Condensate Lines and Flash Steam

Flash steam produced by hot water and condensate

In general condensate lines are designed to handle start-up conditions where huge amounts of steam condensate in cold pipes and heating equipment. As a rule of thumb the maximum condensate load is often twice the maximum steam load during operation. Within certain circumstances, especially in high pressure steam systems with heavy load heat exchangers, the generated flash steam may be the limitation of the condensate lines. The flash steam generated can be expressed as w% = 100 (hil - hfl) / hfe (1) where w% = ratio of flash steam generated (%) hil = initial liquid enthalpy (kJ/kg) hfl = final liquid enthalpy (kJ/kg) hfe = enthalpy of evaporation (kJ/kg) The condensate load can be expressed as wc = ws w% / 100 (2) where wc = condensate load (kg/h) ws = steam flow rate (kg/h)

Flash Steam Generation - Fundamental Physics

A short tutorial to the basic physics behind flash steam generation
If the pressure of the condensate - the saturated water at the boiling point at the actual pressure - is reduced, the heat energy in the water is reduced to a level appropriate to the final pressure. The connection between the pressure and the boiling temperature can be found in the steam tables. The energy - or enthalpy - made available when the pressure is reduced, will evaporate a part of the water, producing the flash steam. Only a part of the condensate water evaporates as flash steam. How much depends on the enthalpy in the condensate at the initial and the final pressures.

The amount of flash steam produced during the pressure reduction can be expressed as: w = (hil - hfl) / hfe (1) where w = ratio of flash steam generated (kg flash steam / kg condensate) hil = initial liquid enthalpy (kJ/kg) hfl = final liquid enthalpy (kJ/kg) hfe = enthalpy of evaporation (kJ/kg)

Example - Flash Steam Generation

Condensate is produced inside an heat exchanger at a pressure of 5 bar gauge (6 bar absolute). The condensate containing 670.9 kJ/kg of heat energy at saturation temperature 159 oC.

Steam table

The pressure is reduced to atmospheric pressure - 0 bar gauge (1 bar absolute) through the steam trap and the maximum heat energy in water at atmospheric pressure and 100 oC is 419.0 kJ/kg. The evaporation energy of water at atmospheric pressure is 2,257 kJ/kg. The flash steam generated can be calculated as: w = ((670.9 kJ/kg)- (419.0 kJ/kg)) / (2257 kJ/kg) = 0.11 (kg flash steam / kg condensate)

Flash Steam Generation in imperial units Energy Loss through Flash Steam Generation

Flash Steam and Energy Loss

When flash steam is generated and vented to the surroundings, a considerable amount of energy is lost
If the condensate receiver in a steam distribution system is vented to the surroundings, flash steam will generate and evacuate, and a considerable amount of energy will be lost. The flash steam generated depends on the initial and final pressure before and after the condensate traps for the heat exchangers. In the example - calculating generated flash steam - 0.11 kg flash steam is generated per kg condensate from a heat exchanger with 5 bar gauge pressure.

In other words 11% of the condensate is lost to the surroundings and must be replaced by feeding new water to the system. Feeding more water requires additional heating energy and additional water treatment, increasing the total operating cost for the system. To improve the systems efficiency, and reducing the operating cost, its common to limit the energy loss by using some kind of low pressure flash recovery systems where flash steam condensates in low temperature consumers - as heat exchangers for feeding water, air heaters and similar.

Flash Steam Generation in Imperial Units (psig)

When condensate leaves the steam traps - flash steam is generated. This table indicates the amount of flash steam generated at different pressures - psig
The amount of flash steam generated depend on the steam pressure - the pressure in the condensate before it leaves the condensate trap - and the condensate pressure after the trap - the pressure in the condensate return pipe lines. The diagram and table below indicates the ratio of flash steam generated at different pressures before and after the condensate trap.

Percent Flash Steam of Condensate (%) Steam Pressure before the Steam Trap (psig) 5 10 15 20 30 40 60 80 100 125 160 200 250 300 350 400 Condensate Pressure after the Trap (psig) 01) 1.7 2.9 4 4.9 6.5 7.8 10 2 1 2.2 3.2 4.2 5.8 7.1 9.3 1.4 2.4 3.4 5 6.4 8.6 1.1 2.1 3.8 5.1 7.3 9 1.1 2.6 4 6.3 8.1 1.7 3.1 5.4 7.1 8.8 1.3 3.6 5.5 7 2.2 4 5.7 7.7 1.9 3.5 5.2 7.4 1.7 3.4 5.6 7.5 1.8 4 5.9 8.2 5 10 15 20 30 40 60 80 100

11.7 11.1 10.3

13.3 12.6 11.8 10.6 9.7

14.8 14.2 13.4 12.2 11.3 10.3 8.6

16.8 16.2 15.4 14.1 13.2 12.4 10.6 9.5 18.6 20.6 18 20

17.3 16.1 15.2 14.3 12.8 11.5 9.3

19.3 18.1 17.2 16.3 17.7 13.6 11.2 9.8 19

22.7 21.8 21.1 19.9 24

18.2 16.7 15.4 13.4 11.8 10.1

23.3 22.6 21.6 20.5 19.8 18.3 17.2 15.1 13.5 11.9 24 22.9 22 21.1 19.7 18.5 16.5 15 13.4

25.3 24.7

1)

It is common to vent the condensate system to the atmosphere - where the gauge pressure is 0 psig.

1 psi (lb/in2) = 6,894.8 Pa (N/m2) = 6.895x10-3 N/mm2 = 6.895x10-2 bar

Example - Generated Flash Steam

A condensate system is vented to the surroundings and the pressure in the condensate system after the condensate traps is 0 psig. The steam pressure before the condensate trap is 160 psig. According the table above 16.8% of the condensate will evaporate as flash steam after the trap. Note! Without any flash recovery system the energy in the flash steam will be lost to the surroundings. If you prefer SI units - go here!