Benefits of Converting a Whole System

Enercon's benefits are most clearly seen in full plant conversions

Changing from mechanical to permanent Enercon traps improves the flow of steam going into equipment and condensate coming out. But the ultimate benefits cannot be gauged by converting a single section, since this changes only a small part of that circulation.

In a system that is only partially converted to Enercon traps, plants will still experience sluggish return flow, constant redirection of excess energies in the return, higher boiler pressures than necessary to compensate for pressure drops, and other problems from the remaining mechanical traps. A true indication of the fuel savings and operational improvements the Enercon system generates will not be evident until all mechanical traps are replaced.

Heat transfer and energy-to-pound mass

There is a specific pressure-to-temperature relationship with steam under the saturation curve. The temperature of both steam and condensate on the system's heat transfer side are the same. A temperature drop through the heat transfer equipment indicates steam is losing BTUs and changing to water. This means the BTU count-per-pound of mass in that area is significantly lower.

With vapor and water in the pipe acting as insulators, the heat transfer surface area decreases steadily as you near the trap, compounding the situation. The problem is caused by the trap closing as the equipment transfers heat.

Eliminating the 'closing' allows for a lower pressure setting. This reduces the BTU's in both the condensate and the superheat as the control valves change the supply pressure to consumption pressure. All pressure settings should be reviewed after conversion to Enercon units.

Customers can test for themselves

A mechanical trap cycles six times a minute. That means in a 100-trap system the traps will 'open and shut' 36,000 times an hour. To see what happens when a trap cycles and discharges steam into the return, put a pressure gauge before any mechanical trap. The reading will drop every time the trap opens.

To verify this, take the pipe temperature on the discharge side (infrared gun). The temperature will return to well above the 203 degress F> expected through the pipe into a non-pressurized return.

In the same location, an Enercon orifice trap - which does not 'open and shut' and purges condensate continuously - will register 203 degrees F. constantly with no pressure drop. Pressure gauge readings at the inlet to equipment, after the control and before the orifice, will be virtually identical and stable, assuming sufficient supply.

Improved flow and heat transfer in the coils

Improving the BTU count across the coil, with condensate continuously flowing in a specific direction, increases the coil's heat transfer capability. In other words, the BTU draw through the coil will be much more consistent, with a narrower range from the cold to the hot side of the coil.

Customers who are not controlling downstream pressure to reduce the heat in an application, when they are trying to get the most out of their coil, will be able to get more.

When customers are trying not to hit the application hard with heat, the Enercon units produce only a slight improvement, because the control is making a far greater impact on the coil than the mechanical trap would. But on their high drying cycle, average heating speeds will increase 6-8%, with a much more stable heat draw through the product, thereby improving overall consistency.

Maintain mechanical traps during orifice trap conversion

When a company is converting only part of a facility to our system, maintenance people often stop fixing mechanical traps they still have. We see this over and over again. Then, as mechanical trap failures and leakage increase due to lack of maintenance, the plant experiences higher-than-normal energy losses that have nothing to do with Enercon orifice traps.