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

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目解决了蒸汽行业长期存在的问题，即疏水阀的泄漏无法检测到。在北美，每年产生价值5,000亿美元的蒸汽用于不同的行业：石油天然气、化工、食品、医疗、公用事业等。损失的蒸汽中约有20%会产生14亿吨温室气体，足够1,500万个家庭发电。关键的蒸汽系统问题来自故障或性能不佳的疏水阀，这些疏水阀没有被发现。正常工作的蒸汽系统是一个闭合的环路环境，它保持适当的蒸汽流动所需的压力和温度。随着时间的推移，蒸汽转化为液体冷凝，并被捕集在疏水阀中，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，以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，以识别蒸汽疏水器和系统问题，以便立即解决。这个SBIR第一阶段项目通过应用创新的解决方案来设计新的疏水器，识别当前蒸汽疏水器设计和操作的已知缺陷。目前的疏水阀是纯机械的，当暴露在腐蚀性、高压和高温环境中反复排出水时，会磨损很短的寿命。这项技术可能会产生性能最佳的蒸汽系统，该系统可以持续监测蒸汽流量，以实现最佳的运行性能和可靠的除水。当疏水阀失效，蒸汽被排放时，能量就会损失，这就需要锅炉消耗额外的化石燃料，以产生额外的替代蒸汽，并排放不想要的温室气体。新的疏水阀将(1)通过将疏水器的寿命从2-4年增加到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，而不是依赖机械浮子或圆盘来检测和排放冷凝液，以及(4)提供实时监测，以连续收集和跟踪未监测的运行参数。该系统将对现有的疏水器进行改造，以实现经济高效的运营，并将减少或消除温室气体排放。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已通过使用基金会的智力优势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.