out the alkaline boiler water catalyzes the passivation of the metal surface in order to slow
down corrosion reactions.
®
Cetamine G840 has the same passivation properties but in addition, strong dispersing properties
which transfer particulated colloidal impurities into the fluid phase. These can easily be removed
from the boiler by blow down.
®
A further property of Cetamine G840 is the formation of the corrosion preventing filmforming
amine layer on the metal surface of the boiler during boiling out. This protecting layer enables
corrosion prevention during the period between boiling out and putting the boiler into normal
operation.
®
Cetamine G840 is low toxic (LD 50rat > 10,000 mg/kg) and > 90% biodegradable. Still it is most
advisable to inform the local authorities before discharging the effluent.
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3. Description of the procedure

st
Startup 1 boiling out

 Fill completely the boiler with make-up water to the maximum level
 Inject gradually :
®
Cetamine G840 at 2.000 ml/m³ of boiler capacity
 Increase boiler pressure to reach 25 % of its maximum

®
Inject Cetamine G840 at 2.000 ml/m³ of make-up added during the heating phase
 Recirculate the water during 12 hours

st
End of 1 boiling out

 Empty the boiler

 Keep the effluents if the regulation is not respected in terms of pH and temperature
 Rinse carefully the boiler and make sure the rinsing water is clear and clean

nd
Startup 2 boiling out

 Second operation is an option depending on the dirtiness of the boiler

 Fill completely the boiler with make-up water
 Inject gradually :
®
Cetamine G840 at 1.000 ml/m³ of boiler capacity
®
+ Ferrolin 8634 at 1.000 ml/m³ of boiler capacity
 Increase boiler pressure to reach 25 % of its maximum

®
Inject Cetamine G840 at 1.000 ml/m³ of make-up added during the heating phase
 Recirculate the water during 12 hours

nd
End of 2 boiling out

 Empty the boiler

 Keep the effluents if the regulation is not respected in terms of pH and temperature
 Rinse carefully the boiler and make sure the rinsing water is clear and clean

Boiler treatment

 Fill the boiler with make-up water


®
Inject gradually the selected continuous treatment of Cetamine G840at 1.000 ml/m³ of boiler
capacity

®
Inject Cetamine at 20 ml/m³ of make-up water
 Recirculate the water during 12 hours
 Then the boiler can start without new blow-down after emptying it to the normal level of
water. During the heating phase treat the make-up at the same dosage (20 ml/m³).
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4. Target

The boiling-out procedure can be stopped when the criteria for steam purity are achieved. These
criteria will be given by the manufacturer of the steam turbines.

Steam boiler after boiling out:

The information in this publication reflects our current level of technical knowledge and experience. It does not constitute a
legal warranty of particular characteristics or of fitness for a specific purpose and, due to the abundance of possible
influences, does not exempt the user from making its own examinations and taking appropriate precautionary measures. It
shall be the responsibility of the recipient of our products to respect any intellectual property rights and comply with any laws
or other provisions.

Kurita Europe APW GmbH

Headquarter:
Giulinistrasse 2
D - 67065 Ludwigshafen
Phone: +49-621-5709-3000
Fax: +49-621-5709-6452
Office Düsseldorf:
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D - 40589 Düsseldorf
Phone: +49-211-797-9190 Internet: www.kurita.eu
Fax: +49-211-798-2262 Mail: info@kurita.eu

Revision date: 13 January 2021