Steam boilers are, also called boilers, used a lot in the industry.
In some companies, steam boilers are an important part of making things.
Most of the time, the food and beverage, tourism, palm oil, pharmaceutical, and hospital industries are the ones that need steam boilers the most because they need heat energy.
If you work in one of these industries, it’s important to know how steam boilers work and how they work on a basic level.
How Steam Boilers Work
This closed vessel is used as a steam generator or steam through heating water.
The water in the vessel will be heated using fuel (usually fire) to produce steam.
When the water reaches the boiling point, there is a change from water to steam.
The hot steam produced from this steam boiler is then utilized for various purposes of the operational processes of various industries.
Palm oil production, laundry, food washing, and washing of pharmaceutical and hospital equipment are common examples of using steam boilers in several industrial sectors.
In the process of producing higher levels of steam heat in steam boilers, these points can be known:
- Boilers can produce steam with a higher heat level by increasing the pressure so that the boiling point of water from normal (100 degrees Celsius) can increase above 100 degrees Celsius.
- Boilers can produce steam with a heat level when the boiling point of water reaches 200 degrees Celsius or even 300 degrees Celsius.
- Boilers are divided into three according to pressure, namely low pressure (<10 bar), medium pressure (10-50 bar), and high pressure (>50 bar); pressures higher than 50 bar will make the steam boiler produce much hotter steam.
- Heat transfer or heat transfer is also part of the working principle of steam boilers.
Types of Heat Transfer
In how steam boilers work, the heat transfer process consists of three types.
- Radiation
As the word “radiation” suggests, heat can move from one place to another without a medium.
The sun’s rays heat the earth and everything that lives on it. This is an example of radiant heat transfer.
Radiant heat transfer in boilers means the pipes can get hot and transfer heat without touching the heat source.
- Conduction
Conduction is a type of heat transfer that happens when a medium is still, and the heat is moving through it.
The best way for heat to move through solids is through conduction.
When heating iron objects, heat will spread to all parts of the object without moving it.
Conduction heat transfer is how the boiler works. When the bottom of the pipe is heated, the heat quickly spreads to the rest.
If the whole pipe heats up, the water in the boiler can boil.
- Convection
Convection is the transfer or transfer of heat using a medium in which the medium is in motion.
Convection is a type of heat transfer that occurs in liquids.
In the working principle of the boiler, convection heat transfer occurs when feed water in cold conditions becomes hot after mixing with hot water in the boiler.
Thus the principle of how the steam boiler works is important to know so that the operation is carried out properly.