OPTION CHECKLIST NO. 9: STEAM DISTRIBUTION & UTILIZATION
• Fix steam leaks and condensate leaks.
• (A 3 mm diameter hole on a pipe line carrying 7 Kg/cm2 steam would waste 33 Kilo litres of fuel oil per year).
• Accumulate work orders for repair of steam leaks that can't be fixed during the heating season due to system shutdown requirements. Tag each such leak with a durable tag with a good description.
• Use back pressure steam turbines to produce lower steam pressures.
• Use more-efficient steam desuperheating methods.
• Ensure process temperatures are correctly controlled.
• Maintain lowest acceptable process steam pressures.
• Reduce hot water wastage to drain.
• Remove or blank off all redundant steam piping.
• Ensure condensate is returned or re-used in the process. (60C raise in feed water temperature by economiser/condensate recovery corresponds to a 1% saving in fuel consumption, in boiler).
• Preheat boiler feed-water.
• Recover boiler blowdown.
• Check operation of steam traps.
• Remove air from indirect steam using equipment.
• (0.25 mm thick air film offers the same resistance to heat transfer as a 330 mm thick copper wall).
• Inspect steam traps regularly and repair malfunctioning traps promptly.
• Consider recovery of vent steam (e.g. -- on large flash tanks).
• Use waste steam for water heating.
• Use an absorption chiller to condense exhaust steam before returning the condensate to the boiler.
• Use electric pumps instead of steam ejectors when cost benefits permit.
• Establish a steam efficiency-maintenance program. Start with an energy audit and follow-up, then make a steam efficiency-maintenance program a part of your continuous energy management program.
• Fix steam leaks and condensate leaks.
• (A 3 mm diameter hole on a pipe line carrying 7 Kg/cm2 steam would waste 33 Kilo litres of fuel oil per year).
• Accumulate work orders for repair of steam leaks that can't be fixed during the heating season due to system shutdown requirements. Tag each such leak with a durable tag with a good description.
• Use back pressure steam turbines to produce lower steam pressures.
• Use more-efficient steam desuperheating methods.
• Ensure process temperatures are correctly controlled.
• Maintain lowest acceptable process steam pressures.
• Reduce hot water wastage to drain.
• Remove or blank off all redundant steam piping.
• Ensure condensate is returned or re-used in the process. (60C raise in feed water temperature by economiser/condensate recovery corresponds to a 1% saving in fuel consumption, in boiler).
• Preheat boiler feed-water.
• Recover boiler blowdown.
• Check operation of steam traps.
• Remove air from indirect steam using equipment.
• (0.25 mm thick air film offers the same resistance to heat transfer as a 330 mm thick copper wall).
• Inspect steam traps regularly and repair malfunctioning traps promptly.
• Consider recovery of vent steam (e.g. -- on large flash tanks).
• Use waste steam for water heating.
• Use an absorption chiller to condense exhaust steam before returning the condensate to the boiler.
• Use electric pumps instead of steam ejectors when cost benefits permit.
• Establish a steam efficiency-maintenance program. Start with an energy audit and follow-up, then make a steam efficiency-maintenance program a part of your continuous energy management program.