STEAM PLANT OPERATION AND STATIONARY ENGINEERING HANDBOOK: A Comprehensive Textbook on the Principles, Systems, Operation, and Licensing of Steam ... Certification, and Professional Development

Steam Plant Operation and Stationary Engineering Handbook is a comprehensive single-volume textbook covering the full technical curriculum of stationary steam engineering — from thermodynamic fundamentals and boiler construction through plant operation, emissions compliance, safety codes, emergency procedures, and advanced steam plant technologies.
Written to the technical depth required by First and Second Class stationary steam engineer licensing boards, this textbook serves as the primary course text for vocational and technical training programs and as a rigorous self-study reference for candidates preparing for certification examinations at all license class levels.


SCOPE AND CONTENT

The textbook is organized into five parts across fifteen chapters, a technical introduction, and a professional conclusion:
Part One — Fundamentals: The thermodynamic properties of steam and water, the Rankine cycle, superheat, reheat, regenerative feedwater heating, and steam table application with worked examples.
Part Two — Boiler Systems: Fire-tube and water-tube boiler classification, construction, and design; combustion theory, fuel systems, and burner management; boiler fittings, safety valves, and ASME Section I code compliance; feedwater treatment, deaeration, water chemistry, and chemical dosing programs.
Part Three — Mechanical Systems: Steam turbine principles, blade design, governing systems, lubrication, gland sealing, and startup/shutdown procedures; pumps, valves, piping systems, steam traps, and ASME B31.1 Power Piping requirements; surface condensers, shell-and-tube heat exchangers, cooling towers, and cooling water chemistry.
Part Four — Operations: Plant instrumentation including thermocouples, RTDs, differential pressure cells, and flow measurement; combustion control loops and three-element feedwater control; distributed control systems and programmable logic controllers; plant efficiency calculations, turbine heat rate, feedwater heater performance, cogeneration analysis, and energy auditing; air emissions control systems including electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, wet scrubbers, SCR, and SNCR; ASME BPVC Sections I, IV, and VIII; NBIC inspection requirements; OSHA confined space entry, lockout/tagout, and personal protective equipment; boiler startup, normal shutdown, and emergency response procedures for low water, overpressure, tube failure, water hammer, and flame failure conditions.
Part Five — Advanced Technology: Supercritical and ultra-supercritical steam generation; once-through steam generators; fluidized bed combustion; waste-to-energy and biomass steam plants; combined cycle plant architecture and heat recovery steam generators; carbon capture and decarbonization strategies; Industrial Internet of Things, digital twin technology, and predictive maintenance systems.

TEXTBOOK FEATURES

ASME code references integrated throughout relevant chapters
Emergency procedure boxes, operating practice boxes, safety warnings, and regulatory reference boxes formatted for clear instructional use
Comprehensive glossary, bibliography, and index

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This textbook is written for:
Stationary steam engineer license candidates at First, Second, Third, and Fourth Class levels
Vocational and technical school steam plant operation programs
Community college power plant technology and industrial utilities curricula
Plant operators and facilities engineers pursuing formal certification
Working engineers seeking a comprehensive technical reference for day-to-day plant operations and compliance obligations


Steam Plant Operation and Stationary Engineering Handbook provides the technical foundation, regulatory framework, operational procedures, and professional standards that define competent stationary steam engineering practice.