Effective and efficient boiler operation requires the use of auxiliary steam plant equipment. For some projects, users can pipe their existing auxiliary steam plant equipment to the new or rental boiler for safe operation. In other cases, new or rental auxiliary steam plant equipment may be required.
Water Softeners
To optimize boiler performance and avoid costly maintenance, the impurities of water must be removed before the water enters a boiler system. Hard water, or mineral rich water, can clog the tubes and water side of the boiler leaving calcium scale deposits which act as an insulator and decrease boiler efficiency. Untreated scale can lead to blockages and boiler system failure.
The minerals that are removed from hard water to make it soft include magnesium and calcium, which are positively charged ions. Water softeners are specific ion exchangers designed to remove these positively charged ions from water and replace them with other ions, called exchanger ions, such as sodium and potassium.
Deaerators / Feedwater Systems
The purpose of the deaerator is to reduce the oxygen content of the water being fed to the boiler system. This process must be done after the water has been treated with a water softener because hard water can damage the equipment.
The deaerator avoids boiler corrosion and pitting by utilizing a chemical oxygen scavenger to remove the oxygen, carbon dioxide and other dissolved gases present in normal water. In addition, deaerators provide feedwater storage and proper suction conditions for boiler feedwater pumps. The deaerating process raises the water’s temperature to within a few degrees of the temperature of saturated steam and increases a plants thermal efficiency.
Nationwide Boiler offers mobile feedwater equipment for rental applications, designed primarily for pumping, deaerating, heating, conditioning and treating boiler feedwater. The system includes the water softener, chemical tanks, deaerator and feedwater system mounted and enclosed in a highway-legal van; all the equipment needed for proper water treatment prior to entering the boiler system. New, built-to-spec deaerators and boiler feedwater systems are also available for permanent applications.
Other Boiler Auxiliary Equipment
Additional boiler auxiliary equipment options are also available from Nationwide Boiler. This includes, but is not limited to, economizers, CataStak SCR systems, blowdown separators, gas regulators, propane vaporizers, steam-to-water heat exchangers, and plant master control panels.
Contact Nationwide Boiler to discuss what auxiliary equipment is required for your specific application.
