1. When is Reverse Osmosis Right for Boiler Pre-Treatment

2. RO Benefits
Reduced fuel costs through lower heat loss / increased boiler cycles
Reduced boiler system chemical treatment costs
Improved operation & Steam Purity
Reduced risk
Improved condensate corrosion control
Reduced external treatment costs; particularly if previously using cold or hot lime softening, ion exchange and / or re-generable DI
Remove / reduce hazardous acid and caustic chemicals
Extended ion exchange resin life

3. What to consider when looking at RO for boiler pretreatment
Cycles of concentration
Size of plant – steam production
FW Quality
Make-up alkalinity, Dissolved mineral breakdown
% FW make up - % hot condensate return
Pressure deaerator or FW tank?
Feed water piping and pump construction
Is there a use for RO reject (cooling tower MU)
Chemical Program types
- Separates, all-in-ones, powders, liquids, etc.

4. Questions to help you qualify feasibility of replacing demins with RO/EDI
Is the customer concerned with handling acid and caustic?
What is the conductivity of the influent water? The higher the dissolved solids in the influent water, the greater the potential benefits.
How much acid and caustic are used and what is the cost?
What is the cost of power?
Can the plant effectively use the RO reject water? Or will the increase in water consumption and waste volume be an issue?
Is this a new installation or is the customer considering replacement of or renovating an existing demineralizer system?
Just as in the case of placing an RO ahead of a demineralizer system, things such as power costs, total dissolved solids limits in the water and the cost of regenerants become an issue. Again, dealing with the RO reject is an issue and must be thoroughly examined. Even if it becomes a waste stream, the RO reject is typically much better then the acid and caustic waste the plant currently deals with.
Higher influent water conductivity will make the RO systems work harder to remove the dissolved solids but as long as the silt density index or SDI requirements for the RO can be met, then this combination is quite effective.
Next slide please.

5. ASME GUIDELINES Table 1 - Watertube Boiler with Superheater/Turbine All Pressures: FW dissolved oxygen < 7 ppb (with DA) Feedwater pH: ( psig) / pH (> 901 psig)
Boiler Feedwater
Boiler Water
Total
Total
Specific
Drum
Hardness
Silica
alkalinity
Conductance
Pressure
Iron
Copper (
ppm ) (
ppm ) (
ppm ) (
mhos/cm)
(psig)
(ppm Fe)
(ppm Cu)
CaCO
SiO
CaCO
(Unneutralized) 3 2 3
0 to 300
0.100
0.050
0.300
150
350
3500
300 to 450
0.050
0.025
0.300 90
300
3000
451 to 600
0.030
0.020
0.200 40
250
2500
601 to 750
0.025
0.020
0.200 30
200
2000
751 to 900
0.020
0.015
0.100 20
150
1500
901 to 1,000
0.020
0.015
0.050 8
100
1000
1,001 to 1,500
0.010
0.010
0.000 2 -
150
1,501 to 2,000
0.010
0.010
0.000 1 -
100
Note: All limits are expressed “less than” the value specified (e.g., < ppm)

6. Impact of feedwater quality on boiler operational efficiency
Fuel-to-steam efficiency
Fuel is 70 – 80% of boiler operating costs
Water & Sewer costs 3 – 5%
But - Feedwater quality has enormous impact on boiler efficiency & fuel costs
Reliability and availability
Industry statistics – Tube failures due to waterside mechanisms are the leading cause of unscheduled Boiler outages
Fuel
Water & Sewer

7. Impact of feedwater quality on boiler operational efficiency
Steam purity
Steam purity is a direct function of boiler water dissolved solids content
Superheater and turbine reliability
High-purity processes
Semiconductors
Pharmaceuticals
Catalytic hydrocarbon / chemical processes
Food and beverage processing/sterilization
Comfort humidification
Medical and research steam sterilization processes

8. Boiler feedwater quality considerations
Boiler pressure and superheater/turbine steam
purity requirements generally define
pretreatment and feedwater quality
requirements. In general –
Softened or single pass RO-quality make-up < 600 psig
Generally demineralized or RO/EDI make-up > 900 psi

9. Resin Based Pretreatment Performance
Typical Boiler
Operating
Pressure (psig)
Typical Effluent
Quality
System
This is just a rough summary or survey of what one would expect of the water quality out of various types of pretreatment equipment. Question the group on how well their equipment performs versus this profile.

10. Benefits for the Customer Conversion from Softened to RO Makeup
Improved steam purity & safety
Improved purity of products/processes contacted by steam
Reduced steam contamination
Enhanced regulatory compliance
Improved steam equipment reliability, efficiency & longevity
Improved safety - Reduced chance of catastrophic failure
Improved turbine efficiency
Improved steam heat transfer efficiency
Reduced total cost of operation (must qualify carefully)
Improved steam system heat transfer efficiency
Improved boiler thermal efficiency
Reduced chemical treatment costs
Reduced regenerant costs
By providing better quality feedwater there is better quality steam being produced. This means control valves, processes that have direct steam contact, steam turbines used for electric generators, compressor or pump drives are less prone to failure. Superheaters remain free of boiler salts and maintain operating reliability. Steam expansion joints and steam headers do not suffer from caustic embrittlement that would lead to cracking of these stressed components.
As the steam is pure, there are no concerns with contaminated product or product recalls or disposals.
Even in systems that might experience mechanically induced steam purity problems, the fact that the water is more pure to start with means the resultant level of solids in the steam would be lessened when RO feedwater is used.
Introducing less solids in the boiler means our internal treatment chemicals do not have to work as hard and are able to do a better job. This will greatly improve the reliability of the boiler.
Next Slide Please.

11. Questions to help you qualify feasibility of pursuing RO conversions from NaZ
RO will generally reduce our overall boiler chemical revenue by a factor of 60-80% . Is customer looking to reduce chemical?
Is there a significant operational or efficiency issue that can be solved by higher purity FW?
Does the plant lack blowdown heat recovery equipment (or is it inoperable)?
Is there competitive pressure or a bid that is compelling you to consider RO as a solution?
Are current average cycles of concentration < 10?
As I just said the inclusion of an RO can significantly reduce the chemical usage. For example in a plant producing 100,000 lbs per hour steam, with 70% condensate return going from 8 to 50 cycles, without any other changes, will reduce the boiler chemical volume from 40,000 to 15,000 lbs per year.
If the inclusion of the RO would get the customer to realize better condensate quality without requiring more amine feed,especially if they are limited due to regulatory issues on the amount of chemical treatment they can supply, then you could be quite a hero at the account. This a powerful selling point This is what value added selling is all about.
Increased condensate return means less makeup and better quality feedwater. RO water has less alkalinity so that condensate corrosion of steel and copper surfaces is minimized leading to cleaner boilers and better heat transfer.
Think about adding that RO when the steam purity problems can not be solved by changes in system operation, chemical feeds or other means. The better quality water provided by the RO versus the softener could be just what the customer needs.
Increased overall plant thermal efficiency is often achieved by increasing boiler cycles but only if the plant does not have blowdown heat recovery such as blowdown flash tanks and blowdown heat exchangers. When this equipment is installed and operating properly, there will be very little of the energy savings realized by operating the boiler at higher cycles. Be careful to consider this before even broaching the subject of RO with a customer or prospect when this is the major thrust you are using.
If a competitor has not done their homework and proposes RO and the main point they are making is energy recovery, point out to your customer or prospect the fallacy of the argument when heat recovery equipment is in place. This will close down the competitive thrust into this account while gaining you instant credibility.
Next Slide Please.

12. Technical considerations in conversions from Na Zeolite to Reverse Osmosis Makeup
RO permeate carbon dioxide considerations & reduction strategies
Corrosivity of RO permeate
Alloy considerations
Preferred methods of pH adjustment
Consider boiler feed pump alloys
Selection of oxygen scavenger
Internal treatment program considerations
Condensate corrosion discussion & pH control range
In replacing a softener with an RO unit we must be conscious of the quality of the product water. RO permeate will be much lower in all species as the RO will remove >98% of all soluble species in the influent water. Gases will not be removed by the RO. The permeate will be acidic, typically pH 5-6, due to the presence of carbonic acid. For this reason piping resistant to corrosion will need to be installed. Such a change will maintain the purity of the permeate while maintaining the piping and pump network. Typically the change in metallurgy is to stainless steel or plastic.
An alternative to metallurgy changes, would be to adjust the pH of the permeate using caustic or an amine. Both will protect the downstream piping but there are tradeoffs to consider.
Adding caustic is cheap and effective but it will also affect the feedwater alkalinity, conductivity and boiler water pH. Adding amine will possibly be the better approach.
Adding an amine will allow CO2 to be vented from the water in the deaerator and the amine will recycle. This will reduce the overall system demand for neutralizer. The amine in the feedwater will also not affect the boiler water chemistry.
In a softened water system,the oxygen scavenger is often sulfite based. It is cheap, effective and the impact on cycles is typically not significant as they are already low. When we have gone to RO quality water the change to a sulfite replacement such as DEHA, hydroquinone, or one of the other organic scavengers maybe preferred. These products are effective, have limited effect on boiler water conductivity and will have benefits in the protection of the condensate as in the case of DEHA
All polymer or other solubilizing internal treatment technology is now a real possibility with RO quality feedwater. Cleaner boilers, higher cycles, and easy testing are all benefits to be derived by changes to soluble versus the older precipitating programs.
Next slide please.

13. Zeolite Softening & Dealkalization
Advantages
Inexpensive – Capital & operating costs
Simple-to-operate
Durable
Safe & inexpensive sodium chloride regenerant
Limitations
No reduction in total dissolved solids (TDS)
FW quality can limit boiler cycles
Not suitable for high-pressure boiler operation (> 900 psig)
No silica reduction
No alkalinity reduction without dealkalizer

14. Resin-based demineralization
Advantages
Reduction in all dissolved solids
Enables high cycles operation
Suitable for high-pressure boilers
Can tailor to specific purity needs
Excellent silica rejection
Excellent alkalinity/CO2 rejection
Limitations
Strong acid/caustic required for regeneration
Caustic costs high & variable
Limited anion resin life
Silica and sodium leakage
Manpower intensive
Operating costs directly proportional to TDS

15. Reverse Osmosis Advantages Limitations
Rejection of all dissolved solids
Operating costs not directly dependant on TDS
Enables high cycle boiler operation
Requires no chemical regenerants (acid/caustic)
Not labor intensive
Versatile pairings with resin-based systems
Ideal for mobile applications
Limitations
RO alone not suitable for HP boiler feedwater > 1000 psig with turbine
Higher electrical costs than resin-based systems (high-pressure pumps)
Generates significant reject stream (typically 20 – 30% of input stream)
Does not reject CO2 (g)

16. Potential membrane solutions for Boiler systems
RO in front of existing demineralizers
RO to replace or augment softeners
RO/EDI to replace resin-based demineralizer - Mixed-bed quality train
Ultrafiltration in front of demin. or RO to replace traditional filtration/clarification

17. Key input variables for modeling & analysis
Economic
Environmental
TDS of influent water
Capital equipment costs (RO)
Caustic costs
Electrical power rates
Influent water costs
Sewerage costs
Volume or Vol/TDS-basis?
Can plant reuse RO reject?
Credits or incentives for reuse
Regenerant neutralization costs
Differential labor costs
Reduction of acid/caustic inventory
Personnel safety - chemical exposure
Water scarcity issues
Discharge/permitting issues
This can be a critical factor because direct sewerage of the RO reject stream may be costly

18. Case 1 - Potential Benefits in the Addition of RO ahead of Demineralizer
Reduced acid & caustic regenerant costs
90 – 95% reduction in regenerant usage is typical
Reduced operator labor
Reduced high TDS regenerant neutralization discharge
Extended ion exchange resin life
40 – 50% extension in resin life typical
Greatly reduced regen. cycles & reduced iron/organic fouling
Improved feedwater & steam quality
Sodium & silica slippage & breaks significantly reduced
By installing an RO system ahead of the demineralizer we lower the consumption of acid and caustic due to the reduced number of regeneration cycles. This reduction in regenerant usage can be on the order of 90-95%.
As the number of regenerations is reduced, so too is the operator time required to monitor or conduct the regeneration. In addition, where manual intervention by the operator is required such as checking of regenerant strengths, handling drums of acid and caustic or initiating steps in the regeneration sequence operator time is minimized. Other advantages are the worker exposure to chemicals is greatly reduced minimizing the potential for injury from chemical burns or physical injuries and the time and expense required to neutralize the waste stream is also vastly reduced.
As we reduce the chemicals used in the demineralizer system, the amount of chemical discharge from regeneration is significantly reduced as well. This could be a major benefit where a customer is faced with a plant discharge limitation issue.The inclusion of the RO would make this a more environmentally friendly technology.This is even more of a benefit when we are looking at eliminating the need for acid and caustic entirely as is the case with RO-EDI.
The presence of the RO will generally extend resin life by as much as 40-50%. Organic fouling of the anion resin will be greatly reduced as will iron fouling of the cation resin. Colloidal silica is also significantly reduced by using RO prior to a demineralizer.
Next slide please.

19. Capital and operating cost of RO included
RO Preceding Demineralizer Example with relatively inexpensive water and sewerage RO cost justified above approx. 200 ppm TDS
Demin. RO
Capital and operating cost of RO included

20. Capital and operating cost of RO included
RO Preceding Demineralizer Example with more expensive water and sewerage RO cost justified above approx. 400 ppm TDS RO
Capital and operating cost of RO included

21. Case 1 Summary - RO in front of Demineralizer Annual cost savings based on water production and savings per 1000 gallons

22. Case 2 - Potential Benefits Conversion from Softened to RO make-up
Improved steam purity > Process/Turbine
Improved condensate corrosion control > High-alkalinity waters
Minimizes operating and maintenance expenses > Boiler waterside and steamside failures
Maintains optimal thermal performance > Boiler and steam heat transfer efficiency
Reduced chemical treatment costs > Higher cycles operation – less wastage > Lower steam system treatment requirements

23. Typical Problems encountered in Softened water boiler systems
Steam purity issues
Deposit control
Condensate Corrosion
What are some of the typical problems encountered in a softened water boiler feedwater system?
Lower operating cycles leading to higher fuel bills.
Increased risk of steam purity problems due to lower quality feedwater. This low quality feedwater can not be concentrated too highly or carryover will take place leading to superheater, turbine or other critical system components being compromised. Additionally, the customer’s final product quality can be adversely affected leading to product recall, wastage, and negative publicity..
With lower quality feedwater the total alkalinity in the feedwater will be higher. This will lead to greater potential condensate corrosion levels. Higher condensate treatment cost and the potential for greater deposits in the boiler due to inadequate corrosion protection will also occur.
Next slide please
Expansion Joint
Failure

24. A look at fuel and water savings when increasing boiler cycles noting a natural cost of $8 per decatherm.

25. Potential Energy Loss Versus Waterside Scale Thickness
Iron & Silica
High Iron Content 7 6 5 4 3
"Normal" Scale
Energy Loss (%) 2 1
1/64
1/32
3/64
1/16
Scale Thickness (Inches)

27. Saving Water & Energy is a Big Win in Every Way, and the creative use of Membrane solutions for Boilers can help you to make it happen at your facility!