Gestra’s steam generators produce high quality, clean, saturated steam using energy from existing standard steam or hot water systems. They are mainly used for generating clean steam for processes and applications where steam must not contain any harmful substances such as hydrazine or ammonia. Ideal for air moistening in air conditioning, sterilization processes in hospitals, or steaming and drying chambers in the food industry.

Gestra’s steam regenerators supply process steam in the form of pure steam that does not contain substances such as hydrazine or ammoniac, which are hazardous to health. For technical reasons, these substances must be fed to the boiler feedwater during normal boiler operation. As they are steam-volatile, they are also present in the process of steam. Pure steam is necessary for operating sterilization systems in hospitals, for drying chambers in the foodstuff industry, for air humidification in air-conditioning systems, and wherever the process steam has to be absolutely free from unwanted additional substances that are harmful to health, chemically reactive or impair flavor. Gestra’s steam regenerators are available in compact designs as horizontal or vertical units and are delivered completely equipped.

The Gestra’s horizontal version of the steam regenerator consists of a cylindrical vessel, in which a heating tube bundle with a head is installed in the lower part through a standpipe. The heating fluid (steam, pressurized hot water, or thermal oil) flows through a control valve into the tube bundle, where it transfers its thermal energy to the surrounding water. Depending on the quantity of heat applied, the water evaporates and can be extracted by steam-separating internals. If the accuracy of the steam pressure is not a critical factor, a self-acting pressure controller may be used. On the secondary side, the Gestra’s steam regenerator is protected against excessive pressure by a safety valve. The condensate formed in the tube bundle is discharged by a Gestra UNA ball-float steam trap. The feedwater evaporating during the production of pure steam is made up continuously by a feedwater supply control. Gestra supplies suitable components from its product range for this purpose.

As a result of the continuous evaporation process and feedwater make-up, the concentration of salts dissolved in the boiler water increases steadily, even if the feedwater is partially desalinated. If there is a high steam demand, the admissible limit for the salt content may be exceeded after only a few hours. For this reason, the steam regenerator must be fitted with a continuous and intermittent blowdown unit operating automatically. For this special application, Gestra’s product range for process control offers proven conductivity electrodes and controllers, continuous blowdown valves, and automatic intermittent blowdown valves and controllers. This is the only way to ensure the production of the very highest quality pure steam with the use of demineralized feedwater and a fully controlled continuous boiler blowdown. This also prevents the dangerous salt concentration and sludge formation that may lead to corrosion in the steam regenerator.