ONE SOURCE ONE PURPOSE MANY SOLUTIONS
Water Chemistry and FAC issues
Akber Pasha
Technical Director
Vogt Power International
[email protected] Presented at:
EGAT – North Bangkok
September 16, 2014
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Water Chemistry and Steam Purity
Definitions
Steam Purity and water quality requirements
Monitoring and sampling requirements
Water Treatment variations
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
CAUSES of DEPOSITS and CORROSION
Completely pure water (H2O) does not exist
Natural Water contains impurities (depends on the source)
Impurities depend on water source (from surface or ground) and water treatment They
vary across the country/world:
Dissolved Solids (rocks and soil – limestone, magnesium, silica iron, copper)
Dissolved Gases (O2-up to 9 ppm at room conditions; CO2-up to 12 ppm)
Suspended Matter (precipitated minerals, oils, fats, industrial wastes, vegetable
matter)
Impurities cause deposits, scale and corrosion in boiler and steam turbine
Sea and Fresh Water: amount of minerals differs 30-600 times (from 0.05-1.0 to 35 g/l)
Note: Human Stomach is less sensitive to water impurities than the metal of the
boiler
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
STEAM TURBINE CORRODED BLADES
(Deposits Removed)
Severely corroded blades from high-pressure condensing stage of a turbine. Deposits were
removed to reveal attack
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
OIL CONTAMINATION PROBLEMS
Coating Metal Surface, Heat transfer Reduction, Metal
Overheating
Enhances Deposit Build-up (makes sludge sticky)
Foaming and Carryover
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Water Treatment and Chemistry is influenced by:
In-leakages from Condenser and Heat Exchangers
Availability and Purity of Makeup Water
Type of operation (cyclic, steady-state)
Type and amount of Superheater Attemperation
Materials of Plant Components
Boiler Pressure, Heat Flux, required Steam Purity, Feedwater Impurities
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Critical Steam/Water Parameters
pH
O2
Fe
Silica
Conductivity
Should be Monitored and Alarmed
Procedures/Contingency Plans (how to handle sudden upsets
and gradual changes in feedwater, boiler water, steam) are
a must
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
HRSG MAJOR PROBLEMS
Deposits:
• Scale that crystallized directly onto tubes surfaces
• Sludge deposit that precipitated elsewhere and were
transported to the metal surface by the flowing water
Corrosion is more likely to occur beneath the
Deposits (under-deposit corrosion)
Foaming – the continuous formation of bubbles
which have sufficiently high surface tension to
remain as bubbles beyond the water disengaging
surface
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
DEPOSITS IN THE BOILER TUBES
Tube sections virtually plugged with deposits. The tube on the right is from a low-pressure boiler and
is fouled with almost pure calcium carbonate. He center tube contains silicates, phosphates, and
other compounds; fouling occurred on standby service. The section on the left is reddened by almost
20% elemental copper. Such heavy deposition can occur when internal pressures are low. Otherwise
rupture would occur.
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
SCALE PROBLEMS
Boiler Tube Failure
Caused by reducing heat transfer and tube overheating
Under-Deposit Corrosion
Caused by high concentration of corrosive agents (usually NaOH)
Scale Formation Mechanism
Precipitation of insoluble hardness
Ca(HCO3)2 + HEAT ---> CaCO3 + H2O + CO2
Mg+2 + OH ---> MgOH+
H2SiO3 ---> H= HSiO3
MgOH+ + HSiO3- ---> MgSiO3 + H2O
Exceeding saturation through evaporation, resulting in crystallization ie.,
CaSO4, SiO2
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
SCALE EFFECT ON HEAT TRANSFER
1400 100
Gas Temperature
1200 80
Tube Metal Temperature
Design Temperature
Temperature deg. F
Steam Flow %
1000 60
800 40
Steam Flow %
600 20
Water Temperature
400 0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
Scale Thickness inches
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
FOAMING
The foam may entirely fill the boiler drum space or be of relatively
minor depth, preventing accurate measurement of water level
Causes appreciable boiler water entrainment or steam moisture
content
Increased steam moisture content increases the solids loading to the
superheaters
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
MAKEUP WATER TREATMENT
Clarification (reduction of suspended solids)
Filtration (reduction of organics)
Softening (converts hardness salts to soluble)
Demineralization (removal of dissolved solids, including
Silica)
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
OXYGEN SCAVENGING
O2 Content at DA outlet should be < 7 ppb
Scavenger is used (at DA storage tank, feedwater
pump suction line) to consume residual O2
Feedwater pH above 9.0 reduces the steel corrosion
rate
Higher pH accelerates Copper Corrosion
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
ALKALINITY/ACIDITY CORROSION
Relative Corrosive Attack
Note: For all pH above 9.4,
erosion-corrosion can be neglected for
single phase (water)
flow only
8.5 pH 12.7 pH
Safe range
pH
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
HRSG CORROSION
Drum Deposit
Caustic Deposit
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
WATER TREATMENT AND CHEMISTRY
Solid Substances entering boiler will:
• Accumulate in the boiler
• Carry over with the steam
• Be eliminated through blowdown
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Maximizing Continuous Blowdown efficiency
It is critical to remove TDS to prevent vaporous carryover
Intermittent Blowdown
Is employed to remove insoluble deposits
May also be used to control the drum level during HRSG
start-up
May cause upset in circulation and level control
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Internal Boiler Water Treatment :
To protect from corrosion and deposits
To assure required steam purity by preventing Carryover
A better approach is to prevent contaminants from entering
the boiler than to combat them after the entry
External Boiler Water Treatment :
To get rid of one or more of feedwater impurities (O2, salts, etc.)
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Mechanical Carryover
Can be damaging to Superheater and/or Steam Turbine
Steam Turbine blades are less tolerant of deposits than the boiler
surfaces
Some impurities enter the saturated steam as water droplets (mechanical
carryover). This is minimized by proper level control, reduction of load
swings
Limits must be placed on oils, organics, suspended solids and alkalinity
Early detection is important
TDS for Turbine Steam should be < 0.050 ppm
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Vaporous Carryover
Can be damaging to Superheater and/or Steam Turbine
Unaffected by drum separation
Can be minimized by reduction of Silica concentration in boiler
water (blowdown)
Preferred solution – to minimize Silica entry into the cycle
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Condenser Leakage
The most common source of feedwater contamination
Contingency Plans must be in effect immediately if the
condensate pH is outside the limits of 8.0-12.0
Early detection of any contamination is essential
Continuous Monitoring of condensate and make-up
conductivity is a must
EGAT
Corrosion Types
Corrosion is chemical reaction between metal and
other chemicals in fluids in contact with metal and
results in loss of metal
General Corrosion due to Chemicals – acids and Alkalies
Intergranular Stress Corrosion
Microbiologically Induced Corrosion
Corrosion-Fatigue
Cavitation Induced Corrosion
Corrosion due to condensation of acids and moisture
EGAT
The Mechanism
• The Magnetite layer at low pressures is very fragile
• The Chemical Imbalance in water and steam mixture can
cause the stripping of Magnetite layer
• Flow Accelerates the material loss by removing the
material and supplying fresh chemicals for further
oxidation
• Two phase flow cause higher damage because of the
existence of chemical imbalance between liquid and vapor
phases
• Single phase FAC happens because at lower pressures
Magnetite formation is weak
A Babcock Power Inc. Company
December 11- 13, 2012 ~ Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
FLOW ASSISTED CORROSION
Conditions
pH < 9.0
O2 > 2.0 ppb
Water Temperature < 480 ºF
Geometry – Bends
High Velocity
Single Phase versus Two Phase flow
Typical Occurrences: LP and IP Evaporator,
LP Economizers, IP Drum Cyclones
EGAT
FAC – Scalloped type Damage
EGAT
Scalloped type damage with effect of cavitation
FAC – 90 deg elbow –
EGAT
FAC – Conc. Reducer – Wall Thinning & Scallops
FAC – Sharp Edged Excavations
EGAT
FAC – Comet-tail and horseshoe-shaped depressions
EGAT
FAC – Chelant Corrosion altered by the
presence of excessive Oxygen
EGAT
Influencing Factors in Design
Hydrodynamic
Flow Velocity
Pipe geometry
Steam Quality
Pipe Roughness
Effect of Velocity on FAC Rate
5.0
4.5 15
Pressure - 34
4.0
psia 69
3.5
130
3.0 225
2.5 370
2.0 580
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Velocity fps
Effect of Operating Pressure on FAC Rate
3.0
Velocity 5.25
fps 8.2
2.5 16.4
24.6
32.8
2.0
41.1
49.2
1.5 57.4
115
128
1.0
0.5
0.0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Pressure - psia
EGAT
Influencing Factors from Operation
Chemical - Water Chemistry
pH
Dissolved Oxygen
Impurities in Water
Excessive Hydrazine
Effect of pH on FAC Rate
Corrosion rate - * 1.0e9 inch/hr 1600
1400
7
1200
1000
800 8
600
400
9
200
0
0 40 80 120 160 200 240 280
Velocity ft. / sec
EGAT
Available Analyzing and Predicting Techniques
EPRI & EDF Report
• Berg Model
• MIT Model
• Sanchez Caldera Model
• CEGB Model
• EDF Recommended Method
EGAT
Vogt Proposed Correlation
Loss of Metal due to FAC
0.041* pH 2.0
* f p * f v f pv f pp
EGAT
Vogt Proposed Correlation
0.041 * pH 2.0 * f p * f v f pv f pp
0.4 0.0033* P
f p 0.05 * P
5.9064e 6 *V 2 3.0653e
f v V 0.3 /
4 *V 0.0108
f pv g5 P 5 g4 P 4 g3 P 3 g2 P 2
g1 P g0
gi ai1V 3 ai 2V 2 ai 3V ai 4
f pp 0.860.000001 P 3 2.07410.001 P 2
0.1167716 P 18535832
.
EGAT
Vogt Proposed Correlation
Where:
= The rate of Metal loss in 1.0e-6 inches per hour
pH = pH of Water
fv = Velocity Effect factor due pH
fp = Pressure Effect factor due to pH
fpp = Pressure effect factor
fpv = Pressure / velocity Effect factor
P = Operating Pressure in psia
V = Mixture Velocity in ft/ sec
EGAT
Comparison of Earlier empirical data and Present Model
3.000 25 fps c
metal Loss 1.0e-6 inch/hr
58 fps c
2.500
25 fps a
2.000
58 fps a
1.500
1.000
0.500
0.000
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250
Pressure - Psia
EGAT
VPI Proposed Methodology for FAC Control
DESIGN:
Establish the most frequent operating conditions and their
duration
Determine most vulnerable components
Riser Tubes
Upper portions of the Heat transfer Tubes or stub ends
Drum Internals
Use Alloy material (T11-P11) for these components
Alternately Calculate the expected metal loss and provide for it
in the design
Keep velocities low by providing larger connections
EGAT
VPI Proposed Methodology for FAC Control
OPERATION:
Keep Water Chemistry Under Control
pH above 9.0
Use Phosphate for pH control rather than Ammonia (AVT)
Keep control of Hydrazine if used
Dissolved Oxygen to be between 2ppb – 7 ppb
Oxygenated Treatment may be used but it is not common for
drum type boilers
ORP monitoring has been used some places but it also has not
found common use because of lack of definition
EGAT
VPI Proposed Methodology for FAC Control
OPERATION Continued:
It should be recognized that operating the LP system at higher
pressure is not possible because of process requirements.
But maintaining a steady pressure in LP System will minimize
the FAC
To minimize Single phase FAC in Feedwater heaters, Keep high
Approach to avoid having two phase flow
EGAT
VPI Proposed Methodology for FAC Control
MONITORING and INSPECTION:
Monitor Water Chemistry continuously :
pH, DO, Hydrazine
Monitor Iron in water. Increasing Iron indicate metal loss
probably due to FAC
Inspect Critical areas for metal thinning - NDT
Have Regular Internal surface Inspection of all critical areas
EGAT
Conclusions
Figure 1– The use of ammonia to control LP feedwater pH 25C at 9.2 often
results in FAC in riser tubes
EGAT
Conclusions
Figure2 – The use of ETA to control LP feedwater pH25C at 9.2 usually
controls FAC in riser tubes. However, the use of ETA alone can produce a
low pH in the condensed steam.
EGAT
Conclusions
Figure 3– The use of ammonia to control LP feedwater pH25C at 9.6 usually
controls FAC in riser tubes. However, this results in nearly 10 ppm of ammonia in
the steam, making it unsatisfactory for many uses.
EGAT
Conclusions
Figure 4 - A blend of ETA and ammonia produces a nearly uniform pH
throughout the LP system
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QUESTIONS?
Conclusions
DISCUSSIONS?
