STEAM GENERATION. In a modern plant the course of operation can be traced broadly as follows : The water operates in a closed system and circulates in the form of steam or vapour and returns to its original state in the form of condensation. The water is first heated in feed water heaters, then goes through the tubes in the boilers and is changed to steam, then through a superheater that adds heat to it and from there to the utilizing equipment, a turbine for example. Finally it reaches the condenser from which it is returned to the starting point. The fuel usually starts through some preparation process such as crushing. From there it is usually conveyed to bunkers that provide a continuous feed to the stokers under the boilers. It is burnt on the stoker grates in the furnaces with natural or forced draft and the gases are used as they leave the boiler in super heaters, economizers and air preheaters. From there they finally
escape through the stack. The economizers, superheaters and air preheaters are means by which some of the waste heat in the gases is reclaimed. In steam generating plants is found all or some of this equipment and much other auxiliary equipment.
Subjects dealing with the generation of steam and with the equip ment used in that process will be found in the articles: BOILERS; STEAM ; COMBUSTION ; ECONOMIZER ; ELECTRICAL POWER GEN ERATION ; FUEL ; HEAT ; HEATING AND VENTILATION ; PULVERIZED FUEL ; STEAM ACCUMULATORS ; STEAM CHEST ; STEAM ENGINE ; STEAM TURBINE, etc. The present article attempts to co-ordinate the above references under the following headings : Fuel; Com bustion; Boilers; Mechanical Stokers; Other Equipment; and Selection of Steam Generating Equipment.