499 Industrial Water Week 2026: Boiler Tuesday

Boiler Tuesday is a reminder that industrial water treatment exists to protect heat transfer efficiency. For day two of Industrial Water Week 2026, Trace Blackmore, CWT, connects feedwater preparation, condensate quality, and treatment distribution to the everyday decisions that keep steam systems working.

Feedwater quality sets the stage

Trace starts with a practical measure of boiler performance: how much heat from the flame reaches the steam? Feedwater conditions directly affect that work.

He links inadequate feedwater heating with higher chemical demand, increased conductivity, and additional blowdown. For deaerators, he also emphasizes pressure. Together, these points reinforce the need to review feedwater conditions when evaluating treatment performance.

Follow contamination through the condensate system

Jake Elliott of HydroFlow recalls declining boiler alkalinity that eventually led to a plant room full of foam. A failed valve had allowed process material into the condensate return and feedwater tank, consuming alkalinity and forming soap.

Meanwhile, Trace shares a separate case involving oil contamination, boiler surging, priming, and deteriorating steam quality. The investigation traced the oil to a leak in a process condensate line. Recovery required isolating the affected return, cleaning the boiler, and withholding contaminated condensate while the plant corrected the equipment and process problem.

Both stories show why troubleshooting must include the process equipment connected to the condensate system.

Confirm that amine protection reaches distant equipment

James McDonald's scripted Detective H2O story, The Case of Not Going the Distance, examines a different condensate problem. Readings near the boiler house look acceptable, while distant sections show lower pH and corrosion.

The case explains amine distribution ratio as the relationship between amine in the vapor phase and amine in the liquid phase. It compares how morpholine, diethylaminoethanol, and cyclohexylamine travel through the system.

The detective reviews the blend and identifies satellite feed locations near long steam branches. Then he checks condensate pH at the same sampling locations after the changes. Early coupon observations support continued monitoring through a full exposure cycle.