Question

In one of my homework questions for thermos 2 it talks about steam generator but we've only discussed boilers. My question is are they not the same thing? Is there a difference and if so what is it, Online answers have been less than helpful.

Answer 1

The difference between boiler and steam generators,

In boilers,flow of water is circulated naturally and steam is generated by flowing water through Economiser, Steam drum and through furnace water wall and it goes to steam drum by riser pipes, In steam drum,water and steam is seperated by Drum internals and steam is superheated in convection and radiant superheater coils and final steam is fed through turbine for power generation or through pipes for process steam purpose. The pressure of steam is built up gradually inside the furnce and superheater coils.

In Steam generators,it has usually forced water circulation through series of tubes and is always kept under high pressure to prevent steam formation in the tubes and pumped water goes into steam seperator in which pressure is reduced and also some water flashes into steam. The steam generator does not have large steam drums like boilers and can generate steam in lower capacity but it has high heat flux.