Boiler & Furnace

[Hammer_Time]

Those how have have read my earlier thread will already know but for those that didn't I'm currently travelling around the Philippines visiting fair trade with there request of trying to make some of their processes more efficient.

The latest company which makes hand made paper has asked me to look at two main areas where they are losing a lot of energy/money.

The first is the boiler. They use the steam channelled through radiator's that they hang the paper on to dry. I believe the boiler to be a water tube boiler (it has a vertical design) on a open system (the water is not returned directly to the boiler). Firstly I noticed that neither the pipes or the boiler is insulated, Now they could save a truck load of energy by insulating, I'm right in thinking fibre glass is the way to go with steam pipes and boilers?

I also want to request that they make use of the waste heated water and make the system a closed one. I think they would need to add a expansion tank and non return valve but other then that I'm a little clueless. Would this be a good idea for them?

The other area Is the Furnace they currently heat up 3 vats of water with the raw material in to make it softer and for cleaning. But the last station is receiving very little heat. After observing the process I noticed huge amounts of heat being lost out the top of the first vat (and probably the second but it wasn't full) I think they should look at some sort of pressure cooker design and seal the vats properly to make them more efficient, what do you think?

I have attached some photos to help get the feel of it.
SAM_2540.jpgSAM_2541.jpgSAM_2538.jpgSAM_2531.jpg

I would appreciate any help or ideas on this, maybe even just a line of research for me to head down. Many Thanks Hammer.

[PinkertonD]

Hammer, you are at the top of my envy list.

How much actual steam is left to escape at the end of the process? Is it already condensed back to hot water? If so, then a holding tank and piping back to the boiler should be pretty much all you need. You will need some control mechanism to to feed cold water if there is not enough return water.

Insulation always is a good plan, but it may come down to what you can get at a reasonable price and not what is the best option. Fiberglass insulation is probably made in PI, but stuff like Neoprene may be imported and thus pretty costly. Researching available materials is where I would start for that.

[Hammer_Time]

The return steam has already condensed back to water and is cold by this point. I'm worried about making this a closed system as I don't know if the pipes and boiler would take the pressure increase? The fed tank already uses two pumps to get water in the boiler so I don't think a control mechanism would be needed, maybe just some modifications. Thanks for the input