Boiler Feed and Cooling Water Treatment is Hot Topic Hour on January 27, 2011
The importance of correct water treatment for boiler feed and cooling water cannot be over emphasized especially in modern boilers with a high evaporative rate. Dissolved solids in feedwater become concentrated and form deposits (scale) inside the boiler and steam system resulting in poor heat transfer that reduces the efficiency of the boiler. Dissolved gases such as oxygen and CO2 will react with the metals in the boiler system and lead to corrosion. Proper treatment of feed and cooling water to remove solids and gases will ensure maximum life of boilers, steam turbines, condensers and pumps; reduce maintenance expenses and allow optimal thermal performance for maximum efficiency. With increasing Federal and State regulations limiting access to surface and ground water, minimizing water usage by reducing blowdowns or recirculating water also become important factors in the selection of water treatment methods.
Feedwater can be conditioned before entering the water systems (external treatment) or within the water system (internal treatment). In general, external treatment is used when the amount of one or more of the feedwater impurities is too high to be tolerated by the boiler system in question. There are many types of external treatment (softening, evaporation, deaereation, membrane contractors, etc.) which can be used to tailor-make feedwater for a particular system. Internal treatment is the conditioning of impurities within the water system by addition of chemicals. Internal treatment may be used alone or in conjunction with external treatment to control water hardness, condition sludge, scavenge oxygen and prevent boiler water foaming. Externally treated high purity feedwater reduces the use of boiler chemicals due to less frequent blowdown requirements (by as much as a factor of 10) resulting in less water usage and lower fuel costs.

There are a wide variety of water treatment systems available, but which system is most economical for a specific plant considering energy requirements, chemical costs and performance? This decision is partially dictated by the minerals and compounds in the water as well as the chemical and physical composition of the raw or recirculating water. It is also affected by the design and operating characteristics of the boiler, steam system and cooling system.

The following speakers will describe the latest technologies to treat feed and cooling water from natural and process sources and discuss the economics of various treatment technologies focusing on energy use, chemical requirements, capital costs, reuse of process water and operation and maintenance costs and issues.

Dave Christophersen, Vice-president and Technical Manager at Crown Solutions, a subsidiary of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, will discuss how water sourcing, energy efficiency and system designs all converge to make boiler and cooling water treatment even more important today to manage correctly. This presentation will look at water footprint, boiler pretreatment equipment selection options, boiler internal treatment chemistry, cooling water treatment equipment and chemistry and the importance of life cycle costs. Problems associated with boilers and cooling systems will be discussed as well as methodologies to avoid problems.

Dan Cicero, Senior Industry Development Manager at Nalco Company Power Group, will discuss control of feedwater chemistry based on ORP measurement. In 1994, EPRI published chemistry guidelines recognizing the benefits of feedwater chemistry control based on ORP. 3D TRASAR Boiler Technology controls feedwater chemistry based on ORP measured at temperature and at pressures up to 2800 psig. This presentation will explain the benefits of using this technology in a power plant boiler system.

Gregg Poppe, Global Application Development Specialist for Industrial Water and Power Generation at Dow Water & Process Solutions, will discuss how to achieve lower operating costs and better water quality with more advanced ion exchange system designs. While reverse osmosis has displaced ion exchange in the bulk demineralization step in many steam generation plants, ion exchange is still a very competitive technology choice for facilities where lower-TDS feed streams are used. To reduce the consumption of chemicals and water during regeneration and to achieve better water quality, optimized IX system design can be used. Chemical usage, water usage, and typical water quality that can be achieved will be compared for basic co-flow systems vs. counter-flow and packed bed systems.



To register for the "Hot Topic Hour" on January 27, 2011 at 10 a.m. CST (Chicago time), click on: on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm


Bob McIlvaine
President
847 784 0012 ext 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
www.mcilvainecompany.com


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