DEMINERALIZED WATER PRODUCTION SYSTEM FOR HIGH PRESSURE BOILERS

Abstract

This thesis presents a comprehensive study on the production of demineralized water for high-pressure boilers, focusing on a comparative analysis of two predominant processes: In the purification process, two common methods include reverse osmosis, and ion exchange. A steam boiler operating at high pressures requires water of very high quality because hardness could lead to fouling and corrosion, so a good demineralization system is called for here. The research questions are geared towards determining performance of RO and IX processes in terms of cost, operational efficiency of the system and effectiveness in producing water that meets required quality needed for high pressure boiler applications. The way of treatment of the research materials is to study general principles of operation, system configurations, and maintenance requirements for RO and IX processes. It involved performance analysis of activities such as ion removal efficiency, cost of operating the system, energy, and need for negative environmental impact. Random experiments together with pilot-scale testings as well as industrial tests were used to provide comparative information. Thus, comparing both methods, it is evident that RO is indeed effective in achieving higher purity water as necessary for usage in high pressure boilers as compared to the IX process. From these observations, the RO process depicts the following advantages of higher cost efficiency than the IX process due to the following factors: In addition, RO systems are found to have lower operational as well as maintenance costs, and still result in minimal impact to the community. Therefore, this thesis concludes that Reverse Osmosis in the production of demineralized water right for the high-pressure boiler industries as compared to the cost and sustainability of the method. The information derived from this research can be of great use to engineers and policymakers who have to make the right choice in the use of water treatment systems that best suit high-pressure boilers.