HeatingWaterby

DirectSteamInjection
Producinghotwaterbydirectsteaminjectionprovidesasolutionwherelarge
volumesofhotwateratprecisetemperaturesarerequired,andwhereenergy
andspacesavingsarefactorsinsystemdesign.

Aviablealternativetoindirectheatingisthe

demand,coldwaterentersthestoragetank.

useofdirectsteaminjection.Directsteam

Theincomingcoldwaterlowerstheaverage

injectionisrecommendedforthosefacilities

temperatureofthestoredwater.Thistypically

thathaveprocesssteam,wherelargevolumes

presentsproblemsifclosetemperaturecontrol

ofprocesshotwaterarerequired,orwhen

ofthewateriscriticaltoaprocess.

accuratetemperaturecontrolisneeded.In
theseapplicationsitisfarmoreenergyefficient
thantraditionalindirect(heatexchanger)
systems.

Furthermore,ifhotwaterdemandexceedsthe
recoveryrateofthestorageheatingsystem,the
hotwatersupplycouldbetotallyexhausted.In
mostindustrialprocesses,whenthehotwater

Indirectwaterheatingsystemsareused

supplyisexhausted,theoperationmustshut

primarilywherehotwaterdemandis

downuntilmorewaterisheated.

intermittentandclosetemperaturecontrolis
notimportant.Thesesystemshavecertain
shortcomingsthatmakethemunsuitablefor
manylargeapplicationssuchasforplant
processesinindustrywherelargevolumesof
hotwaterareneeded,andwherethehotwater
mustbeheldatprecisetemperature.

Indirectstoragetanksystemsalsorequire
extendedstartuptimeatthebeginningofthe
workday.Unlesstheyareinsulated,they
radiateandwasteenormousamountsofheat
energy.Closetemperaturecontrolisnot
possibleunderintermittentstart/stopand
variableflowconditions,evenwiththetankless

Becausemostindirectstoragetypeheating

(instantaneous)indirectwaterheaters.Finally,

systemscannotheatwateronaninstant,

indirectsystemsarerelativelyinefficient

straightthroughbasis,theyareusedtoheat

becausetheyuseonlyabout75%oftheBtusin

storedwater.Ashotwaterisdrawnofftomeet

thesteam.

Whatisdirectsteaminjection?

dischargedtodrainandwastedcompletely,or

Withdirectsteaminjectioncoldwaterisheated

itmaybereturnedtotheboiler.

byinjectingsteamdirectlyintoit.Indirect
heatingsystemsontheotherhandtransfer
heatbyconductionthroughametalwall.

Asthecondensatereturnstotheboiler,Btus
maybelostthroughfaultysteamtrapsand
ancillaryequipment.Leakingsteamtraps,a

Thefourmajoradvantagesofdirectsteam

majorcauseofenergywaste,havehigh

injectionsystemsare:

maintenancecosts.AdditionalBtusarelostby

Itisenergyefficient.

Itprovidesanunlimitedsupplyofhot
water.

Itiscompact.

Itprovidesaccuratetemperature
control.

Energyefficiency

radiationfromcondensatereturnlines.Atthe
receivertankBtusarelostwhenthe
condensateflashesasitisreducedto
atmosphericpressurebeforebeingreturnedto
theboiler.Overallefficiencyfallstoo,as
mineraldepositsaccumulateonthewettedside
ofthemetalconductorandcreatesan
insulatingbarrier.

Becausesteamisinjecteddirectlyintothe
water,directsteaminjectionsystemscanbeup
to28%moreenergyefficientthanindirect
systems.Withdirectsteaminjection,allofthe
Btusinthesteamareusedtoheatthewater.
Steamcoilsorheatexchangersareabout75%

Withdirectsteaminjection,because100%of
thesteamiscondensedinthewaterasitis
heatedthereisnoneedforcondensatereturn
lineswiththeirattendantenergylossesand
steamtrapmaintenanceproblems.

efficientatbest,becauseonlyabout75%ofthe

Speedofoperation

Btusinthesteamareactuallyusedtoheatthe

Manyindirectsystemsheatstoredwater.

water.Saturatedsteamat100psig,for

Directsteaminjectionheatsthewaterinstantly

example,contains1,189Btusperpound.As

onacontinuousstraightthroughbasisasitis

steamcondensesinaheatexchanger,onlythe

used.Adirectinjectionsystemproperlysized

latentheat(about880Btus)isreleasedtoheat

totheavailablesteamsupply,coldwater

thewater.Thecondensate,whichstillcontains

supply,andhotwaterdemand,candelivera

atleast309Btusisat338F.Thiscondensate

continuoussupplyofhotwaterasrequired.The

mustberemovedfromthesystem.Itmaybe


userdoesnotrunoutofhotwater,anddoes

capabilities,butareadequateinsome

notneedtostorelargequantitiesofhotwater.

situations.Thefollowingisadiscussionofeach

Compactness
Eventhemostsophisticateddirectsteam

ofthesesystemshowtheyworkandwhere
theymaybeusedeffectively.

injectionwaterheatingsystemsaresocompact

SpargerThesimplestsystemisthesteam

thattheycanbesuspendedfromawall,ceiling

sparger,whichbubblessteamintoatankof

ormountedonacompactskidonthefloor.

coldwater(seeFigure1).Thespargerdoesnot

Thus,thesystemisdesirablewherespacedoes

havetheadvantagesofotherdirectinjection

notallowforastoragetank.Whenalarge

systems.Spargingsystemscanbesimpleand

storagetankmustbereplaced,itismucheasier

relativelyinexpensivetoinstall,butthe

toinstallasteaminjectionsystemthanitisto

disadvantagescanoutweighthebenefits.A

bringanewlargestoragetankintoanexisting

spargerisperforatedpipeorotherfixture

building.

throughwhichsteamisintroduceddirectlyinto

Themoresophisticateddirectinjectionsystems

thewaterinaventedstoragetank.

provideveryclosetemperaturecontrolat
ConstantandVariableFlowratesandin
start/stopapplications.Thiscontrolispossible
becauseheattransfersimmediatelyfromthe
steamtotheliquidwhenheatingstarts.When
demandandsteamflowstop,heatingceasesat
onceunlikeaheatexchangerwhichcontinues
toreleaseresidualenergy.

Figure1.Spargersheatwaterinanopentank
bybubblingsteamupthroughit.
Spargershavebeenusedformanyyears

TypesofSteamInjectionSystems
available:

becausetheyareasimpleandinexpensiveway

Manymethodscanbeusedtoinjectsteam

toheatliquids.Theyareoftenusedforboiler

directlyintocoldwater.Thesedifferprimarily

feedwatertanks,storagetanksandsilos,and

intheirabilitytoadjusttovariationsinsteam

heatingcryogenicfluids.

pressure,incomingwaterpressure,andhot
waterdemand.Themostsophisticatedinjection
systemsadjustautomaticallyforthese
variations.Othershavemorelimited

Spargershavefourmajordisadvantages.First,
itisdifficulttoarriveatandholdaset
temperaturewithspargers.Second,spargers
3


aretheleastefficientmethodofheatingwater.
Thisissobecause,asaspargerinjectssteam
intothebottomofatank,someofthesteam
channelsupwardtothesurfaceandflashesto
theatmosphereresultinginatotalwasteof
energy.Spargingisusuallylessthan50%
energyefficient.
Third,spargersoftencauseveryseverewater
hammerandvibrationbecausethereisnoway
tobalancethepressureofthesteaminexcess
ofthesurroundingwaterpressure.Storage

tanksarefrequentlydamagedbythiswater
hammerandvibration.
Fourth,extratimewillneedtobeallowedto
heatlargevolumesofwater.

Figure2.ManualMixingTee
Semiautomaticmixingteesrequiremanual
adjustmentofsteamandwater,butcontainthe
addedfeatureofanautomaticsteamshutoffin

MixingteesAstheirnameimplies,mixingtees

theeventthatthewatersupplyisinterrupted.

(seeFigure2)areindividualsingleusedevices
whichblendsteamwithcoldwaterinatee
arrangement.Threetypesofmixingteesare
used:manual,semiautomatic,andsystemsin
whichthetemperatureisautomatically
controlled.

Withautomaticmixingtees,thetemperatureis
presetwithacontrollerandthenthesteamand
watersuppliesareturnedon.Neitherthe
manualnorthesemiautomaticsystemscan
adjustforvariationsinsteampressure,water
pressure,orhotwaterdemand.Forthisreason

Withmanualsystems,theoperatorfirstturns

theyarenotrecommendedforuseinplant

onthecoldwater,andthenopensthesteam

sanitizingsituationsrequiring180Fhotwater.

valvetoadmitenoughsteamtobringthecold

Theyare,however,adequateforgeneralplant

wateruptotemperature.Withthissystemitis

washdown,andforthisreasonareoftenused

impossibletoachievemorethanan

aswashstations.Unlesscorrectlyoperatedand

approximatetemperature.

properlymaintained,manualorsemiautomatic


systemscanbepotentiallyhazardousinthat

satisfactoryonlywheretheseconditionsremain

livesteammaybeejectedifthecoldwater

constant.

supplyisabruptlystopped.Thiscouldbea
dangeroussituationforpersonnelusingthe
equipment.
Whenspecifyingsystemsformultiplewash
stations,itmaybeworthwhiletocomparethe
costofseveralindividualmixingteeswiththe
costofacentralVariableFlowsteaminjection
systemespeciallyifthetemperature
requirementatallwashstationsisthesame.
Generally,ifthreeormorewashstationsare
calledfor,theinstalledcostofacentralsteam
injectionsystemmaybelower.Inaddition,a
centralsystemwillpreventworkersfrom

misadjustingindividualwashstationmixing
tees.
VenturiinjectionsystemsWiththeventurior
eductorinjectionmethodsteamisdrawn
directlyintothecoldwaterthroughaventurior
constrictioninthewaterline(seeFigure3).By
passingthroughtheventuri,steamentersthe
wateratahigh(sonic)velocity.Thiscreatesa
pressuredifferentialandgeneratesa
turbulencethatpromotesrapidmixingofthe
steamwiththecoldwater.

Figure3.VenturiSteamInjector
Withvariableorificeventurisystems,
dependinguponthetype,theflowofsteamor
watermaybeadjustedtodeliverwaterat
varyingdegreesoftemperature.The
adjustmentmaybemanualoritmaybe
pneumaticallyregulated.Wheresteam
pressure,incomingwaterpressureandhot
waterdemandremainfairlyconstant,theyare
satisfactory.Theycannot,however,prevent
waterhammerifsteamandcoldwaterpressure

Therearetwotypesofventurisystemsfixed

arenearequilibrium.Andbecausetheyhave

orificeandvariableorifice.Astheirname

verylimitedturndowncapabilities,theycannot

implies,fixedorificeventurisystemscannotbe

accommodatevariableflows,lowflow

adjustedforvariationsinsteampressure,water

conditions,widevariationsinsteamorwater

pressureorhotwaterdemand.Theyare


Hot Water

pressure,andhotwatertemperaturedemand
Temperature
Controller

withouttheaidofastoragetank.Theliquid
pressuredropthoughthistypeofsystemmay
exceed30PSI,whereaswiththedual
modulatingsystemsthepressuredropseldom

Recirculating
Pump

exceeds2psi.Alsothesoundlevelgenerated
fromtheventurisystemwillbehigherdueto

Steam

thehighsonicvelocitiesdeveloped.

Relief Valve
Cold Water

DualmodulatingsteaminjectionsystemThe
mosteffectivesteaminjectionheatingsystemis
theDualmodulatingsteaminjectioncontrol

Figure4.DualModulatingSteamInjection
ControlSystem

system(seeFigure4)Inactualpractice,steam

Thesteamcontrolvalveisactivatedbya

pressure,waterpressureandhotwater

temperaturecontrollerlocatedimmediatelyat

demandseldom,ifever,remainthesame.

thehotwateroutlet.Thiscontrollermaybe

Whilesteampressuremayremainconstant,

manuallysettoanydesiredoutletwater

incomingcoldwatermayvaryinpressureand

temperatureoritmayberegulatedremotelyby

temperature.Demandforhotwatermayvary

apneumaticorelectronictemperature

frommaximumflowtonoflow.Whereaflow

controller.Thecontrollersignalsthe

ofhotwaterataprecisetemperatureis

modulatingsteamcontrolvalvetoadmitmore

required,regardlessofthesevaryingconditions,

orlesssteamasrequiredtoholdtheoutflow

adualmodulatingsteaminjectionsystemis

temperaturetoanydesiredpresettemperature

recommended.Withthissystem,thesteam

automaticallyregardlessofoutflowdemand.

flowismodulatedattwopoints:anexternal
modulatingcontrolvalve,andatthepointof
actualinjection.

Withthissystem,asinglemodulatingsteam
controlvalveprovidesapproximatelythana
10:1turndowncapability.(Turndownisthe
ratioofmaximumtominimumsteamflow
rates.)Additionalturndowncapability
(approaching100:1)canbeobtainedwiththe
useofdualsteamcontrolvalves.


Inadditiontocontrollingtheincomingsteam

oneconsidersthatoverheating100gallonsof

flowwithamodulatingsteamcontrolvalve,this

waterperminuteamere10Fwastes

systemalsocontrolsthesteaminjection

approximately500,000Btusperhour.

pressureatthepointwheresteamentersthe
coldwater.Atthispointofsteaminjection
steamentersthecoldwaterthroughhundreds
ofverysmallorificesinaninjectiontube.By
breakingthesteamupintomultiplesmall
streamsandbymaintainingapositivepressure
differentialallthesteamisinstantlyandquietly
injectedintotheflowofwater.
Asthemodulatingsteamvalvevariesthesteam
flowinordertomaintaintheoutflowwater
temperature,thesteampressureworksagainst
aspringloadedpistonintheinjectionassembly
(seeFigure5).Asthesteamflowvaries,it
forcesthepistontoriseorfallexposingmoreor
fewersteaminjectionorifices.
Byapplyingpressureagainsttheincomingsteam,the
springloadedpistonconstantlymaintainssteam
pressureinexcessofincomingwaterpressure.This
eliminatesthewaterhammerwhichoccurswhen

Thedualmodulatingsteaminjectionsystemis
availableintwobasicconfigurations.Oneis
designedtodeliveraConstantFlowofhot
water.TheotheraccommodatesVariable
Flows,wherethedemandforhotwater
fluctuatesfromintermittentorverylowflow
ratestoahighflowatpeakdemands.
Heated
Liquid

Injection
Tube

Helical
Flights

Steam

steamandwaterpressuresareatornearequilibrium,
suchaswiththesteamspargingmethod.
Becauseofitscapabilities,thedualmodulating
systemcandeliverhotwaterquietlywithinvery
precisetemperaturetolerancesunderan
unlimitedrangeofflowconditions.Thisclose
temperaturecontrolisessentialinmany
processesbecauseitpreventsoverheating.This
isaveryimportantenergysavingfeaturewhen

Cold Water

Figure5.DualModulatingSteamInjection
ControlSystem
InadditiontoVariableFlowapplications,this
systemiswidelyusedinindustrywherehot
watermustbedeliveredinasequenceof
varyingtemperaturestomeetprocess
requirements.Itisusedintheseapplications


becauseitcanchangethetemperatureofthe

Withdirectsteaminjection,alltheBtusinthe

hotwaterinstantly.

steamareinjecteddirectlyintothecoldwater

Howtospecify

Provideadescriptionoftheapplication
Whatisthehotwatertobeusedfor?

Provideprocessconditions.Examples:
o

Waterflow(min&max)

GPM/LPM

Coldwaterinlettemperature
(F/C)

resultinginsignificantenergysavings.Direct
steaminjectionsystemsfurthermore,can
supplyhotwateronacontinuousstraight
throughbasis.Theyoccupymuchlessspace
thanindirectstoragesystem,andprovidemuch
moreaccuratehotwatertemperaturecontrol.

CommonApplicationsinthe
ChemicalIndustry

Hotwateroutlettemperature
(F/C)

HeatingJacketedReactorVessels

CIPCleaning/Sanitizing

Steampressure(PSIG/BARG)

FilterWashing

Waterpressure(PSIG/BARG)

TankCarWashing

Materialofconstructionforpiping,

AddingProcessBatchWater

valves,andcomponents.

GeneralPlantCleanup

Whattypeoftemperaturecontrolsare

TankCarHeating

required.Examples:

LineTracing

Localpneumatic

BrackishWaterHeating

Electronicremote

ClosedLoopJacketedDryers,Blenders

PLC

DCS

andotherdevices

Electricalareaclassificationandpower

required.

Spaceconsiderationsforlocating

Philip Sutter is a Vice President with Pick Heaters,

Inc., West Bend, WI (262-338-1191; Fax 262-338-

equipment.

8489).

He has over 30 years of experience

designing, engineering, and selling liquid process

heating systems for the

pharmaceutical industries.

food,

chemical

and