Energy Efficient Steam Systems

Steam Systems

Steam systems most widely used type of process heating

Advantages of steam:
Heat carrying capacity of steam much greater than air or water

lb/hr to deliver 1
mmBtu/hr of heat

Steam provides its own locomotive force

Steam provides heat at a constant temperature
Steam System
Steam System
 Energy Flows

Energy enters a steam system as:

Fuel and combustion air
Makeup water
Pump work
Energy leaves a steam system as:
Heat to the process
Exhaust air
Blowdown
Condensate loss
Flash vapor
Heat loss from the boiler, steam pipes, condensate pipes and deaerator tank.
 Fuel Use Reduced

Fuel use reduced by reducing:

Heat to the process
Heat in exhaust air
Blowdown
Condensate loss
Flash vapor
Heat loss from the boiler, steam pipes, condensate pipes and
deaerator tank.
Energy Saving Opportunities
 1) Reduce Steam Demand

Insulate hot
surfaces

Cover uninsulated
tanks
 2) Fix Steam Traps

Steam traps are automatic valves that discharge condensate from a steam line
without discharging steam.
If the trap fails open, steam escapes into the condensate return pipe without being
utilized in the process.
If trap fails closed, condensate fills the heat exchanger and chokes-off heat to
process.
Fixing failed steam traps is highly cost-effective.
 3) Insulate Pipes and Tanks

Insulate
steam pipes
condensate return pipes
condensate return tanks
deaerator tank
valves
4) Preheat Boiler Feed-water Using Exhaust Air
Economizer is
heat exchanger
that preheats
feed-water to the
boiler using heat
from the exhaust
gasses.

Economizers are
most cost
effective in
process boilers
that operate all
year.
 5) Minimize Steam Pressure

Generating steam at excess pressure:

decreases boiler efficiency
increases heat loss
increases flash loss.
Reducing boiler pressure to match the
highest required process temperature
decreases these losses.
Reducing steam pressure to match
local required process temperature
reduces flash loss.
Thus, always produce and supply
steam at the minimum pressure
required to meet the process
temperature requirement.
 6) Install Automatic Blow Down Controls

Blow down is the practice of expelling steam to reduce

contaminant build ups.
Typical blowdown rates range from 4% to 8% of boiler feed-
water.
Manual blowdown relies on intuition or periodic testing.
Always results in excess blow down that wastes energy or
insufficient blow down that creates excess scale on heat
transfer surfaces and reduces efficiency.
Automatic blow down reduces energy, water and water
treatment costs.
 Understanding Combustion

Stoichiometric Combustion Air: No Safety Margin

CH4 + 2 (O2 + 3.8 N2) CO2 + 2 H2O + 7.6 N2

10% Excess Combustion Air: Correct Safety Margin

CH4 + 2.2 (O2 + 3.8 N2) CO2 + 2 H2O + 8.4 N2 + 0.4 O2

100% Excess Combustion Air: Too Much Air

CH4 + 4 (O2 + 3.8 N2) CO2 + 2 H2O + 15.2 N2 + 2 O2
 Understanding Combustion Efficiency
90%

85%
Efficiency

Ts=300F
80% Ts=400F
Ts=500F

75%

70%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Excess Air (%)

Efficiency highest at LOW EXCESS AIR and LOW STACK TEMPERTURES

STACK TEMPERATURE increases with FIRING RATE
EFFICIENCY HIGHEST at LOW EXCESS AIR and LOW FIRING RATE
 7) Reduce Excess Air by Adjusting Air/Fuel

Most boilers use linkages that

connect natural gas supply
valves with combustion air
inlet dampers.
Unfortunately, the linkages do
not function perfectly, and the
air/fuel ratio is seldom held 90%

constant over the firing range. 85%

Efficiency Ts=300F

The linkages should be 80% Ts=400F

Ts=500F

adjusted to maintain 10% 75%

excess air at high fire. 70%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Excess Air (%)
 8) Reduce Excess Air with O2 Trim Control
Most boilers linkages do not
function perfectly, and the air/fuel
ratio is seldom held constant over
the firing range.

O2 trim combustion controls

regulate combustion intake air to
maintain 10% excess air across
the entire firing range.

O2 trim costs about $20,000,

hence most cost-effective for
boilers that operate all year long.
8) Reduce Excess Air with O2 Trim Control

Low Fire Medium Fire

Baseline Excess Air 113% 35%
Proposed Excess Air 10% 10%
Baseline Comb. Efficiency 83.6% 84.4%
Proposed Comb. Efficiency 86.6% 85.3%

Annual Savings: 1,200 mmBtu, $12,000

Cost of O2 Trim System: $20,000
Payback: 20 months
 9) Switch from On/Off to Modulation Control

On/Off Control
Each time a boiler cycles on
and off, it purges combustion
Stand by
gasses and loses heat.
Pre-purge
When on, boiler runs at high- Ignition
fire with high exhaust Run
temperature and low Post Purge
efficiency
Modulation Control
No purge losses
Runs at low/mid fire with
lower exhaust temperature
and higher efficiency
 10) Switch to Hot Water for
Low-Temperature Applications
When Treturn < 120 F,
condensing boiler efficiency
> 90%

When Tinlet ~ 70 F, direct-

contact water heaters
capitalize on low water
temperature, counter-flow
design, and large surface
areas for efficiency > 98%
 Modeling Steam Systems

SteamSim

University of Dayton
Industrial Assessment
Center

Available free at:

http://academic.udayton
.edu/kissock/http/resear
ch/EnergySoftware.htm
 Modeling Steam Systems

Steam System Assessment Tool

U.S. Department of Energy

Available free at:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/indust
ry/bestpractices/software.html