There are a number of considerations to factor when determining the best boiler for your steam generation needs like operating pressure, steam pounds/hour output, demand fluctuation, general application requirments and total cost of ownership, etc.
Two primary boiler types, the firetube boiler and the watertube boiler, are essentially opposite in design. The firetube boiler passes combustion gas inside a series of tubes surrounded by water in a vessel to produce steam, while a watertube instead sends water through a series of tubes surrounded by combustion gas used to transfer heat energy and produce steam.
The service life of your industrial boiler is 15 years. Of course, there are a number of factors that may force you to replace your boiler before it reaches the 15-year mark. If there are obvious signs of wear and tear, you may not want to push the boiler much longer.
The choice between a steam system or a thermal fluid system is governed by the process requirements. The range or process temperature is a deciding factor. If the system’s required temperature is above the freezing point of water (0°C) and below approximately 160°C, the choice is usually steam. However, if the required temperature is above 160°C, thermal fluid may be a better solution. Thermal oil heater systems can be designed with maximum operating temperatures to 325°C.
The main sectors in which industrial steam boilers are used are:
Food, in industrial bakeries or baby food (as an example)
Textile, in rotary dryers
Chemical, for reactors or storage
Pharmaceutical, for the manufacture of medicines
Cosmetics, for the production of perfumes and creams
Stationery and printing, in drying tunnels
The cement industry, for the manufacture of cement parts
Oil, for the storage and distribution of heavy oils
Wood, involved in the process of melanin production
Hospitals and hotels, especially in the laundry and kitchen areas
Automotive and surface treatment, for the final metal finishing.
A fire tube steam boiler is a boiler where the combustion gases from the burner are channeled through tubes that are surrounded by the fluid to be heated. The boiler body is the pressure vessel and contains the fluid. In most cases, this fluid is water that will circulate for heating purposes or become steam for use in processing.
Each set of tubes through which the combustion gas passes, before making a turn, is considered a "step". Consequently, a three-step boiler will have three sets of pipes with the outlet located at the rear of the boiler.
In a water tube steam boiler, unlike a fire tube, water circulates inside the tubes. The heat that is generated and the combustion gases that surround the tubes heat the water that circulates inside them. Many water-tube boilers operate according to the principle of natural water circulation.
The capacity of this type of boiler can be enhanced by increasing the number of tubes in the boiler.
Biomass steam boilers recover the heat generated during the biomass combustion process to heat the water in the boiler exchanger circuit. The hot water is then diverted to the heating circuit.
Occasionally it is necessary to remove the ashes generated by biomass combustion and clean the burner.
Any boiler where the products of combustion flow on the inside of a tube with the heat transfer media (ex. water, steam, or hot oil) on the outside. The tubes can be orientated vertically, horizontally or at an angle.
