Cascade tank comprises primarily of observation tank,settling chamber,filtration

chamber and hotwell main chamber.

Boiler observation tank receives the dirty condensate. Dirty condensate is nothing
but the condensate returning from fuel , lube, purifier heaters, fuel tank, cargo tank
heaters etc. This is called dirty condensate and isolated from the clean system.
Dirty condensate is filtered in the hotwell using cascade method.

Dirty condensate doesn’t readily have any contamination, however, due to failure
of any heating coils oil may reach the system which then contaminates the whole
system, to avoid such situation dirty condensate is treated in cascading process.

The clean condensate usually from swimming pool heaters, potable / domestic
water heaters, return from evaporator, return from galley etc are connected to this
chamber.
Since clean condensate may not have any oil contamination, it is allowed to be
drained straight into the hotwell.
The dirty condensate is installed with oil sensing probe in the main manifold
(which manifolds all return into one header) and connects to the hotwell. This oil
sensing probe (usually of capacitance type) monitors the return condensate.In case
of any oil particles it will trigger an alarm and turn the diverter 3-way valve to the
oily bilge tank, hence the contaminated water is diverted safeguarding the feed
system from contamination.
The alarm alerts the watch keeping engineer who will go about investigating the

root cause to identify the source and isolate.

The observation tank is installed with a sightglass and a light. This sight glass
shows clearly the appearance of oily top layer.

The observation tank is also installed with a skimming line, which is pointing
upwards with a funneled mouth. The mouth stays on the brink of the water level
and the pipe leading outside the hotwell goes to a bilge well and installed with a
valve.

In case of any oil is seen in the sight glass this valve can be opened to skim the oil

from the top layer of observation compartment.

The observation chamber overflows into the next chamber which is called as
“Settling chamber”.

The overflow pipe is led from the bottom of the observation tank. Due to density
difference the oil stays on top and water at the bottom hence, the overflow happens
from the bottom of the observation compartment.

The settling compartment is provided to settle down any heavier particles such as
solids and other impurities.

Here, the water is allowed to settle down. This chamber is isolated from the fluid
movement from the rest of the compartments to ensure the settling process is not
disturbed allowing it to naturally settle down.

The water from this compartment overflows from top via a oleophilic grid strainer.

Oleophilic means – having a strong affinity for oils rather than water.
 The strainer made of such material is installed here which absorbs the oil and also
prevents solid particles from moving in to the next chamber.

There is a manhole on top of this chamber, to inspect and clean or replace the
strainer.

The next compartment is Filtration chamber, the water overflows from settling
chamber. This filtration chamber is installed with fine mesh filter which is of
oleophilic nature. These filters ensure both oil & solid particles are completely
removed from the water that passes to the next compartment.

The next compartment is the actual “hotwell” where the condensate water gets
stored and the boiler water feed pump takes suction from.

To remove dissolved oxygen from the water the hotwell temperature has to be
maintained above 85oC

Sources of oil contamination

The most common sources of oil contamination observed on boilers originate from
leaking heating coils fitted in fuel oil tanks, fuel/lub oil heaters, heating coils in
DB tanks dedicated for sludge/waste oil tanks. It is also not rare for cargo tank
heating coils and tank cleaning heaters fitted on the cargo side to contribute to the
contamination in some cases.

Effects of oil contamination:

The effects of oil contamination are foaming and carry over in oil-fired boilers.
malfunction of boiler water level controls and even protective devices. In the
worst cases, the carry-over of water and moisture with the steam may even reach
the intensity of priming, causing havoc to turbines, super heaters, steam piping.

Severe oil contamination leads to a collapse of the heat transfer rate through the
boiler steel, contributing to a higher metal temperature than the design value.

Even an oil film or deposit as thin as 0.5 mm on the water side can easily increase
the metal temperature on the furnace side from the design value of 250 deg C to
well above 600 deg C under normal operating conditions on an auxiliary boiler
rated at 7 bar (g). This has a domino effect of exponentially reducing the yield
strength of the material until the pressure parts subjected to active heat transfer fail.
In cases where the reduction in the strength does not lead to immediate failure, the
boiler steel can still be subjected to a time-dependent creep zone.

In the case of exhaust gas water tube boilers with an extended surface area that
forms part of the steam generation system by forced circulation, this may in the
worst cases lead to soot fires due to a lack of heat transfer from the gas side and
rise in the metal temperatures due to the uncooled boundaries. Smoke tube exhaust
gas boilers are prone to cracks on the tube terminations due to differential
expansion of the overheated tubes with respect to the shell.

Other long-term effects are local corrosion of the area subjected to exposure to the
acidic nature of oil deposits. Hydrocarbon deposits have a tendency to turn acidic
when exposed to high temperatures in the presence of water.

ACTION TAKEN:

If oil is detected in condensate line, oil sensor probe will sound an alarm and
divert the 3way valve to oily bilge tank.If very minor oil layer is detected in
condensate tank, and 3way valve has not functioned, then divert the condensate to
OBT.As a precaution check boiler gauge glass and ensure no oil presence and oil
has not reached the boiler.Find out the source of leak by checking from drain
valves in return steam line from heaters and oil tanks.Isolate the leaky heater or
tank and the coils or tubes will later have to be repaired and pressure tested.Skim
the oily layer from hotwell.Check cascade tank for contamination and clean it.
Clean the filters and replace if necessary.Check boiler water for presence of oil
and dose with liquid coagulant.

If oil leak is detected in gauge glass, then oil has already reached the boiler. It may
be possible that this leak will develop and advisable to stop firing the boiler.

Scum down the boiler at surface but do not blowdown as oil wil stick to larger
surface areas.Check the condensate return lines for source.Check at the drain
valves at return steam line from heaters and tanks for presence of oil.Isolate the
heater or tank and the steam coil or tubes will have to be repaired and pressure
tested later.

The boiler must be cooled down and once depressurized the top manhole door is
removed after opening the vent.

Use portable pumps to remove surface oil.

Boilout will have to be done as per manufacurer’s recommended procedure.

Add the recommended amount of recommended boil-out cleaner chemical to

boiler water . For boilout,some makers recommend a solution consisting of 4 - 5 kg.
tri - sodiumphosphate ( Na3 Po4 ) per 1000 kg water.
Fire the boiler intermittently at a low rate sufficient to maintain the solution at the
boiling point. No steam pressure should be generated. Continue this step for
recommended period.
Scumdown is recommended to remove floating matter at this stage.
Allow the boiler to cool . Drain the boiler using caution to ensure that the water is
discharged safely and in accordance with local guidelines. Flush with freshwater
After boilout, the boiler is washed and brushed inside,

In view of the oil deposits on the water side, it is also imperative that the piping to
the level transmitters is blown through and safety functions verified for satisfactory
operation.

Entire feed system including cascade tanks will have to be cleaned to remove all
traces of oil.

Follow manufactuer procedure for initial chemical dosing and treatment before
commissioning the boiler.