Issue 7 - 2009$5.95

spiraxsarcoAustralian TOPICS

Raise the barClean SteamAlSO In ThIS ISSue:

Bonding With Your Customers Page 2Summer shutdown Page 3

Flash Steam Recovery Page 4 & 5

Page 7

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2

Initially Spirax Sarco was called out to site to try to address an issue with pressure in the condensate return line. After the initial investigation, it was suggested that a full steam system audit be carried out to identify any failed traps, as it seemed that the pressure was being caused by failed open traps passing live steam into the return line.

Not only was this wasting steam, but it also made it difficult for the other traps to pass condensate against the backpressure in the system, reducing their capacity and backing up condensate in the plant. Petr jumped at the suggestion, as he also saw the benefit of having an inventory of his steam plant available to him in report

For more information on how you can Reduce Costs, Save Water, Reduce CO2 and Save Energy, please call us on: 1300 SPIRAX (774 729) or email us at topics@au.spiraxsarco.com

Reduce costsFull Steam AheadSteam systems are one of the most efficient forms of conveying energy to a process if maintained correctly. Petr Kovar, maintenance manager at Pacific Brands, understood the importance of maintaining a steam system to ensure it runs efficiently, and asked Spirax Sarco to carry out a Steam System Audit to check the condition of their steam system.

format. That way he could call Spirax Sarco at any time for assistance, and only have to quote the tag number from the report to accurately identify the particular plant item that required troubleshooting.

After the steam audit was carried out and the repairs done, there was a considerable change in the gas usage, as shown in the graph below. The repairs were carried out in October, and it was found that there was a 15% reduction in the gas usage from the previous 12 months after this point, with no changes in production output, resulting in a gas saving of approximately $35,000 per year! A payback on the cost of the audit and repairs of about 5 months, and saving of over 400 tonnes of CO2 greenhouse emissions each year. This is equivalent to planting about 2,000 trees! Petr Kovar recommends utilising Spirax Sarco’s team to enhance the efficiency of your steam system, including an annual audit to ensure the work undertaken would be maintained.

Terence Polorotoff

Gas Usage F2008 vs F2009

Fiscal Year

2008 Gas Usage2009 Gas Usage

Gas

Usa

ge

July

Augus

t

Septem

ber

October

Novem

ber

Decem

ber

Janu

ary

Febru

ary

March

AprilMay

June

The bar chart shows the amount of gas used in the fiscal year of 2008 vs 2009.

• Big savings

• Short payback

• Less emissions

Instant KnowledgeInstant KnowledgeInstant Knowledge

Here comes Summer shutdown - are you ready?

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CONTACT SPIRAX SARCO ON 1300 SPIRAX (774 729) TO LEARN MORE!

Start in the boiler house…

The boiler house is the engine of any steam system. Make sure yours is in good working order. Check that vital maintenance and testing is being regularly performed. It’s also a good idea to look for ways to improve boiler house operation. With fuel prices rocketing, the cost of even the simplest upgrade could be recovered in just a few months.

Here’s a brief checklist to get you started:

Check that all statutory tests of boiler water level alarms are being performed and recorded properly.

Consider installing a boiler water high level alarm. Too high water levels in the boiler can cause wet and dirty steam to contaminate your process.

Check that the feedtank is being heated to the right temperature. Heating the tank to 85°C or 90°C will drive off dissolved oxygen, saving water treatment chemicals.

Is a deaerator head fitted to the feedtank? If not, fit one because it efficiently combines cold make-up water, flash steam and hot condensate and can save you energy.

Check the feedtank is vented to prevent pressure build-up. Consider fitting a maintenance free stainless steel vent head.

Review water treatment records. Look for hardness slippage through the water softener, contamination of the condensate return and correct chemical dosing.

Check for excessive steam venting from the boiler feedtank or condensate return set. It could indicate leaking steam traps.

Check the rate of boiler blowdown. If automatic blowdown is not fitted, consider installing a system as it will almost certainly be more efficient than manual control.

Check the boiler gauge glass is not damaged. If it is, replace it immediately.

Check these items as well:

Carry out a steam trap survey to assess steam traps.

Check flow meters are correctly calibrated.

Check condensate pumps are working correctly.

Check for any loose or missing lagging.

Is the condensate being returned to the boilerhouse?

A shutdown may be the only opportunity you get for such work.

Check flanges and stop valve stems for leaks.

Check steam separators are installed prior to plant control equipment to ensure dry steam is delivered to the process.

Check for leaks from vent pipes of safety valve.

Check that high limit protection devices operate at correct temperature.

Check pipe supports that may have worked loose.

Check pressure gauges for damage. Do they need calibration or replacement?

Ensure control valves are shutting off properly and not hunting. Recalibrate the positioner when cold.

The Summer shutdown season will soon be upon us, but while everyone else heads for the seaside, maintenance staff knows this is a great time to get important jobs done without worrying about disrupting normal plant operations.

Careful planning is the key to making the most of this valuable opportunity. Use our checklist to help you plan your Summer shutdown work programme.

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'Clean' or 'Pure' steam?

But what exactly do they mean, what national and international Standards are involved, and what are the legal requirements in relation to their use? Here in Australia, there are surprisingly few, if any, universally accepted standards and legislation. The one that comes closest is AS1410 which in association with AS4187 specifies the “quality” of steam that must be supplied to pre-vacuum-type hospital sterilizers. (It’s based on similar European Standards that have become widely accepted throughout Europe and the USA, and increasingly these days in Asia.) In particular, the steam’s minimum dryness (97%) and maximum

non-condensable gas content are specified, and the required purity of the water used to generate the steam is defined. As the sterilization of instruments and utensils used in surgical operations is such a supremely critical process, the steam quality requirements of AS1410 and AS4187 can, in the absence of any other regulatory requirements, be applied to other critical processes, and especially when steam comes in to direct contact with, or is actually injected into, foods, drinks, pharmaceuticals, etc.

In the food and drink industries, an American Standard has been pretty much universally accepted world-wide (and it does appear to be the only such standard). It goes by the supremely ungainly title of:

3-A Accepted Practices for a Method of Producing Steam of Culinary Quality, Number 609-02, formulated by International Association of Food Industry Suppliers (IAFIS), International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), United States Public Health Service (USPHS), The Dairy Industry Commission (DIC).

And it contains cross references to requirements of bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the USA.

“Clean” or “pure” steam and similar descriptions are terms that are increasingly being heard these days.

If you would like further information then ring 1300 SPIRAX (1300 774 729) and we will have a representative call or send you information. You can also email us at topics@au.spiraxsarco.com

clean or pureclean or pure

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Contacting UsNEW SOUTH WALES

14 Forge Street(PO Box 6308 Delivery Centre)BLACKTOWN NSW 2148

Ph: 1300 SPIRAX (774 729)Fax: (02) 9831 8519E-mail: Info@au.SpiraxSarco.com

VICTORIA

4A/9 Jersey Road(PO Box 353)BAYSWATER VIC 3153

Ph: 1300 SPIRAX (774 729)Fax: (03) 9720 5224E-mail: Vic@au.SpiraxSarco com

QUEENSLAND

72 Mica StreetCAROLE PARK QLD 4300

Ph: 1300 SPIRAX (774 729)Fax: (07) 3271 4589E-mail: Qld@au.SpiraxSarco.com

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

1/54 Deeds RoadPLYMPTON NORTH SA 5037

Ph: 1300 SPIRAX (774 729)Fax: (08) 8295 5050E-mail: Sa@au.SpiraxSarco.com

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

1/14 Bannick CourtCANNING VALE WA 6155

Ph: 1300 SPIRAX (774 729)Fax: (08) 9455 4809E-mail: Wa@au.SpiraxSarco.com

Separator(for steam or gas applications)

Pressure gauge

Air vent

CSF16

Ball �oat steam trap

Process to drain

Y-type strainer with 100 mesh

stainless steel screen

Isolating valve

Y-type strainer

Clean steam products

Clean steam products

This document essentially defines a method of drying and filtering the steam such that “steam of culinary quality” will be the result. The method is basically an installation incorporating an efficient Steam Separator and a 2 micron Steam Filter, as detailed in the sketch above. (check) But it also specifies:

• Stainless steel valves and fittings (from before the filter all the way to the process),

• Steam generated from water of “safe, sanitary quality”,

• A means of sampling the steam or condensate downstream of the filtering device,

• A “sanitary check valve”, to prevent the possibility of product flowing back up the steam line,

• Correct and proper operation of the steam boiler(s) and all its controls and associated plant so as to prevent any carry-over of boiler water,

• Anything added or injected into the water or steam (e.g. water treatment chemicals) must comply with all relevant local requirements. In Australia, this role is undertaken by AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.

What’s referred to as “clean steam” could in theory be provided by complete and strict adherence to all the requirements of AS1410 and the 3-A Accepted Practices 609-02. But a more practical and guaranteed method is to make the clean steam in a clean steam generator from demineralised water (so no water treatment will be necessary).

If you’d like to know more about steam quality, clean, pure or other “grades” of steam, and how to achieve them, contact 1300 SPIRAX (774 729)

Clean steam is typically raised from demineralised water by a clean steam generator. It is suitable for use wherever a higher degree of steam purity is required, such as sterilisation in the healthcare, brewery, food, pharmaceutical and confectionary industries to prevent taint and to maintain consistent product quality.

To find out more visit www.spiraxsarco.com/au or email us at topics@au.spiraxsarco.com

To find out more visit www.spiraxsarco.com/au Steam Filter Brochure

CFS16

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If you’d like to find out if flash steam recovery in your plant could be practical and economic, contact 1300 SPIRAX (774 729) and a Spirax Sarco sales representative will come and assess your installation. And if you’re designing a new plant, please design-in flash recovery now!

Flash SteamWhat a Waste!

Flash steam is pretty much inevitable in every steam plant - it comes from the hot condensate discharged from steam traps.

A commonly accepted view is that nothing much can be done about it – it’s the “necessary evil” of a steam system. But although it’s true that flash steam is generally unavoidable, it’s quite wrong to believe that nothing can be done about it. The notion that it’s unrecoverable comes from the fact that flash steam is low-pressure steam with a relatively low temperature and constitutes “low-grade heat” compared to most, if not all, of the heating requirements on a site. And in many cases this does indeed appear true – no matter how hard you look, you can’t find any use for low-grade heat. But dig a little deeper, apply some lateral thinking, and uses will always be found, especially if this is done at the design stage of a project. For example, flash steam can easily supply all the hot water needs of a site – so much better than using several expensive-to-buy-and-run gas or electric water heaters. Normally the most obvious place to use flash steam is in the boiler feed tank, to heat the boiler feedwater. But what if it is already as hot as it can be (usually because of condensate return)?

You can’t heat water in an open feed tank to more than about 95°C without the danger of it boiling. But dig deeper and apply that lateral thinking and you’ll remember that if water is pressurised, you can heat it above 100°C without boiling…and your boiler feedwater is pressurised – on the discharge side of the boiler feed-pump, downstream of the boiler feed check valve (non-return valve). Check out the sketch below.

The sketch fully details what’s required and the figures in it come from an actual installation recently commissioned in WA, where all the flash steam is now being recovered. Using the figures mentioned below, this would be saving $10,000 a year and the installation costs would be recovered in a few months, and certainly less than a year.

boiler feedtank95 degC

steam at 900 kPa / 180degC

boiler

flash steam at 110 kPa / 122 degC

plate-type heatexchanger

boiler feedpump

non-returnvalve

steam trap

steam trap

condensateand flash steamfrom plant

flash steamseparation

vessel

condensate

boilerfeedwater

at 95 degC boiler feedwaterat 120 degC

condensate

boiler pressure(or higher)

And usually all or most of this flash steam is wasted. It’s often vented to the atmosphere, as can be seen in the photo (left), when it’s a very visible waste of energy. In fact, up to 10% or more of the heat put into the steam in the boiler is lost via flash steam - in other words, around 10% of the fuel bill.So if your fuel bill is $100,000 a year, you could be wasting $10,000 a year!

Spirax Sarco believes that the unique design of the new BT6-B balanced pressure thermostatic steam trap will deliver optimum performance where it is most essential.

The standard element is extremely sensitive to changes in condensate temperature, and is designed to open with a minimum of sub-cooling, typically less than 2°C from steam saturation temperature at pressures below 2.5 bar g. Its unique design, with enhanced features, ensures the BT6-B is effective and economical and exceeds the capabilities of other models currently available on the market.

Key features and benefits

• Stainless steel with high quality surface finish and FDA and USP class VI compliant seal - Minimal risk of microbiological growth and high degree of corrosion resistance.

• High capacity - The BT6-BL is suitable for main drainage

applications with low condensate loads. The BT6-BH is a high capacity trap with high condensate and cold-water handling capacities. This ensures minimum back-up at start-up.

• Improved 'near-to-steam' performance - Superior capsule performance means that condensate is discharged at temperatures approaching steam saturation temperature. This means cooling legs can be kept to a minimum.

• Safety clamp for body as standard - The trap cannot be easily disassembled by accident and this is an important safety feature to protect operators.

• Self-draining design incorporating steep 15° seat which exceeds the current ASME BPE 2007 recommendations - Ensures the product is fully self-draining which reduces the risk of microbiological growth.

Industries

• Pharmaceutical

• Fine chemical

• Food and beverage

Applications

• Effective Clean / Pure steam condensate drainage on critical applications such as SIP on product lines and bio-reactors / fermentors

• Clean / Pure steam mains drainage.

BT6-B balanced pressure thermostatic steam trap

CONTACT SPIRAX SARCO ON 1300 SPIRAX (774 729) TO LEARN MORE!

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Training Courses We hold seminars and training courses Australia wide. Call 1300 SPIRAX (774729) and find out when we are holding one in your state!

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'The Tracer'Spirax Sarco, the world’s leading steam system specialist, has combined modern technology with package design expertise to create a compact generator capable of producing clean steam to the highest quality standards. The microprocessor-controlled unit uses treated feedwater and plant steam to produce steriliser-grade clean steam. The standard range covers clean steam duties up to 600 kg / h at 3 bar g. The pre-assembled, skid-mounted package arrives factory tested and ready to be connected to your utilities. Read more in the next issue of Topics...

Compact Clean Steam GeneratorThank you to all who sent their comments and suggestions about Topics through our last competition. We at Spirax Sarco are committed to have answers to all your questions in the issues to come – so look out for bigger and better Topics in the future!

Also, keep entering our competition for a chance to win and remember ALL WHO ENTER WILL RECEIVE A PROMOTIONAL GIFT FROM SPIRAX SARCO!

MAIN PRIZE WINNERDavid McLoughlin (NSW)BOOK WINNERSTim Armitstead (NSW)Leigh Stanley (SA) Frank Gurrieri (VIC) Peter Sayers (TAS) Iresha Perera (QLD) SEMINAR WINNER (WA)* Patrick Allioux Ciba/BASF

• This great book is prepared by experts from Spirax Sarco, a world leader in steam engineering.

• The ‘Steam and Condensate Loop’ book explains the principles of steam engineering and heat transfer.

• It covers all aspects of steam and condensate systems, from the boiler house, through the steam distribution system to the point of use, recovering, and returning condensate back to the boiler.

• With practical application knowledge to deliver energy saving solutions, this is an indispensable reference and an invaluable tool for all engineers working with steam.

The Steam and Condensate Loop Book Now Available

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SAVE ENERGY TODAY • With energy prices still rising, Spirax Sarco Topics provides practical tips you can use today to cut your fuel bills straight away.

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NEVILLE GRUNDY

WINNER (QLD - Topics Issue 6)

SNEZANA NOVAKOVIC Marketing Assistant

Spirax Sarco