Main Components of Boilers for Running the Working Principle
Steam is a very important energy source within the industrial world. Therefore, manufacturing companies must have a steam generator to sustain their production processes. There are a number of ways to derive energy from steam, one of these steam generators is called a boiler. A boiler is a device that serves to produce high-temperature water vapor.
Simply it can be explained that the water in the boiler is heated by heat from the combustion of fuel. So that heat transfers from the heat source to the water causing the water to become hot and changes into steam. To get the perfect hot steam, the manufacturing industry must understand the boiler work principle and several important components such as Furnace, Drum, Evaporator, Super Heater, Desuperheater, and Condenser.
Furnace
The first component is Furnace. This component functions as a heat receiver for fuel for combustion. Around the combustion chamber walls, there are boiler pipes that will receive heat from the fuel. This component is very important as a radiation, conduction, and convection heat transfer pathway.
Radiation heat transfer occurs because the emission of heat from a fire or gas will stick to the wall of the tube so that heat will be absorbed by the fluid flowing in it. Whereas conduction heat transfer occurs because water flows through a line from the side of the pipe that receives heat into the side of the pipe which gives heat to the water. And convection heat transfer occurs with the contact of water molecules so that heat will spread to each water stream.
Steam Drum
The steam drum is a component of the boiler. It serves to hold the water to be heated and to hold water vapor which will be channeled to the superheater. This drum holds saturated water vapor and water with a ratio of 50% water and 50% hot steam. To avoid water being carried away by steam, the bulkheads are installed; water that has a low temperature will drop down and high-temperature water will rise upwards and then evaporate.
Evaporator
An evaporator is a boiler component that functions to convert water into saturated steam. It is able to change the whole or part of a solvent from a solution in the form of liquid to steam. So that it only leaves a denser or thick solution. The process that occurs in the evaporator is called evaporation. In the industrial sector, the benefits of the evaporator are usually for the initial thickening of the liquid before further processing, reduction of fluid volume and to reduce water activity.
Desuperheater
The next component is the super heater and Desuperheater. The superheater functions as a saturated steam heater from the evaporator to dries steam. The high-temperature dry steam will then enter the turbine. To adjust the temperature with the turbine, the temperature will be reduced by Desuperheater. Desuperheater or often called Steam Desuperheater, is a boiler component that serves to reduce the temperature of dry steam that will enter the turbine.
The extraordinary working principle of the boiler is the existence of a cycle. The heated water so that it becomes hot dry steam in some processes is converted back into water that is flowed into the boiler. The component that works in this cycle is condenser.