All plants using steam on site could be making substantial savings on their gas bills, simply by changing their water treatment arrangements.
That's the advice from David Green, managing director of GEMchem, who suggests that traditional salt treatments increase TDS (total dissolved solids) and, in turn, force more blowdowns, thus wasting energy.
His company's treatment, he says, behaves like a liquid, leaving TDS unaffected. They are also organic and more than 90% biodegradable.
"When makeup water is softened through a base exchange unit, reduction in blowdown due to GEMchem products is 15—20%," he says – resulting in fuel savings (on boilers operating at 10bar g nominal) of 3—4%.
"If the makeup has passed through reverse osmosis or demineralised plant, the reduction is more like 90%," he adds. And he claims there are case studies to prove it.
Turn to page XX for other ways to improve steam raising efficiency.
