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grundfos boiler feed manual

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Boiler Feed Manual
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos ENGINEERING MANUAL

ENGINEERING MANUAL

Copyright 2012 GRUNDFOS A/S. All rights reserved.

Copyright law and international treaties protect this material. No part of this material
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission from
GRUNDFOS Holding A/S.

All reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this mate-
rial: However, GRUNDFOS shall not be held liable for any losses whether direct or indirect,
incidental or consequential arising out of the use of or reliance upon on any content of this
material.

2
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos table of contents

General.......................................................... 6
Boiler types.................................................... 6
Hot water boiler...................................................7
Thermal oil boiler................................................7
Steam boiler........................................................ 8
Steam generator................................................. 8
Exhaust gas boiler.............................................. 9
Boiler house components............................10
Deaerator.............................................................10
Condenser........................................................... 12
Economizer.......................................................... 12
Hot-well...............................................................14
Make-up water...................................................18
Level control valve and actuators..................19
Boiler systems..............................................21
Pumps.................................................................. 21
Hot water boiler................................................. 21
On/off shunt pump.......................................... 22
Shunt pump with variable speed................. 22
Steam boiler.......................................................23
On/off control.....................................................23
Through feed valve.......................................... 24
Through feed valve and variable speed.......25
Variable speed................................................... 26
Condensate system..................................... 29
Feed water.......................................................... 29
Where to dose what.........................................32
Chemicals used................................................. 36
Available technologies.....................................37
Pump sizing................................................. 39
Grundfos solutions...................................... 45
Theory/Problems....................................... .54
FAQ............................................................... 59
Certificates:.................................................60

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 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler types

General Fig. 1: A typical boiler construction in the manufac- Hot water boiler
turing industry
Hot water boilers are normally used in room and
The production of steam and hot water is one of the building heating. These kinds of systems are suitable
world’s largest industries. Grundfos is pleased to be for discharge temperatures of up to 140°C. The advan-
the preferred supplier of pumps for boiler systems for tage of hot water over steam is that the energy loss is
these industries. much lower than with steam boilers. Fig. 4 shows how
Grundfos pumps are reliable, efficient and cover the pumps are normally installed in a hot water boiler.
a wide performance range. As an experienced
Fig. 4
consultant in the implementation of boiler systems,
discharge
we engage in the process of close partnership and
Hot water
dialogue to find the best solution for your system.
boiler End
Grundfos is a global enterprise with a worldwide
service network. When you need export or on-the-
Burner
spot advice in a particular part of the world, we have Shunt
Fig. 2: This construction is typically seen in marine,
the technical expertise close by. but is also used in manufacturing industry

Boiler types Return

Five main boiler types exist: Thermal oil boiler

• Hot water boiler In hot oil boilers, oil is used instead of steam or water.
• Thermal oil boiler The advantage of oil is that the system does not
• Steam boiler have to be pressurised above 100°C as with water
• Steam generator and steam. Thermal oil is still liquid in atmospheric
• Exhaust gas boiler pressures of up to 300°C. In contrast, water requires
a pressure of 85 bar to avoid evaporating at that
The demands and the sizing of the pumps used for temperature. The construction of thermal oil boilers
these boiler types are very different. and piping systems is almost identical to that of hot
Fig. 1 and 2 on the right show some of the typical water boilers. So where the unique features of steam
boiler constructions used. Fig. 3: The most common construction of a boiler are not required, thermal oil can be a good alternative.
used in the manufacturing industry
Fig. 5
Fig. 3 is a cut-open drawing of the most common
discharge
construction of a boiler used in the manufacturing
Thermal oil
industry. At the bottom the burner chambers are boiler End
seen, which are surrounded with water and at the
top the smoke pipes. On the side of the boiler the two Burner
feed water pumps are seen.

Return

6 7
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler types

Steam boiler pressure vessel). Thus there is no buffer in a steam

Steam is normally used in industrial process heating generator, and is it temporary overloaded, i.e. beyond
due to its high energy content. Steam is also used its nominal steam capacity - a separate buffer tank
for cleaning applications and turbine operation. The should be provided.
advantage of steam over hot water is its high energy
content and ability to release energy during conden- On Fig. 7 is shown a steam generator for the phar-
sation. maceutical industry where clean steam out of WFI Fig. 7: Steam generator
This also allows for very small heat exchangers. water (WFI = Water for Injection) is produced. The WFI
And of course when talking sterilisation it is unique. water is being heated by traditional steam.

Fig. 6
The advantages using a steam generator compared to
conventional steam boilers:
Deaerator

From water
• Easy to operate - normally no requirement for
treatment Level
sensor boiler authorisation
• Rapid start-up and establishing full steam pressure
Control • Compact and easy to adapt in the existing
box
Return
machinery arrangement
condensate
• Price attractive - especially at low steam rates.

Condensate
pumps Exhaust gas boiler
Steam can be produced not only by oil or gas-fired
Control Level
Condensate tank box sensor burners, but also by utilising the substantial amount
E
of waste heat in hot flue gasses or exhaust air. The
Burner
steam evapouration is done like the steam genera-
tors, and gives therefore a rapid acting and compact Fig. 8: Exhaust gas boiler
E unit.
Feed pumps
Steamboiler
Utilisation of the waste heat in flue gas of the steam
Steam generator boiler / steam generator itself, is called either an
In the steam generator, the feed water and steam are economizer or an exhaust gas boiler. It can be used
in principle passing through one long tube - designed for preheating the feed water, but also for external
as winded-up tube coils serially connected. In this purposes including preheating of make-up water,
long tube (tube coils), the feed water is heated up domestic water or central heating water.
to the evaporation temperature in the first part and
then evaporated in the second part. The intensity of
the heat, the feed water flow and the size/length
of the tube are adapted, so that the water is exactly
fully evaporated at the exit of the tube. This ensures
a very small water and steam volume (content of the

8 9
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler house components

Boiler house components Deaerator

The most important task for the deaerator is to
Deaerator reduce the oxygen (O2) and carbonic acid (H2CO3)
Deaerator and condenser tanks are only used in steam levels in boiler feed water to protect the boiler against
boiler systems and not in hot water and hot oil boilers corrosion. It is possible to reduce the oxygen and
as fluid is always in its liquid form. The construction carbonic acid levels to approx. < 0.02 mg/l of O2 and 0
of these two types of tanks is almost identical, but mg/l of CO2, depending on the deaerator construction.
as their names indicate, they are used for different
Fig. 9: Deaerator
purposes. Air vent

Two primary principles are used with this form of Condensate

tank design; thermal and vacuum. The tank design
used depends on the type of boiler being used.
Each principle also has different pump construction Vent Trayed section Deaerator
requirements.
Aeration steam
Thermal principle
A tank using the thermal principle is connected to the
Glass Feed tank
atmosphere. This design is normally used in smaller level Liquid level
plants. Here, steam is used to maintain the tank gauge
water temperature at around 105°C, which removes
Heating steam
air from the water. The air vent valve mounted on the
Deaerator or condenser needs an opening pressure
of approx. 0.2 bar. This provides a total pressure of 1.2
bar absolute. This means that the water will boil at a
Drain Rollers
temperature higher than the usual 100˚C which is the Deaerated water to
normal boiling temperature in atmospheric pressure. boiler feed water pump
See also the vapour pressure table at the back of this
manual. Besides the air vent valve, a vacuum breaker Internal steam distributor piping
valve has also been mounted to ensure that vacuum Internal perforated pipe (water distributor)
never occurs in this tank type. If the vacuum valve
Perforated trays
was not mounted, vacuum could occur when cold
Low pressure steam
make-up water was added to the tank.
Boiler feed water (Recycled condensate and make-up water)
Vacuum principle
Here an ejector pump is used to create a vacuum in Over the last years it has become more and more
the tank. This causes the water to start boiling even normal just to use hot wells or water tanks with a
at lower temperature than typical 60°C. This in turn water temperature of approx. 80°C instead of the
removes air from the water. This principle is normally deareators to get the oxygen out of the water. Instead
used in steam turbine applications. of boiling the water in these tanks chemicals are
dosed to remove the oxygen.

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 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler house components

Flue gas
to chimney
Condenser
Fig. 11
A condenser ensures that all steam is condensed
before being pumped back into the deaerator and
then into the boiler. New treated water is normally
fed into the condenser.
Condensate Economizer
Fig. 10: Condenser
Deaerator
To ejector
Water outlet Steam vacuum system

Flanges
Baffle Baffle
Flue gas
from boiler
Steam

Boiler

Burner

Flanged Baffle
cover Tube sheet Tube sheet Fig. 12
Feed pump
plate
Water inlet Condensate

Economizer
Condensate
As mentioned earlier, the economizer is more or less the
same as an exhaust gas boiler except it doesn’t have its
Deaerator
own steam chamber but uses the one in the boiler.
exhaust
to funnel
Talking economizers, there are normally two
different ways of mounting depending whether it is
Steam
installed on a land-based or marine-based boiler.

Boiler
On the boiler located on land we use the boiler’s flue
Economiser/
gas as shown on the sketch. The water circulated exhaust
gas boiler
above the economizer is normally supplied by the Burner
main feed pump, but can also be fitted with its own
circulation pump, see Fig. 11 on the following page.
Feed pump
The chimney will also include a bypass to allow waste Circulation

gases to pass the heat exchanger. exhaust from

main engine

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 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler house components

The economizer on marine boilers differs from the both, together with flash steam from the blow down
land-based boilers because it is installed in the funnel system, flow through sparge pipes installed well
on the main engine as waste gases released from that below the water surface in the feed water tank. The
source are significantly greater. Energy produced by sparge pipes must be made from stainless steel and
marine applications often allows for the generation of be adequately supported.
overheated steam fed directly from economizer and
out into the piping. Operating temperature
It is important that the water in the feed tank is kept
Referring to the illustration in Fig. 12, the circulation at a sufficiently high temperature to minimise the
pump has to be sized to the pressure and temperature content of dissolved oxygen and other gases. The
in the boiler, which may easily be 20 bar and 170°C. correlation between the water temperature and its
Because of this, pumps featuring air-cooled top and oxygen content in a feed tank can be seen in Fig. 13.
bearing flange may be required. The pump does not
normally need to be capable of delivering a high dif-
Fig. 13: Water temperature versus oxygen content
ferential pressure as it only has to overcome the pres-
sure loss in the pipe heat exchanger (the economizer). 12
12

Oxygen content [ppm]

When installing an economizer it is very important 10
to monitor, that the flue gas temperature in the eco- 8
nomizer, ducts or chimney does not drop below the 6
dew point temperature. If the flue gas condensates 4
and the fuel contained any substances that turn into 2
acids, the condensate will become very aggressive 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
and possibly corrode the parts in contact. If conden- Water temperature (oC)
sation of flue gases is desired in order to reach hig-
her thermal efficiency, please take contact to the fuel If a high proportion of make-up water is used, heating
supplier for chemical analysis, and select materials for the feed water can substantially reduce the amount
the parts, that can handle the acids. of oxygen scavenging chemicals required.

Hot-well Cost savings associated with reducing the

The importance of the boiler feed tank, where boiler dissolved oxygen in feed water by heating
feed water and make-up water are mixed and stored Basis for calculation:
and into which condensate is returned, is often The standard dosing rate for sodium sulphite is 8 ppm
underestimated. Most items in the boiler house are per 1 ppm of dissolved oxygen.
duplicated, but it is rare to have two feed tanks. This It is usual to add an additional 4 ppm to maintain a
crucial item is often the last to be considered in the reserve in the boiler.
design process. Typical liquid catalysed sodium sulphite contains only
45% sodium sulphite.
The feed tank is the major meeting place for cold Obviously a cost is involved in heating the feed tank,
make-up water and condensate return. It is best if but since the water temperature would be increased
by the same amount inside the boiler, this is not

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 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler house components

additional energy, only the same energy used in a To avoid this problem, it is essential to provide the
different place. best possible Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) to the
pump so that the static pressure is as high as possible.
The only real loss is the extra heat lost from the This is greatly aided by locating the feed tank as high
feed tank itself. Provided the feed tank is properly as possible above the boiler, and generously sizing the
insulated, this extra heat loss will be insignificant. suction pipework to the feed pump (Fig. 14).

An important additional saving is reducing the amount

of sodium sulphite added to the boiler feed water. This
Fig. 14: NPSH above feed pump
will reduce the amount of bottom blowdown needed,
and this saving will more than compensate for the
small additional heat loss from the boiler feed tank.

To avoid damage to the boiler itself

The boiler undergoes thermal shock when cold water Boiler
feed tank
is introduced to the hot surfaces of the boiler wall and
its tubes. Hotter feed water means a lower tempera-
ture difference and less risk of thermal shock.

To maintain the designed output

Static height
The lower the boiler feed water temperature, the more
heat is required in the boiler to produce steam. It is
important to maintain the feed tank temperature as
high as possible, to maintain the required boiler output.

Cavitation of the boiler feed pump

Caution: very high condensate return rates (typically
over 80%) may result in excessive feed water tempe-
rature, and cavitation in the feed pump.

If water close to boiling point enters a pump, it is Boiler feed pump

liable to flash to steam at the low pressure area at
the eye of the pump impeller. If this happens, bubbles
of steam are formed as the pressure drops below the
water vapour pressure. When the pressure rises again,
these bubbles will collapse and water flows into the
resulting cavity at a very high velocity.

This is known as ’cavitation’; it is noisy and can

seriously damage the pump.

16 17
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler house components

Make-up water • Conductivity probes.

Cold water from the water treatment plant makes up • Float control.
any water losses in the system. • Differential pressure cells.

Many water treatment plants need a substantial flow The level transmitters can be placed directly in the
in order to achieve optimum performance. A ’trickle’ boiler shell or in external chambers.
flow as a result of a modulating control into the feed
tank can, for example, have an adverse effect on the The water level detected will always deviate from the
performance of a softener. For this reason a small actual water level in the boiler. How much it devia-
plastic or galvanised steel cold make-up tank is often tes depends on boiler construction and sensor place-
fitted. The flow from the softener is controlled ’on / ment.
off’ into the make-up tank. From there a modulating
valve controls its flow into the feed tank. The use of the different control systems is described in
detail under section ”Boiler systems”.
This type of installation leads to ’smoother’ operation
of the boiler plant. To avoid the relatively cold make- Level control valve and actuators
up water sinking directly to the bottom of the tank The level control valve actuator receives a level signal
(where it will be drawn directly into the boiler feed from the level transmitter and, in response, moves
water line), and to ensure uniform temperature the valve to a position that corresponds to the signal.
distribution, it is common practice to sparge the The actuator moves the valve stem and adjusts the
make-up water into the feed tank at a higher level. flow depending on the valve characteristic. The valve
characteristic depends on valve design and will not be
Water level transmitter described further in this literature.
In all steam boilers it is of utmost importance to have
a constant water level in order to have a safe boiler Control valve sizing
operation and to maintain a good steam quality. In order to size a valve for a water application, the
The steam boiler is normally equipped with the following must be known:
following transmitters: • Volumetric flow rate through the valve
• Differential pressure across the valve
Safety
• Low low level, burner shut down. Talking valve capacities they are generally measured
• Low level alarm. in terms of Kv. More specifically, Kvs relates to the pass
• High level alarm. area of the valve when fully open, whilst Kvr relates to
the pass area of the valve required by the application.
Control
• Low level, pump start. The simplified equation for pressure drop when
• High level, pump stop. pumping water is expressed like this:

The control level transmitter can also be a modulating

type which can work according to the following principles:

18 19
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler systems

T Boiler systems

he Kv value for the valve can then be determined: Pumps

A large range of pumps can be used for boiler applica-
tions depending on type of boiler and where used in
the application.

For a boiler application, with a flow of 26 m3/h This section describes the typical positioning of the
including safety factors and the request for 2 bar various pumps and how they are controlled.
pressure drop over the control valve, the Kv value is The most common boiler applications are boiler feed,
18.3 which in practice is a Kv of 20. condensate pumping, economizer circulation and
shunt pumps.
The values can also be found in a Kv chart:
Sub-system pumps, such as dosing and water
Fig. 15 (Source: www.spiraxsarco.com)
treatment pumps, are also used but will not be
described in this literature.

Hot water boiler

Shunt pump
The requirements of a shunt pump are normally high
flow and very low head. The shunt pump is therefore
normally made with a 4-pole or 6- pole motor to get
the head down. Shunt pumps are normally single-
stage pumps.

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 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler systems

On/off shunt pump Shunt pump with variable speed Steam boiler On/off control
Fig. 16 Fig. 17
Steam boiler feeding can normally take place in below Function
4 ways: In on/off control the feed pump is switched
• On/off control on/off through a level sensor or a differential
• Through feed valve (with and without bypass) pressure sensor. When the water level falls to
• Through feed valve and variable speed the “Pump on” level, the pump starts pum-
(with and without bypass) ping a large quantity of relatively cold water
Burner Burner E • Variable speed into the boiler. This will reduce the quantity
of steam and cause the steam pressure to fall.
The 4 methods mentioned above are the most com- This is the reason why on/off control causes
mon and will be described in the following. Please be variations in steam production. It may also
T aware that you can easily find a mix of the 4 systems. cause over-boiling in the boiler, which may
cause water to enter the system.

Benefits
Function Function Fig. 18: On/off control • Inexpensive
The shunt pump must ensure that the return The shunt pump must ensure that the return • Easy to install
temperature to the boiler does not become too low. temperature to the boiler does not become too • No bypass
If the differential temperature between the return low. If the differential temperature between
pipe and the forward pipe varies too much it will give the return pipe and the forward pipe varies Deaerator Drawbacks
a huge stress on the boiler structure. The pump must too much it will give a huge stress on the • Poor steam quality
be sized according to the lowest return temperature, boiler structure. A variable speed pump may • Big stress on boiler construction.
meaning it is over-sized most of the time. be the correct choice for this type of pump
application. The pump must be installed with
Benefits a temperature sensor registering the return
• Inexpensive and easy to install temperature to the boiler, thereby ensuring a
• Safe operation (few components) constant temperature.

Important! Benefits
• Information about correct return-pipe tempe- • Always constant return temperature no Control Level
box
rature to be obtained from boiler manufacturer. matter the load on the system sensor
• Same load on boiler to keep same differen- • Energy savings
tial temperature. Burner
Important!
Information about correct return tempera-
ture to be obtained from boiler manufacturer.

Feed pumps
Accessories required Steam boiler
Temperature sensor, R100/Grundfos Go

22 23
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler systems

Through feed valve Through feed valve and variable speed

Bypass
Bypass

Deaerator
Deaerator Deaerator

Fig. 19: Through the feed valve Fig. 20: Through feed valve and variable speed

Control Level
Control box Level
sensor
Level box sensor
sensor
E Burner
M Burner
P
M Burner

E
Feed pumps
Feed pumps
Steam boiler
Steamboiler
Feed pumps
Steamboiler
Function
In this system the water level in the boiler is controlled • Constant differential pressure across the
Function by a feed valve, which is controlled by a level sensor or feed valve
In this type of system the water level in the boiler Benefits a differential pressure transmitter positioned on the
is controlled by a feed valve, which is controlled by • Boiler feed adjusted according to steam boiler. The feed valve controls the water intake, which Drawbacks
a level sensor or a differential pressure transmitter consumption, as described. is adjusted according to the steam consumption. • Bypass, with energy loss
positioned on the boiler. This, however, requires that the feed pump is set to • The feed valve is expensive
The feed valve controls the water intake, which Drawbacks continuous operation. This system operates smoothly • Pressure loss across the feed valve
is adjusted according to the steam consumption. • The pump must be set to continuous opera- and is ideal for all types of steam boilers, both small and
This, however, requires that the feed pump is set to tion (energy consumption) large, and will minimise the risk of over-boiling. Important!
continuous operation. • Bypass, creates an unnecessary energy loss. Normally there are two ways to make the bypass, Requirements vary from one country to another
This system operates smoothly and is ideal for all • The feed valve is expensive either with a valve or an orifice. If it is a valve it is as regards the sizing of boiler feed pumps.
types of steam boilers, both small and large, and will • Pressure loss across the feed valve normally controlled so that will start to open when Remember to size bypass according to the CR/
minimise the risk of over-boiling. the regulation valve is closed to a certain level. This to CV data as well as to min. flow. It may be an
Normally there are to ways to make the bypass, either Important! avoid the continuously energy loss you would have if idea to stop the pump when the valve is closed.
with a valve or an orifice. If it is a valve it is normally Remember to size bypass according to the CR it was open all the time. This requires, however, a signal from the valve.
controlled that it will start to open when the regu- pump’s min. flow, which is 10% of the nominal Find out whether variable speed control of both
lation valve is closed to a certain level. This to avoid flow for the pump. It may be an idea to stop Benefits pumps is required as this increases expenses,
the continuously energy loss you would have if it was the pump when the valve is closed. This • Boiler feed adjusted according to steam consumption but does not provide the same flexibility as to
open all the time. requires, however, a signal from the valve. • Energy savings on pump operation alternating the pump operation.

24 25
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos boiler systems

Variable speed Boiler feed pump is usually in a duty/stand-by confi-

guration, as shown on the sketch (Fig. 22).

Deaerator Fig. 22

Fig. 21. Variable speed Condensate

Steam outlet

Sensor max.
Hi_hi_alarm alarm
LT
f_min stop+hysteresis

Level
Control sensor pump speed

Max.
Stop
Min.
box
Lo_alarm warning
E Burner Sensor min.

E
Feed pumps
Energy Fig. 23
Steam boiler By control of the level in the boiler directly with the
Level Sensor Signals and Alarms
variable speed pumps you also have the most energy-
Function efficient way of making boiler feeding. There is no un- Sensor max.
In this system the water level in the boiler is controlled necessary flow in a bypass and the continuous pres- Hi_hi_alarm alarm
Max. Level Stop
f_min stop+hysteresis
directly by the variable speed pumps without using a sure loss over the control valve is eliminated. Min. Speed
feed valve. The pumps are controlled by a level sensor Max. Speed
or a differential pressure transmitter positioned on Doing a simple calculation on how big the energy loss Min. Level
pump speed

Max.
Stop
Min.
the boiler. This way the water intake is controlled actually is, often is quite surprising.
Lo_alarm warning
according to the steam consumption. This system As an example: Standard steam boiler application, Sensor min.
operates smoothly and is ideal for all types of steam with a steam production of 20 m3/h, and a pressure
boilers, both small and large, and will minimise the loss over the valve at 5 bar.
risk of over-boiling. The load profile of the boiler is divided into 5 periods,
the following calculations can be made:
Regulation loop 100% load = 20 m3/h in 1752 hours a year
The regulation loop has to be set up precisely so the 75 % load = 15 m3/h in 1752 hours a year
level will be as accurate as needed and the pump will 50 % load = 10 m3/h in 1752 hours a year
stop if no water is needed. 25 % load = 5 m3/h in 1752 hours a year
And stopped in the rest 1752 hours a year

26 27
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos condensate system

Fig. 24 Fig. 25

. . ,
. .
. . ,
. .
. . ,
. . Boiler pressure
. . ,
. .
,

And remember the savings above are without the loss

Minimum flow Minimum speed,
saved in the bypass end. for pump set with R100/Grundfos Go

Benefits
• As described, boiler feeding adjusted according to • It must be ensured that the pump stops when steam
the steam consumption consumption is zero. May for instance be carried out
• Energy savings on pump operation with a high level switch from the boiler.
• No pressure loss across the feed valve • The regulator area may be small. If the 4-20mA level
• Money earned equal to the price of an expensive sensor is for example 2 metres and regulation takes
feed valve, and its maintenance costs. place in an area of just 20 cm corresponding to app. 2
mA, then the regulation gab will be very narrow.
Drawback • The level signal is normally inverted. This means that
• Requires precise and qualified start-up if you get 20 mA from the level sensor, the boiler is full
and then the pump should stop instead of speeding
Important! up.
• A minimum frequency must be defined ensuring
that the pump can always overcome the pressure
in the boiler, and supply the minimum flow for the Condensate system
pump. May be carried out with the “min. curve” op-
tion for the pump. Feed water
The importance of correct feed-water treatment for
economic operation and for extending life of boiler
and equipment cannot be over emphasized. Feed-wa-
ter treatment is essential in boilers, feedsystems, etc.,
more particularly in modern boilers of a high evapora-
tive rate. (The faster a steam boiler or generator will
convert water to steam, the more rapidly the solids in

28 29
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos condensate system

the water will concentrate). So, large and small water- Dissolved Gases
tube boilers, the typical fire-tube packaged boiler, and The two gases which cause corrosion are oxygen and
steam generators are all examples of this in varying carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide does so simply by
degrees. As all untreated waters carry natural salts, dissolving in the water and forming a weak carbonic
they have to be treated to prevent scale forming. acid which attacks the metal in feed systems, boiler or
The three main reasons for water treatment are: condensate systems. Oxygen is present in all waters,
• Prevention of corrosion in feed boiler, steam and so that red iron oxide forms on a mild steel surface
condensate systems. immersed in water. This rusting or, as we call it,
• Elimination of scale. corrosion triunes until the metal is corroded away. If
• Economic boiler operation without carry-over. the amount of oxygen in the water is restricted, the
oxide film does not form so readily; but instead, the
Corrosion will reduce metal thickness of tubes or surface of the steel tarnishes. This tarnish is usually
shell. Result: pressure must be reduced and finally the development of a thin film of iron oxide on the
boiler condemned. metal surface which is not so fully oxidized as the
red iron oxide, and is more dense, thus tending to
Scale reduces the heat flow from fire side to water. resist further corrosive attack. In water of increasing
Result: higher gas temperature is needed to maintain alkalinity, the oxide film becomes more stable and
the same heat transfer and the efficiency of the boiler gives more protection to the steel, but until a definite
will drop due to higher losses through the flue gasses. alkalinity is reached, it still tends to break down in
selective areas, where pits will develop.
Carry-over is a collective term to describe the en-
trainment of a relatively small quantity of boiler wa- Calcium and magnesium salts
ter solids with the steam. Carryover occurs as a result There are two forms of hardness; temporary and
of either foaming or priming, or by a combination permanent. Temporary hardness is due to bicarbonates
of both. Foaming is the formation of bubbles on the of calcium and magnesium which breaking to
surface of the boiler resulting in the throwing over of carbonates when the water has boiled. In the boiler
slugs of boiler water with the steam. This is similar to the following chemical reaction takes place : Calcium
the ’bumping’ experienced when water is boiled in an bicarbonate + heat. Calcium carbonate + carbon
open vessel. dioxide + water. Calcium and magnesium bicarbonate
are soluble in water but carbonates are insoluble and
therefore precipitate as a fine white powder. This
Fig. 26
precipitate will bake unto the heating surface of a
Impurity Effect on a boiler Altitude, m Boiling point of water,boiler
°C and form a scale.

Dissolved gases Corrosion 0 (0ft) 100 (212 °F) Permanent hardness is due to calcium and magnesium
sulphates, chlorides and nitrates, and these salts
These salts are the “ hardness in the boiler “
Calcium and magnesium salts Some salts can also cause corrosion 300 (984.25ft) 99.1 (210.3°F) cannot be removed by boiling. However, under boiler
conditions (resulting in successive concentrations
Silica Can form a very hard scale 600 (1968.5ft) 98.1 (208.5 °F) of these hardness salts) the solubility of these salts
is soon exceeded and they deposit on the hottest
Suspended and dissolved solids Contribute to or cause carryover 1000 (3280.8ft) 96.8 (206.2 °F)
part of the heating surface. The salts of magnesium

2000 (6561.68ft) 93.3 (199.9 °F)

30 31

4000 (13123.36ft) 87.3 (189.1 °F)

 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos condensate system

that form permanent hardness sometimes tend to

cause corrosion instead of hard scale formation, e.g. (3)
magnesium chloride in an untreated boiler hydrolyses
to form corrosive hydrochloric acid.
M
Silica (6)
Silica forms scale in a similar way to the permanent (7) LIS
hardness salts. When the scale formed is a mixture LIS

of silica, calcium and magnesium salts, it is very hard (4)

and therefore presents a difficult problem at inspec- (2)

M
tion time.

The suspended and dissolved solids

The suspended and dissolved solids cause foaming
by becoming absorbed unto the walls of individual
bubbles so that small bubbles, instead of coalescing to
form large ones and bursting early, repel one another
and build up a large volume of small bubbles. If these (1)
bubbles burst near the steam outlet, the spray is ta- (5)

M
HCI 30% NaCI 25% Na3PO4 Na2SO3
ken over with the steam. If the bubbles do not burst
high in the steam space, the foam can be drawn over
with the steam.

The composition of boiler feed water must be such that

Saturated Steam Superheated Steam Electrical
the impurities in it can be concentrated a reasonable Turbines Power
Output
number of times inside the boiler, without exceeding
the tolerance limits of the particular boiler design.
Boiler Steam
If the feed water does not meet these requirements Drum Water
Makeup
Water
it must be pre-treated to remove impurities. The Bolier

impurities need not be completely removed in all

Condenser Cooling Water
cases, however, since chemical treatment inside the Super Heater

boiler can effectively and economically counteract Economizer

Condensate
Extractor
them. Boiler Tubes
Pump

Blowdown
Where to dose what Chemical Chemical
Dosing Dosing
Depending on the chemical and its purpose, there are
different application points in the boiler system; high-
pressure and low-pressure parts can be identified in Feed Pump

the following diagrams. H-P Heater Deaerator L-P Heater

32 33
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos condensate system

Treatments applied The following table shows the quality of water

We can differentiate between two types of required as the boiler’s operating pressure increases.
treatment:
Boiler steam Maximum TDS Maximum Maximum
• External treatment: Reduction or removal of pressure (psi) (ppm) alkalinity (ppm) hardness (ppm)
impurities from water outside the boiler. In general, Low – 300 3500 700 <20
external treatment is used when the amount of one
or more of the feed water impurities exceed the 300 – 450 3000 600 0
tolerances of the given boiler system. There are many
types of external treatment (softening, evaporation, 451 – 600 2500 500 0

deaeration, membrane contractors etc.), which can

600 – 750 2000 400 0
be used to tailor feed water to a particular system.

750 – 900 1500 300 0

• Internal treatment: Conditioning of impurities
within the boiler system. The reactions occur either 900 – 1000 1250 250 0
in the feed lines or in the boiler proper. Internal
treatment may be used alone or in conjunction 1000 – 1500 1000 200 0
with external treatment. Its purpose is to properly
react with feed water hardness, condition sludge, 1500 – 2000 750 150 0

scavenge oxygen and prevent boiler water foaming.

2000 – 3000 150 100 0

External treatment
It is generally agreed that on steam boilers, the Typical requirements for power generation
principal feed water treatment should, where of feed water:
possible, be external to the boiler. Depending
on the boiler operating pressure and the water Recommended
requirements, the treatment applied may vary. Parameter value
General guidelines include: Specific conductivity 100 (212

Sodium and potassium < 10 μg/kg

(10 parts/billion)

Silica < 20 μg/kg

Operating pressure Treatment applied
Sodium zeolite softening to remove calcium hardness Iron < 20 μg/kg
<450 psi
Lime precipitation for silica and hardness removal

450 – 900 psi Demineralisation to remove calcium, magnesium and sodium hardness Copper < 3 μg/kg

>900 psi Electrodialysis reversal (EDR) and Reverse Osmosis for high-purity water Carbon < 200 μg/kg

6000 (19685.04ft) 81.3 (178.3

8000 (26246.72ft) 75.5 (167.9

34 35
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos condensate system

External water treatment technologies applied can 3. Provide antifoam protection to allow a neutralize the hardness of water by forming • Oxygen scavengers: sodium sulphite,
be listed as (ordered from the lowest quality product reasonable concentration of dissolved and tricalcium phosphate, and insoluble compound that tannis, hydrazine, hydroquinone/progallol-
obtained to the highest quality product): suspended solids in the boiler water without can be disposed and blow down on a continuous based derivatives, hydroxylamine derivatives,
foam carry-over; antifoamers are applied. basis or periodically through the bottom of the hydroxylamine derivatives, ascorbic acid
• Lime – soda softening – with lime softening, 4. Eliminate oxygen from the water and provide boiler. derivatives, etc. These scavengers, catalysed or
hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) reacts with enough alkalinity to prevent boiler corrosion. • Natural and synthetic dispersants (scale not, reduce the oxides and dissolved oxygen
calcium and magnesium bicarbonates to form Corrosion inhibitors are dosed. inhibitors): increase the dispersive properties of the and may also passivate metal surfaces. The
a removable sludge. This reduces the alkaline conditioning products. They can be: choice of product and the dose required will
(temporary) hardness. Lime/soda (soda ash) In addition, as supplementary measures an • Natural polymers: lignosulphonates, tannins depend on whether a deaerating heater is used.
softening reduces non-alkaline (permanent) internal treatment should prevent corrosion • Synthetic polymers: polyacrilates, maleic acrylate
hardness by chemical reaction. and scaling of the feed water system and protect copolymer, maleic styrene copolymer, polystyrene • Antifoaming or anti-priming agents: mixture
• Ion exchange – by far the most widely used method against corrosion in the steam condensate sulphonates etc. of surface-active agents that modify the surface
of water treatment for shell boilers producing systems. • Sequestering agents: such as inorganic phosphates, tension of a liquid, remove foam and prevent
saturated steam. which act as inhibitors and implement a threshold the carry-over of fine water particles in the
• Reverse Osmosis Feed water, i.e. treated make-up water mixed effect. steam.
with condensate returns, can be treated to
Processes applied for an external boiler feed remove oxygen. This can be done through a feed Available technologies
treatment (depending on the level of water purity): water heater, deaerator, or economiser. Often Pumps:
• Water softening oxygen scavengers may be added to further
• Dealkalisation: Removes more TDS than the classic reduce oxygen.
water softening. Process Equipment Grundfos products Comments
• Demineralisation: Used for very high pressure Further treatment: Boiler feeding Multi-stage centrifugal CR pump with Case story: CRN 64-2 with Air-Cooled Top for
boilers such as those in power stations. Special attention must be paid to steam and pump (low NPSH) modified software boiler feeding at high temperature in Indonesia
Case story: CR32 and CR45 for boiler feeding
condensate treatment, as the steam will leave allow energy saving efficiency up to 40%.
In many cases external treatment of the water behind most chemicals. Special volatilising
supply is not necessary and the water can be treated chemicals are added to travel with the steam Condensate recirculation Centrifugal pumps CR, NB/NK, MTR

only by internal methods. and protect condensate lines from corrosion.

Inline pumps Paco VLS
This can be through pH control or a filming
Internal treatment agent. Some corrosion inhibitors are injected
End-suction pumps Paco LF
Internal treatment can constitute the unique directly in condensate lines. Antifoam agents
treatment when boilers operate at low or moderate may also be added to prevent carry-over of Canned style pumps Peerless Hydroline
pressures, when large amounts of condensed steam dissolved materials with steam.
are used for feed water, or when high-quality raw Oxygen removal Dosing pumps SMART Digital, DME
water is available. This treatment comprises the Chemicals used
dosing of chemicals which in turn will help to: During the conditioning process – which is an Phosphate dosing Mechanical dosing DMH Phosphate buffers the water to minimize pH
pumps fluctuation. It also precipitates calcium or
1. React with any feed-water hardness and prevent it essential complement to the water treatment magnesium into a soft deposit rather than a
hard scale. Additionally, it helps to promote
from precipitating on the boiler metal as scale. Scale program – specific doses of conditioning
the protective layer on boiler metal surfaces.
inhibitors are used with this purpose. products are added to the water. The commonly However, phosphate forms sludge as it reacts
with hardness; blow-down or other procedures
2. Condition any suspended matter such as hardness used products include: should be established to remove the sludge
sludge or iron oxide in the boiler and make it non- • Phosphates-dispersants, polyphosphates- during a routine boiler shutdown.
adherent to the boiler metal; Scale inhibitors are dispersants (scale inhibitors): reacting with
also used for this purpose. the alkalinity of boiler water, these products
36
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos pump sizing

Types of steam trap Pump sizing

• Thermostatic (operated by changes in fluid
temperature) – The temperature of saturated steam is In the EU, the EN 12952-7 norm has to be used
determined by its pressure. In the steam space, steam when sizing pumps. However, please check the
gives up its enthalpy of evaporation (heat), producing requirements in your local country.
condensate at steam temperature. As a result of any
further heat loss, the temperature of the condensate Flow safety factor according to EN 12952-7
will fall. A thermostatic trap will pass condensate The feed pump capacity shall correspond at least to 1.25
when this lower temperature is sensed. As steam times the allowable steam output of all steam boilers.
reaches the trap, the temperature increases and the For safety reasons, 1.15 times of maximum continuous
trap closes. rating is enough. For availability and difference in service
conditions a greater margin may be necessary.
• Mechanical (operated by changes in fluid density)
– This range of steam traps operates by sensing the Where boiler waters are constantly blown down
difference in density between steam and condensate. in volumes exceeding 5% of the allowable steam
These steam traps include ’ball float traps’ and ’inver- output, the feed pump capacity shall be increased by
ted bucket traps’. In the ’ball float trap’, the ball rises the corresponding percentage, e.g. if the blow down
in the presence of condensate, opening a valve which is 8% of the allowable steam output, the feed pump
passes the denser condensate. With the ’inverted capacity shall be increased by 8%.
bucket trap’, the inverted bucket floats when steam
reaches the trap and rises to shut the valve. Both are (So in basic the pump size must be 25% larger than
essentially ’mechanical’ in their method of operation. what is mentioned on the boiler nameplate, when
it comes to flow. Remember to add the amount of
• Thermodynamic (operated by changes in fluid water in the bypass. The amount can be controlled by
dynamics) – Thermodynamic steam traps rely partly an orifice or by control valve which might be open at
on the formation of flash steam from condensate. the same time as the regulation valve)
This group includes ’thermodynamic’, ’disc’, ’impulse’
and ’labyrinth’ steam traps. Pressure safety factor according to EN 12952-7
The feed pump shall be capable of supplying the steam
Also loosely included in this type are ’fixed orifice boiler with both the feed water quantity at maximum
traps’, which cannot be clearly defined as automatic allowable pressure as specified above and the feed wa-
devices as they are simply a fixed diameter hole set ter quantity corresponding to the allowable steam out-
to pass a calculated amount of condensate under one put 1.1 times the allowable working pressure.
set of conditions.
In some countries you are allowed to reduce the 10% if
All rely on the fact that hot condensate, released the security valve is of a certain size. Please check the
under dynamic pressure, will flash-off to give a local rules and regulations.
mixture of steam and water.
(So in basic the pump size must be 10% larger than men-
tioned on the boiler nameplate, when it comes to pres-

38 39
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos pump sizing

sure. Remember to add the pressure loss in regulation It is seen on the illustration above, that 175°C
valve and pipes between pump and boiler.) mentioned on the nameplate is the temperature of
the steam in the outlet of the boiler. This information,
Besides the rules and regulations above, you can- however, is of no use, as the pump never registers
not just read the flow and pressure on the boiler what happens in the boiler. When sizing, always use
nameplate and use this data to size the pump. This the temperature in the deaerator.
is because of the high temperature of the water and
hereby the lower density of the pumped water. See From the vapour table the following data of water at
the example below. a temp. of 104°C is given.
Density (rho)= 955.2 kg/m3
Be aware that pumps in boiler applications are not Vapour pressure = 1.1668 bar
part of the Pressure Equipment Directive 97/23/EC
(PED) according to guideline 1/11. First the data from the nameplate have to be converted
into m3/h and mWC, which can be used in the sizing.
Example of flow and head calculation
The following information is taken from the boiler
nameplate, see fig. 28.
QBoiler = 20 tons/hour
PBoiler max = 12.5 bar
PBoiler operating = 10 bar
Temp. = 175°C

Fig. 27 Condensate

Deaerator
Apply safety factors from EN 12952-7, flow and head
becomes as specified below.
Steam
20 tons/hour
175°C
Q Pump max = 1.25 x Q Boiler = 1.25 x 20.9 = 26.1 m3/h
Q Pump continuous = 1.15 x Q Boiler = 1.15 x 20.9 = 24.0 m3/h
h Pump = 1.1 x h Boiler = 1.1 x 133.4 = 146.7 m
5m

Boiler

In the example the pressure drop in regulation valve

and flow in bypass has not been taken into conside-
Burner
ration.
All values are now calculated and the pump can be
chosen. Please note that the pump does not have to
Feed pump handle both flow and pressure with safety factors at
the same time.

40 41
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos pump sizing

It should be carried out as shown below and in fig 29. Fig. 28 Example:
H
CRE 20-14
With the value from earlier and the tank placed 5 m
(m)
Situation 1: 100% above the pumps, the following formula is found:
200 Q = 26.1 m³/h
Flow 26.1 m3/h with safety factor at 133.4 m H = 133 m
180 n = 100% / 50 Hz

Situation 2: 160

Head 146.7 m with safety factor at 20.9 m3/h 140

120
From these situations the following pump is chosen As mentioned earlier the density of 104°C water must
100
as it can handle both situations. be used as this is what the pump meets.
80
However, taking another look at the formula it is
Now the pump is selected but before ordering, the 60 obvious that the hb and the hv equalize each other.
NPSHA value has to be calculated. 40 The reason is that the water in the deaerator is
Q = 20.9 m³/h
H = 147 m normally kept at the boiling point.
20 Eta pump = 68.9%
NPSHA = Pressure AVAILABLE to the pump Eta pump+motor = 58.9%
0
from the system. 0 5 10 15 20 25 Q(m³/h) This phenomenon will always occur in a boiler system
P P2 = 13.6 kW NPSH
NPSHR = Pressure REQUIRED from the pump (kW) P1 = 16 kW (m) and because of that, the formula can be simplified:
16 P1 8
to avoid cavitation.
P2
12 6 NPSHA = hf – ± hgeo – hs
To avoid pump cavitation, the following has to be
8 4
accomplished, NPSHA > NPSHR
4 2 Instead of using boiling to drive the oxygen out of
NPSHA = hb – hf – hv ± hgeo – hs NPSH = 3.83 m
the water, it is possible to add chemicals instead. In
0 0
that type of application the water is heated to approx.
NPSHA = Pressure available at inlet of pump. 80°C instead.
hb = Atmospheric and deaerator operating
pressure at pump site. The application gives an NPSHA at 2 m, and the
hf = Friction loss in suction pipe. selected pump has a NPSH-value way above that. Due
hv = Vapour pressure of liquid. to this it is necessary to look at the low NPSH versions
hgeo = Height between water level in deaerator of the pumps, see fig. 29.
and suction side of pump.
hs = Safety factor. Normally estimated Fig. 29
between 0.5 and 1 m.
H NPSH
[m] [m]
20 QH 2900 rpm1 8
15 QH 2900 rpm1n NPSH 6

10 4

5 2
LOW NPSH
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 Q[m³/h]

42 43
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos grundfos solutions

As the curve shows, this pump can be used in a low Grundfos iSOLUTIONS
NPSH version.
A pump to do the job has been found, fig. 31. Put in Grundfos iSOLUTIONS
the actual duty point and it looks alright, but if it is Grundfos iSOLUTIONS is bringing intelligence
compared to the pump with 2 impellers less, the latter into the complete pumping process. Grundfos
looks even better, fig. 32. However, please be aware iSOLUTIONS takes a holistic approach to the pump
if the pump with 12 impellers is chosen, it must run control and utilises the intelligence to reduce the
over-synchronous to reach the duty point according to number of control valves and unnecessary energy
the EN norm. The choice depends on the application consumption.
and requests.
General benefits
1. Energy saving
Fig. 30 Fig. 31 • Reduced Life Cycle Cost and reduced CO2 emission

H
CRE 20-14 H
CR 20-12 eta 2. Increased comfort
(m) (m) 100% (%)
100% • Reduced noise from installation,
200 Q = 20.9 m³/h Q = 20.9 m³/h
H = 107 m 160 H = 107 m • Constant pressure
n = 85% / 42 Hz n = 90%
180 90%
140 • No water hammering
160
85% 120
140 3. Make processes work
100
120 • Adapts automatically to changes in system
80 80
100 70 • Control and regulation of critical parameters
60 60
80 50
40 “EN” duty point 40 4. Reduced total system cost
60 Q = 26.1 m³/h 30
20 H = 133 m 20 • Speed controlled pumps can make some valves etc.
40 10
0
Eta pump = 72.5%
0 unnecessary
0 5 10 15 20 25 Q(m³/h)
20 Eta pump = 71.3% P2 NPSH • Reduced installation and commissioning costs
Eta pump+motor = 60.9% P2 = 8.41 kW (m)
(kW)
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 Q(m³/h)
NPSH
P P2 = 8.55 kW
(kW) P1 = 10 kW (m) 12 6 5. Protection of pump, motor and electronics
16 P1 8
• Reduced stress on motor, pump and system
P2 8 4
• Overload protection of motor and electronics
12 6
4 2
8 4
0 NPSH = 1.93 m 0
Pump curve compensation
4 2
In boiler feed the pumps are often operating at low
NPSH = 2.13 m
flow and still at full boiler pressure. When these
0 0
conditions are present centrifugal pumps have some
limitations in their natural performance as the pump
curve gets unstable in the low flow area. This gets
even more explicit when the load curve is flat, like in
boiler feed, and that is a regulating challenge. See fig.
32 and 33.

44 45
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos grundfos solutions

Fig. 32 Fig. 34
H
CRN 10-10
As a special function in the Grundfos frequency con-
(m) Setpoint verter. it is possible to compensate for this phenom-
100
enon by altering the internal motor control.
90
Inverse Normal
80
regulation The maximum RPM of the motor is increased to 55 Hz,
70
or 58 Hz if required, and at the same time the slippage
60 of the motor is increased.
50 When the pump is running at low load, due to low
40 flow, the speed of the pump is high. When the flow
30
increases the load increases and because of the larger
slippage the pump speed will decrease and fold back
20

Flow range to the original pump curve at 50 Hz, even though the
10
motor is still running 55 Hz. See fig. 34.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Q(m³/h)
P2 NPSH
(kW) (m) The pump curve is now continuously decreasing and
4 8
the instable part of the pump curve is eliminated. Fig. 35
3 6

More important: The regulating loop can work as ex-

2 4
pected. See fig. 35.
1 2

Air-cooled top
0 0
As mentioned in passage Economizer, the boiler feed
pumps are sometimes installed so that they meet the
Fig. 33
boiler pressure and temperature. These temperatures
H
(m)
are sometimes higher than what the shaft seals can
Q
160 handle.
rpm
140 Set point
Q
The solution can be an air-cooled top.
rpm rpm
120
rpm Q A CR pump equipped with air-cooled top can handle
100 Q temperatures of 180°C in water and 240°C in thermal oil.
Inverse regulation Normal regulation
80

The air-cooled top separates the seal chamber from

60
the pump by an air-cooled chamber, generating an in-
40 sulating effect similar to that of thermos. The cooling
20
air from the motor keeps the chamber cooled down.
Via a small gap at the shaft from the pump to the
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Q(M 3/h) air-cooled top, a small quantity of the pumped liquid
ensures that the seal chamber is always filled with
liquid.

46 47
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos grundfos solutions

Fig. 36 Air cooled top Fig. 38: Bearing flange

The air-cooled top solution is a “stand alone“ pump Bearing flange
meaning no external liquid is needed to cool down The bearing flange is an additional flange with an
the shaft seal. oversize ball bearing to absorb axial forces in both
directions.
Low NPSH The bearing flange ensures long life time when run-
The CR Low NPSH is actually a standard pump provi- ning conditions are rough.
ded with an oversize impeller in the first stage. The
oversize impeller has a larger eye than the standard The typical use of bearing flanges:
impeller and therefore better capable of handling • When the pump is equipped with standard motor
poor inlet pressure and hot water. the bearing flange can compensate for the hydraulic
forces from pump, ensuring an acceptable lifetime
The Low NPSH can handle the same operating pres- on motor bearings which are not dedicated for pump
sure and temperature as the standard CR pumps. applications.
• When the pump is run with higher inlet pressure
MAGdrive than the maximum pressure recommended.
Double shaft seal or Magdrive Fig. 39: MP 204
For feed pumps pumping from a vacuum tank, there MP 204
is a risk of air infiltration to the pump through the If the pumps in the boiler system are without
shaft seal. This phenomenon occurs when two feed Fig. 37 Double seal frequency converters it is important to protect them
pumps are operate parallel as duty standby pumps. in another way. For that, Grundfos has developed the
Here, there is a risk that the standby pump may let air MP 204, which is an intelligent motor protection, that
through the shaft seal due to vacuum in the deaera- not only protects the motor but also tells something
tor / condensate tank. This problem can be addressed about the performance of the pump/motor.
by installing pumps with a double shaft seal arrange-
ment with barrier water or a Mag-Drive pump. Read The features that it can measure are among others:
more about our custom-built pumps in the Grundfos • Load issue.
catalogue. • Power supply.
• Temperature.
Double seal • Ground fault.
Can be applied in hot water installations, i.e. econo-
Fig. 40: CUE
mizer applications, where the quench liquid is used CUE
for cooling shaft seal surfaces. If the E-solution mentioned earlier, is not appropriate,
with the frequency converter installed directly on
Can also be applied in vacuum installations where the motor, or the motor power is too high for an “on
it is necessary to ensure, that air does not enter the board” solution, Grundfos also has a wall-mounted
condensate. frequency converter, the CUE.

Key benefits by CUE compared to standard VLT:

• Very easy start-up wizard

48 49
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos grundfos solutions

• GRUNDFOS graphical display Fig. 41: CIM/CIU

• Well-known GRUNDFOS E-pump functionality as The main tasks of CR Monitor is, as mentioned earlier,
standard surveillance, surveillance, surveillance – and simple
• Pre-programmed for GRUNDFOS pumps communication. Despite the complexity that makes
• RFI filter (C1) for domestic areas included for: the unit possible, the system only communicates
– 1 x 200-240V – all sizes on three levels: ‘All okay’, ‘Warning’ and ‘ALARM’.
– 3 x 200-240V – all sizes The latter two are accompanied by plain language
– 3 x 380-500V – up to / including 90kW interpretations of the data that trigger the warning.
• RFI filter (C2 or C3) for industrial areas included for
all remaining sizes and voltages Cavitation prevention
• Bearing supervision as standard (for standard Without all standard measurings and the intelligent
motors with re-lubrication facilities) efficiency measuring it also measures how close the
• Standstill heating possibilities (for motors in installation is to cavitation. Normally the first sign of
condensing areas) cavitation which meets the pump is the disconcerting
• GRUNDFOS GENIbus as standard sound of ‘gravel’ from the pump.
And especially in boiler feed applications where there
CIM/CIU: is always a risk of cavitation (sometimes impossible
CIM/CIU products are products developed by Grundfos to avoid), the CR Monitor can constantly report on
so electronic solutions mentioned earlier, such as the the available NPSH at any given moment. And not
MGE motor, MP204 and CUE can communicate with only that: if you have had cavitation because a fault
the rest of the control world. The CIM/CIU gateways can or another unnormal operation pattern of the boiler
translate the Grundfos fieldbus to all other standard has happened the CR Monitor can immediately tell by
fieldbus types used in the market for example Profibus, the efficiency monitoring if the cavitation has harmed
Modbus and Lon. The CIM/CIU products are built in two the pump. So said in another way CR Monitor can give
versions; one for wall-mounting and one as add-on card. peace of mind.
Add-ons are for a limited series of products.
Fig. 42: Monitor
Power-saving
Monitor By monitoring the pump efficiency, it is possible
The Grundfos CR Monitor is a product that takes to assess the state of the pump hydraulics. So not
early warning to a new level. Normally, when we talk only if you have faults in the system but also if you
monitoring systems there is nothing between ‘All okay’ just have simple wear of the pump hydraulic, the CR
and ‘ALARM!’ but the CR Monitor deals with that and Monitor will warn you before the pump completely
introduces ‘Warning’. This warning gives you time to stops. And efficiency monitoring becomes a decision-
act to prevent unnecessary power loss and breakdown making tool. So once a certain efficiency drop has
and most importantly to prevent production loss due been reached, the decision can be made to service the
to lack of steam production. This new, automated pump, restoring its original capacity.
supervision tool can foresee efficiency drop, pump
failure and prevent cavitation in inline centrifugal pump It can also be a question of getting the most for your
installations. And especially caviation problems which in maintenance time and money. There’s no point in
the end will lead to efficiency drop and a broken pumps servicing a pump every 12 months if it does not need it.
are faults we see most often in boiler feed installations. So, fundamentally it monitors that the efficiency is at
its best around the clock regardless of duty point.
50 51
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos grundfos solutions

linked to a control valve on the cold water make-up

Some of the unique advantages and selling points supply. The probe is fitted with a protection tube in-
are mentioned below. side the feed tank to protect it from turbulence, which
Surveillance of motor and pump: can result in false readings.
• Efficiency (no unnecessary power loss)
• Under/overvoltage Water level indicator
• Overheating A local level indicator or water level gauge glass on
• Too high power consumption the feed tank is recommended, allowing the viewing
• Bearing surveillance of the contents for confirmation purposes, and for
• Protection against dry-running commissioning level probes.
• Cavitation prevention

System and liquid surveillance:

• Process out of range
• Liquid temperature
• Pressure
• Flow
• Aux analogue input

Reduce maintenance and stock:
• Periodic maintenance is history
• No unnecessary maintenance.
• Reduction of spare parts on stock
• Reduction of man hours to service
• Regular manual pump inspection is history
• Unexpected downtime is reduced to an absolute
minimum.
• CR Monitor provides supervision 24/7/365

Level control condensate

Traditionally, float controls have been used for this
application. Modern controls use level probes, which
will give an output signal to modulate a control valve.
Not only does this type of system require less mainte-
nance but, with the use of an appropriate controller, a
single probe may incorporate level alarms and remote
indicating devices.

Level probes can be arranged to signal high water le-

vel, the normal working (or control) water level, and
low water level. The signals from the probe can be

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 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos theory/problems

system, and a pressure wave propagates in the pipe.

Theory/problems It may also be known as hydraulic shock.
This pressure wave can cause major problems, from
Cavitation noise and vibration to pipe collapse. It is possible to
Since the water in the deaerator or the condensate reduce the effects of the water hammer pulses with
tank has a high temperature, it is difficult to pump accumulators and other features.
without causing the pump to cavitate. The higher the Water hammer in boiler feed applications normally
temperature, the more likely cavitation will occur. This happens when interchanging between the duty/
is because the pump has to “pull” the water in the standby pumps. The water in the standby pump is
first impeller and as a result, the pressure will drop a often cold and when the column of cold water hits the
little and the water will start to evaporate. When the warm part, water hammer can occur. It can also occur
pressure is rising through the impeller and the small between the pump and the boiler if valves are being
steam bobbles begin to implode and return to liquid closed fast, for example when changing from bypass
form, it is called cavitation. Because of this problem, to filling the boiler.
the deaerator / condensate tank is often placed several
metres above the pump inlet to ensure as high an inlet Column separation
pressure as possible. The pump can be made with a Column separation is a phenomenon that can occur
special first stage design to reduce the pump’s NPSH in a boiler feed application between deaerator and
value. See more under sizing of pumps. the pumps. It happens if the pressure in the pipeline
Fig. 43
drops rapidly to the vapour pressure of the liquid,
the liquid will vaporise and a ”bubble” of vapour will
form in the pipeline. This is most likely to occur if
knees or valves (changes in pipe slope) are installed
in the piping. When pressure later increases above
vapour pressure of the liquid, the vapour in the
bubble returns to a liquid state leaving a vacuum in
the space formerly occupied by the vapour. The liquid
on either side of the vacuum is then accelerated into
this space by the pressure difference. The collision of
the two columns of liquid, (or of one liquid column if
at a closed end,) results in water hammer and causes
a large and nearly instantaneous rise in pressure. This
phenomenon happens very fast and pressure peaks
above 120 bar have been found. This pressure peak
Water hammer can destroy all sensors in the inlet of the pump and at
Water hammer (or, more generally, fluid hammer) is a the same time lift the chamber stack in the pump so
pressure surge or wave resulting when a fluid (usually explosively that the motor bearings can be damaged.
a liquid but sometimes also a gas) in motion is forced
to stop or change direction suddenly (momentum Blowdown / skimming
change). Water hammer commonly occurs when A problem often seen in boiler applications is
a valve is closed suddenly at the end of a pipeline

54 55
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos theory/problems

cavitation due to bottom blowdown of the boiler.

A bottom blowdown is when water is let out from the Weekend shut-down
water reservoir in the bottom of the boiler. The reason A lot of steam boiler applications have weekend
for doing this blowdown is that suspended solids in shut-down. This means that the steam production is
the water can be kept in suspension as long as the stopped during the weekend and the boiler is kept at
boiler water is agitated, but as soon as the agitation a lower temperature but still ready for start-up again.
stops, the suspended solids will fall to the bottom How they choose to carry out this standby period
of the boiler. If the solids are not removed, they will varies from customer to customer, but often a little
accumulate and, given time, will inhibit the heat amount of steam is recycled from the boiler to the
transfer from the boiler fire tubes, which will overheat deaerator to keep that heated as well. From time to
or even fail. time the boiler is started to correct the levels in the
The normal method of removing this sludge is boiler and deaerator and this may cause problems
through short, sharp blasts using a relatively large both with cavitation and water hammer: Cavitation
valve at the bottom of the boiler. The objective is to due to a lower pressure in the boiler than normal
allow the sludge time to redistribute itself so that and water hammer due to the column of water in
more may be removed at the next blowdown. the pump being cooled down at standstill as it is
The duration and frequency of the blowdown vary not insulated. And when the pump is subsequently
from the different boiler manufacturers. started you send a column of “cold” water through
The pump problem starts when the blowdown time the pipes resulting in water hammer in the system.
is so long, that the pressure in the boiler starts to fall.
This will, or can, result in the feed pump running out Steam consumption changes
of curve, meaning that the required NPSH value for Often the steam consumption changes over time and
the pump increases dramatically. And this results in sometimes the production of steam is larger than
cavitation and over time breakdown of the pump. stated on the boiler nameplate and hence the data
available for Grundfos during sizing of the boiler feed
Safety valve pumps. This may result in too small pumps; meaning
The safety valve is a very important fitting. Its function that the pumps run with too large flow and because of
is to protect the boiler shell from over-pressure and this, a higher NPSH is required.
subsequent explosion. An example is a customer that once a month used steam
Always ensure that local standards are complied with. for an hour to clean the turbines at the site. This resulted
in very large pressure drops in the boiler and the result
The following standards are examples: was that the pump cavitated that hour every month.
BS 6759 in the UK, for materials, design and
construction of safety valves. Dosing
BS 2790 in the UK, for the design and manufacture of Normally no problems arise due to the way the
shell boilers of welded construction. chemicals used are being dosed into the water. But
EN ISO 4126 Continental Europe, General requirements from time to time an increase in tear of the impeller
for safety valves. is seen. That happens when the chemicals are dosed
directly in front of the feed pumps. This is because the
Please see manufacturers’ material for detailed di- concentration can be very high in the pump due to
mensioning and installation instructions. the chemicals having not been mixed properly before

56 57
 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos FAQ

entering the pump.

If it is a large CR with bronze bearing it is important FAQ
to keep the PH-value in the boiler water below 10 as
it will otherwise tear down the bronze. It is usually How do I avoid cavitation?
not a problem as the boiler manufacturer also has You must ensure that the pressure level at the suc-
an interest in keeping the PH-value at approx. 8-9. Be tion side of the pump is higher than the vapour pres-
aware that if NH3 is added to lower the PH-value, the sure of the water. Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH)
NH3 will also tear down the bronze. available must be higher than NPSH required. See
section ”Pump sizing”.
Using the Grundfos Digital Dosing will eliminate the tear
Fig 44: Table based on the standard sea-level atmos-
problems as the dosing pump will dose continuously How do I convert from bar to mWC?
pheric pressure of 101.3 kPa:
and ensure that no excessive chemical levels occur. In order to convert you need to know the tempera-
ture of the water as density varies with temperature.
Feed pump start-up Impurity FromEffect
the vapour table, the following data of water at
on a boiler Boiling point
Before the pumps are started, the following two a temperature of 104°C is given. Altitude, m of water, °C
things have to be taken into consideration. If the Dissolved gases Density (rho)= 955.2 kg/m3
Corrosion 0 (0ft) 100 (212 °F)
pump is equipped with a frequency converter, it is The nameplate indicates a maximum boiler pressure
important that the pump starts at such high speed These
of 12.5 saltsthe
bar and are value
the “ hardness
has to beininthe boiler “
Pascal.
Calcium and magnesium salts Some salts can also cause corrosion 300 (984.25ft) 99.1 (210.3°F)
that it delivers a higher pressure than the pressure in The force of gravity g is 9.81 m/s .
2

the boiler. If not, it will be like running against closed

Silica Can form a very hard scale 600 (1968.5ft) 98.1 (208.5 °F)
valves until the pump overcomes that pressure. This
can result in a burned shaft seal.
Suspended and dissolved solids Contribute to or cause carryover 1000 (3280.8ft) 96.8 (206.2 °F)
If the ramp up time is set to 0 sec., the water column
in the inlet of the pump has been seen torn apart and
some sort of vacuum pockets have been created. What precautions do I need to take when living at 2000 (6561.68ft) 93.3 (199.9 °F)
Se paragraph Column separation. high altitude?
If the deaerator is operated at the boiling point, no 4000 (13123.36ft) 87.3 (189.1 °F)
special precautions are necessary. The lower the
pressure, the less oxygen can be dissolved in the 6000 (19685.04ft) 81.3 (178.3 °F)
feed water, which actually enhances deaeration.
The precautions to avoid cavitation are the same as 8000 (26246.72ft) 75.5 (167.9 °F)
in section ”Pump sizing”. See table below for boiling
temperatures.

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 grundfos boiler feed manual grundfos certificates

Vapour pressure p and density erent temperatures

Certificates t[°C] T[K] P[bar] [kg/m3] t[°C] T[K] P[bar] [kg/m3] t[°C] T[K] P[bar] [kg/m3]

0 273.15 0.00611 0999.8 138 411.15 3.414 927.6

1 274.15 0.00657 0999.9 61 334.15 0.2086 982.6 140 413.15 3.614 925.8
2 275.15 0.00706 0999.9 62 335.15 0.2184 982.1 145 418.15 4.155 921.4
3 276.15 0.00758 0999.9 63 336.15 0.2286 981.6 150 423.15 4.760 916.8
4 277.15 0.00813 1000.0 64 337.15 0.2391 981.1
5 278.15 0.00872 1000.0 65 338.15 0.2501 980.5 155 428.15 5.433 912.1
6 279.15 0.00935 1000.0 66 339.15 0.2615 979.9 160 433.15 6.181 907.3
7 280.15 0.01001 999.9 67 340.15 0.2733 979.3 165 438.15 7.008 902.4
8 281.15 0.01072 999.9 68 341.15 0.2856 978.8 170 443.15 7.920 897.3
9 282.15 0.01147 999.8 69 342.15 0.2984 978.2 175 448.15 8.924 892.1
10 283.15 0.01227 999.7 70 343.15 0.3116 977.7
180 453.15 10.027 886.9
11 284.15 0.01312 999.7 71 344.15 0.3253 977.0 185 458.15 11.233 881.5
12 285.15 0.01401 999.6 72 345.15 0.3396 976.5 190 463.15 12.551 876.0
13 286.15 0.01497 999.4 73 346.15 0.3543 976.0 195 468.15 13.987 870.4
14 287.15 0.01597 999.3 74 347.15 0.3696 975.3 200 473.15 15.50 864.7
15 288.15 0.01704 999.2 75 348.15 0.3855 974.8
16 289.15 0.01817 999.0 76 349.15 0.4019 974.1 205 478.15 17.243 858.8
17 290.15 0.01936 998.8 77 350.15 0.4189 973.5 210 483.15 19.077 852.8
18 291.15 0.02062 998.7 78 351.15 0.4365 972.9 215 488.15 21.060 846.7
19 292.15 0.02196 998.5 79 352.15 0.4547 972.3 220 493.15 23.198 840.3
20 293.15 0.02337 998.3 80 353.15 0.4736 971.6 225 498.15 25.501 833.9

21 294.15 0.02485 998.1 81 354.15 0.4931 971.0 230 503.15 27.976 827.3
22 295.15 0.02642 997.8 82 355.15 0.5133 970.4 235 508.15 30.632 820.5
23 296.15 0.02808 997.6 83 356.15 0.5342 969.7 240 513.15 33.478 813.6
24 297.15 0.02982 997.4 84 357.15 0.5557 969.1 245 518.15 36.523 806.5
25 298.15 0.03166 997.1 85 358.15 0.5780 968.4 250 523.15 39.776 799.2
26 299.15 0.03360 996.8 86 359.15 0.6011 967.8 255 528.15 43.246 791.6
27 300.15 0.03564 996.6 87 360.15 0.6249 967.1
28 301.15 0.03778 996.3 88 361.15 0.6495 966.5 260 533.15 46.943 783.9
29 302.15 0.04004 996.0 89 362.15 0.6749 965.8 265 538.15 50.877 775.9
30 303.15 0.04241 995.7 90 363.15 0.7011 965.2 270 543.15 55.058 767.8
275 548.15 59.496 759.3
31 304.15 0.04491 995.4 91 364.15 0.7281 964.4 280 553.15 64.202 750.5
32 305.15 0.04753 995.1 92 365.15 0.7561 963.8
33 306.15 0.05029 994.7 93 366.15 0.7849 963.0 285 558.15 69.186 741.5
34 307.15 0.05318 994.4 94 367.15 0.8146 962.4 290 563.15 74.461 732.1
35 308.15 0.05622 994.0 95 368.15 0.8453 961.6 295 568.15 80.037 722.3
36 309.15 0.05940 993.7 96 369.15 0.8769 961.0 300 573.15 85.927 712.2
37 310.15 0.06274 993.3 97 370.15 0.9094 960.2 305 578.15 92.144 701.7
38 311.15 0.06624 993.0 98 371.15 0.9430 959.6 310 583.15 98.700 690.6
39 312.15 0.06991 992.7 99 372.15 0.9776 958.6
40 313.15 0.07375 992.3 100 373.15 1.0133 958.1 315 588.15 105.61 679.1
320 593.15 112.89 666.9
41 314.15 0.07777 991.9 102 375.15 1.0878 956.7 325 598.15 120.56 654.1
42 315.15 0.08198 991.5 104 377.15 1.1668 955.2 330 603.15 128.63 640.4
43 316.15 0.08639 991.1 106 379.15 1.2504 953.7 340 613.15 146.05 610.2
44 317.15 0.09100 990.7 108 381.15 1.3390 952.2
45 318.15 0.09582 990.2 110 383.15 1.4327 950.7 350 623.15 165.35 574.3
46 319.15 0.10086 989.8 360 633.15 186.75 527.5
47 320.15 0.10612 989.4 112 385.15 1.5316 949.1
48 321.15 0.11162 988.9 114 387.15 1.6362 947.6 370 643.15 210.54 451.8
49 322.15 0.11736 988.4 116 389.15 1.7465 946.0 374.15 647.30 221.2 315.4
50 323.15 0.12335 988.0 118 391.15 1.8628 944.5
120 393.15 1.9854 942.9
51 324.15 0.12961 987.6
52 325.15 0.13613 987.1 122 395.15 2.1145 941.2
53 326.15 0.14293 986.6 124 397.15 2.2504 939.6
54 327.15 0.15002 986.2 126 399.15 2.3933 937.9
55 328.15 0.15741 985.7 128 401.15 2.5435 936.2
56 329.15 0.16511 985.2 130 403.15 2.7013 934.6
57 330.15 0.17313 984.6
58 331.15 0.18147 984.2 132 405.15 2.8670 932.8
59 332.15 0.19016 983.7 134 407.15 3.041 931.1
60 333.15 0.19920 983.2 136 409.15 3.223 929.4

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