Troubleshooting Vacuum Systems: Steam Turbine Surface Condensers and Refinery Vacuum Towers

Vacuum systems are in wide spread use in the petrochemical plants, petroleum refineries and power generation plants. The existing texts on this subject are theoretical in nature and only deal with how the equipment functions when in good mechanical conditions, from the viewpoint of the equipment vendor. Also, the existing texts fail to consider the interaction of the vacuum system with the process equipment it serves and the variability of the motive steam conditions, change in cooling water temperature condenser fouling and erosion of the ejectors.

Here are some of the many questions answered in this groundbreaking volume:

• Why does my first stage jet make a surging sound during hot weather?
• Why does the vacuum suddenly break?
• I've seen moisture condensing on the jet's body! What’s causing that?
• Why do I have to steam-out the drain legs from our condensers?
• Superheated steam is making our vacuum worse. Is this normal?
• How can I locate and measure air leaks?
• Reducing the steam pressure to my jets improves vacuum. But why?
• I can't pull the pre-condenser bundle. The shell side is fouling. What should I do?
• We're not getting our normal horsepower from our steam turbine. Could this be a jet problem?
• Raising the seal drum level improves vacuum! Is there an explanation for this?
• Our turbine exhaust steam pressure to our surface condenser has doubled in the last two years. What should we do?
• Restricting cooling water flow from our elevated condensers improves vacuum! Is this possible?
• What's a converging-diverging ejector all about?
• What's the difference between a barometric condenser and a surface condenser? Which is better?