Many companies have the need for heating fluids in their facilities.  These can include heating of fluids to improve chemical reaction, slurries for production needs, wastewater processing, hot water for equipment wash down and parts cleaning, and many other fluid -heating requirements.  Direct Injection Steam Heaters can precisely handle all of these needs and is significantly more precise and efficient that Steam Sparging.

Steam Sparging

We know the injection of steam directly into the process as steam sparging.  Sparging is the oldest, simplest, and least complex technique for mixing steam with liquid or slurry to affect heating.  It is basically injecting steam directly into a fluid-filled tank.  However, sparging is very inefficient and the operation invariably results in:

• Poor heat injection due to steam energy escaping from vessels without condensing.
• A sparger is the least controllable direct steam injection heating method.
• High maintenance costs for tanks, sensors, and piping if the equipment operates outside the design parameters.
• Equipment failure due to the high vibration associated with the steam hammer.
• Non-uniform heating.

Direct Steam Injection

A Direct Injection Steam Heater involves the discharge of a series of steam bubbles into a liquid at a lower temperature.  The steam bubbles condense and give up their heat to the surrounding liquid.

Direct steam injection is specifically the most widely used method for boiler feed tank heating throughout the industry. Heat is provided to a liquid either through a heat exchanger or by direct injection of raw steam

Heating Liquids with a Direct Injection Steam Heater

Direct Steam Injection is ideal for heating liquids and slurries over a wide range of viscosities and solid contents to precise temperatures.  Injecting steam directly into a liquid significantly puts the molecules of high-energy steam in direct contact with liquid molecules.  The energy transferred from the hotter to colder molecules and therefore the process liquid warms up.  As more steam is injected the liquid’s temperature rises toward the steam’s temperature.

Benefits of a Komax Steam Heater

• Smooth Operation – Low noise level means our unit is safe for nearby personnel. No vibration prevents system damage that may occur with other units.
• Broad Operating Range – Handles high turn up and turn down flow rates. Functions under a wide range of temperature requirements.
• Creates Minimal Pressure Drop – Results in unique energy efficiency.
• No Moving Parts – The Komax steam heaters are maintenance-free.
• Cost-Effective – Much lower cost than a shell-and-tube heat exchanger.

The Key to the Komax Direct Injection Steam Heater

The Komax steam heater key is the significantly special mixing module.  This consists of a six-equal diameter cylindrical cavities mounted symmetrically about the main pipe axis.  Each cavity contains a single helical mixing element, with all mixing elements having the same sign of twist.  The product and steam combination emerges from each cavity violently rotating, with all rotations in the same direction.  This produces many impingement mixing zones at the exit of the module.  For this reason, complete mixing of products and steam occurs, resulting in a truly uniform product temperature.