STEAM ACCUMULATORS OR THERMAL STORAGE

J.H. MAYCOCK

The main function of a steam accumulator system is to improve the efficiency of

the steam raising plant of a factory or mill by providing a reverse of steam,
automatically available, to meet fluctuations in demand for steam. Obviously,
when the steam consumption of a factory or mill is fairly steady and there are no
big peak demands then there is no need for an accumulator system.

ADVANTANGES OF STEAM STORAGE

These can be summarized as follows:

a. Peak loads for steam are met automatically without making unfair
demands on the boiler plant.
b. Pressure drops are kept to a minimum since boiler pressure maintained
continuously within close limits.
c. Pressure and temperature in the high pressure main are kept constant.
d. Process steam requirements are fully met with no reduction in pressure in
the low-pressure mains.
e. Steam is not wasted through the safety valves because any surplus steam
is stored in the accumulator
f. Boiler firing rate is steady over long periods irrespective of variations in
steam demands.
g. Fuel is saved by operating boiler at even economical loading.
h. Priming is reduced because the peak loads are kept to a minimum.
i. Very little variation in superheat because of the steady production rate of
the steam from the boilers.
j. The whole factory or mill efficiency is increased due to the readily
available steam supply without fear of pressure drops and the boiler
plant, which has not been forced at inefficient rates of firing to meet peak
loads.

DESCRIPTION OF STEAM ACCUMULATOR PLANT.

A diagrammatic layout of steam storage vessel and its control valves is given by
fig. 1.
The plant consist mainly of a steel storage vessel, a steam charging system and a
series of control valves. Steam enters the accumulator during the charging cycle
via the Non Return Valve “A”, the internal header “B” and the nozzle “C”. steam
leaves the accumulator during the discharging cycle via the steam dome and the
non-return valve “D”. charging is effected by the condensation of steam in the
accumulator and the consequent rise in pressure, temperature and level of the
water in the vessel. This stored thermal energy is recovered by ebullition from
the mass of water and the regeneration of steam under a falling pressure.
Control of process of charging and discharging is obtained by the “overflow
“valve “ E “ and the reducing valve “F “.

If the boiler pressure tends to rise, due to falling-off in the general demands for
steam, valve “E “opens and all the surplus steam then being generated by the
boilers is passed to the accumulator.
If a peak load develops in the HP main the valve “E “ closes and during the
continuance of this condition the steam demands of the LP consumers is met by
the discharge of the accumulator.
If a peak load develops in the LP main then this is met by the wider opening of
valve “ F“ and, if necessary, by the withdrawal of steam from storage to
supplement the amount of steam then being obtained direct from the boilers
through the valve “E” and “F”, therefore, automatically bring the accumulator
into operation as a consumer or producer of steam depending on the general
variation in steam demand. The boilers however are fired at a steady rate equal
to the average steam requirements.

Possible Application To An Oil Palm Processing Mill

Figure 2 show diagrammatically the possible layout of a steam accumulator for

an oil palm mill and figure 3 illustrate the possible variations in steam demands
during, say, an eight-hour shift. It may be emphasized that the variations shown
are for illustration only and are not factual.
With an accumulator installed the boilers would be fired at a substantially
constant rate in accordance with the dotted line “a – a ” on figure 3. Charging
and discharging of the accumulator taking place as indicated by the respective
shaded areas. The total area above the line “a – a “should, of course, equal that
bellow the line being the ideal steam storage requirement. Throughout the
working period, and independent of how the steam demand varied, the steam
pressure mains would be practically constant.

A master firing gauge, actuated by the pressure in the accumulator but

graduated as “increase firing rate”, “hold steady firing rate” and “reduce firing
rate”, located in the boiler house shows the amount of steam in storage and gives
the boiler operating staff timely warning of any necessary changes in the rate of
firing.

Sizing Of Accumulator System Storage Vessels

To determine the water storage capacity of an accumulator vessel for given
quantity of steam which can be discharge from the vessel between the set
pressure limits it is necessary to know the following:
a. Maximum steam pressure
b. Minimum steam pressure
c. The quantity of steam to be stored.

Now the amount of steam that can be generated from one pound of
“accumulator water” is termed the “specific steam storage capacity”(Cs) and can
be calculated from the following formula:

H max – H min x Gw
Cs =
Hs – Hw

Where:
H max = Heat content of water at maximum pressure (BTU/lb)
H min = Heat content of water at minimum pressure (BTU/lb)
Hs = Average heat content of steam (BTU/lb)
Hw = Average heat content of water (BTU/lb)
Gw = Average specific gravity of water (lb/cu.ft)

Using the above formula and assuming a minimum steam pressure at 45 psig the
graph, figure 4, has been complied which shows the specific steam storage
capacity for varying maximum pressures between 100 and 250 psig.

As mentioned in paragraph 4 above the largest area above or bellow the

“average steam demand” line represents the ideal steam storage requirements
but, of course, if the steam flow record charts vary significantly from day to day
a compromise has to be made by selecting the average type of chart for the
design of the accumulator plant.
In practice it is usual to design the accumulator vessel to have a total capacity of
1.1 times the design volume of water requirement at the maximum working
pressure. Therefore, the total volume of the accumulator vessel can be calculate
from the following formula:
1.1 x Total steam required (lb)
Volume = [cu.ft]
Specific steam storage capacity (lb/cu.ft)