Protecting Out-Of-Service Steam Boilers

PROTECTING
OUT-OF-SERVICE
STEAM BOILERS
Presented at
Alberta Public Works, Supply & Services

Property Management
Water Treatment Co-ordinators' Meeting #25

Edmonton, Alberta
April 16th 1997
by
G.F. Yuzwa, P.Eng.
H2O ENGINEERING LTD.

539 Edgemont Bay N.W.
Calgary, Alberta
T3A 2K7
INTRODUCTION
The water-side surfaces of steam boilers are vulnerable to corrosion when air
contacts moist metal surfaces during out-of-service periods. Therefore, in order to
prevent corrosion, the boiler water-side surfaces must be protected by:
1. Keeping the surfaces completely dry, or
2. Excluding air from the boiler by filling it with properly treated water.
LAY-UP PROCEDURES
It is preferable that a boiler be drained, flushed, inspected, and possibly chemically

cleaned prior to lay-up. Once this initial activity is completed, the two basic
methods of laying up boilers consist of a dry lay-up and a wet lay-up. When storing
a boiler dry, trays of moisture absorbing chemicals are distributed in the boiler drum
and the boiler is sealed. The wet storage method involves forcing air out of the
boiler by completely filling it with water that has been specially treated.
The choice between the dry and wet lay-up methods depends on how long the boiler
is expected to be out of service. The dry lay-up method is preferable for long
outages (i.e., for 3 months or more), whereas the wet lay-up method has the
advantage of permitting the boiler to be returned to service on reasonably short
notice.
Page 2 of 4
DRY LAY-UP
The following steps should be taken when using the dry lay-up method of boiler
protection:
1. Maintain the operating control parameter concentrations within their respective
control limits until boiler shutdown;
2. After the boiler has cooled somewhat but is still hot, drain the unit completely;
3. Thoroughly flush loose deposits from the water-side surfaces, and if necessary,
remove adherent deposits with a chemical cleaning procedure;
4. Thoroughly dry the water-side surfaces using a forced air heater;
5. Place a desiccant such as calcium oxide (i.e., dehydrated lime), silica gel, or
activated alumina in trays and distribute them in the steam drum, and if possible
in the mud drum as well for water tube boilers, and on top of the tubes for fire
tube boilers. The usual amount of desiccant required is 20 lbs. of calcium oxide,
100 lbs. of silica gel, or 150 lbs. of activated alumina per 1000 ft2 of boiler
heating surface;
6. Seal the boiler completely, blanking off all openings through which steam from
another boiler (i.e., do not rely on the steam stop valve) or air may enter;
7. After approximately two months of lay-up, open the boiler, inspect the moisture
absorbing chemical, replace it when necessary (i.e., calcium oxide forms a
crust, silica gel gets gummy & activated alumina gets mushy when saturated),
and re-seal the boiler.
Page 3 of 4
WET LAY-UP
The following steps should be taken when using the wet lay-up method of boiler
protection:
1. Maintain the operating control parameter concentrations within their respective
control limits until boiler shutdown;
2. After the boiler has cooled somewhat but is still hot, drain the unit completely;
3. Thoroughly flush loose deposits from the water-side surfaces, and if necessary,
remove adherent deposits with a chemical cleaning procedure;
4. Fill the boiler completely to the stop valve with softened, and if possible
deaerated, water that is treated with catalyzed sodium sulphite and caustic soda
such that a minimum sulphite concentration of 200 mg/l SO3 and a minimum OH
alkalinity concentration of 200 mg/l CaCO3 are maintained in the boiler water;
5. Recirculate the boiler water once per week using a circulating pump (note:
continuous circulation is not recommended because of possible air in-leakage
at the pump);
6. After recirculation, perform sulphite & OH alkalinity tests on a boiler water
sample, and add chemicals as required in order to maintain the concentrations
of these control parameters within their control limits of 200 mg/l SO3 minimum
sulphite concentration and 200 mg/l CaCO3 minimum OH alkalinity
concentration.
Page 4 of 4

Protecting Out-Of-Service Steam Boilers

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Protecting Out-Of-Service Steam Boilers

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Protecting Out-Of-Service Steam Boilers

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PROTECTING

Alberta Public Works, Supply & Services

Water Treatment Co-ordinators' Meeting #25

G.F. Yuzwa, P.Eng.

H2O ENGINEERING LTD.

It is preferable that a boiler be drained, flushed, inspected, and possibly chemically

You might also like