Once discussed, site members quickly recognize that their steam system is the major source of production heat to the plant, so its quality directly impacts production performance and profit optimization. Furthermore, the heating capability of the steam system can be significantly and directly impacted by the state of the steam trap population. Even so, it may be common in some site locations that the ongoing maintenance of a steam trap population suffers from gaps of little-to-no activity. Those gaps can result in deterioration of the steam quality-which can often impact site reliability with frustrating economical events. Typical examples include; steam leaks, steam supply line water hammer, or in the worst-case scenario-severe or catastrophic damage to valuable equipment. It does not have to be because the investment needed to maintain a high-quality steam system through a proactive and sustainable trap management program is easily justified. (Figure 1).
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