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    The Deaerator Dilemma: by James Mcdonald, Originally Published: CSTR - September 2006

    Uploaded by

    Kenn Evangelio
    The document discusses the purpose and function of a deaerator in a boiler system. A deaerator removes dissolved gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ammonia from boiler feedwater to reduce corrosion. It uses heat and steam to strip the gases out, then vents the steam. Proper venting is essential to remove the gases and inhibit corrosion, despite the accountant's concerns about wasted steam. A deaerator improves efficiency by protecting equipment and allowing steam recycling.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    The Deaerator Dilemma: by James Mcdonald, Originally Published: CSTR - September 2006

    Uploaded by

    Kenn Evangelio
    53 views3 pages
    The document discusses the purpose and function of a deaerator in a boiler system. A deaerator removes dissolved gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ammonia from boiler feedwater to reduce corrosion. It uses heat and steam to strip the gases out, then vents the steam. Proper venting is essential to remove the gases and inhibit corrosion, despite the accountant's concerns about wasted steam. A deaerator improves efficiency by protecting equipment and allowing steam recycling.

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    Water

    Original Title

    21882,Water-pp87-89

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    The document discusses the purpose and function of a deaerator in a boiler system. A deaerator removes dissolved gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ammonia from boiler feedwater to reduce corrosion. It uses heat and steam to strip the gases out, then vents the steam. Proper venting is essential to remove the gases and inhibit corrosion, despite the accountant's concerns about wasted steam. A deaerator improves efficiency by protecting equipment and allowing steam recycling.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    53 views3 pages

    The Deaerator Dilemma: by James Mcdonald, Originally Published: CSTR - September 2006

    Uploaded by

    Kenn Evangelio
    The document discusses the purpose and function of a deaerator in a boiler system. A deaerator removes dissolved gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ammonia from boiler feedwater to reduce corrosion. It uses heat and steam to strip the gases out, then vents the steam. Proper venting is essential to remove the gases and inhibit corrosion, despite the accountant's concerns about wasted steam. A deaerator improves efficiency by protecting equipment and allowing steam recycling.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    The Deaerator Dilemma

    By James McDonald, PE, CWT


    Originally Published: CSTR – September 2006

    T he company accountant comes raging


    through your door and excitedly asks,
    “Why is so much steam being wasted?
    Don’t you know that steam is money?!”
    “What steam?” you ask.
    “All the steam I see coming from the roof
    of the powerhouse? Why are you wasting
    it?!” You can see the dollar signs flashing
    before the accountant’s eyes.
    “Oh! You mean the steam from the
    deaerator! That’s supposed to be that way,”
    you patiently reply.
    “Why?”
    This is where you may stumble. How do you explain the purpose of the
    deaerator, and why steam must be vented?

    Deaeration
    12
    Oxygen Content (ppm)

    The dissolved gases 10


    normally present in 8
    water cause many 6
    corrosion problems. 4
    Examples of such 2
    0
    dissolved gases
    30 50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210
    include oxygen,
    carbon dioxide, and T emperature (ºF)
    ammonia. Figure 1: Oxygen Solubility
    Deaeration is an
    efficient way to
    remove these dissolved gases from boiler feedwater to reduce the corrosion
    potential of the water. Heat is intimately applied to drive off the unwanted
    dissolved gases because the gases are less soluble as temperature increases.
    Figure 1 illustrates the solubility of oxygen in water at atmospheric pressure
    at various temperatures. As the temperature increases, the solubility of
    Boilers 87
    oxygen decreases. At temperatures near saturation (212ºF), the solubility of
    oxygen is at a minimum.
    Mechanical deaeration will remove 99 to 99.9% of the dissolved gases
    present. Most manufacturers guarantee their units will deaerate water to less
    than 7 parts per billion (ppb) oxygen and zero free carbon dioxide. Even
    this is not low enough to inhibit all corrosion, so chemical oxygen scavengers
    such as sodium sulfite or sodium bisulfite are typically supplemented to
    ensure complete oxygen removal.

    Equipment Design
    There are two sections to most
    deaerators: the deaerating section and
    the storage section. The dissolved
    gases are stripped from the water
    through a combination of steam, heat,
    and mechanical separation in the
    deaerating section. The deaerated
    water flows to the storage section
    where it is held as boiler feedwater.
    There are two basic types of deaeration
    designs: tray type and spray type. In
    the tray-type deaerator (Figure 2), Figure 2: Tray-Type Deaerator
    water is directed or sprayed through
    distribution pipes into a steam space. The hot steam increases the
    temperature of the water to within a
    few degrees of saturated steam
    temperature. Dissolved gases are
    stripped and vented to the atmosphere.
    The water cascades down several trays
    in the tray section. The cascading
    flow breaks the water into fine
    droplets, permitting greater steam
    contact. This action further scrubs the
    dissolved gases from the water. The
    deaerated water flows into the storage
    section where a blanket of steam
    maintains a few pounds of pressure on Figure 3: Spray-Type Deaerator
    the system.
    In the spray-type deaerator (Figure 3), the steam and water scrubbing action
    is similar to the tray deaerator except the water is broken up with spray
    nozzles inside the deaeration section. The spray nozzles should be inspected
    annually to ensure they are not obstructed or corroded.
    Boilers 88
    Venting
    Typically, a 15- to 33-inch actively
    moving steam plume should be visible
    (Figure 4). Another rule of thumb is
    that an invisible area should be seen at
    the vent exit before a plume of steam
    and water droplets appear. The
    ultimate test is whether the venting is
    doing a good enough job at removing
    the dissolved gases. Dissolved
    oxygen meters and chemical test kits
    are available for such testing.

    Conclusions
    Proper venting is absolutely essential
    in a well-run boiler system. If
    dissolved gases such as oxygen, Figure 4: Vent Plume
    carbon dioxide, and ammonia are left
    in the system, detrimental corrosion can occur resulting in equipment
    failures, downtime, and lost money.
    A properly operating deaerator will improve overall system efficiency by
    protecting equipment from corrosion. Deaerators also serve as a recycle
    point for low-pressure steam sources such as continuous-blowdown flash
    tanks, further improving a boiler system’s thermal efficiency.
    By fully understanding the purpose and function of a deaerator, it can easily
    be seen that the steam coming out of the vent is not costing money, but
    actually saving money.

    References
    • Operator Training: Cooling Water Treatment, Crown Solutions
    • Technical Reference and Training Manual, Association of Water
    Technologies, 2002

    Boilers 89

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