Dana Corp Tennessee Boiler Explosions

Proper Maintenance And Cleaning Promote Boiler Safety and ...

We often write in this space about the importance of maintenance, inspections and operating logs to the safe operation of a boiler, one of the most complex – and potentially dangerous – systems in any plant.

From time to time, you’ll hear a report on the news about a boiler explosion, and while  many of our readers work with boilers on a regular basis, we expect that most have never actually seen a boiler explosion.  So to give you a little sense of what it is like, watch this security camera footage from a real industrial boiler explosion that happened in July of 2007 at a Dana Corporation plant in Tennessee.

The damage was spectacular.  In addition to fatally injuring a maintenance worker, according to the official state inspection report , pieces of the boiler blew a 30-foot hole in a concrete wall and wound up hundreds of feet away.  We don’t have room to go over all the details, but the report concluded that the boiler exploded as a result of improper maintenance and lack of operational procedures.

So what should a boiler maintenance program include to promote safe and efficient boiler operations?  According to Facilities.net , certain elements are critical to a successful boiler maintenance program:

Water treatment – A water treatment program will help remove contaminants in your feed water that can cause the formation of scale on heat transfer services.  In addition, it will help remove suspended gases that can increase the corrosiveness of your water.

Blowdown – By regularly bleeding off contaminated water and replacing it with fresh water, you can further manage the presence of contaminants in your water without driving up chemical costs.  Automatic blowdown systems are generally best.

Inspection – Inspect mechanical components such as pumps, monitors/gauges and valves on a regular basis and perform regular full inspections at least twice a year.

Cleaning – Clean your boiler’s tubes at least twice per year.  Soot accumulating on heat transfer and scale buildup in tubes can cause the loss of thermal efficiency, shorten boiler life, increase maintenance and operating costs and adversely affect safety.

Efficiency testing – Regular efficiency testing will help monitor overall operations, and, by detecting negative trends early, help extend boiler life and reduce operating costs.

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