STEAM DISTRIBUTION AND UTILIZATION

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Why do we use steam? ...................................................................................................... 1
1.2 What is steam? .................................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Steam quality...................................................................................................................... 8

2. STEAM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM ............................................................................... 8

2.1 What is the steam distribution system? ........................................................................... 8
2.2 Pipes................................................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Drain points....................................................................................................................... 16
2.4 Branch lines ...................................................................................................................... 17
2.5 Strainers ............................................................................................................................. 19
2.6 Filters ................................................................................................................................. 23
2.7 Separators .......................................................................................................................... 25
2.8 Steam traps ........................................................................................................................ 27
2.9 Air vents ............................................................................................................................ 36
2.10 Condensate recovery ..................................................................................................... 40
2.11 Insulation of steam pipelines and hot process equipments ....................................... 43

3. ASSESSMENT OF STEAM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM ....................................... 47

3.1 Assessment of steam traps .............................................................................................. 47
3.2 Assessment of heat losses from un-insulated surfaces ................................................ 49
3.3 Assessment of savings from condensate recovery....................................................... 52

4. ENERGY EFFICIENCY OPPORTUNITIES .............................................................. 54

5. OPTION CHECKLIST ...................................................................................................... 65
6. WORKSHEETS................................................................................................................... 66
7. REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 67

1. INTRODUCTION
This chapter explains what steam is, its properties and why we use steam.

1.1 Why do we use steam?

Steam1 has come a long way from its traditional associations with locomotives and the
Industrial Revolution. Steam today is an integral and essential part of modern technology.
Without it, our food, textile, chemical, medical, power, heating and transport industries could
not exist or perform as they do. Steam provides a means of transporting controllable amounts
of energy from a central, automated boiler house, where it can be efficiently and
1

This section is a summary of Module 1.1 Steam The Energy Fluid, In: Spirax Sarco Learning Centre, Block 1,
Introduction.www.spiraxsarco.com

economically generated, to the point of use. Therefore as steam moves around a plant it can
equally be considered to be the transport and provision of energy.
For many reasons, steam is one of the most widely used commodities for conveying heat
energy. Its use is popular throughout industry for a broad range of tasks from mechanical
power production to space heating and process applications. Reasons for using steam
include:
Steam is efficient and economic to generate
Steam can easily and cost effectively be distributed to the point of use
Steam is easy to control
Energy is easily transferred to the process
The modern steam plant is easy to manage
Steam is flexible
The alternatives to steam include water and thermal fluids such as high temperature oil. Each
method has its advantages and disadvantages, as shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Comparison of heating media with steam1
Steam
High heat content
Latent heat approximately
2 100 kJ/kg
Inexpensive
Some water treatment costs
Good heat transfer
coefficients
High pressure required
for high temperatures
No circulating pumps required
Small pipes
Easy to control with
two way valves

Temperature breakdown is
easy through a reducing valve
Steam traps required
Condensate to be handled
Flash steam available
Boiler blowdown necessary
Water treatment required
to prevent corrosion
Reasonable pipework
required
No fire risk
System very flexible

Hot water
Moderate heat content
Specific heat
4.19 kJ/kgC
Inexpensive
Only occasional dosing
Moderate coefficients

High temperature oils

Poor heat content
Specific heat often
1.69-2.93 kJ/kgC
Expensive

High pressure needed

for high temperatures
Circulating pumps required
Large pipes

Relatively poor
Coefficients
Low pressures only
to get high temperatures
Circulating pumps required
Even larger pipes

More complex to control three way valves or

differential pressure valves
may be required
Temperature breakdown
more difficult
No steam traps required
No condensate handling
No flash steam
No blowdown necessary
Less corrosion

More complex to control three way valves or

differential pressure valves
may be required.
Temperature breakdown
more difficult
No steam traps required
No condensate handling
No flash steam
No blowdown necessary
Negligible corrosion

Searching medium,
Very searching medium,
welded or flanged joints usual welded or flanged joints usual
No fire risk
Fire risk
System less flexible
System inflexible