Corrosion

Corrosion is the deterioration of metal by Chemical action. When dissolved oxygen is present in the boiler water, corrosion begins and continues until all metal has been transformed into iron oxide or, commonly stated, rust. When rust forms in the boiler, it may drop out as sludge or cling to other metal surfaces. It is not economically possible to prevent at least some of the iron in the boiler from going into solution. All iron not protected by a coating or film of something that keeps out moisture and air is sooner or later going to become RUST. The idea is to slow down the process as much as possible by KEEPING OXYGEN OUT and by maintaining a proper causticity residual.

The pH level of boiler water is also a factor in corrosion. The active agent in the corrosion of the internal water surface of boilers is oxygen; however, the combined action of oxygen and the acid action of the water are required for the corrosion process. To suppress the acid action of the water, you can raise the pH value of the water by adding caustic soda. The lower the pH value, the stronger the acid concentration. The higher the pH value, the weaker the concentration. Economically, acid corrosion cannot be stopped completely, but it can be suppressed by keeping oxygen out of the boiler and by maintaining a proper pH value and causticity range.

Prevention and Treatment for Oxygen Corrosion

The chemical most commonly used in oxygen removal is sodium sulfite, and it is quite often referred to as an oxygen scavenger. It is an example of a chemical that actually reacts with the harmful constituent. It reacts with oxygen, forming a neutral compound - sodium sulfate.

When enough sodium sulfite is fed into a boiler so that a surplus of the chemical is maintained, any of the oxygen getting into the boiler water is taken up by the chemical, and the boiler water is kept virtually free of oxygen. By maintaining a suitable residual, little, if any, corrosion due to oxygen occurs. Common practice in feeding sodium sulfite is to maintain a surplus residual of about 20 ppm to 50 ppm in the boiler water. This is generally enough sodium sulfite to react with normal amounts of oxygen that might get into the boiler. Higher concentrations of sodium sulfite are unnecessary.

Sodium sulfite dissolves readily in water and must be fed at a point between the feed heater and the boiler so that it is used to take up only the oxygen that gets by the deaerator or heater. If the sodium sulfite is fed through the feed lines by continuous feeding, it is always present in the feed lines and takes up oxygen in the feedwater in addition to maintaining a surplus in the boilers.

Another advantage of using sodium sulfite is that if, for any reason, a feedwater heater or deaerator becomes inoperative or efficient operation is temporarily interrupted, the sodium sulfite residual present in the boiler water can take up the larger amounts of the oxygen getting in. At the same time, the concentration of sodium sulfite drops. This is shown by test analysis of the boiler feedwater. This test gives the operator ample warning of an existing malfunction within the boiler feedwater supply system. Immediate steps should be taken to correct this off-standard condition. Feedwater or makeup water tanks should be heated to a temperature of 180F to 200F. This heat alone helps to dispense of most of the dissolved oxygen before it can enter the boiler. It also allows for more economical use of sodium sulfite.

The prevention of corrosion in the boiler means regulating the alkalinity of the water, producing protective films, and removing dissolved oxygen. These preventive measures are accomplished by maintaining the proper chemical residuals in the boiler water and by proper deaeration.

Carryover - Foaming and Priming

The word priming is used rather loosely to express the action of the water and steam in a boiler when an unusual amount of water is being carried over with the steam. For a given boiler installation, a certain amount of water or moisture in the steam is tolerated. The amount depends upon the use of the steam, the boiler construction, and the facilities for removing the water from the steam. The mechanical causes include deficiency in boiler design, high water level, improper method of firing, overloading, and sudden load changes. A poorly designed boiler may have insufficient steam disengaging space. It is fairly obvious that the faster the steam is produced in a given vessel, such as a boiler, the more violent is the boiling effect. But when the steam space above the water level is large enough, the steam leaving the boiler does not show any evidence of carryover. The size of the steam