SBIR Phase I: An Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Electromechanical Steam Trap for Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Energy Savings

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目解决了蒸汽行业长期存在的问题，即蒸汽疏水阀无法检测到的泄漏。在北美，每年有价值5000亿美元的蒸汽被用于不同的行业：石油和天然气、化工、食品、医疗、公用事业等。大约20%的蒸汽损失会产生14亿吨温室气体，足以为1500万户家庭发电。蒸汽系统的关键问题来自未被发现的失效或性能不佳的疏水阀。一个正常工作的蒸汽系统是一个闭环环境，它保持适当蒸汽流量所需的压力和温度。随着时间的推移，蒸汽转化为液体冷凝，并被捕获在疏水阀中，定期清除，以保持蒸汽系统性能的完整性。在本项目中，设计了一种新的疏水系统来取代目前的被动机械技术。该系统集成了主动机电系统和使用工业物联网（IIoT）传感器的远程监控，为蒸汽操作员提供实时监控和实时数据性能，以识别蒸汽疏水阀和系统问题，以便立即解决。SBIR一期项目通过采用创新的解决方案来设计新的疏水阀，从而确定了当前疏水阀设计和操作的已知缺陷。电流疏水阀是纯机械的，当暴露在腐蚀性、高压和高温环境中，反复排水时，会磨损，寿命缩短。该技术可实现性能最佳的蒸汽系统，该系统可连续监测蒸汽流量，以获得最佳运行性能和可靠的除水性能。当疏水阀失效，蒸汽被排出时，能量就会损失，锅炉需要消耗额外的化石燃料来产生额外的替代蒸汽，同时产生不必要的温室气体排放。新型蒸汽疏水阀将：(1)通过将疏水阀的使用寿命从2-4年延长一倍至10年来提高可靠性；(2)减少活动部件的数量；(3)采用电子传感器来监测冷凝水水平，而不是依靠机械浮子或圆盘来检测和排放冷凝水；(4)提供实时监测，以连续收集和跟踪未监测的运行参数。该系统将对现有捕集器进行改造，以实现成本效益高的操作，并将减少或消除温室气体排放。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses a longstanding steam industry problem, the undetectable leaking of steam traps. In North America, $500 billion worth of steam is made every year for diverse industries: oil & gas, chemicals, food, medical, utilities, etc. Around 20% of the lost steam contributes to 1.4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas which would be enough to generate electricity for 15 million homes. The key steam system issue comes from failed or underperforming traps that go undetected. A correctly working steam system is a closed loop environment that maintains the required pressure and temperature for proper steam flow. Over time, steam converts to liquid condensation and is captured in traps to be cleared on a regular basis to maintain the steam system performance integrity. In this project, a new trap system is designed to replace the current passive mechanical technology. The system integrates an active electromechanical system and remote monitoring using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors, providing steam operators with real-time monitoring and real-time data performance to identify steam trap and system issues for immediate resolution.This SBIR Phase I project identifies the known flaws of current steam trap design and operations by applying innovative solutions to the design a new trap. Current traps are purely mechanical that, when exposed to corrosive, high-pressure and temperature environments with repeated water discharge, wear out for a shortened lifespan. This technology may result into an optimal-performing steam system that continuously monitors steam flow for the best operational performance and reliable water removal. When a trap fails and steam is discharged, energy is lost, requiring boilers to consume added fossil fuels to generate additional replacement steam with unwanted greenhouse gas emissions. The new steam trap will (1) improve reliability by doubling the trap lifespan from 2-4 years to 10 years, (2) reduce the number of moving parts, (3) incorporate electronic sensors to monitor water condensation levels versus relying on mechanical floats or discs to detect and discharge condensate, and (4) provide real-time monitoring to collect and track unmonitored operational parameters continuously. This system will retrofit with existing traps for cost-effective operations and to will reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.