Surface Condenser Operation

Steam Surface Condenser Air Removal

The two main devices that are used to vent the noncondensable gases are Steam Jet Air Ejectors and
Liquid Ring Vacuum Pumps. Steam Jet Air Ejectors use high-pressure motive steam to evacuate the
noncondensables from the condenser (Jet Pump). Liquid Ring Vacuum Pumps use a liquid compressant to
compress the evacuated noncondensables and then discharges them to the atmosphere. To aid in the
removal of the noncondensable gases, condensers are equipped with an Air-Cooler section. The Air Cooler
section of the condenser consists of a quantity of tubes that are baffled to collect the noncondensables.
Cooling of the noncondensables reduces their volume and the required size of the air removal equipment.
Air removal equipment must operate in two modes: hogging and holding. Prior to admitting exhaust
steam to a condenser, all the noncondensables must be vented from the condenser. In hogging mode,
large volumes of air are quickly removed from the condenser in order to reduce the condenser pressure
from atmospheric to a predetermined level. Once the desired pressure is achieved, the air removal system
can be operated in holding mode to remove all noncondensable gases.

STEAM SURFACE CONDENSER CONFIGURATIONS

Steam surface condensers can be broadly categorized by the orientation of the steam turbine exhaust to
the condenser. Most common are side and down exhaust. In a side exhaust condenser, the condenser
and turbine are installed adjacent to each other, and the steam from the turbine enters from the side of
the condenser. In a down exhaust condenser, the steam from the turbine enters from the top of the
condenser and the turbine is mounted on a foundation above the condenser. Condensers can be further
delineated by the configuration of the shell and tube sides.

Tubeside
The tubeside of a steam surface condenser can be classified by the following:
• Number of tubeside passes
• Configuration of the tube bundle and waterboxes

Most steam surface condensers have either one or multiple tubeside passes. The number of passes is
defined as how many times circulating water travels the length of the condenser inside the tubes.
Condensers with a once-through circulating water system are often one pass. Multiple pass condensers
are typically used with closed-loop systems. The tubeside may also be classified as divided or non-divided.
In a divided condenser, the tube bundle and waterboxes are divided into sections. One or more sections
of the tube bundle may be in operation while others are not. This allows maintenance of sections of the
tubeside while the condenser is operating. In a non-divided tubeside, all the tubes are in operation at all
times.

Shell side
The shell side of a steam surface condenser can be classified by its geometry. Examples of types are:
• Cylindrical
• Rectangular

What is a Steam Condenser?

An appliance designed for removing the back pressure upon a Steam Turbine

How is this accomplished?

Cooling the exhaust steam and converting it to water.

Why is reducing the back pressure so important on a steam turbine?

To increase Steam Turbine efficiency and obtain better economy.

Why is reducing the back pressure so important on a steam turbine?

It increases turbine efficiency.

What is a vacuum?

Space devoid of matter, a space in which the pressure is zero absolute.

What auxiliary must be connected to a condenser to make it work?

An air pump or air ejector.

What creates the vacuum in the condenser?

It should be understood, that the air ejector does not create the vacuum but it only maintains it.

How is vacuum measured?

In inches of mercury.

What is a surface condenser?

A device for condensing steam in which the steam and the water do not come in contact with each other.
(shell tube exchanger)

Describe the water and steam flow in a surface condenser?

The water flows through the tubes while the exhaust steam flows over the outside surface of the tubes
and is there condensed.

What are the advantages of the surface condenser as compared with jet condensers?

It permits the use of impure or salt water (sea water) without bringing them in contact with the condensed
steam, hence the condensate is available for use as boiler feed.

What materials are used for condenser tubes?

The material most commonly used Muntz metal for fresh water and Admiralty metal for salt water, pure
copper is being used for exceptional conditions.
STEAM SURFACE CONDENSER OPERATION

The main heat transfer mechanisms in a surface condenser are the condensing of saturated steam on the
outside of the tubes and the heating of the circulating water inside the tubes. Thus for a given circulating
water flow rate, the water inlet temperature to the condenser determines the operating pressure of the
condenser. As this temperature is decreased, the condenser pressure will also decrease. As described
above, this decrease in the pressure will increase the plant output and efficiency. Due to the fact that a
surface condenser operates under vacuum, noncondensable gases will migrate towards the condenser.
The noncondensable gases consist of mostly air that has leaked into the cycle from components that are
operating below atmospheric pressure (like the condenser). These gases can also result from caused by
the decomposition of water into oxygen and hydrogen by thermal or chemical reactions. These gases must
be vented from the condenser for the following reasons: The gases will increase the operating pressure
of the condenser. Since the total pressure of the condenser will be the sum of partial pressures of the
steam and the gases, as more gas is leaked into the system, the condenser pressure will rise. This rise in
pressure will decrease the turbine output and efficiency.
• The gases will blanket the outer surface of the tubes. This will severely decrease the heat transfer of the
steam to the circulating water. Again, the pressure in the condenser will increase.
• The corrosiveness of the condensate in the condenser increases as the oxygen content increases.
Oxygen causes corrosion, mostly in the steam generator. Thus, these gases must be removed in order to
extend the life of cycle components.

Where is an evaporative condenser used in practice?

Answer: In those cases where the shortage of cooling water is acute.

What should be the basic criteria for an efficient steam condenser?

Answers:

Maximum amount of steam condensed per unit area of available heat transfer surface.
Minimum quantity of circulating coolant required.
Minimum heat transfer surface required per kW capacity
Minimum power drawn by the auxiliaries.

Why must a vacuum be maintained in the steam condenser?

Answers:

By maintaining a vacuum in the steam condenser, the efficiency of the steam-power plant can be
increased as greater the vacuum in the system, greater will be the enthalpy drop of steam. Therefore,
more work will be available per kg of steam condensing.
Secondly, the non-condensate (air) can be removed from the condensate-steam circuit by pulling and
maintaining a vacuum in the steam side. Therefore, the condensate can be used as boiler feed.

What are the limitations of a surface condenser?

Answers:

It is very bulky and as such requires more floor space.

Its manufacturing, running and maintenance costs are high.

What should be the requirements of an ideal surface condenser used for steam power plants?
Answers:

Uniform distribution of exhaust steam throughout the heat transfer surface of the condenser.
Absence of condensate sub cooling.
There should not be any leakage of air into the condenser.
There should not be any tube leakage.
The heat transfer surface in contact with cooling water must be free from any deposit as scaling reduces
the efficiency of heat exchangers.

How is vacuum in a condenser usually measured?

Answer: It is measured by means of a Bourdon pressure gauge, which is calibrated to read the pressure
in mm of mercury below atmospheric pressure.

On what factors does the degree of vacuum in a condenser depend?

Answers: It depends on the partial pressure of steam and the partial pressure of air in the condenser.

What is the vacuum efficiency of a condenser?

Answers: It is the ratio of the actual vacuum at the steam inlet to the maximum obtainable vacuum in a
perfect condensing plant, i.e., it is the ratio of actual vacuum to ideal vacuum.

What are the effects of air leakage in the condenser?

Answers:

It increases the back pressure on the turbine with the effect that there is less heat drop and low thermal
efficiency of the plant
The pressure of air in the condenser lowers the partial pressure of steam, which means steam, will
condense at a lower temperature and that will require greater amount of cooling water.
It reduces the rate of condensation of steam, because air having poor thermal conductivity impairs the
overall heat transfer from the steam-air mixture.

What is a steam condenser?

Answers:

It is a heat exchanger wherein steam is condensed either in direct contact with cooling water or indirect
contact with cooling water through a heat transfer medium separating them.
That is, a steam condenser is either a direct contact or indirect contact heat exchanger.

How many types of steam condensers are known?

Answers:

Jet Condensers - direct contact heat exchanger.

Surface Condensers - indirect contact heat exchanger.

What is a surface condenser?

Answer: It is a shell-and-tube heat exchanger in which steam is condensed on the shell-side while
cooling water flows through the tubes. The condensate and cooling water leave the system separately.

How does the down-flow type surface condenser act?

Answer: Exhaust steam is admitted to the top of the condenser, which is a tube-and-shell type crossflow
heat exchanger. Cooling water flows through the tubes and extracts heat from the steam, which is on
the shell-side. Mter having been condensed on the surface of the water tubes, steam is converted into
condensate which is discharged from the condenser bottom.

How does the central flow type surface condenser work?

Answer: It is also a shell-and-tube type crossflow heat exchanger at the center of which is located the
suction of an air extraction pump, so that the entire steam moves radially inward and comes in better
contact with the outer surface of the nest of tubes through which the cooling water flows. The steam
condensate is extracted from the bottom by the condensate-extraction pump.

How does the inverted type surface condenser work?

Answer: In this type of condenser, steam is admitted at the bottom and flows upwards in cross-flow
with the cooling water flowing in the tubes. The air extraction pump draws its suction from the top of
the condenser, maintaining a steady upward current of steam, which after having been condensed on
the outer surface of water tubes is removed by the condensate extraction pump.

How does the evaporative condenser function?

Answer:

Exhaust steam from the turbine is condensed inside the finned tubes as cooling water rains down from
the top through the nozzles. A part of the cooling water in contact with the tube surface evaporates by
drawing enthalpy from the steam, which upon losing its latent heat condenses and discharges out as
condensate.

What are the primary functions of a condenser?

Answers:

There are two important functions of a condenser:

It reduces the back pressure upon the turbine by a considerable degree and therefore, the work done
per lb of steam during expansion is increased
The exhaust steam condensate can be recycled as boiler feed water

Why else is steam from an HRSG used?

Answer: For steam injection into the gas turbine for NOx control.

What gas is used in the SCR method of controlling NOx?

What is a steam condenser?
Answers:

It is a heat exchanger wherein steam is condensed either in direct contact with cooling water or indirect
contact with cooling water through a heat transfer medium separating them.
That is, a steam condenser is either a direct contact or indirect contact heat exchanger.

How many types of steam condenser are known?

Answers:

Jet Condensers - direct contact heat exchanger.

Surface Condensers - indirect contact heat exchanger using water.
Air Condensers - direct contact heat exchangers using air.

What is a jet condenser?

Answers:

It is a direct contact heat exchanger in which steam to be condensed comes into direct contact with the
cooling water (cold condensate) which is usually introduced in the form of a spray from a jet. (Fig. 30.1)
Upon contact with the cooling water, the steam gives up its enthalpy and gets cooled and ultimately
settles as condensate.

What is a surface condenser?

Answer:

It is a shell-and-tube heat exchanger in which steam is condensed on the shell-side while cooling water
flows through the tubes. The condensate and cooling water leave the system separately.
How many types of jet condensers are known?
Answers:

Parallel flow jet type condenser - It is a kind of jet condenser in which both exhaust steam and cooling
water enter the condenser at the top, both flow downward and the steam condensate discharges out
from the bottom of the condenser. (Fig. 30.2)
Contra flow type jet condenser - The cooling fluid (cold condensate) and exhaust steam flow in a
counter-current direction - steam goes up and cold condensate rains down.

Ejector type jet condenser - It is one kind of jet condenser in which the mixing of cooling water and
steam takes place in a series of combining cones and the kinetic energy of the steam is expended to
drain off the condensate and cooling water from the condenser. Cooling water is forced through a series
of cones and gets mixed with steam coming through ports. As the cooling water flows through the series
of nozzles, it suffers more and more pressure drop and at the same time its velocity gradually increases.
Due to this pressure drop, more and more steam is drawn through the ports, gets intimately mixed with
the cooling water jet and condenses thereafter.

What is the principle of operation of a high-level-parallel-flow jet condenser?

Answer:

This condenser, also called barometric condenser, works as follows - The condenser is mounted on a
long pipe (at least 10.34 m) called barometric leg which acts in a way identical to a barometer. Now if
water is used in a barometer then the barometric height would be 10.34 m. If some vacuum exists in the
condenser, the height of water column (h) will be less than 10.34 in. Now it is possible, by using this
condenser leg, to drain away the condensate from the condenser.

How many types of surface condensers are known?

Answers:

Down flow type - Exhaust steam is admitted to the top of the condenser, which is a tube-and-shell type
cross flow heat exchanger. Cooling water flows through the tubes and extracts heat from the steam
which is on the shell-side. After having been condensed on the surface of the water tubes, steam is
converted into condensate, which is discharged from the condenser bottom. (Fig. 30.7)
Central flow type - It is also a shell-and-tube type cross flow heat exchanger at the center of which is
located the suction of an air extraction pump so that the entire steam moves radially inward and comes
in better contact with the outer surface of the nest of tubes through which the cooling water flows. The
steam condensate is extracted from the bottom by the condensate-extraction pump.
Inverted flow type - In this type of condenser, steam is admitted at the bottom and flows upwards in
cross-flow with the cooling water flowing in the tubes. The air extraction pump draws its suction from
the top of the condenser, maintaining a steady upward current of steam, which after having been
condensed on the outer surface of water tubes is removed by the condensate extraction pump.
Evaporative condenser type - Exhaust steam from the turbine is condensed inside the finned tubes as
cooling water rains down from the top through the nozzles. A part of the cooling water in contact with
the tube surface evaporates by drawing enthalpy from the steam, which upon losing its latent heat
condenses and discharges out as condensate.

Where is the evaporative condenser used in practice?

Answers:
In those cases where the shortage of cooling water is acute.

What are the two prime functions of a condenser?

Answers:

It reduces the backpressure upon the turbine by a considerable degree and therefore, the work done
per kg of steam during expansion is increased.
The exhaust steam condensate can be recycled as boiler feedwater.
What are the auxiliary equipment required for operating a steam condenser?
Answers:

Cooling water (which may be cold condensate) circulation pump. Generally, it is a centrifugal one.
Arrangement for cooling the condensate (i.e., a heat exchanger) in case the condensate is recycled to
extract heat from the exhaust steam.
An air pump or steam ejector to remove air and other non-condensing gases from the condenser.
An extraction pump (usually centrifugal) to remove the condensate from the condenser.

What should be the basic criteria for an efficient steam condenser?

Answer:

Maximum amount of steam condensed per unit area of available heat transfer surface.
Minimum quantity of circulating coolant required.
Minimum heat transfer surface required per kW capacity.
Minimum power drawn by the auxiliaries.

Why is vacuum maintained in the steam condenser?

Answers:

By maintaining a vacuum in the steam condenser, the efficiency of the steam-power plant can be
increased as greater the vacuum in the system, greater will be the enthalpy drop of steam. Therefore,
more work will be available per kg of steam condensing.
Secondly, the non-condensate (air) can be removed from the condensate-steam circuit by pulling and
maintaining a vacuum in the steam side. Therefore, the condensate can be used as boiler feed.

What are the advantages of a jet condenser over a surface condenser?

Answers:

Simplicity in design.
Lower in manufacturing cost.
Lower maintenance cost.
Occupies lesser floor space.
Requires lesser amount of cooling water.

What are the advantages of a surface condenser over a jet condenser?

Answers:

It imparts to power generation plant a higher thermal efficiency.

The condensate can be reused as boiler feedwater.
Auxiliary power requirement is less than that

What are the limitations of a surface condenser?

Answers:

It is very bulky and as such requires more floor space.

Its manufacturing, running and maintenance costs are high.

What should be the requirements of an ideal surface condenser used for steam power plants?
Answers:

Uniform distribution of exhaust steam throughout the heat transfer surface of the condenser.
Absence of condensate subcooling.
There should not be any leakage of air into the condenser.
There should not be any tube leakage.
The heat transfer surface in contact with cooling water must be free from any deposit as scaling reduces
the efficiency of heat exchangers.

What do you mean by vacuum?

Answer:

Vacuum means any pressure below atmospheric pressure.

How is vacuum in a condenser usually measured?

Answers:

It is measured by means of a Bourdon pressure gauge, which is calibrated to read the pressure in mm of
mercury below atmospheric pressure.

If the gauge pressure of a condenser is 630 mm of Hg, what will be the absolute pressure in the
condenser?
Answer:

It means the pressure in the condenser is 630 mm below atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric
pressure is 760 mm of Hg, the absolute pressure in the condenser.

On what factors does the degree of vacuum in a condenser depend?

Answer:

It depends on the partial pressure of steam and the partial pressure of air in the condenser.

How could air enter the condenser?

Answers:

With the boiler feedwater as dissolved gases.

Flange leakage.
Cooling water (for jet condenser) containing a certain amount of dissolved air in it.

What are the effects of air leakage in the condenser?

Answers:

It increases the backpressure on the turbine with the effect that there is less heat drop and low thermal
efficiency of the plant.
The pressure of air in the condenser lowers the partial pressure of steam, which means steam, will
condense at a lower temperature and that will require greater amount of cooling water.
It reduces the rate of condensation of steam, because air having poor thermal conductivity impairs the
overall heat transfer from the steam-air mixture.