SM

QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS

Boiler Cycle Control

Cycles of concentration is a key How do cycles of concentration

control parameter for maintaining relate to efficiency?
the energy efficiency and cleanli- The higher the cycles you can
ness of a boiler. When cycles get maintain in your system, the less
too high, the extended holding water you will have to use and the
time of materials in the boiler more energy efficient your system
leads to deposition. Steam purity will be. Cycles increase when you
can also be compromised. When blowdown a smaller percentage of
cycles are too low, the energy the total water which is put into
efficiency of the system is reduced. the boiler.
Success in controlling cycles is
usually a function of one's ability Why do I need to blowdown?
to accurately measure the level of
All boiler feedwaters contain some
cycles that exist in the system and
impurities. As the water evapo-
then establish a method to control
rates in the boiler, the concentra-
the blowdown rate in the boiler to tion of solids rises dramatically in
maintain the proper cycles. There the water which is left behind. If
are a wide variety of issues to no action is taken, eventually the
consider in setting and meeting impurity levels will get high
cycle and blowdown targets in enough to exceed their solubility Usually a general operation target
your boiler. The following are limits and cause deposits on the is set for operators to use to
typical concerns which should be boiler tubes and/or contaminate simplify this task. The setting of
addressed in monitoring and the steam being produced. Thus, your boiler's blowdown target
controlling a boiler's blowdown blowing down the boiler properly should be done based on a critical
and cycles. and staying at your optimum cycles cleanliness parameter. A combina-
of concentration is of critical tion of several factors needs to be
importance to keeping the boiler evaluated to determine the limit
What are cycles of concentration and any downstream turbines or for your plant.
in a boiler system? heat exchangers clean and efficient.
The first factor is the steam purity
Cycles of concentration is defined requirements of your process.
as the quantity of dissolved solids How do I decide when to blowdown? Superheaters and turbines which
in the boiler divided by the quan- operate at high pressure require
Blowdown should be done frequently
tity of solids in the feedwater. It is high purity steam to run efficiently.
enough to keep your cycles below
also known as the concentration
the point where the boiler solubil-
ratio. Expressed another way, the
ity and purity limits are stressed.
number of cycles of concentration
in a boiler system is simply the
reciprocal of the percent blow-
down:
CR = (1% Blowdown) x 100
The second factor to consider is Boiler Feedwater Limits Boiler Water Limits
your pretreatment system. This is
Total Total
an indicator of the impurity levels Operating Hardness Alkalinity1 Specific2
to expect in your feedwater. This Pressure Iron Copper (ppm Silica (ppm Conductance
information can be used to study (psig) (ppm Fe) (ppm Cu) CaCO3) (ppm SiO2) CaCO3) (µmhos)
what fouling tendencies might 0–300 0.100 0.050 0.300 150 350 3500
exist in the boiler and at what 301–450 0.050 0.025 0.300 90 300 3000
cycles of concentration any solu- 451–600 0.030 0.020 0.200 40 250 2500
bility limits will be stressed. 601–750 0.025 0.020 0.200 30 200 2000
751–900 0.020 0.015 0.100 20 150 1500
In order to simplify this process, 901–1000 0.020 0.015 0.050 8 100 1000
the American Society of Mechani- 1001–1500 0.010 0.010 0.000 2 03 150
cal Engineers (ASME) has devel- 1501–2000 0.010 0.010 0.000 1 03 100
oped a consensus on operating 1
Minimum level of hydroxide alkalinity in boilers below 900 psig must be individually specified with regard
1
practices for boiler feedwater and to silica solubility and other components of internal treatment.

blowdown which provides a good 1

2
The maximum value often cannot be obtained without exceeding total alkalinity levels because of 1
pretreatment. Actual permissible conductance values to achieve desired steam purity must be established
starting point for establishing 1
by careful steam purity measurements.
blowdown and cycle setpoints. 3
Zero in these cases refers to free sodium or potassium hydroxide alkalinity. Some small variable amount 1
These setpoints assume that good 1
of total alkalinity will be present and measurable with the assumed congruent control or volatile treatment 1
internal moisture separation is 1
employed at these high pressure ranges.
occurring in the boiler. This makes Source: ASME Research Committee on Water in Thermal Power Systems.
them practical for use in standard
boilers, but difficult to apply in
waste heat systems. These ASME
limits should always be evaluated After this is complete, boiler What roles does my pretreatment
based on plant design specifics, feedwater impurities should be system play in this?
pretreatment reliability, and reviewed. Holding time index, ion
The lower the solids in your boiler
operating experiences to set cycles transport and/or treatment
feedwater, the longer you can keep
limits and blowdown targets stability studies should be con-
it in the boiler and flash steam out
which will provide the optimum ducted to see if any conditions are
of it before you reach your steam
levels of steam purity, boiler created as you raise boiler cycles,
purity or boiler cleanliness limits
cleanliness, and energy efficiency, which, in turn, might reduce boiler
in the bulk boiler water.
in that order. cleanliness. The results of these
studies will define the boundaries The impurities that are usually of
of the safe operating envelope for most concern in boiler feedwater
How do I customize the ASME boiler and steam systems. are hardness, iron, silica, alkalin-
guidelines for my plant? ity, and conductivity. The average
Next, energy efficiency reviews
There are several tools that can be impurity content of the boiler
should be conducted to see
used to adjust the ASME guide- water is factored into the steam
whether there are any heat losses
lines into plant specific limits. The purity and boiler cleanliness
which could be better controlled
initial step is to run a steam sodium targets to help protect the system.
or eliminated by improving
study. This tells what loading, It is important that the levels of
operating practices or system
chemical, and water level control these impurities not only be as low
design. In general, you will be able
limits you need to stay within to as possible, but consistent as well,
to save energy and treatment
prevent steam purity from drop- in order to best protect your system.
expense by operating as close to
ping below acceptable levels. You If the level of impurities spikes up
the top of your steam purity and
may also want to check your steam periodically, the assumptions
boiler cleanliness envelope as
silica levels if you do not remove it made in the cycles and blowdown
possible.
as part of your pretreatment. setpoint decision will be invalidated,
leaving the system unprotected.

2
What happens if I do not maintain What are the advantages of using
my boilers at my blowdown continuous blowdown monitors?
target? Automatic monitors and control-
There can be both dramatic and lers can be extremely useful in
subtle results if you do not main- improving the cycle control
tain your boiler at the blowdown capability in your system. Since
target. If you are drifting above they evaluate your system con-
the setpoint, the steam purity will tinuously, adjustments are made
begin to drop and turbine fouling quickly following system upsets
will occur. Even a short excursion and load swings. This provides
can cause this to happen. Once the value by reducing water consump-
turbine is fouled, its efficiency will tion and keeping you close to the
remain at a lower level even target limit. It also promotes steam
though the steam purity comes purity and boiler cleanliness by
back to normal. not letting you drift above the
target. Another important advan-
A long series of excursions will tage is that controllers do not How do I select a monitor to use in
lead to a creeping increase in total make moves when the system my system?
steam demand required to pro- varies normally within your control Monitors should be selected based
duce the same amount of turbine range. This helps improve your on their ability to sense your most
output. Extreme excursions above cycle control by preventing over- critical variable easily and accu-
the setpoint may cause you to correction for small, natural varia- rately. The optimum monitor for a
exceed solubility and fouling limits tions in your system's operation. boiler control system would:
in the bulk water. These excur-
sions may also create deposits on • monitor continuously on a real-
the superheater and boiler tube How do I decide the best way to time basis
surfaces, especially in low velocity automate my blowdown control • use no reagents
areas. This leads to underdeposit system?
corrosion and unplanned outages. • have no moving parts
Automation should be done after
Being too far below the setpoint conducting a thorough review of • be temperature insensitive
increases the water processing the current status of the system,
• have minimal interferences
demand on the pretreatment and setting clear process objectives,
waste treatment systems. This raises and determining what variables • yield reproducible, consistent
your total utility costs in these are critical to the monitoring and data
areas. In addition, this extra water control of the process. The best
If you cannot sense the critical
must be heated in the boiler which results will be obtained by mea-
variable directly, you should
will raise plant fuel usage and costs. suring the critical control variable
evaluate whether a proportional
as directly as possible. Also, the
variable will give you acceptable
control loop should be made as
data. If the critical variable can
tight as possible by having the
only be sensed directly using
control actuator directly cause a
equipment that is reagent and
change in the process variable
maintenance intensive, a propor-
being monitored to provide the
tional variable that is sensed more
best feedback.
accurately may actually provide a
better control signal.

3
What variables are normally In many cases, people have been How do I measure my cycles directly?
considered for use in blowdown fooled into running very low or The best way to directly measure
control? very high cycles by trying to work cycles is to maintain a fixed level
around this technical problem. of an easily and accurately mea-
This is highly dependent on your
Most studies of high purity sys- surable ion in the feedwater and
feedwater quality. If you use
tems show them to run into a then measure and control the level
zeolite-softened water, the normal
holding time limit for iron or of that ion as it builds up in the
control variables are silica, alkalin-
steam silica limits before anything bulk boiler water. Nalco TRASAR®
ity, or total dissolved solids. Of all
else. These limits are very difficult Technology for Boilers has been
of these items, the only one which
to detect. This has caused people specifically designed to accom-
has been able to be monitored well
using DI water to make assump- plish this task. No other system
historically is total dissolved solids
tions and set targets that are not can make this claim.
via conductivity. Neutralized
optimized for water or energy
conductivity should be used for
efficiency. Conductivity, silica, sodium,
cycle measurement and control to
chloride, and alkalinity are the
eliminate the high natural alkalin- One method that has been used in
other commonly monitored
ity variation that occurs in DI systems to overcome this
feedwater parameters. The prob-
unneutralized readings. The use of problem is steam flow-based
lem with using them to calculate
silica analyzers in boiler feedwater algorithmic systems. Although
cycles directly is that they all vary
and on steam headers has also they are better than conductivity
erratically and significantly (±10%)
been successful in some cases. alone, these systems have prob-
in the average feedwater system.
lems due to the highly localized
This inherently limits their effec-
accuracy of the meter's calibration.
tiveness in measuring cycles of
This usually makes the actual
concentration. Of these five wet
control produced poor.
chemistry analyses, only unneu-
Recently, new technologies have tralized conductivity can be
been developed for directly sensing sensed easily and accurately. This
boiler cycles which will revolu- has made it the option of choice in
tionize the ability to control boiler the past for blowdown control.
blowdown and to improve energy
efficiency in these systems. By Unfortunately, boiler conductivity
controlling cycles directly, you is affected by the production of
can maintain boiler and turbine caustic from bicarbonate in the
If you have a high percentage of boiler water. This requires it to be
condensate return or demineral- cleanliness and efficiencies
simultaneously. neutralized before it can be used
ized feedwater, you have very low to reflect cycles with any degree of
feedwater solids levels. Most of accuracy. There are no continuous
your feedwater conductivity neutralized conductivity monitors
reading will be due to the alkalin- on the market today. There are
ity contribution from your resin also limitations to measuring
beds and vary as they near ex- neutralized feedwater conductiv-
haustion. Since these samples ity as discussed earlier, which
cannot be effectively neutralized make cycle calculations by this
for comparison to boiler blow- method highly suspect.
down conductivities and they
have such a high natural variation
level, they are useless as a cycle or
blowdown control parameter.

4
How high can my cycles safely go?
Each plant must set its own cycle
limits based on the boiler's design,
the plant steam purity needs, the
feedwater consistency, the treat-
ment program limits, and the
ability to monitor and control
boiler cycles. Some plants have
been able to go as high as 200
cycles safely by improving control
and taking advantage of good
pretreatment. Other plants have to
stop as low as five cycles due to
pretreatment and control limita-
tions. Most systems will fall
somewhere in between.
Schematic of typical TRASAR Technology for Boilers cycle control system

Summary High purity feedwaters should not

Steam purity and boiler reliability be controlled on conductivity due
are the two key issues to weigh in to the high percentage levels of
the selection of a system's cycle alkalinity variation found in these
and blowdown limits. The critical feedwater and boiler water
control variable for maintaining samples. More specifically de-
the system within these limits signed systems such as Nalco
should be sensed as directly as TRASAR Technology for Boilers
possible and controlled in a should be used in these cases. This
consistent manner for optimum will result in energy savings by
The ability to save energy and results. A selected ion should be reducing unneeded blowdown
treatment dollars is directly monitored in the boiler feedwater and by more consistently main-
proportional to how far you are and boiler, and should be used to taining high steam purity levels.
able to push the top of your safe keep the system at its safest cycles
operating envelope. In setting a and Holding Time Index (HTI).
cycles target, it is important to
note that the energy savings drop
rapidly when you go above 75
cycles. Also, heat recovery systems
can be set up to reduce energy
losses when high cycles cannot be
obtained.

5
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