Thread Content
This post was last edited by Fuleide on 2022-8-31 at 11:31. Common misconceptions in steam applications. In China, there are tens of thousands of steam users across various industries, and steam consumption accounts for between 30% and 80% of the total energy consumption in industrial enterprises, depending on the industry. The effective utilization of steam is crucial for **energy conservation, emission reduction, and advancing national policies for the green development of industry. However, through years of market research, Fred has found that the vast majority of companies currently have many misconceptions regarding the use of steam; its application remains on a crude scale with high consumption levels. Today, Fred will briefly share with you these common misconceptions. Superheated steam is preferable to saturated steam. An increasing number of enterprises rely on steam supplied by power plants, using the superheated steam provided by these plants directly in their production processes, as they mistakenly believe that superheated steam is better. In fact, the heat transfer coefficient of superheated steam is much lower than that of saturated steam. When superheated steam is used, the production efficiency of the equipment decreases; to maintain production efficiency, companies have to increase the steam flow rate or expand the heat exchange area of the equipment. The higher the steam pressure, the more energy-efficient it is. Through years of field research, Fred has found that at least 95% of customers mistakenly believe that a higher steam pressure leads to greater energy efficiency. In reality, since various heat exchange devices utilize the latent heat of steam, and this latent heat decreases as steam pressure increases, using a high steam pressure results in an increased total amount of steam required for production. In short, for heat exchange equipment, the higher the steam pressure, the greater the steam consumption; the lower the pressure, the more energy-efficient it is. There is no need for precise control of the process temperature. Field investigations have shown that the actual heating temperature of most steam-using equipment is higher than the temperature required by the process, and it often fluctuates significantly. The main reason is that customers believe that as long as the temperature meets the process requirements, high temperatures and fluctuations do not matter. What’s not understood is that such misunderstandings can lead to steam waste, as well as affect product quality and equipment lifespan. The lower the hydrophobic temperature, the better. The vast majority of steam users mistakenly believe that the lower the hydrophobic temperature of the equipment, the better it is. However, if the dew point is too low, water accumulates inside the equipment, reducing heating efficiency. To meet production requirements, it becomes necessary to increase the opening degree of the steam supply valve, or even to activate the bypass valve for the dew point controller, which ultimately leads to steam waste. Furthermore, water accumulation in the equipment can cause water hammer and shorten its lifespan. Preventing steam leakage is the best way to save energy. Some companies still focus on addressing basic issues such as leaks when it comes to steam energy conservation, mistakenly believing that a system is energy-efficient as long as there are no leaks. In fact, preventing steam leakage only eliminates one obvious source of steam waste; the factors that determine the efficiency of steam conservation are far more than that, and the points mentioned above serve as strong evidence against this misconception.