CHAPTER 1 REVIEW OF TECHNOLOGIES

CSC Sdn. Bhd. has important equipments such as fire-tube boiler, water-tube boiler, air compressor and cooling tower in supporting the operation of production lines. 1.1 1.1.1 Boiler Introduction

A boiler or steam generator is a closed vessel containing water used to create steam by applying heat energy to water. Thermal energy heats water contained in boiler tubes to make steam. Water is changed into steam when heated under controlled conditions. Fuels most commonly used as the heat source for a boiler are natural gas, diesel petrol and etc. 1.1.2 Heat Transfer

Every boiler is designed to transfer as much heat as possible to the water contained in the boiler. Heat is transfer by conduction, radiation, and convention. 1.1.3 1.1.3.1 Types of Boiler Fire-Tube Boiler (CRP - 12ton)

Fire tubes are straight and connected at their ends by tube sheets. A large body of water, surrounding these tubes and contained in a large shell, boil into steam. The pressures of the steam produced are usually up to 250 psi (17.24 bar approx.) because large diameter shells cannot withstand very high temperature. In Fire-tube boilers,

combustion products pass through the inside of heat exchanger tubes while water and steam are contained outside the tubes by an outer shell. These boilers are designed to burn either oil (previous) or natural gas (current).

Figure 1.1: A kind of common fire-tube boiler.

Figure 1.2: Fire-tube boiler in CSC Sdn. Bhd.

1.1.3.2

Water-tube Boiler (SCP - 9ton)

In Water-tube boilers, hot combustion products pass over tube sections that contain water. Water is boiled make steam that is collected in steam drums in furnace. These boilers are used when large amounts of high pressure steam are needed. Compare to fire-tube boiler, its cross-sectional area of each water tube is much smaller than that of the shell used in a fire-tune boiler. Therefore, water tubes can handle higher pressures and temperatures than can fire tubes (pressure can up to 5000 psi and temperatures can up to 1000 F). The layout of the tubes and drums are depending on the size and

the type of fuel burned. For an example, the water-tube boiler shown on the figure below is with two drums. The lower drum is usually called the mud drum and contains water. The upper drum, is steam drum, contains steam and water; where the water are condensate from steam.

Figure 1.3: Typical Water-tube boiler with two drums.

Figure 1.4: Example of a water-tube boiler which is similar to CSC Sdn. Bhd. boiler.