Organic Contamination in Cogeneration

One of the most overlooked contaminants in today's power generation and industrial cogeneration plants is Total Organic Carbon (TOC). This important measurement of organic contamination is key to reducing operating expenses and unplanned downtime.

Organic contamination can lead to fouling of deionization resins used in water treatment and condensate polisher, resulting in:

• Increased resin regeneration costs 
• Higher resin chemicals use 
• Labor required to restore capacity or replace resin

If these organics reach the boiler or HRSG, they deposit on and reduce efficiency of the heat exchanger surfaces, while often increasing the foaming in the boiler that will drive greater carryover of other contaminants into the steam and on to the steam turbine. 

The most serious risk is the rapid breakdown of organics to acids that lower the pH of the water in the boiler/HRSG. If this occurs, the rate of corrosion in the boiler tubes can rapidly increase, leading to:

• Boiler tube failure and 
• Unplanned and expensive plant shutdowns 

Watch this important webinar to learn more about the risks of high organic contamination levels in cogeneration boilers and how you can measure it.