Proven Practices in Chemical Control for Steam Power Plants

The author has conducted research on boiler water treatment at the University of Illinois and in many steam power plants during the last forty-three years. This research covered the cause and prevention of water soluble and silica deposits in steam turbine, metal losses in the wet steam areas of the steam turbine, metal pickup in the preboiler feedwater cycle, internal corrosion in boiler tubes including oxygen embrittlement. The author reports that with proper control of the water treatment these difficulties can be prevented. He outlines the water treatments used and reports the favorable results obtained in boilers, many of which have operated for over twenty years (600–2600 psi). He also reports on the operation of a large number of boilers which have operated for a similar number of years without requiring internal acid cleaning. These results only cover the operation of conventional boilers with natural and controlled circulation.