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BoilerFeedwaterTreatment(PartI):WhyWaterTreatmentis
Necessary
Contents
1.Waterforboilers
2.Impuritiesinwater
3.Boilerfeedwater
4.Purityrequirementsoffeedwater
5.Boilerdeposits
6.Corrosion
7.Boilerwatercarryover

Waterforboilers
Allnaturalwaterscontainvaryingamountsofsuspendedanddissolvedmatteraswellasdissolvedgases.Thetypeandamountof
impuritiesinfreshwatervarywiththesource(lake,river,well)andwiththeareaoflocation.Impuritiesinwaterbecomean
importantconsiderationwhenwateristobeusedforsteamgeneration.Withthetrendtowardhigherpressureboilers,
pretreatmenthasbecomethekeytosuccessfuloperationofindustrialpowerplants.Feedwatermustbepretreatedtoremove
impuritiestocontroldeposition,carryover,andcorrosionintheboilersystem.Poorqualitywatergivespoorqualitysteam.The
firststepinanytreatmentisfiltrationofsuspendedsolids.Onthebasisofprovensatisfactoryperformance,cost,andother
considerations,cartridgefiltersareapracticalsolutiontomostproblemsofwatercleanup.

Physicalpropertiesofwater
Purewaterisatasteless,odourless,colorlessliquid.Becausewatercanbeconvertedtosteamataconvenienttemperature,itis
anidealmediumforgeneratingpowerorconductingheat.

Chemicalcompositionofwater
Purewater,H2O,isasimplecombinationofhydrogenandoxygen.Thereare,however,severalhybridsformsofwaterinall
supplies.Wateroftencontainsabout300ppmofdeuteriumoxide,D2O,orheavywater.Ithasnouseasdrinkingwater
orinmakingplantsgrow,butinpureformhasfounduseinnuclearreactors.Forallpracticalpurposesonlyordinarywater,H2O,
isconsideredforuseinboilers.

Boilingtemperature
Theboilingpointofwaterisdependentonpressure.Atsealevelatmosphericpressure,waterboilsatabout212oF.With
increasingpressure,theboilingpointalsoincreases.Atapressureof200psig,forexample,waterboilsatatemperatureofabout
388oF.Atthecriticalpressureof3200psig(wherewaterisconvertedtosteamwithoutchangeinvolume),theboilingpointis
704oF.Asthepressuredecreases,theboilingpointofwaterdecreases.Undervacuumwaterwillboilattemperaturesaslowas
35oF.

Wateranidealmediumforcarryingheatenergy
IttakesoneBTu(BritishThermalUnit)toraisetemperatureofonepoundofwater1oF.Ittakesanadditional970Btutochange
onepoundofwater,atboilingpoint,tosteam.Thisheatenergyisstoredinthesteamandwhenitcondenses,theenergyis
givenoff.Thusmuchoftheheatfromburningfuelcanbeabsorbedbyboilerwater,transportedwiththesteam,andreleasedat
thepointsofuse.

Impuritiesinwater
Allnaturalwaterscontainvarioustypesandamountsofimpurities.Theseimpuritiescauseboilerproblemsandassuch
considerationmustbegiventothequalityandtreatmentrequiredofthewaterusedforgeneratingsteam.Foranytypeof

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treatment,sedimentfiltration(usuallywithcartridgefilters)isthefirststep.

Naturalwater
Naturalwaterscontainsuspendedmatter,dissolvedsolids,anddissolvedgases.Waterbeingauniversalsolventdissolvesminerals,
rocksandsoilthatcomeintocontactwithit.Itdissolvesgasesfromairandgasesthataregivenofffromorganicsinthesoil.It
picksupsuspendedmatterfromtheearth.Additionallyitmayalsobecontaminatedwithindustrialwastesandprocessmaterials.

Dissolvedminerals
Dissolvedmineralspickedupbythewaterconsistmainlyofcalciumcarbonate(limestone),calciumsulfate(gypsum),magnesium
carbonate(dolomite),magnesiumsulfate(epsomsalts),silica(sand),sodiumchloride(commonsalt),hydratedsodiumsulfate
(Glaubersalt),andsmallerquantitiesofiron,manganese,fluorides,aluminum,andothersubstances.Thenitratesandphosphates
foundinwaterareusuallyduetosewagecontamination.

Waterhardness
Watercontaininghighamountsofcalciumandmagnesiummineralsishardwater.Theamountofhardnessinnatural
watercanvaryfromafewppmto500ppm.Calciumandmagnesiumcompoundsarerelativelyinsolubleinwaterandtendto
precipitateout.Thiscausesscaleanddepositproblems.Suchwatermustbetreatedtomakeitsuitableforsteamgeneration.

Dissolvedgasesinwater
Watercontainsvaryingamountsofdissolvedair(21%oxygen,78%nitrogen,1%othergasesincludingcarbondioxide).Water
cancontainupto9ppmoxygenatroomtemperatureandatmosphericpressure.Asthetemperatureincreases,thesolubilityof
oxygendecreases,butwaterunderpressurecanholdhigheramountsofdissolvedoxygen.Nitrogen,beinginert,haslittleeffect
onwaterusedinboilers.Watercancontain10ppmofcarbondioxide,sometimesmuchmorethanthatduetodecaying
vegetationandorganicsinsoil.Hydrogensulfideandmethanemaybedissolvedinwaterbutthisisrare.Thesegasescanbe
troublesomewhentheyarepresentinthefeedwater.

Otherimpuritiesinwater
Naturalwaterscontainvaryinglevelsofsoil,sand,turbidity,colour,precipitatedminerals,oil,industrialwastesandother
suspendedsolidparticles.Turbidityisduetoveryfineorganicmaterialsandmicroorganisms,aswellassuspendedclayandsilt.
Colourisduetothedecayingvegetablematter.

Sourcesoffreshwater
Freshwatercanbesurfacewaterfromrivers,streams,reservoirsorgroundwaterfromwells.Generallygroundwatersuppliesare
moreconsistentincompositionthansurfacewatersupplies.Surfacewaterqualityiseffectedbyrainfall,soilerosionandindustrial
wastes,butgroundwaterisusuallyharderthansurfacewater.Thecompositionoffreshwateralsovarieswiththelocationand
typeandstrataoftheearthformations.Inlimestoneareas,forexample,watercontainslargequantitiesofdissolvedcalcium.
Apartfromthegeographicvariations,thelocalconditionsofaparticularareamayhaveagreatinfluenceinthecompositionof
thewater.

Boilerfeedwater
Boilerfeedwateristhewatersuppliedtotheboiler.Often,steamiscondensedandreturnedtotheboileraspartofthe
feedwater.Thewaterneededtosupplementthereturnedcondensateistermedmakeupwater.Makeupwaterisusually
filteredandtreatedbeforeuse.Feedwatercompositionthereforedependsonthequalityofthemakeupwaterandtheamountof
condensatereturned.Sometimespeoplethinkthatthereisagreatdealofsimilaritybetweentherequirementsforpotable
(drinking)waterandtherequirementsforboilerfeedwater.Themineralsindrinkingwaterareconsidereddesirableandare
absorbedbythebody.Ontheotherhand,mineralsinwatercannotbehandledaswellbyboilers.Althoughaboilerisabigmass
ofsteel,itismoresensitivetowaterimpuritiesthanthehumanstomach.Forthisreason,alotofcareisneededinfiltrationand
treatmentoftheboilerwatersupply.

Purityrequirementsoffeedwater
Feedwaterisamatterbothofquantityofimpuritiesandthenatureofimpurities.Hardness,iron,andsilica,forexample,areof
moreconcernthansodiumsalts.Thepurityrequirementsoffeedwaterdependonhowmuchfeedwaterisusedaswellas
tolerationoftheparticularboilerdesign(pressure,heattransferrateetc.).Intodayshighpressureboilerspracticallyall
impuritiesmustberemoved.Thefeedwater(makeupwater)fromoutsideneedstobetreatedforthereductionorremovalof
impuritiesbyfirstfiltration,andthenfollowedbysoftening,evaporation,deariation,ionexchangeetc.Internaltreatmentisalso

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requiredfortheconditioningofimpuritieswithintheboilersystem,tocontrolcorrosion,asreactionsoccurintheboileritselfand

thesteampipelines.

Boilerdeposits
Waterevaporatingintheboilercausesimpuritiestoconcentrate.Boilerscaleresultsfromsuspendedmattersettlingoutonthe
metalordissolvedimpuritiesprecipitatingoutonheattransfersurfacesandbecominghardandadherent.

Impuritiesthatformdeposits
Bicarbonatesofcalciumandmagnesiumdissolvedinwaterbreakdownunderheatandgiveoffcarbondioxideforminginsoluble
carbonates.Thesecarbonatesprecipitatedirectlyontheboilermetalandorformsludgeinthewaterthatdepositsonboiler
surfaces.Sulfateandsilicagenerallyprecipitatedirectlyontheboilermetalandaremuchhardertocondition.Silica(sand)if
presentinwatercanformexceedinglyhardscale.Suspendedordissolvedironcominginthefeedwaterwillalsodepositonthe
boilermetal.Oilandotherprocesscontaminantscanformdepositsaswellandpromotedepositionofotherimpurities.Sodium
compoundsusuallydonotdepositunlessthewaterisalmostcompletelyevaporatedtodryness,asmayoccurinastarvedtube.
Depositsareseldomcomposedofoneconstituentalone,butaregenerallyamixtureofvarioustypesofsolidsediments,dissolved
minerals,corrosionproductslikerust,andotherwatercontaminants.

Characteristicsofphosphatedeposit
Phosphatedepositsareusuallysoftbrownorgraydepositsthatcanbeeasilyremovedbynormalcleaningmethods.Theyare
normallyfoundinboilersemployingaphosphateinternaltreatment.Theyarethepreferredreactionproductwhenusing
aresidualphosphatetreatmentonhighhardnessfeedwater.Sincetheyareeasilyconditionedwithorganicsludgeconditioners,
theyarerelativelynonadherent.Calciumphosphateisusuallythepredominantcompoundintheboilerdeposit.

Characteristicsofcarbonatedeposit
Carbonatedepositsareusuallygranularandsometimesporous.Thecrystalsarerelativelylargeandoftenmattedtogetherwith
finelydividedparticlesofothermaterialsmakingthescalelookdenseanduniform.Carbonatedepositcanbeeasilycheckedby
puttingitinanacidsolution.Bubblesofcarbondioxidewilleffervescefromthescale.

Characteristicsofsulfatedeposit
Sulfatedepositisbrittle,doesnotpulverizeeasily,andwillnoteffervescewhenputinanacidsolution.Itismuchharderand
denserthanacarbonatedepositduetoitssmallercrystalstructure.

Characteristicsofsilicadeposit
Silicadepositsareveryhardandresembleporcelain.Theircrystalsareverysmall,formingadense,imperviousscale.Thisscaleis
extremelybrittle,verydifficulttopulverize,andnotsolubleinhydrochloricacid.

Characteristicsofirondeposit
Irondepositsareverydarkcolouredandareduetocorrosionproductsorironcontaminationinfeedwater.Irondepositsare
usuallymagneticinnature.Theyaresolubleinhotacid,givingadarkbrownsolution.

Problemscausedbydeposits
Themajorproblemthatdepositscauseistubefailurefromoverheating.Thisisduetothefactthatthedepositsactasan
insulatorandexcessivedepositspreventefficientheattransferthroughthetubestothewater.Thiscausesthemetaltobecome
overheatedandovertimethemetalfails.Thesedepositscanalsocausepluggingorpartialobstructionofboilertubes,leadingto
starvationandsubsequentoverheatingofthetubes.Underneaththedepositlayercorrosionmayalsooccur.Depositscause
unscheduledoutages,increasedcleaningtimeandexpenses.Boilerdepositsreduceoveralloperatingefficiencyresultinginhigher
fuelconsumption.

Corrosion
Corrosionisbasicallythereversionofametaltoitsoreform.Iron,forexample,revertstoironoxideasaresultofcorrosion.The
processofcorrosionisactuallynotsosimple,itisacomplexelectromechanicalreaction.Corrosionmaygenerallybeoveralarge
metalsurfacebutsometimesitresultsinpinpointpenetrationofmetal.Thoughbasiccorrosionisusuallyduetoreactionofthe
metalwithoxygen,otherfactorsincludingstressesproducedifferentformsofattack.Corrosionmayoccurinthefeedwater
systemasaresultoflowpHwaterandthepresenceofdissolvedoxygenandcarbondioxide.Corrosionintheboileritself

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normallyoccurswhenboilerwateralkalinityistoolowortoohighorwhenthemetalisexposedtooxygenbearingwaterduring

eitheroperationoridleperiods.Hightemperaturesandstressestendtoacceleratethecorrosion.Inthesteam&condensate
systemandpipelinescorrosionisgenerallytheresultofcontaminationwithcarbondioxideandoxygen.

CorrosionFatigue
Crackinginboilermetalmayoccurduetocyclicstressescreatedbyrapidheatingandcooling.Thesestressesareconcentratedat
pointswherecorrosionhasroughenedorpittedthemetalsurface.Thisisusuallybecauseofimpropercorrosionprevention.
Sometimesevenwithproperlytreatedwatercorrosionfatiguecrackingoccurs.Thesecracksoftenoriginatewhereadense
protectiveoxidefilmcoversthemetalsurfaces,andcrackingoccursfromtheactionofappliedcyclicstresses.Corrosionfatigue
cracksareoftenthick,blunt,andacrossthemetalgrains.Theystartatinternaltubesurfacesandaremostoftencircumferential
onthetube.

Causticembrittlement
Causticembrittlementorcrackingisamoreserioustypeofboilermetalfailureshowingupascontinuousintergranularcracks.
Thistypeofcrackingoccurswhenthemetalisstressed,watercontainscausticwithatraceofsilica,andsomemechanism,such
asaslightleak,ispresentallowingtheboilerwatertoconcentrateonthestressedmetal.Causticembrittlementismoreofa
probleminolderboilerswithriveteddrumsastheycausestressesandcrevicesintheareasofrivetsandseams.Inthenewer
weldeddrumboilersthistypeofcrackingislessfrequentbuttherolledtubeendsarestillvulnerabletoattack.Thepossibilityof
causticcrackingshouldbeaconsiderationinwatertreatment.

Othercausesofboilercorrosion
Chelateresidualsinexcessof20ppmasCaCO3orimproperlyappliedchelatetreatmentmayproduceboilersystemcorrosion.
Concentrationofboilersolidsathighheatinputareasmightalsoproducecorrosion.Therecommendationsofawatertreatment
consultantneedtobefollowedtominimizechancesofsuchcorrosionfromoccurring.

Corrosionproblems
Uniformcorrosionofboilermetalsurfacesisboundtooccurandisnotofmuchconcernasallboilersexperienceasmallamount
ofgeneralcorrosion.Corrosion,however,takesmanyformsanddeeppittingthatcausesonlyasmallamountoftotalironloss
causespenetrationandleakageinboilertubes.Corrosionbeneathcertaintypesofboilerdepositscanweakenthemetalandcause
tubefailure.Likewisecorrosioninsteamcondensatesystemcandamagepipelinesandequipment.

Corrosionmeasurement
Hydrogengassamplingoftheboilersteamisdonetomeasurethecorrosionpotentialoftheboilerwater.Thistestforcorrosion
isbasedonthereleaseofhydrogengaswhenironcorrodes.Measuringtheamountofhydrogengasreleaseddetectsboilerwater
conditionsandindicatesifcorrosionconditionsexistinanoperatingboiler.

Basiccorrosionpreventionmethods
Thecommonmethodsforpreventionofcorrosioninclude:

1.Filtrationofsolidsuspendedimpurities&particlesfromwater
2.Removingdissolvedoxygenfromtheboilerfeedwater
3.Maintainingalkalineconditionsintheboilerwater
4.Keepingtheboilerinternalsurfacesclean
5.Protectingboilersduringoutofserviceperiods
6.Usingachemicaltreatmentprogrammetocounteractcorrosivegasesinsteamandcondensatesystems

Theselectionandcontrolofchemicalsforpreventingcorrosionrequiresanunderstandingofthecausesandcorrectivemeasures.

Boilerwatercarryover
Boilerwatercarryoveristhecontaminationofsteamwithboilerwatersolids.Commoncausesofboilerwatercarryoverare:

1.Bubblesorfoamformonthesurfaceoftheboilerwaterandleavewiththesteam.Thisisduetohighconcentrationsof
insolubleorsolublesolidsintheboilerwater.Substanceslikealkalies,greases,oils,fats,organicmatterandsuspended
solidsareknowntocausefoaming.
2.Finedropletsofwaterintheformofsprayormistarethrownupintothesteamspacebytheburstingofrapidlyrising
bubblesatthesteamreleasesurface.
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3.Primingisasuddensurgeofboilerwatercausedbyarapidchangeinload.Itmaybecausedbydamagedsteam

separatingequipment,operationabovetheboilerrating,suddenfluctuationsinsteamdemand,orcarryingtoohighofa
waterlevelinthesteamreleasearea.
4.Steamcontaminationmayalsooccurfromleakageofwaterthroughimproperlydesignedorinstalledsteamseparating
equipmentintheboilerdrum.

Boilercarryovermeasurement
Steampuritycanbemeasuredwiththeuseofasodiumionanalyzer.Itmeasuresthesodiumioncontentinacooledsteam
samplethatwillcorrespondtotheamountofboilerwatersolidscontaminatingthesteam.Thesodiumionanalyzercandetect
carryoverdownto1ppbsodiuminsteam.

Affectofoiloncarryover
Oilcontaminationinboilerfeedwaterisusuallyfrompumpsandotherlubricatedequipment.Oilcancauseseriousfoamingdueto
saponificationofoilbyboilerwateralkalies.

Affectofsuspendedsolidsoncarryover
Suspendedsolidstendtocollectonthesurfacefilmsurroundingasteambubble,whichthereforeresistsbreakingandbuildsup
foam.Thefinersuspendedparticlesbecomethegreateristheircollectiononthebubble.Thetypeaswellasthequantityof
suspendedsolidscanaffectcarryover.Dependingonthetypeofsuspendedsolids,someboilershavinghighsuspendedsolids
operatewithoutcarryover,whileothershavecarryoverwithlowsuspendedsolids.

Selectivesilicacarryover
Silicacanbepresentinthesteamastheresultofgeneralboilerwatercarryover,oritcangointothesteaminavolatileform.In
thelatercase,silicaactsmuchlikegasandisconsideredtobeselectivelycarriedover.Astheboilerpressuresincreaseabove400
psi,thereisanincreaseinthetendencyforsilicatobeselectivelycarriedintothesteaminamountsproportionatetotheamount
ofsilicapresentintheboilerwater.

Problemscausedbycarryover
Suspendedanddissolvedsolidsintheboilerwatertendtodepositinthesteamandcondensatesystem.Impuritiescarriedover
withthesteamcausecontaminationinthemanyprocessesforwhichsteamisused,resultinginoverheating,corrosionand
reductionofefficiencyoftheboileritselfandotherequipment.

Preventingcarryover
Thebasicpreventivemeasureistomaintaintheconcentrationofsolidsintheboilerwateratrecommendedlevels.Highwater
levels,excessiveboilerloadsandsuddenloadchangesaretobeavoided.Veryoftencontaminatedcondensatereturnedtothe
boilersystemcausescarryover.Thereturncondensateshouldbefilteredtoremovesuspendedsolidsbeforebeingfedbacktothe
boiler.Effortsshouldbemadetotracethesourceofanyexcessivecontaminationandtheproblemrectified.Theuseofchemical
antifoamsiseffectiveincontrollingcarryoverduetoconcentrationofimpuritiesintheboilerwater.Steamseparatingequipment
mustbeinspectedforproperinstallation.

Index
1.Waterforboilers
1.Physicalpropertiesofwater
2.Chemicalcompositionofwater
3.Boilingtemperature
4.Wateranidealmediumforcarryingheatenergy
2.Impuritiesinwater
1.Naturalwater
1.Dissolvedminerals
2.Waterhardness
3.Dissolvedgassesinwater
4.Otherimpuritiesinwater
2.Sourcesoffreshwater
3.Boilerfeedwater

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4.Purityrequirementsoffeedwater
5.Boilerdeposits
1.Impuritiesthatformdeposits
2.Characteristicsofphosphatedeposit
3.Characteristicsofcarbonatedeposit
4.Characteristicsofsulfatedeposit
5.Characteristicsofsilicadeposit
6.Characteristicsofirondeposits
7.Problemscausedbydeposits
6.Corrosion
1.Corrosionfatigue
2.Causticenbrittlement
3.Othercausesofboilercorrosion
4.Corrosionproblems
5.Corrosionmeasurement
6.Basiccorrosionpreventionmethods
7.Boilerwatercarryover
1.Boilercarryovermeasurement
2.Affectofoiloncarryover
3.Affectofsuspendedsolidsoncarryover
4.Selectivesilicacarryover
5.Problemscausedbycarryover
6.Preventingcarryover

BoilerFeedwaterTreatment(PartII):WaterTreatmentFundamentals
1.Removingimpuritiesfromboilerfeedwater
2.Filtration
3.Coagulationandflocculation
4.Reactionoflimesodainsofteningprocess
5.Ionexchange
6.Deaerationofwater
7.Combinationofionexchangeandlimeprocess
8.Reverseosmosis
9.Internaltreatmentofboilerfeedwater
10.Blowdown
11.Corrosioninsteamcondensatesystem
12.Careofoutofserviceboilers

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Copyright19982011SyntechFibres(Pvt)Ltd.AllRightsReserved.
SyntechFibres(Pvt)Ltd.FiltrationProductsDivisionisanISO9001:2008certifiedcompany.Member,WaterQualityAssociation.
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