Fouling and Corrosion Control of Steam Boiler Tube Using PLC system

Programmable logic controllers (PLC) is a microcontroller system suitable for many industrial processes. The current project aims to enhance performance and energy efficiency of steam boiler through adjusting the ph value and total dissolved solids (TDS) in boiler water by designing and implementing a PLC system. This system contributes to protect the boiler tubes from fouling and under deposit corrosion, in addition to reduce and control the blow down water and energy saving. The experimental result showed that the suggested controller is able to control the amount of TDS through adjusting the conductivity value as 3900 μs/cm with total TDS values as 20 ppm. Fouling control is achieved by maintaining the pН within the requirements of the global operation framework of steam boiler as 10.3–10.5. Also, the automatic blow-down saves about 9.532% and the difference between system automatic and the manual process is 81.8% involved achieving an annual saving in fuel cost of 1230720 $/year.