I'm about to retire from this very trade, so here's my 2 cents. In my city the boilers run at 600psi.(Not near any salt water, however if we decided to use it

I'm about to retire from this very trade, so here's my 2 cents. In my city the boilers run at 600psi.(Not near any salt water, however if we decided to use it if we could, removing all the impurities from the feed-water would be to expensive. At our psi the feed-water must be clean and deaerated to protect the boiler tubes.) I'm a plant operator so I don't fix leaks in the field, these steam leaks are just that, small leaks that develop in the steam supply piping or the condensate return piping. (True, some lines aren't insulated properly in the maintenance boxes, so you do get some pulverized condensate.) The steam generated from the main plant is used for all kinds of applications. Heating of course, whether live steam or heating water using a heat exchanger. Also it is used to power steam turbine chillers to create chill water, which cools a significant amount of office buildings and manufacturing plants. (These chillers use refrigerant, usually 134a, to cool down the water being pumped through them, which is then pumped to where the cooling process is needed. Sometimes these pumps are steam driven, but are usually electric motor driven. Water temp leaving the chiller is usually 38 degrees, but may be around 42 by the time it arrives to where it is used.) My plant uses natural gas to create steam. Many electrical generating power plants still use coal or nature gas to heat treated water to create the steam to spin the turbines which spin generators to create the electricity. (Sorry, I’m not a very good writer.) There are many other applications for steam boilers, and no matter what they are, there’s always the threat of leaks. The cleaner the system, whether steam of water, the better the chances of not corroding the piping. This is done by using chemical treatments to destroy the oxygen or rust inhibiters.