Engineer: 3 key attitudes you must cultivate to increase Savings and Efficiency in your Steam Plant

Being an Engineer in a steam plant, you should have seen Facility fuel bills go up between $1 million and $3 million per year, eating up a large percentage of your operating budgets.  At the operating level, the day-to-day efficiency and working life of your personnel can be directly affected by the steam plant and the way in which it operates.

At the beginning of each production calendar, management wants to know that the plant is going to work, how well it will work, and the effect this will have on their time and resources. With my Experience in Steam Network Management, I have searched and put together two articles that are summarized to attitudes that will help you increase fuel efficiency and further save your management money.

The first; “How to Audit an Industrial Steam Heating System” by Steve Connor has enumerated the different key steps to take in other to carry out a steam plant audit. This article focuses on grey areas in the plant that requires auditing at intervals and the standard practice for carrying out, should auditing process be needed.

The Second is ripped from the Spirax Sarco online “SteamEngineering Tutorials” with the chapter on Steam and the Organization and http://bit.ly/why-steam-traps  .This chapter discusses the benefits of steam, as a problem solver, from different viewpoints within a business. Perceived differently depending on whether you are a chief executive, a manager or at operating level.

Since this surging energy costs have facility engineers, managers and maintenance supervisors looking for ways to make plants more efficient, in most cases, the most logical place to start is the boiler system.

Energy Auditor

Maintain a boiler log

To maximize the audit process and help keep boilers running optimally at all times, all facilities should keep a boiler room log. The log serves as a guide to a comprehensive maintenance program. By helping to evaluate performance and spot trends that may affect operating pressure (steam boiler), operating temperature (hot water boiler) and stack temperature, boiler logs help to determine when to clean the boiler, adjust the combustion, repair or maintain the refractory or insulation and adjust water treatment. It also helps with timing on replacing safety devices, fuel filters or gaskets. Because the log keeps track of issues with the boiler, an auditor will know what to look for up front during a full blown Steam Audit.

For everyday safety, the log should also include standard operating procedures, which allow it to serve as a “how to” reference book for employees. Not knowing the proper procedures when an issue arises can lead to boiler outages and accidents.

Audit steam traps for savings, health and safety

Steam traps are typically part of a complete steam facility that ensures the system is a loop. Usually, at intervals of 2 months complete run, you should look for traps that pressurize the condensate line (“blowing through”), causing waterlogging and inefficient process performance. No steam system is complete without the crucial component ‘the steam trap’ (or trap). This is the most important link in the condensate loop because it connects steam usage with condensate return. Traps are normally checked using heat-sensitive or ultrasonic instrumentation.

The other critical issue you should be looking for is evidence of water hammer. In steam systems, water hammer most often occurs when some of the steam condenses into water in a horizontal section of the steam piping, usually caused by poor condensation drainage. Subsequently, steam picks up the water, forms a slug and hurls it at high velocity into a pipe elbow or other restrictive device, creating a loud hammering noise and greatly stressing the pipe.

Imagine a filled 8-in. pipe, 8 in. long. It weighs about 15 pounds, or the same as a bowling ball. Now put 100 psi of pressure behind the ball and roll it at 60 miles per hour: that’s the level of force when water hammer is occurring. It can cause pipes to break or even disintegrate if the pressure is high enough, potentially scalding or severely injuring employees in the vicinity. Clearly, this is a problem that needs to be fixed.

In a full blown audit, the steam trap auditor will gather information on the number of steam traps in the facility, test and tag the steam traps, record findings, and calculate energy saving measures and potential ROI.

Monitor and fix Steam leaks

Steam leaks have multiple negative effects on steam-based plant operations, including 

energy losses, increased emissions, and loss of reliability, production issues, and safety. Steam leakage is a major energy loss and we accept it as normal, but it’s not normal. Production is also put at risk. As leaks will cause a pressure loss in the system, lowering temperatures, which can create problems in the system.

You can save a lot by changing steam systems to reduce leaks. Steam will erode and the leak will increase, which means you need to be very proactive in stopping it. Steam leak fixes create instantaneous savings and a high payback.

To forestall leaks,

a.     Follow piping code using welding or flanges instead of threaded joints.

b.     Have the attitude for auditing traps

c.      Corrosion should be taken into account and the pipe should be well vented.

Predictive technologies such as thermal imaging and ultrasound are effective for finding conditions such as steam leaks under insulation.

In summary, always remember that a steam systems is as effective as how your maintenance culture has been. It is better to take preventive steps than corrective measures. Steam ancillaries are quite expensive…save your management the money! 

 




I am Iyore Amadasun, a Steam Engineering instructor, auditor and Sales Professional with experience form Spirax Sarco steam equipment. Feel free to connect me on twitter: @iyoremax