Sampling

Sampling of boiler water is extremely important because the harsh environ-

ment in the boiler greatly magnifies the effects of corrosion and deposition
mech- anisms. The most important constituents to be monitored include pH,
conduc- tivity, silica, and phosphate. On-line monitoring is greatly preferred,
with grab sampling as a backup. For drum-type units, the sample is either taken
from spe- cial ports located in the drum, or more often from the boiler
blowdown or down- comer. Further details are outlined in chapter 7.

Layup and Off-Line Corrosion Protection

More corrosion can occur during an outage than at any other time. This is
almost exclusively due to air intrusion into the boiler and subsequent oxygen
corrosion of components. The optimum theoretical approach to prevent corro-
sion is to completely dry the boiler with warm air circulation. For long-term
out- ages, where the unit may not be needed for quite a while, this merits
serious con- sideration, although complete dryness is sometimes difficult to
achieve. Most outages, however, are only for a few days or a few weeks, with
the knowledge that the boiler will be required to operate by a specific date. Wet
layups are much more practical for these situations. However, the boiler and
feedwater system must be laid up properly or severe corrosion will result.
Layup guidelines differ depending on whether the layup will be short term,
less than four days or so, or long term, such as several weeks or a month. For
short-term layups, the boiler should be filled with condensate containing 200
ppm of hydrazine and enough ammonia or neutralizing amine to bring the pH
to 10. A nitrogen blanket should be introduced to the drum and superheater
through the vent lines as the boiler pressure decays. A 5 psig N 2 pressure needs
to be maintained throughout the outage. Additionally, the feedwater system
must
Boiler Water Chemistry 73

not be neglected. If the standard operating concentrations of oxygen scavenger and pH-
conditioner are in the feedwater at time of shutdown, this solution can remain. If not, then
provisions should be made to introduce a solution contain- ing 50 ppb of oxygen scavenger
at a pH of 10 to the system. The steam-side of the heaters should be blanketed with steam or
nitrogen, as exfoliation of feed- water heater tubes can become very severe without this
protection. The deaera- tor should also be blanketed with steam, if possible, or laid up with
an oxygen- scavenger/ammonia solution. The superheater and reheater are usually allowed
to remain dry.
For long-term outages, some modifications to the treatment are recom- mended. For
example, a solution containing 50 to 100 ppm of hydrazine is sug- gested for the feedwater
system, with pH adjustment to 9.5. Some experts also recommend filling the superheater
with the same solution as in the boiler. If this is done, plant personnel should pin the
superheater hangers, as the water will add a great deal of weight to the pendants. A
nitrogen cap should be applied at the drum and superheater vents to prevent intrusion of
air.
Where possible, the boiler layup solution should be periodically circulated. This helps
reduce stagnant zones and also allows the plant chemists to obtain more accurate analyses
of the layup chemical concentrations. Should the con- centrations be too low, the staff can
add more chemicals. Case History 3-5 describes recirculation systems that were installed on
two drum boilers in response to a unique wet-layup-induced corrosion mechanism.
Before the boiler is started up, the layup chemicals need to be removed. This includes a
flush of the feedwater system and drain and refill of the boiler. If this is not done, excessive
ammonia will be present throughout the system. This can cause serious chemistry problems,
especially if the feedwater heaters are tubed with copper alloys. If the superheaters are
drainable, they should be emptied, too.