Steam Trap Survey- Improving the steam system and its impact on plant performance

The industry faces production and profitability challenges on many fronts. Some commonly encountered difficulties are:

Unreasonably low energy intensity index or low energy efficiency index
Unplanned maintenance costs to repair damaged and unreliable steam-powered equipment (such as turbines, flares, reboilers and ejectors)
Wasted operating costs and lost products due to unavoidable events (turbine shutdown, production line freezing, reboiler management issues, equipment failure, etc.)
Difficulties associated with technical issues such as production bottlenecks, low thresholds and reduced vacuum levels
Safety and Pollution Concerns
Lack of adequate data on Steam experts to address issues and opportunities
Making improvements using limited resources is a priority when keeping the plant running within budget.

It is difficult to predict and demonstrate real savings accurately. Factory operations are generally production-oriented and tend to accept wasted energy and low responsibilities as an accepted practice. As a result, significant economic opportunities disappear. In addition, factories may not know where to improve safety, environmental impact, productivity, product quality, instrumental responsibility and energy efficiency. Affecting these areas would require treating a plant’s steam system as a significant heat source, recognizing the importance of steam stimulation to public health, and implementing a simple four-step program to protect and improve it.

4 Effective Steps Affecting Business Performance

The following steps are critical to improving the plant’s steam heat assets.1

Choose the right steam trap for your application.
Install the steam trap correctly
Implement a sustainable steam trap management program
Optimizing steam equipment performance.

Choosing the right steam trap for your application

to choose the right steam trap, it is important to understand the following:

purpose of Steam Trap

Effect of normal operation and failure on trap assignment
How a typical steam trap works
How Steam Traps Can Fail (Common Failure Mode)
Special requirements for special steam traps to consider when choosing a steam trap
Plant experience and bias in steam trap performance
Factors Affecting Lifecycle Costs (Reliability and Total Cost of Ownership)
Specific Performance Criteria for Selective Traps
How to accurately model the life cycle cost of a steam trap.

Application guide- One of the most important areas when choosing a steam trap survey is considering the intended use for a particular application. The most common steam applications in hydrocarbon processing plants require careful selection of surprises, including process heaters, flares, steam distribution lines, steam turbines, sulfur pit coils, and steam lines (especially for highly viscous products such as sulfur or sulfur fuel oil). When transporting.

Steam distribution -Superheated or moist steam is generated and distributed throughout the plant to provide process heat to the equipment.3 It is important to immediately remove any condensate that forms in the steam distribution system and not allow a backup. Water hammer and reduced process equipment reliability.4 In general, near-instantaneous burst steam traps provide the best performance for these applications. In general, these traps are required for ventilation, so all requirements must be considered during the selection process.

After that, float and thermostatic steam traps and thermodynamic steam traps with temperature-controlled air vents and pressure balanced thermostatic capsules are recommended—Reserve condensate. There may also be special requirements for steam line drainage (e.g., drain boiler header piping directly behind the steam boiler/steam generator, hot superheated steam piping, or if steam traps surveys are widely laid out).

Steam Trace. Steam heating is commonly used in most steam trap surveys and installations in hydrocarbon processing plants. One of the main purposes of a steam heating system is to maintain the temperature of the process fluid and, where important, prevent freezing (or solidification) of the product in the process fluid transfer line

The heat load is usually approximately equal to the line’s radiative, convective, and conductive heat losses. Pipes are generally well insulated to minimize heat loss and consequent condensing loads. This may present challenges and opportunities for steam trap survey, particularly when some loops or lifts flow steam and condensate upward. Steam tracing surveys can typically be categorized as high temperature or low temperature. In situations of critical high-temperature applications, condensate backup is undesirable.

A steam trap survey with an instantaneous and continuous discharge with a tight shutoff may be preferred for maintaining the lowest life cycle costs, and thermodynamic disc traps or balanced pressure thermostatic traps may be acceptable for the lowest initial cost installations. using Copper tracing lines that may experience corrosion over time and can, therefore, present plugging difficulties. This scenario is best mitigated by using thermodynamic traps with large ports and short passages or, for low-temperature applications, bimetal steam traps. A common set temperature bimetal trap can also be used on the instrument case to reduce instrument damage from excessive temperatures.

Steam turbine- One of the most common applications for steam equipment in petrochemical plants is steam turbines that power pumps, compressors, or generators. Turbines are very sensitive to condensate build-up in the steam supply system and condensate build-up in the regulator housing, housing or exhaust line. Therefore, the best choice for this application is steam traps with rapid and continuous evacuation, such as float and thermostatic designs. (steam trap survey)

However, thermodynamic disc traps with suitable drainage pockets and drainage lines are available. Bimetal steam traps should never be used as they may cause condensate build-up or loss of steam. Turbine condensate drainage should be carefully thought to ensure that all relevant points of steam inlet lines, regulators, casing and exhaust are properly drained.4 An anti-plug steam line separator should be installed immediately upstream of the critical turbine. Given that the exhaust vapours can be quite wet or contain significant amounts of condensate, the exhaust gas trap must be sized for the turbine’s efficiency and operation.

Technical heating equipment-Process heating equipment may include reboilers, heat exchangers, air heaters, evaporators, concentrators, dryers, and aboveground storage tank coils. These applications may have different control strategies and operating conditions affecting steam pressure and flow ranges. In some cases, jamming can cause the steam trap to malfunction.6,7 This can occur when the ideal steam pressure of the equipment for reliable operation is lower than the outlet pressure downstream of the web. These conditions may require a high-pressure secondary drain pump/trap combination. (steam trap survey)

When a steam trap is suitable, it is best to choose a float and thermostatic steam trap with rapid, continuous drainage that incorporates reinforced components to prevent water hammer damage. Disc traps are sometimes used for tank coils, comfort heaters, and small hydrometer heat exchangers. Still, they are not suitable for other process heating applications, and Inverted buckets may not be ideal due to cyclic performance or non-condensing air issues in the system. (steam trap survey)

Bimetal steam traps are generally not recommended because their operation relies on overcooling and is sensitive to backpressure changes, resulting in condensate build-up. This, in turn, can lead to equipment overflow, which can reduce the heat transfer area. Bimetallic can be considered for small storage tank coils that require only coarse temperature control and where installing steam control valves and steam control valves are impractical. System management blinks. (steam trap survey)

Vapour flares often require a continuous small amount of steam supplied through a bypass orifice around the control valve to keep the flare tip hot until the Flare burns the mist. When the flare gas is applied, the steam control valve opens to supply steam for atomization and flame stabilization. (steam trap survey)

The application of wet steam can erode the flare tip. This reduces the effectiveness of vapour distribution at the end and can lead to filthy “soot” combustion, leading to environmental problems. If the flare steam paths upstream and downstream of the control valve do not drain properly, water slugs can throw at the flared head. This can seriously damage the flare tip or turn off the igniter before the flare gas ignites.

Both conditions can cause environmental problems. Repairing flare tips or replacing candlesticks completely can also be expensive. Due to the importance and design of flare steam lines and control stations, choosing the best steam trap, such as a float type or thermostat, will provide an immediate and continuous condensate discharge. (steam trap survey)

Bimetal traps must not be used. Thermostatic traps and inverted buckets are not the first choices. Disc traps upstream of the manipulated valve station can be applicable if the condensate series pockets and the drain lines are well sized and designed. Special picks can be required for drain locations after the control valve stations, which also have extremely low working pressures in standby operation and can be close to grade. (steam trap survey)

Sulfur Pit Coils- Sulfur Pit Coils are underground, and steam traps usually need to be installed above ground. Condensate must be lifted from the coil into the web. This usually allows steam to clog the trap, prevent condensate from draining, and cause temperature drop, coil damage and possible hardening. In this case, the operator may have to open bypass and blowdown valves to maintain the sulfur temperature, leading to energy loss and safety concerns. Steam lock on sulfur pit coils can be reduced by installing and choosing a trap with a small vent to solve the problem of steam clogging. (steam trap survey)

Implement a sustainable steam trap management program

Even when a steam trap survey is done, and the appropriate machine is correctly selected and installed, it will still have a limited life. Therefore, a sustainable steam trap survey is essential to maintain an acceptable failure rate and monitor failures’ progress and the number of goods in service drainage locations. An effective trap management program should encompass the following:

Accurately and consistently troubleshoot steam traps.

These activities may significantly impact program costs and are especially important when comparing multiple sites.

Monitor the progress of the investigation to ensure that all drains are identified.
Logs failure and maintenance data.
Monitoring replacement/maintenance activities to identify bad actors and unique reasons for failure.
Generate savings information to justify the cost and return on investment (ROI).
The program runs smoothly and continues to improve year after year.

Steam Optimization Using Machine Performance

After delivering high-quality steam to production, steam system assets can be further improved by monitoring the filling of steam traps and placing efficient machine condensate drains throughout the facility. Investigative actions for this type include:

Conduct one-day plant inspection and consultation sessions with steam experts to determine opportunities and potential value.
Factories can evaluate priorities and potential ROI to determine which options to develop.
Sometimes a factory may already have certain tasks to consider for an event.
Get a detailed technical assessment of a specific opportunity or problem in the field to determine the root cause of a problem, gather data for solution development, and more accurately calculate potential benefits.
This activity usually leads to out-of-office work to develop a solution.
You can combine multiple skill points to create bigger events.
Work with plant personnel to complete implementation proposals for financing.
Provides equipment, design, construction and commissioning solutions.

The most important targets for steam applications in hydrocarbon processing plants typically include:

The steam turbine reduces downtime, improves reliability, reduces damage and reduces steam production in erosion plants. Improve productivity by eliminating operational issues to improve productivity and product quality
Reconfigure processes that use low-pressure steam that can be released and recover condensate
Reduce the risk of damage to flare tips due to erosion or water lockout and Flare
Condensate to Reduce Return Flow Recovery strategies to conserve energy, reduce raw water treatment restrictions, and reduce environmental impact.

Conclusion

Hydrocarbon processing plants face new challenges that frequently change, ensuring production processes and business continuity. Treating your steam system strategically, treating it as an asset, and implementing a simple four-step program to improve it will positively impact plant performance in many areas, including safety, environmental impact, productivity, product quality, equipment reliability, and energy consumption Can Efficiency. This article describes the four steps to improving your steam system survey and provides links to more detailed implementation information.