SMEs benefiting from cost-saving steam boilers

22nd January 2016

  

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Small and medium steam applications are benefiting from Cape Town-based boiler manufacturing company Cape Boiler & Heater’s flash-type steam boilers, Steamatic.

The company says small and medium-size steam companies benefit as they can achieve significant energy and operating cost savings, as it is possible to use the boilers only when steam is needed.

The company says the flash-type steam boilers are considerably more cost effective to operate owing mainly to the fuel saving that results from operating them only when they are needed.

“The extremely rapid steam production rate avoids fuel wastage as there is no need to run the boiler until it gets up to the right pressure, as is the case with traditional boilers,” says the company, adding that costs are also saved on water treatment as these systems seldom require chemical water treatment, as there is no water level inside the unit at any point.

Further, as a result of the lack of water volume inside the unit during operation, the flash-type steam boiler is considerably safer to operate than traditional-type boilers, says the company.

The Steamatic range starts with outputs of 250 kg/h to 2 500 kg/h, or a combination of the two. They can be supplied at standard operating pressure limits of 10 bar or up to 40 bar on request.

Cape Boiler & Heater says the boilers are easy to operate. The operator simply starts the unit a few minutes prior to needing the steam, and the full steam output, temperature and pressure are produced within three minutes from a cold start.

“This is the major advantage of the system over traditional steam boilers,” says the company.

In addition, the units simply require softened water in normal urban applications through a water softener. The flash-type steam boiler also has a high thermal efficiency as a result of its interior that has four air pass gas circuits – which further reduces operating costs.

The Steamatic system is often supplied as a complete steam raising skid where all the necessary items are mounted on a small chassis and fully interconnected.

Therefore, all the customer needs to do is to supply hard water, fuel and power to the skid, and pipe out the steam and drain vent nozzles as required. These systems can burn most normal fuels, such as diesel, paraffin, natural or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), as well as heavy furnace oils in most cases.


Hot Water Boilers
Cape Boiler & Heater also provides the Flomax range of hot water boilers, with reverse flame hot water boilers.

Flomax hot water boilers are designed for heating a plant with hot water at a working pressure of 6 bar. The company says it can also supply the boiler with a working pressure of up to 12 bar on request.

These hot water boilers are monobloc boilers and have three smoke passes (two passes in the combustion chamber) with pressurised combustion. The systems can be manufactured to fire most fuels, such as diesel, paraffin, natural or LPGs, or even heavy furnace fuels in some cases.

The maintenance of the Flomax boilers is easy, thanks to the wide hinged front door, on which the burner is fitted. The smoke chamber is bolted on the back and is equipped with a cleaning door and a connection for condensate discharge. The smoke box is completely removable for maintenance purposes.

The boilers are also equipped with a control panel, which is complete with thermostats and all the required safety devices.

Thermal Fluid Heaters

Cape Boiler & Heater also offers thermal fluid heaters, the Thermax. These heaters, which allow for operating temperatures of up to 300 °C at the outlet, use a mineral oil known as heat transfer fluid (HTF).

The HTF, after circulation through the heater, is indirectly used to heat the client’s applications. Cape Boiler & Heater says a single Thermax heat producer can often be used to satisfy many different heating applications for the same factory simultaneously and at different temperatures.

“For instance, a single Themax heater can indirectly produce hot air, steam and hot water whilst being primarily used for reactor vessel heating,” says the company.

Cape Boiler & Heater says the Thermax heaters sometimes have an advantage over traditional hot water or steam boiler systems, mainly owing to the temperatures attainable, as well as a lack of corrosion and stresses associated with pressure and water.

The HTF heaters operate without the need for chemical water treatment, pressure vessel inspection and certification and related requirements, without any corrosion inside the system. “This [gives] the heaters a far longer life expectancy than a traditional water or steam boiler,” the company says.

It adds that the Thermax heaters also produce much higher temperatures of up to 300 °C on standard plants, and even up to 350 °C, on special request.

The range consists of models varying from 18 kW to 2 500 kW net heat output. In addition, a combination of these standard sizes allows for total outputs of anywhere in excess of 2 500 kW.

The systems can be manufactured to fire most fuels, such as diesel, paraffin, natural gas or LPG, or even heavy furnace fuels in some cases. All systems can also, as an alternative, be manufactured in an electrically heated format.

Standard systems come complete with their combustion and electrical controls as well as all safety equipment.

Thermax heaters can be offered as complete plants, or as individual items, together with a complete range of suitable valves, filters, pumps, expansion systems, control circuits, pressure relief circuits, as well as process heat exchangers, where required.

Cape Boiler & Heater says the heat requirements of the customer are typically calculated as a whole, after which the complete plant is often proposed, inclusive of installation, commissioning, servicing and spares.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

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