You are on page 1of 27

When is Reverse Osmosis

Right for Boiler Pre-


Treatment
RO Benefits
• Reduced fuel costs through lower heat loss / Increased boiler
cycles
• Reduced boiler system chemical treatment costs
• Improved operation & Steam Purity
• Reduced risk
• Improved condensate corrosion control
• Reduced external treatment costs; particularly if previously using
cold or hot lime softening, ion exchange and/ or re-generable DI
• Remove/ reduce hazardous acid and caustic chemicals
• Extended ion exchange resin life
What to consider when
looking at RO for boiler
pretreatment
• Cycles of concentration
• Size of plant –steam production
• FW Quality
-Make-up alkalinity, Dissolved mineral breakdown
• % FW make up - % hot condensate return
• Pressure deaerator or FW tank?
• Feed water piping and pump construction
• Is there a use for RO reject (cooling tower MU)
• Chemical Program types
- Separates, all-in-ones, powders, liquids, etc.
Questions to help you qualify
feasibility of
replacing demins with RO/EDI
1. Is the customer concerned with handling acid and caustic?
2. What is the conductivity of the influent water? The higher the
dissolved solids in the influent water, the greater the potential
benefits.
3. How much acid and caustic are used and what is the cost?
4. What is the cost of power?
5. Can the plant effectively use the RO reject water? Or will the
increase in water consumption and waste volume be an issue?
6. Is this a new installation or is the customer considering
replacement of or renovating an existing demineralizer system?
ASME GUIDELINES
Table 1 - Watertube Boiler with Superheater/Turbine
All Pressures: FW dissolved oxygen < 7 ppb (with DA)
Feedwater pH: 8.3 - 10.0 (0- 900 psig) / pH 8.8 - 9.6 (> 901 psig)

Boiler Feedwater Boiler Water


Total Total Specific
Drum Hardness Silica alkalinity Conductance
Pressure Iron Copper ppm ppm ppm ( µ mhos/cm)
(psig) (ppm Fe) (
(ppm Cu) CaCO 3 )(
SiO 2 )(CaCO 3 ) (Unneutralized)
0 to 300 0.100 0.050 0.300 150 350 3500
300 to 450 0.050 0.025 0.300 90 300 3000
451 to 600 0.030 0.020 0.200 40 250 2500
601 to 750 0.025 0.020 0.200 30 200 2000
751 to 900 0.020 0.015 0.100 20 150 1500
901 to 1,000 0.020 0.015 0.050 8 100 1000
1,001 to 1,500 0.010 0.010 0.000 2 - 150
1,501 to 2,000 0.010 0.010 0.000 1 - 100

Note: All limits are expressed “less than” the value specified (e.g., < 0.100 ppm)
Impact of feedwater quality on
boiler operational efficiency
 Fuel-to-steam efficiency
o Fuel is 70 – 80% of boiler operating costs
Fuel
o Water & Sewer costs 3 – 5%
o But - Feedwater quality has enormous
impact on boiler efficiency
& fuel costs Water & Sewer
 Reliability and availability
Energy Loss Versus
o Industry statistics – ScaleThickness
Tube failures due to 7
6

waterside mechanisms

Energy Loss (%)


5
4

are the leading cause of


3
2
1

unscheduled Boiler 0
1/64 1/32 3/64 1/16

outages Scale Thickness (Inches)

Iron & Silica High Iron Content "Normal" Scale


Impact of feedwater quality on
boiler operational efficiency
 Steam purity
o Steam purity is a direct function of boiler water
Fuel
dissolved solids content
o Superheater and turbine reliability
o High-purity processes
 Semiconductors
 Pharmaceuticals
 Catalytic hydrocarbon/chemical procesess
 Food and beverage processing/sterilization
 Comfort humidification
 Medical and research steam sterilization processes
Boiler feedwater quality
considerations
Boiler pressure and superheater/turbine
steam
purity requirements generally define
pretreatment and feedwater quality
requirements.
In general –
> Softened or single pass RO-quality make-up
< 600 psig
> Generally demineralized or RO/EDI make-up
> 900 psi
Resin Based Pretreatment
Performance Typical Boiler
Syste Typical Effluent
Quality Operating
m
Pressure (psig)
Softener 0.2-1.0 ppm hardness 0 to 600
(no TDS reduction)
Dealkalizer 50 to 90% alkalinity 0 to 600
reduction
(no TDS reduction)
Standard two-bed <10 µmho 400 to 900
demineralizer <200 ppb silica

Two-bed demineralizer with <5 µmho 900 to 1,200


counterflow regeneration <50 ppb silica

Two-bed demineralizer with <0.1 µmho 1,200+


mixed bed polisher <10 ppb silica
Benefits for the Customer Conversion
from Softened to RO Makeup
• Improved steam purity & safety
— Improved purity of products/processes contacted by steam
— Reduced steam contamination
— Enhanced regulatory compliance
• Improved steam equipment reliability, efficiency & longevity
— Improved safety - Reduced chance of catastrophic failure
— Improved turbine efficiency
— Improved steam heat transfer efficiency
• Reduced total cost of operation (must qualify carefully)
— Improved steam system heat transfer efficiency
— Improved boiler thermal efficiency
— Reduced chemical treatment costs
— Reduced regenerant costs
Questions to help you qualify
feasibility of
pursuing RO reduce
1. RO will generally conversions from
our overall boiler NaZ
chemical
revenue by a factor of 60-80% .
Is customer looking to reduce chemical?
2. Is there a significant operational or efficiency issue that
can be solved by higher purity FW?
3. Does the plant lack blowdown heat recovery equipment
(or is it inoperable) ?
4. Is there competitive pressure or a bid that is compelling
you to consider RO as a solution?
5. Are current average cycles of concentration < 10.
Technical considerations in
conversions from Na Zeolite to
Reverse Osmosis
• RO permeate Makeup
carbon dioxide considerations &
reduction strategies
— Corrosivity of RO permeate
— Alloy considerations
— Preferred methods of pH adjustment

• Consider boiler feed pump alloys


• Selection of oxygen scavenger
• Internal treatment program considerations
• Condensate corrosion discussion & pH control range
Zeolite Softening &
Dealkalization
Advantages Limitations
• Inexpensive – Capital & •No reduction in total dissolved
operating costs solids (TDS)
• Simple-to-operate • FW quality can limit boiler
• Durable cycles
• Safe & inexpensive • Not suitable for high-pressure
sodium chloride regenerant boiler operation (> 900 psig)
• No silica reduction
• No alkalinity reduction without
dealkalizer
Resin-based demineralization

Advantages Limitations

• Reduction in all dissolved • Strong acid/caustic


solids required for regeneration
• Enables high cycles operation • Caustic costs high &
• Suitable for high-pressure variable
boilers
• Limited anion resin life
• Can tailor to specific purity
needs • Silica and sodium leakage
• Excellent silica rejection • Manpower intensive
• Excellent alkalinity/CO2 • Operating costs directly
rejection proportional to TDS
Reverse Osmosis
Advantages Limitations
• Rejection of all dissolved solids • RO alone not suitable for HP
• Operating costs not directly boiler feedwater > 1000 psig
dependant on TDS with turbine
• Enables high cycle boiler
• Higher electrical costs than
operation
resin-based systems (high-
• Requires no chemical pressure pumps)
regenerants (acid/caustic)
• Generates significant reject
• Not labor intensive
stream
• Versatile pairings with resin- (typically 20 – 30% of input
based systems stream)
• Ideal for mobile applications
• Does not reject CO2 (g)
Potential membrane solutions
for Boiler systems
1. RO in front of existing demineralizers

2. RO to replace or augment softeners

3. RO/EDI to replace resin-based demineralizer


- Mixed-bed quality train
4. Ultrafiltration in front of demin. or RO to replace
traditional filtration/clarification
Key input variables for modeling &
Economic analysis
Environmental
 TDS of influent water  Reduction of acid/caustic
 Capital equipment costs (RO) inventory
 Caustic costs  Personnel safety - chemical
 Electrical power rates exposure
 Influent water costs  Water scarcity issues
 Sewerage costs  Discharge/permitting issues
o Volume or Vol/TDS-basis?
o Can plant reuse RO
reject? This can be a
o Credits or incentives for reuse critical factor because
 Regenerant neutralization costs
direct sewerage of the RO
 Differential labor costs
reject stream may be costly
Case 1 - Potential Benefits in the
Addition of RO ahead of
Demineralizer
•Reduced acid & caustic regenerant costs
– 90 – 95% reduction in regenerant usage is typical
•Reduced operator labor
•Reduced high TDS regenerant neutralization discharge
•Extended ion exchange resin life
– 40 – 50% extension in resin life typical
– Greatly reduced regen. cycles & reduced iron/organic fouling
•Improved feedwater & steam quality
– Sodium & silica slippage & breaks significantly reduced
RO preceeding Demineralizer
Example with relatively inexpensive water and
sewerage
RO cost justified
RO to preceed above
Demin. $0.50/kgal rawapprox. 200 ppm TDS
water / $0.50/kgal
waste

3
2.5
Demin.
2
$/kgal

wdegas,neutr
1.5
RO Linear (wdegas,neutr)
1
0.5
0
100 312 473
TDS, ppm Capital and operating
cost of
RO included
RO preceeding Demineralizer
Example with more expensive water and sewerage
RO cost justified above approx. 400 ppm TDS
RO value to precede demin, $1.50/kgal raw
water, $2.00/kgal waste

5
4.5
4
3.5
RO
3
$/kgal

2.5 wdegas,neutr
2 Linear (wdegas,neutr)
1.5
1
0.5
0 Capital and operating
100 312 473 cost of
TDS, ppm
RO included
Case 1 Summary - RO in front of
Demineralizer Annual cost savings based
on water production and savings per
$600,000 1000 gallons
$500,000
Annual Savings

$400,000
$0.50
$300,000 $0.75
$1.00
$200,000

$100,000

$0
100 250 500 1000
Flowrate GPM (24/7/365 basis)
Case 2 - Potential Benefits
Conversion from Softened to RO
• Improved steam purity make-up
> Process/Turbine

• Improved condensate corrosion control


> High-alkalinity waters

• Minimizes operating and maintenance


expenses
> Boiler waterside and steamside failures

• Maintains optimal thermal performance


> Boiler and steam heat transfer efficiency

• Reduced chemical treatment costs


> Higher cycles operation – less wastage
> Lower steam system treatment requirements
Typical Problems encountered in
Softened water boiler systems

tro l Steam purity issues

t c on
o si
Dep

nt Condensate Corrosion
J oi
io n
ans
x p
E lure
i
Fa
A look at
fuel and
water
savings
when
increasing
boiler
cycles
noting a
natural cost
of $8 per
decatherm.
Potential Energy Loss Versus
Waterside Scale Thickness
Iron & Silica
7 High Iron Content
6
Energy Loss (%)

5
4
3 "Normal" Scale
2
1
0
1/64 1/32 3/64 1/16
Scale Thickness (Inches)
Saving Water & Energy
is a Big Win in Every Way,
and the creative use of Membrane solutions
for Boilers can help you to make it happen
at your facility!

You might also like