Where does the water for the boiler come from?
The water that is heated by the boiler is in a closed loop, and is heated, cooled and circulated continually. The water that comes from your hot taps will be either direct from your mains, from a cylinder or from a loft tank.
How does water flow through a boiler?
Water is usually pumped into the tube/piping system at the bottom, and the steam is drawn off at the top. Water enters the bottom of this tube/piping at a high pressure and high velocity. In some specialized boilers, the water velocity can be as high as 100 m/s or more.
What happens to the water in the boiler?
In normal boiler operation, the liquid water remains in the bottom part of the boiler due to gravity, while steam bubbles rise through the liquid water and are collected at the boiler top for use.
Which water is used in boiler?
The boiler receives the feed water, which consists of varying proportion of recovered condensed water (return water) and fresh water, which has been purified in varying degrees (make up water). The make-up water is usually natural water either in its raw state, or treated by some process before use.
Which water is used as boiler feed water?
High purity water
High purity water is required as boiler feed water for steam generation during electricity production using steam turbines to protect the boiler tubes and turbines from corrosion, scale formation and structural defects.
What is water drum in boiler?
A steam drum is a standard feature of a water-tube boiler. It is a reservoir of water/steam at the top end of the water tubes. The drum stores the steam generated in the water tubes and acts as a phase-separator for the steam/water mixture.
How is steam produced in a boiler?
A boiler incorporates a firebox or furnace in order to burn the fuel and generate heat. The generated heat is transferred to water to make steam, the process of boiling. This produces saturated steam at a rate which can vary according to the pressure above the boiling water.
What are water boilers made of?
Materials. The pressure vessel of a boiler is usually made of steel (or alloy steel), or historically of wrought iron. Stainless steel, especially of the austenitic types, is not used in wetted parts of boilers due to corrosion and stress corrosion cracking.
What is boiler feed water used for?
Boiler feedwater, consisting of fresh water plus returned condensate, is heated in the deaerator to full saturation temperature corresponding to the steam pressure. The purpose is to scrub out and carry away dissolved gases, especially oxygen.
Is boiler water potable water?
A boiler heats up water, turns it into steam and pushes it throughout the home for heating purposes. The water isn’t necessarily potable, but can be used to heat pipes within the home’s walls, or heat a radiant heat system.
What means boiler feed water?
Feedwater is water that undergoes purification or preheating and is then supplied to boilers for hot water and steam production, or it can remain still. It is typically found in thermal power plants where it is stored and conditioned in tanks, known as boiler feedwater.
What happens to the liquid in a steam boiler?
The steam, which escapes from the boiler, frequently contains liquid droplets and gases. The water remaining in liquid form at the bottom of the boiler picks up all the foreign matter from the water that was converted to steam.
What type of water does the boiler receive?
The boiler receives the feed water, which consists of varying proportion of recovered condensed water (return water) and fresh water, which has been purified in varying degrees (make up water).
Why does a boiler need water filtration and treatment?
Although a boiler is a big mass of steel, it is more sensitive to water impurities than the human stomach. For this reason, a lot of care is needed in filtration and treatment of the boiler water supply. Feedwater is a matter both of quantity of impurities and the nature of impurities.
How is heat energy absorbed and released from a boiler?
This heat energy is stored in the steam and when it condenses, the energy is given off. Thus much of the heat from burning fuel can be absorbed by boiler water, transported with the steam, and released at the points of use. All natural waters contain various types and amounts of impurities.