Blowdown Heat Recovery Systems for Boilers

Three different styles and twenty standard models are available to match a Madden blowdown Heat Recovery System to your boiler system for the best performance and the most economical return on investment. Look at these Madden results:

• Recover 90% of the heat energy in continuous top blowdown that would be lost down the drain.
• Reduce the temperature of blowdown discharge to drain to meet statute limits.
• Fast investment payback from fuel, cooling water and makeup water savings, Madden systems usually pay for themselves in less than 12 months.
• Durable, time-proven designs, built to take the punishment of continuous, 24 hour a day service for years.

• The Type HX blowdown heat recovery systems are inexpensive, yet durable. The hot blowdown water passes through a self-cleaning vertical heat exchanger coil. Fresh makeup water is the shell side counter flow cooling media. No flash steam is created in these simple heat exchangers. The Type HX is designed for blowdown flows up to 3,500 lbs. per hour from boilers up to 150 psi. ASME 150 psi shell construction. Copper or Stainless Steel coils available.
• No Solids Buildup. All Madden systems are self-flushing, designed to use gravity flow to continuously clean itself. They operate without becoming clogged or fouled with solids contained in the dirty blowdown water.
• Low-pressure heat exchangers in the Type HC and Type HV systems – this reduces stress on equipment and makes scale buildup unlikely on the cooling side of the exchanger tubes. This is because the temperature rise of the makeup water cooling medium will usually be no more than 20′ Fahrenheit.
• No Solids Buildup. All Madden systems are self-flushing, designed to use gravity flow to continuously clean itself. They operate without becoming clogged or fouled with solids contained in the dirty blowdown water.
• Type HC and Type HV systems Flash Tanks are designed for blowdown. Impact plates on the blowdown inlet create water droplets and turbulence to enlarge the surface and increase flashing. Adequate vessel volume produces clean steam without water carryover. Surface area and retention time are engineered to facilitate flashing. The Type HC and Type HV systems can be used on higher pressure boilers, up to 1,000 psi and more.

Madden Engineered Products’ vertical and horizontal heat recovery system designs are mechanically actuated. These systems do not require programming or electrical wiring of any kind, all of the components are self-actuating. As with all of our products, the focus is on simplicity and quality which we believe translates to dependability and trust.

That said, there are numerous reasons you may want to tweak our design or add ancillary equipment to these systems. On occasion, we get requests to add connecting points to our systems so that end users can have the ability to send back information to their control systems. Take temperature outputs for example. Madden Engineered Products’ standard boiler heat recovery system has a nameplate that also includes a temperature gauge panel. This includes (3) thermometers, one provides a reading on the drain temperature, another provides the cooling water inlet temperature, and the final one shows the cooling water exit temperature. These are all simple thermometers with temperature bulbs and 8-foot capillaries that allow for manual reading and display of these temperatures. Some engineers or end-users prefer to add sister connections to all of these terminal points so that they can also send a temperature signal to their boiler room control system. No problem at all.

Another request we get from time to time is to change the heat recovery system’s level controller from an internal ball type float to an external controller. For this, we often propose either a pneumatic level float control or simply an external ball type float with an electronic output signal to be used with an electronic ball type drain valve. We often use either a Fisher pneumatic float control and drain, or a pairing of McDonnell Miller boiler level controller with a Honeywall electronic ball valve. Our standard designs allow for a more compact unit, especially with our vertical HV systems which take up only 2 square feet of floor space; but with external controllers, you do get the added benefit of easier maintenance when the controller requires it. (Note: Madden float ball level controllers usually last 10+ years before any potential fouling or wear and tear would call for any kind of maintenance).  

No matter the request, Madden Engineered Products is happy to help accommodate. If your boiler room is in need of valuable heat recovery, we would love to help work on a solution with you. Let’s start with our standard design and go from there.