Increasing the condensate recovery by 40% for a textile manufacturer in India using FM Digital

A textile manufacturer in Lucknow, India was facing variation in their utility KPIs impacting their productivity. Parts of their steam and condensate recovery system had leakages. There were choking issues in the pump due to high total dissolved solids (TDS).

Their partnership with Forbes Marshall Digital started in April 2025 with a shared goal of improving and sustaining condensate recovery factor using EverSense for Condensate Recovery Factor.

Objective

PROBLEM

Condensate Recovery Factor (CRF) was 55% against the benchmark of 80%.

Leakages were seen in the heat exchanger

All the condensate was being locally drained at dyeing range pumps 3 and 4 due to high TDS.

In pumps 3 and 4, low motive pressure was causing overflow issues

The PPPPU-3 Strainer often gets choked due to water hardness and high TDS .

Solution

SOLUTION

Forbes Marshall digitally connected relevant equipment, established P&ID drawings and identified and mapped problem areas related to condensate recovery across the plant.

Equipment uptime was improved and sustained at >95% through digital monitoring and data driven insights enabling timely corrective action.

Historical data collection for steam, condensate, fuel, and production was initiated in April 2025 to strengthen performance benchmarking. Coal reports were also received.

Leakages in the heat exchanger were resolved by installing Forbes Marshall’s steam-operated pressure-powered condensate recovery pump (PPPPU) at Line 4.

The operator has to clean the strainer to restore normal functioning of the PPPPU-3 which often gets choked due to water hardness and high TDS .

Benefit

BENEFITS

Condensate recovery factor improved from 50% to 70%, i.e. a 40% improvement.

Condensate from Pump 3 was previously bypassed at the dyeing range. Now with EverSense for CRF, the operator can identify TDS levels in the condensate being recovered and decide to manually open the bypass valve based on the batch having excessive TDS. This has led to an increased CRF from 17.4 to 28.4 TPD (improvement of 11 TPD).

Condensate recovered from Pump 4 was improved from 10.8 to 20.3 TPD (improvement of 9.5 TPD) by implementing batch-wise monitoring and recovery control based on TDS levels.

Motive pressure of Pumps 3 and 4 was corrected from 5 to 5.5 kg/cm²g, resolving overflow issues and ensuring stable operation.

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