About steam

Since James Watt's first observations on the power of steam over 150 years ago, it has become the major power source of the industrial world. Today, steam is the best energy transfer medium for many processes, including heating, plant process steam, power generation and utility operations.

According the use, Steam in modern plants can be divided into two main categories:

• Steam for heating, normally low pressure saturated steam, and suddenly superheated
• Steam for power production, which is high pressure, superheated and oversaturated.

Modern boilers range in size from small, residential units to the large steam generating systems used by public utilities. While the variety of steam generating systems in use today is broad, they all share the same principle of heat transfer and steam generation. In addition, all share the need for some degree of water purity. Contaminants commonly found in natural waters reduce operating efficiency of boilers and other plant equipment, leading to increased maintenance costs and reduced production capacity.

This training program is designed to familiarize you with water related problems which affect low pressure steam generating systems and steps you can take to minimize their occurrence in your plant.

Steam generating systems include three distinct sections:

• the preboiler section,
• the boiler section and
• the afterboiler section.
   

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