Corrosion in steam boilers

The quality of the water used inside steam boilers is not always perfectly fit for the production process as the water enters into the system carrying along with it various substances and impurities from the external environment, affecting its electrochemical potential.

Therefore, using water as an agent for heat transfer inside plants for various technological processes it can raise a series of problems among which the most important seems to be represented by the corrosive gases (dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide) – the main cause for the corrosion in steam boilers. The degree in which these gases attack the boiler system and pipes it is highly connected to the quantity of dissolved substance, as well as water pH and temperature. 

Deposits of ferric oxides and dissolved salts of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and / or aluminum contribute all together to opening new corrosion mechanisms inside the steam boiler. These deposits can act as thermal insulation particularly in areas of high heat transfer which may cause local overheating and heavy corrosion inside the boiler drum and pipes.

The removal of the above mention risk factors is imposed by the undesirable consequences on the safe operation of the equipment in question – corrosion inside steam generators as well as:

• longer periods for maintenance / production losses due to system stops for repairs and pipes replacements;
• increased fuel consumption and decreased efficiency for boiler system;
• exceeding maximum permissible metal resistance;
• longer periods of time for reaching the desired system parameters.

Corrosion inside boilers can be avoided with the help of unique FINEAMIN chemicals, polyamine-based already combined substances, able to generate on the metal surface inside water circuits a strong barrier, a monomolecular, invisible filmprotecting the pipes from the water passing through them.