Tank heating eductors use steam to heat liquids inside of open vessels

NCI Tank heating eductors provide a direct contact of the steam into the liquid. This assures complete transfer of the energy in the steam into the liquid being heated. Other types of heating lose efficiency as the interior of the heat exchanger builds up a scale. With eductors, the velocity of the steam being injected into the vessel also causes the liquid contents of the vessel to be agitated while heating occurs, without the need for other types of mixers in the vessel. This provides for more even heating of the vessel contents. They also permit the steam to be dispersed over more of the liquid volume, resulting in a more homogenous heating than with other methods of injecting steam.

These designs of eductors allow steam to be used from 10 to 140 PSIG for heating. Because of the nature of direct steam injection, heating vessels at atmospheric pressure beyond 140° F should not be attempted. Exceeding this temperature could result in uncondensed steam evolving from the liquid.

Tank Eductor Sizing Request Form (We’ll reply with the recommended size along with price & availability)

*** To help eliminate steam hammer, ensure that the minimum absolute pressure of the eductor is at least twice the absolute pressure inside the tank, at eductor depth.

TLM PERFORMANCE CHART

Gallons Heated Per Minute - (GHPM)
Operating Steam Pressure (hm)

Size	Temp Rise °F	20 PSIG	40 PSIG	60 PSIG	80 PSIG	100 PSIG	120 PSIG	140 PSIG
	10	24	37	51	64	77	90	103
	20	12	19	25	32	38	45	51
3/8"	40	6	9	13	16	19	22	26
	80	3	5	8	8	10	11	13
	120	2	3	4	5	6	8	9
	10	51	78	106	133	160	187	214
	20	25	39	53	67	80	94	107
3/4"	40	13	20	27	33	40	47	54
	80	6	10	13	17	20	23	27
	120	4	7	9	11	13	16	18
	10	103	158	215	270	324	380	434
	20	51	79	107	135	162	190	217
1-1/2"	40	26	40	54	67	81	95	108
	80	13	20	27	34	41	48	54
	120	9	13	18	23	27	32	36
	10	203	314	425	534	642	752	859
	20	102	157	212	267	321	376	429
2"	40	51	78	106	133	160	188	215
	80	25	39	53	67	80	94	107
	120	17	26	35	44	54	63	72
	10	481	741	1004	1261	1517	1777	2029
	20	240	371	502	631	758	888	1015
3"	40	120	185	251	315	379	444	507
	80	60	93	125	158	190	222	254
	120	40	62	84	105	126	148	169

Heating with Steam

Steam is supplied in a gaseous state. Heat transfer with saturated steam utilizes the latent heat of steam, releasing a large amount of energy as it condenses (changes to the liquid state). The amount of energy released per unit of steam is high (up to 539 kcal/kg, or 970 Btu/lb, and higher with vacuum steam).

Summary of Benefits

Utilizing latent heat (steam heating) for heat transfer is far more effective than utilizing sensible heat (hot water or oil heating), as a much higher amount of energy is released in a shorter period of time.

This offers the following benefits:

Property	Advantage
Rapid even heating through latent heat transfer	Improved product quality and productivity
Pressure can control temperature	Temperature can be quickly and precisely established
High heat transfer coefficient	Smaller required heat transfer surface area, enabling reduced initial equipment outlay

How Does Steam Provide Stable, Even Heating?

Unlike heat transfer by convection (e.g. hot water), heat transfer by condensation (e.g. steam) does not involve a temperature change. When steam condenses on the heat transfer surface, it passes on its latent heat to the product. The condensate then formed still contains its sensible heat, so it is of the same temperature as the steam from which it was produced. This enables even heating across the whole heat transfer surface.

If the pressure at the heat transfer surface of the equipment is held constant, continuous heating at a constant temperature can take place throughout every part of the heat transfer surface.

On the other hand, with hot water or oil heating, the temperature of the heating medium is reduced as sensible heat is transferred from the heating medium to the product. The temperature gradient is therefore constantly dropping because each unit of heat transferred will also lower the heating medium’s temperature. This can result in uneven heating, which may adversely affect the product being heated.

How Does Steam Provide Rapid Heating?

Heat Transfer from Condensation (Steam)

The secret is in the transfer of heat resulting from the process of condensation.

The latent heat contained in steam is released the instant steam condenses into the liquid state. The amount of latent heat released is 2 to 5 times greater than the amount of sensible heat available from hot water (saturated water) after condensation. This latent heat is released instantaneously and is transferred through the heat transfer surface to the product being heated.

Through condensation, steam naturally flows against the heat transfer surface. This helps speed the heating process.

Heat Transfer by Convection (Hot Water and Oil)

In contrast, hot water and oil transfer heat by convective heating, which does not involve a change of state. If left to natural convection, heat transfer is extremely slow. Thus, a pump is typically used to create flow against the heat transfer surface to increase the rate of heat transfer. This is known as forced convection heating.

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