Every manufacturing company is looking for ways to reduce operating costs. Enhancing industrial boiler efficiency can reduce your monthly bills and help save the right amount of money.
Preventive maintenance can prevent boiler breakdown and keep large problems at bay that may hamper production. Here are the best tips for preventive maintenance that can improve boiler efficiency.
Follow a Cleaning Schedule for Boiler
Different forms of residue, soot, and scale can accumulate on the inner side of the boiler tubes. This reduces heat transfer efficiency, which can lead to a boiler breakdown.
Do you know a residual layer 0.03-0.05 inches thick can reduce heat transfer efficiency by 10%?
It will help if you get the boiler and the tubes cleaned every year without fail. You can use any cleaning methods like the use of strong chemicals or a mechanical brush to clean the boiler and tubes and enhance the industrial boiler efficiency.
Reduce Boiler Blowdown
Boiler blowdown refers to an industrial practice in which water is intentionally blown out of the industrial boiler through steam pressure. The boiler blowdown is used to prevent the concentration of impurities that occur due to continuous evaporation of the steam.
High concentrations of TDS (totally dissolved solids) in the water causes matter to precipitate, which creates scale. The scale build-up makes the industrial boiler less efficient and also increases the chances of boiler failure.
Regular boiler blowdown, which involves draining of water, increases boiler plant usage, and also increases fuel costs.
Instead of boiler blowdown, you can install equipment for reverse osmosis, demineralizer, or water softener system.
That will work to reduce high concentrations of TDS from the water make-up, and reduced boiler blowdown will prevent wastage of water and also reduce energy expenses.
Pay Attention to Water Quality
Paying attention to water quality is an integral part of boiler maintenance. The quality of water has a significant impact on industrial boiler performance. To maintain water quality, you should perform regular tests for dissolved minerals and the presence of deaerators in water.
You also need to perform regular checks for the returned condensate of the boiler. The inspections should be done more frequently as the size of the boiler, and steam pressure increases.
Check Insulation
Insulation is important for any industrial equipment whose surface temperature frequently exceeds 130°F and industrial boiler falls in this category.
Un-insulated steam and condensate piping can cause a large amount of heat loss that reduces boiler efficiency.
The valves and other fittings should also have proper insulation to avoid heat loss. Hence, you need to check and repair the insulation of the boiler regularly.
Maintain Accurate Maintenance Service Records
The best way to ensure optimal boiler efficiency is to keep accurate maintenance service records. The operational logs should record water and flue gas temperatures and also record pressure daily.
This will allow the maintenance department to find out a decrease in the operational efficiency of the industrial boiler and take the right steps to enhance boiler efficiency.
These are some of the preventive maintenance tips that can enhance industrial boiler efficiency and also reduce instances of boiler component failures.
