User:Chatepandurang

The following terms are common to boiler/feedwater and their treatment:

Acid - any chemical compound containing hydrogen that dissociates to produce hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Capable of neutralizing hydroxides or bases to produce salts.

Acidity - the state of being acid; the degree of quantity of acid present.

Alkali - any chemical compound of a basic nature that dissociates to produce hydroxyl ions when dissolved in water. Capable of neutralizing acids to produce salts.

Alkalinity – the state of being alkaline; the degree or quantity of alkaline present. In water it represents the carbonates, bicarbonates, hydroxides, and occasionally the borates, silicates and phosphates as determined by titration with standard acid and generally expressed as calcium carbonate in parts per million.

Amines – a class of organic compounds that may be considered as derived from ammonia by replacing one or more of the hydrogen ions with organic radicals. They arebasic in character and neutralize acids. Those used in water treatment are volatile and are used to maintain a suitable pH in steam and condensate lines.

Base – a compound that reacts with an acid to form a salt, as ammonia, calcium hydroxide, or certain nitrogen-containing organic compounds.

Blowdown/Blowoff – the water removed under pressure from the boiler through the drain to eliminate sediment and reduce total solids. Surface blowdowns remove solids from the boiler’s surface while bottom blowoffs remove solids from the bottom of the boiler.

Buffer – a chemical that tends to stabilize the pH of a solution preventing any large change on the addition of moderate amounts of acid or alkalis.

Catalyst – a substance that by its presence accelerates a chemical reaction without itself entering into the reaction.

Chelating – the property of a chemical when dissolved in water that keeps the hard water salts in solution and thus prevents the formation of scale.

Colloid – a fine dispersion in water that does not settle out but that is not a true solution. Protective colloids have the ability of holding other finely divided particles in suspension.

Condensate – the water formed by the cooling and condensing of steam.

Dispersant – a substance added to water to prevent the precipitation and agglomeration (clustering) of solid scale; generally a protective colloid. Grains per gallon (gpg) – a measure used to denote the quality of a substance present in water (1 gph = 17.1 ppm).

Hydrazine – a strong reducing agent used as an oxygen scavenger.

Hydroxide – a chemical compound containing the hydroxyl group. The hydroxides of metals are usually bases and those of nonmetals are usually acids; can be either organic or inorganic.

Hydroxyl or Hydroxy – a chemical prefix indicating OH group in an organic compound.

Inhibitor – a compound that slows down or stops an undesired chemical reaction such as corrosion or oxidation.

Makeup – water added from outside the boiler water system to the condensate.

Muriatic acid – commercial hydrochloric acid.

Neutralize – the counteraction of acidity with an alkali or of alkalinity with an acid to form salts.

Orthophosphate – a form of phosphate that that precipitates rather than sequesters (removes) hard water salts.

Parts per million – the most commonly used method of expressing the quantity of a substance present in water; more convenient to use than percent due to the relatively small quantities involved.

pH – a scale used to measure the quantity of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The scale runs from 1 (strong acid) to 14 (strong alkali) with 7 (distilled water) as the neutral point. Phosphate – a generic term for any compound containing a phosphate group. Polymerization – the union of a considerable number of simple molecules, called monomers, to form a giant molecule, known as a polymer, having the same chemical composition. Polyphosphate – a form of phosphate that sequesters (removes) rather than precipitates hard water salts.

Precipitation – the formation and settling out of solid particles in a solution.

Sequestering – the property of a chemical when dissolved in water that keeps the hard water salts in solution and thus prevents the formation of scale. Generally applied to inorganic compounds such as sodium tripolyphosphate or sodium hexmetaphoshate.

Titration – a method for determining volumetrically the concentration of a desired substance in solution and strength until the chemical reaction is completed as shown by a change in color of a suitable indicator.

Zeolite – originally a group of natural minerals capable of removing calcium and magnesium ions from water and replacing them with sodium. The term has been broaden to include synthetic resins that similarly soften water by ion exchange.