What is Boiler ? Why do we use boiler on ship?

Last updated on July 21st, 2023 at 11:01 am

What is a Boiler?

boiler

A Boiler is a device or machine which produces steam onboard.

How does the boiler produce Steam?

Boiler which is a closed vessel where they heat the water and convert the water into steam.

Why do we need steam in ship?

Steam is required for the following processes:

  1. We use steam on the ship to heat the fuel oil, which is a low-quality fuel. Heating it helps us achieve our desired viscosity of 13 cst. So we need to heat fuel oil to 130-135 degree centigrade by using steam to bring the fuel viscosity from 380 cst to desired value to achieve proper fuel injection.
boiler working
Fig: Sketch of the settling tank where you can see the steam heating inlet and Steam heating outlet pipe is given

2. Need steam to heat water for the accommodation to take a bath as the ship is sailing in a -5 degree centigrade temperature. In that temperature, if an individual doesn’t get warm water then it will be highly uncomfortable.

shower

3. Crude oil tanker ships require steam to power steam turbines, which connect to cargo oil pumps through a long shaft. The cargo oil pump turbines, which are turbines specifically designed for driving the cargo oil pumps, are housed in the Pump Room of the ship.The deck-side chief officer manages this high-capacity pump for discharging the crude oil to the refinery. Driving the cargo oil pump turbine demands very high pressure.

Cargo oil pump turbine which is driven by the high-pressure steam.
Fig: Cargo oil pump turbine which is driven by the high-pressure steam.

4. The AC system on the ship requires steam to heat the accommodation when sailing at extremely low temperatures.

boiler for ac system

Types of Boilers used onboard ship:

There are two types of boilers used on board a ship:-

  1. Water Tube Boiler
  2. Smoke Tube Boiler

Note:

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Amit Chauhan
Amit Chauhan
2 months ago

Very informative sir 🫡

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