Condensate polisher: Difference between revisions

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imported>Milton Beychok
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imported>Milton Beychok
m (Revised/merged from a stub to a redirect to the new, much more comprehensive Condensate polishing article.)
 
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#REDIRECT[[Condensate polishing]]
A '''condensate polisher''' is a process used to remove contaminants from water condensed from steam as part of the steam cycle in a thermal or nuclear power plant. It frequently utilizes [[polymer resin]]s which are used to [[ion exchange|remove or exchange ions]] such that the purity of the condensate is maintained at or near that of [[distilled water]].<ref name=NormalAccidents>{{cite book| last =Perrow| first =Charles| authorlink =Charles Perrow| title =Normal Accidents: Living with high-risk technologies| publisher =Princeton University Press| date =1999| isbn =0691004129}}</ref>
 
Condensate polishers are important in systems using the boiling and condensing of water to transport or transform [[thermal energy]].  Using technology similar to a [[water softener]], microscopic amounts of mineral or other contamination are removed from the system before such contamination becomes concentrated enough to cause problems by depositing minerals inside pipes, or within precision-engineered devices such as [[boiler]]s, [[steam generator (nuclear power)|steam generator]]s, [[heat exchanger]]s,  [[steam turbine]]s, [[cooling tower]]s, and [[condensers]].<ref name=NormalAccidents />  The removal of minerals has the secondary effect of maintaining the [[pH]] balance of the water at or near neutral (a pH of 7.0) by removing ions that would tend to make the water more [[acid]]ic.  This reduces the rate of [[corrosion]] where water comes in contact with metal.
 
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Latest revision as of 21:03, 7 August 2009