IX.

WATER TREATMENT, CHEMICAL

CLEANING AND STANDBY PROTECTION OF
HIGH PRESSURE BOILERS

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 Contents
1. INTRODUCTION

2. FEED WATER TREATMENT

3. BOILER WATER TREATMENTS

4. SILICA CONTROL

5. CRITERIA FOR OPERATION DURING CONDENSER LEAK

6. MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL

FREQUENCY OF MEASUREMENTS STEAM-WATER CYCLE

7. CARRY OVER IN STEAM

8. CHEMICAL CLEANING

9. STANDBY PROTECTION

10. CONCLUSION

FIG. IX-1 RECOMMENDED CO-ORDINATED PHOSPHATE CURVE

FIG. IX-2 RECOMMENDED MAXIMUM SILICA CONCENTRATIONS

IN BOILER WATER

FIG. IX-3 STREAM DRUM INTERNALS (TYPICAL ARRANGEMENT )

UTILITY BOILERS

FIG. IX-4 TYPICAL ARRANGEMENT OF DRUM INTERNALS FOR

INDUSTRIAL BOILERS

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 IX. WATER TREATMENT, CHEMICAL
CLEANING AND STANDBY PROTECTION OF
HIGH PRESSURE BOILERS

1. INTRODUCTION
It is important to maintain proper quality of feed water, boiler water and steam for trouble-free
operation of boilers and turbines. Proven treatment methods should be employed to ensure
the required quality of water and steam. The quality requirements become more stringent for
high-pressure boilers, as they are generally designed to closer tolerances. The make-up water
for High Pressure (HP) units should be demineralised to meet the stringent quality requirements.
Improper quality of feed or boiler water results in deposits and corrosion in the boiler water
tubes. Without proper boiler water quality, it is not also possible to achieve desirable steam
purity for trouble-free operation of superheaters, reheaters and turbines. In spite of good water
management, the internal surfaces of tubes in a boiler become dirty over a period of operation.
It is essential to periodically clean the boiler. The frequency of cleaning should be established
based on the operating history and cleanliness of the boiler. Proper selection of solvent and
procedure for cleaning is important. The cleaning should be done in such a way that the
integrity of tubes is not impaired. Equally important is proper lay-up of boiler when it is
under shut-down. Any wet surface exposed to atmosphere is corroded by oxygen. The surfaces
should be kept filled with treated water, with nitrogen blanketing. Adequate attention by
operating personnel for proper water management and cleanliness of a boiler will increase
availability of the unit.

2. FEED WATER TREATMENT

The feed water is made up of condensate and make-up water. The quality of condensate
depends upon that of quality of steam from tubines, contamination in the process and the type
of chemicals used for treatment purposes whereas the make-up water quality depends upon
the treatment plant employed for the production of make-up. The make-up water for HP units
should be either dernineralised or evaporated. Demineralisers can produce water quality with
nearly zero hardness and with very lowsilica of less than 0.01 ppm. All ionised salts are
removed in this process which greatly minimises the potential for boiler deposits, corrosion
and turbine fouling.
The following are the recommended feed water limits for HP drum type units:

Total solids - 50 ppb (max.)

Total iron - 10 ppb (max.)
Total copper - 10 ppb (max.)
Total silica - 20 ppb (max.)
Oxygen - 5 ppb (max.)
pH - 8.8 - 9.2 (Copper alloy system)
9.2 - 9.4 (Copper free system)
Cation conductivity - 0.3 micro mho/cm (max.)

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 All measurements must be made at H.P. heater outlet or at economiser inlet. Oxygen can be
measured at deaerator outlet if cycle is equipped with deaerating heater. For H.P. boilers,
hydrazine is used for oxygen scavenging. 10 to 20 ppb of residual hydrazine should be
maintained at economiser inlet for proper oxygen control. Maximum oxygen removal should
be effected by good deaerators. Hydrazine is used only to reduce residual oxygen to within
limits. Good deaerators are capable of producing oxygen to less than 10 ppb. It is not desirable
to add sodium sulphite for residual oxygen removal for H.P. boilers, as

it increases the total solids in feed water and it can decompose at higher temperatures and the
products of its decomposition are corrosive to pre-boiler system. In the case of L.P. boilers
where sodium sulphite is used, it should be added after the tapping point for desuperheater
spray so that the spray water is not contaminated to result in deposits in superheaters and
turbines. The limits on iron and copper are important as any corrosion in the pre-boiler system
results in iron and copper oxides which are transported and deposited inside the boiler tubes.
These form porous deposits which provide for concentration of any small amounts of corrodent
to cause corrosion.

The pH is maintained as indicated above for feed water is found to produce least corrosion in
pre-boiler system. The required pH is obtained by the dozing of Ammonia or any neutralising
amine such as cyclohexylamine. Ammonia is more popular for the purpose in the case of H.P.
boilers. Ammonia and hydrazine should preferably be injected at the condensate pump outlet.

3. BOILER WATER TREATMENTS

There are two popular methods for boiler water treatment. They are co-ordinated phosphate-pH
method and volatile method. The former is the most suitable method for H.P. drum type
boilers. This method envisages the use of sodium phosphates to maintain required pH (as
shown in Figure IX-11). It eliminates the presence of free caustic in boiler water, if phosphate
- pH relationship is maintained below the curve. Any free caustic present in boiler water
concentrates under porous deposits formed inside water wall tubes cause gouging type of
attack which is termed as caustic gouging . When this corrosion occurs, the material thickness
is reduced without loss of ductility and the tube fails. The recommended boiler water limits in
this method are as follows for drum pressure above 100 kg/sq.cm.g.

Phosphate - 5-10 ppm

pH - 9.4-9.7

There are three different kinds of phosphates. By judicial combination of these phosphates,
the phosphate residual and pH should be maintained as above. Trisodium phosphates tend to
increase the pH. Disodium phosphate is neutral salt and monosodium phosphate is acidic,
tending to lower the pH.

The other treatment method, namely volatile treatment is desirable only for oncethrough units.
In this method a boiler water pH of 8.5 to 9.0 is maintained by the addition of ammonia or any
volatile amine in feed water. This does not have any buffer to combat the situation arising out
of any sudden contamination. Any condenser leak producing acidic environment in boiler
water lowers the pH and acidic corrosion will occur. Caustic gouging can occur due to caustic
concentration. Under volatile treatment, it is essential to have sensitive monitoring instrument
to detect any sudden change in pH and corrective action should be immediately initiated.

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 It is necessary to switch over to co-ordinated phosphate treatment under such conditions. The
volatile treatment requires a condensate polisher to be installed to take care of sudden
contamination of condensate.

Sometimes, apprehensions are raised against co-ordinated phosphate treatment from the point
of view of phosphate hideout. There is no danger of corrosion in phosphate hide-out. It
has been established that phosphate concentrated even under hide-out condition is not
aggressive to the tube material. It is nothing more than a nuisance to the operators for the
control of boiler water chemistry. Any phosphate salts, hidden out, are available to take care
of any hardness in-leakage. The intent of phosphate treatment is to provide conditions
conducive to the precipitation of calcium as calcium hydroxyapalite 3Ca3(PO4)2 Ca (OH)2
and magnesium as serpenline, 3Mgo 2SiO2.2H2O.It has been found that phosphate hide-out
is the least in a comparatively clean boiler as there are very little deposits available for phosphate
to hide-out in a clean boiler. It is never advisable to resort to any boiler water treatment with
free caustic, even in small amounts.

4. SILICA CONTROL
Demineralisers are capable of reducing silica to very low levels. Silica of less than 0-02 ppm
is recommended for feed water during normal operation. The silica level in boiler water will
be much higher depending upon the blow down percentage. Silica limits are fixed for boiler
water as shown in Figure IX-2 based on pressures as silica volatility is related to pressure.
These silica limits are fixed to limit the silica carry over into steam within 0.02 ppm Higher
silica carry over will result in silica deposits in turbine blades which are difficult to be removed.
Silica in boiler water can form hard scales, reacting with any calcium or aluminium
contamination salts. These hard scales will result in overheating of tubes and are difficult to
remove.

During initial commissioning of the unit, it is likely to get higher silica levels in boiler water.
Proper silica limits should be maintained by adequate blow down. The alkaliboil out of boiler
and pre-boiler system precommissioning cleaning should remove considerably the silica
accumulated on the inside surfaces during construction of the unit. If silica accumulation is
excessive any amount of cleaning cannot remove completely the silica deposits. The remaining
silica can only be slowly removed during initial days of operation. It is advisable to cut in H.P.
heaters at as low a load as possible to get rid of silica at the earliest. At lower pressure, more
silica is tolerated. Large surfaces such as feed heaters are major sources to contribute to high
silica levels during initial operation of the unit. Pressure should not be raised until silica is
within limits.

If the unit has been effectively cleaned by boil-out operation, silica level will be brought into
control within a few days of initial operation. During normal operation, the sources of silica
contamination are only either condenser leakage or demineralisers. Demineralisers are often
exhausted to have silica break earlier than break of other anions. Demineralisers should be
regenerated before silica break occurs.

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5. CRITERIA FOR OPERATION DURING CONDENSER
LEAK
In most of the cases, condenser leaks produce acidic environment and the pH is reduced.
Conductivity measurements should

be used to detect condenser leaks. Condenser leaks should be detected immediately. Leakage
instrumentation should be installed for each compartment in the case of condensers with
segmented compartments. When the hot well total solids exceed 0.5 ppm the condenser leak
should be considered abnormal and it is excessive it it exceeds 2 ppm and the load should be
immediately reduced as necessary to permit isolation of damaged condenser section. If the
hot well concentration cannot be quickly reduced below 2 ppm orderly shut-down should be
arranged. As stated earlier, when condenser leak is detected, if the boiler water is on volatile
treatment it should be changed to co-ordinated phosphate treatment to maintain excess
phosphate of 5-20 ppm and pH of 9.5 - 10.5. The blow down should be increased to limit total
dissolved solids concentration of boiler water within 100 ppm. Unnecessary use of
desuperheating spray water should be avoided either by permitting reheat temperature to fall
or by reducing load. The operation of the unit should not be continued if pH cannot be
maintained above 8.0 or TDS in boiler water below 100 ppm During condenser repair, the
boiler unit and auxiliary equipment should be properly laid-up as described later. These are
the limits prescribed for drum pressure above 100 kg/sq.cm. Similar limits are given for
lower pressure also.

6. MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL

It is well known to everyone that proper measurement and control is very essential but it is
often neglected. In the modern world, where instrumentation has made such an advance,
obsolete methods and instruments are still used. To-day, very reliable instruments are available
which can accurately measure very low levels of contamination. Similarly reliable on-line
analysers are available which can be installed for continuously monitoring critical parameters.
It is not enough if the instruments are installed. It is equally important to maintain them
properly in good condition. The instruments should be checked for its accuracy periodically
and recalibrated whenever necessary

It is desirable to have on-line instruments for measuring and recording the critical parameters
like:

i) conductivity in hot well and at D.M.plant outlet

ii) conductivity, pH, and silica in feed water and boiler water

iii) sodium and silica in saturated and superheated steam.

Whenever the on-line instruments are not working these parameters should be monitored
frequently in laboratory. Even where they are working, the values should be cross checked

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with laboratory measurements. For coastal power stations, where condensers are cooled by
sea water, condenser leakage is a potential danger. To guard against this, an on-line conductivity
recorder at hot well outlet provided with a cation exchange column in H+ form should be
installed. Any spurt in conductivity values will immediately indicate the condenser leak. The
on-line instrument coupled with an alarm will alert the operator. It is important to remember
that the cation exchange column should be properly regenerated periodically. On-Line cation
conductivity measurement of steam is also a reliable monitoring of steam purity.

The following minimum frequencies are recommended for the various parameters to monitor
and control the water and steam regime. There should be no hesitation on the part of the
power station authorities to employ the required personnel. The personnel should be well
qualified and motivated. They should also be interested to have a well equipped laboratory
with necessary instruments. Any investment on this count will soon be repaid by better
availability of the unit.

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 FREQUENCY OF MEASUREMENTS STEAM-WATER CYCLE

Continuous Once in Once in Once in Twice Once a

on-line 2 Hrs 4 Hrs 8 Hrs weekly month

Feed water Conductivity before - PH silica Hardness Iron Copper Permanganate

and after resin Ammonia Oil

Oxygen
Hydrazine

Boiler water Conductivity - PH, Sodium

phosphate
Silica

Saturated steam Conductivity after resin- - Sodium Silica - -

Superheated steam Conductivity after Sodium

resin - -

Make-up Conductivity Silica pH Hardness Permanganate

(Once 30
minutes-at end)

NOTE : Should on-line conductivity instruments be out of service manual conductivity

readings should be taken every 2 hours and More frequently during upset
conditions (start-up, trip, load swings, condenser leak etc.)

The laboratory should be equipped with the following instruments to perform efficiently the
water analysis :

i) A precision pH meter.

ii) A conductivity meter with selector switch to cover the range 0-10, 0-100, 0-1000
ms/cm.

iii) A spectro photometer capable of measuring ppb level.

iv) A flame photometer capable of measuring low concentrations of sodium (upto 0.001
ppm).

v) A Nesseler disc for Incligo-caramine test for measuring dissolved oxygen.

The spectro photometer is a versatile tool, since almost all constituents important for boiler
water chemistry such as iron, copper phosphate, ammonia, chloride, silica and hydrazine can
be accurately measured. In addition, the laboratory should have routine equipments like
semi-micro balance, water baths, air oven, dessicator etc. and sufficient glass wares like

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 pipettes, burettes, flasks, beakers etc. It is necessary to use standard solutions and chemicals
of high purity for measurement and analysis.

Without proper sampling, no measurement is meaningful. It is the best if samples could be

collected at the rate of about 50 litres/hr and at a temperature of about 400C. For high pressure
boilers where the samples are having low concentration of constituents, any slight
contamination will seriously affect the results. The samples should be protected from the
atmospheric gases like CO2 and 02, the silica from atmosphere, sodium contamination from
perspiration etc. In coal fired units, coal dust and atmospheric emission can contaminate the
samples. All the more important is that collecting vessel should be clean and free from
contamination. It is desirable to arrange for the sample collection in a covered enclosure. It is
a sound practice, if the samples can be led into the laboratory itself which will not only avoid
the contamination but also will reduce the physical

strain in sample collection. At many places, the sample collection points and the laboratory
are located wide apart. In such cases it is desirable to have an express laboratory close to the
boiler duplicated with a pH meter, conductivity meter, a Nesseler disc and other routine
laboratory wares. There can be a central laboratory where more sophisticated instruments can
be housed and the laboratory should be airconditioned. it is very important to keep the sampling
lines and cooling water lines free from blockage. it is desirable to keep the sampling lines
continuously flowing so that the lines are always kept clean.

Continuous monitoring, systematic analysis and proper control go a long way in maintaining
trouble-free operation of the power stations. Any problem should be immediately located and
remedial action should be taken. It is beneficial it blow down and dozing systems are controlled
by the plant chemists. It is needless to emphasise on proper logging of data. Only based on the
correct history of operation, preventive action can be taken in time to avoid costly downtime
of the units. A well maintained record also helps to schedule the operational cleaning in right
time. Prevention is better than cure , and, proper measurement and control help to achieve
this noble end.

7. CARRY OVER IN STEAM

Carry over of salts in steam occur either due to mechanical or vapour carry over. Efficient
drum internals can only reduce mechanical carry over. in order to limit silica carry over,
concentration of silica in the drum water must be limited to a specified value for a given
operating pressure. Fig. IX-2 shows silica limit in boiler water for various pressures in order
to limit it to 0.02 ppm at drum outlet to reduce problem of turbine deposits. Silica is always
carried over in vapourous form. The vapourous carry over of remaining salts, mainly sodium
salts, is significant only at very high pressures, above 200 kg/sq.cm. Continuous monitoring
of cation conductivity is essential and it is also desirable to monitor sodium and silica.

7.1 Drum Internals

The typical drum internals of high pressure boilers are shown in figures IX-3 and 4. Figure
IX-3 is the one normally used for high pressure power boilers and the other for industrial and
power boilers of lower pressures, having evaporating bank tubes.

High pressure drum internals employ turbo separators as main separating device. The spinner
blades of turbos impart the centrifugal motion to the up-coming mixture of water and steam.

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 The water particles being heavier are thrown apart and the steam gets separated, rises and
flows into further stages of drum internals namely secondary separators and final drier screen.
These perform the final purification of steam.
The other type of drum internals employs deflection baffle. The change of direction of flow
through the baffle separates bulk of water from steam. Further there are two stages of screens
to perform final purification of steam.

7.2 Water Level:

The maintenance of proper water level is a prime factor for the proper functioning of internals.
Fluctuations in levels, sudden surges, or prolonged maintenance of high levels may lead to
excessive carry over and such frequent occurrences will lead to turbine deposits, superheater
tube failures etc.

There are chances of water level indicators showing false levels due to sub-cooling as the
gauge glass is exposed to the cooler atmosphere outside the boiler. Because of the greater
density of this cooler water, it will support a proportionately greater height of water in the
drum. In high pressure boilers where the saturation temperature of the water is high, the
degree of sub-cooling may be appreciable and thus introduce a significant error in the water
level indication. Compensated level controllers and remote indicators are not directly affected
by this phenomenon; however, they are sometimes calibrated against the gage glass zero
reading and thus reflect the same error. To avoid the effect of subcooling it is also recommended
to ensure that the pipe connecting the drum and water level gauge on the water side should be
perfectly insulated.

In all boilers, there is a natural gradient in water level which is required to move the circulating
boiler water through the drum. For this reason, the water close to a downcomer would be
expected to be lower than at a location midway between downcomers. Normal difference in
level are not a problem, however, wide variations may result in localised carry over. An
excessive water level gradient may be an indication of restricted flow through the drum or an
unusual firing condition in the boiler.
Directly over a dlowncomer, a vortex may exist which causes turbulence in the region. Water
level measurements in the affected zone are erratic and meaningless. Level measurements
should be restricted to locations sufficiently far from a dlowncomer to avoid this phenomenon.

7.3 Boiler Water Concentration

Excessive levels of boiler water concentration will increase the carry over. According to the
quality of feed water, blow down rates are to be monitored either continuously or intermittently
so that the recommended limits of concentrations are not exceeded. The level of concentration
to be maintained decreases with the increase of operating pressure as the separating efficiency
of drum internals decreases with increase of pressure.

8. CHEMICAL CLEANING
Cleanliness of the boiler and pre-boiler system is an important aspect for the efficient and
trouble-free operation of the boilers. Mill scale is formed during various stages of fabrication.
Rusting takes place to some degree during erection. It can be excessive if proper care is not
taken during storage and construction. Mill scale on boiler tubing is normally very thin with
the exception of the areas near welds and bends. Even though mill scale is initially uniform,

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its brittleness upon cooling can produce flaking. The resulting non-uniform surface with
discontinuities is undesirable from the stand point of corrosion susceptibilities. During
operation, mill scale can be readily removed from the steam generating surfaces and
subsequently redeposited in critical areas. In H.P. units, these surfaces should be chemically
cleaned prior to operation.

During operation, numerous solid constituents may enter the unit with feed water. Soluble
salts, which remain in solution, can be removed by blow down. Insoluble salts may only be
partially removed by blow down. Some percentage of these insolubles deposit on boiler
surfaces. If not removed, these deposits may accumulate over a period of time and they cause
tube failures. In utility system using evaporated or demineralised make-up, the bulk of these
deposits will be iron oxide and copper. Control of pre-boiler corrosion can minimise the
quantity of these materialsHowever, complete freedom from deposition is not possible. Periodic
chemical cleaning of the boiler should be accepted as a routine maintenance practice. It is a
sound practice if the high pressure boiler is cleaned once in three to four years. The frequency
of cleaning should best be established taking into account the following factors:

i) the number of outages

ii) method of standby protection

iii) length of operation when feed water quality and treatment limits were not maintained

iv) length of operation when boiler water quality and treatment limits were not maintained

v) number of suspected and confirmed condenser leaks

vi) other contamination of the cycle such as demineraliser mis-operation.

A history card should be maintained on all the above aspects and the boiler should be more
frequently cleaned if the history card shows that the above aspects are had enough to make
the boiler dirty sooner.

Pre-operational cleaning must be preceded by an alkaline boil-out to remove silica, oil and
grease. Pre-boiler system of H.P. boilers should be thoroughly flushed with a hot alkaline
solution to remove oils, siliceous materials and particulate matter present following fabrication,
storage and erection.

The solvent generally recommended and universally applied for removal of mill scale is 5%
inhibited hydrochloric acid (HCI). Most routine operational scales are primarily iron oxide
and inhibited HCI is the recommended solvent for their removal. A unit which often
experienced condenser leaks, is very likely to have hard salts present in operational scale of
the unit. Higher the percentage of salts, the greater is the difficulty of their removal. Multistep
cleaning of 3 to 5% solvent may be required to restore surfaces to a satisfactory clean condition.
Corrosion of pre-boiler materials often leads to the deposition of copper in the furnace walls
of a unit. Significant amounts of copper can accumulate on internal surfaces in a large boiler
in a 3 year period. Copper can be removed from steam generators employing either two stage
or single stage solvent systems. The two stage system envisages ammonium bromate in the
first stage and HCI in the next stage. Inhibited HCI containing an additive for copper

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 complexing forms the single stage cleaning for copper bearing deposits.
Unfortunately, acid cleaned surfaces are even more susceptible to corrosion than Uncleaned
steel. Passivation is beneficial only for a short period of time, but has little long-term effect.
To produce optimum conditions, the period of time between the cleaning and start-up date
should be held to a minimum.

Seldom it is found necessary to clean superheaters. Normal mill scale on tubing is thin, adherent
and not readily eroded by steam. Steam blowing has proven effective in removing particulate
matter, debris, loose oxide and atmospheric rust and is recommended for pre-operational
cleaning of superheaters regardless of other procedures, employed.

Operational deposits are more likely to form in water walls than in superheaters. There may
be deposits due to carry over, which can readily be removed by water lushing, since most of
the carry over salts are soluble. The need to eliminate depositforming materials is related
primarily to their effect on the corrosion problems that are common in water walls. It is not
desirable to chemically clean superheaters during its life, unless it is found absolutely essential.
Because of the geometry superheater cleaning requires special attention. Frequently, these
sections contain non-drainable, non-ventable surfaces that are hazardous to clean unless there
is clear under standing of the flow machanics. Any acid left over, is more dangerous. When
chemical cleaning is found to be a must, HCI or any halogenic solvent is not desirable as the
stainless steel superheater tubes are susceptible to the attack of stress corrosion cracking with
the use of these solvents. The use of organic solvents should only be considered for chemical
cleaning of such superheaters.

9. STANDBY PROTECTION
Atmospheric corrosion of ferritic materials proceeds rapidly in the presence of oxygen and
moisture. The pitting that develops during down time seldom proceeds to failure. However,
the resulting discontinuities on metal surface represent sites for future operational corrosion.
Long outage without preservation can result in complete penetrations of thin walled tubes. Li
kewise, the oxides produced are objectionable and can be transported to critical heat transfer
areas in the boiler. In todays large boilers with their numerous, complex circuits and bends,
it is difficult, if not impossible, to completely dry a boiler in preparation for storage. Draining
the boiler while hot, may temporarily dry the surfaces. However, unless dry air can be circulated
to eliminate all the water vapour from the unit, recondensation will again result in moist
conditions. For this reason, wet layup normally offers the most positive method of protection
for large utility boilers. The components in the pre-boiler system also require careful protection
under shut-down conditions.

The wet lay-up procedures require filling up of the boiler, economiser, superheaters, feed
water heaters (tube side) and associated piping with demineralised or condensate type water
containing 10 ppm of ammonia and 200 ppm of hydrazine. The drum, superheaters and feed
water heaters (shell side) should be capped with nitrogen at a pressure of 5 psig. If the feed
water heaters are of copper alloy, it is recommended to fill the tube side with demineralised
water containing only 0.5 ppm of ammonia and 50 ppm of hydrazine, since the surfaces are
susceptible to corrosion by ammonia if present in large quantities. Also it is important to
maintain the fluid temperature below 2000C before addition of hydrazine as it will decompose
at higher temperatures. For long outages, it is also required to isolate the reheaters and fill it
with treated water similarly. For short outages, (4 days or less) it is enough if the hydrazine

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 and ammonia concentrations are maintained as those present during normal operation. When
the outage is long, it is necessary to periodically check for the presence of sufficient amount
of ammonia and hydrazine and replenish, if required.

Though infrequent, oxygen corrosion or damage of boiler surfaces can occur if sound practices
are ignored. If proper storage and lay-up procedures are not followed, there is a definite risk
of serious oxygen corrosion that could be costly in prolonged repairs and down time.

10. CONCLUSION
It is important that all the operating personnels are fully aware of all aspects of water treatment.
Most of the ills on the water and steam side could be avoided by a good water management in
a boiler. It is needless to say that adequate and sensitive controls and instrumentations are
absolutely necessary for maintaining proper water chemistry and steam purity in a boiler.
Continuous logging of the measurements, review and correction are the important aspects of
day-to-day operation. Based on these, the operators should establish a feel of the working of
the boiler. A proper history card of the working of the boiler alone can help to solve problems
like tube failures, corrosion, etc. The need for periodically cleaning the boiler and for proper
lay-up should never be ignored.

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FIG. IX-1 RECOMMENDED CO-ORDINATED PHOSPHATE CURVE

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 FIG. IX-2 RECOMMENDED MAXIMUM SILICA

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 FIG. IX-3 STREAM DRUM INTERNALS
(TYPICAL ARRANGEMENT ) UTILITY BOILERS

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 FIG. IX-4 TYPICAL ARRANGEMENT OF DRUM INTERNALS
FOR INDUSTRIAL BOILERS

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