Professional Documents
Culture Documents
O2 CO2
O2
CONDENSATE
O2 O2 CO2
CO2 O2
O2 O2
CO2
O2 O2 CO2
CO2
CO2
O2 CO2
Metallic wall
Secondary Amines
(R)2NH
Tertiary Amines
(R)3N
Filming Amines
Feeding Requirements
• May need to be diluted with Condensate
prior to feeding
• Must be Fed to Steam Header
• Must be Fed through Injection Nozzle
• Feed Pump Interlocked to Steam Flow Meter
Filming Amines Fail When The
Film Breaks Down
Factors that Break Down Filming Amines
– Hard Water Contamination
– pH too low (< 6.5)
– pH too high (8.5)
– Organic Contamination
NALCO ACT
Sample tap
1/2 in. dam.
SS gate valve
45oF
1/4 in SS
sample line
Sample cooler
Sample line Gate valve
Throttle valve
Condensate monitoring is very
demanding
Monitoring Techniques Include:
• pH
• Iron Measurement
• Filtration Testing
• Conductivity
• Turbidity
• Corrosion Coupons
• Electrochemical Corrosion Monitoring
Measuring Condensate pH
Correctly Provides Powerful Data
• Sample temperature is critical
• Should use dedicated pH meter and electrode
• Sample collection isn’t as difficult as might be thought
• Meter calibration is required
Iron Analysis
• Many analytical methods available
– AA
– ICP
– Photometric Wet Chemistry
• Must employ a digestion step
• Sample collection is complex, since we are dealing with
particles
Filtration Testing of Condensate
• Standard technique is to use:
– 1 liter condensate sample
– 0.45 micron filter pore size
• Comparison charts available to
quantify results
• Best when fixed atop system
schematic to locate system
problems
Conductivity as a Condensate
Monitoring Tool
• Depends on process
– Paper mills have highly ionic process fluids
– Oil/petrochemicals may not be seen
• Realize impact of treatment
• Some systems use cation column to magnify presence of
ionic materials
• In critical system, install automatic dump based on
conductivity meter
Automatic Conductivity
Monitoring System
Turbidity is a Technique to Monitor
Particulate Iron On-Line
• Turbidity can be Correlated to Metals
Concentration
• Locate close to Equipment being Monitored to
cut Sample Lag Time
• Can be Incorporated with Diversion Valve
• Choose a meter that Scans the Surface of a
sample
Example of Turbidity
Diversion System
Summary of Condensate
Monitoring
• Match Monitoring Technique to type of program in use
• Look for consistency - high turbidity should correlate
with a highly colored Millipore
• Sampling protocol is more important for some
techniques that others
• Be Creative! - Find something unique about your
system
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
• Condensate Treatment Technology is the Implementation
of an Integrated Chemical, Mechanical and Monitoring
Program to Derive Significant Operating Cost Savings in
Plant Operation. Recycling or returning as much steam
condensate back as part of the boiler feedwater makes
good business sense. It’s already been paid for, generally
the quality is high purity, and it contains valuable heat
content.
Key Takeaways
• Condensate corrosion is caused by the presence of
dissolved carbon dioxide, oxygen and/or ammonia.
The three types of condensate treatment chemistries
used to inhibit these corrosive species are,
neutralizing amines, filming agents and passivating
oxygen scavengers.
Key Takeaways
• Neutralizing amine product selection requires that
you know the plant’s regulatory limitations with
respect to amine usage, and how complex the steam
condensate system is that you are trying to treat.
Select amine products based on their V/L ratio
characteristics, basicity and where the condensate is
returned from. Complex steam condensate systems
may require satellite feed of amines to control pH in
more remote areas.
Key Takeaways
• Filming amines and Ondeo Nalco’s non-amine
ACT chemistry lay down a protective barrier to
keep the corrosive species away from the metal
surface. Filming agents are typically used when
high CO2 loading makes neutralizing amines too
costly, or when the system is experiencing
dissolved oxygen problems.
Key Takeaways
• Certain passivating oxygen scavengers help reduce the
amount of iron returned in the condensate. They
condition the metal surface to slow down and inhibit
oxygen attack. Secondly they can react with oxygen
directly.
Key Takeaways
• The goal of installing sample points and monitoring
a condensate system is to be able to determine how
well it is being protected. They should enable you to
identify where problem areas are located in the
system and provide you with an effective way to
rapidly trouble shoot the system when new problems
arise. Things that need to be monitored include pH,
iron, conductivity and dissolved oxygen.