Jet Sparger – Steam Team

Vent & Waste Steam Recovery

Application: Waste & Vent Steam Condensation

It is often desirable to utilise vent or waste steam rather than simply release it to the atmosphere or condense it into water to eliminate the steam. The difficulty has been finding a way to safely and stably condense the steam into a process fluid so the energy can be used in a productive manner. Vent steam is often variable in pressure and availability. Traditional heat exchangers often have trouble functioning in this manner making them problematic.

Some issues associated with heat exchangers

Sizing the exchangers to handle the liquid and steam flow results in the heat exchangers overly large, adding expense and pressure drop to the system
Sizing the trap system for the heat exchanger is difficult to accomplish without the potential of overloading the system with live steam

ProSonix Solution

The ProSonix J-Series Jet Sparger allows the vent steam to be utilised in a safe and simple manner. The flexibility in mounting the heater allows the steam to be condensed in a wide range of pipe sizes, or into a tank or other vessel. Control of the steam addition can be accomplished in a simple manner. Often, a pressure switch is utilised on the vent steam line, activating the PSX heater to quickly condense the steam. An air cylinder on the ProSonix heater quickly opens to allow the steam to disperse quickly and quietly into the flowing fluid. When the steam vent closes, or the pressure drops, the air cylinder on the ProSonix heater closes.

Features & Benefits

It reduces the cost of waste steam that is vented or flashed and sent to drain
Flexible installation as it can be installed inline in the pipe or on a tank or vessel wall
Steam inlet rotates 360 degrees allowing for simplified steam pipe connection
Can be installed directly in the pipe of a tank, thus eliminating the need for floor space or expensive re-working of piping.
Single or multiple unit configurations for tank heating can be installed to allow for large volume heating and then trim heating with a single unit open

Steel Production

Direct Steam Injection Solutions for Tank heating, Brackish Water and Mineral Leach Slurry Heating

ProSonix Direct Steam Injection Heating for alumina slurry, bauxite slurry, bitumen froth treatment, brackish water, mineral leach slurry heating, feedwater heater, evaporative flash recovery, jet sparger, naphtha, oil sands, slurry heating, Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), tailings transport, tank heating, steam injection valves and water heating applications.

Slurry Heating

ProSonix direct steam injection heating can be used for a variety of difficult to handle mineral slurries such Alumina slurry, Brackish water, Bauxite slurry, Oil sands processing, Bitumen processing and leaching. The PSX heater is available in a variety of alloys to address corrosion issues and hardened wear resistant coatings can be applied to address erosion.

Energy Savings – Vent & Waste Steam Recovery

ProSonix J-Series Jet Sparger can be used to capture vent or waste steam that is typically released to atmosphere and inject back into process water system or water tanks for energy savings.

Evaporative Flash Recovery

The ProSonix steam injection heater’s ability to deliver instant, single pass heat up allows for recovery of costly solvents and naphtha from mine slurries, sour water, bitumen froth treatment and other slurry heating applications. Direct steam injection heating allows for flash recovery and separation in Oil sands and Tar sands processing.

Boiler Feedwater Heater

Direct steam injection heating for boiler feedwater can reduce energy costs and improve the thermal efficiency of the boiler. The PSX heater eliminates mineral and scale build-up and pugging/fouling associated with conventional feedwater heaters.

Lime Slaker Heating

A number of industries use hydrated lime addition for their processes. Hydrated lime (or calcium hydroxide, or slaked lime) is usually a dry powder resulting from the controlled slaking of quicklime with water. The exothermic or released heat of reaction is captured and used to evaporate the excess slaking water. High calcium quicklime readily reacts with water to form hydrated lime.

Aggressive Fluid Heating

Heating water and challenging fluids such as alumina slurry, bauxite slurry, brackish water and abrasive slurry such as oil sands/bitumen froth and tailings transport presents unique challenges for traditional heating methods. SAGD applications require large volumes of continuous heating for long periods of times. The ProSonix I-Series Inline heater can address scale and mineral build-up issues and is designed for demanding continuous process heating applications.

Brackish Water Heating

The ProSonix Steam Injection heater is well suited for brackish water and other fluids with high dissolved mineral content. The unique inline heater design has a very low pressure drop, typically 1-2 psig, minimising flow disruptions which lead to precipitate falling out. The radial multi-port steam jet diffuser operates under sonic velocity steam injection which produces a self cleaning action. With no hot surfaces and velocity steam flow, mineral and scale build-up issues are eliminated.

Avoiding Transport Line Freeze-up

The ProSonix J-Series Jet Sparger is an economical way of adding heat to tailings transport and slurry lines to avoid freeze problems during colder winter months and during shut down or maintenance periods. The J-Series Jet Sparger can be installed on large diameter pipes (>18″) without expensive reconfiguration of piping and steam lines.

Water Heating

ProSonix direct steam injection heating is a good choice for a variety of water heating applications because the PSX heater has a high turndown on both steam and liquid. In applications such as SAGD, large volumes of water are required at high temperatures. ProSonix direct steam injection heaters are available in a variety of designs to address most needs.

Jet Sparger Optimisation for Tank Heating

Tank heating with spargers or eductors can lead to steam hammer problems which can damage tank walls and welds. Proper tank heating with a Jet Sparger utilises high velocity steam for rapid mixing and condensation of the steam. The ProSonix J-Series Jet Sparger is well suited for a variety of tank heating needs.