Steam Distillation with Solids in Thumper

[zach]

There has been a number of recent threads on steam distillation and safety measures, but there is one safety measure for steam stripping that I have not seen mentioned :

A puke with solids could potentially plug the condenser and cause an overpressure condition where the manometer or PRV is needed.

Having enough room for steam condensate to accumulate in the thumper is also factor. If the liquid level gets too high the splatter from breaking bubbles on the surface can carry over.

I have installed an inline tri-clamp sight glass in the riser out of the thumper to detect a puke. When I first tested my steam rig, without the sight glass, I did push it too hard and had solids in my condenser. (I have 15 KW propane) Now I keep a close eye on the sight glass after adjusting the fire on my steam generator. I also only fill the thumper to 65 % liquid level. At the end of a run, the level is about 80%.

I did see an old post from Tater with the steam injection rig in his avatar. The drawing includes a slobber box between the thumper and the worm that would prevent a puke from entering the worm.