Original situation
Steam from oil-fired boilers heated the dryer’s heater batteries and the press’s heating plates, and the condensate left through steam traps to a condensate tank. The traps could not clear the condensate smoothly: it backed up in the heating plates and drying efficiency fell. The flash steam vented from the tank, only condensate below 100 °C went back to the boiler, and the cool feed water caused frequent pump faults. In the rainy season and in winter the plant ran short of steam.
Technical enhancement
- A Jetomat® (Baelz 590) loop on the dryer: motive steam from the main header, discharge to the heater batteries.
- A second loop on the press feeds the heating plates; the plate temperature is regulated through the loop.
- The steam traps came out: the heater batteries and heating plates drain untrapped into a separator in each loop.
- Each separator’s vapour is its Jetomat’s suction; the condensate is pumped back to the boiler hot, under level control.
The result
Monthly averages over 10 months after installation, against the plant’s figures before:
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Output | 315 m³ a day | 331 m³ a day (+5.1%) |
| Fuel oil per m³ of board | 12.3 L | 8.9 L (−27.6%) |
| Make-up water | 237 t a day | 200 t a day (−15.6%) |
- The winter and rainy-season steam shortage is solved
- The heating plates drain freely
Why it works
A steam trap opens only when condensate reaches it, so a heater battery or heating plate always holds some water and works below its rating. With the traps gone, the Jetomat keeps steam moving through the heat surface and sweeps the condensate into the separator. The separator’s vapour, which used to vent from the tank, goes back into the users with motive steam, and the condensate goes back to the boiler hot.
Takeaway
Board plants run dryers and presses off the same boilers. Closed Jetomat loops on both gave this plant more board, less fuel and no more winter shortages.