Historically, steam-pipe heating has been used more frequently than any other type of pipe heating for .freezing and heating
Steam usually has the advantage of having a high heat capacity combined with a suitable heat transfer
coefficient. When energy costs were negligible and steam was seen as "free of costs," this was the usual
.method of conducting heating escorts for piping and containers When flowing through a pipe, the vapor dissipates, their capped heat being transferred to the process pipe to compensate for the heat loss through the insulation. During this process steam temperature remains constant. However, further down the line, the condensation process of the steam begins and gradually the amount of condensation water increases. The condensation temperature and heat capacity are significantly lower compared to steam and poor heat conduction capacity. This process occurs gradually and throughout the entire length of the heating pipe. Therefore, it is necessary to install a steam trap at the end of a heating circuit The role of the "steam trap" is to discharge the condensation water with minimal loss of fresh steam.
Because the condensation water in the heating pipe needs to be "pushed" into the steam trap (often upwards), the steam system must be of sufficient pressure, which limits the maximum length of heating circuits. Too long heating circuits tend to "drown" in condensation water from time to time, the system becomes very unexpected and very unstable which adds complexity to a steam heating system. A similar phenomenon is also called for in reasonable length heating circuits, but the decrease in ambient temperature results in greater heat losses and therefore in the production of condensation water in .larger quantities
Another problem with steam heating is the temperature unevenness along the steam cycle, at the beginning of the heating cycle high temperature steam enters and as the steam is removed its heat to the process piping has constant steam temperature drop processes and then steam and condensation
water so that most of the temperature is immediately too high and high at the beginning of the cycle.
.Leading to unnecessary loss of energy and shortening of heating circuits The result of the above symptoms is short circuits the heater, use instead of expensive area of the
.process for the purpose of distribution of steam, steam traps and infrastructure collection condensation Steam Traps are most critical to heating with steam and at the same time sensitive component of the .system
Because of the way the work of a steam trap system Mechanical with moving parts subject to constant
abrasion by steam and suffering from obstructions due to the quality of steam, the system is subject to
preventive maintenance and fracture maintenance at high level and quantity, in order to maintain proper
operation a maintenance check is required at least once a year and a significant number of steam traps
.(replacement (on average approximately 6% of traps per year
Often, high energy waste is present in steam heating systems. Steam, which continues to flow at a constant temperature regardless of the material temperature in the pipeline, will continue to transfer energy beyond the material demand and cause a temperature rise of the material in the pipeline in the
.event of a pipe failure and unnecessary waste of energy To date, there is no reliable method to control the temperature of the pipe and energy invested in heating, in addition, even in perfect working conditions, even in the best traps of steam, there will always be partial loss of steam. If the traps fail and stay open, there will be a significant amount of
.steam loss mainly because these systems operate 24/7 Another common failure of steam heating systems is due to steam leaks from the heating pipe mainly at connection points between the pipes, these leaks cause the insulation to become wet and thus loss of all thermal insulation properties and the resulting output is in fact an increased heat loss to the pipeline .process and instead of heating the piping it cools
:A brief technical comparison between steam heating and electric heating
Steam heating |
Electric heating |
Topic |
|
degrees Celsius 120 |
degrees Celsius 700 |
Temperature for keeping |
|
degrees Celsius 204 |
degrees Celsius 750 |
Maximum exposure temperature |
|
degrees Celsius ± 10 |
degrees Celsius ± 2 |
Temperature control accuracy |
|
((typical |
|||
|
|
Generally, the cost of a heat escort system is approximately 75% of the total cost of a steam system
.installed when considering the escort, control and monitoring system, the power distribution system The total installed cost will vary depending on location and certain temperature requirements, but remains constant as an industry average. We can perform a techno-economic analysis to accurately
.estimate costs and select the best technical solution for implementation in a particular project From a safety perspective, in steam systems, there is a higher likelihood of injury to maintenance personnel as a result of burns while working on and around steam attributable systems due to exposed .valves and steam traps and random steam breaches
Advantages of electric heat escort
Electric heat accompaniment on the other hand is inherently safe as there is no exposure to the heating
.cables and electrical protections exist as protection against malfunctions Electric heating systems can include a wide range of control and control products, from the simplest of mechanical thermostats and signal lights to sophisticated multi-circuit digital controllers that can change the power of the heating cables to keep freezing pipes or keep high-temperature process piping and
.protect all The fault system Electric heating systems offer a wide range of heating cables to suit the required temperature and .temperature
From a maintenance point of view, with industrial electric heating Most maintenance can be based on the control and control results integrated into the system itself, regular maintenance is not required except
.for bolts in the connections during regular electrical system maintenance work Steam heating systems, on the other hand, offer no reasonable form of control and monitoring. The major maintenance items in a steam heating system are the steam traps, usually the items that will most likely fail during system life. The documented service life of a typical steam trap is three years, with a minimum replacement cost of about $ 95. The maintenance of condensate water recovery is equally high and most often the supply of steam, liquid and steam causes accelerated corrosion and elbow failure in .the system. This is why many condensation systems are made of stainless steel
Maintenance cost of electric heating system versus steam
The following is a comparison of the costs of maintaining the steam and electric heating system
Electrical power | steam | |
Line length for heating | 12,000 meters | 12,000 meters |
Length of single heating circuit | 15-900 meters | 15-76 meters |
Number of heating circuits | 800 – 14 | 800 – 158 |
Annual maintenance cost | About 3,700 $ | About 25,000 $ |
Electric escort | Steam Escort |
Uniform heating throughout the piping | Uneven heating , warm at the start of the line and cool down later |
The length of heating circuits is large from individual meters to hundreds of meters, depending on cable type and temperature | Length of the heating circuits is limited up to 76 meters maximum |
You can control and monitoring are accurate and consistent across the board | Inaccurate and uneven control along the line |
Automatic compensation for increased heat loss at (points where insulation is less (SR type cable | No compensation for increased heat loss due to poor insulation |
Does not require space on the production floor | Requires space for steam assembly pipes, condensation steam pipe traps |
Heating cables are not all visible and installed under insulation, are not exposed to mechanical damage and are not a source of danger to workers | Steam supply pipes, traps and condensate water are exposed to mechanical damage and are a danger of burns from hot piping and steam emissions |
The cable supplier is regulated according to the process pipeline temperature or by the cable itself (SR) or by means of control for all types of cables | The steam temperature is uniform and does not change depending on the temperature of the process lines |
Energy source electricity, available at any site without environmental pollution – completely green | Energy source – steam, requires production and includes water treatment, boiler (usually gas, fuel oil, diesel fuel, etc.), storage and treatment of fuel materials required, boiler operation causes exhaust gases and environmental pollution |
The cost of running an electric escort is about 30 to 60 percent lower compared to steam escort | High steam production costs include heating fuel cost, feed water treatment, condensate water treatment, boiler and ancillary systems, fuel storage |
Does not require maintenance | Regular maintenance and breakage maintenance is required throughout the system life |
No insulation damage | Steam leaks inside the insulation result in wetting and losing all thermal insulation properties |
Total installation cost (routing lines, power and control panels, feed and command cables) is low | High overall installation increases (boiler, feed lines, escaping pipes, traps, condensate water lines, fuel storage, (fire detection / extinguishing systems, space |
Working temperatures up to about 700 degrees Celsius | Working temperature up to about 210 degrees Celsius |