Master Brewers Association of the AmericasEducationWebinars on TapUnderstanding Steam, its Use, and What Can Go Wrong in a Brewery

Understanding Steam, its Use, and What Can Go Wrong in a Brewery​​​​

​Broadcast Date: Friday, April 28th, 2017 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

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Webinar Summary

Join us as we begin the webinar with a discussion about steam basics and the thermodynamic properties of steam as a heat transfer medium and how they interact as pressure is applied or decreased. Focusing on the steam system beyond the boiler room, the delivery piping from boiler to the brewing process area, then the heat transfer equipment, and finally the pipeline components are reviewed as to how they operate, where they fit in the system, why they are important, and how they should be properly installed. Then we will review a list of unintended consequences that occur when steam is controlled in a heat transfer model and then deal with how to avoid those potential harmful or counterproductive consequences. Finally, we will discuss different ways to remove condensate back to the boiler room.


What attendees will take away:

  • Gain a fundamental knowledge of steam as a heat transfer media and the reasons it cannot be piped like other liquids or gases.
  • Learn how vacuum is formed and how to deal with it so that equipment is not damaged and the process area is much safer.
  • Know how to avoid the issues - Control of steam sounds easy, but precise control can be challenging.

About the Presenter

Steve Huffman

Steve Huffman
Mead O'Brien Inc.

Steve Huffman is Vice President, Marketing & Business Development for Mead O’Brien Inc.; ISA Fellow and former Society President; Automation Federation Government Relations Committee Chairman and former General Chair; and President, MBAA District St. Louis 2016-2017. He has 42 years of experience in the industrial process control area, including measurement and control, process and utility piping, hardware, and system design. This includes field instrumentation, control components, valve automation, and in particular, process steam systems, components, and application engineering. His specialties include: Steam and condensate system design, energy assessment, troubleshooting, and education services which includes utilizing the live steam lab at Mead O'Brien to further the knowledge of the practitioner in steam control, heat transfer, and condensate handling.