Effectively filtering feedwater before using it for your industrial boiler operation is essential to prevent limescale and other contaminants from building up within your boiler pipes. While industrial applications such as boiler systems don’t necessarily need potable water, ridding the feedwater of contaminants helps ensure the boiler system’s longevity and efficiency.
At Blue Quest Group we recommend careful monitoring of your feedwater quality. If left unchecked, impurities in the feedwater will cause long term damage in your system, incurring costly fees in repairs and losses due to inefficiencies.
Below is a list of the most common feedwater treatment issues. With Purus H2O we can reduce your risk of contaminated water entering your system and causing damage.
Here are three of the most common feedwater treatment issues and how to avoid them:
System corrosion in boiler systems is usually caused by dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide in the water. This deadly combination causes corrosion, which eats away at the surface areas of the boiler.
The high pressure inside boiler systems intensifies the corrosion, which accelerates the breakdown of materials. To avoid corrosion in the boiler feedwater, it’s best to remove any dissolved gases that can break down boiler tubing and equipment—chief of which are carbon dioxide and oxygen.
This can be accomplished by using high-quality oxygen scavengers and incorporating water deaerators in the water filtration process.
An increased presence of sludge in your feedwater is typically the result of an overwhelmed or malfunctioning filtration system. Ineffective filtration and softening methods mean that undissolved particulates are making their way into your pipe system, which will decrease the boiler efficiency down the line. While sludge is softer than scale build-up, the repairs still involve dismantling the pipes for clean up or replacement.
To minimise this risk, periodically check your water filtration system and carefully monitor the water composition before and after undergoing treatment. This way, the sludge-causing contaminants are removed before they become an issue and enter high-heat surfaces.
Scale build-up is the bane of all boiler systems and is caused by a high concentration of hard metals in feed water. The scale build-up is the residue of impurities left on heat transfer surfaces (i.e., your boiler pipes) after the contaminated feed water is heated. These extremely hard deposits will decrease the thermal conductivity of your heat transfer pipes and will have to be removed manually with chemicals such as lime removers.
The most common feed water contaminants that contribute to scale build-up are Silica, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, and Aluminium. Like sludge, the only way to avoid this is by using a suitable water filtration system.
In water filtration systems, prevention is always better than cure. Instead of having to deal with the costly and potentially dangerous repair of contaminated boiler systems, it’s best to invest in a water filtration system instead. Water filtration systems are easier to maintain and don’t generally incur as much downtime as boiler system refurbishment.
Blue Quest Group is a leading provider of industrial water filters in Australia. Our primary offering, the Purus H20 system, is equipped with 14 individual filtration boxes that are easily interchanged for maintenance purposes. Get in touch with us today to know more!