A white paper entitled "Save $91,000 Annually In Low Pressure Boiler Water Treatment Chemical And Fuel Costs Using a Dealkalizer" was written by Kevin Preising a Sales Engineer at Res-Kem Corp.
This white paper explains how dealkalization of boiler feedwater improves boiler steam/condensate systems reliability, fuel savings, and chemical savings. The Return on Investment, ROI, is substantially less than one year when a dealkalizer is added to an existing boiler feedwater plant with a conventional sodium cycle water softener - deaerator pretreatment.
Annual chemical savings are over $76,000 and "cycle-up" energy savings are over $15,000 savings using a dealkalizer with chloride form anion ion exchange resin. Reductions in condensate piping replacements can add further cost savings and will make the ROI even more attractive. In applications where neutralizing amine concentrations are limited by FDA regulations, the dealkalizer can be used in conjunction with reduced feed of neutralizing amines, achieving an optimized solution of reduced chemical feed with improved return condensate pH numbers.
The goal of this discussion is confined to the addition of a dealkalizer post water softener.
The results of adding a dealkalizer are:
- Minimized waterside scale formation
- Minimized boiler-carryover
- Minimized boiler blow down through increased boiler cycles
- Increased return condensate pH values - thereby reducing the need for neutralizing amine chemical feed to control corrosion in the condensate.