Print this page Steam System Survey
Steven G. Liescheidt, P.E., CCS, CCPR
Course Outline
This five hour online course discusses how to assist operations personnel and energy managers in identifying significant opportunities to improve steam systems. Guidelines are provided for profiling individual steam systems with methods to estimate the fuel costs and operating characteristics of the facility along with identifying improvements in energy efficiency that translate to operational cost savings.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.
Learning
Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will be better able to:
- profile a steam system;
- identifying steam properties for the steam system;
- improve boiler operations;
- improve resource utilization in the steam system;
- investigate energy losses in the steam distribution system;
- understand the economics of boiler efficiency improvements;
- understand boiler stack losses;
- understand blowdown losses;
- understand boiler shell losses;
- Understand unburned fuel losses;
- Understand steam venting;
- Understand combined power and heat concepts;
- Recognize steam system losses due to pipe failures and steam traps;
- Understand condensate recovery systems; and
- Understand flash steam recovery.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for mechanical engineers.
Benefit for Attendee
Attendee of this course will be able to understand steam systems from multiple perspectives related to system design, operation, maintenance and energy consumption for the purpose of identifying significant opportunities to improve steam systems.
Course Introduction
The guidelines in the source document in this course are organized to assist steam users to take the specific steps in identifying opportunities to improve their steam systems. First, the analysis basis must be determined; guidelines are provided for profiling individual steam systems. Methods are presented to estimate the fuel costs and operating characteristics of the facility and to identify improvements in energy efficiency that translate to operational cost savings. Second, the steam properties of the facility are identified to allow calculations to be performed in latter sections of the analysis. Third, the boiler operation is investigated. This analysis centers on evaluating the fuel-to-steam conversion efficiency of the boiler. The fourth analysis area is concerned with resource utilization throughout the facility. The main concerns in this area are to use the most appropriate fuel, to maintain the proper steam balance throughout the system, and to integrate process energy. The fifth category investigates the loss of energy throughout the distribution system.
Course Content
This course is primarily based on Steam System Survey Guide, ORNL/TM-2001/263 – May 2002 US-DOE Best Practices Steam Program:
Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.
Course Summary
This course provides technical information for steam system operational personnel and plant energy managers on some of the major opportunities available to improve the energy efficiency and productivity of industrial steam systems. The course covers five main areas of investigation: profiling a steam system, identifying steam properties for the steam system, improving boiler operations, improving resource utilization in the steam system and investigating energy losses in the steam distribution system.
Related Links
For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:
United States Green Building Council – www.usgbc.com
US Department of Energy – www.doe.gov
National Renewable Energy Laboratory – www.nrel.gov
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
