The higher the pressure in the boiler, the lower the concentration of silica should be.
In the power industry silica is not so appreciated and is considered one of the major impurities to cause boiler scale and deposits on steam turbine blades. Boiler scale is caused by impurities being precipitated out of the water forming deposits on heat transfer surfaces. As the scale builds up overtime it reduces heat transfer rates leading to local hot spots that causes boiler tubes to overheat and rupture resulting in costly boiler outages.
In addition, untreated boiler scale lowers the boiler efficiency by heat retardation and increases running costs by unscheduled and more frequent boiler blowdowns. Scaling on stator turbine blades causes changes in steam flow velocities and a reduction in pressure that decreases the efficiency and output capacity of a steam turbine.
The higher the pressure in the boiler is, the lower the concentration of silica should be.
Metrohm Process Analytics is offering a wide range of Process Analyzers to monitor the amount of silica depending on the range from low ppb to high ppm level and can be combined with smart versatile systems for multi parameter requirements namely hardness, chlorine, chloride, sodium, ammonia, pH, conductivity, TOC and metals like iron, aluminium and copper to name a few. Visit Metrohm Process Analytics’s product page to see more Process Analyzers that fit in your applications.
