Investigations into the composition of the early Condensate in steam (VGB Research Project Nr.182)

Concentration effects in the first condensate can lead to a corrosive environment in steam turbines. This paper reports on investigations using an Early Condensate sampler to simulate first condensation. Superheat steam is taken from a suitable turbine extraction and subsequently partly condensed by appropriate cooling. The water phase can then be sampled and analysed. Based on this work it is e.g. possible to ship ultrapure water samples from anywhere in the world to a given analytical laboratory, confident that a measurement will yield a representative result of its ionic contents .