3D TRASAR® Technology for Boilers Improves Reliability at - Nalco

Background
A Kraft Pulp mill located in Scandinavia is part of a
global paper corporation, which makes a very public
and top-down commitment to environmental protection.
Globally, the company’s operations are seeking
accreditation to ISO 14001, the environmental
management system standard. It has very clear
sustainability goals in place to conserve energy and
raw materials, and to reduce emissions and waste.
This world-class global leader in pulp and paper
production also actively works with supplier partners
to jointly develop and implement innovative solutions
to improve upon existing processes and to reduce
environmental impacts. The mill produces about
200,000 tonnes of environmentally-friendly bleached
and unbleached Kraft pulp per year, and is located
in an environmentally-sensitive area where strict
standards are in place to protect the environment
from the impact of industrial and other operations.
Current Situation
The plant was operating a single recovery boiler to
supply steam to the pulp production process and to
a turbine for electricity production. Make-up water
was softened water abstracted from a lake nearby,
however the system was designed to accept returned
condensate as a large portion of the total boiler
feedwater. The plant was operated at full capacity,
however steam output was regularly reduced as
3D TRASAR ® Technology for Boilers
Improves Sustainability Performance
and Reliability of Steam Generation
at a Kraft Pulp Mill in Europe
a result of process contamination of the return
condensate. This immediately increased feedwater
conductivity and corrosivity. Without on-line detection
of such changes in feedwater quality, upsets were
only detected by intermittent manual sampling and
laboratory analysis. In the interim, the efficiency of
steam production, and the purity of steam, were
reduced, prejudicing production and turbine operation.
Corrective action necessitated rapid blowdown,
which in turn led to a reduction in boiler cycles,
excess chemical addition to maintain protection from
corrosion, and increased energy consumption and
associated greenhouse gas emissions.
The company wanted to learn how 3D TRASAR
Boiler Technology could help to protect its steam
generation asset whilst at the same time improving
sustainability performance. This innovation from
Nalco facilitates the measurement of the corrosivity
of the boiler feedwater at system temperature and
pressure and links this variability to any unfavourable
plant operating and chemistry conditions. Moreover,
3D TRASAR Boiler Technology has the capability to
control the cycles of concentration and maintain clean
heat transfer surfaces in the boiler system, minimising
water usage and optimising energy efficiency, resulting
in minimised plant emissions and the consumption
of precious natural resources.
Case Study CH-1001E

The key business drivers for the customer included:
• Improve the reliability and availability of the boiler
plant
• Maintain clean water-side surfaces in the boiler
• Reduce the volume of chemicals required for
treatment due to upset conditions
New Programme
Under traditional water treatment regimes, where
wet chemistry analyses are only conducted intermittently,
upset conditions can go undetected for
long periods, during which significant problems can
arise. This is a challenge which can be immediately
addressed with 3D TRASAR Boiler Technology,
with the patented Nalco Corrosion Stress Monitor
(NCSM). This can be extremely valuable in protecting
steam generation assets, providing real-time
on-line monitoring of system conditions, and an
immediate alarm and corrective action as soon as
upset conditions start to occur.
At the mill, Nalco and the customer worked together
to implement a joint strategy to deliver improved
boiler reliability. 3D TRASAR Boiler Technology
was installed, and from start to finish was in full
operation after just three hours of installation and
commissioning.
In keeping with standard practice, the following Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) were established for
the use of 3D TRASAR Boiler Technology on the
boiler system:
• Ability to determine variations in corrosivity of the
feedwater and make a link to specific operational
and chemical parameters.
• Ability to control the system variability and provide
maximum asset protection and maximum
availability to generate steam for the production
process.
• Improvement in the service level by Nalco, by
providing real-time alarms and communication of
upset conditions that require immediate attention,
allowing plant operators to focus on the main
production process.
Since the unit was commissioned, it has operated
without major problems, and has required minimal
service and maintenance attention, with just one
regular service and calibration after nine months.
3D TRASAR Boiler Technology
3D TRASAR Boiler Technology is the innovative
and unique boiler treatment package, designed to
deliver superior sustainability performance, operational
efficiency, and asset protection. This groundbreaking
modular technology continuously responds
to changes in boiler operation and feedwater quality,
reducing system corrosion, ensuring clean waterside
surfaces, and minimising water and energy resource
use. The result is continuity of production, conservation
of resources, minimisation of emissions including
Greenhouse Gases (GHG), and improved cost
management.
3D TRASAR boiler technology control module

3D TRASAR Boiler Technology is used by leading
corporations around the world to secure improvements
in their environmental and economic performance,
optimise boiler efficiency, meet sustainability
goals, specifically in the areas of water and energy
use reduction, and to protect assets, a key driver in
boiler management and steam generation.
3D TRASAR Boiler Technology also meets the requirements
of the Best Available Techniques
for energy efficiency under the EU Integrated
Pollution Prevention & Control (IPPC) legislation
in the categories of increasing overall energy
efficiency, reducing water use, reducing emissions
to air, and reducing emissions to water.
Results
The implementation of 3D TRASAR Boiler
Technology delivered immediate improvements
in boiler reliability and availability, detecting any
upset conditions due to process contamination in
real-time, and prompting immediate corrective
action in order to maintain steam production.
This allowed maximisation of the volume of return
condensate, and minimisation of the volume of
feedwater treatment required. Overall this improved
the sustainability performance of the plant by
conserving precious water and energy resources,
and reducing the associated greenhouse gas
emissions. This also led to continuity of pulp
production, electricity generation, a lower total
cost of operation for the asset.
Conclusions
3D TRASAR Boiler Technology proved to be
a valuable diagnostic and management tool
delivering desired levels of boiler reliability. Moreover
the technology allowed the plant to operate
safely and efficiently meeting production demand
whilst assuring and improving sustainability performance.
3D TRASAR Boiler Technology offers
real-time control, protecting the environment, plant
profitability, and productivity.
NalCo CompaNy opEratioNs
North america: Headquarters –1601 West Diehl Road • Naperville, Illinois 60563 • USA
Energy Services Division – 7705 Highway 90-A • Sugar Land, Texas 77487 • USA
Europe: Ir.G.Tjalmaweg 1 • 2342 BV Oegstgeest • The Netherlands
Asia Pacific: 2 International Business Park • #02-20 The Strategy Tower 2 • Singapore 609930
latin america: Av. das Nações Unidas 17.891 • 6° Andar 04795-100 • São Paulo • SP • Brazil
www.nalco.com
Nalco Corrosion Stress Monitor, 3D TRASAR, NALCO and the logo are Trademarks of
Nalco Company
©2010 Nalco Company All Rights Reserved 9-10