Steam purity assessment to prevent turbine malfunctions and performance loss

M. Macero and M. Sabban, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia An oil producer is carrying out ongoing projects to install steam turbine generators (STGs) in three aged gas plants. The projects were proposed as an energy recovery opportunity to better utilize excess steam from the cogeneration plants. Although steam purity in the plants was not initially thought to be an issue, this idea was challenged in June 2017 when a steam assessment investigation reported deviations to National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) standards on steam purity for power generation steam turbines (NEMA 24). The STG vendors advised the operator that the units would suffer performance and reliability d