3 replies to this topic

[Hossein Deldari]

dear all
I have a question about the critera for selection condensate pot or steam trap downstream of steam heaters or reboilers.
is there any criteria which specifies when designer should provide a condensate pot instead of steam trap?
any guide in this regard will be appreciated.

[Qalander (Chem)]

dear all
I have a question about the critera for selection condensate pot or steam trap downstream of steam heaters or reboilers.
is there any criteria which specifies when designer should provide a condensate pot instead of steam trap?
any guide in this regard will be appreciated.

Dear
Your query seems very general and slightly unclear as to what specific service?
You are interested;Batch ,Continuous etc.?

Heating Steam's Properties? Heated Stream Properties?

Based on this some reply if at all may be provided.

Usually saturated LP steam involving latent heat tranfer scheme may yield almost (total) liquid state condensate;if proper/desired heat exchange is taking place.

However if sensible plus latent heat is used from relatively unsaturated(dry)steam in gas phase with not (total) condensation there may be occasional steam passing through as per extent of heat transfer.

Now it is based on these, the selection might have to be made

with Complete system details consideration including Min. Max. & usual/ Normal values.

Hope this proves useful.

[Art Montemayor]

Hossein:

A steam trap is a compact, relatively inexpensive solution for condensate removal. Whether one is better off applying a steam trap or a condensate pot in order to control condensate removal from a steam heater or reboiler is dependent on various factors that should be taken into consideration:

The size of the condensate stream; a relatively small amount of steam condensate is better removed with a conventional trap.

The need for accurate condensate removal; a pot is a much better solution due to its ability to accept instrumentation, controls, and condensate pumps. Sometimes the condensate must be returned to a remote located power plant and a condensate pump is mandatory in order to successfully return the condensate to the parent boiler.

The degree of heat transfer control; a pot can be used to vary the amount of condensate level and, thereby, flood a portion of tubes in the related exchanger, reducing the amount of heat transfer area and the amount of heat transferred.

The need to ensure that all condensate is effectively removed from the heating system in order to ensure that 100% of its surface is effectively condensing steam and transferring heat; here, a pot is almost mandatory in order to monitor the real condensate level and ensure rapid removal.

In short, a pot gives you a lot of process flexibility while a steam trap is restricted by its narrow scope of design and capacity.

[Himanshu Sharma]

Hi !

As explained by Art this pertains to Process System as well as economics.

well to give you a general Idea ,in context of indian refineries we prefer a steam trap up to 1 ton/hr of steam and a Condensate pot for more flow rate.