Fulton Systems

Desuperheaters

Excess Superheat can impair dryer performance, increase maintenance costs and cause your operation to exceed equipment operating limits. Since the specific volume of superheated steam is greater than the specific volume of saturated steam for the same energy, line speeds, pressure drops and wear are greater with superheated steam than with saturated stream. Superheated steam is dry while saturated steam is not. The lubrication in saturated steam is essential to rotary joint life. Many of the seals, gaskets, glass and other materials in steam systems have temperature limits. At higher pressures, superheated steam can lead to temperatures that exceed these limits.

Desuperheater Types:

Inline Designs
Units are usually installed in supply headers operating at higher pressures. The principle of operation is to reduce the steam temperature and the amount of superheat by injecting condensate directly into the flow of steam. The principal benefit of this design is it's compactness.

Absorption Designs
These units are preferred where control is critical. Condensate is sprayed over a pad through which the superheated steam passes. The benefit of this design is the improvement in the mixing of the steam and the condensate. Also any excess condensate is retained in the unit rather than in the downstream piping. This design is frequently applied on low pressure steam where precision desuperheating is required.