MITECH

DESUPERHEATERS
& ATTEMPORATORS
CONVENTIONAL - SPILLBACK - STEAM ATOMISING
 INTRODUCTION

Mitech Desuperheaters have been designed with the aim of reducing plant maintenance by manufacturing a unit that
is easy to install, lightweight, and has no moving parts. All units are designed and manufactured in the Kya Sand
factory in accordance with ISO 9001 and PED quality approval systems.

Both desuperheating and attemporating are processes where water is added to superheated steam to control the
temperature at a set value.

DEFINITIONS

Desuperheaters: Used to reduce the temperature of superheated steam to a pre-determined set point
within 10C of the saturation point of the steam.

Common Usage : Heat transfer in process plants

Attemporators: Used to reduce the temperature of the superheated steam to a pre-determined set
point - where the steam is still superheated.

Common Usage : Protection of downstream devices, such as turbines,

being subjected to excessive temperatures

Desuperheater Turndown: The ratio of the maximum to minimum amount of water required to be added to the
system in order to achieve the required set point temperature over the entire range
of operating conditions.

PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
To reduce the temperature of steam in a pipe, water must be injected into the steam flow. To achieve good control,
the water must be atomised to form a fine spray that can be easily absorbed by the steam.

The result is an increased flow of steam at a lower temperature. Thus, by varying the amount of water added, the
temperature of the steam can be controlled.

For this closed heat system, the total heat energy remains constant, and so the enthalpy of the steam flow
downstream must equal the sum of the enthalpy of the upstream steam and the spraywater being added.

Thus:-
Qw = Qs * (h1-h3)
(h3-h2)

Where:-

Qw = Quantity of water required in mass flow units

Qs = Flow of superheated steam in mass flow units
h1 = Specific enthalpy of superheated steam
h2 = Specific enthalpy of water
h3 = Specific enthalpy of the outflowing steam
 TYPICAL APPLICATIONS
Pressure reducing and desuperheating stations Turbine exhaust desuperheating stations
Turbine inter-stage temperature cooling

Desuperheaters are used in many industries, including petrochemical, pulp and paper, power generation, sugar, food and
beverage. Essentially, the units can be used in any plant application where superheated steam is present and where
cooling of steam is required.

MATERIALS OF CONSTUCTION
Body : 316 Stainless Steel or WCB (Carbon Steel) Nozzles : 316 Stainless Steel
Flanges : 316 Stainless Steel or WCB (Carbon Steel)

CONVENTIONAL DESUPERHEATERS
Where an application has small variations in steam flow, the ideal unit to use is a fixed nozzle desuperheater. This
system works by feeding spraywater (normally feedwater) to a nozzle through a control valve.

The control valve will receive a signal from the

temperature controller indicating the demand for
spraywater required to achieve set point temperature.
This water is injected through the nozzle into the main
steam line, thus reducing the temperature of the steam.
The use of high pressure water ensures that there is
suitable atomisation of the water which will be absorbed
by the steam.

The limitation of these units is, that as the

requirement for water is reduced, the spraywater control
valve closes, reducing the pressure at the nozzle.
Since the nozzle is only effective at atomising the water
with a high water pressure, the result is poor
temperature control and excessive water in the lines
that can cause cracking.

Features of the Conventional Desuperheater units:-

FEATURES BENEFITS
Simple and easy to install Lightweight

No moving parts in the steam flow Reduced maintenance

Robust design Long lasting

Turndown of up to 3:1 Best for low turndown applications

Can be mounted in any position One piece body mounted into T-piece
 SPILLBACK DESUPERHEATERS
Spillback Desuperheaters ensure that the full spraywater pressure is available at the nozzles at all times. This
is done by feeding the water directly to the nozzle and installing a Spraywater Control Valve on the outlet of
the unit to control the return of the water not required by the process away from the nozzles. As the valve
closes, more water is directed into the steam. This is the reverse logic of conventional systems.

FEATURES

Simple and easy to install

Low pressure drop across the unit

Can be mounted in any position

Excellent atomisation of the spraywater

Turndown of 10:1

No moving parts in the steam flow

Accurate temperature control to within 1C

of set point

Best used where high turndown in small units

is required

Water not required can be returned to a low

pressure sump etc. for re-use in the plant

For larger turndown requirements, the quantity

of nozzles can be increased

Note:

* For multiple nozzle units increase above flow rates by

number of nozzles

* For desired water additions of less than 1000 kg/hr consult

manufacturer for details of reduced nozzle
 STEAM AT OMISING DESUPERHEATERS
The Steam Atomising Desuperheaters (also known as Steam Assist), are used where the turndown requirements are
higher, and where only low pressure water and high pressure steam are available to assist with atomising the water.

With these units, a small amount of HP steam is bled off from the main steam line. This steam is fed through venturi
nozzles in the desuperheater unit. The spraywater is injected into the low pressure region created by the high velocity
steam.

Each unit consists of two valves, an On/Off valve for steam control and a Spraywater Control valve to control the amount
of water required to obtain optimum set point temperature.

FEATURES
Simple and easy to install
Good atomisation across a wide range of flows
Compact in design
No moving parts in the steam flow
Accurate temperature control to 1C of required set point
Only low pressure water required

BENEFITS
Lightweight
Improved temperature control
One piece body mounted into T-piece

These units are best used in conjunction with a pressure reducing station,
thus ensuring that high pressure steam is available at all times.

INSTALLATION RECOMMENDATIONS
All Mitech Desuperheaters are designed to fit in a branch of the main steam line and thus installation of each unit is
similar. The units can be mounted into a main steam line of 100mm and larger. The unit should be installed into a
T-piece, which is welded into the steam line. A recommended minimum distance of 5 pipe diameters straight pipe,
upstream of the unit (to prevent excessive turbulent flow), and approximately 10 pipe diameters downstream - with a
minimum of 2 meters - to ensure full absorption of the water being added.

The orientation of the unit must be such, that the nozzles point downstream, in the same direction as the steam flow. The
unit can be installed in a vertical or horizontal pipe, with the best installation being in a vertical installation with the flow
upwards.

The temperature probe should be installed about 20 pipe diameters downstream of the unit - this depends on the type of
desuperheater unit used (see table below). The probe should be installed on the inside of the bend or on the top of the
pipe.

Minimum installation distance required for desuperheater and temperature probes:

Pressure Reducing Valve and Desuperheater Desuperheater and Temperature Probe

Conventional N/A 12 meters

Spillback 6 pipe diameters 10 meters
Steam Atomising 6 pipe diameters 8 meters
 COMPARISON OF DESUPERHEATER TYPES
Conventional* Venturi Valve Spillback* Steam Multi-Nozzle Variable
Combination Atomising* Orifice

Advantages Compact Simple Compact Compact Compact Suitable for large Desuperheating
Ease of Long Lasting installation Lightweight Ease of installation sizes occurs in body -
installation No moving parts Shortest No moving parts No moving parts Compact no thermal
No moving parts evaporation No pressure drop Good turndown Good turndown liners required
Long lasting length across unit
Good turndown
Good control

Disadvantages Needs high Will cause high Needs high Needs high Additional valve Needs high Can only be
pressure water pressure drop in pressure steam for pressure water required for HP pressure water installed in
(20 bar and steam line flow turbulance (20 bar and above) steam injection (20 bar and above) vertical line
above) Heavy, difficult Larger valve is Can be a waste Moving parts Moving parts
Only used for to install required of high pressure within the unit in the steam
extremely low Poor turndown Expensive water Expensive flow
turndown Expensive

Possible At low flow Poor temperature Thermal cracking Return water May be noisy Maintenance of Valve subject
problems requirement, bad control at low of the valve body moving parts to thermal
atomisation of flow conditions shock
water Thermal cracking Body cracking
of pipeline

Best Low turndown Small units where Small units where Small units with Large units Large units with Where low
applications applications long life is essential the PRV and high turndown with high high turndown spray water
Desuperheater requirements turndown requirements pressure is
are required to be requirements where high available
in one unit pressure water
is available

Turndown 3: 1 7: 1 10: 1 10: 1 30: 1 100: 1 100: 1

Note: * Manufactured by Mitech All Mitech Desuperheaters are designed and manufactured in accordance
with the requirements of each application and customers specifications.

TYPICAL PRESSURE REDUCING DESUPERHEATER STATION

Pressure Reducing Station showing typical

Steam Atomising Desuperheater Station

ACTUATORS AND CONTROLS (PTY) LTD t/a MITECH

Reg. No 85/01466/07
Local Expertise - World Class Solutions
Head Office
7 Industrial Road P O Box 580 Tel: +27 11 462-2160
Kya Sand Northriding Telefax: +27 11 462-2616
Randburg 2162 E-mail: sales@mitech.co.za
South Africa South Africa Http://www.mitech.co.za
Branches:
Natal: Tel: +27 31 709-2851 Fax: +27 31 709-0352 E-mail: mitechn@mitech.co.za
Secunda: Tel: +27 17 631-1957 Fax: +27 17 631-2599 E-mail: mitechsec@mweb.co.za
West Rand: Tel: +27 12 250-0270 Fax: +27 12 250-0274 E-mail: mitechwr@lantic.net