Can condensed water be used instead of deoxygenated water?
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Can condensate water be used instead of deoxygenated water to feed into the steam drum?
No. Although the condensate water is pure, it has not undergone any special treatment, and it may still contain a certain amount of oxygen and other impurities. Deoxygenated water is water that has had its oxygen and certain harmful substances removed through special treatment processes, and it is used to prevent corrosion within boiler systems. Therefore, using condensed water directly in place of deoxygenated water may accelerate corrosion in the boiler system, affecting the equipment’s lifespan and safe operation. .
A reasonable assessment is only possible by evaluating the quality of the condensate water. Deoxygenated water, which is essentially boiler feed water, has certain requirements regarding water quality. As for the condensate water, that is, the water obtained by condensing the vapor from upstream and recovering it, it is necessary to conduct water quality tests and assessments to determine whether there is contamination from the upstream process fluids, corrosion products from pipes and equipment, or trace impurities that have penetrated into the condensate water from the environment.
The condensate must be treated before being fed back to the steam drum as return water; if it is of the open type, deoxygenation is also required.
That’s what our company did this year: the steam condensate, after having its oil and iron removed, is sent to the deaerator along with demineralized water.
It seems that efforts to save energy and improve efficiency focus on these aspects these days, but it is still necessary to conduct proper water quality assessments; after all, the long-term effects of oxygen can be hidden, and safety remains the key consideration over the long term.
Steam condensate that generally does not cause pollution is still sent to the boiler
Relatively clean, but during transportation, it can pick up oxygen, materials, ions, impurities, and so on； It is possible to set up a water receiver; low-pressure steam is flashed at the top, and then the water in the receiver is treated with deoxidizers, dispersants (to remove ions, etc.), sterilizers, and so on